The changes in the Prussian battlefield directly affected the European financial market. For a time, the market value of all the war bonds issued by the Prussian Federation plummeted.
Anyone with a little common sense knew that if Mao Qi couldn't turn the tide in the following war, the Prussian Federation would inevitably default on its debt after its defeat.
The financial winter was coming.
Prime Minister Benjamin, who was far away in London, felt a chill.
Sometimes, the amount of debt really wasn't a burden. Now, the people who were most afraid of the Prussian Federation's demise, other than themselves, were the British.
The more information he had, the more Prime Minister Benjamin understood the seriousness of the problem.
The defeat of the Prussian Federation didn't just mean that the loans they gave out became bad debts and the bonds they issued became waste paper. More importantly, the Government of Berlin owed money.
The previous losses were nothing more than financial institutions and speculators. These people were rich and had a strong ability to resist risks.
The later payments were different. Large enterprises might be able to withstand it, but small and medium-sized enterprises had a weak capital chain and simply couldn't withstand the toss.
If the banks were to take advantage of the situation, the day the Prussian Federation was finished would be the beginning of the industrial crisis in Britannia.
The actual situation might be even worse. After all, the capitalist world already had excess capacity. After the war, the market competition would become more intense, and the wave of corporate bankruptcy was inevitable.
For Britannia, these small and medium-sized enterprises didn't account for a high proportion of the economic structure, but it was these enterprises that provided the most jobs.
The wave of bankruptcy and the wave of unemployment were a pair of brothers. They had always been inseparable. An unprecedented economic crisis had begun to brew in Britannia.
Sometimes, knowing too much was also a burden.
Benjamin asked, "Sir Edward, what did the French say?"
To reverse the war, the British couldn't do it alone. The French's position was crucial.
Foreign Minister Edward shook his head. "The Government of Paris rejected our proposal. They think that the Prussian Federation's conflict can't be resolved. Even if they forcibly stop this war, there will be another one.
The French are betting on both sides in this war. If the Prussian Federation is defeated, they won't lose much. They may even have secretly reached an agreement with the Russians. "
Prime Minister Benjamin nodded helplessly. He knew the enmity between England and France. It was a mess that could not be cut off. The French could not wait for the English to be out of luck. How could they help them?
Take the Prussian War as an example. At first, Britain and France supported the Government of Berlin together, but the British obtained the Prussian Federation's gold reserves and almost monopolized the financial benefits.
As it turned out, eating alone wasn't that tasty. The more he ate, the greater the price he had to pay. The British took on most of the loans and bonds of the Government of Berlin.
There were many reasons why the French chose to let go. In addition to the lack of profits, the development of French Africa required a lot of investment, and the Government of Paris artificially restricted the outflow of capital.
Although it did not stop the greed of the capitalists, the total amount of capital outflows had shrunk significantly.
Without the government's guidance, the capital not only flowed into the Pobol Federation, but also into the Russian Empire.
It was equivalent to betting on both sides. No matter which side won, the French would not miss out on a share. With less interests involved, the Government of Paris naturally would not be active.
Napoleon Napoleon IV was different from his father. He was born in the period of France's revival. He was born with a sense of arrogance, and it was impossible for him to submit to others.
From France's foreign policy, it could be seen that the Government of Paris's foreign policy was getting tougher. In the last two or three years, the relationship between Britain and France and the Fao had been deteriorating.
The British Army's strength was limited. If they wanted to intervene in the war, they were willing, but unable.
Now that the French were not willing to fight, the Government of London had essentially lost the ability to directly intervene in the war.
After a moment of contemplation, Prime Minister Benjamin said fiercely, "Then let's settle for the next best thing. No matter what, we must find a way to protect the Kingdom of Prussia. We need creditors to exist and give the country an explanation. "
After the defeat, the Kingdom of Prussia naturally did not have the ability to repay the debt. But as long as the creditors were there, there was the possibility of repayment.
After the war, the Government of Berlin's financial resources were limited. Perhaps for many years, their annual repayment amount would not be enough to pay the interest.
But having hope was better than having no hope. The Government of London needed a hope to give the people confidence in the market.
Minister of Finance Garfield said, "Prime Minister, you are too pessimistic. Maybe things are not as bad as you think, and the Pu Bo Federation is still persisting in fighting.
If Moltke creates a miracle and wins the Warsaw Battle before the Russians, they still have the possibility of ending the war with dignity. "
Foreign Minister Edward denied, "Sir Garfield, this is impossible. There are signs that the Austrians want the Pu Bo Federation to lose the war and lay the foundation for the unification of the German Region.
Even if Moltke creates a miracle, he still can't change the fate of the Pu Bo Federation. With the support of Vienna, the Tsarist government's army will continue to pour in and finally kill them. "
"Numerical advantage", perhaps this was what touched the European countries the most. The Russians proved with facts that "as long as our army has enough numbers, the enemy is powerless."
…
While the British were thinking of ways to make up for their losses, the Prussian War entered a new stage. The Russian Fourth Army was completely defeated by the Prussian army and could only rely on simple fortifications to survive.
Surprisingly, the Prussian army didn't completely surround and destroy the Russian Fourth Army. Instead, after crippling the Russian Fourth Army, they left two infantry divisions and a group of militia as the main force to surround the Russians while the main force quickly moved north.
In order to avoid the Russian Army's airship detection, the Prussian army chose to sleep during the day and march at night to quickly reinforce the Warsaw Battlefield.
On November 10, 1880, the main Prussian army arrived in Warsaw and launched a counterattack against the Russian Army. Caught off guard, the Russian Fifth Army suffered heavy losses.
This was just the beginning. The Russian Fifth Army was forced to retreat with its remnants after suffering heavy losses, and the Russian Seventh Army was also exposed to the Prussian army's attack.
Reality proved that after losing their numerical advantage, the Russian Army really wasn't a match for the Prussian army.
The Russian Seventh Army wasn't able to create a miracle. Their comrades warned them too late and they couldn't retreat in time. Under the Prussian attack, they lost a third of their troops.
The Battle of Warsaw ended with the Prussian army's victory, but Mao Qi didn't look happy at all. They had lost their time.
It couldn't be helped. The Russian Army wasn't made of paper. It only took them two days to defeat the Russian Fifth Army with a sneak attack, but five days to defeat the Russian Seventh Army.
Time was life on the battlefield. At this time, the Russian Third and Sixth Armies were only about two hundred kilometers away.
In theory, it was possible to intercept them halfway and delay their march for ten days to half a month.
During this time, they could also reinforce the southern front. For example, they could first kill the Russian Eighth Army besieging Poznan and the Russian Ninth Army in the center.
In reality, this was impossible. The Prussian army was also human. If they wanted to maintain their fighting strength, they needed time to reorganize after the battle.
Even if they only rested for two days, Mao Qi didn't have enough time.
Although it was only 278 kilometers from Warsaw to Poznan, and the train could reach there in a day or two, transporting hundreds of thousands of troops wasn't something that could be done in a day or two.
Even if the army passed, it didn't mean the war could start immediately. It still depended on whether the enemy was willing to fight with them. The Russians could delay for time.
For example, they could find a favorable terrain to defend. If they didn't destroy the Russian Eighth Army, the rear of the Prussian army wouldn't be stable. The longer they delayed, the better it was for the Russians.
Before they could destroy the Russian Eighth Army, the Russian reinforcements would arrive in Warsaw. Without the main force, Warsaw wouldn't be able to defend.
The fall of Warsaw would also mean the fall of Poland. At that point, even if they destroyed the Russian Eighth Army, Mao Qi could only retreat dejectedly to defend the Kingdom of Prussia.
If they gave up on Poland, the Prussian Federation would have lost the war. After losing more than half of their territory and population, the remaining Kingdom of Prussia would have less war potential. They didn't have the capital to continue fighting with the Russians.
Without time to resolve the threat on the southern front, they could only hope that the defending troops in the country would be able to hold out until they destroyed the Russian reinforcements before returning to the country.
The prerequisite was that this was the last batch of Russian reinforcements. Otherwise, the attack on Warsaw would have to continue. Looking at the current situation, the possibility of the war continuing was higher.
Looking at the map, Mao Qi didn't know what to do for the first time.
"General, this is the battle report we compiled. Please take a look," a young officer said in a low voice.
Mao Qi raised his head and waved his hand, signaling the young officer to put down the report and leave. After a moment of silence, Mao Qi, who had calmed down, slowly opened the battle report.
The cold numbers on the paper seemed to instantly lower the temperature in the room by a few degrees.
People would die in war. In the past month, the Prussian army had glorious results. They destroyed the Russian Fourth Army, the Fifth Army, and even heavily damaged the Russian Seventh Army.
They destroyed and captured more than 430,000 enemy troops. In one fell swoop, Russia's Warsaw offensive was destroyed, creating a shocking "Warsaw Victory."
However, behind this glory, 110,000 Prussian soldiers permanently fell on the battlefield, and another 150,000 were injured.
These were only casualties. In reality, they paid far more than this price. Not to mention the civilian casualties, Mao Qi didn't take the Poles seriously.
As a general, he didn't care about economic losses, but the consumption of weapons, equipment, and strategic resources was something he couldn't ignore.
In a short month, the Prussian army destroyed half of the ammunition in the warehouse and consumed nearly one-third of the strategic resources.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
