Chapter 791

The worsening situation had pushed Britannia to the edge of the cliff. Like a flying antelope, it would be fine once it crossed the sea and sky, but if it didn't, it would be smashed into pieces.

Although the anti-war public opinion in Europe had not yet subsided, it did not affect the governments' stance.

Between the Holy Roman Empire and Britannia, there was nothing wrong with supporting Shinra. Even if there was a referendum, the final outcome would not change.

After all, they were only supporting, not immediately sending troops to war. The war had not broken out yet, and the governments still had time to guide public opinion.

It was easy to do this. They just had to look through the history books, and there were reasons to beat up the British.

Besides, even if the war broke out, the countries would just follow along. There was no need for everyone to fight.

Times were changing, and technology was advancing. To deal with Britannia, even if the Government of Vienna wanted to find cannon fodder, it was not something that ordinary countries were qualified to participate in.

Except for Russia, even if other countries wanted to participate in the land war, the Government of Vienna would think that they were a hindrance.

There was no need to mention the naval war. If the Shinra Navy could not win, the fleets of other countries would not win either.

The arrival of the era of dreadnoughts had completely widened the gap between the naval powers. The participation of thousands of ironclad warships was of no practical significance other than to increase the enemy's achievements.

Even if it was a competition of numbers, it would be meaningful to participate in at least 10,000-ton battleships.

In particular, the navies of various countries were still distributed in different areas. Except for the countries along the Mediterranean, the fleets of other countries could not be assembled in a short time.

Besides, the British were not fools. It was impossible for them to give the anti-British alliance time to assemble. Back in the day, the Royal Navy defeated the invincible fleet by relying on numbers. It was impossible for them not to learn from the experience.

Of course, even if the navies of various countries did not assemble, they would still be a threat to the British.

Fortunately, the anti-British alliance was not a monolithic one. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Royal Navy was, it would be exhausted by now.

The real participation of each country was probably to send a few planes to participate in the battle against the British.

Otherwise, if they were unlucky, the mainland and colonies would become battlefields and be forced to fight. Or, in the later stages of the war, they could land on the British Isles and beat them when they were down.

In fact, the greatest significance of each country participating in the anti-British alliance was not military, but political and economic contributions.

After the establishment of the alliance, Britannia would have to face the entire European continent. The gap of economic and industrial strength between the two sides was widened by four or five times.

The gap between the economic and industrial strength of the two sides was widened by four or five times. As long as the Vienna government provided some technical support, the shipyards of Spain, Holland, and Portugal could also build super battleships.

No matter how much the old naval empire had declined, even a rotten ship would still need three catties of nails. At least the domestic shipbuilding industry system was still preserved, and there were also some talent reserves.

These were all resources. It was just that it was a little troublesome to integrate and utilize them. However, these were all small problems. As long as the benefits were negotiated, there was nothing that couldn't be settled.

In fact, the Vienna government has already begun to do so. It was no longer important whether the technology was spread or not.

As long as they could defeat the Royal Navy, it didn't matter if their shipbuilding skills were lousy. In any case, the Navy did not only compete with technology, but also with financial resources.

For example, the Russian Empire, a good ally of the Government of Vienna, was a typical example.

They had tried to import technology from Shinra more than once or twice. In the end, they were either cheated by domestic bureaucrats or dragged down by bad government finances.

The other countries were not much better. Even if they were wealthy, the amount of money they could invest in armaments was limited due to the size of the country.

What's more, did they really think that the development of the navy was enough with money and technology? If it was so simple, the Middle East would be full of naval powers.

Maybe the first half of the navy could do this, but in the second half, all kinds of tests came. Without a supporting industrial system, even if it was an old naval power, it could only cry in sadness.

The sudden change in the international situation made the British confused, and the people couldn't react.

The ordinary people couldn't keep up with the pace, and the experts and scholars were also confused. They didn't know what was going on.

Everyone could understand that the arm couldn't beat the thigh. However, they were standing in such a neat line so quickly that it was hard for anyone to react.

"Premeditated collusion"?

This statement was used to fool the ordinary people. Anyone who knew a little about politics knew that it was almost impossible to coordinate more than a dozen countries at the same time without leaking the news.

There was no other reason. There were people who were pro-Shinra and pro-British in the governments.

Even if it was a dictatorship, they needed to discuss such a big thing as choosing a side.

Even if it was a small discussion, a dozen people from each country would participate, and there would be hundreds of people who knew.

No matter what the secret was, as long as more people knew, it was not a secret.

Where there were people, there were people. You couldn't expect all the insiders to keep their mouths shut, especially when it involved interests.

With so many insiders, there would always be a few spokespersons for interest groups. Knowing the news in advance was a big business opportunity.

Whether it was hoarding in advance, speculating in prices, or buying or selling assets affected by the war, the futures market and the stock market would show signs in advance.

But wherever there was a big movement, it would be a flaw, and it would naturally arouse the British's vigilance.

How to complete the connection between the European countries without leaving any loopholes had become a question that the entire world was paying attention to.

…

The speculations of the outside world naturally wouldn't have an answer. Because there was no answer at all. From the beginning to the end, there was no such thing as collusion in advance.

Although the "neutral movement" was first shouted by the Dutch, it was the Government of Vienna that pushed the movement to its climax.

Without the signal from the Government of Vienna, Belgium, Sardinia, Lucca … these small countries, on what basis would they dare to participate?

Not to mention the outside world, even many of the people involved were confused after receiving the signal.

Although they didn't know what the boss was planning, they still had to complete the task given.

The reasons were ready-made. Whether it was for national interests or personal political interests, everyone had sufficient reasons to oppose the war.

The pro-Austrian faction became anti-war, which naturally attracted the attention of the British. Some people even leaked the news to the British.

The Government of the United Kingdom did indeed attract the attention of the British, but they really couldn't understand it. It wasn't the first time that the Government of Vienna did something similar.

It was an old case for decades, and until now, there was still no analysis of the motive. Some people even suspected that there was no so-called motive at all, and it was all because the Government of Vienna suddenly had water in their brains.

This explanation was the most reasonable, because there were times when the governments of all countries had water in their brains. The Government of the United Kingdom itself was one of the best. Every few terms, there would be a strange government that appeared, doing something that people couldn't understand.

The Government of Vienna added fuel to the flames of the neutral movement. In the eyes of the British bureaucrats, this was the domestic opposition stirring up trouble in an attempt to stop the war.

This was a personal experience. Every time Britannia wanted to launch a war, there would be a bunch of anti-war factions stirring up trouble. The only difference was the size of the disturbance.

The British could ignore it, but as the people involved, the European governments couldn't ignore it. After personally participating in the "neutral movement," everyone deeply understood how unreliable this thing was.

No matter how loud the slogan was, once it involved specific things, it would immediately spoil things.

They agreed to form a "neutral alliance" to jointly bear the pressure from the two hegemons, but the result was that at the last moment, they couldn't even find a country willing to lead.

The Russian Empire, which everyone had high hopes for, turned out that the Tsarist government said, "We have the Russo-Austrian Alliance. Most of the provisions in the neutral alliance contradict the content of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, so we can't participate in the treaty. "

If this didn't wake everyone up, then the next performance of the countries would really make people despair.

After the Russian Empire, the country that was qualified to organize everyone to form a "neutral alliance" was Spain.

Unfortunately, the Spanish government was also slippery, and brought out the ancient "Ossi Port Agreement."

The specific content was not disclosed to the public, and everyone referred to the performance of the Government of Vienna in the Philippines War. Anyway, launching a neutral movement could be done, and they could even help to provide a venue for the meeting, but leading the conclusion of the treaty could not be done.

The powerful countries couldn't organize the treaty because of their own treaties, so only the small countries could do it.

With the idea of giving it a try, everyone introduced the Netherlands. Although their own strength was not good, as the initiator of the neutral movement, it made sense for them to organize it.

Unfortunately, the Dutch government was also not stupid. The two big countries, Spain and Russia, were not willing to take the lead. What qualifications did a small country like them have to take the lead?

Did they really think it was easy to be the leader? This thing would attract hatred, and they would definitely suffer the revenge of the Holy Roman Empire.

Just like when the feudal lords of the Eighteen Provinces attacked Dong, Yuan Shao became the leader, and the arrogant Yuan family was first used as a sacrifice.

Realizing that neutrality was not reliable, they could only choose a side. Since they were going to choose a side, why not sell themselves for a good price?

It was meaningless to talk about conditions now. No matter how many promises they made, they were just empty promises. In the end, whether or not they could be honored and how much they could be honored still depended on the Government of Vienna.

Based on the experience of the war against France, everyone understood the rules of the Government of Vienna. To sum it up: the more contributions, the more benefits, and the first to choose a side, the more benefits.

Of course, choosing a side was one thing, but everyone still had to consider the reaction of the British. The royal family was still very powerful, and no one could guarantee that they would be able to pull Britannia down this time.

In this context, the first to choose a side would definitely be the most hated, and they would definitely suffer the fiercest revenge in the future.

Even with the backing of the Holy Roman Empire, not every country had the ability to withstand the backlash.

Fortunately, the thick-skinned Russians were not afraid of the British's revenge. The Tsarist government took the lead to jump out and choose a side, helping everyone solve this problem.

The first was that the countries did not dare to fight, and the second was that everyone fought together. The countries were both accidental and inevitable to choose a side, inadvertently creating another unsolved mystery of the world.

It was impossible to explain, and if they were misunderstood, then so be it. It was also a good choice to let the British people fall in depression.

Maybe after a few decades, this would become strong evidence to prove that Emperor Franz was the "Chosen by Heaven," "Chosen by Heaven," "Chosen by God."

In fact, similar arguments had been put forward long ago. Especially the religious people, they had long believed that Franz was the "person favored by God."

The reason was very simple, he recovered the Holy Land from the hands of the pagans, and he was favored by God.

The revival of the Holy Roman Empire was also interpreted by them as the result of God's favor. Including the decline of France, the religious people also gave a strong explanation: they colluded with the pagans and were punished by God.

If this theory came true, it would be Britannia's turn to be unlucky. But on the other hand, once Britannia declined, it once again confirmed this theory.

If the English stand up to this attack, they will probably say that it is a test from God. As long as they could strengthen their faith, they would definitely win next time.

There was nothing wrong with it. No matter how deep the British Empire's foundation was, it couldn't change the fact that they were falling behind.

It was already amazing to be able to survive one challenge. Britannia definitely couldn't afford a second challenge.

He had to admit that the hucksters were quite good. No matter how the situation developed, they had a reasonable explanation.

…

Franz put down the newspaper in his hand and looked at the falling snow outside the window. He asked his son with his back facing him, "The British haven't declared war yet?"

Although the later the war broke out, the better it was for the Holy Roman Empire. But the anti-British alliance was about to be assembled, and the British, the big villain, still refused to appear. This was embarrassing.

If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to blame the war on the British, Franz would have wanted to declare war on the British first so that he wouldn't panic.

"Not yet."

It could be seen from Frederick The Great's helpless expression that this wasn't the first time Franz asked. Perhaps because of his age, Franz's temperament had become more and more unpredictable.

After a pause, Frederick The Great continued to explain, "According to the information we received, the British Parliament is still arguing.

In the meeting yesterday morning, it even escalated into a big group fight because of the dispute between two MPs. A total of three MPs were hospitalized due to serious injuries.

It is said that Edward VII, who heard the news, was furious at the Parliament and warned that if there were any more fights, he would be stripped of his parliamentary status.

I guess they were frightened by the reaction of the European countries. The British pro-war faction's momentum has decreased a lot recently. "

Unlike the later generations of MPs who dared to snatch the Queen's scepter, the current King of England still had real power. Deposing MPs was something that the later generations of kings didn't even dare to think about, but it could happen in this day and age.

Of course, it was only a possibility. If they really did that, they would probably be targeted by the Parliament.

The main reason was that Britannia had too few laws to restrict the actions of the MPs. It was difficult to restrict them according to the normal rules and regulations.

There was no other way. Laws could only be passed with the approval of the people. Laws that regulated and restricted their actions naturally couldn't be passed.

In comparison, the Holy Roman Empire was much better. Franz had taken action early on. There were a lot of laws that restricted the actions of the MPs.

Even the revision and repeal of the relevant laws had to be avoided by the MPs. They had no right to participate at all.

If this happened in Shinra, the MPs who participated in the fight would not only lose their parliamentary status, but they would also have to reflect in prison.

Deliberately provoking trouble, gathering people to fight, and disturbing the order of the Parliament were not within the scope of the law.

However, these small problems were not the focus of Franz's attention. What caught his attention was the decline of the British pro-war faction.

The Victorian British Empire was not a soft-footed shrimp. It wasn't like they had never confronted the European continent before. It was obviously not convincing to stop because they were "frightened".

Although the regular army of the Holy Roman Empire didn't move, the African battlefield had indeed started fighting.

Only the Government of Vienna dared to say "civil armed conflict".

Whether it was the weapons and equipment, the military quality of the people involved, or the scale of the conflict, it was not what a "civil armed conflict" should have.

Moreover, this was just the beginning. As time went by, the number of people involved in the conflict was still increasing.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz turned around and said indifferently, "Since the British are not moving, then let's provoke them again.

Invite the European governments to hold an anti-British conference in Vienna next month to discuss … "