The outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War was not unexpected, as the Austrian and Prussian brothers, both of whom were part of the Greater German cultural sphere, had been guarding against each other for more than a decade. Although the two brothers were united in the Prussian-Danish War during the war, the contradictions have become more and more intensified over the years.

At this time, the Greater German region was completely a loose state system, and everyone only nominally accepted the rule of the Habsburgs, but each state had the right to train its own soldiers, formulate its own internal affairs, and issue its own currency.

For example, some states in Germany in later generations, such as Bavaria, Baden, Hesse...... And so on in the past, they were all independent states, with their own kings and armies. It is worth mentioning that the famous Queen Victoria in history is the princess who came out of the Bavarian state.

On the eve of the Great War, the division of forces between the enemy and the enemy was very clear, and Austria had the support of the German Confederation of Saxony, Hanover, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Gassel, Hesse-Darmstad, etc., and Austria had the advantage in terms of the number of states, population, and area.

Not only that, Austria also received favorable support from France, which gave Austria a large amount of material support in order to contain the rise of Prussia and to encroach on the four southern states of Greater Germany.

Prussia, on the other hand, was much weaker, with only Mellenburg, Oldenburg, and the other states of North Germany on his side, as well as the three free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck.

Of course, we must not forget Italy, which is allied with Prussia, two close friends who were not only close during World War II, but also had a military alliance in the mid-19th century.

But it is a pity that Italy in this period is no different from Italy in World War II, and it will always be able to blow militarily, and at the beginning of the Austro-Prussian War, it suffered a big defeat on the southern defense line of Austria, and it did not play the expected strategic containment role at all.

However, Prussia also had an invisible help, that is, the support of Great Britain, a family country, and it was precisely because of the side of Britain that France did not dare to act rashly. If France had sent tens of thousands of troops north at that time, I am afraid that history would have really been rewritten.

As a time-traveler, Xiao Lotian has his own unique mentality to appreciate this famous continental battle in European history, but in the hearts of the political leaders of Prussia and Austria, the war is always full of unknowns, and no one knows who the goddess of victory will smile at.

On May 8, 1866, the heavy wheels of history ignored the flapping of the wings of Xiao Letian, a traverser, and the war broke out according to the historical records, on this day the Prussian army invaded the Holstein region, and Bismarck announced the reorganization of the German Confederation and the exclusion of Austria.

Then, on June 16, the Prussian army began to occupy Hanover, Saxony and Hesse. The Prussian Independence Army of Main, with 50,000 men, easily defeated the weakened armies of Hanover and Hesse. The remnants of the Saxon army retreated and merged into the Austrian Army North. Bavaria, on the other hand, failed to fulfill its obligation to send 100,000 troops and did not provide substantial assistance to Austria.

Unable to bear it, Austria finally declared war on Prussia on the 17th, and the Austro-Prussian War, a major event that changed the modern history of Europe, officially began.

This is a huge battle that has shocked the whole world, Prussia has mobilized a crazy 630,000 troops, and Austria has reached 580,000 although slightly inferior, and the troops of 1.2 million troops on both sides have launched a desperate strangulation in the heart of Europe.

This is not like the so-called great battle in Chinese history to drive out the displaced people, and the troops mobilized by both sides are all soldiers with strict military training, and once the two torrents collide, the blood and fire splashed together can light up the night sky of the whole of Europe.

All railway transport capacity was drained, all telegraph lines were transferred to military use, countless warehouses in the rear began to transfer materials according to the plans of the General Staff, and the national power after the industrial revolution had long since become a precision instrument cast in steel.

The two mixed battalions led by Xiao Letian were stunned on the way south from Hamburg, and even Shi Dakai, the winged king, who had seen the big scene, was dumbfounded.

To be sure, the great battles that Wing Wang has seen are no inferior to the Austro-Prussian Wars in terms of numbers, but he has never seen a major mobilization of a purely modern army after entering the post-industrial era.

On all the roads, all the regular troops armed to the teeth are advancing, and there is no end in sight as if they are reaching the end of the world, all the soldiers are uniformly dressed, and the weapons and equipment are all standardized, and from a distance it looks as if there is only one face for a million people.

Toma struggled forward with bronze artillery, and the proud cavalry sang military songs that the Chinese simply did not understand. Countless women and children poured into the streets on both sides of the roads and near the towns like carnivals, cheering like the tides.

"It's terrible, why aren't these women and children afraid of war? Why are they more fanatical than soldiers? On the contrary, these soldiers who are about to go to war are unusually calm? Shouldn't they be the most fanatical?"

Standing by the window of the carriage, looking at the army and the cheering Germans on both sides of the tracks, his eyes were full of confusion.

"What kind of force is this? It's terrifying, as if there were endless clouds of lead in the sky overhead, and it was like the air was full of lightning and burnt breath on the eve of a storm on the sea......

Xiao Lotian listened to the sigh from the bottom of his heart from the bottom of his heart, and couldn't help but feel the same way, in his previous life, Xiao Lotian watched a lot of war movies with big scenes, and there were many huge productions with various big investments, but no matter how awesome the film and television effects were, they could never compare to the strength of reality.

"Dude... Do you know that this is a big collision of 1.2 million regular troops... Moreover, these 1.2 million people are all regular soldiers who have undergone rigorous training, and there is absolutely no ordinary people who have been coerced in them. Now you know where the gap between China and Europe is, right?"

"What—" The Winged King did not speak, and a group of mid- and high-ranking officers next to him called out first, "1,200,000 regular troops without the homeless people?

Seeing Xiao Letian nodded, everyone's foreheads were sweating. Everyone is a veteran of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Zeng Guofan's Hunan army is not a cow? At its peak, there were only 500,000 elites, of course, the so-called elites are just a few rows of foreign guns to practice bravery, and the elites of a hundred battles can have 100,000 even if they burn high incense.

As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the military account is even more chaotic, and their own external caliber has not been unified, one will say one million troops, and the other will say two million, three million, in fact, His Royal Highness the Wing King knows best, if measured according to the standards of the Prussian Army, there can be more than 100,000 backbones already up to the sky.

"It's terrible, 1.2 million pure elites, adding up the elites of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Hunan Army, the Kingdom of Heaven and even all other aspects, there are not so many... The defeat of the Manchu Qing is not wronged, the defeat is really not wronged......" Shi Dakai sighed, patting his thigh with a sad face.

Looking at the depressed affection of the people around him, Xiao Lotian did not enlighten them in the slightest and continued to pour cold water: "Six years ago, Britain and France attacked Beijing City, and only sent a total of more than 20,000 troops, but now the French army, do you know how many there are? The standing army can reach 400,000, and the second-level combat reserve army can be mobilized to 600,000, and once the national conscription order is issued, they can easily gather 1 million army ......."

"Not to mention the United Kingdom, there are more than 200,000 navy alone, although the army is less, but don't forget that they have a strong industrial base, and the various weapons and equipment in the warehouse are enough to arm a million people in a short time......"

"What do you mean if you are backward, you will be beaten? This is the fact that you are iron-clad..." As Xiao Letian spoke, all the Chinese officers began to converge with him, and all of them listened intently to the Prime Minister's teachings. Although the Prussian soldiers could not understand Chinese, they could feel the anxiety and uneasiness in the tone of the Oriental Prime Minister.

"Brothers, do you remember what I told you about comprehensive national strength? Outside the car window is the most practical embodiment of comprehensive national strength, and you should keep your eyes open and take a good look at what the world is now...... Look at the tarpaulin-covered carts, which I expected must have tons of weapons and ammunition, and a lot of food supplies......"

"Once war breaks out, you will see tons of shells being fired at enemy positions, and a sea of fire will be littered with flying steel fragments. I'm afraid that the steel consumed in a battle in the Qing Dynasty can't be beaten by a blacksmith for a year......"

"Look at the military warehouses hidden in the towns, filled with countless weapons and ammunition, and they can easily arm 100,000, 200,000 or even millions of troops again if the country needs it...... Look at our Qing Dynasty, what else is in the warehouse besides some rotten broadswords and spears?"

"Hahaha, and even if the big sword and spear may not be enough, in addition to raising those Eight Banner Lords, the tax of tens of millions of taels a year is to feed the belly of corrupt officials and corrupt officials, who will really consider the life and death of this country and this nation?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Letian's eyes were already moist, and his emotions were a little excited, "Brothers, we don't have time, and now we can still maintain that country, and the Westerners haven't completely broken through the inland, what do they rely on? It's not how powerful we are, it's just that science and technology haven't yet reached a Cheng Dù ...... dominate the world."

"With so many European troops, it is impossible to put the guò sea into China, at most it is a punitive force of tens of thousands of people. In addition, it is not realistic to go by land, and there are too many countries in between, and the terrain is too complicated. But don't forget that the pace of scientific and technological development will not stop, and what is impossible today does not mean that it will not be possible in the future?"

"If one day, when these powerful nations in Europe send not 20,000 troops, but 200,000 or 2 million, with their combat effectiveness, how can we Chinese resist? Why do Europeans look down on us, is it not because we are too weak?"

"My lord...", all the officers' eyes were red, and many of them were excited and tears had already burst out of their eyes, "My lordship...... Needless to say, we all understand, you can tell us what we should do... Our life and death, the fate of our nation, can only depend on you......"

Xiao Lotian stretched out his sleeve and wiped his tears fiercely, "The wolves are rampant, what can we do? Desperately, there is only one way to fight hard, from today we are beasts in a dead end, there is no other way but to fight hard..."

"Those bastards in the country... The dignity they lost, Lao Tzu took you to pick it up, and their kneecaps that have been broken, Lao Tzu took you to reshape one out of steel. Fight for our lives, but also let the whole of Europe know our Chinese from a new understanding, we Han people are not waste......"

"Woooooooooo......oo Damn, they owe debts, and I will take you to pay them off......"

"My lord," all the officers shouted, "we have never forgotten the oath we took before departure...... Sacrifice Xuanyuan with my blood, sacrifice Huaxia with my life..."

In the summer of 1866, the Chinese oath sounded again in the interior of Europe, and this time it was not known how many people would survive.

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, the first time to see the genuine content!R405