After the news of the end of the Warsaw Battle spread, the entire Europe was boiling. The newspapers all made space to publish the news.
Not long ago, the Pu Army achieved the "Warsaw Great Victory." People who didn't know the truth always thought that the Pu Army had the upper hand in the Warsaw area. Such a shocking turn of events was hard to accept.
Especially for the speculators who bought the Pu Bo Federation's war bonds, it was even harder to accept this cruel reality.
There were already protests on the streets of London. The Stock Exchange was surrounded by angry people in three layers, and no one knew how many layers there were in the middle.
They were "cheated," so they naturally wanted to seek justice. Only a small portion of these people bought at the beginning. Most of them were high-priced buyers who were tricked into buying.
After the Pu Army achieved the "Warsaw Great Victory," the British media was optimistic that the Pu Bo Federation would win the war. The war bonds issued by the Government of Berlin soared.
The facts proved that it was not easy to take advantage of the capitalists. If the Pu Bo Federation was about to win the war, why would they leave?
The "Carr Maca Securities Company" responsible for issuing the Pu Bo Federation's bonds, except for a few frontline staff, the company's executives were nowhere to be found.
"Smash it!"
No one knew who shouted. The speculators, who were blinded by anger, broke through the interception of the security personnel and began to vent to their heart's content. The few unlucky staff members left behind became scapegoats and were trampled on by the crowd.
Fortunately, the Stock Exchange was a key area of the London police. The violence that happened at the Carr Maca Securities Company was quickly stopped by the police.
This was only a microcosm. With the capital tycoons leaving, not only did the stock market suffer a heavy blow, but the stock market also couldn't escape.
Without a doubt, the banks that took on the Pu Bo Federation's loans became the hardest hit. Their stock prices plummeted.
Before the Pu Bo Federation was defeated, London was already in chaos. The Government of the United Kingdom was still very capable of executing. Prime Minister Benjamin immediately held a press conference to appease the public.
The general meaning was: The creditors are still here. Don't worry. The Government of London will find a way to protect the Government of Berlin. The bonds in everyone's hands won't become worthless.
It could also be understood as: The creditors are still here, but they are very poor now. You will know when they can pay back the money.
War bonds couldn't be cashed immediately. The shortest time would be three to five years later, and the longest would be ten to twenty years later.
By that time, the British government would have already changed. What they had to worry about was the affairs of the government behind them. Prime Minister Benjamin did not mind giving an empty promise first.
However, the British Foreign Office still sped up the pace of action, constantly lobbying European countries to intervene in the Prussian war. So far, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium had already agreed to the London government's proposal for a truce.
…
Not long ago, the Austrian government also received an invitation from the Berlin government to mediate. Franz had been hesitating, but with the end of the Battle of Warsaw, the matter could not be delayed any longer.
"We can't wait any longer. The Prussian war is about to end. We have to take action, or the situation will get out of control," Foreign Minister Weissenberg suggested.
In the current international situation, the Tsarist government was likely to take advantage of Austrian nationalism and use the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia to pay off the debt, putting the Government of Vienna on the fire.
In the current international situation, the Tsarist government was likely to use Austrian nationalism to use the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia to pay off the debt and roast the Government of Vienna on the fire.
What was even more tragic was that the Russians did this. The Government of Vienna not only had to swallow the bitter fruit, but also had to thank them, at least on the surface.
What did the Kingdom of Prussia have now?
The answer was debt!
Austria now accepted the Kingdom of Prussia. Not only could they not get back the money they lent to the Russians, but they also had to pay the Tsarist government a sum of money.
Not only that, but the Government of Berlin owed a huge debt and would definitely be unable to pay it after the war. Now that they accepted the Kingdom of Prussia, it also meant that they accepted a huge debt.
In addition to the debt, the economic reconstruction after the war also needed a lot of money. There was no doubt that the Government of Berlin couldn't afford it, and the central government had to cover it.
This was only the economic problem. There were more political troubles. If the diplomatic work was not done well, they would be the target of public criticism.
Knowing that it was a mess, Austria was not a spendthrift. Naturally, it was impossible to take over at this time.
Interference became the best choice. As long as the Russians didn't occupy the Kingdom of Prussia, these troubles would naturally not exist.
No matter how much debt and how difficult it was, the Government of Berlin would be responsible for it. If they really couldn't pay the money, they could renege on the debt. Anyway, there was no unification, and it wouldn't affect Austria's credibility.
"It's still too early. The strength of the Prussian Federation still exists. We must borrow the manpower of Russia to consume it. Otherwise, it will be a big problem in the future," Prime Minister Felix objected.
As the leader of Greater Germany, Prime Minister Felix had always put the unification of the German Region as the first priority. The Kingdom of Prussia had a strong military strength, which was obviously not conducive to national unification.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg reminded, "Prime Minister, our first national policy is to localize Africa. The unification of the German Region can only be ranked as the second.
So far, our African strategy has been mostly completed. Other than Egypt, which is occupied by France, there is only a half-dead Osman Empire.
The top priority is to stabilize the European continent as soon as possible, establish a new international order, and find opportunities to solve the Osman Empire first. "
In fact, Austria still had many national policies, but they had changed over time. Now, there were only two left.
For example, the original Near East strategy, with the decline of the Osman Empire, directly became a part of the African strategy.
This was also forced. After Africa was localized, the connection with the mainland became very important. It was indeed convenient to go by sea, but unfortunately, safety was not guaranteed in the era of war.
The Royal Navy's advantage was too great, and the Austrian Navy couldn't compare at all. In a short period of time, not to mention catching up with the British, even the French Navy was superior to the Austrian Navy.
Since the sea couldn't be done, they could only think of a way on land. Most of the Middle East had fallen into Austria's hands. The Government of Vienna wanted to connect the mainland with Africa, and the only obstacles in the middle were French Egypt and the Osman Empire.
Rice had to be eaten bite by bite. The French were not weak, and the Government of Vienna had no intention of attacking Egypt for the time being. However, the weak chicken, the Osman Empire, was tragic.
Prime Minister Felix nodded, then shook his head. "Our core strategy is to integrate Africa, but this does not contradict the German Unification Plan.
We have plenty of opportunities to solve the Osman Empire. After the Prussian War, the Tsarist government will be quiet for a long time, and will not have the energy to compete with us in the Near East.
It can be said that in the next ten years, we will be the main force against the Osman Empire. The Russians will not stop us from extending the railway to the Suez Canal.
On the contrary, the Kingdom of Prussia is more troublesome. We can't do it ourselves. If we don't solve them now, it will be difficult to find an opportunity in the future. "
It was not easy to be the boss, especially the boss who cared about his own image. Even if the German Region was divided, everyone still recognized Austria's leadership. The core reason was that the Government of Vienna had been managing their own image for decades.
The good reputation that they had painstakingly built naturally couldn't be destroyed in the civil war. Especially for the emperor, Franz, he would rather let the German Region not be unified than to ruin his own brand.
Otherwise, he would awkwardly find that the country had finally been unified, but his own throne was tossed away.
There were many similar cases. Franz didn't think that his descendants were all powerful masters who could control the situation.
If he didn't want to attract hatred, then the best way was to make the process of German unification less bloodshed. Even if there was bloodshed, he had to find a scapegoat first.
In this respect, the Russians were really good allies of Austria. The old enemy in the south, the Osman Empire, was defeated by Austria and Russia. The ambitious Kingdom of Prussia in the north was being cleaned up by the Tsarist government.
Every time there was a conflict of interest between Russia and Austria, as long as he thought about the contribution of the Tsarist government, Franz's mentality suddenly calmed down.
It didn't matter whether there was money or not. The main thing was for the friendship between Russia and Austria. The last time the Tsarist government announced a debt default, the Government of Austria didn't get angry.
Franz interrupted the quarrel between the two. "The mediation of the war between Prussia and Russia can be delayed first. Send someone to test the bottom line of the Tsarist government.
If they intend to use the Kingdom of Prussia as debt and want to roast us on the fire, immediately cooperate with the British and intervene in this war.
Other than that, other situations can be discussed. A weak, even divided Prussia is the best Prussia.
As long as it's not too excessive, we can acquiesce to the Tsarist government annexing part of the land of the Kingdom of Prussia. As long as it doesn't involve the German Region, everything else can be discussed. "
Even the hired thugs had to pay a fee, let alone the Russians. They fought hard all the way here, paid the casualties of millions of soldiers, and racked up a mountain of debt. There had to be something in return.
In Franz's view, the Kingdom of Prussia had been too smooth in recent decades. It had become arrogant and actually wanted to form an independent system to compete with Austria. This situation had to be dealt with.
If he didn't kill one to warn others, what would happen to the future of the German state?
For example, the eager Kingdom of Hanover was still not satisfied with the current German Federal Empire. Relying on the support of the British, it was secretly playing with the so-called North-South German plan.
The Government of Vienna didn't look for trouble with them. That was because Hanover was still in the imagination stage. It made a lot of plans, but didn't take any real action.
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