Chapter 995

Once Pandora's box was opened, it could not be closed again. The dispute at the French command in Aswan was only a small interlude. Similar incidents continued to play out in Egypt.

How to surrender reasonably became the focus of everyone's debate. This was not because the French generals were cowards, nor was it because they were unpatriotic.

The high-ranking officers knew the importance of Egypt, but it did not mean that the soldiers at the bottom could understand the importance of Egypt to France. In the eyes of most soldiers, Egypt was nothing more than a colony. It was not a big deal if they lost it.

Since they couldn't defend it, they might as well give it up. Anyway, France didn't just lose a few colonies. They were much richer than the Egyptian region, and life was still going on.

Without morale and insufficient resources, this kind of war could not be fought.

Under such circumstances, the shrewd high-ranking officers naturally had to consider a way out and strive for a dignified ending.

Starting from June, the Austrians slowed down their offensive and changed to a long-term siege. The situation in Egypt also gradually eased.

What was originally a military struggle had gradually turned into a political one. At the negotiating table, the representatives fought with their words. The intensity was no less than on the battlefield.

Launching a political offensive was personally instructed by Franz. As a peace-loving emperor, he had to reduce casualties as much as possible.

Up until now, the Austrians had also paid hundreds of thousands of casualties. When the war ended, this number would increase.

The French in Egypt were already trapped. Time was on the Austrians' side. There was insufficient food, and the water source had been destroyed. The besieged French could not afford to drag on.

Rather than forcing the French to fight like cornered beasts, it was better to use political means to make them surrender and reduce their own losses.

As for draining the French's strength, it could be done in the prison camp. It was even easier than on the battlefield.

The effect of a political offensive was obvious. As time passed, more and more French soldiers realized that struggling was useless. More and more French soldiers put down their weapons and entered the prison camp.

The dust in Egypt was about to settle, and the European continent was also developing in a better direction. The French's expulsion increased the burden on Austria, but it also made the people of the German Region feel the same hatred.

Under the stimulation of the power of hatred, Bede's army, which was originally only second-rate combat power, also underwent a shocking transformation. If combat power was not enough, morale was used to make up for it. There were already some traces of elite troops.

This change was directly reflected on the battlefield in Central Europe. The anti-French alliance, which was originally at a disadvantage due to the lack of allies, gradually began to turn the tables.

Austria's hidden armored forces had not yet been put into use, and the total number of troops sent to the battlefield in Central Europe was only a million or so. It was not a full effort at all.

The gains on the battlefield were not much. What really made Franz happy was the political gains.

Due to the war, the idea of Germany was completely rooted in the hearts. Due to the influence of the war, the idea of Germany was deeply rooted in the people.

Under the threat of the French, the interest groups that originally boycotted Austria now changed their stance and sent representatives to contact the Vienna government.

Franz would have given Napoleon IV the Order of the Reunification of Germany in recognition of his contribution to the unification of Germany, if it had not been for the fact that the positions of both parties were at odds.

So far, the Government of Vienna had signed a secret treaty with 23 states and reached an agreement on the reconstruction of the Holy Roman Empire.

Yes, it was to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire. The word "new" in front would be removed to show the inheritance of the complete legal system of Shinra.

That's right, it was to rebuild the Holy Empire. The word "new" in front of it had to be removed in order to show that they had inherited the complete legal system of Shenluo.

As for the current North Germany, once the war ended, it would become history and disappear from this world.

Just when everything was developing in a good direction, there was suddenly a piece of unbelievable news for Franz.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? The Japanese are going to invade Nanyang?"

It was not that Franz was making a fuss, but the news was too abnormal.

It was not that Franz was making a fuss, but the news was too abnormal. If the Japanese and the French had formed an alliance to invade Austrian Nanyang before the news of the fall of French Egypt spread, he could understand.

But it was different now. Since the Government of Vienna released rumors of complete occupation of Egypt, the American countries that had been encouraged by Britain and France retreated.

Even Colombia, which had many conflicts with Austria, had stopped all anti-Austrian propaganda and no longer mentioned revenge.

Everyone was smart. Since the outbreak of the European war, the French seemed to be advancing triumphantly, but in fact, they had only achieved a series of tactical victories and were completely defeated in terms of strategy.

They couldn't break through the Rhine River defense line on the battlefield in Central Europe, were suppressed by Austria on the battlefield in Southern Europe, and lost in Africa. Now they had lost the vital Egypt. It felt like the sun was setting in the west.

At this time, not to mention the secret support of the British, even if they personally intervened, they might not be able to reverse the situation.

In this context, who would dare to jump into the giant pit of France?

The Japanese were not stupid. Even if the French promised more benefits, there was no reason for them to participate in the abuse.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Yesterday morning, the Government of Japan announced to send troops to Nanyang on the grounds that the ongoing disputes in the Nanyang region had harmed their own interests.

Immediately afterward, Britain and France issued an announcement inviting the Japanese Navy to enter Nanyang to help restore order there.

The current chaos in Nanyang is just a small episode in the war against France. After the outbreak of the war, we and the French in the Nanyang region also fell out.

Affected by this, the social order in the Nanyang region has also been broken. Pirates are emerging, and the once prosperous Strait of Malacca is now almost cut off from trade. "

There was no doubt that the chaos in Nanyang was related to Austria. The pirates were rampant, and Austria had something to do with it.

Because of the war, the route from the Austrian mainland to Austrian Nanyang was basically cut off. Even if they could go, they had to make a big circle.

With the African continent and sufficient preparation in advance, Austria's demand for resources in the Nanyang region could not be met. The need for this route could be said to be negligible.

Based on the principle that they couldn't use it and couldn't let the enemy use it, they naturally had to destroy it. At first, they just blocked the Strait of Malacca with the Germans who occupied the Malay Peninsula and prohibited French merchant ships from passing.

Later, when they found that the effect was not ideal, they just changed their flag. In this day and age, there was no accurate satellite positioning. It was impossible to determine the owner of the ship and its destination.

The best way was naturally to ban all transport of strategic materials. Unfortunately, this involved too many countries and was very easy to offend people. First of all, the British would not agree.

In order to reduce the impact, Austria had to play dirty. For a time, pirates gathered in the Nanyang region, specifically targeting the ships transporting strategic materials.

Since the outbreak of the European war, more than 100 ships had accidents in the Nanyang region, with a total tonnage of more than 200,000 tons.

While Austria was doing something, the French were not idle. It was too embarrassing to rob in person, so both sides supported a group of white gloves and played pirate tactics.

Interestingly, the Fao and the French countries did not have the largest loss of ships, but the British had the largest number of ships sunk.

Of course, this was only based on the flag. No one knew which country the ship belonged to, nor did they want to know.

From the fact that the British did not jump out, it could be proved that among the ships looted by the pirates, there were not many that belonged to Britannia.

Now, letting the Japanese Navy enter Nanyang to encircle the pirates was fake. The goal was to help the French restore the route and attack Austria. It was even possible to directly invade Austrian Nanyang.

Although everyone looked down on the strength of the Japanese, in the Nanyang region, the Japanese also had the ability to influence the outcome of the battle with the Fao.

Prime Minister Carr: "The situation in the Nanyang region is complicated. Our local naval power is limited, and it is very difficult to defeat the Franco-Japanese coalition.

Once the enemy launches a full-scale attack, we can only choose to temporarily avoid it. If we want to reverse this situation, we can only get new allies in, such as Spain, Portugal, or the Dutch.

This is almost impossible. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has tried many times. Even if we offer a high price, they don't have the guts to participate. "

Not counting the sleeping Empire of the Far East, there were only a few countries that had influence in the Nanyang region. The British couldn't be won over, so the Government of Vienna could only choose generals from the short. It was a pity that these shorties were not willing to participate.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Maybe the situation is not as bad as we think. If the Japanese want to enter Nanyang, they must first cross the Philippines, and it is best to take down Ryukyu as well.

Under the premise that the anti-French alliance has the advantage, as long as the Government of Japan is not stupid, they will not choose to bind themselves to the French at this time.

Compared to us, those two old empires that were nearing their end were obviously easier to bully. As long as we show a certain amount of goodwill, the Japanese should make the right choice. "

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