While fooling Switzerland, Austria also used the same routine to fool Spain, but the conditions were more favorable and the requirements were more relaxed.

Although the Banya Empire has declined, it is still one of the great powers. A small profit cannot be bought, and Austria is unwilling to pay a big price.

Therefore, they can only lower their requirements, and they do not need to send troops to war. As long as the border of Chen Bing is blocked by the French, when the overall situation has been decided, it will be enough to go up and mend the knife.

If the French win, then what to do as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, even the military expenses were given by Austria, and the interest-free loan in front was the appearance fee for the Spaniards.

With a steady profit and no loss, there is no need to worry about losing money at all.

The only trouble is probably to offend the French, but the foreign policy shift has been offended before, and I don't care about doing it again.

As a member of the great powers, Spain can still afford this little thing.

In addition to wooing Spain and Sweden, Austria is also making public relations with other European countries.

Although it is impossible for these countries to enter the war because of geopolitical relations, it is still good to use it to build momentum.

The French, by contrast, were much more reactive. It's really not a waste of the French Foreign Ministry, the main thing is that the problems left over from history are too serious.

The China-EU strategy that has been exposed has aroused the vigilance of European countries and directly increased the difficulty of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Although the French Government has repeatedly denied it, the move of expanding arms and warfare cannot deceive people. People are more willing to believe what they see than what the French promise.

In particular, the involvement of the British made the situation even more complicated, and many people feared a full-scale war on the European continent, namely: the Anglo-French alliance vs the Russian-Austrian alliance.

The disturbing international situation caused great distress to Alexander III, who was far away in St. Petersburg. It is true that you want to provoke a Franco-Austrian war, but it must not be now.

Since the tension in Europe, the prices of various strategic materials have begun to soar, and many have doubled.

No matter how high the price is, the tsarist government can only grit its teeth and buy it, and even hoard more, otherwise the European war will really break out, and even if there is money at that time, it will not be able to buy goods.

Affected by rising prices, the tsarist government's military spending has increased sharply in the last two or three months.

Alexander III: "Will the French accept our mediation?" ”

There is no doubt that the key to quelling this turmoil lies with the French. As long as the French government is willing to abandon the Central European strategy, this war will not be fought.

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez shook his head: "To accept it is to not accept it."

The French government promised to abandon its Central European strategy, but they offered to compensate for the cession of several coal mines on the border between Belgium and Germany.

Judging from the current situation, it is simply impossible for the governments of Belgium and Germany to make such a big concession. Austria's attitude of not sparing a war provided them with confidence. ”

There was quite a bit of the situation before the First World War, and both the Central and Entente powers had the confidence to win the war, and whoever instigated it was Sun Tzu.

Although the two countries are weak, they have many allies! Not to mention that most countries in Europe supported them in resisting aggression, and with Austria alone, they had the confidence to have a hard top with the French.

Compromise, it's easy to say. Nationalism in both countries has risen, and if it really makes concessions to the French, the spittle of the domestic people will bury the government.

Belgium and Germany could not make concessions, and neither could the Parisian government. Now that we are at the end of the day, an economic crisis will soon break out in the country, and there will be another Paris Revolution.

Thinking of all this, Alexander III cursed: "Damn the British, you will play these tricks. ”

There is no need for evidence, and from the perspective of benefits, you will know that it is inseparable from the British.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given me a way to delay the outbreak of the war on the European continent, no matter what method you use, coercion, inducement, and intimidation, you must delay the outbreak of the war until the second half of next year."

There is no way, if the war breaks out immediately on the European continent, the war in Afghanistan, which is in sight of victory, will become confusing.

Although Alexander III had confidence in the Russian army, he could not stand the fact that the British had money, and those who could not win on the battlefield could drag it on forever.

Without the support of the financiers, the wallet of the tsarist government alone could not last long.

Oscar Jimenez replied in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that this will be very difficult to do.

If we did have the strength to intervene before the war in Afghanistan broke out, we could calm both sides, but now the French probably won't buy it. ”

It's not that the face of the Russian Empire is not big enough, the key is that the timing is wrong, and several countries involved are expanding their armaments and warfare.

The distance between the outbreak of war and the outbreak of war is only a fuse. It's not like you can stop if you want to.

It is easy to delay the outbreak of war, but it is necessary to consider the actual situation! If possible, the French also wanted to delay until Britain and Russia had lost their hands.

The problem is that the Sino-European strategy has been exposed in advance, and before the French government can get ready, everyone will already make a fuss.

Looking at the posture of the neighbors' military expansion, we know that if it is really delayed until the second half of next year, maybe Belgium and Germany will really get two million troops.

Even if they are two million pigs, they can't be killed in a while. So many troops, enough to hold out until Austrian reinforcements arrived.

If a breakthrough cannot be made in a short period of time, the war will turn into a war of attrition. For France, the war of attrition was a disaster.

……

War was imminent, and Franz couldn't care about secrecy. The armor and tanks, which had been hidden for a long time, came out of the laboratory and officially entered service in the Austrian army.

Without any dragging mud and water, Franz directly ordered the formation of 6 armored divisions and 4 tank brigades.

It's not that Franz discriminates against tank troops, it's mainly that the tanks of these years are all snail-like speed, and their actual combat value is far inferior to that of armored vehicles.

Take the V3 tank in service now as an example, the limit speed per hour is only 12 kilometers per hour.

This is still a theoretical value, you can only run on flat ground without obstacles, and you can run at a speed of 8 kilometers per hour in actual combat, which is God forbid.

In contrast, the armored car is much faster, running at a speed of fifty or sixty kilometers per hour, with a limit speed of up to 94.7 kilometers / h.

In addition to speed, tanks have a much higher failure rate than armored vehicles. On average, after running one or two hundred kilometers, one maintenance is required.

With so many disadvantages, the tank can still be installed, which naturally has its unique advantages.

That is, it is more resistant to than armored vehicles, and when it comes to destroying enemy fortifications, breaking through trenches, barbed wire, machine gun fire points, tanks are almost invincible, at least in this era.

Of course, you can also bully and bully the enemy's infantry and cavalry in a decisive battle, and just press all the way through, and the blow to the morale of the army is huge.

After inspecting the freshly baked armored units, Franz had a clear idea in his heart.

Although the armored forces are very immature and the military has no experience in using armored forces, the enemy is a group of infantry and cavalry!

Even if France is good at imitation and follow, it is too late to plagiarize. The armored forces that Austria has been engaged in for more than ten years are not something that they can catch up with in a short time.

Looking at the armored troops that were being drilled, Franz asked with concern: "How long will it take for the armored forces to form combat effectiveness?" ”

War Secretary Fislav: "Armored forces are a new technical branch, and we have never been in contact with them before.

It has been less than a month since the formation of the troops, and I am afraid it will take at least a year to truly form combat effectiveness.

However, the enemy we have to face this time does not have armored troops, and only the infantry and cavalry of the French have to deal with, and another month or two of training can be improvised. ”

Strength and weakness are relative, and if it is a close battle, it is natural to face it in peak condition.

But now it is the armored forces against the flesh and blood, even if they are not at their peak, they can also be beaten.

Franz nodded: "We still have enough time, even if the war breaks out, the armored forces do not need to go to the front line as soon as possible."

Let's practice slowly at the normal pace, and in the next three months, the armored forces will have no combat mission. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Archduke Friedrich replied

There is no doubt that this group of armored units was the most important branch of the Austrian army, and this kind of troops was naturally placed under the command of their own people.

Anyway, everyone has no command experience, and they don't even have the object of study, so they need to start from scratch, and it is necessary to promote young officers.

In this context, Archduke Friedrich did not need to continue to hone in East Africa, and Franz was directly transferred back and ordered to form this armored army.