Both the French Foreign Minister, Count Valewski, and the War Secretary, A.J. Saint-Arnaud, frowned. It would have been possible to give up territory in Italy in exchange for greater French benefits after the war. In addition, if Belgium can be annexed, France's territory will increase a lot, and at the same time, Belgium's industrial strength will be relatively strong, which will be a good supplement for France.

In this way, France does not actually suffer. On the contrary, there are some earn. After all, this qiē is all about winning the war. If the war were lost, France would have suffered heavy losses. Not only will overseas interests be lost, but also the local community will be hit hard. Therefore, agreeing to this plan is very beneficial to France.

"Your Excellency, when I return to China, I will report to His Majesty the Emperor. However, I believe that His Majesty the Emperor will not refuse. After all, it's good for France! Said Count Valewski.

"Haha, that's great. With the cooperation of France, if we can get rid of the Kingdom of Sardinia before the war, then our chances of victory will be even greater! The Earl of Granville laughed. This plan is a plan that the British Foreign Office has been thinking about for a long time. If it can be successful, it will also be very beneficial for the UK.

The representatives of Austria-Hungary, there was no opinion on this. Although, at one time, Austria-Hungary also had a large territory in Italy. However, in the Austro-Prussian War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated, and all these territories were seized by the Kingdom of Sardinia.

"Your Excellency, France wishes. After the start of the war, Britain was able to send troops directly to land in northern France. Or launch a landing attack directly on Belgium and cooperate with France to defeat the army of the Kingdom of Prussia! Said the French Minister of War A.J. Saint-Arnault. This was the request of the French Emperor Napoleon III. The Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia joined forces. It put a lot of pressure on France. The northern part of France is a plain, and the armies of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Prussia can directly kill the hinterland of France, and even threaten the capital of France, Paris. If the full support of Britain can be obtained, and the cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, then France is likely to win directly on the northern front, thus defusing the crisis.

The Earl of Granville did not answer. looked at the Marquess of Anglesey, Secretary of War of England.

The Marquis of Anglesey hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Yes, the Kingdom of Prussia is also a great enemy of ours. It is the most powerful country in Europe in the Asia-Europe military alliance, and if the Kingdom of Prussia can be solved, it will be very advantageous for us to win the war! ”

"Now that we've all agreed, then. I think. The final victory must belong to the North Atlantic Military Alliance! The Earl of Granville smiled as if he had won the battle.

Everyone else agrees, and in their opinion, the victory of the North Atlantic Military Alliance is already a sure thing!

Next, the French Foreign Minister, Count Valewski, and the War Secretary, A.J. Saint-Arnaud, returned to France to inform the French Emperor Napoleon III of the British side. Officials in the British Foreign Office took the lead in mobilizing. After all. This was just a plan for them, so that they could try to get in touch with the Kingdom of Sardinia first. See how they reacted. If the Kingdom of Sardinia agrees, then the plan can continue.

In Paris, the capital of France, the people of Paris were almost in a panic as the clouds of war piled up. On the streets, people are in a hurry. There are long queues in front of bakeries and other shops selling grain and groceries. Many residents are afraid that if war breaks out, prices will skyrocket. Therefore, it is very necessary to store enough food in advance!

Inside the Élysée Palace, the French Emperor Napoleon III is rummaging over the reports brought back by Count Valewski and A.J. Saint-Arnault. This is a summary of the London meeting, which records some of the highlights of the London meeting.

"An army of 11,200,000 men! That's a huge army! Napoleon III lamented. When Napoleon the Great dominated Europe, he was at most a cobbled together army of 600,000 men. A few decades later, the combined army of the North Atlantic Military Alliance has reached 11.2 million people, which is indeed a remarkable leap!

"Your Majesty, the three million people of the British should include the army of the colony!" This was stated by the Minister of War A.J. Saint-Arnault.

Napoleon III nodded, of course he knew this. Otherwise, it would be impossible to mobilize 3 million troops with a population of less than 30 million in Britain itself.

"Your Majesty, Russia and Austria-Hungary will mobilize three million and two million troops respectively, and we will only mobilize one and a half million troops, is this too little?" Foreign Minister Count Valevsky asked. After all, France is the second most powerful country in the North Atlantic military alliance. However, the mobilized troops only ranked fourth, which is inconsistent with the strength of France!

"The strength of the army does not depend solely on numbers. Although we have only mobilized 1.5 million people, our combat effectiveness is definitely above the 3 million British troops and 3 million Russian troops, and even more so than the 2 million Austrian troops! Napoleon III said domineeringly. The French Army is also a world-class army, and in terms of the strength of the army, it is not much different from the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. The equipment and the will to fight of the troops are very strong. Although the number of troops is small, the combat effectiveness can be compared with that of other countries in the North Atlantic Military Alliance.

Count Valewski and A.J. Saint-Arnaud both nodded, they also had great confidence in the French Army.

"However, the strength of 1.5 million troops is indeed not much. This is nothing more than our minimum mobilization of troops. If the war calls for it, we can mobilize two million, if not three million, to fight! Napoleon III said. If it was necessary to mobilize so many troops to win, he would definitely give the mobilization order without hesitation!

"Majesty, there is a new mention on the British side, which I personally think is more feasible!" Count Valevsky said.

"What's the mention of yì?" Napoleon III raised an eyebrow.

"The British side offered to give up our territory in Italy in exchange for the Kingdom of Sardinia joining the North Atlantic Military Alliance. As compensation, after the war, France will receive more war reparations, we can also get a colony in China, and in addition, we can directly annex the Kingdom of Belgium! Said Count Valewski.

Napoleon III frowned, but soon his brow relaxed. As a tyrant, he certainly understood what the British meant. With the wind, France did not want to see the unification of the Kingdom of Italy, but at least it was better than losing the war! Moreover, even if the Kingdom of Italy were unified, the threat to France would be very limited, far less than the threat that German unification could pose to France.

The lesser of two evils, Napoleon III quickly decided. That is to let go of the Kingdom of Italy and turn to the Kingdom of Prussia with all its might! In this way, it will be more beneficial to France. In particular, the reparations promised by England to France made Napoleon III very moved.

"I approved this mentions. Tell the British, if the Kingdom of Sardinia is willing to join the North Atlantic Military Alliance, then France is willing to withdraw its troops from Italy! However, the accession of the Kingdom of Sardinia to the North Atlantic Military Alliance was a prerequisite. Otherwise, France would not have withdrawn its troops! Napoleon III said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Count Valevsky nodded. In fact, as the illegitimate son of Napoleon the Great, he and Napoleon III are cousins at all, and he knows Napoleon III well.

"Your Majesty, the British also agree that once war breaks out, they will first cooperate with us to destroy the Kingdom of Belgium and defeat the Kingdom of Prussia! Assist us in our victory on the Northern Front! A.J. Saint-Ernaux said.

"Oh? That's good news! If Yiqiē can develop according to our expectations, then I dare not say for sure whether the Asian theater or the American theater will be conclusive. At least in the European theater, we have a good chance of winning! Napoleon III had a smile on his face. The European theater is the main battlefield, and as long as the North Atlantic military alliance can win in the European theater, it will be able to isolate the Chinese Empire. When the time comes, it will even be possible to integrate the forces of the whole of Europe against the Chinese Empire. Although the Chinese Empire is powerful, it is not an opponent of the entire Western world! Once the world is once again under the domination of the Western world, France will have a chance to rise again!

Having received a reply from France, the British intensified their activities in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Originally, the Kingdom of Sardinia was somewhat dissatisfied with the Chinese Empire, but now, with the help and guarantee of the British. Whether it was the king of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Vittorio. Emanuele II was also the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Cavour, and he was very impressed. After all, the first goal of the Kingdom of Sardinia was the unification of Italy. If the French could withdraw their troops on their own initiative, this would undoubtedly be more secure. However, this would also offend the Eurasian military alliance. Faced with the temptation of a military alliance in the North Atlantic, the Kingdom of Sardinia was caught between a rock and a hard place.

If the Kingdom of Sardinia were to join the North Atlantic Military Alliance, they would become a traitor and be spurned by the whole world. In addition, it will inevitably be retaliated against by the Asia-Europe military alliance! (To be continued......)

PS: The first update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thank you for the reward of the book friend World Bottomless 007! Thank you to book friends Huang Xiaotian, StevenMah, and the eternal heart for the monthly pass!