Chapter 623

The situation in Europe was chaotic. How could the United Kingdom be absent? The Government of London was very disappointed that the Fao conflict wasn't provoked.

However, Prime Minister John Russell wasn't worried. If there was a first, there would be a second. No matter what excuse the French had, it was a fact that they had their hands in Austria's back garden.

The seeds of conflict between the two countries had been sown. For the British, this was enough. Provoking the relationship between the Fao and Russia, making them oppose each other and contain each other was the best option in Britain's interest.

If they really fought, it wouldn't be a good thing. Or any war that broke the balance in Europe, the Government of London didn't want to see it.

Especially at a time when the Russian Empire was about to decline, the Fao and Russia would go to war. Whichever side won would be the new hegemon of the European continent.

Any European hegemon was the British's biggest enemy. There was no need for any reason. The national policy of the Government of London had always been so.

At 10 Downing Street, Foreign Minister Lesling walked into the conference room with a smile on his face. It could be seen that he was in a good mood.

John Russell said flatly, "Everyone is here. Then the meeting will begin. Sir Lesling, what's the good news? "

Foreign Minister Lesling replied with a smile, "We just received news that the Tsarist government intends to let the three Northern European countries be unified."

This was what the Government of London had been trying to do in recent years but hadn't been able to do it. The unification of the three Northern European countries was definitely not a good thing for the Russian Empire.

As long as they exported the great power doctrine, the unified Northern Europe was destined to stand on the opposite side of Russia. Who asked them to have a glorious history?

Looking at the history books, large territories such as Finland and the Baltic Sea region used to be their territories. Now that they were occupied by Russia, would the radicals still be able to sit still?

Of course, the three Northern European countries didn't have a large population. It was still far from threatening the Russian Empire, but it was still possible to contain part of the Russians' energy.

This was also the reason why the British were willing to support them. Anyway, no matter how Northern Europe developed, it wouldn't affect the interests of Britannia.

Under normal circumstances, the Russians wouldn't let the unification of Northern Europe. Now that they had done so, it meant that the Russians could not hold on any longer and had no choice but to compromise.

John Russell asked uncertainly: "Could it be that the Russians want to rope in Sweden and Norway to go to war with the Prussians to reduce the pressure on the battlefield?"

Foreign Affairs Minister Reslin replied, "This is the most ideal situation. In fact, the Tsarist government should be very clear that this situation is almost impossible.

The Berlin government had already made concessions and promised to withdraw from the Jutland peninsula, limiting its territorial claims to the two German duchies.

For Sweden, this is enough. If the two Germany were to join, Denmark wouldn't be able to say the same. Denmark wouldn't be. Denmark would be.

The Tsar's government only wanted to stabilize Sweden. Otherwise, they would not be able to hold on if the northern border flared up again. The United Kingdom is the Russians. the United Russia. Russia is Russia.

The fact that the Russians were on the run was the best news of all. . After this, the Russia Russia Russia Russia Russia Kingdom, Russia was Nations. "Russian Russian Russian Russian Would be."

If the plan went well, they might be able to get rid of this threat once and for all.

Prime Minister John Russell did not hesitate in the slightest and directly made a decision. "Activate our greatest influence and give the Russians another fatal blow.

Increase the aid to Prussia. Let the Osman Empire join the war as soon as possible. Also, mobilize the Far East.

If we can get Sweden to stab the Russians, the plan will be perfect. "

Obviously, John Russell didn't expect Sweden to join the war. If the Russians continued to oppose the merger of the three Northern European countries, it was very likely that the Swedes would stab the Russians.

Now it was almost impossible. The Swedish government had to consider the feelings of the Danes. Denmark and Russia were allies. Their enemy was the Kingdom of Prussia. This determined that Sweden couldn't join forces with Prussia.

…

"Since the implementation of the two-strong standard, the Royal Navy has been severely challenged. Currently, our navy is severely underfunded, and we can no longer suppress both the Fao and the FAO at the same time.

Not long ago, the Government of Paris allocated 120 million francs for the construction of ships. The exact plans are still unclear, but it is clear that this is aimed at the standards of our two great powers.

The Austrians had yet to respond, but according to past practice, the Government of Vienna would allocate 80-90% of the cost of the French artificial ships.

Our shipbuilding budget for this year has been used up. To maintain our current advantage, we must allocate another ten million pounds, "said Edward, the First Lord of the Admiralty.

Ten million pounds in this era was not the same as ten million pounds in the future. There were no more than ten countries in the world that had an annual revenue of more than ten million pounds.

Other than the British Royal Navy, there shouldn't be anyone else who dared to ask for so much money in one go.

The Fao and FAO could afford it, but they were both land-based countries. They had to take care of their land forces while developing their navies.

If it weren't for the British clamoring for the two-strong standard, the Government of Paris would not have suddenly increased the shipbuilding budget and ignited this arms race.

In this era, the total tonnage of the Fao Navy was almost the same as the Royal Navy, and the number of ironclads was even more.

Faced with the clamoring of the British, Napoleon Iii felt insulted. Even Franz in Vienna could not tolerate this provocation.

Oh, this was not just their personal feelings, to be more precise, it was the common feeling of the people of both countries.

Everyone wanted face, and the civil radical groups were clamoring to surpass the Royal Navy. Then there was no need to say anything, arms race!

It just so happened that Napoleon Iii needed to divert the people's attention, so that they would not keep staring at the mess of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.

Napoleon Iii also had the confidence to provoke an arms race. In the past decade or so, the French economy had stepped on the fast track, and last year's revenue surpassed the British by more than 18 million pounds. (including the Kingdom of Sardinia)

Of course, this was only the domestic revenue. If the colonies were included, the British were still more powerful. One had to know that the revenue of India alone was as high as 50 million pounds, and the British's pride was obvious.

However, Napoleon Iii was not afraid. He did not intend to let the French Navy surpass the Royal Navy right now, as long as the two navies of the Fao Navy combined could break the two-strong standard that the British clamored for.

Behind the anger, it also involved international political status. Once the two-strong standard of the Royal Navy was achieved, the British would have absolute dominance in overseas affairs.

This was something that the two countries of the Fao Navy could not tolerate. The French Navy was the second in the world, and the arrogant Parisian people were petitioning every day, so Napoleon Iii had to take the lead.

The Minister of Finance, Agarwal, glared at Edward fiercely, and had already cursed his family in his heart.

In his opinion, the Navy was a typical example of a person who did not know the cost of daily necessities. The "two-strong standard" looked tempting, but in fact, it was just looking for excitement.

The British's financial resources were indeed the strongest in the world, but the two countries of the Fao Navy were not weak either, and the difference in strength between them was not huge.

Just like the two-strong standard that the British clamored for in the original time and space, it was also being challenged, and even more severe.

Either of the two countries of the Fao Navy had the potential to challenge the hegemony of the Royal Navy. If it was not for the development of the land force, the position of the Royal Navy's hegemony on the sea would have long been unstable.

Agarwal said with a gloomy face, "No, this year's budget has already been determined. Now suddenly increasing the budget by 10 million pounds, the Ministry of Finance does not have the money. If you want the funds, you have to convince the parliament yourself! "

10 million pounds was indeed a lot, but for the Government of London, it was actually just a squeeze. Obviously, Agarwal was not going to be frugal and raise funds for the navy.

Secretary of the Navy Edward said angrily, "The Royal Navy is related to the fate of Britannia. If we can't guarantee an absolute advantage, once the two countries of the Fao Navy catch up, it will be too late to regret it!"

There were not so many reasons. The main purpose of the "two-strong standard" by the Navy was for funds. The threat of the two navies of the Fao Navy was, in fact, far from that.

Both were colonial empires, and most of the navies were scattered around the world. Every region was suppressed by the Royal Navy, so there was no threat.

Even if the Fao Navy joined forces, they would not be a match for the Royal Navy. The problem of the two navies cooperating on the battlefield could not be solved. In the case of fighting separately, they were not a match for the Royal Navy at all.

Minister of Finance Agarwal did not buy it, "So go to the parliament for money! Now the Ministry of Finance does not have the budget, and to temporarily increase the budget by a huge amount, it must be approved by the parliament. "

Without the support of the cabinet, it was not so easy for the Ministry of Navy to convince the parliament. Even if they used reason and emotion to persuade the people in the parliament to agree, the warships built by the French would have long been in service.

Just as Edward was about to argue, he was stopped by Prime Minister John Russell. Fighting for funds was a common thing. Basically, the Ministry of Finance had to go against each other every year.

Agarwal's actions were not wrong. He was completely following the rules. The Ministry of Navy temporarily increased the budget, so they must go to the parliament. The Ministry of Finance was not willing to ask for funds from the parliament, which was also in line with the rules.

"On the issue of increasing the warship funding, the Ministry of Navy will submit a bill to the parliament. The time is set for next Monday, and we will support the bill.

Sir Edward, the Ministry of Navy must be fully prepared to be questioned by the members of parliament. Is there a problem? "John Russell said.

This was a necessary process. As long as the parliament agreed to increase the budget, then the Ministry of Finance would be able to solve the funding problem through loans, bonds, or tax increases.

The arms race had just begun, and the Government of London had not yet felt the pressure. In the later stages, they would not be so relaxed.

Secretary of the Navy Edward replied, "No!"

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