At the Vienna Palace, Franz was holding an end-of-year meeting when a sudden telegram interrupted the proceedings.

On November 27, 1879, the Russian army reinforcing Brest was ambushed by the Prussian army halfway, and the southwest battlefield took a turn.

On the surface, the Vienna government of the Russo-Prussian War only needs to be concerned with the final result, and the changes on the local battlefield are not enough to make everyone so vigilant.

The Southwest Battlefield is an exception. On the one hand, because the tsarist government mortgaged the land west of the Dnieper River to Austria, if these areas fell into the hands of the Pupo Confederation, it would be very difficult for the Vienna government to collect the debts in the future. (Ukraine only)

On the other hand, it was for the export trade, and from the outbreak of the war, the tsarist government bought and bought in Austria.

Once the Dnieper River is cut off and limited by transportation, Russian-Austrian trade will definitely be greatly affected.

In order to make war money, the Vienna government also made full preparations. Many state-owned enterprises have increased their production lines, and if the volume of trade between Russia and Austria decreases, these enterprises will lose a lot.

When it comes to vital interests, the government naturally attaches importance to it. As for the year-end meeting, it is important to say that it is important, and it is the same thing to say that it is not important.

The year-end meeting includes a summary of the political, economic, diplomatic, and military developments of the year, as well as the government's plans for the coming year.

The departments have already done their homework, and now they are reporting to Franz in preparation for the next year's budget competition.

Most of these plans revolve around national policies, and the core is led by Franz, and he rarely interferes in specific plans, and the cabinet government is in charge.

……

Franz: "Chief of Staff, tell me about the situation at the front!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chief of the General Staff Albrecht replied

"Yesterday afternoon, the Russian army, which was heading from the Volyn region to Brest for reinforcements, was ambushed by the Prussian army as soon as they crossed the Pripyat River.

Because these Russian troops were temporarily drawn and mixed from various places, and the organizational relations had not yet been straightened out, 30,000 Russian troops were routed by a single division of the Prussian army, and the loss of troops was at least more than 8,000.

The remaining troops have become frightened birds and fled in all directions, a large number of weapons and equipment have been abandoned, and the ability to fight again has been lost in a short time.

Not counting these demoralized troops, the total strength of the Russian army in the Volyn area has dropped from the initial 102,000 to 67,000, and the advantage over the Prussian army no longer exists.

If I were Moltke, I would have abandoned Brest and put the main attack on Kovelli. Take here, whether it is to take Kyiv in the east, or to go north to Brest.

However, the Prussian army only had an advantage in the southwestern theater. To the north, the Russians had already advanced to Riga, and the defense line on the Vizeme heights was also in jeopardy; The Central Battlefield Smolinsk has turned into a meat grinder.

Judging by the current situation, the Russians may take the sea and land together. Relying on the superiority of the Russian Navy, it is quite possible to gain superiority on the Baltic coast. ”

Franz: "So, Moltke must be under a lot of pressure right now?" ”

Albrecht replied in the affirmative: "Yes! ”

If the Prussian army is slow to make a substantial breakthrough on the battlefield, and after the actions of the Russians in the Baltic, the homeland is seriously threatened, and the naval faction within the Berlin government rises up, it will be lively.

When vital interests were involved, the people in the coastal areas made a fuss, and the navy faction took the opportunity to exert force, even if Moltke was highly respected, he could not withstand the pressure from all sides.

Franz sighed to himself, any famous general is always so powerless when it comes to internal crises. Moltke's eagerness to open up the situation in the southwest battlefield is probably also based on this.

Purely from a military point of view, in fact, if the Russian army enters the Polish region, and then find a way to encircle and annihilate it, the chances of victory will be greater.

Not only does it have a deep mass base to rely on, but it also reduces the pressure on logistics and transportation, and even the battle line is shortened, so that more troops can be invested in a decisive battle with the Russian army.

The best policy is militarily, but the political one is a failure. If the Russians were to be allowed in, the Poles would have to separate from them.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg reminded: "According to the information we have received, there has also been a breakthrough in Russia's diplomatic work.

They seem to have secretly promised the Danes, and just a week ago, the Danish government submitted a plan for naval exercises to the Nordic Federal Parliament, which took place in the Danish Strait.

If the plan passes, the sea transport channel of the Pupo Federation will be cut off. The Russians' bid should be high, and the Swedes have already made a move, with a good chance of passing. ”

The naval blockade would not have been fatalized by the Pop-Po Federation, and they could also borrow from the Federal Reich of Germany to transport supplies via the Elbe River.

However, the logistical pressure will increase significantly. The most important thing is the side of the Nordic Confederation, and the diplomatic situation is very unfavorable for the Berlin government.

If the Popo Federation is at a disadvantage on the battlefield, who can guarantee that the Nordic Federation will not fall into the trap?

The Danes had always wanted to get back the Duchy, and anything was possible if the Russians were willing to buy the Swedes.

The confusing situation gave Franz a headache. I originally thought that the combination of William I + Moltke was already very capable of playing, but I didn't expect Alexander II to be easy to mess with.

In the last Russo-Prussian War, Alexander II had not yet grown up, he could only be regarded as a half-finished emperor, and he was slightly inferior in the game, but this comeback is different.

It was a remarkable achievement that Franz had not found any signs of an uprising in Russia until the beginning of the war.

You know, in modern times, the tsarist government is a miracle, and every time there is a foreign war, there will be an uprising in the country.

The absence of problems meant that Alexander II's reforms were successful. A stable Russian Empire, absolutely terrible.

After hesitating for a while, Franz said coldly: "Don't act rashly in diplomacy for the time being, unless the Nordic Federation directly participates in the war, or the situation on the battlefield is completely out of control, otherwise we will continue to maintain neutrality."

The General Staff is closely following the trend of the war, and if it discovers that either side may gain an overwhelming advantage, it must report to me as soon as possible.

Judging by the current situation, it seems that the Russians have a better chance of winning, so let's not move for the time being, and wait for Britain and France to give a blood transfusion to the Pop-Polish Federation.

Once the balance of strength between the two sides is unbalanced, they secretly sell the Mark Core machine gun technology to the weaker side, teach them to use trench tactics, delay the war as much as possible, and mortars can also be sold. ”

To maintain the balance on the battlefield, Britain, France, and Austria also have a division of labor. For example: if the balance of power on the battlefield is broken, if the Pubo Federation is weak, Britain and France are responsible for giving them blood transfusions; If the Russians were weak, Austria would be responsible for the blood transfusion.

Anyway, whoever is weak supports whom, so that both Prussia and Russia lose is everyone's pursuit. Not to let the fourth pole rise, this is the common will of the three old empires.

No, it should be said that it is the common will of France and Austria, and the British are not sure yet. In this regard, Niuniu's strategy is still relatively confused.

Low-tech weapons, Franz never felt the need to keep them secret. It wasn't taken out in advance, and that's because it wasn't necessary.

In order to achieve strategic goals, throwing a few technologies out is nothing at all. If it weren't for the performance issues, Franz would have been ready to throw tank technology out.

It's a pity that if this thing is thrown out, it will not be able to play its due role.

The steam engine tank with a big brain is too big, slow, and very inflexible, and it is easy to become a target for artillery.

Tanks powered by internal combustion engines have insufficient performance, the cost is expensive, and the cost performance is too low, so they can't afford to use it at all.

Austria could not afford it, and Franz did not think that Prussia and Prussia could afford it. Besides, they couldn't produce engines.

Regardless of the fact that the internal combustion engine has been around for some years, in fact it is still high-tech.

With the exception of Austria, which has gone far in this area because of Franz, other countries have not invested much in R&D at all.

Science and technology are piled up with money, and without capital investment, it is naturally difficult to achieve results.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Albrecht replied

After the hiccup, Franz asked again: "What is the situation in South America, did the Chileans release our ships?" ”

The London government pretended to be an ostrich and handed over the seized ship to the Chileans, and Austria naturally looked for the bad luck of the Chilean government.

Bullying the weak and fearing the hard has always been the nature of the great powers, and asking for compensation from the British and from the Chilean government are completely two different concepts.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg said with a smile: "The three children in South America are still fighting, and there should be no winner in the short term."

Since the British handed over the seized ship to the Chilean government, things have gone much smoother. Now the only problem is that the materials on the seized ship are no longer there, and we are negotiating compensation with the Chileans.

If it weren't for the sudden intervention of the British, we would have signed an agreement with the Chilean government now.

Perhaps the British were too greedy and caused dissatisfaction with the Chilean government, and they all wanted to bring in our and the French forces to counterbalance the British. ”

This is good news, although Chilean saltpeter is not the only one, Austria has also found some saltpeter mines in the colonies, but in terms of cost, it is still the cheapest ore to import Chileans.

As for the contradictions between the two countries, they are not worth mentioning at all in the face of interests. Thinking of this, Franz suddenly realized that this Chilean government is not simple.

Selling good to France and Austria seems to have betrayed national interests, but in fact it has laid the foundation for winning this war.

If you don't get the two big hooligans in advance, even if they defeat Peru and Bolivia, they won't want to eat the benefits until they eat the benefits.

There are too many examples of winning on the battlefield and spitting out the spoils of war diplomatically.

The Chilean government clearly understood the nature of the great powers and took advantage of the arrest of the ship to take remedial measures in a timely manner.

Franz couldn't help but sigh: no country can stand out, there is no luck.