It is not only the international situation that worries the British government, but also the economic problems that accompany it.

If nothing else, the markets from which the French withdrew were mostly replaced by Austrian industrial and commercial products, and Britain could only pick up a few scraps.

The law of "the strong will always be strong" applies here as well. Austria itself was the industrial hegemon, and now that it had seized the market of the French, the domestic industry and commerce would certainly develop further.

With a little common sense, you will know that the more industrial and commercial products are produced, the lower the cost and the stronger the market competitiveness.

The market was so large that Austria's industry and commerce would inevitably compete with Britain as it developed further.

Elsewhere, at least Britain's market share in Europe will definitely be squeezed.

As the market shrinks, the profits of enterprises will decline, and the money invested in product research and development and promotion will also decrease, which is a vicious circle.

Of course, these are long-term problems, and Britain has the richest colonies in the world, and it can hold up in a short time.

It's a big deal to slowly transform the economy, give up the manufacturing industry with meager profits, and vigorously develop the financial and service industries. The original plane did this, and now it can naturally do the same.

The long-term problem is the next term, or the next term, Gladstone can't worry about them, and the current trouble is enough for him to have a headache.

As the world's largest financial empire, it is natural that usury is indispensable. Everyone knows that those who play finance are bold + disciplined.

As long as the benefits are big enough, no matter how big the risks are, someone will do it.

Britain, which advocates a free economy, does not interfere with private lending. In the European War, these speculators were naturally indispensable.

Some people earn with blood, and some people lose with blood. With the end of the war on the European continent, the financial groups that bet on the French government are now trapped.

If the consortium's money is trapped, Gladstone will only open champagne to celebrate, and will not care whether these vampires live or die.

It's a pity that the vampires are very shrewd and have carefully planned the script a long time ago, and the profits are their own, and the losses are raised from the people.

From the end of the European War to the present, more than 300 financial institutions in Britain have declared bankruptcy, throwing the mess directly to the government.

It is impossible to collect debts, and judging from the current situation, the French government, even if it has money, has been looted by the anti-French alliance. It is estimated that it will not be possible to meet this debt for decades.

Before the French could deal with their bad debts, the German Confederation defaulted on its debts, once again dealing a blow to the London government.

This time it was not only private loans, but many of them were backed by the British government.

There was no way, the German federal government declared bankruptcy. In order to save money, they even abolished the embassy in London and entrusted the business to the Austrian embassy in London.

It's not that the German federal government is deliberately "defaulting on the debt", they really don't have money now. The states below did not pay taxes, the central districts were smashed again, the government lost all its revenues, and even the salaries of public officials had to be paid in advance, let alone repaid.

Towards the end of the year, the government could not come up with the money to meet its debts, so it had to choose bankruptcy and default.

In fact, the German Confederation was not alone in bankruptcy. The Belgian government, whose hometown was white, also declared bankruptcy at this time.

No money is no money, and no one pretends to be poor. They did not target Britain alone, but defaulted on all their debts together. It's just that Britain has lent the most and has become the biggest victim.

"Did the two governments give an explanation?"

The French government Gladstone simply ignored it, and apparently he did not think that he could take money out of the nose of the anti-French alliance.

It is a well-known fact that the governments of Belgium and Germany have no money, and Gladstone does not expect them to pay for it right away.

It doesn't matter if you don't have money, Britain has a professional financial team. As long as you can come up with enough collateral, you can borrow another one.

The key is to solve the problem, whether you have to "suspend payments" because you don't have money, or you have to "default on your debts".

"The Belgian government's plan was to defer the payment for five years, with the French war reparations as a guarantee, and after five years, the war reparations paid by the French would be paid to us first.

The German Federal Government's plan was to transfer the debt, deducting the corresponding amount directly from the war reparations, and the French would bear the debt.

Theoretically, the proposals of the two governments could be both. The only question is whether the French have the ability to pay. ”

It's not that George is soft-hearted, it's really a special situation now. Now Belgium is a poor ghost, and the treasury does not need to go to the gate, and it can't be fried at all.

The German Confederation seems to be in a better situation, but the government is too weak to close its doors at any moment.

If we don't deal with the debt problem quickly, when Austria declares the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire and dissolves the illegal organization of the German Confederation, even the creditors will be completely wiped out.

No country will pay for an illegitimate government formed by a rebellious party unless Britain can get Austria to recognize the legitimacy of the German federal government.

This is obviously impossible. Recognition of the legitimacy of the German Federal Government would mean the division of the Reich, and Vienna would have been able to withstand the pressure thirty years ago, let alone now.

"Trouble!"

"Judging from the current situation, the anti-French alliance will definitely knock the French hard, and the war reparations will probably not be a billion pounds.

The sacrifices made by Belgium in this war were very large, and Austria had to be appeased by reason, and the proportion of reparations should not be low.

With five years as a buffer, the French should have recovered a little, and even if they could not pay the reparations in full, the annual share of Belgium's head would be enough to pay our debts. Even if there is a deficiency, the Belgians can make up for it.

The German Federal Government's proposal is troublesome, and we seem to have no loss in the assignment of creditor's rights, but in fact we have to bear a very large risk.

It is necessary to worry not only about the ability of the French to pay, but also about the political risks. If Russia and Austria play tricks on it, let the French deliberately delay, or put the transferred debts in the final fulfillment, it is estimated that by the end of this century, we will not see any money. ”

Gladstone didn't have to worry, Britain had played a similar trick, and now Feng Shui took turns, and it was their turn to be passive.

Accepting the assignment of claims from the German Confederation implies a high level of risk; Refusal of the assignment of creditor's rights does not even give him the opportunity to take risks.

The current German federal government is like a limited liability company with huge debts and about to go bankrupt, or the kind with the lowest registered capital.

Anyway, everyone only bears responsibility within the scope of registered capital, and both legal persons and shareholders have chosen to stop losses in time and have no intention of saving the company.

Britain, as a creditor, is tragic, either to collect the company's bad debts outside, or to wait for bankruptcy and liquidation.

Foreign Minister George added: "Not only us, but other creditors of the German Confederation are now treated the same, including the Royal Bank of Austria.

Now George I has closed his doors and thrown everything to the German Federal Government, and the Kingdom of Hanover and the German Confederation have completed the cutting.

In order to stop the loss, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to use the colonies to pay off the debt, but they refused. Avar is still clamoring for war with us if they dare to touch their colonies. ”

It's not a fuel-efficient lamp, even Britain's own son, and now he's rebelling. No matter how good the relationship was in the past, they would not be able to bear the debt.

Even if they know that they will offend Britain in this way, they are now fearless. Anyway, the revived Holy Roman Empire is the hegemon of the European continent, and the British want to find trouble, and the central government is on top of it, so there is no need to coax it at all.

……

It is not only the British government that is also struggling, but also the Japanese government in Tokyo. Even the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands did not make Emperor Meiji happy.

There is no way, the plan does not change quickly. Originally, I was going to speculate after the situation became clear, but unfortunately, due to the inconvenience of communications, the news of the Japanese government lagged for a few days.

However, in just a few days, the French surrendered. So much so that the war letters prepared by the Japanese government could not be sent.

If you want to forcibly touch the porcelain, you can't do it. The French Indochina Peninsula was preempted by the British, and several small islands in the South Seas fell into the hands of Austria, and none of them dared to provoke them.

The failure of speculation has put Japan in a very awkward position, and the international situation is not friendly to them, especially the Vienna Peace Conference that follows.

Spain is a European country and a member of the anti-French alliance, and it is clear who everyone will support at the Vienna Peace Conference.

Unable to obtain the recognition of other countries, the Philippine Islands they occupy are rootless and may be snatched away at any time.

In the days that followed, they had to worry not only about the Spaniards' counterattack, but also about the Anglo-Austrian attack.

In the past, Spain was able to hold the Philippine Islands, but not only because of strength, but simply by looking at strength, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal were not qualified to hold the colonies in their hands, and it was more due to political factors.

Now that the situation on the European continent has changed dramatically and the Philippine Islands have fallen into the hands of the Japanese, the original political factors are no longer applicable at this time.

Having missed the opportunity for speculation, the Japanese government could only speak on strength if it wanted to defend the Philippine Islands.

"Prime Minister, what is the position of the European countries?"

Ito Hirobumi's expression tightened, and he said with some embarrassment: "The situation is not optimistic, I personally went to visit the ministers of various countries, and even if the empire made concessions, it did not get the explicit support of any country.

The position of the British among the great powers is vague, as if they do not care at all about our occupation of the Philippine Islands; The Russians were also more inclined towards Spain, and after the concessions made by the Empire, they were also not assured by them.

Austria's position was most unfavorable to us, and Minister Antonio made it clear that he wanted us to abandon the Philippine Islands and halt our expansion into the South Seas.

The only good news is that Austria's position is not too resolute and there is no intention of intervening by force. The opposition to our occupation of the Philippine Islands should be due to the fact that Spain is their ally.

According to information from Europe, the Spaniards had begun to form an expeditionary fleet, and now there are three new battleships and ten ironclads, all from the French navy. ”

Admiral Minister Saigo asked suspiciously: "Didn't all the French warships have to be auctioned, and why did they fall into the hands of the Spaniards?" ”

Ito Hirobumi reluctantly explained: "The French warships are all trophies of the anti-French alliance, and Spain is a member of the anti-French alliance, so it is not a big deal to borrow them in advance before the auction."

Even if there was to be an auction, it would only be a formality, and these warships would also fall into the hands of Spain. The warships that can really be bought by the outside world are also the ones that the anti-French alliance countries pick. ”

Opening the back door couldn't be more normal. As a member of the anti-French coalition, you have no privileges to be a problem.

Saigo was silent. The hundred-year-old navy is not a joke, don't look at the decline of Spain, there is still no shortage of people's naval heritage. As long as there is money and warships, a fleet can be pulled out very quickly.

The Japanese Navy had a limited background, and the most advanced warships were only a few ironclad ships, or cruisers, and the most advanced battleships did not exist at all.

Warships are not ordinary weapons, and they cannot be bought with money. The warships that can be bought on the international market are all second- and third-rate warships, and there may even be simplified versions, which the British have the most fun playing in this regard.

A former dreadnought of more than 10,000 tons against a cruiser of several thousand tons is more of a slaughter than a battle. The navy does not rely on blood and bravery, and the technological gap cannot be bridged by a few slogans.

No matter how confident he is, Saigo doesn't think that the few broken ships of the Japanese Navy can be compared with the elite warships of the French Navy.

Seeing that the navy was instigated, Army Admiral Dashan Yan hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty." The Imperial Japanese Army is not afraid of any enemy challenge, and as long as we are there, we will definitely be able to hold the Philippine Islands. ”

Unlike the Navy's worries, the Army is full of confidence. In the previous offensive and defensive battles of the Philippine Islands, the Japanese Army beat the Spaniards all the way.