Holy Roman Empire

Montenegro and Greece can also follow this example. If there is no land allocated to them, just reward them with warships. "

The Vienna government has decided to provoke a new round of naval arms race at the dawn of the pre-dreadnought era, and now these battleships are bound to be eliminated.

Keeping it in your hands is a burden, and if you want to sell it all, there is no such wealthy financial backer in the world.

According to past practice, these warships that cannot be disposed of are usually refitted if they can be refitted into merchant ships, and if they cannot be refitted, they are turned into school training ships. Scrap iron.

Giving it to an ally can't be said to be a scam. Austria's backward goods are still the main force in the hands of the Russian navy.

Minister of the Navy Castagni said unwillingly: "Your Majesty, we are at a disadvantage by giving away the warship for nothing. At least we have to recover the cost?"

Regardless of whether it is selling a second-hand warship or converting it into a merchant ship for sale, it can provide a sum of military expenses for the navy.

Franz said with a smile: "Our allies can't afford it at the cost price. Even if the price is lower, I don't think the Tsarist government has the courage to buy a fleet.

Besides, it's not really a free gift, we have exchanged political interests.As for the loss of military expenses of the navy, wouldn't it be back after doing after-sales service?

If it is not enough, you will sell them some small warships, help them complete the port upgrade, and promote the Austrian standard to the allies' navies.

The navy of the Principality of Montenegro is almost zero, and you can make troubles as you like; the Greek navy is still an imperial system, and you need to help them correct it; the Russian navy is still 30 years ago, and you have a lot of business. "

Franz once thought that free was the conscience of merchants. After being beaten by the society, he had to admit that free products are the most expensive.

It seems that no money has been paid for this service, but in fact, it has already been paid for elsewhere.

While donating warships, the Austrian Navy standard can also be promoted by the way, and the benefits contained in this are definitely not low.

Looking at the army, one can see that through a series of operations by the Vienna government, arcane equipment has become the most popular weapon in the world.

More than half of the countries in the world have adopted arcane weapons, and Austria occupies 73.6% of the army's arms exports in the international arms market.

In contrast, the navy is much sadder. It is overwhelmed by the British in the international arms market, and its market share is less than 10%, which does not match its strength at all.

"Your Majesty, the tsarist government's finances are very bad, and it is almost impossible for them to become rich." Chancellor Karl reminded

Franz nodded: "We can sign a long-term raw material supply contract with the Russians, overdraft the future earnings of the Russians, and increase the funds that the Tsarist government can mobilize in the short term.

Helping the Russians upgrade their military ports can also fool them into making them dual-use for both military and civilian purposes, using the future income of the port to make up for the initial investment.

Mobilize our influence in Russia to build momentum, let the age of the sea be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and exaggerate the important letter of sea power.

Let the tsarist government believe that the reason why the Russian Empire was poor was because it gave up the ocean and smashed the mainland.

Wait for the Tsarist government to take the bait, then talk to them about the territory deal.For the territory of the Russian Ukrainian region, a high price was quoted to bulge the pockets of the tsarist government.

Perhaps on the surface we suffered a loss, but after a round of tossing, the money will still flow back to Austria.

As long as it can stimulate the Russians' ambitions for the sea and induce the tsarist government to shift its strategy to the Indian Ocean, it will be a victory.

If necessary, a false market boom could be created in Russia to make the tsarist government think it had recovered..."

This is a big game of chess, and it can even be said that it is the biggest chess game that Franz has played since he succeeded to the throne.

Not only does it frame the anti-Turkish alliance, most countries in the world are pawns on the chessboard.

The strategic induction of the Russians is an insignificant part of this grand strategy.This game of chess started more than ten years ago.

Because of the vicissitudes of the international situation, several fine-tunings were made in the middle, and Franz barely completed the layout until now.

It is not necessary for all strategic plans to be successful, as long as one-third of them achieve their goals, Austria is the winner.

Chapter 24 Hope

With the passage of time, the overseas interests of various countries have continued to increase, and there have been more and more frictions and checks and balances between major countries, and most of them are passive.

Austria wanted to destroy Ottoman in order to obtain a stable rear, and inadvertently extended its tentacles deep into Persia, possessing the ability to threaten India.

In overseas colonial activities, there are many places where Britain and Austria check and balance each other, and the threats are mutual.

You can touch my cheese, and I can take your bread.Everyone is restraining each other, for example:

The Cape of Good Hope of the British is all right under the eyes of Austria; Austrian Alaska is next to Canada, and no conflict broke out.

Today is different from the past, Austrian Alaska is no longer a country of ice and snow with nothing, but a famous gold producing area in the world.

Of course, this is famous, not because the local gold production is against the sky, but mainly because the colonial government did a good job in advertising.

In terms of ranking, the main gold producing areas in the world are: South Africa, Australia, Canada, the United States, Russia, West Africa, and Alaska can only rank seventh.

Austrian Alaska's reputation is mainly due to its harsh climate conditions, which were dubbed "God's test" by Austrian poets.

The colonial government of Austrian Alaska, which is underpopulated, directly took this sentence as a propaganda slogan.

It is declared to the outside world that Alaska has the gold mine with the worst natural conditions in the world, which is a test left by God for mankind.

Only by withstood the test set by God can we make a fortune and reach the pinnacle of life.

Of course, the Russians may not accept the statement "the worst natural conditions", and there are many gold mines with harsh climates in the Russian Empire.

It is true to say that it is God's test. If you fail the test, you will really go to see God.

In the icy Alaska, there are more than four-figure gold diggers every year, who met God on the gold rush road.Those who have made a fortune are the very few lucky ones who have experienced the test.

Alaska's annual gold production of tens of tons is also a piece of fat that cannot be easily given up to the Vienna government.

If the British government is not too sensitive to India, it will find that the mutual restraint between Britain and Austria is not small.

Although India is delicious, it is impossible for the Vienna government to take risks before eating it with full confidence.

The premise of a potential threat is "potential". The British have been operating in India for so many years, and it is not paper.

Now is the peak period of Britain. If anyone thinks that British India is a soft persimmon, they will rush forward foolishly and bleed out if they touch their heads.

……

The goodwill released by the London and Vienna governments pulled the British government out of the panic.

As the saying goes, "You are also afraid, then I can rest assured."Since Austria is still afraid of Britain, it means that India is still safe for the time being.

In the prime minister's residence in Downing Street, after rationally analyzing the pros and cons, Gladstone was at a loss.

"What do you think the Austrian government is trying to do by suddenly releasing goodwill?"

Seeming to have thought of something, Foreign Minister George's face changed drastically: "What is the true purpose of the Austrians is not yet certain. But then, we are afraid that we will be in big trouble.

Austria's willingness to sign a guarantee treaty with us can only prove that the Vienna government has no interest in Persia for the time being, and it does not mean that the Russians are not interested either.

The international situation is changing. Although Austria is temporarily leading the European countries, their hegemony in the European continent is not stable.

It can be seen from the goodwill shown by the Vienna government to us that the Austrians did not have the confidence to secure the hegemony of the European continent.

Neither the ambitious Russian nor the haughty French will recognize their place.

Sandwiched between France and Russia, Austria's continental hegemony is a joke.Perhaps aware of this, the Vienna government has never regarded itself as the hegemon of the European continent from beginning to end.

As time goes on, France and Russia will recover, and Austria will be in big trouble.

According to past experience, the Austrians will not confront France and Russia head-on, and most of them will play the trick of shifting conflicts.

I am afraid that in the next step, they will encourage the Russians to go south to the mainland, provoke the conflict between the Russians and us, and then concentrate on dealing with France.

The North German Empire planned by us may also become the guard guarding the west gate for Austria. "

The reason why Yangmou is scary is that things will still happen if they are exposed.

The ambitions of the Russians are not something the London government can do away with.Unlike the Russia-Austria relationship from the period of the Anti-French War, the two countries have been allies and have been maintained through bumps and bumps until now. The relationship between Britain and Russia is a complete mess.

Even if the Austrian plan is put on the desk of Alexander III, the tsarist government will still happily go south to the next continent.

Warnings from the London government can only be counterproductive. Trust is always easy to break and hard to build.

In the past few decades, Russia and Austria have established a basic relationship of trust through three generations of monarchs.Although they stabbed each other secretly, the agreements reached by the two countries were finally fulfilled.

The Vienna government encouraged Russia to go south, which was a real interest, and the tsarist government would naturally believe it; the British pointed out that Austria was conspiring to drive a wedge between Britain and Russia, and the tsarist government would not take it seriously.

I didn't have anything from you in the first place, so how can we talk about alienation?

It is even more incomprehensible for the North German Empire to act as a guard. It is determined by the geographical location.

Unless the North German Empire plan is abandoned and the North German region continues to be divided, then the weak German Federation will definitely not work.

This is the worst choice, bar none.External pressure is also the driving force for a nation to unite.

Unless the London government personally goes into battle to help withstand the French military pressure, otherwise the bunch of small states in the German region will fall to Austria in minutes.

After hesitating for a while, Gladstone sighed: "The price Austria can offer is too high for the Russians to refuse.

But this is a matter of the future, and the tsarist government should be peaceful for a while in a short time.Let the governor of India be prepared, and the Central Asia and Persia regions will be less peaceful in the future.

A warning to the French, let them hold back their ambitions.Otherwise, if the opportunity is created for the Austrians and the anti-French alliance is reorganized, let them cry!

Next, everyone must increase their vigilance, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The enemies we encountered this time were different from those in the past. They were much more difficult than France and Russia, and the previous experience could not be used on them.

The main battlefield in the future has shifted, from a real fight with swords and guns to a diplomatic game. "

The Vienna government made moves one after another, and the London government could only respond passively, which made Gladstone very dissatisfied.

You must know that Britain has always been known as a diplomatic power, but now it is led by the nose, and it does not know how to start if it wants to fight back?

Foreign Minister George replied confidently: "Don't worry, Prime Minister. It was just that we were not vigilant enough against Austria, and they took advantage of the loopholes, so we fell into a passive state. This kind of thing will never happen again."

……

On November 1882, 11, the Anti-Turkish Alliance successfully joined forces on the Kyzyl River, and the Ottoman Empire became precarious.

In the Royal Palace of Ankara, Abdul Hamid II is already on fire at this moment, which is ten times worse than the Austrian airship dropping bombs on his head in the last Near East War.

The British boss is indeed very strong and has supported them with a lot of supplies, but this is all in the past tense.

After the Asia Minor peninsula was divided into two, the western region was completely isolated from the outside world, surrounded by anti-Turkish alliances on all sides.

No amount of material assistance can be delivered.Theoretically speaking, the British can also use airships to airdrop.

It's a pity that this is impossible. The British support for Ottoman is also limited. Sending airships to drop supplies directly is challenging the bottom line of the anti-Turkish alliance.

In case the conflict is intensified and oneself is involved, the London government can only cry.

Neither Austria nor Russia has the power to spy on the Indian region alone, but once the two countries join forces, the situation will be different.

Not to mention expelling the British, at least there is no problem in burning the war to the hinterland of India.Against the second of the world's three largest army powers at the same time, the London government has not gone crazy.

Waging war to defend the Ottomans?It is estimated that Downing Street will change owners as soon as the suggestion is made.

Panicked Abdul Hamid II: "Prime Minister, what should we do now?"

Midhat replied uneasy: "Your Majesty, at this point, the enemy will not give us a way out, and we can only do our best to keep Osman.

The Russian army is only more than 80 kilometers away from Ankara. Next, we will prepare for the defense of the capital. Your Majesty can visit the front line to boost morale. "

"Do we still have hope of winning?" Abdul Hamid II asked expectantly

He really wanted to hear that someone could give him an affirmative answer.Midhart is not a flatterer, the mess in the country makes his heart flutter, so naturally he will not flatter him at this time.

"The enemy's advantage is too great, and our chances of winning the war are almost zero, but there is still hope for the preservation of the Ottoman Empire.

As long as the anti-Turkish alliance is given maximum damage, the brutal number of casualties will calm them down, and then they will come to the negotiating table.

At that time, pay a certain price and send the enemy out of the country, and we will be able to end this war decently. "

Abdul Hamid II said fiercely: "Okay, I will go to inspect the barracks."

What people fear most is that there is no hope. Even if they know that there is little hope, some people can't help but try.

By this time, the expectations of Abdul Hamid II have also dropped, and it is enough to keep the Ottoman Empire and the throne.

Chapter 25 Missed the passenger car

The mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood are the true portrayal of the battlefield in the Near East at this moment.The war has progressed to the present, and both sides have become red-eyed.

Everyone has only one goal - to kill the enemy.In order to win, everyone gave up the bottom line, and various means of refreshing the offline are constantly being staged.

The combined power of religion and war is terrifying.Human bombs have become conventional weapons, and some even use seven or eight-year-old children as launchers.

The bombs were tied to the children, and the whips were waved to drive them forward. The cries and explosions sounded at the same time. There is no hell on earth like this.

When sympathy is exhausted, the consequences are naturally disastrous. The bloodiest places in the war have become no man's land after the war.

Looking at the information sent back, the well-informed Franz was also silent.The only response was that the Ottomans were "crazy".

Defeat is not terrible. As long as people are still there, there is hope for a comeback. If people are gone, there will be nothing.

Now that it is the 19th century, international public opinion can play a little role.Everyone knows that a shameless government like Austria cannot commit genocide.