Chapter 692: The Law of the Jungle
Chapter 677 The Law of the Jungle
Franz’s fears were redundant, and without waiting for a reminder from the Vienna government, the Tsarist government had already begun to do so.
Only the means are a little childish, probably not prepared in advance, the Russians took out the evidence is not persuasive enough.
There were no movies yet, make-up hadn’t become one of the four evil arts, and special effects weren’t even a shadow of their former selves, so photo faking was still a bit difficult.
No, to be precise, the tsarist government had no concept of counterfeiting at all.
Berlin government have launched a public opinion offensive, the front line of the Prussian army has long been ordered to comply with military discipline, want to catch the Prussian army at this time, naturally not easy.
The Czarist Government provided photographic evidence, and a lot of it was also friendly sponsorship by the Austrian Government.
These are the Austrian military to collect information on the battlefield, inadvertently photographed, the ground actual shot is very little, most of them are in the airship photographed.
Clarity naturally can not be expected, a blur to be able to see the silhouette is good. On the one hand, it is too high, on the other hand, the camera is not advanced enough.
If it were not for the newspaper’s intention to stir up controversy for the sake of sales, the little evidence provided by the Tsarist government would have been suppressed without even making a single wave.
In any case, it is better to have a controversy than no controversy at all. As a rule, this kind of public opinion usually goes off on a tangent.
In the words of my mentor, “The Russian army is a bandit, the Prussian army is a bandit.” In short, neither is any good.
Your side sings, this winter, the Prussian and Russian performances have given the European public a good show.
As the temperature dropped, the Prussian-Russian war gradually eased. After the winter, the non-combat attrition of the Prussian army is increasing day by day, in order to reduce losses, Mauch had to stop the offensive.
It was true that the Mauch bears were more resistant to frost, but they also needed to use this winter to accumulate strategic supplies. Unless victory could be guaranteed this winter, the Russians would have to stop.
This was something that could not be helped; after the beginning of spring the ice melted and the roads were muddy, making the transportation of supplies very difficult.
Having suffered from a lack of supplies once, the bureaucrats of the Tsarist government had evolved. Why take risks when you can just crush the enemy in a dignified manner?
Of course, the “Winter Offensive” was still necessary. The Russians continued to fight against Smolensk, a fortress city right on the Dnieper River, which made water transportation easy.
Other areas, even if it is already on the defensive, the use of winter fortification is not good, why go out and fight with the enemy?
……
When the battlefield in Russia stabilized, the war in South America underwent a radical change. The Peruvian-Bolivian alliance, which had the upper hand, gradually fell into the lower hand after the British made their move.
The contrast in power between the two sides was reversed two months ago when 7,000 Chilean soldiers, escorted by six warships, landed near the fortress of Iquique and successfully routed the Peruvian-Bolivian coalition.
Looking at the intelligence gathered by the Foreign Ministry, Franz didn’t even know how to spit. Rotten to the core, talking about Bolivia.
Who would have thought that the Bolivian army was still using bows and crossbows?
If there was no way, it would be fine if these were the only weapons. The problem was that Bolivia had received support from Austria and had purchased a large amount of second-hand equipment before the outbreak of the war.
Franz admitted that the time was a little short, and the Bolivian army was filled with a large number of Indians, and it was indeed difficult to change directly without training.
But as difficult as it was, it had to go on! The foundation is so poor, want to train well can not do, teach them to shoot always can.
From the war preparations, to the fall of Iquique, before and after there is also a small half a year. The army is not the navy, temporary holding a little Buddha feet, a few months time can still train a battle-ready troops.
The internal Bolivian problems behind this were no longer of concern to Franz. Now he is just glad to let go in time, did not continue to support this “Ah Dou”.
Not only was the Bolivian army garbage, but the victorious Chilean army was also not very good. Against such a rabble, actually busy so long.
A war that was worse than a bad war, completely uninteresting, and not even able to learn from the experience. Franz was very skeptical that the Duchy of Montenegro could be a hegemon even if it was put in South America.
Originally worried about the danger of Austrian South America after the rise of Chile, now Franz was relieved. If there was a real fight, it was estimated that the Chilean army could not beat the local militia.
The war in South America is no longer called the “War of the Pacific”, compared to the tragic Russo-Prussian War, the war between Chile and Bolivia, Peru, is a child’s game.
The European media have replaced the original “War of the Pacific” with the “War of the Guano” or the “War of the Saltpeter”, with a totally undisguised sense of mockery.
Now Franz understood why the European people were so arrogant. It is really not their arrogance, nor is it their short-term vision, it is all set off by their opponents.
The center of the world in the 19th century was in Europe, the world’s major powers in this era are piled up in the European continent, looking around the world can not find a challenger.
If there had been no world war in the original time and space, this advantage would have continued for many years. History has no ifs and buts, and world wars are both coincidental and inevitable.
Even now on the European continent, Franz can’t guarantee that a major war will never break out. To put it bluntly, war is a continuation of politics, and politics is again catalyzed by interests.
……
Foreign Minister Weissenberg: “Your Majesty, this morning the Chilean Minister sent us an invitation to intercede in the Pacific War, and Britain and France have likewise been invited.”
No surprise there, ever since Britain, France, and Austria declared their alliance, all conflicts around the world have been mediated by the three countries.
Even if no one is invited, the three countries will also come to the door to serve, the beautiful name is for “world peace”, the real purpose is naturally ……
After looking at the map of South America, Franz said: “This Chilean government is not bad, knows to accept the good, but Peru and Bolivia will agree?”
The Chileans have occupied the areas of Antofagasta, Tarapaca, Arica, and Tacna, which happen to be the main sources of saltpeter and guano.
All the desired advantages had been obtained, and as the war could no longer be carried on to greater advantage, it was undoubtedly the wisest thing for the Chilean government to choose to fall into line.
If the war continues, can not obtain greater benefits do not know, in case dragged to the end of the Russo-Prussian War, France and Austria re-focused on South America, and then want to eat the spoils of war to the stomach will be difficult.
Wessenberg replied, “I’m afraid that’s difficult. Militarily speaking, Peru and Bolivia still have a fight in them.
Especially Peru, their population is much larger than Chile, the current losses are still within the range of tolerance, continue to fight there is a chance to turn the tide.
Politically, the situation is even more obvious. Both Peru and Bolivia have changed their governments as a result of the defeats on the front, and there is a strong civil war atmosphere that prevents them from retreating.
Chile invited us to intervene, mainly because it wanted to use our power and that of Britain and France to force the two governments to compromise.”
“Maintaining world peace” was the flag and political program of the Anglo-French-Austrian alliance, and since the slogan had been shouted, even for the sake of saving face, the government in Vienna could not refuse the Chilean government’s invitation to mediate.
Not only this “mediation” invitation, any country in the world to invite “mediation”, the three countries will send people to participate.
Britain, France and Austria are so actively involved in international affairs, naturally, they will not be without purpose. What appears to be a simple international mediation is actually a division of regional interests.
As the three most powerful countries in the world today, as long as they are involved, they can take a share, which is the nature of the imperialist era.
“Going through the motions, we don’t have much interest in South America, if Peru and Bolivia want to continue the war, let them.
As a responsible great power, we have to fully respect the opinions of the smaller countries, we can’t blindly impose our will, on them.”
As he spoke, Franz waved his hand as if he didn’t care about this matter. However, a frown between his eyebrows still revealed his inner unwillingness.
At this time of armistice, there is no doubt that the British will take the lead, followed by Chile to eat meat, France and Austria to play soy sauce and share the soup.
Similar things have happened more than once or twice. The number of times we have suffered losses will always make people dissatisfied.
In this era of the weak and the strong, how much strength to take how much benefit, originally is no excuse, only the strength of the British, French and Austrian three countries between the contrast is constantly changing, but the distribution of benefits, but not with the strength of the change and change.
Encouraging Peru and Bolivia to continue the war was one of Franz’s counterattacks. Since the British wanted to take the maximum benefit, they continued to invest in it!
In the unlikely event that the Peruvian-Bolivian alliance got lucky and flipped on the battlefield, the situation would be very different. Even though the chances were slim, Franz didn’t mind taking the gamble.
If he lost the bet, he gave the British a hard time; if he won the bet, he could also shake up the British hegemony in South America.
From Austria’s standpoint, no matter how you look at it, it was worth it.
As for Peru and Bolivia, the road is of their own choosing, and they have to finish it with tears.
The fact that they were not forced to cede land and pay reparations to end the war is in itself the greatest respect.
Austria is not a purely empty words of flattery, weapons and ammunition assistance is still there. Although it is necessary to pay, but in times of war, can get to get loans, weapons and ammunition, itself is a kind of support.
No matter what the cause of the “Guano War” is, it does not matter who is right or wrong.
For Peru and Bolivia, the enemy has already come, and the purpose of the war is no longer to fight over guano and saltpeter, but to defend the territory.
Since they were defending their country, they naturally had to do it themselves, but could they expect anyone else to do it?
……
(End of chapter)