Public opinion has been created, and Franz will naturally not give up this opportunity to gain prestige and crack down on the positive energy of the drug trade.

Others are afraid of being retaliated against by opium dealers, and they need to be scrupulous when they speak, but he, the emperor, is not afraid!

On June 26, 1889, Franz published the "Proposal for a War on Drugs", calling on all countries in the world to act together to stop the drug trade.

Franz did not save face for the British and directly demanded that the British government take responsibility for the opium epidemic.

On the same day, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent a diplomatic note to the countries of the world, inviting them to participate in the International Conference on Drug Controls to be held in Vienna in a year's time.

The time interval is long, and there is no way.

In those years, communication was inconvenient, and it was only a few months before the news spread all over the world, and a year was really not enough time for the representatives of various countries to arrive in Vienna.

The main purpose of convening the International Anti-Drug Conference is to increase the momentum and exert pressure on the British government, and naturally the more delegates who attend the conference, the better.

Franz had always liked to plan before he acted, and since he decided to fight the opium trade of the British, he naturally had to produce results.

Instead of asking the British government to compromise, at least the trade in opium should be explicitly prohibited in international law, and the use of opium should be limited to the medical field, rather than health products that can be sold at will.

Franz's personal stand naturally greatly boosted the confidence of those who opposed the opium trade. With the launch of the proposal, Franz also became a leader in the international anti-drug movement.

There was no one to compete with him in this position, and the opium dealers were not easy to mess with. Over the past 100 years, I don't know how many people who opposed the opium trade have died under their butcher's knives.

finally came out with a person who could withstand the opium dealers' counterattack, and everyone naturally pushed him to the forefront.

The impact is even greater in countries plagued by opium.

After waiting for so many years, a master who can fight with the British finally appeared, and came out to carry the banner of anti-smoking.

……

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Since His Majesty's declaration, we have received the support of Russia, Greece, Montenegro, Switzerland, France, Spain, the Nordic Confederation, and a number of states in the German region.

The situation was similar to what we had expected. If nothing else, when the news spreads, there will be a few more countries outside Europe that will support us.

The opium trade was harmful to everyone, and the rest of the countries did not speak out publicly, mainly for fear of reprisals from the British, who mostly hoped that the anti-smoking campaign would succeed.

Once an international conference had been convened, there should be no problem in adopting a bill prohibiting the circulation of opium. ”

The British plundered the wealth of all countries in the world through the opium trade, which seriously damaged everyone's interests.

No one lifted the lid, and in addition to fearing the retaliation of the British, there was more of a group of interests at home that profited from the opium trade.

Thanks to the efforts of interest groups, the voices of opposition were suppressed. But all this disappeared with Franz's declaration.

People of insight who opposed the spread of opium stood up, the harmfulness of opium was exposed, and the lid was finally closed.

Interest groups can influence the government, but they cannot make decisions for the government. When it comes to the critical moment, politicians naturally want to kick off these dirty footwraps.

With the exception of France, Spain, and the Nordic Confederation, these openly pro-smoking countries all have one thing in common: they are heavily influenced by Austria and largely uninfluenced by the British.

It doesn't matter if you offend the British, anyway, John Bull's tentacles can't reach out, and he is not afraid of retaliation.

Frankly, with the support of Spain and the Nordic Confederation, Franz was not surprised, and the British, having plundered their wealth through the opium trade, were naturally opposed.

The performance of the French, that's quite weird. Don't forget that Britain and France are allies, and the recent Franco-Austrian relations have been very bad, and the French government has no reason to support them for political reasons.

However, to no avail, the French government jumped out in favor of it, and was one of the first countries to take a stand, almost tied for first place at the same time as the Russians.

If it weren't for the support of the French government, Austria might not have been able to gain the support of so many European countries in such a short period of time.

"Is there something wrong with Anglo-French relations, and why has the French government been making trouble for the British in recent times?"

It's not that Franz is sensitive, from the beginning of the alliance to the present, the French government has been making trouble for the British, and of course the British government has not been digging a hole for the French.

Leaving aside the Covenant, the relationship between Britain and France was more like an enemy than an ally.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg explained: "Your Majesty, Anglo-French relations are very complex and date back to the Middle Ages.

Britain and France have been hostile for most of these long years, and even now that they are allied, there is a lack of basic trust between the two countries.

From the information we have gathered, the Anglo-French alliance is more of a farce, and the two governments have never treated each other as allies.

But whenever there is a conflict of interest, or if one party loses its value, the alliance immediately collapses. ”

This answer is very speechless, but considering the farce of the early days of the Anglo-French alliance in the original time and space, Franz understands.

It is impossible for two hostile countries to suddenly form an alliance and become friends immediately, at least for a period of time before the mentality of both sides can be changed.

Now stop a random person on the street of Paris and ask them who the worst enemy of France is, and there is a 99 percent chance that the answer is: the British.

To delve into the reasons, in addition to the hatred between Britain and France, the most important thing is that the Russian-Austrian alliance does not put enough pressure on them.

After all, Russia and Austria have been allied for many years, and in the past few decades, Russia and Austria have been working alone most of the time, except for joining forces to take out the Ottoman Empire.

Especially now, with the Russians' strategic center of gravity shifting southward, and Austria exercising restraint in European issues, France is not feeling the pressure at all.

Without the pressure of survival, why did they put down their bodies and run to be the little brother of the British?

The alliance is purely a matter of interest, and the greatest value lies in increasing political influence, not that Britain and France are really going to join forces to go to war with Russia and Austria.

In this regard, it is not surprising that the French government jumped out to support the anti-drug campaign. Even the issuance of bonds to the Russians can be done by such a capital enemy, let alone simply express their opinions!

Franz nodded in agreement and did not dwell further on the issue. The worse Anglo-French relations were, the better it was for Austria, and he had no need to worry about the enemy.

After a pause, Franz continued to ask: "How far has the Ministry of Agriculture's potash fertilizer been promoted, and how much can the domestic grain production capacity be increased this year?" ”

Agriculture Secretary Halls: "The promotion of potash fertilizer is still relatively smooth, and most farms in the country have accepted potash fertilizer, and many farms have already tried it.

Just wait for the autumn harvest to be over, everyone can see the effect, and it will be able to be fully rolled out.

The grain production capacity has increased by a large margin, and it should explode from next year, and this year's grain production capacity will increase slightly. ”

This is the inevitable result, no matter how good the product is, before the trial, everyone has no bottom in their hearts.

Especially when it comes to the income of a family, everyone is even less likely to be sloppy, and no one is willing to take risks until they see the effect.

If you are willing to put aside a piece of land to try potash, it proves that the Ministry of Agriculture is doing a good job. When the effect comes out, there is no need for the government to promote it, and the people will promote it themselves.

This is also a good thing, if the grain production capacity skyrockets this year, the Russians will not cry their noses.

Who knows if the tsarist government would have the courage to continue the war with the British after the heavy losses in agriculture.

If the fire goes out suddenly, won't Austria's previous investment be wasted?