Chapter 930： Britain's choice

When the Japanese government was hesitant, the negotiations between Britain and France also entered a critical moment. The French who fell into strategic passivity, without the confidence to negotiate terms, had to make substantial concessions to the British.

Negotiations are developing in a direction that is beneficial to Britain, which should have been a comforting thing, but Prime Minister Gladstone is not happy now.

"Is the African battlefield really irretrievable?"

"Night Road" walks too much, and eventually you will encounter ghosts. Britain's European balance policy, which has been going on for many years, has revealed a fatal flaw at this moment, and it is about to collapse.

There is no way, the arrogant Frenchman's performance on the battlefield is far less than their usual clamor, which caused the London government to make a strategic misjudgment.

Whether he wants to accept it or not, Gladstone has to admit: the French army that used to be the opponent no longer exists, and France without Napoleon has lost its ability to beat Europe.

Since the war, the French army has still been unable to break through on the European continent, and the African continent has been beaten by Austria. The situation has become increasingly unfavorable for France.

"From a military point of view, the fall of French Africa is only a matter of time, and the Austrians have already mastered the strategic initiative.

If the situation is not irreversible, the proud French will not bow to us so easily. "

Army Secretary Rosario mocked.

The relationship between Britain and France has always been disharmonious, especially for the British Army, France is their eternal pain.

If it hadn't been driven out of Europe by the French, Britain would not have become a pure sea power country, nor would they be reduced to the point where they could only be the navy.

Gladstone furrowed his brows as he watched the Secretary of the Army gloating. It is certainly a happy thing to see the French unlucky, but the price is that Austria has a dominance, which is not wonderful.

When you open the map, you will know that once Egypt falls into Austrian hands, a giant across Asia, Africa and Europe will appear.

In this era of colonial empires, such a giant would certainly not sleep peacefully there.

Originally, Austria was the dominant one on the African continent. Britain, together with the colonial empires of France, Portugal, and Spain, was able to reluctantly compete with them.

If France is driven out, British Africa will certainly become Austria’s next target. With the loss of British Africa, the Canton Road from Britain to India was blocked.

Prime Minister Gladstone did not dare to imagine what would happen next. In short, letting Austria control the European hegemony and dominate Africa is definitely a disaster for Britain.

"The situation is very bad now. The **** Gaul fool has lost his ancestors' bravery, and only bragging skills are left. What's worse is that we can't watch this fool fail.

Once the Egyptian region falls into Austrian hands, the anti-French alliance can use its absolute advantage in manpower and material resources to directly consume the French. Even Napoleon's resurrection cannot restore the situation.

It doesn't matter if the French are defeated, the point is that we can't watch Austria win easily. If we don't use this war to consume their strength drastically, we won't have a good life in the future. "

Personally speaking, Gladstone didn't want to support the French, but there was no way. Who made the French army in Egypt fail again?

Just two days ago, the Suez line of defense that the French had painstakingly managed was broken, and the war had already burned into the heart of Egypt. If no help was given to the French, French Egypt was about to change hands.

Britain could not bear the consequences of Austria's control of Egypt, and the British government had to help the French.

Rosario shook his head: "Your Excellency, the situation is really bad now, but we have to face reality.

Austria's advantage on the African continent is too great, unless the French can deploy a million main troops into the African battlefield, otherwise the situation cannot be reversed at all.

Of course, this is only a purely military analysis. If there are changes in other aspects, such as problems with the supply of the Austrian African Army, or a revolution, the situation will be different. "

Colonial Minister Primrose immediately vetoed: "Your Excellency, such a change is almost impossible. According to the information collected by the African colonial government, the Vienna government before the war sent a large amount of strategic materials to Austrian Africa.

The specific amount cannot be determined for the time being, but they will definitely not have logistical problems for a while. If the French are a little firmer and persist in the Egyptian region for a year or two, you may still have a chance to see it.

It is even more unreliable to expect a revolution in Austrian Africa. We must know that the main force in the Austrian colonization of Africa is nobles and farmers, which is different from the offspring of the criminals in the New World.

The information sent from Africa, the Vienna Palace's order, these guys joined the war happily, without the slightest reluctance. "

This is a fact. The British would have done it long ago if they instigated Austrian African independence. No, it was done, to be precise, but it ended in failure.

Independence also requires a prerequisite. Unlike criminals in exile, most of the Austrian immigrants passed by on their own initiative and have a much stronger sense of belonging to the country.

In particular, Austria is still advancing the process of localization in Africa, which gives vested interests no reason to rebel. To replicate the American independence movement in Africa, there is no mass basis at all.

After all, the 13 North American states seem to be British colonies, but most of the immigrants are from Europe and lack a sense of belonging to Britain.

Pure English immigrants are inherently small, less than one-tenth of the total population. However, these guys are mostly criminals in exile. It is good not to hate England. It is really good to expect them to actively maintain the British colonial rule. dream.

In itself, Britain did not renounce its morality. After a conflict of interest occurred, the capitalists raised their arms and the people naturally rushed to respond.

Similar things simply do not work in Austrian Africa. Commodity dumping does exist, but it is a pity that the Austrian capitalists in Africa are not doing their best, and they have no right to speak at all.

The nobles and farmers in power are mainly engaged in mining and plantations, and they don't care about dumping of industrial products at all, or people don't think they are dumped at all.

Industrial products are not produced out of thin air, but also need to purchase industrial raw materials. It happens that everyone is a producer of industrial raw materials.

While transporting industrial raw materials to the country, while enjoying domestically produced cheap industrial and commercial products, everyone should not have a little life at ease.

If they are really independent and start anti-dumping, they will be the biggest victims. Not only have to pay for industrialization, but even the benefits of growing cash crops will be greatly reduced.

For details, please refer to the gang of farmers in the Confederate States of America. In order to resist the trade protection policy of the North, all can jump out and promote independence.

The capitalists dared to make noise without the intervention of the Vienna government. As nobles and farmers with vested interests, they were suppressed first.

Foreign Secretary George echoed: "I can prove this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also instigated the Austrian African independence movement and even supported several independent organizations, but these guys have not become a problem.

Austria's development of mining and plantation economy in Africa directly binds vested interests and the local area. It is simply unrealistic to disintegrate Austrian Africa from within.

Judging from the current situation, unless the French win the European War, it is only a matter of time before Egypt falls.

Of course, if we directly intervene with troops, we may be able to hinder Austria’s actions, but the benefits involved are too great. "

Sending troops to intervene is a joke. The pocket-sized British army is still fighting the Russians in Afghanistan. With the British colonial force in Africa, it can only be sent out to fight with soy sauce.

After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Gladstone slowly said: "The international situation is about to get out of control. We must end the war with the Russians as soon as possible to deal with the next changes.

The war in Afghanistan has been carried out so far, and it has no meaning to continue. At this time, the Russians were also struggling to get rid of them, sending them a signal of peace, and presumably the tsarist government would not choose to die.

After all, the emergence of a giant spanning Asia, Africa and Europe threatens not only our interests, but also their interests. "

In the early days of the Anglo-Russian war in Afghanistan, it was indeed because of interests, the war was fought so fiercely. It is a pity that the cruel reality tells them that this is an unexpected war of attrition, and it will only hurt both sides to fight to the end.

With the changes in the international situation, the tired Britain and Russia unanimously reduced the intensity of the war. They turned to melon-eating people to watch the excitement of France and Austria.

Perhaps it is to make France and Austria feel at ease the bold pk, Britain and Russia, which should have stopped, chose to continue this war game with great understanding.

Although it is a game, it is also deadly. Neither the British nor the Russian army gave up their plans to kill each other, but they would be chased by the enemy whenever they showed a flaw.

In a sense, such a war of attrition is also beneficial to Britain. The British government has enough financial resources to drag down the Russians. Moreover, British India will be safe only if it really hurts the tsarist government.

Unfortunately, there is no best of both worlds in this world. In order to contain the growing Austria, Gladstone can only abandon the "Bear Bloodletting Plan."

The Foreign Secretary George reminded: "Your Excellency, it is not difficult to truce with the Russians, but it is very difficult to truce in accordance with our previous expectations.

At present, the Russian army still controls three-quarters of the territory of Afghanistan. With the greed of the tsarist government, we have no land on the battlefield. We want to get it back at the negotiation table without any hope.

The contradiction between us and the Russians is too deep, and the Austrians are acting as shit-scramblers. This truce negotiations may not go smoothly.

Judging from the current situation, French Egypt will not last long. If the French army cannot make a breakthrough on the European continent, the established fact of Austria's occupation of Egypt is caused.

The Russians do not want to see Austria grow bigger, but Russia and Austria are traditional allies after all, and it is impossible for the tsarist government to turn against Austria for no reason. On the Egyptian issue, they will probably choose neutrality.

Next, we must force the Austrians to make concessions and spit out and eat into the Egyptian region. Only the French and ourselves can rely on.

However, we have to use the French and restrict the French. We cannot let the French take the opportunity to grow bigger. This requires a lot of trouble.

To do this, we need more allies. It is best to unite European countries to intervene and solve problems through diplomatic means. "

Limited by the European balance policy, the British government's diplomacy in this European War has always been timid, for fear that an improper operation might create a European hegemon.

There is no way, the international situation changes too fast. Britain’s enemies have been changing. First, the Russians who jumped out by themselves, and then the ambitious French, before they realized that Austria had emerged again.

To suppress it, but not to suppress it too hard, it is necessary to maintain a fragile balance and make the London government exhausted.

In a sense, since the outbreak of the European War, Britain's European balance policy has been problematic, and it has been unable to keep up with changes in the international situation.

Everyone knows the problem, but it is a pity that Britain is an island country, and it is determined by nature that they have no better choice. Only by maintaining the European balance can their hegemony be maintained.

Gladstone nodded and looked out the window: "It is indeed very troublesome, but no matter how troublesome it is, we must do it. This is our responsibility.

Moreover, while maintaining the European balance, we must also find ways to weaken the strength of France and Austria so that they cannot continue to grow. "

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