Chapter 974

In the Vienna Palace, Franz was dumbfounded after receiving the news of the refugee outbreak.

There was no other way, the news was too shocking. One had to know that Belgium and the Rhineland region were the heart of Europe, and they weren't some insignificant backwater.

It was conceivable that once the news spread, all the diplomatic efforts made by the Government of France would be in vain. Even their allies, the British, would look at the Government of Paris differently.

After playing politics for many years, Franz's mind was very strong, and he quickly recovered.

"Is the news confirmed? The refugee wave is really because the French are expelling the local residents, not because of the war. "

Refugees created by war and the expulsion of the local residents were two completely different concepts. The former was inevitable, while the latter was a sign of France's ambition.

Don't think that the war broke out because the French wanted to seize the territory west of the Rhine River. In fact, the Government of France had never admitted to annexing these areas.

To expand on the European continent these days, not only would it cause public ridicule and diplomatic hostility, but it was also a political taboo.

The legal basis was a hurdle that couldn't be avoided. Destroying this thing was equivalent to shaking the European political system. Breaking the rules would inevitably lead to a backlash.

The reason the French started the war was the disappearance of soldiers. There were too many similar excuses for war on the European continent. A war could break out over a jar of honey, let alone the disappearance of soldiers.

There was no public display of ambition, and it was done quietly. Everyone could pretend to be confused, and other countries were happy to see the Fao and France fight.

Many politicians were secretly working, waiting for the Fao and France to suffer losses, and then jump out to reap the benefits and restore the balance of the European continent.

But the situation was different after the French did this. Especially for the small countries, the cover was opened. If they didn't do anything, the big countries would follow suit. How could they survive?

Of course, these were all theoretical. In a sense, politics was a bitch. In this era of the law of the jungle, as long as one was strong, all problems were not a problem.

Prime Minister Carr replied with a gloomy face, "The news has been verified. The French army carried out devastating plunder on the people in the occupied areas, robbed the local people of food, burned their houses, and forced the local people to leave.

In addition, the French army also blocked the ports in the Belgian area, as well as the roads to Switzerland and the Netherlands. It seemed that they were ready to expel all the refugees.

According to the intelligence from the inside, the French army had a logistical problem and was unable to supply the frontline army. The reason was that the coalition forces destroyed local roads, bridges, and burned granaries and supplies before their withdrawal.

The Government of France not only had to provide for the frontline army, but it also had to solve the food problem for tens of millions of local people.

This was far beyond the ability of the France. With the exception of a few traitors who had defected to the French, almost all of the populace had been expelled.

If there are no accidents, we may accept nearly ten million refugees next, which is far beyond the government's previous plan. "

This was not a problem of the Fao France. It was no longer a question of whether the French wanted to do it or not. They had to do it.

If they didn't expel the local people, how would they solve the food problem?

There were tens of millions of local people. Once the people's food reserves were exhausted, the Government of France would have to find a way to feed them. Otherwise, if their stomachs were hungry, these people would rebel.

Food was only a short-term problem. There would be more trouble in the future. Just look at the Regions of Italy. After so many years, the local areas had not completely stabilized.

It was already difficult to assimilate the Italians, so it was even more difficult to assimilate the tough Germans.

The former had no country and all the problems were internal. The latter were different. Even if France won the war, it was impossible to get rid of Austria.

Since they couldn't digest them, keeping these people was no longer a treasure, but a heavy burden.

Whether it was from a short-term perspective or a long-term strategic perspective, these local people were a potential threat to France.

Instead of keeping these hidden dangers, it was better to expel them and add more trouble to the enemy.

It turned out that the French's operation was successful. Even with a lot of preparations, Austria was not ready to receive so many refugees.

Creating trouble was always easier than solving it. The French didn't need to care about the civilian losses. A month was enough to expel the local people.

In contrast, it was completely different for Austria to resettle these people.

Not to mention a month, even if it was a year, it would not be an easy task to settle so many people.

The Government of Vienna was experienced in resettling refugees, but they didn't have the ability to resettle tens of millions of people in a short period of time.

Especially since the sea route was blocked, Austrian ships could only operate in the eastern Mediterranean, which increased the difficulty of resettling refugees.

It was certain that due to the refugee influx, the anti-French alliance would lose the initiative in the Central European battlefield for a long time to come.

"Now that things have come to this, let's resettle the refugees! Since the French have made a move, we have to take it.

The refugees are not all old, weak, women, and children. Arrange for some young and strong people to maintain the roads and reduce the number of domestic laborers.

From Central Europe to Africa, there were tens of thousands of kilometers of railways and roads, which should be enough to resettle a lot of people. No matter what, we have to give the refugees a job. We can't let them idle.

These refugees have similar cultural traditions as us, so it shouldn't be difficult to integrate them. After the war, how many of these people can stay will depend on everyone's ability.

As long as we can keep one-fifth of them, our investment will not be a loss.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has to take action to expose the atrocities of the French to the world and call on European countries to boycott them. "

The solution was very simple, but it was a bit of a waste of money. But compared to the side benefits, Franz was still willing to be the sucker.

Of course, this was based on the premise that Austria didn't lack food. No matter how many refugees there were, they didn't have to worry about food. Otherwise, this piece of meat would be poisonous.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already taken action, but I'm afraid the results won't be too optimistic.

The French's actions will make European countries hostile, but it will also implicate us. Looking at the current situation, it's not only France that has the possibility of annexing the German Region and Belgium, but also us.

The French have already created an opportunity. After the war, there were not many people in the Rhineland and Belgium, and it could even be said that there was no one there.

As long as we win this war, there will be enough reasons to annex the above areas. Because of historical reasons, it will be much easier for us to annex these areas.

It is estimated that at this time, the vigilance of European countries against us has also risen to a new level.

In this context, the sanctions adopted by European countries against the French are mostly all bark and no bite. The French must have calculated this before they took action. "

It was impossible to explain. In a sense, an explanation was a cover up. No matter how the Government of Vienna explained, no one would believe it.

Moreover, the annexation of the German Region was originally within the scope of the plan. In order to complete this plan, the Government of Vienna had been working hard for decades.

If anyone dared to say that they would give up, the people's spit would be enough to bury them.

As for Belgium, it was indeed not within the scope of the Government of Vienna's plan. Franz also had no interest in Belgium.

But if he promised not to annex Belgium, not only would it not work, but it would also expose the plan to annex the German Region.

Although this plan was known to almost everyone, saying it out loud and doing it secretly were two completely different concepts. There were many things in politics that could only be done and not said.

In this context, the Government of Austria could only pretend that they didn't know. They could neither admit it nor deny it, and let the outside world imagine it on their own.

Their own international image was not good, so they pulled their competitors to the same level as themselves. In the face of such a helpless move, Franz could only sigh.

"Do your best. Anyway, the key to determining the outcome of this war is still on the battlefield.

As long as Britain and Russia don't participate in the war, even if other countries want to intervene in this war, they are powerless.

Since the tide of refugees has delayed our decisive battle, then the next phase of the battle plan, the European battlefield will be delayed first, and the focus of the counterattack will be on the African continent.

The era of horse racing on the African continent has long been over. Now there is a chance to redistribute the interests, and this opportunity must not be missed. "

It was unknown when it began to be popular in this world to reason based on the established facts. For the Great Powers, as long as the established facts were established, they could basically eat the meat.

After seizing France's Africa, the decline of France was a foregone conclusion. Even if Napoleon was reborn, he would not be able to reverse the situation.

Prime Minister Carr reminded, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not good to suddenly change the strategic focus!"

Once the national strategy was set, it was almost impossible to make bold and decisive strategic adjustments.

In particular, this kind of strategy that went against the norm was simply refreshing the worldview of the European world.