Understanding current affairs is one of the important reasons for Japan's success.

Since the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government has been trying to hug the thighs of the British, although John Bull did not see them very well and did not accept them as the little brother sent to the door.

But after decades of hard work, there are always impressions. However, in international competition, it is not enough to rely on impression scores, but more importantly, to look at opportunities.

For the Japanese, this is undoubtedly the best opportunity. The international situation is changing, and the British, who have been isolated by European society, are now in dire need of allies.

The overlord has the bearing of the hegemon, and what Britain needs is allies, not pets, and it is impossible to accept all cats and dogs.

It was only in the First Sino-Japanese War that Japan proved its strength in the First Sino-Japanese War, and was favored by the British and became the vanguard of the anti-Russian war in the Far East.

Now it was no exception, and in the battle for the Philippine Islands, Japan's display of strength gave the British a high glance before they had the opportunity to make further contacts.

……

Downing Street, since the European War was decided, Prime Minister Gladstone has not slept well, and the whole person seems to be ten years old.

The just-concluded Vienna Peace Conference dealt a fatal blow to Britain. The French Empire, which was coaxing, has now been cut off, and it cannot be counted on in a short time.

Without any surprise, Britain's worst-feared German-Austrian merger took place, and the revived Holy Roman Empire became the new continental overlord.

And this overlord is different from the previous parallel trading overlords, and the strength is too strong, which makes the challenges daunted.

It turns out that there is no worst, only worse. As a supporter of France, Britain stood early on against the anti-French alliance.

Even if it is a last-minute counterattack, it does not mean that the matter is over. With the protectors of the strait, the anti-French alliance naturally does not have the ability to liquidate them.

The absence of direct liquidation does not mean that revenge has been abandoned. At the last moment of the Vienna Peace Conference, the anti-French alliance was exhausted, and the "European Continental Union" with Austria as the core appeared.

As the name suggests, the "European Union" is naturally a union of countries on the European continent. Although Britain also belongs to Europe, they are maritime countries, so the European Union has nothing to do with them.

In a literal sense, Gladstone also knew that Austria was pulling countries to form a "continental alliance" in order to seize the right to speak.

Whether they wanted to accept it or not, Britain was excluded and lost its right to speak on the European continent.

And that's not the worst, what's worse is that no one has stipulated that the "continental union" can only manage continental affairs. The Vienna Government could use this alliance to interfere in international affairs if it so wished.

The strength of the European Union far exceeds the sum of the remaining countries, and in this era when the big fist is the truth, the right to speak is naturally unparalleled.

In other words, Britain's supremacy has been shaken, and although they still have the world's largest Royal Navy, they still have no confidence in the face of the freak of the "European Continental Union".

originally thought it was just a competition for the hegemony of Britain and Austria, but the director got the wrong script, and the plot became a battle between Britain and the "European Continental Union". Fortunately, the filming has not been completed, otherwise Britain would have been finished.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with Russia, Spain, the Nordic Commonwealth, and many other countries, and on the whole it is not optimistic, and everyone's confidence in the Holy Roman Empire is much higher than we expected.

Now we can only wait for the enemy to make a mistake and then find an opportunity to divide the continental alliance. If this alliance is not dissolved, we will always be in a passive position, and we will not be able to do anything about the Holy Roman Empire hiding behind it. ”

It can be seen that George is in a very bad mood. As the foreign secretary of Britain, it is a certainty that the international situation has developed to this point and he has won the title of "Britain's worst foreign secretary".

Political opponents did not take the opportunity to attack, not because of understanding, let alone because of discipline, but because no one wanted to take over this mess. When the dust settles, it's time for him to get out.

In contrast, the rest of the cabinet fared much better. Despite the deterioration of the international situation, Britain still reaped the benefits of the European War.

Most of the wealth accumulated by the French went to Britain through trade, and the British Isles are now in the midst of the most prosperous economic period.

Although in the long run, the poor decisions of the London government put Britain in an embarrassing position; However, in the short term, all sectors of the country have benefited, and the people's perception of the government is not bad.

In fact, George was also overthinking. The title of "the worst foreign secretary in history" will only be given to him by posterity, and the British people are not aware of what has been lost.

Since the use of diplomacy to obtain the French warships, the hegemony of the Royal Navy has been consolidated

After the dominance, the voices of public opinion criticizing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been much quieter.

Gladstone waved his hand: "Take your time, we're not in a hurry." The Holy Roman Empire has just been re-established, and there are still a lot of internal problems, and for a long time to come, the Vienna government will be too busy sorting out its internal affairs to take care of us at all.

The anti-French alliance was not monolithic, but now it was only because the French were united for a short time. France had been badly weakened at the Vienna Peace Conference, and its threat to the nations had been greatly reduced. When the French no longer feel threatened, the alliance will be over.

Don't look at the majesty of the Holy Roman Empire now, the more they toss, the more likely it is to arouse the jealousy of all countries, and France is a lesson from the past.

I'm afraid that they won't toss. It would be really troublesome if the Vienna government had maintained its present international image and had not done anything on the European continent. ”

The impact of the defeat of France on Britain was also very large, and both the people and the government are analyzing the reasons. The final conclusion was a surprise to themselves.

There is no way, the reason for the defeat of France applies to Britain as well - "too many people have been offended".

The French offended many people, and Britain offended many people. Fortunately, there is the protection of the strait, otherwise it is unknown whether Britain would not exist or not.

Reflection is reflection, and the London government has not reversed the situation even after working together for a while. With the establishment of the European Continental Alliance, no continental country will be allied with them.

Including France, which had just been defeated, would be no exception. Many French people now believe that their defeat was betrayed by the British, and that the revolutionary government in Paris was a puppet supported by the British.

In a sense, this is not wronged. The French Revolutionaries' first stop in exile was London, and if it weren't for the protection of the British government, these guys would have been clicked by the Bonapartes.

On the face of it, if the British government had not stabbed the knife at the last minute, but had gone all out to support it, the French would not have been able to end the war in a dignified manner.

After the defeat, many arrogant French people were still reluctant to admit that the defeat was due to their own weakness, and they desperately needed an excuse that they could accept.

Under the guidance of well-intentioned people, conspiracy theories began to flourish. Britain met all the conditions and was thrust into the limelight.

Of course, these are all minor issues. After the defeat of France, it was no longer able to enter the eyes of the British government, and could not do anything except shout a few words.

Foreign Secretary George: "There is also the question that the Japanese want to buy warships from us to counter the Spanish expeditionary fleet.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended to agree to them. With the end of the European War, the victorious Spaniards also became restless. There were even voices in the newspapers of Madrid about the retraction of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Although it is not yet a climate, we still have to be vigilant. If Vienna were to stir things up behind their backs, the self-confident Spaniards might have done something stupid.

In order to avoid the worst, it is better to find an opportunity to sober up the Spaniards.

Anyway, with the disappearance of the French Navy, the pressure on the Royal Navy has been greatly reduced. Soon we will have to accept a large number of warships from the French Navy, and the Royal Navy will have to face the problem of a surplus of warships for a long time to come.

Taking the opportunity to dispose of a batch of redundant warships to the Japanese could not only use them to deplete Spain's strength, but also save a lot of money. ”

There are too many troubles about warships, which at the moment only the British alone enjoy. Originally, the Royal Navy had a large number of warships, and now it has received most of the French warships, and the next problem that the Royal Navy has to face is that there are warships that no one drives.

Because a major auction of warships has just ended, the international arms market happens to be saturated, and there is no second buyer other than Japan.

Admiral Astley cursed, "Don't mention the French warships, the damned Austrians have thrown us a pile of rags, and nearly a tenth of them are about to be decommissioned."

And the engineers and shipbuilding technology they promised, all of which are nonsense. The so-called engineers are a group of coolie workers.

The technical information on the transfer of shipbuilding was mixed together, most of which were sail warships, and even if there was the core technology of the French, we would not be able to find it for a while. ”

As the second largest naval power in the world, the French Navy is also very strong, although it is not as good as Britain in general, but it is the first in the world in some fields.

No one is going to let a competitor go big, and Austria is no exception. To crack down on competitors, it is natural to do everything.

From the very beginning, the Royal Navy did not expect to be able to obtain the core technology of the French, and even if the Austrians dared to give it, they did not dare to use it directly.

It's just that he was put on the table, and Astley was still in a bad mood. Especially after learning that they were the only ones enjoying the special treatment, Astley's mood was even worse.

"There is no problem with the capital ship, don't mention some flaws. In any case, these warships also consolidated the supremacy of the Royal Navy.

In the long run, Austria will be our worst enemy in the future; But in a short period of time, it is the Russians who pose the greatest threat to us.

The tsarist government has announced the construction of the Central Asian Railway. Having determined that the European continent could not break through, the strategy of the Russians had shifted to India.

It's not enough to be reactive, we have to find a way to be proactive. Everyone knows how complex Afghanistan's geography is. To fight the Russians, it is better to open a new front.

We are running out of options, and the Nordic Confederation cannot count on them. In addition to continuing to support the Persians, we had to find an enemy for the Russians in the Far East and exhaust the tsarist government.

Of course, the Nanyang region cannot be given up. With the European Union deal, we have fallen behind in the South Seas. If the Spaniards had taken back the Philippine Islands, the situation would have been even more unfavorable for us.

The Admiralty sent someone to assess the strength of the Japanese and, if possible, to turn them into a nail that we inserted into the South Seas. ”

Gladstone was also very helpless to make such a decision. I know that this is a symptom but not a cure, but there is no way, and at the moment Britain can only choose to treat the symptoms first.

(End of chapter)