Chapter 989

It was a good thing that the European countries relaxed their material restrictions on France, but Napoleon Iv was not happy at all.

There was no other way. The change in the political stance of the various countries also meant that the European world was not optimistic that France could win this war.

The center of the world was Europe these days, and the views of the European world would directly affect the judgments of the world.

Recently, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been working hard to win over allies overseas and had achieved phased results. Especially after the British joined, it was like adding wings to a tiger.

Without this bad news, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Japan could all become members of the anti-Austrian alliance.

Now everything was impossible. The politicians were not fools. It was okay for them to take advantage of the situation, but it was impossible for them to go against the current and fight side by side with France.

Opening the map, they knew that Egypt played a vital role in this war. Once it fell into the hands of Austria, the anti-French alliance would be in an invincible position.

Seeing that France was in a passive position strategically, no matter how many benefits the Government of Paris promised, it was impossible for the opportunists to help them.

Suppressing his anger, Napoleon Iv asked, "How did Egypt fall so quickly?

You know, we just increased our troops not long ago. Twenty-three infantry divisions plus the troops in Egypt have a total of more than 800,000 troops. Are our troops all useless? "

The rumors were not spread casually. The Government of Vienna dared to use the occupation of Egypt to fool people, which meant they had the capital.

Just a week ago, the French army lost the sea in Egypt, and the Government of France also lost contact with the French army in Egypt. No one knew what happened on the front line.

From the standpoint of a bystander, France had just increased troops on the front line and lost the sea. This was clearly a deliberate bait by the Austrians.

Since it was baiting the enemy, it was natural that they had the confidence to win. It made sense that Egypt had fallen so quickly.

The outside world could think like this, but Napoleon Iv could not stand it. Not only did they lose Egypt, but they also lost more than 300,000 regular troops. It was a huge loss.

If they had known this earlier, it would have been better to withdraw the troops from Egypt and fight with the anti-French alliance in Europe. At least it would have increased their chances of winning.

Facing the emperor who was about to go berserk, Minister of War Lucinia explained helplessly, "Your Majesty, no one knows what happened in Egypt. Maybe this is just fake news released by the Austrians.

Including the reinforcements we sent, there are more than 500,000 regular troops in Egypt. Governor Jacob has rich combat experience. Even if he can't defeat the enemy, it is impossible for the army to be wiped out so quickly.

Before the port fell, our last contact with Egypt, Governor Jacob also guaranteed that we could hold on for at least half a year. "

Holding on for half a year naturally had preconditions. War was all about supplies. With sufficient logistics, 500,000 regular French soldiers and 300,000 cannon fodder troops would certainly have the power to fight.

But the plan was not fast enough. The port, which was heavily guarded by the French army, fell first, and the French Egyptian army was left alone.

This was the tragedy of losing air supremacy. The Mediterranean Sea was not big. The Austrian air force could monitor every move of the French navy from Libya, but the French couldn't track the movements of the Austrian navy.

This was the tragedy of losing air supremacy. The Mediterranean Sea was not big, and the Austrian Air Force flying from Libya could monitor every move of the French Navy, but the French could not track the movements of the Austrian Navy.

In this era without wireless telegraphy, even if spies collected information, there was no way to send it back in time.

The information was not equal. The French navy had to be conservative in a series of actions. The main fleet didn't dare to split up, for fear of being ambushed by the Austrian navy.

There was only a small fleet stationed in Egypt. The scale was very limited. Suddenly being attacked by the Austrian navy and air force, they naturally couldn't withstand it.

The fact that the entire fleet wasn't wiped out was enough to prove that the French navy was reliable. As for the safety of the port, it was too difficult.

Without the support of the navy's firepower and the combined attack of the Austrian army, the fall of France's port in Egypt was inevitable.

After hearing this explanation, Napoleon Iv's expression softened. "You mean the Austrians are spreading rumors, but what good does this do for them? Is it just to intimidate those fence-sitters?

In fact, we all know that roping in allies to attack Austria's overseas colonies is only to get rid of the passive situation of political isolation. It can't really affect the war.

For Austria, if they win this war, even if they lose all their overseas colonies, they will all return to them after the war.

Releasing this rumor now will protect their overseas colonies, but it will also push them to the opposite side of the European countries. Especially Britain and Russia, they absolutely don't want to see them continue to grow. "

Releasing this kind of rumor was not worth it for Austria. This was the conclusion Napoleon Iv came to based on the current international situation. It was also the reason why the international community was willing to believe the rumor.

Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec said, "Your Majesty, this may be the Austrians planning for the international situation after the war.

After all, if our strategy succeeds, Austria will have a large number of enemies overseas. With so many countries involved, if they all went to seek revenge, it was bound to cost a lot. It was also impossible not to retaliate. This was related to the dignity of the country.

If that's the case, then we have to be careful. The enemy may only do this because they have the confidence to win the war.

The embassy in Russia sent news that Russia and Austria have been in frequent contact recently. We all know that Russia and Austria have a very close relationship, and Austria has a great influence in the Russian Empire.

Those Eastern European barbarians are relatively simple-minded, and most of the time they do things without thinking. If Austria roped in the Russians, then it will be difficult to fight the war later. "

The chain of contempt had always existed. For a long time, the European continent had been developed in Western Europe and backward in Eastern Europe. The most Eastern European Russia naturally became the target of everyone's contempt.

There was no doubt that Karel Kadlec was deeply influenced by this concept and had always been biased against the Tsarist government.

Whether it was strategy or interests, as long as people were stupid, it wasn't a problem.

According to the principle that two tigers cannot share a mountain, Russia and Austria, as neighbors, should be incompatible. The reality was the opposite. The relationship between Russia and Austria exceeded everyone's expectations.

So much so that European international relations experts were led astray, and there were even people who openly suggested that as long as politicians could maintain restraint, all conflicts could be solved with political means.

Frankly speaking, this view was not without the possibility of success. If it weren't for the British, the continent of Europe might have been able to resolve disputes through political means.

Twenty years ago, the Fao was still an ally. The conflict between the two countries began to escalate after the British joined the alliance.

Because of the lack of confidence in the Tsarist government, they feared that the worst would happen. The French government had no choice but to make a quick decision, forcing the front line to launch an attack. The European war was once again pushed to a climax.

…

In London, since the news of French Egypt came, Prime Minister Gladstone began to lose sleep.

The connected Austria was too terrifying. The existence of this behemoth had seriously threatened the strategic security of Britannia.

From this day on, Britannia's maritime hegemony had lost its role in balancing Austria. If the two countries were to fall out one day, Britannia would have to fight Austria on land.

There was no other way. The Suez Canal had fallen into Austria's hands, and the Cape of Good Hope had become the only hub between Britannia and India, a place that had to be defended militarily.

Losing here also meant losing India. As for taking a detour, it was theoretically feasible, but in fact, it was not operable at all.

Taking a detour was easy to say. If it was a detour of tens of thousands of miles, not only would it increase the time, risk, and cost of sea navigation, but it would also weaken the Government of the United Kingdom's control over India.

If the Russians went south again, the Government of the United Kingdom could not guarantee that reinforcements and strategic supplies could be sent in time.

In the conference room, Prime Minister Gladstone's face was gloomy, and he said solemnly, "Everyone, the worst situation we were worried about has happened.

With the fall of French Egypt, all our means of restriction on Austria have become useless. Right now, we not only have to think about how to deal with the French, but also how to protect the security of the Cape of Good Hope. "

Whether it was a sense of crisis or a paranoia. In theory, as long as Russia and Austria reached a deal, Austria would have the possibility of attacking the Cape of Good Hope.

Even the content of the deal had been imagined by everyone present. The Russian Army would send troops to the European continent to help deal with the French, in exchange for Austria to send troops to occupy the Cape of Good Hope and cut off Britannia's connection with India.

One would take over the hegemony of Europe and Africa, the other would get British India, and the two countries would join forces to divide the world. From the perspective of interests, both Russia and Austria would make a killing.

Foreign Minister George: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already begun to act. We will find a way to disrupt the further convergence of Russia and Austria.

But this is far from enough. Unless the French can severely damage Austria in the European war, the Cape of Good Hope will not be safe from now on.

Things on the battlefield are uncertain. Purely based on the strength on paper, I don't think the French have the possibility of winning the war.

Even if we fully support the French, they do not have the strength to severely damage Austria. The current Austrian Empire was not only the world's largest industrial power, but also a giant with more than 30 million square kilometers of land and hundreds of millions of people.

If we add the other countries in the anti-French alliance, even if we join forces with the French, it will be difficult to gain an advantage.

In this context, either we personally participate in the war, or we force the French to go all out and use them to deplete Austria's strength.

The benefits of doing this are very obvious. The strength of both Fao and Austria will be weakened. No matter who wins or loses, they will not have the strength to dominate Europe after the war. "

This was an easy choice. Britannia had just had a PK with Russia and lost more than 200,000 native troops on the battlefield in Afghanistan. They simply did not have the ability to continue to have a friendly match with Austria.

If they didn't want to go all out, then they could only let their allies do it. France was also a big country. If they did their best, it would be enough to make Austria suffer.

Once Austria's strength was severely damaged, it would be the time for Russia and Austria to go their separate ways. After all, there could only be one European hegemon. When they couldn't win, they had no choice but to give up. Once a new opportunity appeared, no one would let go.

Colonial Minister Primrose echoed, "Sir's proposal is good. I agree with it very much. But before that, we must first increase our troops at the Cape of Good Hope and not give the Austrians a chance.

It is best to send the troops withdrawn from the battlefield in Afghanistan to the Cape of Good Hope to dispel the Austrians' ambitions. "