Chapter 921： Unreliable British nanny

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"The French are in a hurry!"

After receiving the news from the French, Gladstone came to this conclusion.

Britain was at a disadvantage in the Afghan war, but it has not reached the point where it can panic the British government.

Even if the entire Afghan region is occupied, as long as the frontline British forces are not overwhelmed, the British Empire will have the confidence to win the war.

There is no other reason, there is money in the pocket, the waist is so stiff. The hundred years of accumulation of the British Empire are not a joke. The Russians are simply not qualified to put together the details.

Foreign Minister George analyzed: "The European dream of the European War is now over, and the French dream of quick battle and quick decision has been ended.

In the next war, the two sides fight for comprehensive national strength. Although the French army is strong, in other fields, their disadvantages are too obvious.

Judging from the current situation, if the French cannot cross the Rhine in a short time and burn the war to the hinterland of Germany, their strategic advantage will be exhausted.

What greeted them next was Austria's endless counterattack. It can be said that the longer the war lasts, the lower the French's chance of winning the war.

According to the current intensity of the war, the French can't fight any more for another three or two years. "

Obviously, George is not optimistic about the French now. The overall strength gap between the two sides is too great, and the French are too disadvantaged.

However, the reputation of the French army is too great, and no one can guarantee that the French army will reverse the trend at a critical moment.

After all, similar cases have appeared many times in the history of the battle between France and the Habsburg dynasty.

After taking out a document, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Xiaozhi Childers, smiled and said: "In two or three years, your Excellency may have overestimated the strength of the French.

In my opinion, if there is no external intervention, whether the French can survive 1891 is a question mark.

Let us not mention the military issues first. Let's first calculate an economic account, and then re-evaluate the strength of the French.

This is the data collected by the Ministry of Finance. In the past three months, the total import and export trade between us and the French increased by 5.1 times compared with the same period last year.

Among them, the export trade volume with France increased by 6.5 times, the total import trade contracted by 64.7%, and a trade surplus of 64.86 million pounds was achieved.

This is just trade with us. If you count France's trade with other countries, the French foreign trade deficit in the last quarter of 1890 will not be less than 120 million pounds.

If the war is not over, the French’s foreign trade deficit will continue to increase.

In particular, French Africa is about to fall. Once this raw material production area is lost, the French need to import more materials.

In the past, the arrogant French wanted to compete for currency hegemony, and they have been promoting the franc to the outside world. They do not have many Aegis and British pounds.

At the current rate of consumption, the French’s foreign exchange reserves will run out soon. At that time, they will only be able to take out gold for trade, and with their poor gold reserves, they will not be able to support them for a few days at all.

This is still an ideal state, and the actual situation may be more serious. Since Napoleon III, the fiscal deficit policy that the French government has been adopting has long been in debt.

In the absence of preparation, the war was launched in a hurry, and I really had no confidence in the finances of the Parisian government. "

Is France rich?

There is no doubt that France, the world's third largest economic power, is definitely a local tyrant.

However, France has money, which does not mean that the French government has money. If the front line goes smoothly, the French consortium will naturally help, and the other way around is different.

Capital knows no borders, it's not a joke. If things were impossible, the capitalists would not be buried with the government.

The war is about manpower, material resources, and industrial strength. In the final analysis, it is still about financial resources.

Supporting multiple fronts at the same time, the pressure on France is much greater than that of the original World War, and there are no allies to help share. It is a matter of time before problems arise.

After glancing at the report, Gladstone asked doubtfully: "How did the trade surplus with France increase so much, I remember that the increase in trade volume did not increase so much?"

It is important to know that the trade volume between Britain and France is not small, and the reduction in import trade is understandable. After all, the French are fighting and there is no effort to produce a large amount of goods for export.

However, the amount of export trade suddenly increased more than six times, which is a myth.

It is completely inconsistent with economic laws. Even if it is because of the war, the French have increased their strategic material imports.

No way, production can't come! Even if the capitalists desperately expand their production capacity, it will take time to buffer. How about three months?

"It's very simple, the prices of our exports have increased!"

Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers responded unhurriedly.

"Franco-Austrian countries are looting supplies internationally, and all material prices have risen to varying degrees.

In particular, the price of strategic materials has basically doubled compared with that before the war. The prices of certain scarce medicines have increased three or four times.

Of course, we and the European countries have increased tariffs on France, which is also one of the factors that have contributed to rising prices. "

The capitalists took advantage of the fire and this was an inevitable result. It's just that this time it's done too hard, but with the addition of an Austria that is driving up prices, it seems that doubling is not so unacceptable.

Gladstone asked with concern: "What about Austria?"

Chancellor of the Treasury Xiaozhi Childers shook his head: "On the contrary to the French, Austria needs very few supplies to import and is basically self-sufficient.

Even if it is insufficient, it is imported from Russia. Influenced by the outside world is relatively small.

Although prices have risen, the total trade volume between them and us has fallen instead of rising.

Of course, the French naval interception is also one of the reasons that hinders our trade with Austria.

In many cases, even if the contract is signed, it cannot be performed normally. "

Gladstone frowned, and the result was completely different from what he expected. It was originally expected that France and Austria would consume each other's strength through this war and stabilize Britain's maritime dominance.

But the plan didn't change fast. Taking advantage of this war, Britain did kill France, but unfortunately ran to Austria.

No matter how the prices in the international market soar, the trade relationship with Russia and Austria is not great. After all, the tsarist government is exporting industrial raw materials and Austria in exchange for strategic materials. If prices are really increased, they will go up together.

The wool came out of the sheep, and the Russians naturally did not need to join in the excitement.

Then France became the only victim. After all, it was easy to raise supplies, and it was difficult to lower prices.

After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Gladstone said slowly: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first negotiates with the French. As long as the French are willing to exchange their interests, they will find a reason to give the tariffs down, or simply exempt them."

This is the greatest help Gladstone can provide to the French within the scope of authority. As for whether prices can go down, it still depends on the French themselves.

After all, capitalists are not easy to provoke, the government forced them to lower prices, it will cause public anger.

After all, it is the French government that buys supplies now, and not the British government. It is not necessary for Gladstone to offend them.

The bargaining still required the French to fight with the capitalists themselves. How much can be achieved depends on their bargaining power.

Foreign Minister George: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no problem. However, just to cut tariffs, this support is probably not enough.

To let the French and the Austrians consume power together, we must find ways to increase the French's economic strength, or lend them money directly.

While supporting economically, we must also limit the military strength of the French and prevent imbalances between the warring parties. It is very difficult to do this. "

Fearfulness is the true portrayal of the British government. On the one hand, most of the government's energy was dragged down by the Afghan war, on the one hand, it was necessary to maintain the balance between France and Austria.

I was afraid that something might happen that would cause the situation to get out of control. It can be said that this is the most challenging moment of the British Foreign Office in decades.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded helplessly: "Try it out first! Then we will make adjustments according to the actual situation.

Before the power of France and Austria is greatly consumed, we must act cautiously so as not to lose control of the situation. "

...

At the same time that the Anglo-French negotiations started, Alexander III, who was far away in St. Petersburg, also welcomed his new toy, the airplane.

Looking at the beautiful flight queue performance, Alexander III's mood was exceptionally relaxed, and he asked with envy: "When will these aircrafts be put on the battlefield?"

Looking at the performance back to the performance, Alexander III still did not forget the real purpose of introducing the aircraft.

It has been proved in the European War that a plane hitting an airship is a massacre. In order to increase the odds on the front, Alexander III eagerly hopes that these aircraft will be put into service soon.

Army Secretary Ivanov: "Your Majesty, we don't have a pilot yet. Airplanes and airships are different, and the requirements for pilots are also stricter.

The War Department has reached an agreement with the Austrians to help train a group of pilots, and preparations are already underway.

If there are no accidents, after three months, our first aircraft brigade will be able to enter the military service. "

In just three months, a batch of pilots will be trained. Under this speed, the pilots trained will naturally not be elite.

Anyway, the enemy is just an airship. It doesn't need to test the pilot's comprehensive qualities. It is enough to be able to pilot the aircraft normally and launch an attack.

The remaining part of the knowledge, the pilot slowly accumulated experience in the actual combat later, anyway, now the Russian army should pay attention to efficiency, and satisfaction will soon be enough.

After hearing the "three months", Alexander III's smile suddenly disappeared all of a sudden.

"Why is it so slow, can't we speed up some progress?

To know that the front line is urgent, and put the plane into the battlefield one day earlier, we can take the sky from the British one day earlier! "

Faced with the request of the Tsar, Marshal Ivanov's heart collapsed. According to the Austrians, it is already very rare to be able to train pilots within three months.

No matter how fast, the crash course is not high quality, I am afraid there is no way to guarantee the quality.

Ivanov replied bitterly: "Your Majesty, pilots are emerging technology arms. We have no training experience in this area and can only learn from the Austrians.

If I want to speed up, I personally recommend that the airship pilot be included in the training class, which should save a lot of time. "

Ivanov didn't know if it was a bad idea. Anyway, the czar has already asked, he can't do without an idea.

As for the effect, I will say it later. Anyway, it is the emerging arms, the Army Department is not familiar with the situation, and the judgment errors are justified.

………

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