The situation in Europe is chaotic, how can it be without Britain? The Franco-Austrian contradiction was not provoked, and the London government was very disappointed.

Prime Minister John Russell is not worried, though, there are one and there are two. It is a fact that the French, whatever the excuse, reached into the back garden of Austria.

The seeds of a conflict between the two countries have been planted, and for the British it was enough. Sowing discord between France and Austria and pitting them against each other is the option that best serves Britain's interests.

If you let them fight, it's not a good thing. Or any war that upsets the balance in Europe, which the London government does not want to see.

Especially at the point when the Russian Empire was about to decline, a war broke out between France and Austria, and either one won the victory, which was the new hegemon of the European continent.

Any European hegemon is the greatest enemy of the British, and there is no need for any reason, as the national policy of the London government has always been.

At 10 Downing Street, Foreign Secretary Leslin walked into the conference room with a smile on his face, and it could be seen that he was in a good mood.

John Russell said flatly, "It's all here, then the meeting begins." Sir Reslyn, what's the good news? ”

Foreign Minister Reslin replied with a smile: "We have just received news that the Tsarist government intends to allow the unification of the three Nordic countries. ”

This is something that the London government has been trying to do in recent years, but has not been able to do. The unification of the three Nordic countries was definitely not a good thing for the Russian Empire.

As long as the great power doctrine is exported to them, unified Northern Europe is destined to stand on the opposite side of the Russians, and who will let them have a glorious history?

Open the history book and look at it, Finland, the Baltic Sea region and other large territories, which were once their territory, are now occupied by the Russians, and the radicals are still sitting still?

Of course, the population of the three Nordic countries is not large, and it is still far from threatening the Russian Empire, but it is still possible to contain some of the Russians' energy.

This is also the reason why the British are willing to support them, anyway, no matter how Northern Europe develops, it will not affect the interests of Britain.

Under normal circumstances, the Russians would not have allowed the unification of Northern Europe. Doing so now means that the Russians are running out of grip and have to make compromises.

John Russell asked uncertainly: "Could it be that the Russians want to draw Sweden and Norway to war against the Prussians and relieve them of the pressure on the battlefield?" ”

Foreign Secretary Reslin replied: "This is the most ideal situation, and in fact the tsarist government should know very well that this is almost impossible to happen."

The Berlin government has already made concessions, promising to withdraw from Jutland, and territorial claims to Denmark are limited to two German principalities.

For Sweden, this is enough. If the two German states were also incorporated, Denmark would have too much to say, and they would not be able to take the lead.

The tsarist government now just wants to stabilize Sweden, otherwise they will really not be able to hold on to the resurgence of wolf smoke in northern Xinjiang. Prima facie, it can be judged that the Russians are now exhausted. ”

The Russians are exhausted, and that's the best news. After this wave, the Russians will not be able to trouble them for decades to come.

If the plan goes well, it may be possible to solve this threat once and for all.

Prime Minister John Russell did not hesitate in the slightest and made a direct decision: "Unleash our maximum influence and give the Russians another fatal blow."

Intensify aid to Prussia, get the Ottoman Empire into the war as soon as possible, and the Far East should also be launched.

If Sweden can stab the Russians, the plan will be perfect. ”

Clearly, John Russell did not expect much from Sweden to go into the war. If the Russians continue to oppose the merger of the three Nordic countries, then there is a very high probability that the Swedes will stab the Russians.

Now it is almost impossible, and the Swedish government has to take into account the feelings of the Danes. Now Denmark and the Russians were allies, and their enemy was the Kingdom of Prussia, which determined that Sweden could not join forces with the Prussians.

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"Since the implementation of the two-power standard, the Royal Navy has been severely challenged. At present, our navy is seriously underwhelmed by military spending, and it is no longer possible to suppress France and Austria at the same time.

Not long ago, the Paris government allocated another 120 million francs for the construction of ships, and the specific plan for building ships is not yet clear, obviously this is aimed at the standards of our two powers.

The Austrians had not yet responded, but as had been the case in the past, the Vienna government would allocate 890 percent of the French ship-building funds.

Our shipbuilding budget for this year has been exhausted. To maintain the current advantage, a further £10 million will have to be allocated. Admiral Edward said

The 10 million pounds of this era is not the 10 million pounds of the future. There are no more than 10 countries in the world that can earn more than 10 million pounds a year.

Those who dare to ask for so much shipbuilding funds in one breath, except for the British Royal Navy, there should be no second one.

France and Austria do have the money, but both are land-powered countries, and the development of their navy must be accompanied by an army.

If it weren't for the British's clamoring for the two-power standard, the Paris government would not have suddenly increased the cost of building ships and ignited this arms race.

In this era, the total tonnage of the Franco-Austrian Navy was almost the same as that of the Royal Navy, and the number of ironclad ships was a little more.

Napoleon III felt insulted in the face of the cries of the British, and even Franz in Vienna could not stand such a provocation.

Oh, it's not just their personal feelings, but more precisely, the common feelings of the people of both countries.

Everyone is trying to save face, and the militant groups of the people are clamoring to catch up with the Royal Navy. Then there is no need to say, an arms race!

It just so happened that Napoleon III needed to divert the attention of the populace from the ruins of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Napoleon III provoked an arms race, and that was also emboldened. In the last decade or so, the French economy has embarked on a fast track, and last year's fiscal revenue exceeded that of the British by more than 18 million pounds. (including the Kingdom of Sardinia)

Of course, this is only local revenue. If you add the colonies, the British are even more powerful, you must know that India's financial revenue alone is as high as more than 50 million pounds, and the arrogance of the British can be seen.

However, Napoleon III was not intimidated, and he was not prepared to let the French Navy surpass the Royal Navy, as long as the combined French and Austrian navies broke the standard of the two great powers that the British were clamoring for.

Behind the anger, there is also the international political status. Once the Royal Navy's two-power standard was achieved, the British gained absolute dominance in overseas affairs.

Here France and Austria cannot tolerate it. The French navy is the second in the world, and the arrogant Parisian people petition every day, and this rising bird, Napoleon III, must be.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal glared at Edward fiercely, and had already greeted his family in his heart.

In his opinion, the Admiralty is a typical inappropriate family who does not know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive. The "two-strong standard" seems tempting, but in fact it is just idle and looking for excitement.

The financial resources of the British are indeed the strongest in the world, but France and Austria are not weak, and the difference in strength between them is not huge.

Just like the two strong standards that the British clamored for in the original plane, they were also challenged, and even more severe.

Either of France and Austria has the potential to challenge the supremacy of the Royal Navy, and if it were not for the development of the army, the Royal Navy's maritime supremacy would have been precarious.

Agarwal said with a gloomy face: "No, this year's budget has been determined a long time ago, and now the budget is suddenly increased by 10 million pounds, and the Ministry of Finance does not have this money." If you want money, you can convince the Congress yourself! ”

Ten million pounds is a lot, but for the London government, the squeeze actually comes out. Apparently Agarwal was not prepared to save money and raise money for the navy.

Admiral Edward said angrily: "The Royal Navy is related to the national fortunes of Britain, if we cannot guarantee absolute superiority, once we let France and Austria catch up, we will regret it!" ”

There are not so many reasons why the main purpose of the navy in pursuing the "two-power standard" is for the sake of funding. The threat of the French and Austrian navies is actually 108,000 miles away.

Everyone is a colonial empire, the navy is mostly scattered all over the world, and all regions are suppressed by the Royal Navy, where can there be any threat.

Even if the Franco-Austrian navy joins forces, it is unlikely that it is actually a match for the Royal Navy. The problem of the two navies cooperating with each other on the battlefield cannot be solved. In the case of fighting on their own, they are not at all an opponent of the Royal Navy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal didn't buy it and said, "So you are asking Congress for money!" At present, the Ministry of Finance does not have this budget, and to temporarily increase the huge budget, it must be approved by Congress. ”

Without the support of the Cabinet, it would not have been so easy to convince Congress with the Admiralty alone. Even if they were reasonable, moved by emotion, and persuaded the congressional masters to agree, the warships built by the French would have been in service long ago.

Edward was about to defend himself when he was stopped by Prime Minister John Russell. Competition for funding is a common occurrence, and basically every year the Ministry of Finance has to deal with various departments.

Agarwal's actions were not wrong, and he was doing exactly what he did. The Admiralty has temporarily increased its budget, and it will definitely have to go to Congress. The Ministry of Finance's reluctance to come forward and ask Congress for funding is also in line with the regulations.

"On the issue of increasing the cost of building ships, the Admiralty will submit a bill to Congress, and the time is set for next Monday, and we will support the proposal.

Sir Edward, the Admiralty must be fully prepared to be questioned by the MPs, is there a problem? John Russell said

This is a necessary process, and as long as Congress agrees to increase the budget, the Treasury will always be able to solve the funding problem by lending, or issuing bonds, or raising taxes.

The arms race has only just begun, and the government in London has not yet felt the pressure. In the later stages, they won't have it so easy.

Admiral Edward replied, "No! ”

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