The neighbors began to prepare for war, and the French government naturally had no choice. At this point, even if it does not start a war, the French government can only follow suit.

Anyway, Napoleon IV did not believe in the so-called good-neighborliness and friendship, and with the relations between France and the surrounding countries, once there was an imbalance in strength, someone would come to the door every minute.

In this era of the jungle, weakness is the biggest original sin, not to mention that everyone has a grudge?

Since ancient times, military expansion has been considered a prelude to war, and the actions of the French government have once again exacerbated everyone's panic, and for a time the European continent was full of mountains and rains.

……

London

British Foreign Secretary George pointed to the map of Europe on the wall and said: "The plan has gone well so far.

Although Austria was not encouraged to send troops to unify the German regions, the French had already taken the bait.

Due to the tensions, the government in Paris has begun to expand its army, and it is impossible to turn back after taking this step.

The only trouble is that there are too many countries involved, and the diplomacy of the French government is so rubbish that not a single ally has been found, not even the Spaniards.

According to the current situation, if we do not help, it is very likely that Austria will form an anti-French coalition after the outbreak of the war, and bring Belgium, Germany, Sweden, and Spain together to besiege the French. ”

Arms build-up is no child's play, especially when tensions arise. As soon as the government expanded its army, it sent a signal of war to the outside world.

The capitalists will increase investment in the military-related fields, and the original military enterprises will also expand their production capacity in the shortest possible time.

France had just begun to experience overcapacity and unemployment, and the war was taking advantage of the revival of companies and the rediscovery of workers.

If you want to stop, the capitalists will not agree in the first place, and you can't see the return if you invest real money; Workers who have managed to re-enter the workforce will not agree either.

Driven by interests, the outbreak of war is a matter of time. All the French government can decide is who to fight and where to start.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded, the French have no allies, this is the basis on which Britain and France can form an alliance.

It's just that thinking about it now, it is still a little unexpected for them to cause all the neighbors to be vigilant at the same time.

"I remember that the Spanish government was supported by the French, and Franco-Spanish relations have been very good in the last ten years, so they have no reason to turn to Austria, right?"

After the outbreak of the Spanish Revolution, the Bourbon royal family went into exile in France. Napoleon III made a deal with the Bourbons in exchange for supporting Alfonso XII to the throne in exchange for the Bourbons not causing him trouble.

After Alfonso XII ascended to the throne, relations between France and Spain warmed rapidly, and the outside world always suspected that France and Spain had a secret alliance.

In the absence of a particularly major conflict of interest, it is very unlikely that the two countries will turn their faces.

George explained: "Franco-Spanish relations have indeed been friendly for a while, but the contradictions between the two countries are even greater.

Especially after the death of Alfonso XII, the Austrian Archduchess Maria Cristina became regent, and Spain's foreign policy underwent a fundamental change, from the original pro-French to pro-Austrian.

The current Franco-Spanish relationship can only be maintained on the surface, and it is far from being an alliance.

Just last week, Austria provided the Spanish government with an interest-free loan of 20 million Aegis. After receiving this loan, the Spanish government immediately announced the expansion of five infantry divisions.

Not only Spain, but also Austria has granted loans of various amounts to Belgium, the German Confederation and Switzerland in the past month.

In this regard, the French government was very slow to react, and after the incident, they did not take the right measures to win over other countries, but sent people to warn and threaten. ”

As good neighbors, France and Spain have never been at war, and the Habsburgs have also made outstanding contributions in this regard.

However, that was hundreds of years ago, and there was no longer any hatred, and it was the war against France that was still fresh in the memory of the Spaniards.

If the British defeated the myth of the Armada and pulled Spain from the supremacy of the seas, then Napoleon was the terminator of the Spanish empire on which the sun never set.

More than a dozen countries, including Mexico, Central America, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Paraguay, and tens of millions of square meters of land were all independent because of the war against France.

It is impossible to say that the Spaniards have no grievances, but France is powerful, and Spain is weak and has a lot of internal contradictions, so I have to endure it.

No matter how forbearance you are, having this hatred will not be good in Franco-Spanish relations. When Alfonso XII was alive, the relationship between the two sides was not bad because of the grace of the restoration.

After the regency of the Austrian Archduchess Maria Cristina, there was no pro-French monarch, and the voice of anti-French in the country naturally rose.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Childers: "In that respect, the French government is not wrong.

They themselves have a bad relationship with their neighbors, and if they want to win over allies, they must pay a higher cost.

Just by promising benefits, everyone will not believe that they are no match for Austria in terms of financial resources.

Their only advantage was the prestige of the French army, and if they couldn't win over these countries, they would have to deter them.

It's all a bunch of wall grass anyway, and as long as France stays strong enough, these guys won't dare to act rashly.

Moreover, the French government is used to being strong, and if it suddenly puts down its position to win over other countries, it will make everyone have bad ideas. ”

This is fair, it is really not France's strong point to win allies, and to fight with Austria on this, in addition to being exhausted, it is difficult to have a substantive effect, and it is not as effective as deterrence by force.

Gladstone frowned, the situation of the French was worse than expected, and the deterrence of force was indeed effective, but if France and Austria were to stalemate on the battlefield, these countries would be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Franz is world-famous for his generosity towards his allies, especially when he is generous to others.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must find a way to keep the countries neutral, otherwise the five countries will join forces, and the French will not have the slightest chance of winning!"

The French are confident that it is decades of propaganda, and the top government officials have grown up listening to this sentence, and subconsciously think that the French army is invincible.

The authorities are confused, and the bystanders are clear.

Gladstone was not so confident in the combat effectiveness of the French army, and in his impression the French army was indeed the first in the world, but the first did not mean invincible.

Many ants can bite the elephant to death, and France is not sure of victory against Austria one-on-one, and if a few more opponents are added, the battle will not be able to be fought.

Britain wants to lose both France and Austria, but it is not for Austria to take advantage of the situation, and now it has to pull the sidelines.

Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "This is very difficult to do, unless the French attack Austria from the Italian region, and we have a way to keep the countries neutral."

Otherwise, we would have to keep Spain neutral, with a maximum of one more Switzerland.

They are neutral countries, and as long as the French do not take the initiative to find trouble, the Foreign Office is sure to persuade the Swiss government to be neutral. ”

There is no way to do it, and the Fa-Austrian confrontation is because of Belgium and the German Confederation. If the French wanted to annex their land, it would be impossible for Belgium and Germany to be neutral.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded helplessly, originally the two countries were still the little brothers they supported, but now they have to give up for the good of the empire.

Thinking of this, Gladstone had another headache. Both of them were part of the Gotha dynasty, and if the French were defeated, if the French won the war, the Gotha dynasty would suffer greatly.

If he knew that he planned this incident, it is estimated that Queen Victoria would have the heart to hack him to death, and now Gladstone would not dare to go to the palace.