Since ancient times, interests had always been the best bridge for friendship. As long as the interests were in place, friendship would be born. It wasn't that Governor Chandler liked to play tricks, but he was forced by reality.
As the biggest winner of the European War, the seemingly arrogant Holy Roman Empire was actually at its weakest.
The established national policy of the Government of Vienna was to preserve the country, and expansion was not within the scope of consideration. The Philippine Islands were fertile, but it was still not enough for the Government of Vienna to change its national policy.
As a colonial governor, Chandler couldn't ignore the interests of the colonial group while taking into account the national strategy. In this context, it was a test of operational skills.
The original plan to pluck the peaches was based on Spain's defeat and Japan's strength was not enough. The current situation was very obvious. It was indeed difficult for Spain to win the war, but the strength of Japan was also unexpected.
Perhaps their combat power was not good, but they were willing to risk their lives! Even if the Empire could defeat Japan with its strength in Southeast Asia, it would also suffer heavy losses.
For the Holy Roman Empire, Japan was never worth mentioning. The British hiding behind the scenes were the real threat.
If the operation was not done well, it would become a proxy war where the British provided arms and Japan sent troops.
Just think about the First Near East War, the two Prussian Wars, and the recent Afghan War between Britain and Russia.
His competitors were either killed or maimed, and those who survived had their vitality greatly damaged.
Britain and Russia didn't do anything when the Holy Roman Empire was at its weakest. It wasn't that the two governments were righteous, nor was it that there were no conflicts between the three countries. The most important reason was that they weren't in the right state.
In the Afghan War, Britain and Russia each lost hundreds of thousands of troops, but the harvest was insignificant. At the same time, they were also burdened with heavy financial pressure. In this context, even if they wanted to do something, they had to maintain restraint.
In a sense, the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire was also due to the proxy wars secretly manipulated by the Government of Vienna.
Perhaps when he had just transmigrated, Franz might have taken the opportunity to beat up the Japanese to vent his anger, but it was impossible now. As a mature politician, any military action must be driven by profit.
These days, the Japanese were so poor that even if they pushed forward smoothly, they would not be able to recover their war funds. If something happened midway, it would be a huge loss.
He did not want to go into battle himself, but he coveted the fertile Philippine Islands, so the value of Spain was reflected.
Britannia supported the Japanese, and Vienna supported Spain. No matter who won or lost, it was a matter of profit. It was just a matter of how big the profit was.
From the standpoint of the Government of Vienna, the more support the Government of the United Kingdom gave to the Japanese, the better. Only in this way would the conflict between Britain and the West continue to escalate.
Spain, which had a feud with both England and France and possessed a certain amount of power, was undoubtedly the best ally for the Holy Roman Empire.
It does not matter that Spain is going downhill, as long as they do not fall too fast. If Spain was really on the rise, Franz would not dare to keep this little brother.
Compared to the strategic benefits, the interests of the Philippine Islands were not worth mentioning. If the Spanish did not come to his door, Governor Chandler would not be able to do anything.
"Sir Commander, you worry too much. Based on the friendship between us and your country, no shipyard would dare to act recklessly.
However, Nanyang is different from Europe. All the tools, equipment, and spare parts of the repair factory are shipped from the mainland. Especially since the specifications of your country's warships are different from ours, many parts have to be customized, so the cost is slightly higher.
We are not taking advantage of the situation. As you know, it is a big risk to stock up on spare parts in advance. The capitalists must be doing this to make money, so the price … "
After listening to this explanation, Admiral Valkenhein was speechless. Proprietary spare parts, maintenance tools, and equipment were all prepared. It would be strange if they did not want to take advantage of the situation.
If the maintenance cost was only a little higher, Valkenhein did not mind paying more. After all, time was life on the battlefield. The more spare parts the shipyard stored, the faster the repair progress of the warship would be. It was reasonable to make more money.
Obviously, it was not a problem of money. It was just that the maintenance cost was high, but it was not enough for Admiral Valkenhein to beg.
Seeing that Governor Chandler did not want to say it directly, Valkenhein knew it was for the sake of face. As the leader of the European Alliance, if the Government of Vienna knew that they were plotting against the colony of their little brother, it would be embarrassing.
The best way was undoubtedly to let them take the initiative. Then, the Government of Vienna would give a relatively "reasonable price". Only then would everyone look good.
Suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, Admiral Valkenhein said against his conscience, "Governor, for the friendship between our two countries, in order to thank your government's strong support, we are willing to open the market of the Philippines.
As you know, our financial situation has been terrible. If your country can help, we are willing to sell some of the islands. "
"Sir, you misunderstood. We have no intention of stealing your colony. The Holy Roman Empire also does not steal the colony of any ally.
If your country is really in financial difficulties, we are happy to help. For world peace and stability, the empire is launching a global strategy. If your country doesn't mind, you can rent a few military ports to us.
You can rest assured that our garrison is only to maintain regional peace and stability and will not interfere with your country's management of the colony. "
Governor Chandler's heart was bleeding. He couldn't eat the meat that was delivered to his doorstep. But there was no other way. The Holy Roman Empire must pay attention to their table manners. Otherwise, it would cause panic in the European world.
If the Spanish opened the market, they could explain to the colonial group. It would be impossible to take the opportunity to annex the Philippines.
Even if the Spanish gave it to them for free, the Holy Roman Empire couldn't accept it now. Not to mention buying the islands. Even if they really wanted to buy them, they couldn't buy them now.
Don't forget, the Philippines was still in the hands of the Japanese! Once they bought the sovereignty of the islands, the Holy Roman Empire would be dragged down by the Spanish.
The Nanyang Governor's Office couldn't get too many benefits, but it didn't mean that the Holy Roman Empire didn't have any benefits. In any case, Spain was also an old-school colonial country. Even though it had declined, there were still many islands with strategic value in its hands.
Limited by strength, many islands were dispensable in the hands of the Spanish, but they became invaluable in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire.
Since the end of the European War, the globalization strategy had been put on the agenda. It hadn't been implemented yet, mainly due to financial constraints. After a few years of digesting the spoils of war, it was imperative to fully launch the globalization strategy.
…
Aussie was trading, and Britain and Japan weren't idle either. The Japanese, who had proven their strength, had a higher status in the eyes of the Government of the United Kingdom.
Downing Street
Foreign Minister George: "Based on the strength shown by the Japanese in the Philippine Sea Battle, they have done it to balance the Spanish.
Even because of the strong insertion of the Japanese, the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire in the Nanyang region has been impacted.
The Government of Vienna won't let this situation continue. If we don't intervene, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese are forced out of the Nanyang region.
Once the Nanyang strategy fails, the only way left for the Japanese is to go north, which is bound to lead to a war with the Empire of the Far East. At that time, we will have to make another choice.
For the interests of the Empire, the best choice is to support the Empire of the Far East to restrain Russia in the east, and support the Japanese to restrain Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in the Nanyang. "
There was no doubt that this was the most optimistic situation. By supporting the two younger brothers, it was undoubtedly the ideal situation for Britannia to get out of the current embarrassing situation.
However, a plan was always a plan. It wasn't so simple to put it into practice.
Although Spain was in decline, it wasn't without the power to fight. Even if the bureaucratic group was corrupt, the overall national strength was still above Japan.
In particular, Spain was a European country, and there was a European Union behind it. Once the Spanish government did the diplomatic work of various countries and obtained the support of the entire Union, the Japanese plan to go south was doomed to fail.
It must be known that the Government of London was still working hard to join the Union at the moment and had achieved certain results. It was impossible to directly go against the Union for the Japanese.
The plan in the south was full of uncertainty, and the plan in the north was even more tragic. The biggest characteristic of the Empire of the Far East was that it "followed its heart." The Empress Dowager would be satisfied if the Russians didn't come looking for trouble. It was too difficult to take the initiative to find trouble with the Russians.
She was happy to see Britain and Russia fighting each other in India. How could she take the initiative to get involved?
There were so many problems, but it still didn't affect this "plan" from becoming the diplomatic strategy of the Government of London. If they succeeded, they would make a lot of money. If they failed, they wouldn't lose anything. Why not use such a plan?
It was said to be support, but in fact, all the weapons and equipment were bought with real money. The real contribution of the Government of the United Kingdom was diplomatic verbal support.
Looking at the reaction of the stock market, since the implementation of this strategic plan by the Government of London, the stocks of the domestic military industry rose by 18%, and the stock prices of the machinery and equipment export industry also rose by nine points.
Prime Minister Gladstone nodded. "Agree to the request of the Japanese. Since the Holy Roman Empire can help the Spanish repair warships, then our shipyards in the Far East can also help the Japanese repair warships. But we have to control the limit. The Empire can't directly intervene in the war.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should speed up the layout in the Far East and try to provoke conflict between the Empire of the Far East and the Russians to reduce the pressure on us in India.
Order the Governor General of India to increase support for the guerrillas in the Central Asian countries and increase the cost of Russia's rule.
When necessary, a certain amount of loans can be granted to the Government of Japan, or war bonds can be issued for them. The amount is tentatively set at 20 million pounds. It shouldn't be too risky to let them use tariffs as collateral. "
They had to be nervous. The Central Asian Railway of the Russians had already started construction. The Austrian Railway Company was responsible for the construction. As long as there were no major changes, it was only a matter of time before it opened to traffic.
Everyone knew that once the Central Asian Railway was completed, it would be time for the Russians to go south again. Although the railway wouldn't be completed during Gladstone's tenure, if they didn't do something and something went wrong in the future, they would also be stained politically.
For the sake of their reputation in life and death, the Gladstone Cabinet had worked unprecedentedly hard recently. One after another, seemingly perfect strategic plans were introduced one after another.
As for whether they could succeed or not, it wasn't within their consideration for the time being. Anyway, as long as it looked feasible, it was fine. If it failed in the future, it would be the successor government's fault. It had nothing to do with them.
Foreign Minister George: "According to the intelligence collected from various sources, the Government of Vienna is busy dealing with domestic affairs and has no plans to directly intervene in this war.
Now that the naval war is in a stalemate, the next battle will soon move to land. The Japanese are willing to go all out. As long as Vienna doesn't make trouble, the Spanish, who are exhausted from the expedition, won't be able to outlast them.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking for a suitable opportunity to mediate the war and let the Japanese stop while they are ahead in order to avoid the war from expanding. "
Compared to Spain, Japan's biggest advantage was its large population. If it weren't for the facts in front of them, no one would have imagined that Spain, which had a population of eight million in the 16th century, had a total population of less than 18 million now.
Looking at the population, Spain's decline wasn't without reason. Regardless of what happened in the middle, it was all suicidal. So much so that Britannia, which used to have a population of less than half of theirs, was now almost twice as large.
In contrast, Japan's situation was much better. With a population of more than 40 million, it had already met the population needs of the contemporary powers.
It could be said that the naval war hadn't been fully accomplished, and the Spanish had already lost half of this war. In the next battle, the Government of Japan would definitely use its advantages to lure the Spanish to land for a decisive battle.
After all, compared to the precious navy, there were as many cheap armies as one wanted. The Government of Japan could afford to die.
…
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