Chapter 696

Japan wasn't close to the British Isles. Even if an agreement was reached immediately and the equipment was shipped from London, it would take two months.

Moreover, the armored troops were technical troops. They needed time to familiarize themselves with the equipment and basic training. It would be highly efficient if they could enter the battlefield within half a year.

For the current Russo-Japanese war, it was far away. If they wanted to quench their thirst, the Japanese Army still needed to work hard.

On this issue, no one could help. When it came to tactical command, the frontline officers were obviously better than the civil officials in the government.

Even the professionals couldn't handle it, let alone the amateurs. Japan's foundation was weak and couldn't withstand any setbacks. It wasn't the time to be willful.

Ito Hirobumi: "Although the Far East battlefield is a bit troublesome, it is still under our control.

According to the intelligence provided by the British, the Siberian Railway will only be opened in the second half of next year at the earliest.

Including the time it takes for the railway to open and integrate, it will probably only be put to use in early 1906. We still have enough time.

The problem is the international situation. The battle between Britannia and the Holy Roman Empire is getting more and more intense. Many things have been brought to the surface and they don't even bother to cover it up.

Who knows when they will start fighting. The Empire is too deeply tied to Britannia and now they are at war with Russia. Once the war for supremacy breaks out, we have no choice.

Although the Royal Navy has the absolute advantage and the British are in an invincible position, the Holy Roman Empire, which spanned across Asia, Europe, and Africa, has the same unshakeable land hegemony.

Both sides had their own absolute advantages. No one dared to make a rash conclusion about the final outcome of this battle for supremacy.

When two tigers fight, one will definitely be injured. For the other countries in the world, this should be a good thing.

However, the Empire is unlucky to have a war with Russia at this time. If we are not careful, we will be involved in the war for supremacy.

Looking at the current situation, Britannia and the Holy Roman Empire are likely to be unable to do anything to each other and will be forced to choose a truce.

They are powerful and it doesn't matter if they fight a war, but our countries that are involved will be unlucky.

Similar cases have happened before in history, just like our Warring States Period. "

Ito Hirobumi's worries weren't baseless. With Japan's national strength, if they were to participate in the fight for supremacy between Shenluo and Great Britain, the final result would definitely be a tragedy.

Even if the British won and stood on the winner's side, the fate that awaited them would definitely not be good.

There was no other reason other than their lack of strength. Just the Russians were enough to exhaust them. How could they have the strength to fight for territory elsewhere?

If they won, they wouldn't be able to get a share of the spoils of war. If they lost, they might lose everything. No one would be willing to participate in such a war for supremacy.

The Japanese government had no shortage of such lessons. Although "Japan's Warring States Period" was mostly about fighting in villages and towns, it was still feasible to learn from the experience of the ancients.

In the struggle for hegemony, the first unlucky ones were the minor dukes. The Japan would not only would but they would they would be able to Period, but but also the Wan. said. be.

If they suffered heavy casualties, they could only blame it on their bad luck. If he met a kind-hearted person, he might still take care of him and help him preserve the family's inheritance. If he met a ruthless person, he would be directly swallowed up by the main family.

The international situation is out of our control. The only thing the Empire can do now is to win the war. Prime Minister Katsura said, "Ito-kun, there is no need to think too much.

As for the war between the Holy Roman Empire and Britannia, we can only follow the situation and wait for an opportunity.

As long as the Empire controls the situation and doesn't get too involved, even if Shinra wins, the Government of Vienna won't go on an expedition to find trouble with the Empire.

What's more, from the current situation, it is more likely that both sides will suffer. The Empire isn't in much danger. "

Distance was the best moat. For Japan at this stage, being far away from the European continent was the biggest advantage.

No matter how fierce the war between Britain and Austria was, the main battlefield was in Europe. As long as the Government of Japan didn't get involved, it was very likely that they would be a bystander.

Even if the British boss was unhappy, the Russians would take the blame! Being busy with the Russo-Japanese war and unable to divert attention to the south was the best reason.

Restraining the Russians and reducing the pressure on Britannia in India was their greatest contribution to the Alliance.

Of course, the premise for Katsura to come to this conclusion was that the British and Russians didn't collude.

If the Russians sided with the British, they had no choice but to end the war and go south.

After all, the British money wasn't easy to take. Since they took the money, they had to pay it back with their lives.

…

Even the Japanese government, which was thousands of miles away, was feeling the pressure, let alone the European countries that were facing the storm.

It was the season of choosing sides that happened once in a few decades. At this point, everyone had to make a choice.

"Choice is greater than effort" was also applicable to countries. Once this step was taken, it would be difficult to turn back.

In the next few decades, whether or not they would be able to "eat well, drink well" or "eat poorly" would depend on the results of this round of bets.

Paris, since the end of the European War, this international metropolis had fallen to a second-tier city, and its international presence was getting smaller and smaller.

In the past, when the Government of Paris stomped its foot, the Earth would shake three times, no longer existed.

Now there was only a Bourbon Dynasty that was struggling to survive, and there was no trace of the arrogance of the former European overlords.

Not only did the government lose its momentum, but even the people also lost confidence, and there was no trace of the arrogance of the past.

The Holy Land of Revolution, which was originally active, was now like a pool of stagnant water. With the end of the war, the golden age of hundreds of schools of thought came to an end.

The blood-boiling and passionate campus debates no longer existed, and the passionate and romantic Paris streets were nowhere to be seen.

It was unknown when it started, but the people in Paris were not keen on discussing politics. International events and news were not as attractive as the store discounts.

The former capital of newspapers had now fallen to the point where newspapers were no longer available. It was as if the people didn't like to read newspapers anymore.

The scene before him cast a shadow over the depths of Lloyd George's heart as he carried out his mission.

The vibrant Paris no longer existed, and now there was only a group of walking corpses that only wanted to survive.

He asked himself, could such a France bear the heavy responsibility of "Anti- Shinra"?

Lloyd George himself wasn't sure. But since he was already here, regardless of whether he could do it or not, the work had to continue.

No one thought that the Government of Vienna would react so fiercely to Britannia's withdrawal from the free trade system, directly piercing the last layer of window paper between the two countries.

The smell of gunpowder in Europe suddenly became strong, but Britannia's strategic plan had just begun.

Seeing that the steps of the war were approaching, the flag of the anti- "Shinra" alliance had not been able to be raised yet.

The reserved main force, Mao Xiong, was currently busy fighting to the death with another teammate, Japan. The internal problem had not been solved, how could they talk about anti- Shinra?

But time waited for no man, the arms race had fully erupted, and Shinra and Britannia were now in the dumpling competition.

Even if the war broke out tomorrow, Lloyd George wouldn't be surprised.

In order to increase the odds of winning in the war, the Government of the United Kingdom was trying its best to rope in allies at the moment. Whether it was a powerful faction or a bystander, as long as it could be roped in, the more the better.

In the view of the Government of the United Kingdom, "Even a rotten ship has three pounds of nails." Not to mention the once powerful France Empire. No matter how much it declined, it wasn't something that a small country could compare with.

In a sense, the Government of the United Kingdom's judgment was not wrong. At the moment, France was still a "big country" with a population of more than ten million. Although it was greatly weakened, it still had a foundation.

Unfortunately, "foundation" was just "foundation". Before it was transformed into strength, no matter how deep the foundation was, it couldn't support a big country.

The current France was a typical case. No matter how rich the historical accumulation was, it couldn't withstand the constant bloodshed and torment of the anti-French alliance.

First, they violently destroyed France's military industry, then they used commodity dumping to destroy France's heavy industry.

If it was only industrial damage, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the most important thing was the performance of the Russians.

Originally, the French were still very welcoming of the Russian Army. At the Vienna Conference, the anti-French alliance advocated to let them go because of the Tsarist government, and they even had a big fight with other countries because of this.

Unfortunately, this "ally" that they were looking forward to was a wolf in human skin.

With the help of the Russians, France successfully fell from the edge of the cliff into the endless abyss.

No matter what pride, backbone, feelings, or hatred, they all trembled under the butcher's knife of the Russian Army.

Looking at the peaceful behavior of the people in Paris, it was all the credit of the Russians. Anyone with a backbone was either sent to God or was contributing to the construction of the Siberian Railway.

At a glance, it was full of Yin flourishing and Yang waning. The young adults were almost all harmed by the Russians, and the rest were mostly old, weak, women, and children. It would be difficult for them to cause any trouble.

Lloyd George could see that even if the French participated in the anti-French war against Shinra, they could only play a supporting role.

If they wanted to be the main force, they would need soldiers, right?

If they really just counted the young adult labor force, it was estimated that the neighboring Belgium was not much different from France.

Although France still had a population of 17 to 18 million, they could only send out a few hundred thousand troops at most.

Not to mention fighting against Shinra, it was estimated that as soon as they moved, the surrounding Sardinia, Belgium, Switzerland, and Spain would take care of them.

Of course, if there were not enough men, they could also recruit women soldiers. In theory, France could still form an army of a million.

Unfortunately, the French didn't have this opportunity. The anti-French alliance had long restricted France's armaments, and the number of troops was tightly limited.

Even the purchase of every rifle and every bullet had to be approved by the coalition command, not to mention expanding the scope of recruitment.

It was estimated that before they could complete the domestic mobilization, the troops stationed in France would kill them first. It wasn't like the anti-French alliance hadn't done it before.

Knowing was one thing, but they still had to bluff. If a war really broke out, every bit of power was precious.

France's strength was not good, but this didn't affect them from being cannon fodder. Even if they couldn't help on the battlefield, it would be good if they could consume Shinra's resources.

England and France had been enemies for hundreds of years. Lloyd George didn't have any psychological pressure to take advantage of the French.

With the intention to give it a try, Lloyd George came to the Palace of Versailles.

Revisiting the old place, what he saw in front of him was shocking changes. Not only did the palace change owners, but even the interior decoration was not as good as before.

Just as a French ballad sang: "The Palace of Versailles, the City of Paris, the City of France, the City of France, the City of Versailles, the City of Paris …"

From the beginning of its construction, the fate of the Palace of Versailles was linked to France. In recent centuries, countless major events involving the history of France were staged here.

… …

Without waiting for Lloyd George to finish, Carlos interrupted first, "Sir George, it's meaningless to talk about this.

Your country also deserves a lot of credit for France's current situation. Without your country's cooperation, we wouldn't have lost so cleanly in the European War.

Now talking about the friendship between the two countries, sorry, I really can't feel the friendship of your country. What I see is only the betrayal of my allies.

At this point, it's useless to say anything. France can't afford any more trouble. Instead of wasting time here, your country should think about how to deal with the challenge of the Holy Roman Empire! "

The friendship between England and France itself was a false proposition. In the past hundreds of years, the time between the two countries was dozens of times longer than the time of alliance.

Even so, in the few times of alliance, France suffered a big loss.

Now, it was the British team's turn to continue the challenge. Carlos had already given them a lot of face by not adding insult to injury.

It was simply an insult to Carlos's intelligence to want France to take up arms and go to war with the Holy Roman Empire again for the benefit of the British.

Lloyd George wasn't surprised that he was rejected. He was even mentally prepared to be kicked out. It was already a very good result to be able to sit here and talk.

Although it was done by the previous government, it was still an indisputable fact that Britannia had tricked France.

After being tricked so badly, it was normal to have resentment. It would be a problem if they didn't have resentment.

It was just that Lloyd George couldn't say much on this issue.

In the eyes of the French, it was Britannia's betrayal that led to their defeat; but from the standpoint of Britannia, it was also because France was too useless. They were defeated before they were ready.

"Your Majesty, France used to be a great country, but now I see that it is desolate and the people have no way to make a living. Don't you want to change all this?

As long as the Holy Roman Empire exists, your country can forget about crossing the mountain of the anti-French alliance.

Now is the last chance. If your country doesn't want to sink like this, the best way is to join us.

As long as the Holy Roman Empire is defeated, your country can immediately regain everything it used to have and stand at the top of the world again. "

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't tempted. But no matter how magnificent the blueprint described by Lloyd George was, it couldn't make up for the weakness of the anti-French Shinra alliance.

If they joined now, it would be a repeat of the last European War. France would still have to challenge the European countries alone.

The only difference was that they had the ability to do so back then. If they did so now, they would be proper cannon fodder.

But if they didn't participate, the reality was indeed as Lloyd George said. This was France's last chance.

Once they missed it, they probably wouldn't be able to make a comeback in the next century. Whether it was the victory of Britannia or the victory of the Holy Roman Empire, they would be the target of suppression.

After hesitating for a while, Carlos slowly said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to say anymore. No matter how great the benefits are, it can only be eaten after the Holy Roman Empire has been defeated.

With your country's military strength, even if you add us, there is still no chance of victory on land.

Your country has the Royal Navy. At worst, you can carry out a strategic retreat and not be afraid of the retaliation of the Holy Roman Empire. We don't have such conditions. "

Make up his mind and refuse?

That was completely overthinking. If it were anyone else in Carlos's position, they would think of a comeback.

He did not agree to form an alliance with the British, partly because he was not sure that he could win, and partly because he did not trust the British.

If these two problems could be solved. Then joining the anti-French Shinra alliance wouldn't be a big deal.

Obviously, this was unrealistic. Unless the British could win over all the European countries, there would be no way to gather the anti-French Shinra forces.