Chapter 757

The Russo-Japanese War was just a small intervention, and its impact on the international situation was far less than the closely watched conflict between Britain and Austria.

Since Britannia withdrew from the free trade system, the relationship between the two countries had deteriorated sharply. The friction and conflict that were originally suppressed by the two countries had also emerged recently.

In particular, the private media seemed to be enjoying the show. Not only did they add fuel to the fire, but they also intentionally or unintentionally exaggerated the conflict. Some people even openly shouted "war."

The air was filled with a tense atmosphere. Those who were slightly more sensitive to the situation knew that the war was approaching.

It was not that no one tried to mediate. Many experts, scholars, and celebrities in society called for the two governments to sit down and have a good talk.

But it was useless. The core interests of the two sides were too conflicting. No one could make major concessions.

If it could be negotiated, the two sides would have reached a compromise long ago. Who would be willing to use real money to fill the bottomless pit of war? Did they really think that everyone was warlike?

Franz had no objection to signing a peace agreement. Even maintaining the status quo was acceptable.

The problem was that the British did not dare to agree. The British Isles were only a small place, and the development potential was inherently limited.

If there were no restrictions, according to the current development of the situation, the strength gap between the two sides would only increase.

The Government of the United Kingdom was not willing to make concessions. It was even more unrealistic to expect Shinra to abolish its own martial arts. The bottom line of the Government of Vienna was very clear. At most, they would maintain the status quo and not interfere with each other.

Since a compromise could not be reached at the negotiating table, they could only follow the law of the jungle and decide the winner on the battlefield.

When the city gate was on fire, the fish in the moat would be affected.

If the two big hooligans, Britannia and Shinra, were to fight, the European world would naturally not be peaceful. Choosing sides was an eternal topic.

Supporting one side was bound to offend the other. If one wanted to remain neutral in the battle for hegemony, one must first have the strength to support it.

Unfortunately, there were only a few countries with this strength, and there were even fewer in Europe.

For small countries, "choosing sides" was no less than a test of life and death. Once a wrong bet was made, the country would not die, but the government would certainly perish.

The happiest time to choose sides was probably the war against France more than a decade ago.

When the Government of Vienna came out to pull people, the situation was almost settled. As soon as they chose sides, the war was over.

Now, it was different. No one could tell who would win or lose in the war between England and Austria.

Both sides had their own advantages. Either side could become the final winner, and it was even possible that neither side could do anything to the other, and both sides would end up with heavy losses.

A bunch of military experts were analyzing the speculations surrounding the outcome of the war. All of them had their own opinions, and all of them had their own reasons for doing so.

This was a great test of everyone's judgment. Apart from the small countries that had followed Shinluo and decided on their factions in advance, the remaining countries all had to choose a faction, or rather, gamble on their country's fate.

The first to bear the brunt were naturally the Nordic Federation, Netherlands, and Portugal. Other than these three, the other countries had supported Shinluo in the previous round.

Not everyone would be able to eat the meat, but as the victors of the war against France, everyone would be able to drink the meat soup if they followed behind Shinluo.

In this respect, the government of Vienna was far better than the British. Anyone who flipped through the history books would know that the allies that followed Britain were either dead or crippled.

It would already be a blessing from God if he didn't get killed by his allies. Being able to break even was already a blessing from God.

Even if there were spoils of war to be divided, there were pitfalls everywhere. It was as if the British would feel uncomfortable if there was no conflict.

With such a sharp contrast, the possibility of a country that had followed Shinluo for a while and enjoyed tangible benefits was next to none.

As neutral countries, the Netherlands, the Nordic Federation, and Portugal were in an awkward position.

In terms of interests, the three countries had no conflict of interest with Britain and Austria, not to mention national hatred. It seemed that they could follow anyone.

In terms of geography, the three countries were a tragedy. They were all coastal countries and happened to be north of the Atlantic Ocean.

This was awkward. They had to be threatened by Shinro on land, and they had to be threatened by Britain on the sea. No matter where they stood, they felt pitfalls.

Without a doubt, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the Nordic Federation were the fish in the pond caught in the fire.

Relatively speaking, Portugal was a bit happier. Because of its geographical location, they were far away from the European continent and were separated from Shinra by France and Spain.

Even if a war broke out, they would not become a battlefield. As long as they did not appear too active, they might be able to fool the enemy.

The Nordic Federation was not bad. It was a medium-sized country after all. If they insisted on not taking sides, Shinra and Britannia could not do anything to them.

It was too difficult to clear the field, and the benefits were not proportional to the effort. No one was willing to go to the Swedish ravines to fight guerrilla warfare, at least not until the outcome was decided.

They might be suppressed in the future, but it would not be too serious. As long as they behaved well enough, it would be over in a few years.

The most tragic was undoubtedly the Netherlands. It happened to be in the position between Britannia and Shinra, very close to both sides.

If they supported the British, the Holy Roman Empire's army could enter on the same day; if they supported the Holy Roman Empire, the Royal Navy would teach them a lesson.

If the Government of the United Kingdom was bold enough to launch a landing operation, the Netherlands was also one of the first choices.

Of course, the neighboring Belgium was also the same. However, Belgium took a side early. As a direct younger brother, the Government of Vienna definitely had to take care of it.

Not to mention, there were so many military airports in Belgium that it was worth the Government of Vienna's capital.

After all, to bomb the British Isles, it was too suitable to take off from here. It was considered a forward position.

In theory, it was also a good choice to start the counterattack from France. They could use Fao's hatred.

Unfortunately, this thing was not suitable for the British. Britain and France were also enemies, and the popular base was not necessarily much better.

What's more, the distance from France to Shinra was too far. They could not play the role of a surprise attack at all. They could only fight a positional battle.

The difference in the strength of the two armies was too great. Any Government of the United Kingdom with an IQ would not be stupid enough to think of fighting with Shinra on land.

Even if they launched a landing operation, it was more political propaganda than actual military significance. It was enough to show that they were fighting back and giving an explanation to the country.

In the original timeline, the two World Wars really happened. For the sake of political needs, the British had launched many wars to kill people.

Although they did not achieve any decent results, they succeeded in trapping their allies!

Franz understood the predicament of the Netherlands, but politics was unconscionable, and the pressure that should be exerted was not less.

Under the general trend, not to mention the Dutch, even Franz couldn't stay aloof.

With the constant tension of the international situation, the semi-retired Emperor Franz had to come out from time to time to increase people's confidence.

There was no other way, who let the protagonist this time be the Navy?

Just like the British wanted to fool the Shinra Navy, Franz also wanted to fool the British Navy to come in and use joint naval and air operations to lock the victory.

Unfortunately, none of them were easy to fool. Even if the Government of Vienna invited them in the name of naval exchange, the British only took out a few old battleships to make up the number.

With those broken ships, not to mention the credibility of the government to attack. Even if the war had broken out, Franz would not look at it.

They were all smart people, so they all had their own precautions. There was no way to win by opportunistic means.

However, as a challenger, to win the war, the Shinra Navy had to take the initiative to go out and fight the British.

Not to mention that other people were not confident, even Franz himself lacked confidence in his own Navy. He dared to challenge because he was prepared from the beginning.

Learning from the Americans in World War II, winning first was not winning, only laughing was the real winner.

In the Palace of Vienna, Franz waved a big brush and asked, "What was the international reaction after we released the news?"

If one looked closely, they would see that it was actually an ink painting. If it happened in East Asia, it would not be surprising, but here in Europe, it was very unusual.

This was child's play. Perhaps because he was older, Franz became more and more capricious.

In addition to remaining rational in politics, he had completely indulged himself in his daily life. In this world of pitiful entertainment, it was not strange to pick up old hobbies.

As for whether his hobbies were too unconventional and would attract attention, it was not within Franz's consideration.

The only regret was that Franz's painting skills were not good enough. Under his artistic processing, the imitation of a hundred birds looking up to a phoenix finally became a picture of a chicken pecking rice.

It did not matter, anyway, the guys present could not tell the difference between a chicken and a phoenix. As for whether it would distort people's aesthetics, it was not within the scope of Franz's consideration.

As a matter of fact, Franz was forced to paint ink and wash. Because his oil painting skills were also not good enough, he was ashamed to show it out. He could only play with things that people did not understand, so it was convenient to use it to fool people.

In the upper class, if one did not have a bit of artistic talent, it was easy to be despised as a bumpkin.

If the professionals saw through it, they would be thinking too much. If they did not believe that they could take a painting out to auction, as long as it was stamped with Franz's seal, it would definitely be worth more than the Art Saint's authentic work.

Works of art that had withstood the test of the market were real works of art. Those who suspected that there was a problem with the work must have not been artistic enough.

After seeing the Emperor's special hobby, everyone got used to it. It was nothing more than some calligraphy and painting that they did not understand, it was not a problem at all.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Leo stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, the reaction of the international community is very intense. Every country does not want war to break out between us and the British, including our allies.

Ever since the news spread, the phone of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been blowing up with people asking about the situation.

Among them, the Dutch have been the most proactive. Overnight, they communicated with more than ten countries, including Belgium, Spain, and the Nordic Federation, to prepare for diplomatic mediation. "

The news of a possible war made the entire European world lose sleep. Franz could be considered to have created a record.

But thinking about it, it was not surprising. If a war broke out between Shinra and Britannia, every European country would have to bear the losses. The only difference was the extent of the damage.

Not to mention other things, their maritime trade would not be fun anymore. Once a war broke out, both sides were bound to blockade each other.

If Shinra wanted to blockade Britannia, it could only drag the European countries along with it. Otherwise, it would be useless.

It was the same for the British. If they only cut off the overseas trade of the Holy Roman Empire and did not blockade other European countries, would it still be a blockade?

If the overseas trade was cut off, the two big gangsters might not necessarily do anything, but many small countries would definitely suffer heavy losses.

If the war lasted for a short time, it would be fine. Everyone gritted their teeth and the matter would pass. If the war dragged on, and the outcome could not be determined, everyone would be in a tragedy.

Especially the few countries that relied on maritime trade, they might collapse directly because of the war.

In this context, it was normal for everyone to react fiercely. If there was no reaction, it would be a problem.

After finishing the last point, he put down the pen and picked up a towel to wipe his hands. Franz slowly said, "Officially contact the countries!

If they want to do diplomatic mediation, don't stop them. Without experiencing failure, the countries will not easily give in.

Tell them that as long as the British are willing to maintain the status quo, then we can sign a peace agreement with them.

If necessary, in order to show our peace-loving sincerity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can unilaterally promise not to initiate the war to buy time for the warship construction. "

In the face of international interests, treaties were a piece of waste paper, and promises were a joke.

In the past few decades, the Government of Vienna had not broken the treaty, but that was only because the bargaining chips were not big enough.

When it came to world hegemony, it was completely different. As long as they could fool the British and lay the foundation for winning the war, it was worth it even if they lost the government's credibility.

Well, Franz did not have any hope. The British were not stupid. Maintaining the status quo did not include stopping warship construction.

If it was just the current batch of warships in service, the Royal Navy could barely resist and not lose control.

But if they said that they would follow the old tradition and build a dozen dreadnoughts every year, the Government of the United Kingdom could only go berserk.

There was no doubt that this was something Franz would do. At this crossroads, there was no room for him to retreat.

All the interest groups in the country now wanted to overturn the British and share the cake. How could he retreat just because he said so?

Foreign Minister Leo: "Yes, Your Majesty! I will implement it later. I guarantee that the responsibility of initiating the war will be thrown to the British. "

Although the Government of Vienna had formulated a detailed battle plan, they still did not have an accurate conclusion on when to initiate the war.

However, one thing was certain. After the dumplings were set, the later the war broke out, the better.

In this context, throwing the blame of initiating the war to the British became possible.

As long as they dragged it out, time was on Shinra's side. The Government of Vienna could drag it out, but it did not mean that the British could do the same.

According to the most common theory, whoever couldn't resist initiating the war first was the instigator of the war.

As for the cause and effect, it was better to ignore it. Ordinary people did not think that much.

If it was just an ordinary war, it did not matter who initiated it first. This time was different. The war between Shinra and Britannia would bring disaster to a large group of people.

After encountering an undeserved calamity, he had to give everyone an outlet to vent the resentment in their hearts.

Although there was no ruler of the world who did not get scolded, it was better to let the British take the blame than to attract hatred themselves.