Chapter 342

After returning to the European continent, Stephen and Gallipoli went their separate ways. One wanted to run for independence, while the other wanted to find a place to observe the situation.

Stephen and the others didn't return to Hungary immediately. The experience of exile told them that they had to be careful. Any carelessness could be fatal.

Although more than ten years had passed and everyone had undergone earth-shaking changes, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be recognized by acquaintances.

Once the news got out, they would all be wiped out. In Montenegro Principality, Stephen and the others got off the ship and disguised themselves as merchants to inspect the market in Montenegro.

Then they sent a few young people who had never been to Austria to enter the Hungarian region to collect intelligence.

Adversity was the easiest for people to grow. The current Hungarian independence organization was different from more than ten years ago. Not only did they learn to know themselves and their enemies, but their ability to survive also improved by N levels.

…

When a large wave of rebels swept across the European continent, the Prussian War was coming to an end. Fortunately, at this time, the Tsarist government made a timely move.

This couldn't be considered timely. As early as more than two months ago, the Tsarist government should have made a move. Unfortunately, the Russians wanted to suppress the Polish rebellion first, and then deal with the people of Prussia.

As a result, the Polish rebels were defeated, but the rebellion still continued. There were too many supporters behind the Polish rebellion, and the strength of the rebels exceeded the expectations of the Russians.

It was easy to defeat them, but it was difficult to eliminate them. The existence of the Polish rebellion bought time for the people of Prussia.

Until the Danes couldn't hold on any longer, the Tsarist government had to make a move. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Denmark would fall, and the Russian Empire would lose all face.

On December 28, 1864, the Tsarist government issued a war ultimatum to the Kingdom of Prussia, ordering them to withdraw from Denmark within 24 hours.

Berlin. Although they were mentally prepared, when the day really came, the Government of Prussia still felt pressured.

This time, the enemy was the overlord of Europe – the Russian Empire. The Danes couldn't be compared to it at all.

Now that things had come to this, they could no longer retreat. Otherwise, not only would they offend the Russians, but they would also offend the British and French who secretly supported them.

William I couldn't be bothered with the military. If they lost this war, even if the Russians didn't swallow Prussia, they would at least bite them.

"Are you ready? Are you confident that you can defeat the Russians?"

Minister Ron replied, "We have completed the national mobilization. All the reserves have been demobilized, and 427,000 Prussia troops are ready to fight.

The most important thing now is to get more loans from England and France. As long as we solve the funding problem, we can waste time with the Russians. "

It was true that the Kingdom of Prussia had mobilized 427,000 soldiers, but it did not mean that all of them could be used in the war against Russia.

It was also a tragedy that neighbors were too powerful. Any one of the three neighbors had the power to kill them, so the Prussian government had to be careful.

Even if they needed them to attack the Russians, the FAO and Russia wouldn't do anything to them for the time being. But what if the war was over?

Even if they needed them to attack the Russians, the FAO and Russia wouldn't do anything to them for the time being. But what if the war was over?

Whether it was a defeat or a victory, it was likely that the Fao and Russia would attack them.

Needless to say, if they were defeated, the Russians would want to eat meat, and the FAO and Russia would also eat meat. The Kingdom of Prussia wouldn't be able to get away without paying a heavy price.

Winning this war didn't mean victory. The Tsarist government still had the strength to make a comeback. There was still a long way to go!

The European continent was too small to accommodate so many powerful countries. The Fao and Russia didn't want to see a strong Prussia appear.

After defeating the Russians, the Kingdom of Prussia would no longer play its role. It was normal to be stabbed in the back.

It was a necessary precaution. The Government of Prussia had to prepare in advance. In case of an accident, they had to have time to react.

With so many practical problems in front of them, the military of Prussia naturally didn't dare to take risks. Not only did they have to win, but they also had to minimize their losses as much as possible so that they could deal with the FAO and Russia after the war.

In this era, the international environment of the Kingdom of Prussia was much worse than in history. There were too few choices for them.

Historically, Bismarck was able to lead Prussia to unify Germany. That was based on the premise that the Russians lost the Crimean War and Austria lost the FAO War.

The situation was completely different now. The FAO War wasn't fought at all. The Kingdom of Sardinia wanted to use ceding territory to tempt the French to send troops to attack Austria. However, the Government of Vienna directly threw the entire Kingdom of Sardinia out.

France, who had taken over the Kingdom of Sardinia, seemed to be making a lot of money on the surface. In fact, it had fallen into a strategic passive state and was isolated by the European countries.

To some extent, this was also a good thing for the Kingdom of Prussia. The French, who were in a difficult diplomatic situation, didn't dare to have any ideas about the Rhineland in the short term. The pressure on their national defense was greatly reduced.

The arrogant Russians were different. Even though they suffered more losses in the Near East War than the Crimean War in history, the problem was that they won the war!

The people of Russia weren't afraid of heavy losses. The Tsarist government occupied Constantinople. The people of all walks of life were very satisfied, and the losses were directly ignored.

The combat power of the Tsar army that had been baptized by the flames of war was also incomparable to that of history. Not only were their weapons and equipment better than those of the same period in history, but the morale of the army was also incomparable.

It was not surprising that the military of Prussia chose to play conservatively. After all, the Tsarist government didn't lack soldiers. They also had the Russo-Austrian Alliance. Even if Austria didn't support the Russians, it didn't stop them from selling arms.

Under such circumstances, it was obviously unwise to fight head-on with the Russians. It didn't matter if the Tsarist government lost three to five times, but the people of Prussia were finished if they lost once.

War wasn't child's play. Whether it was Ron or Mao Qi, they were the best military strategists of this era. Their goal wasn't just to win one battle, but to win the war.

The biggest weakness of the Tsarist government was poverty. Prussia had a financial backer, and the first to collapse would definitely be the people of Russia.

Prime Minister Frank raised a question: "How can we guarantee that we can stop the Russians? From a practical point of view, we need to defend the country from the enemy.

You all know what kind of trash the Cossack cavalry is. If they are allowed to enter the country and cause damage, the consequences will be unimaginable. "

This was the most troublesome problem. The border between Prussia and Russia was too long, and the Bord Plain was a flat plain. These areas were the foundation of the Juncker nobles, and they couldn't afford to lose them.

Not to mention the Russian Army, even if thousands of cavalry rushed in to cause damage, the Government of Berlin couldn't afford to lose them.

Mao Qi said with a serious face: "Fortify the walls and clear the fields. Move all the people within 50 kilometers of the Prussia border to the rear.

Let's carry out a second mobilization and increase the length of service for the soldiers to five years. The age of service will be adjusted to 16 to 55 years old. We will be able to add another 300,000 soldiers and train them to deal with the Russian army. "

Everyone's expression changed greatly. Taking over and clearing the fields was easy to say. If they really did it, then they would have to pay a heavy price.

The Kingdom of Prussia wasn't big. Retreating 50 kilometers was easy, but in reality, it meant moving millions of people, and one-fifth of the country would be reduced to white land.

William said seriously: "That's impossible. Your plan to fortify the walls and clear the fields is already beyond what we can bear. If you really do this, the first to collapse will be us, not the Russians. "

Mao Qi sighed: "If that's the case, we can only take the risk and try to place the battlefield in Poland."

In this era, trenches and barbed wire hadn't appeared yet. Without such cheap defensive facilities, and the Prussia border was so long, they could only build fortifications in key areas.

The enemy's main forces didn't dare to go around these fortifications and attack in depth, but small forces were different.

Of course, it wasn't that there were no fortifications in the rear. The nobles' castles were the best strongholds, and it wouldn't be a problem to deal with small forces without heavy firepower.

The main reason for fortifying the walls and clearing the fields was to reduce personnel losses. After all, it was impossible to let the people stay in the castle all the time. Everyone also needed to live.

The cavalry came and went like the wind. Even if they were notified, it would take time to prepare. Retreating 50 kilometers was to buy this time.

William hesitated. The biggest risk of taking the risk wasn't military. Now that the Polish independence organization was an ally of Prussia, even if the war was fought in Poland, they still had the support of the people.

The trouble was that they angered the Russians and turned the local war into a full-scale war between the two countries. The biggest problem was that after completing the military reform, they hadn't experienced a war, so they didn't have the confidence to fight.

Prime Minister Frank said: "Your Majesty, we've already come this far, why are you still overcautious?

If we win this war, the independent Poland will be a buffer between Prussia and Russia in the future. If we lose this war, the Kingdom of Prussia will lose its future. "

As a prime minister of the Juncker nobility, he still stood on the side of the Juncker nobles. No matter what, the interests of the class had to be preserved.

The Kingdom of Prussia's path of retreat was blocked, but the Juncker nobles' path of retreat still existed. These nobles who could fight were still very popular in this era and didn't need to worry about their future.

William nodded fiercely and said: "Don't worry and boldly do it!"

Since things had come to this, he decided to take a big gamble. Placing the battlefield in the Russian Poland region would not only reduce their losses, but also give them a chance to bite a piece of meat from the Russians after the war.

The British supported their expansion in the Baltic Sea region, so the German Region didn't have a chance to expand. Expanding to the east was the only choice.

The European countries wouldn't mind seeing the birth of a Prussia empire that would fight Russia to the death. Since they accepted the responsibility of surrounding the Russian Empire, John Bull wouldn't let Prussia be finished.

Prime Minister Frank suggested: "Your Majesty, we need to find more supporters, at least let the Austrians maintain a neutral position.

A Russian Empire with the support of Austria is completely different from a Russia without Austria's support. We can't be enemies with two empires at the same time. "

Since it was a war of attrition, they naturally had to consider the strength of both sides. Austria might not be as rich as Britain and France, but Austria's industrial strength wasn't any weaker than France's.

Reinforcements didn't necessarily need money, resources could also play a role. As long as there was enough food, ammunition, and necessary military supplies, the Russians could continue to hold on.

In this era, most of the conscripts in Europe didn't have salaries, and the noble officers could also owe their salaries. They wouldn't go on strike because the king couldn't pay them.

William thought for a moment and said: "Well, send someone to talk to the Government of Vienna. As long as it isn't a core issue, we can discuss it."

…

In Vienna, Franz still didn't know that Austria had once again become the focus of contention. At this time, both Prussia and Russia needed Austria's support.

Geopolitics was always a topic that couldn't be avoided. Austria, which was close at hand, could play a role that Britain and France, which were thousands of miles away, couldn't.

He was still worried about the letter in his hand. Massimiliano, who was in trouble, finally knew to ask for help, and then Franz was in a difficult position.

The war between Prussia and Russia was about to start, and the Government of Vienna had to pay attention to it. The American Civil War was about to end, and Austria's power in the American region had to be involved in the subsequent intervention.

If they interfered in Mexico's internal affairs, it would simply be killing them.

It was a bit unreasonable to directly refuse. After all, the simple Massimiliano thought that diplomatic support was enough, but he didn't know that behind every diplomatic support was a game of power.

Diplomacy without the support of power was not even worth mentioning. After hesitating again and again, Franz decided to give Massimiliano some chicken soup for the soul and let him fight on his own.

As a good brother, Franz still gave something useful.

He deeply analyzed the internal contradictions of the Mexican Empire and suggested that Massimiliano should first win over the constitutionalists and establish a stable government, and the issue of reform would be dealt with later.

It was easier if he didn't have money, and he could boldly ask for a loan from the French. Roads, financial revenues, mines … as long as the price was right, everything could be mortgaged.

Franz couldn't control whether he listened or not. Anyway, the suggestion was given. Although it couldn't make the Mexican Empire stronger, it could at least ensure that Massimiliano's throne was stable.

It increased the difficulty of future reform, but Franz directly ignored it. In the face of survival, all other factors could be abandoned.

The person who owed money was the boss. Although it might not be applicable in this era, at least it could ensure that Napoleon Iii wouldn't easily give up his support.

The issue of paying off the debt had to wait until he was stable on the throne. If he was ousted midway, these debts would have nothing to do with Massimiliano.

The loaner was the Mexican government, not Massimiliano himself. If he was ousted by the enemy, then leaving them a mess would be a small revenge.