The changes in the situation on the battlefield between Prussia and Russia have directly affected the European financial market, and for a time there was a lot of rumors, and the market value of all the war bonds issued by the Prussian-Polish Federation plummeted.

Anyone with a little common sense knows that if Moltke is unable to turn the tide in the subsequent war, after the defeat of the Popo Federation, there will inevitably be a default on its debts.

The financial winter is coming.

Prime Minister Benjamin, who was far away in London, felt the chill.

There are too many debts, and sometimes they really don't weigh down. At present, the people who are most afraid of the end of the Popo Federation, except for themselves, are the British.

The more information at his disposal, the more clear Prime Minister Benjamin is of the seriousness of the problem.

The defeat of the Popol Confederation was not only the bad debts of the loans issued and the bonds issued for them into waste paper, but more importantly, the money owed by the Berlin government.

The losses ahead are nothing more than financial institutions and speculators, who themselves are rich in wealth and have a strong ability to resist risks.

The payment is different later, large enterprises may be able to resist the past, and small and medium-sized enterprises have a weak capital chain and cannot withstand the toss at all.

If we add to this the robbery of the banks, the end of the Pop Federation will be the beginning of Britain's industrial crisis.

The situation may be even worse, given that the capitalist world is already overcapacity. After the war, competition in the market will become more and more intense, and a wave of corporate bankruptcies is inevitable.

For Britain, these small and medium-sized enterprises do not make up a large proportion of the economy, but it is these companies that provide the most jobs.

The tide of bankruptcy and the tide of unemployment are a pair of good brothers, and they have always been "not separated from Meng, and Meng is not out of focus". An economic crisis of unprecedented scale is already brewing in Britain.

Sometimes knowing too much can be a burden.

Benjamin asked, "Sir Edward, what do the French say?" ”

If you want to reverse this war, it is no longer possible for the British to do it, and the position of the French is crucial.

Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head: "The Paris government rejected our proposal, they believe that the contradiction between Prussia and Russia can no longer be resolved, and even if this war is forcibly stopped, there will be another war."

The French were betting on both sides in this war, and their losses were not large in the defeat of the Pop-Pop Federation, and it is even possible that they had secretly made an agreement with the Russians. ”

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded helplessly, he knew the grievances and hatreds between Britain and France, which were cut and tied. The French wished that the British were unlucky, so how could they have come out and pull them along?

Take the Russo-Prussian War as an example, at first Britain and France supported the Berlin government together, but the British got the gold reserves of the Pop-Polish Federation and almost monopolized the financial interests.

It turns out that eating alone is not so tasty. The more you eat, the greater the price. The British took over most of the loans and bonds of the Berlin government.

The French choose to let go for a variety of reasons. In addition to the scarcity of benefits, there is also the need to invest a lot of money in the development of French Africa, and the Paris government artificially restricts capital outflows.

Although the greed of the capitalists has not been stopped, the total outflow of capital has shrunk significantly.

Without government guidance, this capital flowed not only into the Popo Federation, but also into the Russian Empire.

It is equivalent to betting on both sides, and no matter which side wins, the French are indispensable. With fewer interests involved, the Paris government is naturally less active.

Unlike his father, Napoleon IV happened to be born during the French Renaissance, and he was born with a sense of arrogance that could not be subservient to others.

It can be seen from France's foreign policy that the foreign policy of the Paris government has become more and more hawkish, and the relations between Britain and France and Franco-Austria have been deteriorating in the past two or three years.

The British Army has limited strength, and if it wants to intervene in this war, it is also more than willing to do it.

Now that the French are unwilling to be thugs, the government in London has essentially lost the ability to intervene directly in the war.

After pondering for a while, Prime Minister Benjamin said fiercely: "Then settle for the next best." Whatever the means, it is imperative to find a way to preserve the Kingdom of Prussia. We need creditors to exist and give an account to the country. ”

After the defeat of the Prussian kingdom, naturally it did not have the ability to repay its debts. However, as long as the creditor is there, there is a possibility of repaying the money.

The post-war Berlin government had limited financial resources, and for many years, perhaps for many years, their annual repayments were not enough for interest.

But hope, it's better than hopeless. The London government needs a hope that the population will have confidence in the market.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield: "Prime Minister, you are too pessimistic. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think, and the Popo Federation is still fighting.

If Moltke had pulled off a miracle and won the Battle of Warsaw before the Russians, they would have had a decent end to the war. ”

Foreign Secretary Edward denied: "Sir Garfield, this is impossible. By all indications, the Austrians wanted the Pop-Po Confederation to lose the war and lay the foundations for the unification of the German regions.

Even if Moltke had performed a miracle, he still couldn't change the fate of the failed Poppo Federation. With the support of Vienna, the tsarist government's troops would pour in and eventually kill them. ”

"Numerical superiority" is perhaps the place that touches European countries the most. The Russians proved with facts: "As long as our army is large enough, the enemy is powerless".

……

While the British were trying to make up for their losses, the Russo-Prussian War entered a new phase. The Russian Fourth Army had been completely lost in temper by the Prussian army, and could only rely on improvised fortifications to survive.

What is surprising is that the Prussian army did not completely encircle and annihilate the Russian Fourth Army in one go, but after crippling the Russian Fourth Army, it left two infantry divisions and a group of militia to pretend to be the main force to besiege the Russians, but the main force quickly moved north.

In order to avoid the reconnaissance of the Russian airship, the Prussian army chose to sleep during the day and march at night for the first time this time, and quickly reinforced the Warsaw battlefield.

On November 10, 1880, the main force of the Prussian army arrived in Warsaw, and together with the defenders of Warsaw, launched a counterattack against the Russian army, and the Russian Fifth Army suffered heavy losses under surprise.

This was only the beginning, the Russian Fifth Army was forced to retreat with the remnants after heavy losses, and the Russian Seventh Army, which was fighting each other's horns, was also exposed to the Prussian army.

Facts have proved that after losing the superiority in troops, the Russian army is really not an opponent of the Prussian army.

The Russian Seventh Army was not able to perform miracles, and their comrades-in-arms reminded them that it was too late, they were not able to evacuate in time, and they lost a third of their forces under the blows of the Prussian army.

The Battle of Warsaw ended in a victory for the Prussian army, but Moltke's face was not in the shredded light, for time had been lost for them.

There is no way, the Russian army is not papery, the defeat of the Russian Fifth Army relied on a sneak attack, it only took them two days, and it took them five days to defeat the Russian Seventh Army.

Time is of the essence on the battlefield, and at this time, the Russian Third and Sixth Armies were only more than 200 kilometers away from them.

Theoretically speaking, it is still possible to intercept halfway and delay the enemy's march for ten days and half a month.

For such a long time, they can also rush to the southern front, for example: first kill the enemy's Eighth Army besieging Poznan, and stay in the center of the Russian Ninth Army.

In reality, this is simply not possible. Prussian soldiers are also human beings, and if they want to maintain the combat effectiveness of their troops, they also need time to recuperate after the battle.

Even if he only rested for two days, Moltke didn't have enough time.

Regardless of the fact that there are only 278 kilometers from Warsaw to Poznan, the train can arrive in the morning and evening, but it is not possible to transport hundreds of thousands of troops in a day or two.

The fact that the army has passed does not mean that the war will be able to start immediately. It also depends on whether the enemy is willing to fight them in a decisive battle, and the Russians can completely drag on for time.

For example, look for favorable terrain to hold. Anyway, if they are not annihilated, the rear of the Prussian army will be unstable, and the longer it drags on, the more beneficial it will be for the Russians.

Before they could finish off the Russian Eighth Army, Russian reinforcements arrived in Warsaw. If the main forces are not there, Warsaw will definitely not be able to hold it.

The fall of the Warsaw region also meant the fall of the Polish region. At that point, even if the Russian Eighth Army was killed, Moltke could only withdraw in disgrace and defend the Kingdom of Prussia.

Having abandoned the Polish region, the Pubo Federation had already lost the war. Having lost most of its territory and population, the only remaining Kingdom of Prussia had even less war potential, and it simply did not have the capital to fight with the Russians.

There is no time to resolve the threat on the southern front, so we can only hope that the defenders at home will be able to help a little longer, and hold out until they take out the Russian reinforcements and then return to the country.

The premise is that this is the last reinforcement of the Russians, otherwise the offensive and defensive battles in Warsaw will continue. Judging by the current situation, it is more likely that the war will continue.

Looking at the map, Moltke was at a loss for the first time.

"Marshal, this is the battle report we have counted, please take a look." A young officer whispered

Moltke raised his head and waved his hand to signal the young officer to put down the battle report and go out. After a moment of silence, Moltke, who had calmed down, slowly opened the battle report.

The cold numbers on the paper seem to instantly make the temperature in the room drop a few more points.

In the past month, the Prussian army has achieved brilliant results, successively crippling the Russian Fourth Army and the Fifth Army, and inflicting heavy losses on the Russian Seventh Army.

More than 430,000 enemy troops were annihilated and captured, disintegrating the Russian Warsaw Offensive in one fell swoop, and creating a "Warsaw Victory" that shocked the world.

However, behind this glory, there were also 110,000 Prussian soldiers who fell permanently on the battlefield, and another 150,000 wounded.

It was only human casualties, in fact they paid much more than that, not to mention civilian casualties, and Moltke did not take the Poles seriously.

Economic losses are not what he, the marshal, is concerned about, and the consumption of weapons, equipment, and strategic materials cannot be ignored by him.

In just one month, the Prussian army destroyed half of the ammunition in the warehouses and consumed nearly a third of the strategic materials.