The Prussian casualty report released by Austria quickly ignited public opinion. The figure of "eight million" was too shocking, and everyone's attention was drawn to it.
Countless people were shocked. It was another "Thirty Years War", but different from the last one, the Prussian war only lasted for less than two years.
Was there a winner?
Perhaps ordinary people who didn't know the truth would say that Russia won, but those who truly understood the Prussian war knew that it was a war where both sides lost.
Both Prussia and Russia were losers, and the winners were the UK, Fao, and the other three countries. After the war, the status of the three countries was even more secure.
As the winner in name, the Russian Empire seemed to be called the "fourth largest country in Europe" by the media, but in reality, it was just a title.
The political structure of the three major countries to the four major countries was just a rumor, and anyone who took it seriously would be stupid.
Right now, the Russian Empire only had the potential to become the fourth largest country, not the actual power. If the future development went smoothly and the national power caught up, then there would be a chance to recreate the four major European empires.
Before the first Prussian war, the Russian Empire was one of the four major European empires, and it was also the top player in the fight against the UK for world hegemony.
After going through two Prussian wars, it lost millions of troops, paid tens of billions of rubles in military expenses, wiped out the accumulation of generations of Tsar, and carried a huge debt.
The final result was that it fell from the hegemon of Europe to the fourth largest country in Europe, and the Russian Empire expanded a little bit of territory that it didn't need.
"Reflection" was perhaps the greatest virtue of the European people. Looking at the list of losses of Prussia and Russia in the newspaper, everyone subconsciously came to the conclusion that war was f * cking scary!
Not only were the ordinary people frightened, but the politicians were also frightened by the set of data. In an instant, the power of the hawks in various countries was greatly reduced, and anti-war thoughts began to spread around the world.
In the Palace of Versailles, the cold number of casualties from the Prussian war was a blow to the ambitious Napoleon Iv.
Napoleon Iv was very confident in the combat power of the French Army, and so was the French people. Everyone thought that the French Army was the best in the world, and that the hegemony of Europe would belong to France sooner or later.
As for the Austrian Empire that stood in the way of France's path to hegemony, if it wasn't for the international situation, they would have fought them a long time ago.
Well, that was just talk. War was not a game. France had been busy digesting the Regions of Italy for the past few years.
Now that the Regions of Italy were stabilizing, the Government of Paris had the energy to consider the issue of expansion. However, they were still not ready to go to war with Austria.
Although hegemony in Europe was important, the prerequisite was that one's own strength was strong enough to keep the fruits of victory. Ever since the annexation of the Regions of Italy, France had begun a long life of farming.
They were originally planning to wait until both Prussia and France suffered losses before expanding into Central Europe and taking over the coal mines that France needed the most.
Napoleon Iv believed that after both Prussia and France suffered heavy losses, Austria would not be able to stop them from taking this step. Otherwise, France would not have the chance to annex the Regions of Italy.
According to the plan, with the Rhine River as the boundary, France would take over Belgium, Luxembourg, the Rhineland, and other areas, and use the remaining territory of the German Federal Empire to appease Austria.
It wasn't that they were afraid of Austria, it was a tactic. In military terms, it was to cut off the enemy's wings.
Without Belgium and the German Federal Empire, when the Fao War broke out in the future, Austria would lose two allies, which would increase the chances of France winning.
After digesting these regions, France's shortcomings would be made up, and they would then defeat Austria to seize the hegemony of Europe. It could be said to be a perfect strategy.
In terms of military affairs, Napoleon Iv had a psychological advantage. His ancestor, Napoleon, was awesome. He beat up the entire European continent and almost won. There was no reason that he couldn't do it when it was his turn.
The current situation was much better than before. The Regions of Italy had been occupied, and Spain was their ally. Prussia and Russia had suffered heavy losses because of the war.
There were not many independent countries left. Other than Austria, there was no one who could fight. Basically, they could be ignored. There was no reason that they couldn't win in a one-on-one fight.
However, the plan was not as fast as the changes. Seeing the number of casualties in the war between Prussia and Russia, Napoleon Iv's dream of hegemony was shaken for the first time.
It couldn't be helped. As an old rival, the Government of France still had a deep understanding of Austria. The large number of reserve troops couldn't be hidden from their eyes.
Originally, Napoleon Iv didn't take the reserve troops seriously. No matter how many people there were, in front of the French Army, they could be easily defeated.
The war between Prussia and Russia changed his view. The Government of Paris also sent a military observer group, and the cruel reality told them that the reserve troops could also fight.
As long as they were equipped with qualified officers, the reserve troops could be quickly organized. Their combat power was only slightly worse than the regular army, and the flaws in quality could be completely made up for with quantity.
Considering the number of France's regular army, Napoleon Iv felt that it might not be enough. If they really fought with Austria, their precious Army was likely to be overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers.
If they expanded their army, the French Army's advantage in combat power would no longer exist.
If the war couldn't be ended quickly, the shit stirrer across the strait would intervene. Even if they managed to win the war in the end, France wouldn't have the power to dominate Europe.
There was nothing wrong with it. When the Fao and France made their strategic plans, they both categorized the British as the enemy because the risk of being allies with them was equally great.
The original plan failed, and Napoleon Iv was hesitating whether to continue the "strategic plan to cut off the enemy's wings" or to change it.
As for agreeing to the British to support the establishment of the North German Empire, that was a joke. If they didn't show goodwill, how could they numb them?
Most of the German Federal Empire's army was used to guard against France, and the other areas were almost undefended. It was as if they believed that no one but France would invade them.
It turned out that this judgment seemed to be correct. Prussia and Austria wouldn't invade the German Confederation, and Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland couldn't beat them. The only threat was France.
Without waiting for Napoleon Iv to make a decision, the French people made the choice for him. The anti-war sentiment broke out again, and it started from Paris and spread to the rest of the world.
This was all because they were young and inexperienced, or else Napoleon Iv would have thought of it a long time ago. The various European thoughts, new ideas, and new ideologies didn't start from Paris. The "Holy Land" wasn't just for show.
Napoleon Iv should be thankful that he didn't act ahead of time, or else the anti-war sentiment would break out and the French people would teach him a lesson.
In a sense, Austria also missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They had never been so close to the hegemony of Europe.
If Franz knew the French's plan, he would definitely think of a way to delay the exposure of the casualties of Prussia and Russia until the French took action.
Everyone knew that the combat power of the army was closely related to the thoughts of the people. The French army was undoubtedly the weakest in the anti-war sentiment.
When the French army invaded the German Region, it was only the French army that was affected by the anti-war sentiment. The German Confederation's army was defending the country, and the soldiers wouldn't clamor against the war.
The Austrian army was also unaffected to defend the territorial integrity of the German Region. That was the national righteousness. No matter how anti-war they were, they couldn't not fight back when the enemy attacked.
Anyone who studied French history knew that when there was a wave of ideas, it was often a period of rapid dissemination of revolutionary ideas.
In the context of the anti-war sentiment, if the French army at the frontlines suffered another major defeat, they might start a revolution again.
The success or failure of the revolution wasn't important, the most important thing was that revolutionary ideas were contagious. As long as there was an internal revolution, the great France Empire would be finished.
The Italians were also passionate about independence. With the internal revolution in France and the Fao War, it would be hard for the Italians not to break out.
With so many people holding them back, not to mention Napoleon Iv, even Napoleon himself wouldn't be able to turn the situation around.
If they won the Fao War, it would be hard for the German Region to not be unified. At that point, no one could stop it except for God.
Once the German Region was unified, the hegemony of Europe was set in stone. Even if France and Russia could recover, it would be a matter of ten or twenty years later.
Such a long time was enough for many things to happen, such as making the Regions of Italy independent, pulling Spain over, or establishing a union to tie Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the Nordic Federation to the same boat.
There were no ifs in reality. The sulking Napoleon Iv still didn't know that the anti-war sentiment that made him depressed had saved his dynasty.
…
The Foreign Affairs Minister Dumbledore reported, "Your Majesty, the Government of Vienna sent us a diplomatic note, hoping to lead the drafting of a 'European Armaments Convention' with us to avoid another European Continental War."
It had to be said that it was a good time to limit the armaments of the army. The Prussian War had just ended, and everyone was still immersed in the loss of "eight million."
The anti-war sentiment was still spreading. Whether it was the people or the politicians, everyone's fear of war was at its peak.
Hearing this news, Napoleon Iv's depressed mood was slightly relieved. He pretended to be disdainful and said, "The Austrians are afraid just like that. It seems that they really don't have much courage!"
Everyone was a wily old fox and could naturally see that Napoleon Iv didn't mean what he said. They were all normal people. After seeing the cruelty of the Prussian War, who wouldn't be afraid?
The most typical example was the members of the military observer group that were sent out. Many members of the pro-war faction had personally experienced the cruelty of war and became the vanguard of the anti-war movement.
It wasn't that they were afraid of war. It could only be said that they had matured and become rational. They knew how to weigh the pros and cons.
After easing his depressed mood, Napoleon Iv continued to ask, "What else? Austria isn't short of money now. They can't just limit their armaments for world peace, right?"
When he mentioned the words "not short of money," Napoleon Iv was a little unnatural. He couldn't help it. He was jealous. The richest countries in the world were Britain and Austria.
Although France was one of the three major countries, it had fallen behind in terms of financial resources. Although France's revenue was not less than Britain and Austria's, that was because everyone's calculation method was different.
Taking Austria as an example, the central government's finance and the state government's finance were separate. There were only a few kinds of taxes included in the revenue, and most of the revenue stayed in the hands of the state government.
Britannia was the same. The Government of London's tax revenue was also separate. Otherwise, the navy would take half of the annual revenue of only 70 to 80 million pounds, and the rest would not even be enough to pay for the salaries of public servants.
Not to mention, the Indian colony alone spent tens of millions of pounds a year in maintenance costs. The British Empire's colonial expenses were an astronomical figure.
On the surface, France's revenue was the highest, almost the sum of Britain and Austria's, but in fact, they were the poorest.
The high revenue was the result of the unified central financial settlement. All expenses needed to be allocated by the central government. It seemed that the government had a lot of money, but in fact, it was just a pass-through.
Foreign Minister Dumbledore replied, "The embassy in Vienna has news that the Austrian Navy submitted a military expansion plan to the government not long ago, and it has entered the government's discussion stage.
Perhaps stimulated by the Prussian war, the Austrians gave up on the European continent. Their proposal to limit the army's armaments at this time may be a precursor to shifting their strategic focus to the sea. "
Napoleon Iv did not find it strange that Austria's strategic focus was shifting outward. In fact, there were also people in the Government of Paris who proposed to give up on the European continent and shift their strategic focus to the sea.
"Do you think we need to follow up?"
Without a doubt, the follow-up result was to agree to Austria's proposal. Everyone would limit the size of the army and invest the saved money into the navy.
The Minister of the Navy, Hamdi Harbaoui, answered first, "Your Majesty, the European continent is too small. There are more than a dozen countries in a corner of it. The world's most powerful countries are gathered here.
It is too difficult to make a difference on the European continent. We can get ten times or even a hundred times more benefits with the same investment of resources overseas.
Facts have proven that the future of the world lies in the sea. Whoever controls the sea controls the world. "
"If your so-called benefit is territory, then I have nothing to say. The cost of expanding on the European continent is more than enough to get ten times the size of the colonies overseas.
It's just that there are differences between lands. How can the land of the colonies be compared to the land of the European continent? "The Minister of War, Patrice McMahon, retorted.
Value theory. This was the most common view. Almost all Europeans felt that the land of Europe was more valuable.
The Minister of the Navy, Hamdi Harbaoui, shook his head. "The land overseas is not worse than Europe, but it has not been developed. All the resources we need can be obtained overseas, but it is impossible on the European continent.
Even if it cannot be developed and the value of the overseas colonies is reduced, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. With the same investment, the benefits from the overseas colonies are definitely more than the expansion on the European continent. "
This was a fact. The investment on the European continent might not necessarily have a return, but the overseas colonial expansion would basically have a return.
On the European continent, France had to be cautious. If they were not careful, they would be ganged up on. The Government of Paris did not even dare to take a big step.
It was different overseas. France's strength was overwhelming overseas. Basically, it could not meet a decent opponent. Its only competitors were a few colonial empires.
Compared to the fear on the European continent, overseas could start a fight with a word of disagreement. Anyway, there were plenty of colonial conflicts. As long as they did not play too hard, it would not cause a war.
…
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