Chapter 575

With the beginning of the anti-Semitic movement, the atmosphere on the European continent became more and more depressing, and anti-Semitic activities emerged one after another in various countries.

This was only among the people. The concern of the government was not anti-Semitism, but the Tsarist government taking the opportunity to get out of the financial crisis. The Russian Empire could only be called an empire when it had money.

In the Berlin palace, William I expressed that he was panicking. However, since William I was able to become "William the Great," he was naturally not lacking in shrewdness. He was panicking, but on the surface, he looked as if everything was under control.

The King's calmness made the Government of Berlin feel at ease. They were not fighting alone in this war. There was a large group of supporters behind them. As long as the big shots behind the scenes were willing to increase their investment, they had a chance of winning.

Under William I's signal, the Foreign Affairs Minister, McCkate, said, "After our diplomatic efforts, the Swedes have already made some moves.

As long as we win another big victory in next year's war, they are likely to stand on our side.

Now the Foreign Ministry is working hard on public relations with the Osman Empire. London and Paris have given a clear answer that they will push for the Osman Empire to join the war.

The British also promised to cause trouble for the Russians in Central Asia and the Far East.

We are also lobbying the British Parliament to let the Royal Navy blockade the Baltic Sea and cut off the sea transportation routes for the Russians.

… "

It sounded good, but in fact, from the perspective of workplace slang, it was almost the truth.

The Swedes were moved, but only the ordinary Swedish people were moved. King Carr XV still did not have the slightest intention of joining the war.

Of course, if the Kingdom of Prussia won the war against the Russian Empire, then the Swedish government did not mind joining in when they were down.

"Working hard on public relations with the Osman Empire." In other words, the Foreign Ministry had tried their best, but did not achieve any results.

Britain and France were pushing for the Osman Empire to join the war, but the Government of Sudan was still stubborn and continued to observe the situation.

"The British's promise" had always been bullsh * t. Just let it go. Don't have too much hope. This war still depended on Prussia.

"Lobbying the British Parliament." This was a project of the century. No one knew when the Parliament would pass the proposal.

In summary, they had many allies. As long as the military won the war against the Russians on the battlefield, these allies would help to divide the spoils.

Those who could attend the meeting were elites of the Kingdom of Prussia. Of course, they understood the meaning behind it, but everyone chose to play dumb.

If the senior officials were not confident of winning the war, then what would the people do? Whether it was to appease the people, or to fight, the war?

The Minister of War and Navy, Ron, said, "There's no hurry to rope in Sweden and Osman. As long as we keep winning, they will join us sooner or later.

However, the royal family had to seal off the Baltic Sea immediately. Only by cutting off the Russians' sea transportation routes will we have a chance of winning.

Compared to roping in allies to share the pressure, it was more likely to cut off the Russians' sea transportation routes. The English had always taken a firm stand on the subject of fighting the Russians.

Even if the Tsarist government had the money, it would be difficult for them to obtain enough strategic resources if the sea transportation was cut off.

Russia would become Prussia's best ally through land transportation, limiting the number of troops the Tsarist government could send.

In this era, the Russian Empire only had more than 3,000 kilometers of railway. Spain, the German Confederation, and Prussia all had more than that.

In the original World War, Russia's 70,000 kilometers of railway couldn't support millions of troops on the frontline, let alone now.

The Juncker nobles dared to challenge Russia because they knew that Russia's power was limited. If the Tsarist government could put millions of troops on the frontline, no country in the world except the Fao would be able to withstand it.

Foreign Minister Mckate explained, "It will take time. The British are still hesitating. They are worried that the blockade of the Baltic sea will …"

Ron interrupted rudely, "No matter what, the sooner we cut off the Russians' sea transportation, the more likely we will win next year's war.

The British are still not moving, or are the capitalists trying to make money from the war? What's there to say? We will take all the orders from the Russians.

Directly confront the Government of London. If they want us to win the war, they will immediately blockade the Baltic Sea.

If they don't want us to win the war, and we can't beat the Russians by ourselves, we might as well come to terms with the Russians while we're ahead.

At worst, we can sell the Poles, restore the pre-war border, and admit defeat to Russia. Let the Englishmen do what they like. "

Ron was fearless. The Kingdom of Prussia already owed hundreds of millions of pounds to the British. Only by winning the war could they pay it back.

If they lost the war, the Kingdom of Prussia wouldn't even exist. Who could they ask for money from?

If the British didn't want all their investments to go down the drain, then cutting off the Russians' sea transportation was their only choice.

Europe's political system had decided that these people dared to take a gamble. If they won, they would go one step further. If they lost, they would still be rich.

"Let's do it!"

William I made a decisive decision. He was a gambler when he was on the gambling table. If he wanted to be overcautious, it was better to give up early. War was not a child's play. Every chance of winning was very important.

…

In London, Prime Minister John Russell was embarrassed to find that unknowingly, they were actually tied to the people of Prussia.

Originally, they were only prepared to fight a proxy war, but as time went by, they invested more and more power.

Especially after the end of the Battle of East Prussia, they sold 30 million pounds of war bonds for the Government of Berlin. Now all the debts of Britain and Prussia actually exceeded 100 million pounds.

Most of the debt holders were ordinary people. If they didn't want to lose the next election, it was better not to let this debt become a bad debt.

Although the people of Prussia had mortgaged tariffs, railways, and mines, if the Kingdom of Prussia no longer existed, could these mortgages still be honored?

John Russell didn't think that the Russians, French, and Austrians would recognize these debts. Even if it was for their own interests, they had to keep the chess piece of Prussia.

"Sir Edward, is it difficult to block the Baltic Sea?" John Russell asked.

Edward, the First Lord of the Admiralty, replied confidently, "No, the Royal Navy has enough strength to complete this task."

It was just blocking the Baltic Sea, not asking them to rush into the Baltic Sea to kill the Russian Navy. For the Royal Navy, it really wasn't difficult.

Foreign Minister Rayslin said discontentedly, "Of course you have no problem. The Royal Navy can kill the Russians ten times over, but we have a big problem.

As a neutral country, we will inevitably bear great diplomatic and public pressure if we rashly intervene in this war. "

Once the Baltic Sea was blocked, the trade of many countries would be affected. In terms of diplomacy, they would inevitably have to bear the pressure from European countries.

The people of Prussia could accept orders from Britain and Russia, but it didn't mean that they had the strength to accept the orders from Russia in other countries.

Not all countries were easy to bully. If they offended someone now, they would definitely be retaliated in the future. This would bring great trouble to their diplomatic work in the future. Naturally, the Foreign Ministry became the scapegoat.

John Russell comforted him with a smile, "Sir Rayslin, this is just a small problem. I believe you can solve it.

As long as the great strategy of weakening the Russians is completed, the price paid now will be worth it. At least compared to the Near Eastern War, the cost we paid this time is much lower. "

Everyone looked at each other and smiled. There was no harm without comparison. In the Near Eastern War, the Government of London not only spent hundreds of millions of pounds on military expenses, but also lost a large number of troops. The most important thing was that they f * cking lost.

A war where both sides lost was a failure for the British. The situation now was much better. It was the people of Prussia who were fighting on the frontlines, and the money that was lent had to be returned.

As long as both sides lost, it would be a great victory for the British. If Prussia won the war, then they would make a lot of money.

Foreign Minister Rayslin said hesitantly, "The envoy to the Osman Empire has sent news that the Austrians are playing tricks over there. They seem to want to provoke a war between the Osman and Russia.

We have conducted in-depth analysis and did not find any benefits for Austria if a war broke out between the two countries.

If it is to weaken the Russians, as long as they slightly delay the transportation of supplies, it would be enough to cause heavy losses to the Russian Army. "

In this era, the Arabian Peninsula was a desert. At most, there was a herd of camels. It was not worth the attention of a big country.

Finance Minister Agarwal guessed, "Perhaps it has something to do with the Suez Canal. The Austrians want to take control of the Suez Canal and have started planning ahead of time."

Navy Minister Edward questioned, "But this doesn't make sense. Many experts in the country think that the Suez Canal is unnavigable.

Even if it is dug, it can only allow some small boats to pass. It has no strategic value at all. "

It was all the fault of the experts. The British had already organized experts to explore and the experts concluded that the Suez Canal could not be navigable.

This wrong conclusion directly affected the decision of the Government of London. When the Fao and Russia were digging the Suez Canal, the British threw themselves into the Suez Railway project.

Just like in history, until the Suez Canal was navigable, the British did not think that the Suez Canal had any value.

Finance Minister Agarwal said indifferently, "Who knows what the Government of Vienna is thinking. They dare to invest a large amount of money in the canal. Would they still worry about it not being navigable?

Of course, it might not be for the canal. Franz is the king of Leng. Maybe they want to recover the Holy Land. "

The latter explanation was obviously more reliable than the former. Austria had already obtained the Sinai Peninsula and half of the control of the Suez Canal. Even if they controlled the Red Sea, they could not continue to increase it.

In contrast, taking advantage of the war between the Osman and Russia to recapture the Jerusalem area was more convincing.

Colonial Minister Steve suggested, "In recent years, the Fao and Russia have been expanding very quickly on the African continent. We need to curb their actions.

In the African strategy of the Department of Colonization, there is also a plan to occupy Ethiopia. It just so happens that the Red Sea's gateway, the Mandeb Strait, is also there.

We can take action first and occupy Ethiopia. At the same time, we can interrupt the Austrian East Africa Strategy. "

The "East Africa Strategy" was a smokescreen released by Vienna. In order to cause trouble for Austria, the British had sold a lot of weapons to the indigenous countries in East Africa in recent years.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The progress of Austria's colonization slowed down. They did not rashly enter the East Africa region. Instead, they were consolidating their current achievements.

The world was almost divided up. The British Department of Colonization naturally did not want to be idle, so the African Colonization Plan was released.

Foreign Minister Reslin objected, "It's easy to block the Mandeb Strait, but if we really do it, we should be prepared to welcome the alliance between Vienna and Paris!

They are digging the Suez Canal at all costs to get rid of our control of the Strait of Gibraltar. Rashly interfering is bound to cause a fierce backlash from the Fao.

Before determining whether the Suez Canal has strategic value, it is not in our interest to go against the Fao and Russia in advance. "

The butterfly effect was powerful. In the original time and space, France was the only naval power in the Mediterranean Sea. The Royal Navy only obtained control of the Suez Canal after the Franco-Prussian War.

Now the situation was different. The Fao and Russia combined had the strength to challenge the Royal Navy. At least in the Mediterranean Sea, the Royal Navy had lost its advantage.

Moreover, the strait was different from the canal. The difficulty of controlling it was not on the same level. After all, it was dozens of kilometers wide. If they wanted to block the door, it would be the navy.

It looked tempting to lock the Fao and Russia in a big bathtub in the Mediterranean Sea. In reality, if it was not done well, it could ruin Britannia's maritime hegemony.

The Colonial Minister Steve retorted, "This situation is indeed possible, but as long as it is done well, we may not have to go against the Fao and Russia.

We are just planning ahead and preparing for a rainy day. When necessary, we can completely compromise. "

…