Holy Roman Empire

Too many ants kill elephants, Napoleon's era did not complete the great feat of sweeping the continent of Europe, can the present French Empire accomplish it?Everyone has no idea.

Unable to determine who Fao is the ultimate winner, the Southward Faction has thrown out a strategic plan to capture the Philippines.

If you look at the map of Asia, you will know that Japan cannot spare the Philippines if it wants to go south, otherwise it may be cut off at any time.It can be said that as long as the southward strategy is launched, there will be a war between Japan and the West.

The most important thing is that compared with Fao's two giants, the declining Spain is undoubtedly a soft persimmon.

Of course, this soft persimmon is still too powerful for the current Japanese Empire.To capture the Philippines from the Spaniards also required a great deal of risk.

However, compared with the risk of participating in the Franco-Austrian war, the safety factor of bullying the Spaniards is still much higher. Even if the plan fails, Spain does not have the strength to liquidate them.

Before the outbreak of the European Continental War, the conflicts between the great powers did not intensify, and the Japanese government never dared to think about it.

After all, "white phobia" is prevalent these years. When facing European countries, everyone has no confidence. Seeing that the ministers of various countries often act together, many people even think that European countries are in the same group.

In the palace, Emperor Meiji asked a little tiredly: "Ito-kun, these are all strategic plans reported from below, what do you think?"

It can be seen that Emperor Meiji was also influenced by the outside world and fell into confusion in strategic choices.Taking this step is the difference between heaven and hell, and Emperor Meiji couldn't help but be careless.

Emperor Meiji relied on the military to support his superiors. In the Meiji government, the military had a great influence. In order to limit the strength of the military, after taking power, Emperor Meiji instinctively chose to rely heavily on Hirobumi Ito as the leader of the Bunshi faction.

Especially when this kind of national destiny was involved, Emperor Meiji dared not let the military with a single-minded mind make the decision.

Chapter 189 The Difference Between Ideas

Looking around, Ito Hirobumi replied bravely: "Your Majesty, this European war is extraordinary. On the surface, the French expanded in Europe, which caused Austria's dissatisfaction and the war broke out. In essence, it is a struggle for European hegemony.

The United Kingdom and Russia were distracted by the war in Afghanistan and were unable to intervene in Europe in the short term, allowing France and Austria to see the opportunity to defeat their competitors.

So far, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Black, and Asia have been involved in the war in Europe. Although the remaining European countries are still waiting and watching, they do not rule out the possibility of being involved.

Although France is strong, they are fighting alone. If the war continues and more European countries get involved, they may be no match for a pack of wolves.

According to information from Europe, the French have mobilized more than 500 million troops, and the anti-French alliance has mobilized more than 700 million troops. If the confrontation between the French and Austrian colonies is added, this number will increase greatly.

A battle of tens of millions of people is simply not something we have the strength to blend in.In my opinion, any southward strategy is unwise until the continental war is won or lost. "

There is nothing wrong with it. From a political point of view, as long as war is declared, even countries that make up the numbers count.Greece, Montenegro, and Ameria, the three waving flags, are also members of the Anti-French Alliance.

They also made important contributions to the anti-French cause. Although they did not do much in the military, their political contributions were not small at all.

Ordinary people can't see it, but politicians know it very well.To be able to define this European war as a war of aggression against the French, Austria relies on these younger brothers to wave the flag and shout.

It is well known that France is not popular in Europe. After all, Napoleon the Great beat everyone up and down, and the Bonaparte dynasty was not excluded.

However, it was directly boycotted by half of the countries in Europe, and the remaining neutral countries were also holding them back. In the eyes of Ito Hirobumi, this was an absolute failure of French diplomacy.

According to past experience, the French will definitely be beaten if they are so powerful. No one knows whether a new country will be involved in the war tomorrow.Judging from the political and diplomatic point of view, Hirobumi Ito is not at all optimistic that the French can win the war.

Not being optimistic about the French does not mean that the Japanese government can place a bet.A melee involving tens of millions of troops, not to mention Japan, is the first time in human history.

Although the Meiji Restoration has been initially completed, Japan is still only a weak agricultural country, and its increased military strength is still far behind that of the top powers.

With the 10,000+ new domestic army alone, its combat effectiveness is not even comparable to that of Belgium. The continental army that traversed East Asia in later generations is still an infant.

The strength of the army is very different, and so is the navy.For a naval power like Britain, France and Austria, two former dreadnoughts can overwhelm the Japanese Navy, and such capital ships are in double digits.

"The European war involves a lot, and we are indeed not qualified to participate. However, it is not difficult to attack the Philippines. Spain has long since fallen, and there is no right to continue to occupy fertile colonies at all.

The four major powers of Britain, Russia, Austria and France are all at war, and they have no time to worry about the Far East practice. This is the best time for us to do it.

Don't look at the fact that the Spaniards still bear the name of great powers. In fact, they have fallen behind in the new round of military revolution.

According to the information collected by the navy, most of the Spanish fleet deployed in the Philippines are sail warships, and the only two ironclad ships were products of more than ten years ago. The navy is confident that they can easily deal with them.

The Suez Canal is now blocked. As long as the Spaniards' Philippine fleet is killed, and they receive the news before sending reinforcements, it will be half a year at the earliest.

As long as the army can occupy the Philippine Islands within half a year, the Spaniards without a foothold are toothless tigers. "

Saigo Saigo, Minister of the Navy, said lightly, as if it was a matter of course that he was unable to get involved in the European war, and he didn't feel aggrieved at all.

The grievances and grievances involved in the dispute between Japan and the sea can be traced back hundreds of years, and the historical conflict between the "Changshu Clan" and the "Satsuma Clan" has directly continued.

Facing the contempt of the navy, the Minister of War Yamagata Youpeng said not to be outdone: "As long as your navy can deal with the enemy's fleet, our army will be able to occupy the Philippine Islands within half a year.

I'm afraid that you won't be able to make a quick decision, and you will waste your precious time with the Spanish navy. "

The navy and the army are not on the bar. For the Wenshi faction headed by Hirobumi Ito, this is definitely bad news that couldn't be worse.

No matter how fierce the battle between the south and the north of the Japanese military in later generations is, the strategic differences between the two sides are not big in essence.

Before getting the springboard of North Korea, whether the Japanese army went south or north, the main force must be the navy. This is the consensus of everyone.

From a purely superficial point of view, the current Japanese navy does not seem to be an opponent of the Beiyang Fleet, but only in terms of the tonnage of warships.

The Japanese rulers, who were not dazzled by the victory, are still cowardly. Not only are they afraid to participate in the European war, but they even respect their neighbors next door.

In order to ensure the victory of the war, under the common interests, the short-term alliance between the navy and the army is also a matter of course.After all, Japan's current family background is weak, and if it loses once, it will be gone.

Seeing that the military’s opinions were about to unify, Finance Minister Shigenobu Takashi hurriedly objected: “No, Spain is a European country, and if it rashly attacks a white country, who knows if it will cause a reaction from the European powers?

In case of interference from other powers, even if we occupy the Philippine Islands, we will still spit it out in the end, and even be retaliated by Spain.

Don't look at the decline of the Spaniards, but their overall strength is still above ours. Our only advantage is that the Philippines is too far away from them.

But if there are European powers supporting them, the situation is quite different.They could easily raise a large fleet to try to do us no favors. "

This is a fact. The Japanese Navy warships are all bought from Europe. It will only be easier for the Spaniards in the European continent to buy warships.

What's more, Spain's shipbuilding ability is not weak, second only to Britain, France and Austria, and is in the second echelon in the world, which is not comparable to Japan, which is just starting.

In fact, Okuma Shigenobu still has nothing to say.The most popular naval theory these days is the "Hundred Years Navy" proposed by the British, and all countries are deeply influenced by it.

No matter how the Spanish navy declines, the ancestors are also rich, and the tactics and experience passed down are not comparable to the new Japanese navy.

On the bright side, the strength of the Japanese navy far exceeds the Spanish fleet stationed in the Philippines, but if there is a fight, it is still unknown whether they can be taken down.

If the Spaniards go around in circles with them to delay the time and wait for the arrival of domestic reinforcements before a decisive battle, it will be a big trouble.

Saigo, the Minister of the Navy, analyzed: "Mr. Okuma, the interference of the great powers you are worried about is not a problem at all. Spain and the British have a grudge. The British have been suppressing the development of Spain over the years, and it is impossible to support them.

Originally, the Spanish government was mixed with the French, and Alfonso XII was supported by the French. However, in the recent period of power change in Spain, the pro-Austrians took power and parted ways with the French.

If that's the case, it's no big deal, it can't be that he has changed an ally.It's a pity that while the Spaniards were pro-Austrian, they didn't really fall to Austria, but instead became a fool.

Logically speaking, this European war is Spain's best chance. As long as they send troops from the rear to stab the French in the eye, the anti-French alliance can immediately win the war.

With Britain and Russia on the side, Austria needs a strong ally if it wants to successfully dominate the European hegemony. It is impossible to abandon Spain. They can share the fruits of victory with Austria logically.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Spaniards have given up, and it is impossible for Austria to do its best to help them.

Do it now, we may even get the support of the French, under the pretext of clearing the stumbling blocks on the way to the south, and then attack the Austrian South Seas with them.

The French government has no choice now, they are fighting alone on the Continent, with the only British ally still fighting the Russians.If they hadn't been forced to help, they wouldn't have come to us either. "

Finding allies is not random. This year happens to be the era when the chain of contempt is strongest. Under normal circumstances, European countries will not unite with small Asian countries, because it will be very embarrassing.

The French government has been underestimated by more than one chip since it wooed the Japanese.It became one of the reasons why the top Japanese government was not optimistic that the French would win the war.

This is the cultural difference between the East and the West. For European countries, although face is important, it is not as important as substantial interests. In the East, the situation has changed, and face often outweighs benefits.

Judging by their own inherent concepts, the senior Japanese government took it for granted that the French were about to lose their hold, so they rushed to the doctor all over the world to find allies.

If it hadn't been for Austria to directly ignore them and not even give them a chance to negotiate terms, maybe someone in the Japanese government would advocate joining the anti-French alliance and take the opportunity to seize the French Indochina Peninsula.

Ito Hirobumi snapped: "Saigo-kun, this is definitely a bad idea. Once we show our intention to get closer to the French, we will definitely be hostile by Austria.

Even if Austria is held back by the French and has no ability to directly interfere with our actions, it doesn't mean that they can't stumbling us.

Don't forget that there are still Dutch people in the Nanyang region. If Austria takes the lead and encourages the Netherlands to intervene, we will not be able to confront the West and the Netherlands at the same time. "

Chapter 1: Britannia's Choice

When the Japanese government hesitated, the negotiations between Britain and France also entered a critical moment.The French, who fell into strategic passiveness, had no confidence to negotiate terms and had to make substantial concessions to the British.

It should have been a gratifying thing that the negotiations were moving in a direction favorable to Britain, but Prime Minister Gladstone was not happy now.

"Is the African battlefield really irreparable?"

If you walk too much on the "Night Road", you will eventually encounter ghosts.Britain's continental balance policy, which has lasted for many years, has revealed a fatal flaw at this moment, and it is about to collapse.

There is no way, the performance of the awesome French on the battlefield is far less than their usual clamor, which made the London government make a strategic misjudgment.

Regardless of whether he is willing to accept it or not, Gladstone must admit that the French army that was ever rivaled in the past no longer exists, and France without Napoleon has lost its strength to slam the European continent.

Up to now, the French army has been unable to break through on the European continent, and the African continent has been beaten by Austria. The situation is becoming more and more unfavorable to France.

"From a military point of view, the fall of French Africa is only a matter of time, and the Austrians have already grasped the strategic initiative.

If the situation was not irretrievable, the proud French would not bow to us so easily. "

Army Secretary Rosario sneered.

The relationship between Britain and France has always been disharmonious, especially for the British Army, France is their eternal pain.

If it hadn't been driven out of Europe by the French, Britain would not have become a pure sea power country, and they would not have been reduced to the point where they could only serve as juniors to the navy.

Gladstone frowned as he looked at the gloating Minister of War.It is certainly a joy to watch the French suffer, but the price is that the Austrian family will dominate, which is not good.

Open the map and you will know that once Egypt falls into the hands of Austria, a giant across Asia, Africa and Europe will appear.

In this era of colonial empires where the weak preyed on the strong, such a giant would certainly not sleep peacefully on its stomach.

Originally, Austria was the only one in the African continent, and Britain, together with the colonial empires of France, Portugal, and Spain, could barely compete with them.

If France is driven out, British Africa will definitely become Austria's next target.With the loss of British Africa, Britain's broad road to India was blocked.

What will happen next, Prime Minister Gladstone dare not continue to imagine.In short, it would definitely be a disaster for Britain to let Austria have the hegemony of the European continent and monopolize Africa.

"The current situation is very bad, the damn Gaul idiot, has lost the bravery of his ancestors, and only has the ability to brag, and what's worse is that we can't watch this idiot fail.

Once the Egyptian region falls into the hands of Austria, the anti-French alliance can use its absolute advantages in manpower and material resources to directly consume the French, even if Napoleon is resurrected, the situation cannot be restored.

It doesn't matter if the French are defeated, the key is that we can't watch Austria win easily.If we don't take advantage of this war to greatly consume their strength, we will never have a good life in the future. "

From a personal emotional point of view, Gladstone didn't want to help the French, but there was no way, who made the French army in Egypt fail again?

Just two days ago, the Suez line of defense that the French had painstakingly managed was broken, and the flames of war had reached the hinterland of Egypt. If the French were not helped, French Egypt would change hands.

Britain cannot bear the consequences of Austria's control of Egypt, and the British government has to help the French.

Rosario shook his head: "Your Excellency, the current situation is indeed very bad, but we have to face the reality.

Austria's advantage on the African continent is too great. Unless the French can deploy millions of main troops to the African battlefield, they will not be able to reverse the situation at all.

Of course, this is purely a military analysis.If there are changes in other aspects, for example: there is a problem with the supply of the Austrian African Army, or a revolution breaks out, the situation will be different. "

Colonial Minister Primrose immediately vetoed: "Your Excellency, such an accident is almost impossible. According to the information collected by the African colonial government, the Vienna government sent a large amount of strategic materials to Austrian Africa before the war.

The exact amount is temporarily uncertain, but they will definitely not have logistical problems for a while.If the French are a little bit stronger and persist in Egypt for a year or two, there may be a chance to see it.

It would be even more unreliable to expect a revolution in Austrian Africa.You must know that the main force of Austria's colonization of Africa is nobles and farmers, which are different from the descendants of criminals in the New World.

According to the information from Africa, those guys from the Vienna Palace gave an order, and these guys happily joined the war without any reluctance. "

This is a fact, if the independence of Austrian Africa was instigated, the British would have done it long ago.No, to be precise, it has already been done, but it ended in failure.

There is also a prerequisite for independence. Unlike the exiled criminals, most of the Austrian immigrants went there on their own initiative, and they have a much stronger sense of belonging to the country.

In particular, Austria is still promoting the process of localization in Africa, which gives vested interests no reason to rebel.If you want to replicate the American independence movement in Africa, there is no mass base at all.

After all, the thirteen states in North America seem to be colonies of the British, but most of the immigrants are from the European continent and lack a sense of belonging to Britain.

The number of pure English immigrants is small, less than one-tenth of the total population. However, most of these guys are exiled criminals. dream.

It is alienated from Britain itself. After the conflict of interests occurred, the capitalists raised their arms, and the people naturally rushed to respond first.

Something like this simply wouldn't work in Austrian Africa.Commodity dumping does exist, but it is a pity that the capitalists in Austrian Africa are weak and have no right to speak at all.

The aristocrats and farmers who hold power are mainly engaged in mining and plantations, and they don't care about the dumping of industrial products at all, or they don't think they are dumped at all.

Industrial products are not produced out of thin air, and industrial raw materials also need to be purchased. It happens that everyone is a producer of industrial raw materials.

While transporting industrial raw materials to the country, while enjoying the cheap industrial and commercial products produced in the country, everyone's small life will not be so comfortable.

If they are really independent and anti-dumping is launched, they will be the biggest victims.Not only have to pay for industrialization, but even the income of planted cash crops will be greatly reduced.

For details, you can refer to the farmers in the Confederate States of America.In order to resist the trade protection policy of the north, they can jump out and fight for independence.

The capitalists dared to make trouble without the intervention of the Vienna government. The nobles and farmers who had vested interests suppressed them first.

Foreign Secretary George echoed: "I can prove this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also instigated the Austrian African independence movement, and even supported several independent organizations. It can be said that these guys are not successful.

The mining and plantation economy developed by Austria in Africa directly tied vested interests with the local people.It is simply not realistic to disintegrate Austrian Africa from within.