Chapter 873

While fooling Switzerland, Austria also used the same trick to fool Spain, but the conditions were better and the requirements were looser.

Although the Salted Duck Empire had declined, it was still a member of the Great Powers. Small profits couldn't be bought, and Austria wasn't willing to pay a big price.

Therefore, they could only lower the requirements and didn't need to send troops to war. As long as they stationed troops at the border to block the French, when the overall situation was settled, they would go up and finish them off.

If the French won, then they would act as if nothing had happened and go back to doing what they were supposed to do.

Anyway, even the military expenses were paid by Austria. The interest-free loan in front was the appearance fee for the Spanish.

It was a profitable business, and there was no need to worry about losing money.

The only trouble was probably offending the French, but they had already offended them with the previous change in foreign policy, and they didn't care about doing it again.

As a member of the Great Powers, Spain could still afford to take on such a small matter.

In addition to winning over Spain and Switzerland, Austria was also doing public relations with other European countries.

Although these countries couldn't participate in the war because of geopolitical reasons, it was still good to use it to boost their momentum.

In contrast, the French's reaction was much slower. It wasn't that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was useless, but mainly that the historical problems were too serious.

The exposed Sino-European strategy had aroused the vigilance of the European countries, which directly increased the difficulty of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' work.

Although the Government of France repeatedly denied it, the expansion of the military couldn't be deceived. Compared to the French's promise, people were more willing to believe what they saw.

Especially after the British joined in, it made the situation even more complicated. Many people were worried that a full-scale war would break out on the European continent, namely: the Anglo-French Alliance vs. the Russo-Austrian Alliance.

The chaotic international situation made Alexander III, who was far away in St. Peter's Castle, extremely distressed. It was true that he wanted to provoke a war with the Fao, but it definitely couldn't be now.

Since the situation in Europe became tense, the price of various strategic materials began to soar, and many of them doubled.

No matter how high the price was, the Tsarist government could only grit their teeth and even hoard more. Otherwise, if the European war really broke out, they wouldn't be able to buy the goods even if they had the money.

Affected by the rise in prices, the Tsarist government's military expenditure had increased sharply in the last two to three months.

Alexander III: "Will the French accept our mediation?"

There was no doubt that the key to calming this storm was the French. As long as the Government of France was willing to give up the Central European Strategy, the war wouldn't happen.

Oscar Jimenez, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, shook his head. "Accepting it is the same as not accepting it.

The French government agreed to give up the Central European Strategy, but they demanded that Germany and Belgium cede a few coal mines on their border as compensation.

From the current situation, the Austrian and German governments wouldn't make such a big concession. Austria's attitude of not hesitating to fight gave them confidence. "

It was somewhat similar to the situation before World War I. Both the Allies and the Allies had the confidence to win the war, and whoever was afraid was a coward.

Austria and Austria and Although Germany wasn't, they still had many allies. Not to mention that most of the European countries supported them in resisting the invasion, just Austria alone was enough to give them the confidence to go against the French.

Austria. easy. The nationalism of Bida and Germany was on the rise. If they really gave in to the French, the spittle of the people in their country would be enough to bury the government.

Bede and Germany could not give in, and neither could the government in Paris. "If they stopped now, there would be an economic crisis. There might be another Paris Revolution."

After figuring it all out, Alexander III cursed, "Damn Englishmen, they only know how to play these dirty tricks."

There was no need for evidence. From the perspective of benefits, he knew it was related to the British.

"Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Think of a way to delay the outbreak of the European war. No matter what you do, whether it's coercion, bribery, or intimidation, you must delay the outbreak of the war until the second half of next year."

There was no other way. If the war on the European continent broke out immediately, the Afghan War, which was about to be won, would become confusing.

Although Alexander III had confidence in the Russian Army, the British were rich. They could drag the war if they couldn't win.

Without the support of a financial backer, the Tsarist government wouldn't last long.

Oscar Timoshenko replied awkwardly, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that's very difficult to do.

If it was before the outbreak of the Afghan War, we did have the power to intervene and calm both sides down. But now, I'm afraid the French won't buy it. "

It wasn't that the Russian Empire didn't have enough face. The key was that the time was not right. Several countries involved were expanding their armies for war.

There was only one fuse left before the outbreak of the war. It wasn't something that could be stopped if they wanted to.

It was easy to delay the outbreak of the war, but they had to consider the actual situation! If possible, the French also wanted to delay the war until Britain and Russia were both injured.

The problem was that the Central European strategy was exposed in advance. Before the Government of France could prepare, it was already known to everyone.

Looking at the neighbors' expansion of the army, if it was really delayed until the second half of next year, Germany and Germany might really have two million troops.

Even if it was two million pigs, it wouldn't be able to kill them all in a short time. With so many troops, it was enough to last until the Austrian reinforcements arrived.

If they couldn't achieve a breakthrough in a short time, the war would become a war of attrition. For France, a war of attrition would be a disaster.

…

With the war imminent, Franz couldn't care less about secrecy. The armors and tanks that had been hidden for a long time walked out of the laboratory and officially entered the service of the Austrian army.

Without any hesitation, Franz directly ordered the formation of six armored divisions and four tank brigades.

It wasn't that Franz looked down on tanks, but the tanks in this day and age had a snail's speed, and their actual combat value was far less than armored vehicles.

For example, the current V3 tank in service only had a maximum speed of 12 kilometers per hour.

This was also a theoretical value. It could only run on flat ground without obstacles. To be able to run 8 kilometers per hour in actual combat was God's blessing.

In comparison, armored vehicles were much faster. They could run at 50 to 60 kilometers per hour, and their maximum speed was as high as 94.7 kilometers per hour.

In addition to speed, the failure rate of tanks was much higher than armored vehicles. On average, they had to run one to two hundred kilometers before they had to undergo a repair.

With so many shortcomings, tanks could still be installed, so naturally, they had their unique advantages.

That was, they were more resistant than armored vehicles. When it came to destroying enemy fortifications, breaking through trenches, barbed wire, and machine gun firing points, tanks were almost invincible, at least in this era.

Of course, they could also bully the enemy's infantry and cavalry in a decisive battle. They just had to crush them all the way, which would be a huge blow to the morale of the army.

After inspecting the newly formed armored forces, Franz was more confident.

Although the armored forces were very immature and the military had no experience in using armored forces, the enemy was a group of infantry and cavalry!

Even if France was good at imitating, it was too late to copy them. Austria had been developing armored forces for more than a decade, and they couldn't catch up in a short period of time.

Looking at the armored forces training, Franz asked with concern, "How long will it take for the armored forces to form combat power?"

Minister of War Fislav: "The armored forces are a new technical force. We have never come into contact with them before.

It has been less than a month since the formation of the forces. It will take at least a year to form combat power.

However, the enemy we are facing this time doesn't have armored forces. We only have to deal with the French infantry and cavalry. After another month or two of training, we should be able to make do with it. "

The strong and the weak were relative. If it was an evenly matched battle, they would naturally have to face it at their peak.

But now, it was armored forces against flesh and blood. Even if they weren't at their peak, they could still beat the enemy.

Franz nodded. "We still have plenty of time. Even if war breaks out, the armored forces don't need to go to the front line immediately.

Train slowly at a normal pace. In the next three months, the armored forces won't have any combat missions. "

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Archduke Friedrich replied.

Without a doubt, this armored force was the most important force in the Austrian army, so it was natural for them to be commanded by their own people.

In any case, everyone had no experience in commanding and didn't even have someone to learn from. They had to start from scratch, so it was necessary to promote young officers.

Under such circumstances, Archduke Friedrich didn't need to continue training in East Africa. He directly transferred Franz back and was ordered to form this armored group.