Chapter 144: South or East?

With the growing voices of hostility towards Belgium and Germany in public opinion, huge demonstrations have also erupted among the people.

From Paris to Rome, any city in France with a population of more than 50,000 people erupted in demonstrations.

All kinds of nonsense slogans are heard endlessly, anti-coal profiteering, anti-unemployment, demand for higher wages, and demand that the government further liberalize the right to vote...... And so on, social groups, whether related or unrelated, jumped out.

For a time, the voice of the French people was heard all over Europe. It's just that this kind of cry is a bit chaotic and a little confusing.

At Versailles, listening to the heart-rending cries of the people outside, Napoleon IV was furious.

Public opinion?

In those days, there was no Internet, and if no one manipulated it, it would not necessarily be able to spread throughout the country in three or five months, let alone demonstrations in major cities across the country.

"The police department will check for me to see who is behind the troublemaker!"

No emperor wanted to be at the mercy of others, and Napoleon IV was no exception. Even if the Central European strategy is to be implemented, it will be carried out under his leadership, not by someone who will be chased to the shelves.

The Minister of Police, Adonis, replied worriedly: "Your Majesty, there are many people participating in this time, including capitalists, students, aristocrats, the military, government officials, and other groups.

According to the information available to the Ministry of Police, the first action was taken by the domestic business community, which then spread rapidly. ”

Who is the ultimate mastermind behind the scenes, the police department does not know, this kind of information on the surface, can still be found.

Adonis's political mind is still very bright, and since the outbreak of public opinion, he has begun to think about countermeasures, and now he is naturally at hand.

The law does not hold the public accountable, which is the biggest characteristic of France. Even the participants in the last revolution, Napoleon IV, could not have been able to liquidate them all, let alone now.

Knowing that it was useless to know that it was the business community that did it, there was no way to lock down the original culprit, and Napoleon IV couldn't find anyone to settle the score.

Slamming the table, Napoleon IV said viciously: "Damn the consortium, don't think that you can get away with it in this way." ”

Since the industrial and commercial sector is dominant, it is natural that the consortium will exert its efforts and record this account on the consortium without any problems.

In fact, the relationship between the Bonaparte family and the French consortium has not been very good, because of the interests of the two sides have not been less conflicting.

Especially during the Paris Revolution, the consortia fueled the flames and took advantage of the fire to loot, which exacerbated the contradictions between the two sides.

Don't look at Napoleon IV's concessions and compromises, but the resentment in his heart has accumulated. In order to curb the growth of the consortium, Napoleon IV made great efforts.

From a development point of view, this is an inevitable consequence. The power of the consortium is constantly expanding, the cake of France has not become bigger, and the expansion of emerging forces will inevitably collide with vested interest groups.

The Bonaparte family was restored only with the support of the peasant class and the aristocratic class, and Napoleon IV necessarily represented the interests of these two classes.

The French consortium has strong financial resources and great influence, but its politics and military are shortcomings, and it is obviously not an opponent in the face of the aristocracy that controls political power.

If you want to continue to grow, you can only find a way to make the cake bigger.

The best way to do this is to promote the China-Europe strategy, which not only solves the shortcomings of domestic industrial and commercial development, but also promotes the development of the capitalist economy and further strengthens the power of the consortium.

Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec reminded: "Your Majesty, we can take our time to find out who is behind the scenes.

Recently, European countries have been asking us questions about China-Europe strategy, and the domestic public uproar has aroused the vigilance of all parties.

Just last week, the Belgian government decided to expand the reserve corps by another unit, which would bring the total number of Belgian troops to 154,000 once the plan is completed.

The German Confederation also convened a state conference, and George I proposed to follow Austria's example of a national reserve system and train another 1.5 million reservists.

And with the existing main forces unchanged, the standing army has increased by 300,000 reserve troops, and now they are busy discussing the issue of the distribution of forces in each state.

If the plans of the Germans were allowed to be completed, then their actual standing army would have exceeded half a million troops. Under the maximum mobilization, the total strength of the two countries will exceed 2 million. ”

There is no doubt that Belgium and Germany were frightened by the internal changes in France and were doing their best to build up their armaments.

If the two countries have completed their plans and armed all the young people in the country, it remains to be seen whether France's Central European strategy can be implemented.

"If they openly want to tear up the arms agreement, aren't they afraid of being sanctioned by the international community?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Napoleon IV realized that he had lost his words. Seeing that war is about to break out, who would think so much.

With the habit of European countries being wary of France, most of them will turn a blind eye to the military expansion of Belgium and Germany, or even be happy to see it happen.

This kind of blatant deviation behavior can be described as very unfriendly to France.

After a pause, Napoleon IV said slowly: "The Foreign Office must find a way to sabotage the expansion of the two countries, and if necessary, to make a commitment to security." ”

Regardless of whether or not to implement the Central European strategy, the French government must interrupt the expansion plans of Belgium and Germany, or it will not be France that threatens others, but others.

There is no way, who makes their enemies many! What if Austria convinces Germany and Germany to besiege France with Switzerland and Spain?

Don't say it's impossible, there have been anti-French wars in history. Now it is also possible, after all, these neighboring countries have been beaten by them, and the basis for conflict of interest and hatred is there.

Karel Kadlec replied with a wry smile: "The Foreign Ministry has already taken action, but the two countries do not trust us at all.

Yesterday morning, Franz sent an open letter to the governments of Belgium and Germany, highly praising the efforts made by the two governments to maintain stability in Europe. ”

Franz has always been the best at messing with this kind of thing. Encouraging Belgium and Germany to expand their armies would do Austria no harm.

Once the European War broke out, the two countries that bore the brunt of the war were the natural shields of Austria, and whether they wanted to or not, they were in the way of the French advancing eastward.

If the European War had not broken out now, Austria would have gained time to continue farming. Anyway, Austria's current plate is big enough, and once the Near East region is developed, it can directly crush the enemy by relying on its comprehensive national strength.

War Secretary Luskinia Hafez: "If we can't dispel the idea of expanding the military of Belgium and Germany, we will have to start the Central European strategy ahead of schedule."

Otherwise, if they really let them complete the military expansion plan with all their military force, we will lose the opportunity, and it will be difficult to implement the Central European strategy. ”

Prime Minister Terence Bulkin shook his head: "The key is not the two countries, their military expansion plan only sounds great, but in fact it is impossible to complete."

The Belgian expansion plan is theoretically achievable, but can they raise so many troops?

Not to mention the German Confederation, there are so many small states, but not all of them have a conflict of interest with us.

If war breaks out, it will be a big problem to coordinate the armies of the various states.

It must be known that for the rulers of the states, the central government of Hanover is also an enemy, and no one wants to surrender the army easily.

The real trouble is Austria, and once we implement the Central European strategy, the probability of Austria's involvement is as high as 90 percent.

Judging from the current international situation, I believe that in order to implement the Central European strategy, Austria must be severely damaged and unable to interfere with our actions. ”

The French invaded Belgium and Germany, and Austria was almost certain to enter the war; However, war broke out between France and Austria, and Belgium and Germany were likely to be neutral.

Don't be short-sighted, once Austria defeated the French, the unification of the German regions was a foregone conclusion, and the emperor George I was embarrassed.

This kind of thing to the detriment of himself and others, George I could not have done. The central government came out, and the small states below were also happy, and being pro-Austrian only because of their interests did not mean that they had to work for Austria.

Without the German Confederation, Belgium would not have been able to participate. It is not possible to have a secret treaty, the Kingdom of Belgium has limited strength, and it cannot be mixed at all.

War Secretary Luskinia Hafez vetoed: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this is the most ideal state for you, and in fact there is no half of it.

The fact that our relations with Austria have been able to maintain for so many years is not because the two countries have friendly relations, still less because there is a small conflict of interest, but because no one can help the other.

This is due to the geographical location, with the Albis Mountains being the natural boundary line. Even if we were able to defeat the Austrians, we would have ended up in Venezia.

Austria was not a small country, and the loss of Lombardy and Venezia did not affect them much.

The Viennese government could not admit defeat, and then we would have to deal with a steady stream of Austrian troops, one million, two million, three million and we.

If it was just Austria alone, we would still be confident of winning the final victory.

The problem is that there are other countries on the European continent, Spain, the German Confederation, Belgium, Switzerland, etc., all of which may be in the direction of Austria.

Especially Britain and Russia, don't look at how fiercely they fight. However, the terrain of Afghanistan limits their performance, and they simply cannot do their best.

Unless we can guarantee that Britain and Russia will lose in Afghanistan, and if the war is delayed until both countries are demoralized, it will be possible to avoid British and Russian intervention. ”

The classic case of the Russo-Prussian War has already made the European world understand that it is easy not to go to war with a big country, especially the one with a large number of people.

In the absence of a quick victory, a war between two great powers would be a suicidal war, and the loser would certainly lose everything, but the winner would also lose a lot.

From a purely military point of view, if France and Austria go to war, it is best to fight in Central Europe, and the winner will be killed all the way through Belgium.

If there were a war in Italy, it would be a partial victory at best, and both sides would have the protection of the Albis Mountains and would not be able to penetrate the core territory of both countries.

Facing the expectant gaze of Napoleon IV, Karel Kadlec shook his head: "If war breaks out with Austria, the Foreign Office will still have some certainty that the European countries will remain neutral until the winner is decided.

Once we have the upper hand on the battlefield, the nations of Europe will inevitably step in, and they will most of them be on our side.

Even our allies, the British, will be no exception. For the British government, anything that upsets the balance of the European continent is not allowed to happen. ”

There is no way, the historical French Empire was too powerful, directly so powerful that it had no friends.

European countries have always been extremely wary of the Bonaparte dynasty, with Napoleon's open template, even after the Paris Revolution, France's heavy losses have not changed everyone's perception.

……