Plans are always not changing quickly, and Franz, who was originally going to trap the Russians, just took action and declared the plan a failure - the economic crisis came.

When the free trade system collapsed, it was HRE that lost the most, but it was France that collapsed first.

There was no way, first the beating of the European War, and then the scourge of the Russians. France, who has a big family, was also tossed and lost his temper.

After the withdrawal of Russian troops, with the help of the Vienna government, the French economy also began to recover slowly.

Everything is developing in a good direction, but it is a pity that the huge debt is pressing, which destroys the healthy growth of the French economy and ecology.

In addition to increasing employment and meeting the basic needs of the people, the rest of the dividends of economic recovery went into the pockets of the countries of the anti-French alliance in the form of reparations.

After the collapse of the free trade system, the economies of all European countries were affected, and France was no exception.

Without an adequate economic moat, the fragile economy collapsed directly in the first wave of shocks, directly triggering an economic crisis.

Under the free trade system, the economic ties of European countries are already very close, and they cannot be interrupted all at once.

In the event of a crisis in the French economy, European countries are inevitably implicated. Before Franz could react, the economic crisis began to sweep across the continent.

Economic crises are always accompanied by overcapacity and unsalable goods, and this time is no exception. Everyone is worried about unsalable products, and it has naturally become a dream to speculate on the price of strategic materials.

I don't know whether to say that Japan and Russia are lucky or unlucky.

Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, the financial problems faced by both Japan and Russia are no longer a problem.

There are pros and cons. In order to deflect the crisis at home, both Britain and HRE would support the two countries, which meant that the Russo-Japanese War would be unprecedentedly tragic.

It just so happens that both Japan and Russia can afford to die. Theoretically, as long as the money and materials are sufficient, the two countries can continue to fight.

When it will end, it depends on the breath in the heart, when it will be released.

Of course, it is estimated that before they can't bear it, the financiers behind will have to retreat first.

After all, the governments of Japan and Russia have no choice, and the governments of London and Vienna are still sober and have to weigh the pros and cons.

His hands tapped lightly on the Taishi's chair, and Franz fell into deep thought.

Unlike Japan, which was low and small to Britain, the tsarist government next door was a big scoundrel, and it was almost 100 percent of the time when there was borrowing and not repaying.

Russia and Austria are allies, and it is incumbent upon them to support them. So the money must still be borrowed, but the Vienna government must also have a stop-loss line, and it cannot be invested indefinitely.

This degree is not easy to grasp, Rao Franz has been an emperor for so many years, and he can't easily make up his mind.

It is not a question of whether there is money or not, the key is that the country is not a one-person country, and even the emperor must consider the reaction of the people.

As an ally, the government supports the tsarist government, everyone can understand, but everyone is willing to support the strength, or the expectation in their hearts, is different.

Once the bottom line of most people is crossed, there is a backlash from within. As a competent monarch, these questions must be taken into account.

It's not just HRE that needs to be confronted, but the British government also needs to think about it, and even more.

The Russian-Austrian alliance lasted for several generations, and there was a large group of pro-Russian factions within the HRE, and most of the population had a good impression of the Russians.

Britain is different, what the hell is the Anglo-Japanese alliance? It is estimated that 99 percent of the British are unwilling to admit that they are allies with Japan.

For no other reason, it is simply that it is a shame to form an alliance with an indigenous country in the Far East, and it is not worthy of the rank of the British world empire.

In particular, Japan's riotous operation not long ago exposed the image of "barbarism" and was even more unacceptable to the arrogant British people.

Just as the truth is in the hands of a few, so power is in the hands of a few, so opposition is ineffective, and the Anglo-Japanese alliance continues.

After pondering for a long time, Franz said slowly: "Prepare for battle!" ”

Frederick's face changed drastically, and "preparing for war" at this time was not "preparing for war" in the general sense, but meant that the Anglo-Austrian decisive battle was going to be advanced.

According to the original plan, the decisive battle with Britain would break out ten years later, and the Russo-Japanese War was just a rehearsal before the world war.

"Why in advance?"

Frederick blurted out.

Fortunately, it was only their father and son, otherwise Frederick would not have been the only one who asked "why".

Compared to Britain, HRE has a clear advantage in terms of development potential. It can be said that the longer the decisive battle drags on, the more beneficial it will be to the HRE.

If Britain hadn't been the Japanese model, he would have taken a risk and made a move against HRE in advance.

In fact, the struggle for hegemony between Britain and the HRE has not broken out until now, thanks to the sanity of British politicians.

Knowing that if it continues, it will be more and more unfavorable to Britain. But there is no way, the HRE has become a general trend, at most they are locked up in the Mediterranean, and the lobster soldiers do not dare to land at all.

It is certainly not worth the risk of failure for politicians to take the risk of defeat without winning the final victory.

Anyway, there is no evergreen in politics, as long as the glory of Britain is continued in his own term. Before and after his death, the name is his own, and the trouble is the next one.

Those who have a conscience, or a strong sense of patriotism, will try their best to cause trouble for the HRE in other aspects, and it is impossible to end up in person anyway.

This was the case with successive British governments, and with the intention of the Vienna government, the current situation was finally formed.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, this situation could continue for decades until Britain itself declined.

From this point of view, the original plan to challenge the hegemony of Britain ten years later can be regarded as radical.

Now again the decisive battle time has been brought forward, not to mention. This radical style is obviously incompatible with Franz's usual steady style.

Got up and walked to the window, poked his head out to look out the window, Franz said slowly: "What a rare opportunity!"

According to the current situation, after the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Empire is bound to suffer heavy losses, and with the arrangements we have made, it will not be easy for the tsarist government to maintain power.

Without the threat from the east, it is the best time for us to fight the British. Even if the navy does not achieve victory, if it drags on for three or five years, the British will be consumed by us.

In recent years, the British government has been trying to woo allies overseas, and the United States has fallen to them, and many countries in the Americas are also showing signs of being co-opted, including those in Europe.

Although these countries have limited strength and cannot change the overall situation, trouble is always trouble.

If the British go crazy and continue to export technology to other countries and arm these countries, even if we win hegemony, it will be difficult to control the world after the war.

The United States, in particular, has a certain industrial base of its own, and with the support of the British, it is likely to become our fierce rival in the Americas in the future.

For empires, the future is not only about advantage, but also about uncertainty. And the longer it drags on, the greater the variables that can occur.

Nothing is perfect in this world, and instead of waiting for an uncertain future, it's better to do it in advance. ”

Well, Franz admits that he coaxed. The paper can't contain the fire, and the Vienna government's black hand against the tsarist government will leak out sooner or later.

Regardless of which government will dominate Russian politics in the future, the Russian-Austrian alliance will come to an end.

If it were to be torn apart, it would be a problem if the USSR was released in advance.

Of course, with the current strength of the HRE, it is natural that it will not be afraid of a nascent Soviet Union. The problem is that there are still the British!

With John Bull's ability, it is almost inevitable that the Russians, who had an unbalanced mentality after the war, would join the anti-HRE alliance.

Rather than react passively, it is better to take the initiative. If you have to fight anyway, then simply don't give the British a chance to tandem.

It just so happened that the Russo-Japanese War provided cover for the Viennese government's preparations for war. When Japan and Russia were almost finished, and the preparations for the HRE war were almost completed, it happened to catch the British off guard.

Once the HRE became the sole overlord, then it would not matter if the tsarist government was blackmailed. No matter which government is in power, it will choose to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Politics has always been determined by strength. As long as your own strength is strong enough, all problems are not a problem.

……

The Vienna government maintained its usual high efficiency, and with Franz's order, preparations for war were in full swing.

It's just that these preparations are labeled as "aid to Russia", and it looks like the Vienna government wants to fully support the tsarist government.

On March 12, 1904, the HRE Banking Group signed the "War Loan Basket Agreement" with the tsarist government.

The treaty includes 300 million Aegis war loans, as well as 500 million Aegis war bonds, and is expected to raise 800 million for the tsarist government over the next three years.

As soon as the news spread, the European world exploded. This huge loan not only broke the world record for a single loan, but also announced to the world the determination of the Vienna government to support the Russians.

You must know that a week before the signing of the loan treaty, the HRE embassy in Tokyo announced the evacuation, and if you look at these things together, it is not just a question of supporting the Russians.

It's not that everyone has a lot of associations, but it's really the Vienna government's approach, which is too surprising. All of them are telling the world that the Russo-Japanese War is a continuation of the struggle for hegemony between the HRE and Britain.

The thunderbolts did not fall all at once, and without waiting for everyone to discuss a result, on April 14, 1904, Russia and Austria signed a "Memorandum of Naval Development".

According to the terms of the treaty, over the next two years, the Holy Roman Empire was to build 8 super-battleships, 24 destroyers, and 16 cruisers for the tsarist government......

Don't say that it is all completed, even if it is half completed, the Russian Navy can become the third naval power in the world.

Military novices are immersed in the big strokes of Russia and Austria, and people with a little military knowledge have a question in their hearts: How can the tsarist government afford to build so many warships at one time?

How can you afford it? No one has been able to answer this question. Even within the tsarist government, there was a large group of people in a state of bewilderment.

Those in the know will not come out to explain, anyway, the treaty has already been signed. The information that was made public was: to organize an ocean-going fleet and make an expedition to Japan.

……

Tokyo, as one of the parties involved, the Japanese government has fallen into a state of complete confusion at the moment.

Emperor Meiji: "Can anyone tell me what is really going on in Europe?" Why did the Austrians do this? ”

I've seen those who support allies, but I've never seen anyone who supports them like this.

It's just a lot of money, but the big deal is that the HRE is rich. But the most advanced warships are packaged and sold, which is excessive.

The Russians are going on an expedition to Japan, everyone believes it; At the moment, the Trans-Siberian Railway had not yet been opened, and the best way for the tsar to achieve victory was to fight from the sea.

Unlike the original plane, the Russians now have the support of allies, and there is no shortage of supplies and maintenance along the way, and the risk of a fleet labor expedition is much smaller.

But to deal with the few broken ships of the Japanese Navy, why don't you need such a big deal?

Mo said that there are 8 super battleships, as long as there are 2 super battleship leaders, plus the current family background of the Russian Navy, it is enough to complete an expedition.

Hirobumi Ito: "Your Majesty, with the financial resources of the Russian Empire, it is simply impossible to afford such a large fleet.

Even if they procure warships because of the war, with the relationship between Russia and Austria, they can buy the active warships of the Shinra, and there is no need to order new ships to waste time.

There are only two countries in the world that have the financial resources to purchase so many warships at once.

If the order is true, then most of these warships were procured by the HRE, and the target is likely to be Britannica.

In the name of the Russians, most of them are just to hide people's eyes.

With the strength of the HRE Navy, if these warships are replenished, then the gap between them and the Royal Navy will be smoothed, and it may even have the upper hand.

It's just that it still doesn't make sense, if the HRE wants to catch the British by surprise, they can secretly build ships.

Their colony was so vast that it was not impossible to find a few hidden ports to build shipyards.

Now that there is such a fuss, the eyes of the British have attracted the past. As soon as the shipyard was built, the British would follow suit and would not give them a chance at all.

From this point of view, the Russian-Austrian naval agreement is likely to be a bluff that deliberately puts pressure on us and lures us into being fooled.

But there is also a great irrationality in this, even if we are really fooled, it is impossible for the Empire to build so many warships......"

His own reasoning was overturned by himself, and Ito Hirofumi was also helpless. But to be responsible for the Japanese Empire, he could only tell the truth.

It's okay not to explain, but Emperor Meiji is even more confused when he explains it like this. The only thing that is certain is that one of Ito's several speculations must be correct.

Which one is the truth, I'm sorry it's too embarrassing. When it comes to the future of the country, no one dares to make a judgment by guessing riddles.

Foreign Minister Inoue Shin: "We have been in contact with the British, and they cannot be sure of the true purpose of Russia and Austria, which is still under investigation."

However, the loan contract has been verified, and the tsarist government has indeed borrowed a huge amount of money from the HRE, and the first batch of 30 million Aegis has been credited to the account of the tsarist government.

War bonds issued by the Russians are also currently appearing in the financial markets of European countries, and the sales of bonds are doing well, perhaps because of the increase in interest rates. ”

It's a sad topic, the Russians are selling war bonds well, which means that the Japanese government is not selling war bonds well.

After all, war bonds are a gamble. Only the winners will cash in, and if you buy the war bonds of a defeated country, you will be wasting the money.

In any case, the influence of the Russians in the European world far exceeds that of Japan. Personal feelings aside, speculators believe that the Russians are more likely to win.

The war bonds of the Japanese government in the original time and space were not easy to sell, and in the end, it was Jewish capital that bought them in a big way in order to oppose Russia.

Of course, there is also a theory that the British and American governments have hinted at Jewish capital to buy it.

The truth is no longer important, anyway, the Japanese government's war bonds, in the early days of the war, were really not welcomed by the capital market.

As for the bad reputation of the Russians, that's not a problem. The bonds are not bought by the consortium itself, the capital only earns fees from them, and it is the leeks that pay in the end.

The old leeks have lingering palpitations for the Russians, but the new leeks don't know! There is no Internet, what is said in the newspapers, where is everyone's mind going?

Emperor Meiji was relieved to hear that the British had intervened in the investigation, and the Vienna government's generosity was truly shocking.

The Holy Trood gave the Tsarist government a level of support that the London government could never have done. Although there is more than one financier behind the Japanese government, the United States of this time and space is a number.

A divided America is not a 3-1=2 problem. With the loss of fertile land in the South, Washington's government became less and less binding on the states.

It can be seen from the location of the capital, but as long as the central government is strong, it will not put itself under the guns of the enemy.

One of the most important reasons for this is that the states have not agreed on the issue of moving the capital, and in the end they can only maintain the status quo.

Although they are in the same country, the interests and needs of each state are also different. When formulating laws, everyone proceeds from their own interests and rarely considers the overall situation.

Each has its own set of leading bodies, and if they cannot be unified, economic development will naturally be greatly affected.

These problems of the original time and space have continued into the 21st century, and they have not been completely solved, let alone now.

In these years, the United States has no way to compensate for the loss of interests in the policy-making process by printing dollars, and it is difficult for the central government to intervene.

So the British are the ones who can really throw money, and the United States is essentially the British who pull in the numbers, and at most they will sell a part of the war bonds, and don't even think about more support.