Holy Roman Empire

This is a fact. The anti-French alliance exists in name only, and it is based on the premise that France does not pose a threat to everyone.

Once they show their fangs and make European countries feel threatened, this nominal alliance will immediately become a real alliance.

Expecting the British and France to challenge the European continent together, it is better for France to single-handedly challenge the European continent, at least one-on-one without worrying about being stabbed by allies.

Luskinia Hafiz, Minister of War: "Prime Minister, everything has two sides. Britain is certainly uneasy and kind, but as long as we make good use of it, we can also seek a lot of benefits for France.

Although there are many countries in Europe, most of them are small countries, and there are only a few that deserve our attention.

Except for the three big countries of Russia, Austria, and Britain, which should be highly valued, the remaining three countries of Spain, the Nordic Federation, and the German Federation can only be counted as half.

Among them, Spain is still our ally and will not hinder our eastward advance; the Nordic Federation is far away in the Baltic Sea, and there is no conflict of interest, so it is an object that can be won.

The British can use them to contain Austria, so why can't we use them to contain the Russians?

As long as Britain and Russia fight real fire in Central Asia, Austria alone will be powerless to prevent us from annexing the territory west of the Rhineland.

The big deal is that we will rule over the Rhine River with Austria. With the style of the Habsburg dynasty, most of them will not fight us.

As long as we win the Rhineland and Belgium, the short version of our most important resource will be made up. "

Ambition, of course, is there.It's just that the main battle in France was born at an untimely time, and it didn't catch up with the good time, and it never got the chance to display it.

Waiting and waiting, it was not easy to meet this turning point.From the perspective of the French military, this is not what Britain and Russia are trying to contain each other, it is clearly creating opportunities for the decisive battle between France and Austria.

With the old enemy of the Habsburg dynasty, France's European hegemony has never been well deserved, and a war must be used to witness its superiority.

Of course, now is not the time to talk about this.It would be bad if His Majesty the Emperor was frightened. After all, Austria still looks big and is good at attracting allies.

If the decisive battle is to be fought immediately, although the military is full of confidence, there are still many people in the government who are not optimistic.

Luskinia Hafiz is still very politically minded. In order to reduce resistance, he did not mention the decisive battle of Fao.

It even changed the concept secretly, turning the decisive battle between France and Austria into dividing the German region with Austria.Not only has the risk been downplayed, but also the support of domestic capitalists has been obtained.

Economic Minister Elsa objected: "No, now is not the time to go east. Our large farm plan is underway. Once it is interrupted by the war, all the previous investment will be in vain.

The German Federation is not as weak as everyone thinks. They have deployed 12 troops in the Rhineland area, plus the [-] troops deployed by Belgium, with a total strength of [-].

As long as the war drags on for a month or two, reinforcements from Austria will come up.Everyone has seen the Russo-Prussian War. Today is different from the past. Now the decisive battle between the two great powers involves tens of millions of troops.

Once a war breaks out, it is impossible to tell the winner in a short time.Austria still has a group of allies who can share the pressure, but we can only fight alone. The British can't count on it.

It is wishful thinking to expect the Austrian government to compromise.How can the Habsburgs rule Germany while we annex the territories west of the Rhine? "

The worry of the Minister of Economy is also the reason for everyone's hesitation.Pinning hopes on Austria's compromise is not reliable in itself.

Facing any enemy alone, everyone has confidence in France, but the problem is that the enemy wants to fight in groups!

These days, countries on the European continent are relatively capable of fighting. Even Belgium, a small country, can pull out 10,000+ troops.

In the larger North Germany, as long as the internal relationship is coordinated, 100 million troops can be pulled out.

Not to mention Austria, it's easy to have a few million anyway.If other countries join in the fun, the enemies that France will face will be an astronomical number.

No matter how much the French army can fight, they can't hold back the ants killing elephants.

What's more, the French army is not that capable of fighting. The performance of the French army in overseas colonies has made many high-level government officials doubt the combat effectiveness of the French army.

It is worthless to win one-on-one. Once the European war breaks out, they will have to face at least twice, or even three or four times as many enemies.

Foreign Secretary Karel Kadlecs interrupted: "Gentlemen, you're going too far. It's as if we have to go to war on the Continent as long as we ally with the British.

In fact, it's two entirely different things.What is being discussed now is whether to form an alliance with the British. As for the expansion to Central Europe, that is a matter of the future.

Personally, I am in favor of an alliance with the British.France needs more allies if it wants to get rid of its isolation.

Perhaps the British have ulterior motives, and the alliance with us at this time is just to counter the pressure put on them by Russia and Austria in Central Asia.

But we have no better choice than the British.

Don't expect the British to really support our expansion to Central Europe, as long as they don't join the anti-French alliance when we move east.

Moreover, forming an alliance with the British does not mean that we really have to cooperate with them.

Austria has no interest in Central Asia, and its participation is entirely due to the Russia-Austria alliance, and it is impossible for them to go to war with the British for the benefit of the Russians.

The British want us to contain Austria, so they will do it symbolically.Anyway, the Austrians also want to promote the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War, so we can cooperate. "

The reality is cruel, but it must be faced.France is indeed powerful, and it is so powerful that it has no friends.

The promise of the British may not be fulfilled, but with this ally, the diplomatic environment of the French government will be greatly improved.

In essence, the two sides are taking what they need, and if they don't hold back, then they are worthy of this covenant.

……

In the Palace of Vienna, since receiving the news that Britain and France intend to form an alliance, Franz has been in a bad mood.

It seems that Europe has formed two opposing camps, but in fact it is determined geographically. The Russians can hide behind, and Austria must bear the pressure of the two major powers alone.

The threat on land is not yet obvious, and the French are still in charge of combat power, and the British can be ignored.

It is different at sea. Seeing that the Austrian Navy is about to have the strength to threaten the Royal Navy, with the alliance between Britain and France, it will be a man with its tail between its legs.

This means that in overseas competition, Austria will once again be at a disadvantage, unable to compete with Britain and France.

Not only that, Franz thought of more.As France and Austria continue to grow, the British have already felt the pressure.

In this context, it is not impossible for the British to conspire to provoke the Franco-Austrian war and use the war to weaken the two enemies.

The confrontation between Britain and Russia keeps each other in check, so why not create opportunities for France and Austria to turn their faces?

Regardless of the severity of the conflict between Britain and Russia, even if a war broke out between the two countries, once the situation in Europe gets out of control, the two countries may still unite.

Provoked a war between France and Austria, and when the two countries were almost done fighting, they pulled the Russians to intervene to prevent the two countries from winning or losing.

Franz would have done the same if he had been in the Englishman's place.Otherwise, let France and Austria continue to grow, where will there be a chance for Britain to intervene in the European continent in the future?

A guess is always just a guess. Before something happened, Franz didn't dare to draw conclusions easily.

The French are not fools either. It is obviously not in their own interests to come to a decisive battle with Austria under the background of a fisherman.

The same is true for Austria, unless the brain is flooded, otherwise the Vienna government will not be foolish enough to attack the French.

……

Foreign Secretary Weissenberg: "After repeated verifications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Britain and France are engaged in alliance negotiations.

The specific content of the negotiations is unknown, but what is certain is that there must be some content aimed at us.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly attempted to undermine the British-French alliance, but with little success.Even our proposal to reorganize the Triple Alliance was rejected by Britain and France. "

If you can't destroy it, try to join in, and then split the alliance from within.This tried and tested diplomatic method will not work here.

However, this also supports the fact that the Anglo-French alliance is aimed at Austria.

Prime Minister Karl: "If the alliance between Britain and France cannot be prevented, then the importance of the Russia-Austria alliance will be greatly increased.

From now on, not only the Russians need us, but we also need the Russians.

In the following Central Asian War, we had to make great efforts to support the Tsarist government.

The four major countries in Europe are now separated into two major alliances opposing each other.I am afraid that the international situation will be in turmoil for a long time to come.

Once the confrontation is escalated and misfired, it may even trigger a new round of European war.From now on, we need to plan ahead. "

There is no way, the international situation is not affected by the will of individuals.Although Franz has been trying his best to avoid it, there has been a confrontation between the two major alliances.

In a sense, this result is not too bad, two-on-two is better than one-on-three.

Britain and France are now in an alliance, and the first to be hit is the Russians. The relationship between Britain and France and the Russians has deteriorated, the Russia-Austria alliance has become stronger, and Austria's Eastern Front is safe.

Chapter 1 The Russian Strategic Choice

In St. Petersburg, since receiving the news that Britain and France were preparing to form an alliance, Alexander III couldn't sit still.

Originally, he was counting on wooing the French and gathering the power of France, Russia and Austria to attack the British, but he did not expect the situation to reverse so quickly.

Alexander III asked expectantly: "Is the news confirmed?"

Deep down, he desperately hoped that this was just a rumor.

Once Britain and France form an alliance, the Austrian navy will be powerless to counter the alliance between Britain and France, and it is impossible for the Vienna government to fight against the two countries in the navy.

The ongoing arms race between Britain, France and Austria is coming to an end.

The Vienna government's previous plan to use an arms race to contain the British will naturally come to naught.

Although Austria was not prepared to perform the contract at the beginning and prepared an excuse, the Russians did not know it.

After all, the reputation of the Vienna government is good enough, and it has not violated the contract for so many years, and Alexander III never doubted it.

The arms race is over, and what the Russian Empire has to face is a wealthy and powerful Britain.

Because of the alliance between Britain and France, Austria will also be held back by France, and the Russian Empire can only fight against the British alone.

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez replied: "The news has been verified. British Foreign Secretary George arrived in Paris half a month ago, and the two countries are conducting alliance negotiations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ordered the embassy in Paris to pay close attention to the progress of the negotiations, and will send back as soon as there is news. "

Prevent, interfere, destroy?

These do not exist. Britain and France are one of the most powerful countries in the world, and they don't care about the attitude of the Russians at all.

Knowing that it is impossible, the Russians will naturally not humiliate themselves.There wasn't much the Tsarist government could do now, except watch closely.

"Ugh!"

After sighing, Alexander III asked slowly: "The alliance between Britain and France cannot be stopped. We have lost our best opportunity. Do you think the Central Asia strategy will continue?"

In essence, instigating a war in Central Asia at this time is not only about rescuing our ally Afghanistan, but also for taking advantage of it.

According to the plan, the tsarist government planned to take back Central Asia during the arms race between Britain, France and Austria, and push the border into Afghanistan.

There is no plan to go south to India. This is not because the tsarist government has no ambitions for India. The key is that the current Russian Empire does not yet have the strength to capture India.

Minister of War Paradru Vald: "Of course we must continue! Even if Britain and France form an alliance, it is impossible for the French to send troops to help the British fight.

As long as we are fast enough to conquer the Blaha Khanate before the British perish in Afghanistan, the initiative of the war will be in our hands.

If this opportunity is missed and the British wipe out Afghanistan, we will have to pay a greater price if we want to capture Central Asia in the future.

Moreover, we also need to consider international influence.What do our allies think of having just signed an alliance with Afghanistan and immediately selling them out? "

Against the British Army, the Russian military is still confident.

Today is different from the past. Although the Russian Empire suffered heavy losses in the two Russo-Prussian Wars, the Russians have also launched an elite force.

The most important thing is that it is very difficult for the British government to make up its mind - investing millions of main forces to compete with the Russian Empire for Central Asia.

It's just the Indian colonial army, it's completely beaten by the Russian army.This kind of downwind battle without pressure has always been the favorite of the Russian military.

Alexander III nodded. The international reputation of the Russian Empire was already very bad. As a last resort, he didn't want to be accused of betraying his allies.

Regardless of the fact that Russians in later generations often betrayed their allies, the Tsarist government really rarely betrayed its allies these days, at least not in recent decades.

Of course, the most important factor is that the income from betraying the allies is too little, and the price to pay is too high, which is generally not worthwhile.

This time is no exception. It is easy to betray Afghanistan, but they have to be scruples about Austria's ideas.

Back then, Alexander II went to war with the Prussians for the Danish allies.

Although the loss was heavy, it also won the reputation of the Tsarist government.It laid a solid foundation for the continuation of the Russia-Austria alliance, at least the Tsarist government thought so.

After all, at the beginning of the 90s, the Russian-Austrian alliance could no longer bring Austria too many benefits, but the Tsarist government benefited a lot from it.

Seeing that the tsar was moved, the anti-war finance minister Alisher Gurov hurriedly objected: "Marquis, you look at the problem too one-sidedly.

Central Asia has a vast territory, and the three major khanates all have enmity with us, so it is impossible to surrender.

No matter how smoothly our army progresses on the battlefield, it is impossible to pacify Central Asia in just a few months.

But the Kingdom of Afghanistan is different. The British only need two regiments of troops to compromise the Afghan government.

Everyone knows the terrain of Afghanistan. If the British take control of Afghanistan before us, the subsequent wars will be difficult to fight.

As long as the war cannot be ended in a short period of time, it will eventually turn into a long war of attrition.The British rely on India, and they have manpower and financial resources to consume with us.

In recent years, although the empire's finances have improved, this is only temporary.

The agricultural crisis is approaching. According to the analysis of the collected data, the Ministry of Finance estimates that the grain export revenue will decrease by 11% this year, and the decrease will be even more next year.

Without the burden of an arms race for the British, the empire could not compete with them financially.If we persist in this endless war, the final result can only be high debts.

In view of the current complicated international situation, the Ministry of Finance proposes to use diplomatic means to resolve the conflict in Central Asia and try to maintain the status quo. "