What people were most afraid of was having no hope. Although the three million labor dispatch program could not solve all the unemployment problems in Europe, it could bring hope to everyone.
Adhering to the principle of maximizing impact, unless it was a skilled worker, the labor recruitment was limited to one person per household, and as much as possible, the families with financial difficulties were inclined.
In a sense, this large recruitment not only eased the employment pressure of various countries, but also a large-scale poverty alleviation campaign.
Although the salary standard set by the Government of Vienna was not high, only 50% of the average income of European people in 1893, for the people at the bottom, this was already a high income.
In this era of disparity between the rich and the poor, the annual income of the big nobles and big capitalists was equivalent to the annual income of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ordinary people. More than half of the people at the bottom had an income of less than 20% of the average level. The word "average" had long lost its meaning.
If it were not for the fact that the work was overseas and the basic conditions in all aspects could not keep up, such a job would have long been scrambled.
From this point of view, the annual poverty alleviation champion Franz was certain to win. Perhaps also the poverty alleviation champion of this century. After all, this level of poverty alleviation project was unprecedented, and it was estimated that there would not be another in the next few years.
Signing a labor contract would pay three months' salary in advance, and there was no need to worry about being cheated. This was a recruitment organized jointly with the governments of various countries, and the follow-up labor dispatch would also be tracked.
Of course, no one knew exactly how far they could track. Anyway, during the publicity, they chose to say all the good things.
The harsh climate, the presence of poisonous insects and fierce beasts, these practical problems, intentionally or unintentionally, were ignored by the governments of various countries. Perhaps for the rulers, sending these potentially dangerous people away was the king's way.
The effect of throwing money was naturally very effective. Every advance payment of a salary meant that a family was temporarily freed from the crisis of hunger. The deteriorating situation in Europe finally had a turning point.
…
In Nanyang, the high-profile war mediation conference in the Philippines had begun in Sulawesi.
Unsurprisingly, in addition to the two countries involved, Britannia and the European Union also participated in the mediation.
It was very obvious that the situation in the mediation conference of 1 vs. 17 was very unfavorable for the Japanese. It would definitely be a tragedy to engage in a war of words in diplomacy.
The Government of Japan was not without effort. In fact, Ito Hirobumi had already visited the envoys of many countries and invited them to participate in the mediation meeting before going to the negotiating table.
He didn't expect everyone's full support. Even if they just sent a representative to join in the fun, it would be a form of support for the Government of Japan.
Unfortunately, even though the Japanese Army performed well in the Philippines Campaign, in the eyes of the outside world, Spain was still stronger.
It was too difficult to ask everyone to help at the risk of offending Spain. Except for the Government of the United Kingdom, which still stood on the side of the Government of Japan because of their pride, the Japanese could not get a second ally.
The aftereffects of being alone soon showed themselves. The negotiations had only just begun, and they were already labeled as invaders. There was simply no room for them to refute.
…
"The invaders must be severely punished. Any indulgence is a blasphemy to the civilized world," said Russia's representative, Tamburundos, with a righteous tone.
In order to seek justice for the innocent victims, I propose that a provisional tribunal be set up to try those responsible for starting this war.
… "
Judging from Tanbulundos' remarks alone, those who didn't know would definitely think that the Japanese Army had invaded Russia, which made him so angry.
This was no longer the attitude that a neutral country should have in a mediation. Instead, it was more like a revenge meeting. Did Tanbulundos have a grudge against the Japanese?
The answer was: No!
Although the Tsarist government was unhappy with the Japanese because of the assassination of Crown Prince Nicholas, the Crown Prince was still alive and well. This was not enough to cause a national hatred.
Not only was there no hatred, but there was also no major conflict of interest. The Tsarist government did not strategically move east, and the Government of Japan did not move north. Even if there was a small dispute in Sakhalin, it ended with the Government of Japan making concessions.
However, this did not prevent Tanbulundos from finding trouble with the Japanese. In addition to selling the Crown Prince, the more important thing was that the Spanish gave money.
In order to take the initiative in the mediation meeting, the Spanish representative threw money all the way, and the representatives of various countries attending the meeting had a "local product" in their hands.
In fact, it was not only the Spanish representative who sent gifts. The Japanese delegation also spent a lot of money, and Ito Hirobumi even personally visited them one by one.
There was no other way, this was a bad habit of the times. Diplomacy in the 19th century had always been accompanied by material desires, and it was called public relations.
Giving money might not necessarily make things work, but not giving money would definitely make things bad. Under the premise that it did not involve the interests of the country, the maneuverability of diplomats was great. Usually, whoever gave more would be the one who would be favored.
Unfortunately, it was not possible this time. The European Union Conference had already decided to support Spain. As a diplomatic representative of one of the member countries, Tanbulundos had to support it. This was a matter of political principle.
In this context, the efforts of the Japanese delegation could at most make everyone show mercy and soften their attitude when supporting Spain.
Originally, for the sake of the "big yellow croaker" sent by the Japanese, Tanbulundos did not want to be so ruthless, but a telegram from a certain important person in the country made him give up all his fantasies and become a staunch anti-Japanese.
There was more than one similar telegram, and almost all the representatives of various countries received it. No matter how good the Government of Japan's public relations in Southeast Asia was, they could not resist the Spanish from Europe.
The end result was that more than a dozen countries in the European Union were taking sides. In name, they were mediating, but in fact, they were supporting Spain.
The Spanish representative took advantage of the situation and said, "Sir is right. The invaders must be severely punished. Otherwise, justice will not be heard, and the world will be in chaos.
According to the information we have gathered, the Government of Japan and the French have a secret agreement. The invasion of the Philippines is only the first step. They also plan to send a legal army to participate in the European war. "
Just letting the Japanese withdraw from the Philippines was obviously not enough to dispel the hatred in the hearts of the Spanish. Unfortunately, their own strength was limited, and they were unable to counterattack the Japanese mainland.
In order to make the Japanese's ending more miserable, Federico decisively chose to drag the anti-French alliance into the water. As long as the fact that Japan colluded with France was confirmed, then the Philippines war was not only fought for Spain to defend the colony, but also for the anti-French alliance.
The nature of the change, the final outcome would naturally be different. Even if it was for the sake of face, the anti-French alliance would make the Japanese suffer. Even Britannia, who originally supported the Japanese, would give up this little brother under the pressure of the anti-French alliance.
In the face of the Spanish representative's accusations, Ito Hirobumi naturally could not admit it. Otherwise, it would not be a question of when to withdraw from the Philippines, but whether the Japanese Empire could still exist.
"This is completely slander. We have nothing to do with the French. There is no so-called collusion at all.
Anyone with a little military knowledge knows that Japan is tens of thousands of miles away from Europe. With the performance of our navy's warships, even if we wanted to go to Europe, we would have to resupply many times along the way.
Without everyone's permission, the Imperial Navy would not even have the ability to enter the Indian Ocean. How could they collude with France?
The Imperial Navy went to Southeast Asia to fight pirates. We did not expect that when we were refueling in Luzon Island, we were attacked by your country's garrison, and we were forced to launch a counterattack.
We are the victims of this war. The so-called invasion is not valid at all. All of this is the responsibility of the idiot garrison officer in Luzon Island. Otherwise, there would be no war at all. "
In order to reduce the responsibility, Ito Hirobumi decisively chose to lie through his teeth. Regardless of whether anyone believed it or not, he would not admit to all the accusations made by the Spanish.
"There is no point in quibbling in the face of ironclad facts. The French have admitted the existence of the secret agreement, and I have even brought a copy of the contract. "
With that said, the Spanish representative, Federico, took out the copy of the contract and handed it to the Shinra representative in front of him. He also stared at Ito Hirobumi provocatively.
Not only was there a secret agreement between France and Japan, but there was also a secret agreement between Britain and Japan. If it were not for Britain and France's acquiescence, the Government of Japan would not have dared to go south.
But now France had declined, while Britannia was still arrogant. The Spanish government didn't want to offend the British, so they directly ignored the fact that there was a secret agreement between Britain and Japan.
The thing that he was most worried about happened. Ito Hirobumi, whose heart was racing, braced himself and shouted, "Your country is too overbearing to convict us with a treaty that was fabricated out of thin air.
We have never signed a secret agreement with the French. Your Excellency took out a fake contract, and you want us to admit it? "
He couldn't not be nervous. The secret agreement between France and Japan really existed. It was just that the content of the treaty was somewhat different from what the Spanish representative said.
Before the launch of the southern strategy, the Government of Japan had considered the consequences of France's defeat. Therefore, when the treaty was concluded, it was mostly ambiguous.
In addition, the Government of Paris didn't pay attention to Japan and didn't take their military power seriously. The final treaty was a joint plan to encircle and suppress the pirates.
Encircling and suppressing the pirates seemed to be no problem, but the problem was that the Shinra Navy did a lot of business in Malacca for the purpose of blockading France.
As the winner, they didn't need to be blamed, so this dark history must be erased. Regarding the issue of the Japanese Navy wanting to encircle and suppress the "pirates," the Shinra Empire certainly wouldn't say anything on the surface, but no one knew if they would retaliate in secret.
In any case, Ito Hirobumi was very nervous. In the Government of Japan's view, Shinra spared no effort to support Spain was out of revenge for Japan's possible collusion with France.
Just because it was a "possibility," the Franco-Japanese secret treaty was also strictly confidential. Under normal circumstances, Shinra wouldn't know the specific content. However, international politics often didn't need evidence. Just a "possibility" was enough to make the Government of Vienna give them a hard time.
If this "possibility" was confirmed, then Japan would have a hard time in the future. There was no point in explaining. No matter what the Government of Japan's purpose was, whether they did it or not, they would be retaliated.
The hegemon needed to establish his power. As the first Japan after the war, it must be used as a warning to others.
Based on this judgment, Ito Hirobumi couldn't admit to the Franco-Japanese secret treaty, even if he took out the contract.
Perhaps realizing that his younger brother was in trouble, the British representative, Klaus, said with a smile, "Everyone, things have happened. It doesn't make sense to continue to linger in the past. We have to look forward.
War is cruel, and every day it continues will take away many precious lives. Anyone who desires peace doesn't want war. There has been enough bloodshed.
Today, we sit together to reconcile the contradictions and end this meaningless war. As for other issues, let's wait until the war is over to discuss! "
It wasn't that Klaus wasn't good enough, but the war initiated by the Government of Japan couldn't stand up to scrutiny. The Japanese government would never be able to clear their name of the undeclared war and the undeclared war.
If it was against a weak country, they could act shamelessly or foolishly. But now that the European Union had intervened, the best way was to follow the rules of the game.
The Government of London was already busy destroying the European Union. It was not the right time to come out and make enemies. After all, there were only two necessary conditions for an alliance to exist: common interests and common enemies.
If they wanted to disintegrate the European Union, the first step was to make European countries feel no threat. Only when the common enemy disappeared, would they feel free to fight among themselves.
In order to achieve this goal, the Government of London had decided to carry out a strategic retreat overseas to avoid conflicts with European countries as much as possible.
In this context, the support that the British could provide to the Government of Japan could be imagined. Perhaps the Government of London now wished that the Philippine War would end immediately so that the European Union could relax earlier.
There were many disputes when people were idle, and it was also applicable in politics. If an alliance had nothing to do for a long time, everyone would find the alliance dispensable.
"Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals."
Since the British stood up, as the boss of the European Union, Shinra naturally had to help its younger brother take on the pressure exerted by John Bull. Otherwise, how could it convince the public?
As the representative of Shinra, Governor Chandler smiled and said, "It's naturally best to end this war as soon as possible. After all, everyone loves peace. No one wants to keep fighting and killing.
But in order to warn future generations, the punishment for the invaders must still be there. I think it's better to first restore the territory before the war and end this war.
Then, each country will form a joint delegation to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the causes and consequences of the war. We will have zero tolerance for the culprits who started the war. "
The two big hooligans talked about peace together without the slightest estrangement. If one didn't know, they might really think that the relationship between Britain and Austria was very good.
Unfortunately, everyone present was in the know, and they were already used to the game between Britain and Shinra.
The only one who felt nervous was probably Ito Hirobumi. There was no other way. Casually restoring the territory before the war seemed very fair, but in fact, it would destroy the last bargaining chip in the hands of the Government of Japan. Without the Philippine Islands, what could the Government of Japan use to bargain with Spain?
The joint investigation team was purely disgusting. There were a total of 20 countries present. After the two warring countries were removed, the ratio was exactly 1: 17. With such a disparity in the ratio, it went without saying who the investigation team would favor.
Everyone absolutely believed in zero tolerance for the culprits who started the war. Just look at France. After the anti-French alliance won the war, they sacrificed the French consortium to the heavens.
There was really no injustice, but there were a few that escaped the net. Mike Mahon, who was directly responsible for the displacement of the people in Belgium and the Rhineland region, needless to say. Dead people didn't need to bear responsibility.
The problem was that the higher-ups of the Bonaparte Dynasty who started the war were actually let off lightly. Even if they couldn't catch them, it was a bit too much that they didn't even bother to issue a wanted order.
It was fine to complain in their hearts, but there was no need to say it out loud. The rules of the game were like this. Napoleon Iv surrendered in time after the war, and the previous debts were written off.
It was also applicable to the Government of Japan, except that they weren't defeated, and the Spanish didn't have the ability to arrest people in Honshu.
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