Expedition to Europe

"Democracy" is a panacea. No matter what it is, as long as it is related to democracy, it will immediately become high-sounding.

In another time and space, Americans often do this. Americans use the banner of "democracy" to unite and fight against dissidents all over the world, which not only obtains the due benefits, but also establishes the image of "democracy fighters".

Qin Zhiyuan is also well aware of this. He described the resistance of the Sardinian people as the spontaneous struggle of the people for democracy, which nailed Mussolini to the pillar of shame of "dictatorship" and gave Lan Fang a golden body. It is really the best of both worlds.

It is estimated that Mussolini did not expect Qin Zhiyuan's means of playing "democracy" so skillfully, so after Qin Zhiyuan spoke out, Mussolini was a little overwhelmed.

Like France, there are also workers on strike in Italy, and there are also demonstrations to support the resistance of the Republic of Sardinia.

Mussolini was obviously much more ruthless than Alexander Millerand. In the face of domestic strikes and demonstrations, Mussolini took tough measures. In the process of suppressing the strike of workers in Milan, a major city in northern Italy, the Italian military and police used weapons, resulting in the tragedy of 40 deaths and 120 injuries of striking workers.

After the tragedy known as the "Milan Massacre", the Italian government fell into a passive position. Even the British government, which had been supporting the Italian government for some time, had to remain silent.

On December 25, the traditional Western Christmas, the Republic of Sardinia was announced. President Joshua Jordi then announced that the Republic of Sardinia would join France as an independent republic and become part of France.

In other words, the Republic of Sardinia is now a highly autonomous region under the leadership of France.

This result is of course a mixed bag. The Italians and the British are certainly opposed, but the French are jubilant.

Not all French people were jubilant. On the night when Joshua Jody announced that the Republic of Sardinia would join France, Alexander Millerand tossed and turned in the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French President, and could not sleep all night.

To be honest, Alexander Millerand did not want to accept the Republic of Sardinia.

Expanding territory is certainly a good thing, but if it completely turns against a regional power, it will really make Alexander Millerand feel a lot of pressure.

In the entire Mediterranean, France and Italy are in a competitive relationship. It is said that Alexander Millerand should be happy to see the Italians in trouble, but considering the actual situation in France at this time, Alexander Millerand really can't be happy.

The reason for not being happy is still one word "money". The French government has no money, and the salaries of government employees have even been in arrears for two months. This makes Alexander Millerand powerless even if he wants to accept the Republic of Sardinia.

Accepting the Republic of Sardinia is not just a matter of a "royal letter". It will be followed by various appeasements, economic assistance and economic construction. It must have a brand new look compared to the past, so as to show the wisdom and power of the French government.

The problem lies here. The French government has no money, not even the money to repair domestic infrastructure, not to mention the construction of the distant Sardinia. What's more, if according to Joshua Jody, Sardinia joins France as a highly autonomous dominion, it may leave France at any time, which makes Alexander Milleran have no confidence.

There is no confidence in retaining the Republic of Sardinia.

Alexander Milleran knows very well that Lan Fang did play a lot of roles in the establishment of the Republic of Sardinia, because the role played by France in the establishment of the Republic of Sardinia is not very glorious, and Qin Zhiyuan is currently in Corsica, and he is the first great monarch to visit the Republic of Sardinia, which makes the Republic of Sardinia joining France look more like a conspiracy.

Mussolini was not reconciled to his defeat in Sardinia. He had announced that any country that accepted the Republic of Sardinia would be Italy's enemy, and Italy would fight with all its might to prove Italy's intransigence.

In order to better blockade Sardinia, Mussolini even announced that he would immediately start building two battleships to strengthen Italy's naval strength and respond to challenges from any country.

If France wanted to accept the Republic of Sardinia, it would mean that the French government would have to take out a large sum of money from its already tight fiscal budget to respond to Italy's military threat.

But at this time, the French government could not come up with the money, not even a centime.

After tossing and turning in bed all night, Alexander Millerand came to Pierre with a pair of panda eyes the next morning to ask for Pierre's opinion.

"Of course we have to accept it. It's a good thing that the Sardinians want to defect to France. This will inject a shot of adrenaline into the French who are in trouble, boost people's self-confidence, and enhance the cohesion of the country. I can't find a reason not to accept Sardinia." Pierre's attitude was clear.

Perhaps because he was deeply influenced by Qin Zhiyuan in many aspects, Pierre had a clear attitude on the issue of accepting the Republic of Sardinia.

"I know you have a good relationship with Qin, but have you ever considered what Qin would think? I have accurate intelligence here. Lanfang agents were highly involved in the establishment of the Republic of Sardinia. We have reason to believe that there must be Lanfang agents in the upper echelons of the Republic of Sardinia, perhaps the president himself. You also know that the call for Corsica's independence has been getting louder and louder in the past two years. Corsica is now almost like an autonomous region. If we accept the Republic of Sardinia, will Corsica and Sardinia be of the same spirit? That will make us more passive." Alexander Milleran had a headache. He was originally a middle-aged fat man, and he was a little unkempt. Now his hair was very messy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his messy beard was even shaking when he spoke. It was obvious that Alexander Milleran was also struggling fiercely in his heart.

"But if we don't accept it, where will the Republic of Sardinia go next? If they join Lanfang, have you considered the consequences? That will be a huge hidden danger, and it's right next to Corsica. What do you think the Corsicans will think? If you don't want Corsica to be separated from France, then you have to cut off Lanfang's tentacles reaching out to the Mediterranean region. If Lanfang has a foothold in the Mediterranean, it will be a threat not only to Italy, but also to France. Moroccans want to leave France now, and people in other regions are also tempted. If we accept the Republic of Sardinia, it can at least show that France is still a country that everyone yearns for. This is a good thing no matter how you look at it. All we need to pay is a statement." Pierre was a little anxious, and his eyes looking at Alexander Milleran were full of unreasonableness.

Pierre really couldn't understand why Alexander Milleran saw it as full of conspiracy and traps when it was obviously a good thing.

How to say it, in the eyes of "conspiracy theory" holders, no matter what happens in this world, it is full of conspiracy and traps.

Pierre and Qin Zhiyuan do have a good personal relationship, but at the national level, personal relationships are useless. Once the interests of Lan Fang and France conflict, Pierre will definitely stand on the side of France and argue with Lan Fang. Even when necessary, war is one of the means to safeguard national interests.

"We need to pay more than just a statement. I have a budget here. If we accept the Republic of Sardinia, we need to pay at least 500 million francs for this, and we can't get this money now anyway." Alexander Millerand explained to Pierre. In fact, Pierre knows these numbers better, because the government's fiscal budget must be submitted to the National Assembly for approval, and Pierre is now the Speaker of the National Assembly.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

"Five hundred million-why do you need so much?" Pierre was a little confused.

"Sardinia has a population of nearly 400,000. If we want to accept the Republic of Sardinia, we will be responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of these 400,000 people. At the same time, we will have to face the military threat of the Italians. You know, that madman has decided to start building two battleships. If we want to fight back, we must also start building two battleships--" Alexander Millerand spread his hands and put all the difficulties one by one. Either Congress gives money or accepts the Republic of Sardinia.

"Damn it, Congress has no money!" Pierre is very clear about the current situation of the French government. Although the economy has begun to recover, France still faces serious social problems. Morocco's rebellion also requires a lot of funds, and the French government really can't squeeze out this money.

"So what we can do now-is to give spiritual support to the Republic of Sardinia." Alexander Millerand smiled bitterly. It is not easy to make this decision. If it is spread, Alexander Millerand will be scolded by the French for eighteen generations.

"No, we can't do that. We want to accept the Republic of Sardinia. We can call on citizens to donate, issue bonds, and strive for bank loans. We can even use our reserves. As long as we want to accept the Republic of Sardinia, we will always find a way. Not accepting it will be the worst option. I don't agree with it." Pierre insisted.

"You can donate money and buy bonds, but it doesn't necessarily mean that others are willing to do so. As for bank loans, we still owe a lot of debt to the bank. The reserves have been mortgaged to the United States and have not been redeemed yet, so we can't do it." Alexander Millerand still put the facts and reason.

As an old empire, France certainly has some assets, but during the World War, France shipped all the assets accumulated over the years to the United States as collateral for borrowing from the United States, so the money cannot be obtained before France pays off the loan.

"I know what you said is true, but the reason why difficulties arise is that people overcome them. I must remind you that if we don't accept the Republic of Sardinia now, then we will become sinners of France." Pierre's words are a bit heavy.

Alexander Millerand had a bleak expression and spread his hands to show that he was helpless.

Pierre did not say anything else. He glared at Alexander Millerand for a while and turned away. The sound of closing the door was still a bit heavy.