Holy Roman Empire

Moreover, with their strength, if a conflict broke out with Austria, it might give the Vienna government an excuse to annex them. "

It's not that Napoleon IV was demanding, the key is that now they have to come up with weighty countermeasures and show them to European countries and domestic people.

Being bullied by others, if you don't fight back, is that still the awesome France?

The reason why great powers are great powers depends on their strength.Now France needs a chance to prove its own strength. It chooses to have a friction with England and Austria in order to re-establish their status as the three major powers.

The result is not important, but the momentum must be enough to let everyone see the demeanor of a great country in France.

After a while, Minister of Economic Affairs Elsa said with some trepidation: "Your Majesty, you don't have to take military action to take revenge on Austria, but you can also do it economically.

It's just that if you do this, the consequences will be a bit serious.We may face the two countries of Russia and Austria at the same time, which is still inextricable. "

France is not England, and the strategic plan of killing two birds with one stone is not their highest pursuit.

learn from mistakes.

The French government has clearly felt the sequelae of too high hatred value, and it alone caused trouble for Austria, and a small revenge would be fine.

It is not in the interests of France to directly form a deadly feud with Russia and Austria and continue to confront each other.

After hearing what the Minister of Economy said, everyone was stunned.Isn't it just economically giving Austria the next black hand, as for Russia and Austria becoming immortal enemies?

Napoleon IV asked curiously: "Tell me, what plan is so terrifying?"

Economy Minister Elsa explained: "Immediately start the African Agricultural Development Plan, unlike the previous plan, this time we do not consider benefits.

No one from the private sector invested, so the government funded the establishment of state-owned farms to expand the area of ​​grain cultivation.

In a short period of time, a large amount of grain will be produced and put into the international grain market to bring down the price of grain.

Agriculture has always been one of the most important industries in Austria. The export of agricultural products accounts for nearly [-]% of Austria's total exports and contributes a large amount of tax revenue to the Vienna government.

Among them, the export of finished grains accounts for the largest share of agricultural product exports, estimated to account for about 53%.

If our plan succeeds and international food prices plummet, Austria will surely lose a lot.

Of the finished grains exported by Austria, 70.00% of the raw grains are imported from Russia. The international grain prices have plummeted, and the Russians will be the second victim after Austria. "

There is no doubt that this is the common weakness of Russia and Austria.Once a third country dumps a large amount of grain and international grain prices collapse, companies engaged in agricultural product processing and farmers who grow grain will suffer heavy losses.

Enterprises are only facing the pain of a sudden price drop. At worst, they will lower the purchase price of raw grains and pass on the losses. The farmers who grow grains are the real losers.

Such an obvious loophole is naturally no secret.

For colonial countries, there is naturally no technical difficulty in growing grain overseas and dumping it on the European continent.

The problem is that the increase in food production will inevitably lead to a drop in international food prices.

The hard-earned food not only makes no money, but even pays for shipping costs, let alone recovering the cost of land reclamation.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Vernon hastily objected: "No! Africa is undeveloped wasteland, while Russia and Austria are cultivated land that has been developed. Our food planting costs will definitely be higher than theirs.

This means that we are inherently disadvantaged in future competition.In order to ensure that the grain is not unsalable, the only way to go is dumping at low prices.

At that time, everyone will be fighting for their financial resources, to see who can't hold on and fall first, this is completely hurting others.

What's more, the sharp drop in international food prices will also spread to the country, causing domestic farmers to lose money along with them. "

There is no rush, once this plan is launched, it will cost money like water, and the shriveled pockets of the Ministry of Finance will not be able to support it at all.

Napoleon IV: "Roy is right. It is not advisable to hit the price of food. This will only make us and Austria lose, and the British on the side will be in vain."

Napoleon IV didn't care if he accidentally injured the Russian. Anyway, the relationship between the two countries is not easy, so if you offend him, you will be offended.

It is different when it concerns the interests of French farmers.French farmers are the most staunch supporters of the Bonaparte family. Napoleon III ascended to the throne only with the support of the majority of farmers.

No matter how big the blow to Austria was, Napoleon IV would not be able to do this kind of self-destruction of the Great Wall.

The words of politicians have been spoken, so naturally they cannot be taken back easily.Since Elsa made this suggestion, she could only bite the bullet and go on.

"Even if it is not to attack Austria, it is necessary for us to start the African farm plan.

Since the annexation of the Italian region, France has become one of the major grain importers in the European continent, consuming a large amount of foreign exchange to import agricultural products every year.

If one day we turn against Austria, a food crisis will soon break out in the country.For the sake of national strategic security, food self-sufficiency must also be achieved.

Anyway, we have all withdrawn from the free trade system, and we can completely adopt tariff barriers to protect domestic grain prices from international market interference and protect the interests of the peasant class.

We can even take a step back, instead of competing for the international agricultural product market, we can just achieve domestic food self-sufficiency and reduce the hostility between Russia and Austria. "

Hearing "protect the market", Napoleon IV's heart brightened.On the premise of ensuring that the interests of domestic farmers are not damaged, he is still happy to attack Austria's economy.

Although the economy is not equal to the strength of the country these days, if the economy develops well, the government will have money in its pocket, and if there is money, there will be soldiers.

Perhaps the middle and lower classes have not yet felt the threat of Austria, but after the Paris Revolution, the upper echelons of the French government realized that their former neighbors were not the same as before.

Suppressing Austria has become the consensus of high-level French officials, and no action has been taken because the French government is very busy.After suppressing the domestic rebellion, there is still a lot of mess waiting to be cleaned up.

Seeing that domestic problems were about to be resolved, the Egyptian rebellion broke out again.If it were not forced to help, the French government would not choose to fight back at this time.

Today, the Greater French Empire is a major food importer after the British.Once this market is lost, there will inevitably be agricultural overcapacity in Europe.

At that time, Russia and Austria, the two major grain exporting countries, should not expect to have a good life, and may even trigger a new round of economic crisis.

Chapter 62 Docking the Tail to Survive

In Ugsur, the Eighth Division of the Rebel Army has built simple fortifications on the spot, waiting for the arrival of the French.

In the headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Hutier pointed to the sand table with his baton and said: "According to the intelligence reported by the scouts, the enemy stopped advancing thirty miles away.

Apparently, this is what has spotted us.The enemy's vigilance was very high, and the previously prepared ambush plan was immediately cancelled. "

The French have been operating in Egypt for a long time, and naturally they have cultivated many cronies. The news that the Eighth Division appeared in Ugsul cannot be kept secret at all.

After a big defeat, the current French army has become a frightened chicken.Any turmoil will arouse their vigilance, and it is impossible to ambush them.

Falkenhayn complained: "Who knows what those idiots in the rear are doing for food, and they missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for nothing."

The ambush plan itself is based on the premise that there will be pursuers.Only when being chased by the enemy, the French have no time to think, and will rush into the ambush area in a panic.

It is a pity that the insurgents moved slowly. By the time they reacted, the French had already run dozens of kilometers away.

One step at a time, one step at a time.The speed of the march itself, the rubbish rebel army, after being pulled away, naturally couldn't catch up with the French who were eager to escape.

After the French army found out that something was wrong, they could still set up camp, which is enough to show that the pressure from the pursuers in the rear was not great.

Potiorek said something fair: "This is a normal phenomenon. The bombing of the Aswan Dam not only severely damaged the French army, but also the rebel army suffered heavy losses.

If this kind of thing happened, the rebel army would definitely panic, and the contradictions among the high-level leaders would also intensify.

Being able to gather troops in such a short time and catch up, it is estimated that Lieutenant General Jerrett will waste a lot of time. "

Hutil nodded, and directly brought the topic to combat: "Judging from the current situation, the situation is still in our favor.

No matter how slow they are, the presence of pursuers can put pressure on the French.

In a sense, it is also a good thing not to have a direct hand with the French.

If there was a fight, it would expose the weak nature of the rebel army, and maybe the French would counterattack.

If the enemy doesn't come over, we'll just wait here.Time is on our side.

If Adolf doesn't want to be flanked by us back and forth, he must rush over from here within five days.

Now we have seized all the traffic arteries and established a simple line of defense, but these are still not enough.

In terms of combat effectiveness, the Eighth Division is at most equivalent to a French second-line infantry regiment.Even if we have so many advantages, it is still difficult to defeat the enemy on the frontal battlefield.

The next step is to test what everyone has learned. Only by adapting flexibly according to the situation on the battlefield can it be possible to keep the enemy behind. "

Obviously, it was not easy for Hutier to face the French head-on for the first time.

Major Potiorek, an optimist, said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. We can't afford to provoke the main force of the French army. Can't we deal with a group of remnants and defeated generals?

If the scouts are not mistaken, more than half of the French army has no weapons. They can't fight us with fire sticks!

If it is not possible, we can also destroy roads and bridges, delay their marching speed, and buy time for the main force of the rebel army. "

Lieutenant Colonel Hutil rolled his eyes: "Major Potiorek, I hope your performance on the battlefield is as optimistic.

As for the destruction of roads and bridges, there is no need to consider it.If it is really destroyed, the French will have to take a detour.

From Esna across the Sahara Desert into the Valley Province, the narrowest place is only more than a hundred kilometers, as long as you are willing to pay a certain price, it is not impossible. "

Having said this, Hutier reacted instantly, and he finally understood what he had overlooked.

Then there is no more, and it is impossible to divide troops to intercept.With the pitiful combat effectiveness of the Eighth Division, dividing troops is giving away heads.

Stehausenburg: "This is the last option. The French army was not prepared for the desert march, and the losses they would have to pay for blindly crossing the Sahara Desert must be indispensable.

The French would only risk marching in the desert after it had been established that the gap could not be opened from us. "

After hesitating for a moment, Hutil made a decision: "Intercept first, and once the French are found entering the desert, immediately implement the plan of the bandits.

I don't care about the city, the young and strong men and women in the surrounding towns and tribes must be incorporated into the army, and then hurry up and advance along the Nile.

Strive to enter the delta before the French return.Leave the French in ruins, let them..."

……

Crackling gunshots sounded, kicking off the prelude to the battle.In the absence of artillery, it was like setting off firecrackers.

Compared with the high-spirited appearance when he came, Governor Adolf, who was holding a telescope at the moment, looked particularly haggard, as if he had aged 20 years.

"Governor, it's too dangerous here, or..."

Before the guard finished speaking, Adolf interrupted: "It doesn't matter, if God wants to summon me in advance, that's a good thing."

Although he was not in China, Adolf also knew that many people wanted to crush him to ashes.

It is conceivable that his fate will not be good after returning to China.As a soldier, it is better to die in battle than to be tried in a court-martial.

After a pause, Adolf asked, "Colonel Marklow, where are they?"

"Based on time, it is almost time to cross the Sahara Desert." The guard replied.

Marching in the desert requires too many supplies, and if you don't have enough preparations, you will die. Adolf will naturally not be able to gather them all for a while.

There are not enough supplies for the whole army to leave together, but it is still possible to let the French soldiers leave first.As for the Egyptian soldiers, they are worthless, and it doesn't matter how much they lose.

The anti-insurgency army in its heyday could easily break through the Eighth Division's blockade, but not now.

After experiencing the baptism of the flood, the escaped French army lost all their heavy weapons, and more than two-thirds of the soldiers even lost their rifles.

This cannot be blamed on them. It is difficult to protect themselves if they fall into the water. The weapon has become a burden for escape, so it is natural to throw it away.

The soldiers who kept their weapons had very few bullets in their hands.Although some weapons and ammunition were mobilized in the cities along the way, this is still a drop in the bucket.

There are less than ten bullets per capita, and one bullet is one less.

With a group of remnants and defeated generals, and under the condition of lack of guns and ammunition, he tore through the enemy's defenses head-on. Governor Adolf is not crazy yet.

War always requires sacrifices, and at this critical moment, Adolf showed a decisive side.He stayed with the Egyptian soldiers to attract the enemy's attention and covered the withdrawal of the French soldiers.

Of course, the battle is still to be fought.If you don't work hard, how can you fool the enemy?

In case the rebel army on the opposite side finds that the main force of the French army has run away, they will go straight to Cairo regardless. Cairo, which is empty of troops, may not be able to defend.

When Cairo fell, the French situation in Egypt was completely corrupted.As the governor of Egypt, Adolf still had a sense of responsibility.

Staying here is to hold back the rebel army and buy precious time for the French army who detoured back to Cairo.

Hearing this news, Adolf breathed a sigh of relief.Making a feint attack also requires ammunition consumption. The battle has progressed so far, and many soldiers have more rifles than firesticks with a bayonet.

Once the weapons and ammunition are exhausted, the scene will be ruined.At that time, they will not be able to do their best, and they will only have two choices: running away or being a prisoner.

Camels and kettles, the necessary tools for marching in the desert, have been taken away by the French army who left earlier, and it is difficult for those who stay behind to escape.

Just as he was about to put down the binoculars, the scene Adolf was most worried about appeared, and the enemy launched a counterattack.

"Oops, the enemy has discovered our reality. Send an order to order the troops to move to the east immediately and go to Gussel to meet up!"

This is a difficult road, not only crossing the desert, but it is better than running to die in the desert without any preparations.

……

A mob is a mob, and after launching a counterattack, the Eighth Division soon fell into disarray.

Seeing the enemy fleeing, the rebel soldier Sa Yazi chased after him, regardless of the orders given by the rear commander, and acted completely according to his own wishes.

Hu Tier was so angry that he stomped his feet. He didn't give an order to attack from the beginning to the end, and all his subordinates were killed.

Major Stehausenburg, who was the first to launch a counterattack, is now also in a daze. He obviously only ordered a tentative counterattack, but suddenly it became a full-scale counterattack.

Fortunately, the enemy also messed up. Otherwise, if the enemy seized the opportunity and pushed back, he would become the laughing stock of the Austrian army.