Chapter 498

In London, Prime Minister John Russell was very dissatisfied with the current situation in Europe.

The Government of Paris actually provided a loan to the Russians. Although the amount was not too big for the British, it was only a mere 100 million francs. But the political factors behind it were very scary.

Originally, everyone had agreed that Britain and France would contribute money and manpower together to support the Kingdom of Prussia and Russia in a proxy war.

Now on the battlefield, the Kingdom of Prussia had just encountered a crisis, and the French couldn't wait to hit them when they were down.

Perhaps from the Government of Paris's point of view, this was a timely stop to gain a greater return. From the standpoint of the British, Prime Minister John Russell could not tolerate it.

"The situation in Europe is deteriorating. France and Russia are moving closer. The position of the Government of Paris has changed. They have the intention to join forces with Russia to divide up Prussia.

Perhaps Austria will also be added. As long as France and Russia are willing to support Austria's annexation of the German Confederation, it will become the three countries dividing up the European continent.

This is the worst-case scenario. Russia, France, and Austria all have the strength to challenge us. If they divide up Europe, it will be even more difficult to restrict them.

For the strategic security of Britannia, we must prevent all of this from happening. "

John Russell had a strong sense of crisis. This seemed to be a common characteristic of the island countries and the source of their success.

The balance of the European continent was the national policy of the Government of London. Currently, the European continent was still in balance, but the three countries, which were growing stronger day by day, had seriously threatened their hegemonic position.

Originally, the Government of London was prepared to first suppress the Russians, and then use the Italian issue to provoke the conflict between the FAO and Russia, so that they would restrain each other on the European continent.

The plan never changed quickly. The conflict between the FAO and Russia had not been ignited, and the Russian Empire was about to break through the restrictions and control the Baltic Sea.

Foreign Minister Reslin analyzed, "Your Excellency, this time France and Russia are moving closer because the Tsarist government first made a concession.

The Russians supported the French annexation of the Rhineland, but in fact, they didn't have good intentions.

Austria, Belgium, Prussia, the German Confederation, and Spain had an agreement that if one side was invaded by France, they would defend together.

Even if the Russians supported the French, Russia and Austria were still allies. The Tsarist government couldn't send troops to help the French fight, right?

Nationalism was a double-edged sword. As long as we encouraged nationalism in the German Region, Vienna wouldn't sit idly by and watch the France annex the Rhineland.

There was also the Joint Defense Treaty. Although the French were strong, Austria was not weak either. Together with Spain, Belgium, Germany, and other countries, the French did not have much chance of winning.

Napoleon III was not a fool to take risks when there was no chance of success.

".

I think that the possibility of Russia, France, and Austria joining hands to divide up the European continent is almost zero. First of all, the spoils will not be evenly distributed.

The Russians had so little to gain that the Austrians could not afford to give up the German territories, and when the Russians had gained Prussian Poland, their advance was blocked by the Austrians.

Of course, if the Tsarist government wanted to, they could expand to Northern Europe. But Sweden wasn't a pushover, and it was impossible to succeed without paying a certain price.

Besides, it was just the Prussian-Russian war, and it was already so difficult. Would the Russians still have the ability to attack Sweden? "

This was a practical problem. Although the Russian Empire was strong, it was already showing signs of exhaustion. If it was the Russian Empire before the Near Eastern War, the Kingdom of Prussia would have received a lunch box.

The Tsarist government didn't rely on human wave tactics to crush Prussia. The main reason was that the government didn't have money. Increasing the number of troops at the frontline also meant increasing military expenses.

Fighting on the Bode Plain, there were rivers that could transport strategic resources. In theory, even if the Tsarist government sent millions of troops, they could still guarantee the supply of resources.

In a situation where they were exhausted, they would obviously suffer a great loss if they divided the European continent with Fao.

It was just the Polish region. It was enough to defeat the Kingdom of Prussia. There was no need to take the millet out of the fire.

"No, Raislin. These are all in theory. You have to understand that the Russian Empire is an autocratic government. As long as Tsar thinks it is feasible, it can become a reality.

We can't use rational reasoning as Tsar's decision. In fact, most of Russia's Tsar is irrational.

Fao is an autocratic government. As long as the Emperor makes the decision, they can immediately form an alliance. We can't give them any chance to get close. "

This wasn't Prime Minister John Russell being pessimistic, but a country's leader had to consider. For Britannia, there was no need to take any risks now. "Stability" was the most important.

No matter how far the Franco-Russian relationship went, it was always right to mess up their relationship.

They were the shit stirrer of Europe. Half of the conflicts in Europe over the past hundred years were caused by them, and now it was time to perform.

…

The Government of Berlin was obstructing, and the British were also sabotaging. Franz naturally couldn't stay idle.

If he was schemed against, he definitely had to fight back. However, the loan contract had been signed and naturally couldn't be torn up. The question of where to strike back had become a practical problem.

Alexander II Of Russia knew to use civilized means and secretly scheme within the rules. Franz naturally couldn't break the rules.

Supporting the conservatives of the Russian Empire?

Not appropriate!

This was because Russia's internal affairs were too deeply involved. Other than worsening the relationship between the two countries, it didn't have any effect. Franz didn't think that this group of people could fight against Alexander II Of Russia.

Secretly supporting the Revolutionary Party?

That was even more impossible. As an emperor, Franz and the Revolutionary Party were naturally in the opposing camp. He couldn't do things like supporting the enemy.

Moreover, the Russian Empire was in a very bad state. What if it was overthrown?

The decadent Tsarist government was Austria's best ally, and the new Russia was Austria's biggest threat. Franz didn't dare to take this risk.

Provoking the relationship between Russia and the European countries?

It didn't seem to be useful. There was no need for Franz to do anything. Now the Tsarist government had been gloriously isolated.

…

After thinking hard, Franz finally came to a helpless conclusion: In the context of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, he couldn't do anything to the Russians in a short period of time.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg suggested, "Your Majesty, the Tsarist government has made a request, hoping that we can help modify a batch of breech-loading rifles."

During the war, even the Tsarist government attached great importance to weapons and equipment. After personally experiencing the power of the breech-loading rifle, they had to abandon the front-loading rifle.

Modifying the front-loading rifle to the breech-loading rifle was naturally to save costs. In this regard, the Russo-Russian War wasn't without contributions. At least it made the Tsarist government learn to be frugal.

Modifying hundreds of thousands of rifles was only a small business. If it weren't for the political significance of the arms trade, the foreign ministries of the two countries wouldn't have to come forward to negotiate.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "Well, let them talk to the capitalists. We won't interfere with free trade.

Send someone to sell the breech-loading rifle production line to the Russians, and sell them the modified second-hand goods in our warehouse.

Remember to tell the Russians that the power of the breech-loading artillery is also more advantageous, and suggest that they purchase a batch for trial. "

Modifying the breech-loading rifle required time, and the officers and soldiers at the frontline certainly couldn't wait. In this case, of course, they could only buy from Austria.

This was the bonus of selling Arcana equipment to the Tsarist government during the Near East War. In addition to earning the matching service fees, when it came to purchasing equipment, the Russians had to choose Austria.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, the Tsarist government immediately placed an order with Austria to purchase strategic materials, mainly because they had the same standard system.

The road had been paved, and naturally, Franz couldn't let the Russians get rid of the influence of Arcana equipment in this weapons revolution. This was related to the future strategic layout.

If it was an era of peace, the Russians could naturally slowly upgrade their weapons and equipment, but the technical content of breech-loading weapons was too high, and it would only take a few more years.

No large country was willing to be controlled by others in terms of weapons and equipment for a long time. Alexander Ii Of Russia wasn't a mediocre person. If it weren't for the lack of money, he would probably have made a move on the military industry long ago.

Unfortunately, the Russians were unlucky. The last time they upgraded their weapons was during the Near East War. In order to save time, they made Arcana equipment mainstream in the army.

This time, they also encountered the Russo-Prussian War. War wouldn't wait for anyone, and Franz was prepared to force the Russians to sell Arcana equipment again.

If they wanted to get rid of the restrictions, did they know that the Tsarist government had a million troops? How much money would it cost to upgrade so many troops and replace the weapon production line?

If they didn't have money, they could just keep using it. Anyway, in terms of cost, directly purchasing Arcana equipment system wouldn't be much more expensive than independent research and development.

As for doing so, would they lose their independent research and development capabilities? This wasn't the concern of the Russian bureaucrats. It was better to think about how to make a fortune.

After two or three generations of using the Arcana equipment system, the Russians' weapons developers were almost useless. If they wanted to get rid of this situation in the future, they had to re-cultivate talents.

Franz finally understood why Alexander Ii Of Russia was always unhappy with Austria. Anyone would be unhappy when they encountered this kind of thing.

Unfortunately, this was an overt plot, just like how he plotted against Austria. Even if he knew it was a trap, Franz would still throw money into it. Now, the Tsarist government was the same.

It was impossible to ignore the frontline war needs in order to ensure the independence of the military industry, and let the soldiers bring outdated breech-loading equipment to the enemy, right?

This was really sending people to death. The breech-loading rifle could be shot while lying on the ground, but the breech-loading rifle could only be used as a firing tactic.

One only needed to think about it to know how badly they would be tortured if they encountered it on the battlefield.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained, "Your Majesty, we don't actually need to promote it. We just need to delay the speed of the modification.

Recently, the Prussia people have performed very well. Using the advantage of weapons and equipment, they have repeatedly hit the Russian Army in the field.

Although the Russians have the advantage of sea power and have been constantly attacking the coastal areas of the Kingdom of Prussia, they are not prepared enough to expand the results. "

This was the core of the problem. In theory, as long as the Russian Navy covered the landing of the land forces, it would only take a few months for the Kingdom of Prussia to collapse.

However, the Tsarist government wasn't prepared. The Navy did a good job attacking the coastal areas of the Kingdom of Prussia, but unfortunately, the land forces didn't follow up and expand the results.

The distance between Prussia and Russia wasn't far. It wasn't considered a sea expedition, but the necessary logistical supplies were still indispensable.

There was no doubt that the Tsarist government didn't have that many strategic supplies, or had no way to transport so many strategic supplies.

In order to supply the frontline troops, the Tsarist government had to buy and buy. This wasn't just because the Russian Empire lacked production capacity. The most important thing was that the traffic was too bad.

The Russian Poland area was one of their granaries. Most of the food supply in St. Peter's Castle came from there. Now that the land was lost, the Tsarist government naturally had to transfer food from other areas.

The railway was not smooth. It would take at least a month to transport the supplies from Ukraine and Moscow to the frontline with horse-drawn carts.

If it was winter, it would be even worse. It was possible that they would have to walk for two to three months. Such bad traffic not only increased the cost, but it also limited the amount of supplies transported.

The frontline troops could also import strategic supplies from neighboring Austria. However, it was impossible to fight across the sea. Even if they imported supplies from Austria, they had to make a big detour.

This was Russia's own fault. If they had sent the Navy to attack the coastal areas of Prussia at the beginning of the war, they could still use the rivers in the Polish area to transport supplies imported from Austria.

Now there was no need to think about it. Most of Russian Poland had fallen into the hands of the enemy. At this time, if they wanted to transport supplies, they would either have to go by land through the Belarus area or go by sea around the European continent.

No matter which route, it would limit the amount of supplies transported.

Originally, Russia could also buy strategic supplies from European countries. Unfortunately, no one would buy Russia's goods. Unless they took out real money, no one would do business with them.

Because of the financial problem, the Tsarist government couldn't purchase supplies from other countries. This was why Alexander Ii Of Russia was in a hurry to borrow money.

Only by solving the financial problem could they collect enough strategic supplies and display the advantages of the Navy.