One by one, the fallen leaves were scattered on the ground, paving a golden "golden road".

Stepping on it makes a "rattling" sound from time to time, which makes people feel so comfortable, as if stepping on a cotton blanket, there is no extra leaf, each one is a golden leaf, which is endlessly memorable.

The joy of the harvest filled Vienna, and the Franz family, who had been in the suburbs, were already lingering in the beautiful scenery.

Franz, who is full of poetry, is working hard to write at the moment, preparing to leave a beautiful chapter for future generations. He really has no talent, and the content he writes is always not satisfactory to him.

The craftsmanship is too heavy, as if it is created for the sake of creation, and there is no such agility as "poetry is natural".

Franz still has discipline in this regard, he has never looked for a gunman, and naturally he has no works that he can get his hands on.

Having destroyed the evidence of the failure of the creation, Franz was about to start over when the maid hurried over.

"Your Majesty, news has just come that yesterday at noon the Tsarist Government handed over the war letter of the Pop-Po Federation."

Hearing the news, Franz put down his pen and instructed: "Pass the order, immediately pack your luggage, and prepare to return to the palace." ”

The outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War will change not only the situation in Europe, but also the situation in the world. Despite the preparations, Franz had to go back to the big picture.

……

Since it is an outing, it is naturally impossible to go far. In the evening, the carriage re-entered the palace. There was no time to rest, Franz convened a cabinet meeting.

Foreign Secretary Wiesenberg: "This morning, the Berlin government also presented its war letter to the Russians, and the Second Russo-Prussian War has broken out.

This afternoon, Wilhelm I issued a Letter to the People, calling on the people to fight the Russians to the death.

At the same time, a mechanism for mobilizing the population has been activated. From now on, all men between the ages of 15~60 in the Pubo Federation will be included in the reserve training. ”

"15~60 years old", there is no doubt that this is the largest mobilization in Europe and even in the world.

The last one to be so crazy was the Principality of Montenegro, which mobilized all the men of the country during the First Near Eastern War.

Franz did not accuse the Berlin government of madness, and in the face of life and death, whatever decision was made, it was understandable.

"What is the reaction of the people of the Pubo Federation, who do not support the Berlin government's approach?"

The most important thing for extreme mobilization is to require the full cooperation of the people. In World War II, Bulgaria, with a population of just over 4 million, mobilized 1.26 million troops, relying on the full support of the people.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "The time was too short for us to be able to investigate in depth. However, judging from the previous information, the population should support this war.

The Polish population, in particular, was very hostile to the Russians. If this war goes well, the Popo Federation will really become a country after the war. ”

Da Bobo's sense of national independence can be said to be the strongest in the world. William I was able to bring the two countries together, and the most crucial thing was the common enemy, the Russian Empire.

Under the suppression of external forces, the two countries barely got together, but in essence they were still two countries. Poland still retains an independent government, but with an additional central government.

The political structure of the current Pop-Po Confederation is somewhat similar to that of Austria before 1848. Poland is like Hungary, which wants to be independent, but it is afraid of independence because of the threat of the Russians.

Now the opportunity has come, and once war breaks out, the Polish government will not have the confidence to refuse the intervention of the central government in internal affairs. It's easy to hand over power, but it's hard to get it back.

Don't think, Franz knows what the Berlin government will do next. Taking advantage of the opportunity of joint operations, he took command of the Polish army; Take the opportunity of coordinating logistics to get the right to command transportation and local government.

If the means are clever enough, you can also use the knife to kill people and take the opportunity to weaken Poland's strength. As long as a large number of male casualties were inflicted, Poland was powerless to stop the general trend of the integration of the two countries after the war.

Prime Minister Felix: "It's not just the Poles who want war, the Prussian region has the right to speak in the hands of the Junker aristocracy, and their desire to fight is very strong.

The victory in the last war has already made many people get carried away. If they win this war easily, I guess someone will want to challenge us. ”

For a Great German, the Poppo Confederation was a cancer. The stronger the Pop-Po Confederation, the less chance Austria had of unifying the German regions.

There is no way, a single kingdom of Prussia can still allow them to join the HRE Empire, and if one more Poland is added, it will be unbearable.

No matter what changes took place in Austria's national policy, Felix's belief in the unification of Germany never changed.

Even in his seventies, Felix insisted on visiting all the states of the German region once a year to promote the "Greater German Idea".

This is clearly not what these governments want to see. If it weren't for the fact that Austria's advantage was too great, and the vested interests needed to leave themselves a way back, Felix would have been turned away long ago.

Franz smiled slightly: "Don't worry, my prime minister. The Russians are not soft persimmons, and this war will not end in a short time.

Britain and France support the Pop-Polish Federation, we support the Russian Empire, both sides want money and money, materials and materials, and in the end it is people who fight.

The command ability of the Pubo Federation officers is stronger, and the country's infrastructure is more perfect; The Russians are large and populous. Both sides have their own advantages, and this war has to be fought. ”

Evenly matched wars are often the most brutal. For the common good of all, Britain, France and Austria will not let them end the war easily.

Foreign Secretary Wessenberg: "Your Majesty, before the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, the government in Berlin sold not only the only colony it had, but also all the colonial bases abroad.

The buyers are all French, even if someone has offered a higher price. There are all kinds of indications that there is an unknown deal between the general legal people.

During his visit to Paris, Wilhelm I also put forward the theory of the Austrian threat. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the secret agreement between Franco-Prussian people should be directed against us. ”

This thing is the most troublesome thing. Franz has always been playing tricks on people, and he didn't expect feng shui to take turns, and now it's his turn to worry.

After pondering for a moment, Franz waved his hand: "Don't worry about the Prussian Secret Treaty, before the end of the Russo-Prussian War, even if they want to target us, they don't have that strength."

The French economy is already in trouble, and if their African development plans fail, the good days of the Paris government are over. ”

Since Napoleon III's annexation of Italy, Franz has downgraded the French threat by two notches. The Italian region may seem like a piece of fat, but in fact it is also bright on the outside.

In the industrial age, resources are indispensable if you want to develop. Italy happens to be the most resource-poor region in Europe, and if the French want to digest it, they must first solve the resource problem.

It is a pity that France is not rich in resources, and its own development is not enough. If it is not enough, it can only be imported, and now "Grande France" imports a large amount of industrial raw materials every year.

Since 1870, France has been running a trade deficit. If the franc becomes the world's currency, a small deficit can be easily compensated.

It is a pity that under the squeeze of the pound and the Aegis, the living space of the franc is already very small, and more and more countries are unwilling to reserve the franc.

Against this backdrop, the outflow of gold and silver is naturally unstoppable. Fortunately, in this era, there were many countries that directly used gold and silver as currency, and with a solid family background, the Paris government wiped out the deficit by selling silver.

This situation is clearly unsustainable, and the French government has only two options before it, either to increase exports or to reduce imports.

There is no need to think about increasing exports, because French industrial and commercial products have always lacked competitiveness in the international market because of the cost of industrial production.

If exports can't be increased, then imports can only be reduced. It is in this context that the development of the African continent has become the national policy of the Paris government.

Of course, this development is not the same as that of Austria, the French just want to establish a raw material production area, but they are not ready to localize.

……

At Versailles, news of the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War came, and Napoleon IV immediately decided to hold a banquet to celebrate the good news.

Looking forward to the stars and the moon, it has finally come. In recent years, the French economy has hit a bottleneck and has been in the doldrums for several years.

Minister of Economy Elsa: "Your Majesty, the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for domestic industry and commerce, and it is also accompanied by a crisis.

Compared to the gains from the war, the profits to be made by investing in the North African colonies were too small. If we fail to solve this problem, I am afraid that our plan for the development of the African continent will be aborted again. ”

Development is inseparable from capital, and without sufficient capital investment, the development plan of the African continent will naturally not be able to continue.

Originally, the French capitalists were not interested in developing the colonies, but because of the surplus of domestic capital, there were no investment projects. Thanks to the government's efforts, some people were barely persuaded to invest in the colony.

Now it's different, the Russo-Prussian War broke out, and new opportunities for fortune have appeared.

Anyone with a bit of political acumen knows that this war will not end in a short time. As long as you invest in war-related fields, you can get good returns.

Rather than investing in a colony that sees no return, it is better to stay and make war money. In the face of interests, everyone knows how to choose.

The good mood of Napoleon IV disappeared in an instant. The African strategy has a great bearing on the French economy, and the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War means that all their early efforts have been in vain.

……