Chapter 775

The world was cruel. In the fierce international competition, there was no room for the slightest bit of warmth.

For the sake of their own interests, the Tsarist government decisively chose to abandon the European countries. For a time, Madrid was in turmoil.

No matter how much it declined, as the goalkeeper of the great powers, Spain was still a large European country, and its influence in Europe could not be underestimated.

As the world's third largest country, Russia refused to stand out, so naturally, it was pushed to the fourth largest country, Spain.

Although Spain's title as the fourth most powerful country was somewhat undeserved, it could not stop the weak competitors.

Picking the tall among the short, the once powerful Kingdom of Spain was still more recognized by the outside world than Japan and the United States, which had never been powerful.

Not only were the European countries encouraging Spain to come out and lead the "No Team Movement," but even Britannia, the United States, and other countries were also behind it.

Overnight, Spain seemed to have returned to the era of destiny and became the trendsetter of the times.

Unlike the Russian Empire, which was deeply tied to the economy, Shinra's penetration into Spain was relatively limited, far from being able to influence the government's decision-making.

With the changes in the international situation, the British changed their strategy from pulling people on board to encouraging countries to remain neutral.

Now, the Holy Roman Empire was the only one who wanted them to take a side. In theory, as long as they resisted the pressure from the Government of Vienna, the No Team Movement would be successful.

If the Spanish government is ambitious, now is the best time to do so. As long as it was done well, Spain could become the fourth most powerful country in Europe with the support of other countries.

As a large country, it was certainly ambitious. Unfortunately, ambition needed strength to support it. Spain did not have the strength to become the fourth most powerful country, even with the support of other countries.

In fact, the Spanish government had to be clear-headed. On the surface, the European countries were encouraging them to lead the "Neutral Movement," but secretly, they were constantly colluding with the Government of Vienna.

Not to mention other countries, Sardinia, Belgium, Tuscany … These underlings supported by Shinra also came to participate in the "Neutral Movement." Were they sure they were not here to cause trouble?

If they just stood out, wouldn't it be a tragedy if their underlings ran to take a side?

This kind of thing was not impossible. Although the current "Neutral Movement" was powerful, in fact, there were not many people who participated in it.

Many countries that had no choice and had to pick a side simply joined in on the fun.

Now they jumped out to make trouble mainly to increase their sense of existence and enhance their impression in the eyes of their boss so that they could be sold for a good price.

The countries that really wanted to be "Neutral" were for the Netherlands, the Nordic Federation, and other countries near the North Sea.

For most countries, the war between Shenluo and Great Britain did not have much of an impact on them.

Although the overseas import and export trade would be affected, they were not a large maritime trade country, so the impact was quite limited.

The most important thing was their geographical location. From the very beginning, it was decided that they had to choose a side. Even who they supported had been chosen for them in advance.

Now that the direction of the team had been decided, what kind of posture they should take was also a question worth pondering.

Nation. of Movement between Britain and of the Empire of of of of of Spain. of of the Nations conflict of the Movement.

If it weren't for the gap between the two countries, Shinra wouldn't have issued a challenge at this time. Palace of Vienna. From Franz's serious expression, it could be seen that the document in his hand must be unusual.

Palace of Vienna. From Franz's serious expression, it could be seen that the document in his hand must be unusual.

After a while, Emperor Franz, who carefully read the document, slowly said, "Since the third-generation large merchant ship has been completed, we should hand it over to the shipping company as soon as possible.

The situation is tense now, and war is imminent. We must strive to transport as many strategic materials as possible to the colony before the war breaks out.

The six empty berths are all loaded with super battleships. After these materials arrive at the colony, we will announce the news to the public.

Also, the submarine fleet can set off. Although we don't know when the war will break out, it is always good to be prepared in advance. "

There was no doubt that the "third-generation large merchant ship" here was definitely not a large merchant ship in the true sense.

If it was just a pure merchant ship, no matter how superior its performance was, it wouldn't make Emperor Franz so nervous.

Especially at a critical moment like the arms race, it was even more abnormal for merchant ships to be able to compete with battleships for docks.

Although it was abnormal, on the surface, these big guys were indeed merchant ships. If you don't believe me, look, these merchant ships are still pulling cargo out.

Not only were the intelligence personnel confused, but even many people in the Government of Vienna were confused.

"Strategic deception"? Something was obviously not right! At this point, if they didn't go all out to build warships, if a war really broke out, they would suffer a big loss.

If they couldn't figure it out, then so be it. Anyway, Franz wouldn't explain. In order to keep the secret, there were only a few people who knew about the aircraft carrier disguised as a merchant ship.

Even the cabinet members didn't know about it, let alone other people.

From the beginning of the project, it followed the route of state-owned enterprises ordering merchant ships. There was no financial allocation at all, and it had nothing to do with military expenses.

Until the completion of the construction, the shipyard engineers didn't know that they had built an aircraft carrier. At most, they felt that this merchant ship design was a bit unusual.

In the history of the shipbuilding industry, there were many unusual designs, and people didn't care about adding another one.

In fact, the Holy Roman Empire's aircraft carrier development had been going on for some years. It just hadn't become mainstream.

Prior to this, the aircraft carrier was mainly built to carry aircraft for reconnaissance and intelligence, and there was no consideration of using it for combat.

There were many reasons, mainly in two major aspects. On the one hand, the performance of aircraft these days couldn't keep up, and the hit rate when bombing moving targets was low; on the other hand, the sea was stormy, and the aircraft carrying it were prone to collisions.

With the advancement of science and technology, aircraft had overcome the technical difficulties of dive bombing, and the hit rate had been greatly improved, and the actual combat power had been greatly improved.

Although the problem of the aircraft carrier's resistance to wind and waves hadn't been completely solved, it had been greatly improved. Although it couldn't withstand the wind and waves of ten degrees, it at least wouldn't sink in the face of the wind and waves of eight or nine degrees.

The technology had reached this point, and it was completely valuable in combat. Bad weather with wind and waves was rare, and if one really encountered one, one could only blame it on one's bad luck.

Most of the time, the aircraft carrier could play a role in combat. As long as one didn't go to the stormy sea, the combat power of the aircraft carrier and the battleship combination couldn't be underestimated.

In contrast, the secrecy of the submarine wasn't so high. The whole world knew that Shinra had a submarine fleet, but no one knew the specific scale.

The outside world didn't actually pay much attention to this killer hidden in the deep sea, and it could even be said that they ignored it.

On the one hand, the submarine's range was limited, and it was difficult to participate in the decisive battle of the navy's main force; on the other hand, the situation under the sea was complicated, and it was naturally terrifying.

In the past years, the Fao and France were the main ones who spent a lot of money to develop submarines. With the defeat of France, these technologies all fell into the hands of Shinra.

Based on the principle of being low-key and cautious, Shinra's submarine force rarely showed up for a long time, and the impression it left on the outside world had always been mysterious.

If it wasn't for the breakthrough in power system technology in recent years, which greatly increased the range of the submarine, it was estimated that this mysterious force would continue to be mysterious.

Needless to say, the range on water was not worse than ordinary warships, the key was the range under water.

Currently, the Sea Wolf equipped by the Shinra Navy had an underwater range of close to one hundred nautical miles, and could hide underwater for three days.

Such data, compared to the nuclear submarine of the future, which was almost unlimited and only affected by the psychological factors of the soldiers, was naturally not worth mentioning.

But now, it was a qualitative breakthrough. It already had practical use in actual combat, especially when used to attack merchant ships, it was even more successful.

"Okay, I'll implement it later."

After a pause, Frederick The Great asked, "But father, are our preparations really useful?"

It was no wonder that Frederick The Great had doubts. The aircraft carriers and submarines that Franz had spent a lot of money to build were different from the mainstream of the modern navy.

It couldn't be helped. The combat power of aircraft carriers and submarines had not been proven in the military. On the contrary, battleships had dominated the ocean for many years.

If the money spent on the development of aircraft carriers and submarines was spent on battleships, the Shinra Navy could add more than a dozen battleships.

Franz shook his head and said, "I don't know! But it's better to be prepared than not. The Royal Navy has such a big advantage, how can we surpass it without some new things?

It's not like you don't know how closely the British are watching us. It can be said that every addition of a battleship will cause a storm. "

This was not a complete lie. Franz really didn't know if these preparations would play a role.

If the Shinra Navy was lucky enough, they could defeat the British in the decisive battle.

For the Royal Navy, these preparations were useless.

Only in the case of a defeat in the decisive battle, these preparations would play a role. By attacking the British's maritime trade lines, Britannia's war potential would be weakened.

Of course, these words fell into the ears of Frederick The Great and had a different interpretation.

After all, no one could accurately judge the development direction of the future navy without being a transmigrator. Aircraft carriers and submarines that had not proven themselves in naval battles naturally wouldn't give people enough confidence.

…

London

Although mentally prepared, the news that the Tsarist government had decided to side with Shinra came, the atmosphere of the Government of the United Kingdom was still tense.

At this moment, Prime Minister Campbell's mood was the same as the weather in London – "Looking out the window, it's all haze."

Since ascending to the throne of Prime Minister, the number of times Campbell sighed was more than the sum of the past decades combined.

"If you don't manage the household, you don't know the cost of daily necessities; if you don't become Prime Minister, you don't know how rotten the British Empire is."

In the eyes of the outside world, the British Empire was like the sun in the sky, but in the eyes of Campbell, there was only "rotten."

There was no other way. There were too many people who cared about the advantages of Britannia. As Prime Minister, Campbell could only care about the shortcomings of the country.

It was not that Campbell was biased, but mainly because of his duty. "Find the problem and then solve the problem" was the function of the government.

The main reason why he thought that Britannia was "rotten" was that Campbell found the problem but could not solve it.

In order to prevent the situation from worsening, in order to preserve Britannia's hegemony in the world, now he could only take the most extreme measure – war.

For a politician, making such a choice was undoubtedly a failure. But reality was in front of him, and Campbell could not afford to hesitate.

The curtain of the arms race had begun, and the longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Britannia.

"The situation in Europe is clear. With the Russians taking sides, the neutral movement that we have stirred up will soon be destroyed.

Next, we can only speed up the pace. Otherwise, when Vienna takes care of the European countries, we will have to fight against the entire European continent.

How far has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs progressed? Once the war breaks out, which countries will support us? "

Campbell's heavy voice spoke of the restlessness in his heart.

The topic of war was too heavy, especially a war with a big country. No one dared to take it lightly.

As the Foreign Affairs Minister, Adam was even more depressed at the moment.

It was expected that the Russians would side with Shinra. After all, their strategy of division was only halfway through, and they had not yet had the time to drive a wedge between Russia and Austria.

Even if someone was to be held responsible, it should be the predecessor, or the predecessor of the predecessor. Because of their inaction, the Russo-Austrian Alliance continued to exist.

However, politics was cruel. Whether it was the predecessor, the predecessor of the predecessor, or the predecessor of the predecessor, they were all safe and sound. He was going to be the scapegoat.

If it was just this one, it would be fine. The problem was that the Russians' side brought about a chain reaction, and it directly affected the sides of the other countries.

With so many scapegoats falling at the same time, no one could afford to take the blame. Adam only felt that his life was "bleak."

At this point, Britannia still had the hope of winning the war, but as the Foreign Affairs Minister of Britannia, Adam absolutely had no room to turn things around.

He accidentally became the most wronged Foreign Affairs Minister of the British Empire, and now Adam was left with only regret.

He had submitted his resignation letter a long time ago, but the Parliament did not approve it and forced him to take the blame. If he knew it would come so soon, he would have used extreme measures.

Look at the Minister of War who proposed the war. Because he fell off his horse and was injured while patrolling the barracks a few days ago, he was now the deputy.

No matter how sad he was deep in his heart, he still had to work. Even if it was for a stable life for the rest of his life, Adam had to give it his all and clear his name with merits.

After adjusting his emotions, Adam slowly said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed a secret treaty with Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Colombia, Chile … and eight other countries.

If necessary, we can form a coalition of nine countries to fight against the Austrians.

In addition, we also have contact with the Russian Empire, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordic Federation, and other countries.

Although we have not been able to rope them in, we have still alienated the relationship between the countries and the Holy Roman Empire. At least we can guarantee that after the war breaks out, the countries will not fully support the enemy. "

Such a result was obviously not satisfactory to everyone. But to be able to do this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had really tried their best.

No matter what you said, when the countries made a strategic choice, they would always prioritize "interests" and "strength."

Britannia had the advantage of sea power, so it was natural that it would be successful in overseas diplomatic operations. But there were also conflicts between the countries overseas. If they roped in one country, they could not pull in another.

Otherwise, even if they pulled in an alliance, it would be an alliance full of contradictions, and they would be busy with internal friction every day.

It was even more so when it came to Europe. Putting aside the fact that their voice on the continent was limited, there were plenty of people who had a grudge against Britain.

Pulling the enemy to fight another enemy, this kind of operation was really not something an ordinary person could do.

Especially now that the enemy they faced was also a strong diplomatic country with rich experience in pulling in allies, it was even more difficult to operate.

As an insider, Campbell naturally would not deliberately make things difficult at this time and destroy the unity of the leadership.

He said to ease the atmosphere, "The work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still good. It is enough to be able to do this.

Next, it depends on the performance on the battlefield. As long as the navy can fight in the early stages of the war, I believe the European countries will make a new choice.

The Holy Roman Empire's unjust behavior of relying on the threat of force to coerce countries will eventually be punished by God … "

"Ding ding ding …"

Before Campbell finished speaking, the phone suddenly rang, and everyone's eyes were attracted.

It must be known that the cabinet meeting was strictly confidential, and no one was allowed to disturb during the meeting.

Unless there was a particularly important matter that needed to be contacted, the staff outside could call the special phone on the desk.

There was no doubt that such a coincidence rarely happened. Even if there was an emergency, it would not be impossible to wait for an hour.

Therefore, this special line was more or less a decoration. It might not even ring once in a year.

It was precisely because this phone rarely rang that every time it rang, it was accompanied by earth-shattering events.

Picking up the phone, Campbell's indifferent voice sounded, "I'm Campbell, what's the matter?"

"Prime Minister, something happened in Africa …"