For hundreds of years, in the British Empire, it was London that made laws for other places to follow. In March 1899, London, the capital of the British province, received the decision of the Imperial Parliament from Victoria City for the first time.
Some of these laws were controversial. For example, church schools were no longer allowed to receive government financial subsidies. Only public schools and some private schools could receive subsidies. In addition, there was the Environmental Protection Act, which was a law that almost copied the environmental laws of the Min dynasty. Mountains, river banks, and water sources were to be greened to conserve water and soil. These laws undoubtedly involved the aristocracy, landlords, capitalists, churches, and other traditional forces. When it was passed, there was a fierce parliamentary struggle.
The Labor Protection Act and the National Pension Act were more widely accepted. These two laws were also called plagiarism. The Labor Protection Act stipulated an eight-hour working day. The National Pension Act stipulated that individuals and businesses contributed to the workers' pension. British subjects were given pensions at the age of 70. British subjects who participated in the pension plan could receive food stamps after the age of 55.
"If this continues, won't we become dependent in the future?" The bureaucrats of the British province were extremely unhappy and criticized these laws. There were many people who agreed with this criticism. Those who did not speak were mostly people who supported these laws.
Criticism was criticism, and the British civil service system did not have the guts to deliberately not implement it. The meeting lasted the whole day. When the meeting ended, the civil officials went out for dinner and drinks. It was drizzling outside. The officials opened umbrellas to the subway station and then took the latest electric vehicles to different destinations. The destination was different, and the goal was to provide a very special restaurant.
The British Parliament moved to Victoria City, but the capital of England was still London. However, everyone knew what was going on. The officials of the Min dynasty embassy in London were actually consular staff. "Ambassador" Hu Zhiqiang took a car to a newly opened restaurant. Just now on the phone, a deputy minister of the British Foreign Ministry asked him to eat.
When he first arrived in England, Ambassador Hu Zhiqiang felt that London was the urban-rural junction of Nanjing. After a few years, he felt that London had also changed a lot. For example, in recent years, a large number of slums had been demolished and many six-story apartments had been built. Although the efficiency of the British in building houses seemed to be appallingly slow in the eyes of the people of the Min dynasty. However, these houses were sold, and they sold quite well. The urban area had planning and demolition. The original narrow roads were not built into ten-lane main roads like the Min dynasty, but they had become six-lane roads. London can be upgraded from a rural-urban fringe to a residential area.
The newly built houses also had the concept of facing the street, and a large number of newly opened shops were doing the food and beverage business. When they arrived at the agreed restaurant, a waiter came in with a large tray not long after they sat down. Looking at the food on the tray, Hu Zhiqiang felt like he had returned to his university days. At that time, various universities in Nanjing had spontaneously formed dining centers aimed at students' pockets. When Hu Zhiqiang was in school, the 'big pelvis' was popular. One theory was that the food was suggested by the Military Governor Of Vaize. There were too many such gimmicks, and the university students didn't believe them. Limited by the fact that their pockets were dry, all they wanted was good quality and cheap goods to satisfy their cravings.
What appeared in front of him was undoubtedly such a thing. It was just that the British chefs separated the bones into finer pieces, unlike when Hu Zhiqiang was a poor student, where he had to use his own hands to separate the bones bit by bit. Picking up a spine with ribs, Hu Zhiqiang took a bite full of nostalgia. Then he froze. The smell really awakened his dormant memories. The meat was stewed very well. It was first brushed with sauce, and then roasted over a small fire. The smell was the same as the smell of the 'Beard' Restaurant, one of the dozen or so big pelvis restaurants next to the university. With such skills, the boss of the 'Beard' Restaurant insisted on charging three yuan more than other restaurants for a big pelvis.
"I think the food in this restaurant is very special," said the British Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs.
Hu Zhiqiang nodded in agreement. The food of the British had really improved in the past few years. First, it was because of the large influx of food from the Min dynasty into the United Kingdom. Second, it was because the price of meat in the United Kingdom had dropped significantly. With a large amount of meat, those strange foods were being taken out less and less. The British's ability to imitate was not bad. The British could also make the red fries from the Min dynasty crispy on the surface and soft and sweet like sugar on the inside.
There was no need to talk nonsense. After the waiter served a large glass of beer, the two first ate and drank a large portion of pork spine to satisfy their cravings. Then they ordered a large portion of grilled cod and fried red fries. Only then did the conversation officially begin.
"Germany has already announced that they will send troops to fight in Hungary," the British Undersecretary said with a full glass of beer.
"Oh," Hu Zhiqiang responded. The Austrian government forces were completely defeated in the past two months of war. At first, the war reporters called the defeat of the Austrian government forces a 'shameful defeat.' Recently, the war reporters changed their words and called the victory of the Hungarian Red Army an 'incredible victory.' Generally speaking, it meant that they were shocked. Hu Zhiqiang himself might not have been completely optimistic about the Hungarian Red Army at first. Moreover, the result of killing 100,000 enemies did make people feel that something was not right.
"Germany has announced that they will send troops," the British Undersecretary said after taking a sip of beer.
This news was not a secret in the diplomatic field. The young William II felt that he had found an opportunity to show the strength of the German Empire after Austria was beaten to such a state. He had already announced that he was ready to reinforce the Austrian cause. Hu Zhiqiang did not make any response. He wanted to see what the British Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs was up to.
The British Undersecretary did not deliberately mystify him. He made a judgment. "Perhaps France, Russia, and Italy will reach an agreement on how to deal with Hungary. Germany, Austria, and the Osman Empire will also have their own choices."
Hu Zhiqiang nodded slightly after listening. Other than the sick man of Europe, the Osman Empire, which was still considering maintaining neutrality, France, Russia, and Italy, as well as Germany and Austria, were indeed considering forming an alliance. From the map, the territories of Germany and Austria plus the Osman Empire divided Europe into two parts. France, Spain, and Italy were on the west, and Russia was on the east. Although Russia and Austria were both eyeing the sick man of Europe, the Osman Empire, the Osman Empire's archenemy was Russia, so the relationship with Austria could be eased.
Since the British had said so, Hu Zhiqiang did not pretend to be profound. He asked, "France, Russia, and Italy, do they have their own ideas about Hungary?"
The British Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs replied, "These three countries proposed that if Hungary can agree to their conditions, they will probably support Hungary's independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
Hu Zhiqiang felt a burst of displeasure in his heart. The so-called conditions were easy to understand. It was probably to cede territory and join the so-called bullshit treaty. Hungary's geographical location was like a knife pressed against Austria's abdomen. Once Hungary joined the French, Russian, and Italian group, the territories of these three countries could be connected. At that time, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which divided Europe into two, would become enemies on three sides. Thinking of this, Hu Zhiqiang asked in a particularly unfriendly tone, "You don't think I'm some big shot in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, do you?"
The British Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs laughed and said, "No, no, we don't want you to do anything. I just can't help but want to tell you that there is such a thing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Min dynasty is unpredictable. Personally, I would like to see how the Min dynasty will face this problem. "
Everything that needed to be said had been said, and the topic of the two soon changed to a lighter topic. Both sides had a profound exchange of experience in eating meat. They both thought that the food at the banquet was very good, and gnawing on meat bones like now was the best way to satisfy their cravings. Recalling their childhood and youth, which seemed to never be full, the two middle-aged men sighed that they really had no appetite now.
After a few glasses of beer, the British Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs could not help but say, "Now that the poor people in Britain have gone to North America, the people who stay in Britain can finally eat meat. The Empire looked down on North America too much before. "
Hu Zhiqiang was very disapproving of these words. The meat that the upper and middle class people who stayed in Britain ate now came from the animals that the "poor" in North America raised. The upper class of Britain and the upper class of Europe were the same. They were never willing to recognize the contribution of productivity to social development. The sparsely populated North America provided the means of production to the poor people in Britain, and the labor of these poor people was fully utilized to produce more products. If it were not for the special circumstances, the upper class of Britain probably would not have given the poor the slightest means of production.
Of course, Hu Zhiqiang knew that these words could not be said to the upper class of Britain in any case. It was not because they could not understand, but they would feel angry from the bottom of their hearts after hearing it.
Returning to the embassy, Hu Zhiqiang sent the latest news to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly summarized the recent news received from various channels. Looking at the overall information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs felt that the British only provided a small part of the information. France, Russia, and Italy may have plans to unite, but they have not decided to form a military alliance. Once a military alliance was formed, it meant that the war between the two sides was completely inevitable. At least at this stage, among the European powers, only Germany had completed the actual general mobilization exercise.
The analysis room listed the contradictions of each country. No matter what angle of interest these countries used to arrange the combination, there was really no reasonable logical chain that could make the content of the British self-consistent. In this case, the analysis room made some adjustments to the parameters. When the condition of "the British are also lying" was added to the entire system, several reasonable logical chains appeared.
So far, the most reasonable logical chain was that France, Russia, and Italy all hoped that Hungary could defeat Germany, and it would be best if they could inflict heavy losses on Germany. Then the allied forces of these three countries could join forces to put pressure on Hungary, which was also suffering heavy losses. This was the most reasonable choice for the allied forces of these three countries to face Germany, Austria, and Hungary, which had suffered great internal losses. If the basis of the three countries' strategy was that the Min dynasty would support Hungary at all costs, this idea was the most likely to be realized.
The analysis department of the Min dynasty was working hard to calculate. In the headquarters of the German General Staff, the intelligence department was also nervously judging the future situation. Because they sent a large number of observers, the German Army almost saw how the Hungarian Red Army defeated the Austrian government army.
When the Austrian government army's old and decadent military tactics met the Hungarian Red Army's flexible, small-scale mobile warfare, the Austrian government army was like a clay ox in the sea, melting bit by bit under the attacks from all directions. After realizing that something was wrong, the Austrian government army began to adopt the mode of large troops entrenching in key points. As a result, the railway was continuously destroyed by the Hungarian troops, and the troops were not allowed to move as a brigade. As a result, the Austrian army's military superiority was greatly reduced. Even a small Hungarian army could lead the Austrian army that was several times their size.
This flexible tactic was not only used for harassment. When the Austrian government army was physically and mentally exhausted, the small Hungarian army suddenly gathered a force several times the local Austrian army on the battlefield and surrounded them. When the Austrian army began to attack the encircled army, the Hungarian army unexpectedly adopted the tactic of encircling the point and attacking the reinforcements. With superior forces, they annihilated the main Austrian army that came to rescue them in the field, and then swaggered away.
The Austrians looked down on the Hungarians, and the Germans looked down on the Austrians. Now, the Wehrmacht still ridiculed the Hungarians, but in their hearts, they already saw the Hungarians as a strong opponent. When the German General Staff was established, it was the most 'trendy' military organization in Europe. Even after 40 years, this organization had not reached the point of rigidity. Therefore, after analyzing the Hungarian tactics, the General Staff believed that if Germany fought with the Hungarian army for the first time, it would probably be a disaster.
The German General Staff did have the desire to fight with the Hungarians, but the Austrian government showed signs of cowardice at this time. The war had only been going on for two months, and if they wanted to continue the war, they could only rely on borrowing. What was worse was that the 100,000 soldiers who were annihilated were not all killed. After the Hungarians brainwashed the Austrian soldiers, they were released. However, the middle-ranking and high-ranking officers, as well as the low-ranking officers of noble birth, were taken away by the Hungarian rebels. These officers were the true core of the Austrian army, and the loss of this group of people was something the Austrian government could not afford.
Also, the German General Staff had to consider France's attitude. What if the French suddenly launched a surprise attack on Germany when the German army was trapped in Hungary? This was the scariest thing to do. After thinking about it, Germany realized that other than a large mobilization, the only way to solve the problem was through diplomatic efforts.
When this suggestion was sent to Austria, it was like a stone sinking into the sea. There was no response. The German General Staff could only be depressed. Although they claimed to be the first in Europe, they were not arrogant enough to criticize the Austrian emperor.
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