Chapter 441

Apart from calling for restraint on both sides, the Government of Vienna did not take any actual actions at all. They acted as if it had nothing to do with them. The condemnation from the European countries also stopped at lip service.

After all, there were not many countries that dared to provoke the Russians these days.

It was fine to let everyone shout slogans, but if they really wanted to interfere, then they could save it! This kind of fearless international spirit was not something that ordinary countries could afford.

London

The Government of the United Kingdom, which had just rejoiced at the success of the first step of the "Divert Disaster Plan," did not have time to be happy for a few days before they received the bad news of the Russian Army ravaging France.

Yes, Prime Minister Robert Cecil was furious. If the Russians continued to toss and turn, France, which was already half-dead, would really die.

If Robert Cecil did not still have his rationality, he would have ordered the Royal Navy to block the Baltic Sea and intercept the Russians escorting the French laborers.

The main reason was that blocking the Baltic Sea was ineffective. Even if the Baltic Sea was blocked, the Russians could still go through the Mediterranean Sea or simply borrow Shinra's railway transportation system.

For the sake of the overall situation, Robert Cecil had to choose to restrain himself. After all, if he intensified the conflict between Britain and Russia at this time, the strategy of diverting disaster would be useless.

The current international situation was very clear. Once the Holy Roman Empire shifted its attention from the mainland to the sea, Britannia's biggest challenge would come.

If they did not first cut down the Russians, Britannia would really be done for.

They had to fight with Shinra on the sea, and on land, they had to fight with the Russians for India. Just thinking about it was enough to know how terrifying the scene was.

But no matter how much he restrained himself, it was difficult to quench the anger in Robert Cecil's heart. Without the French, who else could Britannia find as cannon fodder?

The Russians?

Just look at the Russo-Austrian Alliance. The previous presidents spent decades but failed to break it up. Robert Cecil did not think he could make the two countries fight.

If Shinra and Britannia really fought, the possibility of the Tsarist government taking the opportunity to attack India was a hundred times higher than the probability of the Tsarist government attacking Europe.

The Spanish?

It wasn't that Robert Cecil was looking down on others, but the Salted Duck Empire was just a salted duck no matter how he looked at it. The empire had long flown to god knows where.

Without the empire's salted duck, it was just a dish on the dining table. Even if it was brought over, it would be an additional meal for the enemy.

Neither of these two countries could do it. They couldn't possibly go to Sardinia, Belgium, Switzerland … those small countries, right?

As a qualified politician, Robert Cecil was not with with illusions. "With a wave of my arm, heroes gather." That was a novel. Even Britain at its peak did not have that kind of appeal, let alone now.

Just based on the word "geopolitics" alone, it was destined that the small countries on the European continent would not stand up and fight against Shinro. Instead, they might be coerced by Shinro into declaring war on Great Britain.

A similar scene had occurred in the previous war against France. In order to make up the numbers, the Vienna government used all kinds of coercion and temptation.

The only three neutral countries avoided the war because they were not bordering France and did not affect the overall situation.

The current Holy Roman Empire and the "New Shinra" of the past could not be mentioned in the same breath. The Viennese government could muster up a band of minions to beat up France at dusk, much less now.

As long as the European continent was not in chaos, the Holy Roman Empire could gather the resources of Asia, Europe, and Africa. In the face of such an opponent, even if Britannia sat on the four seas, it did not know how to deal with it.

Today was different from the past. In the past, the national policy of the Government of the United Kingdom was to suppress the strong and suppress all threats. Now, Robert Cecil's goal had been reduced to: stabilize the situation.

The competitors were unprecedentedly strong. It was good enough to be able to maintain Britannia's maritime hegemony. Robert Cecil did not dare to ask for more.

"The Russians are so unscrupulous. As the Government of Vienna, as the gendarmerie of Europe, is it just going to sit back and do nothing?"

Although the title of "European gendarmerie" was domineering, it was not a good word to use on the Government of Vienna.

In the Conference of Vienna in 1815, Metternich controlled the pace of the conference through diplomatic means, limiting the Russians to Eastern Europe and squeezing Britannia out of the European continent.

Then, she roped in other countries to form the Holy Alliance, trying to maintain the balance of the monarchy and the European continent. Austria was once known as the "European gendarmerie."

However, the highlight was only for a moment. In the following years, Austria, as an old-school empire, went downhill.

The weak Austria could not afford to be beaten. In order to avoid becoming the target of public criticism, the Government of Vienna could only shift the blame to Russia.

The Government of Vienna did not dare to accept it, but the Tsarist government liked it very much. Since 1848, the Russian Empire had the reputation of "European gendarmerie."

Once again, they put the title of "European gendarmerie" on the head of the Government of Vienna, hoping that the Government of Vienna would follow in the footsteps of the past and continue to decline.

Foreign Minister Cameron: "I'm very sorry, Prime Minister. Although we have tried our best to build momentum, and even King Carlos went to the Palace of Vienna every day to block the door, the Government of Vienna was still unmoved.

It could be seen that the determination of the Government of Vienna to suppress France had reached an unshakable level. Even if it involved international prestige, they couldn't be shaken in the slightest.

From the current signs, the Russians were likely to have reached a political deal with the Government of Vienna, and France became the victim of this deal.

The Tsarist government used to suppress France as a bargaining chip in exchange for Vienna's understanding of their construction of the Siberian Railway, and also solved the labor problem needed by the railway.

The most direct evidence was that the logistical supplies of the Russian Army stationed in France were now provided by the Government of Vienna.

If the inference is correct, then we must pay more attention to the Tsarist government while paying attention to the Holy Roman Empire.

This was a mistake in our previous work. We underestimated the cunning of the Russians, so they took advantage of us. "

For Britannia, the process of how Russia and Austria hooked up was not important. The key was the final result. The Government of Vienna did support the actions of the Russians.

Everything else could be deceived, but the fact that the Government of Vienna provided supplies to the Russian Army couldn't be deceived.

After calming down, Robert Cecil waved his hand and said, "This is not your responsibility. We all underestimated the Tsarist government.

No one would have thought that the damn Russians could be so ruthless when it came to politics.

If they were as capable as they are now, the situation in Europe wouldn't be the way it is now. "

Diplomacy had always been the shortcoming of the Russians. The impression that the Tsarist government left on the European world was that they were unreasonable.

Even Alexander III, who was known as "the most diplomatic Tsar," actually only eased the relationship with the European countries and allowed the Russian Empire to be accepted by the European world.

The biggest diplomatic achievement was probably the further consolidation of the Russo-Austrian Alliance. This made the economic ties between Russia and Shinra tighter, completely eliminating the threat of the Western Front.

To be fair, this was indeed a great diplomatic achievement. With the economic ties, the interests of Russia and Shinra were intertwined. The current situation was that if one party was finished, the other party would also suffer.

Other European countries had to worry about the threat brought by the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, but the Tsarist government could completely ignore it.

The interests of the two countries were too involved. If the Holy Roman Empire wanted to go to war with the Russian Empire, the first knife would have to cut itself first.

No normal person would like to "harm themselves." Before the two countries' economies separated, the Tsarist government didn't need to worry about the threat from Europe and could boldly move south or east.

At this point, there was not much the Government of the United Kingdom could do other than comfort themselves. Unless they could give up the conspiracy against the Russian Empire and stop the Siberian Railway construction plan.

Obviously, this was impossible. Although the Holy Roman Empire was the biggest threat to Britannia, the Russian Empire was the most direct threat to the British.

This was not a contradiction. Although the Holy Roman Empire was powerful, there was still a long way to go for its navy to surpass the Royal Navy.

Even if it did, it didn't mean that the two countries would immediately go to war.

As long as the Government of the United Kingdom didn't make the first move, then Shinra was more likely to slowly pull Britannia down through a long period of confrontation.

Running out to gamble the moment they had a slight advantage was something only a second-year middle schooler would do. A mature country would not blindly gamble on the fate of the country.

Compared to the long-term threat of the Holy Roman Empire, Russia was the immediate threat. It was only three to four years before the opening of the Central Asian Railway.

Based on the principle that every Tsar of the Russian Empire would inevitably start a foreign war, Robert Cecil didn't need to think to know what Russia's goal was.

They already had enough of an abnormal enemy like Shinra. Robert Cecil really didn't have the energy to play a friendly match with the Russians in India.

It was better to die than to die. For the sake of his own safety, he could only divert the disaster. Regardless of whether they could kill the Russians in the Far East, the Government of London had to try.

Minister of Finance Pavel: "The plan to use the Siberian Railway to consume Russia's national strength has failed by one-third, so the remaining two-thirds cannot be allowed to fail.

In any case, we must first let the Russians start the Siberian Railway project. French labor can only reduce the Tsarist government's investment in manpower, but the investment in financial and material resources is still indispensable.

With the railway project dragging them down, at least for the next few years, the Russians won't be able to compete with us for India.

At the same time, we must also increase the support for the French Resistance, the Polish Revolutionary Party, the Bulgarian Independence Organization, the Russian Revolutionary Party, and the Afghan guerrillas and other anti-Russian groups.

Regardless of whether they can succeed in the end, as long as they cause trouble, they can consume the strength of the Russians.

As long as they can drag it until the Siberian Railway is opened, the Russians will have a second strategic choice, and the situation will be very different. "

Reality was cruel. Since France was doomed to be unsalvageable, then they might as well give up. Anyway, it wasn't the first time they sold out their teammates, not to mention the French.

(Note: The British Chancellor of the Exchequer is divided into the First Chancellor and the Second Chancellor. The Prime Minister is also the First Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Second Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Chancellor who truly performs the duties.)