Holy Roman Empire

Austria is a professional in doing this kind of thing.When suppressing the rebellion back then, the Vienna government confiscated the assets of all participants, even if they only got involved, they did not escape.

When the Ottoman Empire was destroyed later, this method was carried forward even more, and all the assets of the Ottoman Empire were confiscated.

Given the conflict between France and Austria, no one can guarantee whether Austria will repeat its tricks and let the old events of the Ottoman Empire repeat itself in France.After all, France has adopted the same method in the two countries of Germany, and it is not impossible for the anti-French alliance to retaliate.

Maxim Sidorov nodded: "Mr. Roman is right. This kind of thing is better to be believed than not to be believed. If it really happens, it will be too late to regret it.

Just ending the war is not something that we alone can decide.The moths of the government are still fantasizing about turning defeat into victory all day long, and they are really trying to push France into the abyss. "

To the point, from the beginning to the end Maxim Sidorov did not mention Austria's sowing dissension in an attempt to provoke internal strife in France.

This is a conspiracy, knowing that it is the enemy's plot, there is no way for everyone to refuse it.

There is always someone to bear the responsibility for the defeat of the war.Either let the emperor and the government top the tank, or bear the anger of the people by yourself.

If you don't want to be this unlucky guy, everyone has to jump out and fight for the dominance.And it has to be fast, otherwise we can only grow grass on the grave.

"Mr. Maxim, the current situation is very unfavorable to us. If everyone has been working hard to suppress public opinion, I'm afraid we would have been beaten by everyone.

Without the support of the public, only with our strength, once it is launched..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Maxim Sidorov interrupted: "Your Excellency Sith, you misunderstood. This kind of thing is not our strong point, and directly participating in it would be irresponsible for one's own life.

Just because the people hate us doesn't mean we can't take advantage of it.Paris is now a powder keg, and it only takes one spark to explode.

All we have to do is provide the spark, detonate the powder keg, and let the revolutionaries do the rest.

By the way, we can also chat with people from the Bourbon and Orleans dynasties, I believe everyone will have a common language. "

Those who rebel against Shenma are too unskilled. This kind of high-risk work is not suitable for noble gentlemen like them. It is what they should do behind the scenes.

Obviously, Maxim Sidorov knew this well.Calling everyone together is just to get everyone to contribute money and effort.

Instead of expecting to rebel with a gang of capitalists, the task was given to a more professional revolutionary party.In order to be sure, he is also preparing to agitate the other two royal families.

Chapter 216 It's Up and Down

With the support of the patron's father, the French revolutionary movement rose again.The miserable life provided the living soil for the spread of revolutionary ideas.

Before the French government could respond, a massive anti-war and anti-hunger movement started in Paris and quickly spread across the country.

If someone observes carefully, he will find an interesting thing: the people who most supported the war at the beginning and the people who are most opposed to the war now are actually the same wave of people.

People are still those people, the only thing that has changed is that many years of traces have been added to everyone's faces.It can be seen that everyone's life has not been very easy for more than a year.

It was originally thought that the autumn wind would sweep away the fallen leaves, but it turned into a war of national power attrition. A large number of French boys took to the battlefield, including their relatives.

It would be fine if there were continuous victories on the battlefield, but the result now is that the French army continues to be defeated.The miserable life, coupled with worries about their loved ones, forced everyone to stand up against the war.

If there were no accidents, after the armistice treaty was signed, it would still be this group of people who were dissatisfied with the terms of the cessation and who jumped out to demand punishment for the traitors.

It can only be said that the government of Napoleon IV was unlucky, and happened to catch up with the most chaotic era in France.

Just as the revolutionary movement was surging, on September 1891, 9, a large-scale uprising broke out in Rome.Unlike any previous anti-French uprising, the leaders of this uprising became nobles and missionaries.

The wall fell and everyone pushed, seeing that the French were about to die, the Italian local power faction who had long been dissatisfied with the French finally took practical actions.

At the beginning of the uprising, the Italian soldiers in the defenders were rebelled, and the church was used as a cover. Under the cooperation of the inside and the outside, the rebel army quickly captured the city of Rome.

After the success of the uprising, Pope Leo XIII, as a religious leader, issued the "Anti-Aggression Declaration" in the Vatican, calling on all Italians to expel the French.

After receiving the news, Franz's first reaction was that the climax of the Italian independence movement was coming. Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered the division of troops to attack south to support the Italian national liberation movement.

……

In the Palace of Versailles, the deteriorating situation finally pushed Napoleon IV to the brink, and it was time to make a choice.

Minister of War Luscinia: "With the fall of the Roman region, the situation in Italy has become a foregone conclusion. Right now we don't have enough troops to invest in Italy to clean up the mess.

The Ministry of the Army suggested temporarily abandoning the Italian region, retreating to the Alps, and shrinking troops back home to defend the homeland.Including the anxious Turin defense battle, there is no need to continue. "

The facts are before our eyes. Italy, once the infinite glory of the Great French Empire, has now become a quagmire.Continuing to be trapped in it is of no value other than wasting national power in vain.

From a military point of view, retreating to the Alps is undoubtedly the best choice.France can use the least amount of troops to ensure the safety of the southern front, and then use the saved troops to other battlefields.

The best military is not the same as the best politically.In a sense, there is not much difference between France giving up the Italian region and admitting defeat directly.

After the loss of the Italian region, the weakness of France was completely exposed. It is conceivable that the Anti-French Alliance will definitely not give up this opportunity to make things worse.

Those countries that originally did not work hard and just made up the numbers will also rush to rush forward at this moment, tearing a piece of flesh from France.

Knowing is knowing, but no one objects.Everyone knows that the question now is not whether to give up the Italian region, but how to deal with the aftermath.

Glancing at everyone, Napoleon IV said slowly: "Well, let's implement the plan of the Ministry of War!

It seems that Austria is preparing to restore those Italian states. You should know what to do next, right? "

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. We will handle it properly and will not leave it to the enemy..."

Seeing that Napoleon IV was not in a high mood, he seemed a little impatient, and Luskinia stopped talking abruptly.

Needless to say, I know that it is naturally sabotage.For a long time to come, the restored Italian state will be the enemy of France.While there is still a chance, it is natural to weaken these potential enemies.

In a sense, the more severe the destruction of France now, the more reconstruction funds will be needed after the war.The Italian states naturally had no money, and the trouble fell on Austria again.

As for France's retaliation after the war, just kidding, it seems that if you don't do it now, the enemy will show mercy.

Since the outbreak of the war, France and Austria have secretly contacted each other several times, but they have not been able to reach an agreement, otherwise the war would have ended long ago.

I really thought that France would have a hard head, and she would not shed tears when she saw the coffin.In fact, it's not that Austria's conditions are too harsh and unacceptable to the Paris government, so it's tough until now.

Then, everyone found helplessly that war is really something that cannot be delayed.As the French army continued to lose on the battlefield, Austria's conditions became more and more harsh, and the bottom line gap between the two sides was huge.

If the Vienna government is willing to make concessions and use the truce conditions of half a year ago, no, even if it uses the cessation conditions of three months ago, Napoleon IV will agree.

There is no way, the stop condition half a year ago, Austria asked France to give up French Africa, Central Europe to return to the pre-war border line, and pay a certain amount of war reparations.

The French army has not been defeated, and most of French Africa is still in the hands of the French army. Such conditions are naturally unacceptable to the Paris government.

It was different three months ago. French Africa could no longer satisfy Austria's appetite. It not only increased huge war reparations, but also required France to give up the Italian region.

Naturally, the Paris government did not dare to agree to such a condition of losing power and humiliating the country.As a result, before they could react, the French army ushered in two defeats in the front line, and then Russia, Spain, and Switzerland were also pulled into the chariot by Austria.

The conditions for contacting Austria are even more excessive. Not only the previous conditions, but also the territorial claim to the mainland of France.

And, it's not even a star.Not only will Austria take back the homeland of Shinra, but the surrounding neighbors will also share a share.

Needless to say, if Napoleon IV dared to agree to this condition of making France smaller, the Palace of Versailles would definitely change its owner.

Prime Minister Terrence Bulkin: "Your Majesty, those guys seem to be aware of something, all of them are reclusive, and some even left Paris.

There is also the revolutionary party that has suddenly become active. The many strikes and violent incidents that have occurred recently have the shadow of the revolutionary party.

The strength of the revolutionary party alone is not capable of planning so many actions, and there must be other forces behind it.

They are the only ones who have the ability and motivation to do this kind of thing.If we don't act, they may be about to. "

It can be seen that Terrence Bulkin is very afraid of the consortium, and even uses references when discussing matters.

There is no way, the last politician who publicly advocated suppressing the consortium has already grown grass on his grave.

There is also the responsibility of Napoleon IV. When he was in power, he was busy seizing power and was used by the consortium. The factions in the government that advocated suppressing the consortium were marginalized.

By the time Napoleon IV reacted, the political forces that advocated suppressing the consortium had collapsed under the consortium's gold and dollar offensive.

There is no way, the integrity of politicians is so high.In the era of Napoleon III, there was a powerful emperor, and the politicians who dared to get close to the consortium all went home to farm. If they want to be in the officialdom, they must hate the consortium.

The saying "one emperor and one courtier" may be a bit exaggerated in continental Europe.However, Napoleon IV was not a normal change of imperial power. There was a period of time in the middle when the minister was regent, and no one in the Bonaparte family was in charge of the overall situation. It is inevitable that power change will occur after taking office.

The young and energetic Napoleon IV was far from mature in his political skills, and the Bonaparte Dynasty did not have powerful figures to assist him, so he was inevitably taken advantage of.

This is somewhat similar to Chongzhen, but he was busy seizing power and forgot to maintain the balance between political factions.

However, Napoleon IV's political skills are still stronger, and in the later political struggles, he quietly supported the direct political forces.

If the Great Revolution hadn't erupted midway, maybe the consortium would have been slowly destroyed by him.After all, the consortium is only formed by the capitalists because of their interests, and it can also be split because of their interests, and their cohesion is very poor.

After hesitating for a moment, Napoleon IV nodded: "Get ready to launch! At this point, we can only gamble."

Chapter 217 Prologue

Felt Manor, as the situation in Paris became increasingly tense, the atmosphere in the manor also became tense.

In the garden, Maxim Sidorov said with a serious expression: "Tom, take your younger siblings to London for vacation. They will leave tomorrow. I have already arranged the boat."

It's cruel to outsiders. For his own children, Maxim Sidorov is still a loving father.Seeing that turmoil is about to break out in France, they have already arranged a retreat for them in advance.

The young man asked suspiciously: "Then what about you, why don't you go together?"

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, and the weird atmosphere in Paris already reveals that the wind is about to come, but anyone with a little brain is looking for a way out.

The rich are looking for ways to go abroad, and the middle class with little wealth are going to go to the countryside.Except for a few who had to stay, the rest were either poor or foolish.

There is no doubt that Maxim Sidorov was one of those who had to stay.

After hesitating for a moment, Maxim Sidorov said insincerely: "No, you go first. The bank's business cannot be separated from me. After the processing is over, my mother and I will come back."

It is not easy to be the boss. While sharing the biggest piece of cake, you must also bear corresponding responsibilities.

Now is a critical moment, Maxim Sidorov must stay to preside over the overall situation.There were too many people staring at him. If he ran away at this time, he would probably be finished before he left France.

Neither the capitalists nor the government will let him go.

The consortium can wrestle with the government, relying on the alliance.If the boss runs away, people's hearts will be scattered, and the fragmented consortium is the meat on the chopping board.

If the government wants to attack the consortium, it must first destroy the leader.It has nothing to do with right or wrong, it is entirely political needs.Who made him the most famous?Only by taking him as the boss, can he really shock people's hearts.

The most important thing is that Maxim Sidorov himself is not willing to run away in such a disheveled way.Because once he retreats, the property he has fought for all his life will be gone.

It’s not that Maxim Sidorov didn’t think about transferring assets and sharing risks. In fact, every consortium wants to diversify investment and share risks.

However, the reality is cruel.All major consortiums are doing the business of diversifying investment, but no one has really succeeded so far.

Naturally, there are many reasons. The core reason is that the era of capital globalization has not yet arrived, and local protectionism is prevalent. This cannot be solved by money.

It’s okay to make small troubles, and it’s okay to invest, but it’s not okay to take root in the local area.Local snakes can accept the influx of capital, but they will not welcome a dragon crossing the river.

It is impossible to do it in normal times, let alone now.Without the support of national power, the difficulty of developing overseas will naturally increase geometrically.

Tom asked: "Why, we already have a lot of money, there is no need to continue to take risks."

"Money", just looking at wealth on paper, Maxim Sidorov is about to become the richest man in the world.Of course, this must be calculated in terms of pre-war values.

If France wins, the consortium alliance led by Maxim Sidorov is the biggest winner in this war.

Using this war, they successfully controlled nearly one-third of the factories in France, one-half of the mines, and an uncountable amount of land and real estate.It is no exaggeration to say that the whole of France is working for them.

The consortium gained a lot, and as the leader, Maxim Sidorov naturally ate the fattest meat.His personal net worth directly exceeded 1000 billion francs, which he never dreamed of.

However, the money exists only in theory.Assets are assets, but there is no way to realize them, because there is no one to take over in the whole of France.

Seeing that the anti-French alliance is about to attack, as much assets as you hold, you have as much risk as you hold.Including Maxim Sidorov, French capitalists have been selling their assets frantically recently.

Even the most sought-after residential buildings in downtown Paris in the past are now sold at a discount and no buyers can be found, and the people have no money in their hands.

The excessive concentration of wealth has led to the intensification of social contradictions, and at the same time, the tens of billions of francs in Maxim Sidorov's hands are comparable to waste paper.

No way, what can be bought in francs is not needed; what you want, you can't buy in francs.

If you carefully observe the bank outlets in Paris, you will develop an interesting thing. Foreign currency and gold can be exchanged for francs, but francs cannot be exchanged for foreign currencies.

Before the war, 1 pound was exchanged for 25 francs, but now 1 pound can be exchanged for 100 francs, and this exchange ratio can continue to be negotiated.

If Maxim Sidorov had a choice, he would rather exchange his assets of hundreds of billions of francs for 2000 million pounds in cash, but even [-] million pounds is acceptable.

It's a pity that there is no such person who has been taken advantage of to take over.It seems that there are many high-quality assets, but it is actually unknown how many assets can be kept after the war.

For example: mines and land in Belgium and the Rhineland, as well as factories and real estate in Italy, seem to belong to Maxim Sidorov, but in fact the future must have nothing to do with him.

These losses alone are enough to reduce Maxim Sidorov's assets by half.The remaining half is equally insecure, with war being the biggest asset killer.

There is no doubt that holding so many assets is definitely not what Maxim Sidorov wants.He is a banker, not an industrialist, so he is naturally not interested in factories and mines with low returns.

Except for a small amount of assets that were actively purchased, most of the properties were overdue bank loans and were forced to take up collateral.The mines in Belgium and the Rhineland were all mortgaged to them by the French government.

No matter how unreliable these assets are, at least they are better than the franc, which is depreciating every day.If it cannot be realized into foreign exchange or gold, then it can only continue to hold.

"Okay, Tom. Time is running out, and it's time to say goodbye to your mother. As for other things, you will gradually understand in the future.

If something happens to me, you have to take on the responsibility of being the head of the family, take good care of your younger brothers and sisters, and raise them up.

This is the list of our overseas assets, and now it is all handed over to you.Basically, they are stocks and real estate. There is not too much money, so you have to plan and use it reasonably.

There is no way, those idiots lost too quickly, disrupting all my plans, and now I can only prepare so much for you.