Soon after the Russian-Austrian agreement was exposed, the Berlin government also made public the "Anglo-Prussian Debt Agreement" and the "Franco-Prussian Debt Agreement"-for-tat.

Secrecy does not exist, and now is the time when morale needs to be boosted. If there is no good news, how can the people in China bravely participate in the war?

International lending has always been politically linked, and while funding is provided, it also means that everyone is taking sides.

Britain and France supported the Pop-Polish Confederation, Austria and the Nordic Confederation supported the Russian Empire, and the rest of Europe also sided with each other.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, the German Confederation and other countries are more inclined to the Pupo Federation, and Greece and Montenegro support Russia.

In terms of international support, the Pop-Polish Federation still has the upper hand, but the Russian Empire has a stronger war potential, and the two sides are evenly matched.

The Vienna Palace, for the diplomatic defeat of the Russians, Franz was not surprised in any way. With the diplomatic ability of the tsarist government, it was able to win over the Nordic Federation, which was a super-level performance.

Denmark played an important role in this, and if it weren't for the efforts of the Danes, even with Austria's guarantee, the tsarist government would have been able to make the Nordic Confederation pay so easily.

After all, decades have passed since the Russians had a grudge with Sweden, the older generation had died, and the new generation did not feel it deeply; But the grievances between Prussia and Denmark are different, it has only been more than ten years, and everyone remembers it deeply.

No matter how much the Russians hated it, they went to war with Prussia for the sake of Denmark, and most of the Danes had a favorable opinion of the tsarist government.

Although Sweden is the core of the Nordic Confederation, the central government must also take into account the mood of the Danish people in the country when making decisions.

Moreover, the conditions given by the tsarist government were really tempting. With the guarantee of the Vienna government, the risk of default has been significantly reduced.

At worst, you can also take the opportunity to make a war profit. The krona is not an international currency, and the Russians have nowhere to use it except in the Nordic Federation.

If you're lucky, you can take Finland without bloodshed, and you'll make a lot of money.

Public opinion in the outside world has exploded, and everyone has different opinions about this imminent war.

Some people even divide the European world into two camps, and regard the Russo-Prussian War as a game between Britain, France, and Austria.

The messy news did not affect Franz's good mood. The current situation is completely in accordance with the plot he set up in advance, and there are only a little discrepancies at most.

Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Franz: "First allocate 100 million Aegis to the Russians, and let the tsarist government do it boldly!" ”

Loans also need to be paid in installments, and banks cannot transfer hundreds of millions of Aegis cash in a short period of time without affecting their own operations.

Not to mention the bonds, which have just begun to be listed, and they will not be sold out in a few months, and the tsarist government will not get the money in the short term.

Being able to get 100 million Aegis in a short period of time is definitely a preferential treatment, and normal commercial loans are definitely not so fast.

……

Money is heroic courage, and the Russians, who got the money, completely let go of their hands and feet and immediately conscripted troops throughout the country.

In the Winter Palace, Alexander II was listening to his son's return. Unable to get support from Britain and France, Aleksandrovich's trip to Europe naturally ended abruptly.

"You mean, Britain, France and Austria conspire to make us both lose?"

To the surprise of Alexander II, the current situation was beyond his expectations.

Originally, Alexander II also fantasized about easing relations with Britain and France, so that they could remain neutral in the war, at least at the beginning of the war, but did not think that all the useless work was done.

Aleksandrovich nodded: "Although there is no direct evidence to prove this, it can already be seen from the current practice of the Three Kingdoms.

It is obviously not normal that negotiations are so difficult at the front, and then an agreement is suddenly reached later.

If you look at the turning point in the negotiations, you will see that after the Anglo-Prussia agreement was reached, the Austrians suddenly made significant concessions to us and no longer asked us to pledge all our gold.

It's already the end of October, and in two months at most, winter will begin, and in such a short period of time, it is impossible to tell the winner or loser.

However, the money was in place at this time, and the enemy had already begun to expand his army in a big way.

If the war drags on until the beginning of next year's spring, we will face an enemy that will not be the hundreds of thousands we have now, but millions of well-armed troops. ”

The Russian army has a certain advantage in winter operations, but this advantage needs to be divided into time and place.

It's an advantage when you're defending at home, but it's a different story if you want to take the initiative to attack.

Not all winters are as cold as in Russia, at least not in Poland.

After wandering for a few steps, Alexander II laughed at himself: "It doesn't matter, in general it is still in our favor."

It seems that the effects of our last defeat have not subsided, and the Austrians are not optimistic about us, fearing that we will lose completely.

This is a good thing, and this judgment will allow the Vienna government to increase its support for us in the early stages. If this opportunity could be taken advantage of and inflict heavy losses on the enemy this winter, the situation would be very different. ”

Over the years as an emperor, Alexander II had matured and became a qualified monarch. Be able to find the positive side in the shortest possible time and try to amplify this advantage.

The foundation of the Poppo Federation is not thick, and as long as it fails once, it will be greatly damaged. If it is hit hard, it will definitely not be able to slow down in winter.

In contrast, the Russian Empire had a much greater advantage, and with its numerical superiority, even a defeat would be enough for a winter to recover.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich wanted to stop talking, and proposed the conspiracy of Britain, France and Austria in order to prevent the outbreak of war, but the reality told him that it was impossible.

The power of hatred was enormous, and even knowing the news could not shake Alexander II's determination to start a war.

Deep down, Alexander II was also reluctant to start a war at this time. But he didn't have a choice, and neither did the Russian Empire.

If you don't do it now, by the time the enemy is ready, their chances of victory will be even lower.

The Russian Empire was so big that several major railway lines had already been built, and in the short term it was not possible to significantly increase traffic again, but the enemy on the opposite side could. In another year or two, the railway network in the Pop Federation will be connected.

……

War Secretary Palladru Wald: "Your Majesty, we are ready for war, and we can attack at your command."

As of yesterday afternoon, we had mobilized 1,680,000 troops, a number of 150,000 per month, of which 820,000 had been massed on the border.

All strategic materials on the front line are well prepared, which is enough to support the needs of one million troops for half a year.

In addition, we have a large amount of grain stored in major cities along the route, which can be deployed nearby to minimize logistical pressure. ”

There is no doubt that the Russians are much better prepared for this war than they were last time. A large number of strategic materials were transported to the front line for storage in advance, so that there would be no logistical embarrassment of the army and other troops as soon as the war began.

As it turned out, Alexander II's reforms were not in vain. Compared with the previous period, the efficiency and execution of the tsarist government have been greatly improved.

War makes people grow, and that's true. After being beaten once, the tsarist government insisted on establishing a set of wartime mobilization mechanisms in the midst of bumps and bumps.

How effective it is, this still needs to be tested. However, no matter how garbage the mobilization mechanism is, it is better than the original direct pulling of serfs to the battlefield.

After pondering for a moment, Alexander II decided: "Shame can only be washed away with blood, and now that you are ready, declare war on Pubo!" ”

……

At the same time that the Tsarist government decided to go to war, the war machine of the Pop Federation was also in operation, and the top government of Berlin was meeting around a sand table of about 10 square meters.

Already a year ago, Marshal Moltke resigned from the post of Prime Minister and returned to the General Staff.

Moltke, who took up the baton, was much better than being a prime minister. In fact, after so many years as prime minister, he was still busy with army building for most of his time, and rarely asked about political issues.

As the prime minister himself, he is the result of a compromise of the interests of all parties, and personal ability is the least important.

Prussia was an army-owned country, and the Pubo Confederation inherited this very well. The military has a very large voice in politics, and there is no Bismarck who is open, but no one can suppress this group of arrogant soldiers.

William I was very capable, but as a king, he could not do everything himself, so he had to find a way to balance politics.

Moltke pointed at the sand table with his baton and explained: "Your Majesty, you see that the blue flag is the division of the Russian army, and the enemy has deployed more than 800,000 troops along the border line.

This was only the beginning, the enemy also had a large number of troops in the rear, ready to increase the front at any time.

It's already October, and winter isn't far away. If you want to fight quickly, it is almost impossible to defeat the enemy in a short time.

The General Staff planned to launch an offensive from the Polish region before the onset of winter, trying to bring the flames of war to the Dnieper River and cut off the enemy's water transport routes. ”

The Dnieper River originates in the southern foothills of the Valdai Hills, flows south through Belarus and Ukraine, and empties into the Black Sea. Most of the rivers are navigable, and their strategic and economic value are very high.

Through this water lifeline, the Russians can directly deliver supplies from Austria to the Russian army on the front line.

In the last war, it was also after the Prussian army cut off this water lifeline, which increased the transportation pressure of the Russians, and the Russian army on the front line fell into the dilemma of insufficient supplies.

……