Chapter 1026: The Early Misao Movement
Chapter 1006: The Early Misao Movement
The economic crisis is in full swing, not only does Franz not dare to wave, the British government likewise does not dare to fool around at this time.
Exporting revolution to the European continent may seem to be able to combat the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire in its infancy, the problem is that revolutionary ideas are contagious.
Europe’s economic deterioration, Britain’s economic situation is similarly no better. Although not to the point where a spark will explode, but lighting a fire can definitely make them suffer.
As the world’s largest financial empire, Britain is also the world’s largest bubble empire. The loss brought about by the bursting of the bubble is naturally the greatest.
In this highly developed financial country, more than one-sixth of the British public, engaged in stock, debt, futures investment. In London, when it comes to stocks, the street sweeper can give you half a day’s talk.
If just ordinary investment is just, as long as there is no problem with the enterprise, the big thing is to wait for the next bull market to unload, anyway, London’s bull market, every few years will come once.
Playing with leverage is a different story, many unlucky people are a stream of burst positions. Going from millionaire to millionaire-negative in a stock market crash sometimes takes mere minutes.
Artificially delayed bull market bust, than any time in the past to bring the loss is more heavy. According to incomplete statistics, the number of suicides in London exceeded 20,000 in the three months after the crash broke out, and hundreds of thousands of families were on the verge of bankruptcy because of the crash.
The evaporation of direct wealth is only a minor problem. What is more serious is that it has become difficult for enterprises to raise funds. Businesses with insufficient cash flow are either struggling on the verge of bankruptcy or have already gone bankrupt.
In order to tide over the crisis, enterprises have laid off employees and cut wages to compress their operating costs. As a result, the unemployment rate in Britain has also risen.
Just take a look at the crowds of people who take to the streets to demonstrate every day, and you will know that the people are quite dissatisfied with the present economic environment.
How to restore the economy has become the biggest problem in front of the British government. At this time of crisis, Prime Minister Robert Cecil naturally does not have the heart to play with fire.
……
Prime Minister Robert Cecil asked suspiciously, “Vienna wants to mediate the Japan-West War with us, are they ready to give up Spain?”
It’s not that he’s making a fuss, it’s really that the Holy Roman Empire has no reason to give up Spain.
The Holy Roman Empire is the biggest victim of the economic crisis is not true, but this only refers to the total economic volume. If apportioned to the economic volume to see the corresponding proportion, the situation is very different.
In this regard, those who play with industry certainly have an advantage over those who play with finance, no matter how much paper wealth evaporates, fixed assets are still the same assets.
Look at the performance of the government in Vienna to know, in recent times also issued a considerable amount of loans to the European countries, obviously still have the strength.
Even if you want to show goodwill to Britain, there are other options. There is no need to give up Spain, after all, Spain’s strategic location is very important, can directly threaten the Strait of Gibraltar.
Foreign Secretary Cameron shook his head: ”On the contrary, the Vienna government not only did not give up Spain, but also asked us to stop supporting the Japanese.
According to that old fox Weissenberg, we are all European countries and cannot watch the Japanese monkeys step on Spain to take the throne. This reason is so irrefutable that I almost believed it.”
Believe it or not, it still depends on the benefits, and in the short term, the Japanese winning the Philippine campaign was clearly more favorable to Britain.
After a little thought, Robert Cecil slowly said, “No wonder the Spaniards have been so active in recent times, constantly visiting the Liberal MPs.
If these restless guys are persuaded by the Spaniards, then we are going to have big trouble next. The Ministry of Finance leveled the accounts as soon as possible, and from now on we can’t provide funds directly to the Japanese government.”
The sentiment of Europeanism is not lethal, but the label of “wasting taxpayers’ money” is. Especially in an economic crisis, it is powerful.
Don’t think of MPs as being too smart; in their eyes, partisanship is always more important than national strategy.
Not to mention the fact that most British people don’t even know where Japan or the Philippines are, so talking to them about strategic significance is no different from “talking to a cow”.
If you change to confront the Holy Roman Empire, I think people can still accept. But politics is often a matter of subtlety.
No matter how big the threat of the Holy Roman Empire is, and no matter how intense the secret conflict between the two countries is, Robert Cecil is not willing to make the conflict explicit.
“Explicit” also means “showdown”, unless there is a certainty of victory, or is really the two countries can not be suppressed, otherwise we will not choose “showdown”.
The reason is very simple, “showdown” is often accompanied by war synchronization. One can not go to the shore, one can not cross the strait, dry up that is the end of both losses.
Can’t open the card, take Japan and the West in front of the tank, the general public naturally can’t be convinced. A little guidance of public opinion, a change in the statement of the situation will be very different.
For example, the government received a bribe from the Japanese to provide funds to the Japanese government.
Not to mention the general public, even Robert Cecil, if he were not in power, would have to believe it himself. For no other reason than it would have been very Britannic.
Corruption is normal, it’s the lack of corruption that’s the problem. Corruption in Britannia is deeply embedded, and it’s only right to lead towards it. No matter where the investigation starts, it will be able to dig out a large wave of assholes.
In order not to fall in this, Robert Cecil decisively chose to follow the heart, as for the Japanese can only ask for blessings.
Direct support and indirect support seem to be only one word difference, but in terms of intensity is a world of difference. The former can borrow tens of millions of pounds to the Japanese government, the latter move millions of pounds are difficult to get out.
Cameron said noncommittally, “Prime Minister, in fact, we do not need to be so pessimistic. Since the enemy can find a way to start from our country and cut off the source of funding for the Japanese, we can naturally counterattack accordingly.
The Holy Roman Empire is not easy to move, but Spain is broken in every way. With the economic crisis and the war coming at the same time, the Spanish people have been so overwhelmed by life that they can’t breathe, and all it takes is a spark to set them off.
Of course, directly in Europe to ignite the fire of revolution, the risk is still a little too big, may not lead to fire.
But it didn’t matter, the Spanish colonies were not at peace either. The leaders of the Cuban Independence Organization were in London, and as long as they were sent back and supported with a batch of weaponry, the Spaniards were going to be exhausted.
Whether the Japanese hold out longer or Spain is more resilient depends on who God favors more.”
Politics is so cruel, Britain can give up the Japanese, Vienna is equally able to give up Spain, everything is profit.
The Philippine Islands, because of its special geographical location, affects the peace and stability of the South Seas region, and it is the government of Vienna that will support Spain.
Cuba was a different story. As good as Cuban sugar and cigars were, it had nothing to do with the Holy Roman Empire. Whether or not Spain can hold on to it is their own problem.
……
The British kettle of fish took time to materialize, but the Japanese crisis was near. Without financial support from London, the Tokyo government instantly felt the pinch.
Since the outbreak of the war, the Tokyo government had been living on borrowed money. Despite their best efforts, the government’s self-financing could still only cover two-thirds of the expenses on the battlefield.
Receiving the bad news that the British had suddenly cut off their loans, even though they had prepared for it, Emperor Meiji still felt anxious.
There is no way, the heart is prepared does not mean that the funds are also prepared. The Japanese never fully believed in the integrity of the British.
As early as the outbreak of the economic crisis, the Japanese government realized the danger, but the chariot has been launched, simply do not want to stop can stop.
A pawn is a pawn, and from the moment it became a pawn in the Anglo-Austrian game, the initiative was no longer in the hands of the Japanese government.
Emperor Meiji asked, “What do the British say, can’t just cut off our loans for no reason, right?”
Ito Hirobumi: “The British explained that the risk was too great to meet the bank’s assessment criteria for lending. Unless we can come up with more collateral, the banking syndicate is going to terminate the lending.
Last night, I personally went and communicated with the British Minister. The London government has not given up on supporting us, but because of the political turn of events, the London government is unable to continue to provide us with debt guarantees.
However, the British Minister also brought good news that the good days of the Spaniards will soon come to an end. The situation in Cuba has become unstable, and independent organizations are planning an uprising. Once we get through the toughest months of the present, the situation will improve later on.
The British have suggested that we use the mediation of the government in Vienna to make a play for a truce with the Spaniards first and wait for the situation to develop further.”
Sensei’s money from the British government and why it became a bank loan when it came to Japan, these were the times.
These days normal you international loans are not usurious, they are teetering on the edge of usury.
The beneficiary of a no-interest loan or a low-interest loan, even with political strings attached, is not a private commercial bank, so why should they be allowed to bear the risk and make concessions on their own?
The only way to get commercial banks to take on such seemingly unrewarding loans is for the Government to pay for them, and for the Government to pay back the capital through other sources of revenue.
Now that the situation is not right and the London government cannot continue to pay for it, the bankers are naturally not buying it.
In order to strengthen the Japanese government’s determination to continue the war, the British decisively offered the pie in the sky method. The Cuban Independence Movement, which had not yet begun, was given to the Japanese government by the British as good news.
Emperor Meiji frowned and said, “The Cuban independence movement, are the British sure they are not joking? Have you heard of any successful independence anywhere in recent decades?”
It wasn’t that Emperor Meiji looked down on the Cubans, the point was that this was the peak of the colonial empire, and there wasn’t even a sign of a wave of colonial independence movements.
The Cuban independence movement had been going on for decades, initially supported by the Americans, but after the division of the United States, the Cuban independence movement lost its supporters and went into a downward spiral. It is not convincing that the British are now suddenly throwing out the Cuban independence movement.
Kuroda Kiyotaka replied, “Your Majesty, whether the Cuban Independence Movement will succeed or not, for the time being, does not have much to do with us. Whether they succeed or fail, it will not affect the Philippine campaign in a short time.
As a matter of fact, the ones fighting us in the Philippine Islands now have long since ceased to be Spanish troops, or else we wouldn’t be so passive.
Even if the Cuban uprising breaks out, it is unlikely that the Spaniards will be able to draw their Filipino mercenaries over there to quell the rebellion, and the enemy we need to face will not be weakened by this.
The only thing the Cuban Uprising would do is simply drain the Spanish of their financial resources. As an old-school colonial empire, it is anyone’s guess as to how much money they have, but they will certainly outweigh us in terms of financial resources.
Instead of counting on a Cuban independence movement, it would be better to expect a more violent economic crisis, preferably leading to a revolution in Spain.
Unfortunately, a compromise has been reached within the Spanish royal family, and it is unlikely that the Carlos faction, which inherited the throne of France, will continue to go back to fight for the Spanish throne.
Expecting Spain to have problems is only a small probability, and as the British have said, the only thing available to us in a short time is the mediation offered by Vienna.
The problem is that the government in Vienna has always supported the Spanish, and will most likely support them even if mediation is offered. Want to use mediation to delay time, wait for the situation to improve, I’m afraid ……”
I was going to say “truce”, but considering the political situation in the country, Kuroda Kiyotaka had to swallow it back.
It is not that Kuroda Kiyotaka is a coward, it is the British suddenly retreat, so that he lost the confidence to win the war.
Look at the situation on the battlefield to know, the Spanish expeditionary fleet, not long after the Vienna government to help replenish the completion of the defeat of the Spanish army, followed by a group of French mercenaries.
If it continues like this, it is not likely that at some point the Vienna government will have to tear off its disguise and come to the battlefield itself to help.
The backstage of the enemy gives support beyond imagination, while the backstage of the family, in addition to selling arms and providing loans, only to refuel and cheer.
Even the vigor of cheering is not enough, only the British one in political support of the Japanese government, while Spain has the support of a dozen European countries, completely not in a class.
Now even the loans were not given, which made Kuroda Kiyotaka, who was already opposed to going south, completely lose hope of winning the war.
……
The Imperial Council is still continuing, but the situation in Tokyo has changed first. No matter how much “news of victory” the government announced, the ongoing war could not fool anyone.
Although the Tokyo government tried its best to block the news from the front line, the paper could not hold the fire. Embassies were not obliged to keep their secrets, nor were ships traveling to and from Japan.
The truth of the news could not be determined by ordinary people, but one’s own stomach could not be deceived. In the early days of the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands, a large amount of supplies were plundered from the Philippines, and even the ordinary people of Tokyo had a few days of good times.
Soon the situation changed, with the beginning of the Spanish counterattack, the prices in Tokyo, which had just fallen, immediately began to soar upward again.
“The house is falling apart.”
Against the background of rising prices, the people’s wages fell instead of rising. The reason was that in order to raise more money for the war, the Japanese government raised taxes on domestic enterprises, and the capitalists in turn passed the losses on to the working class.
The contradiction naturally arose when people who were fortunate enough to toil for a day could not even make ends meet with their final income.
On June 16, 1894, a few textile workers in Tokyo, when purchasing rice at a rice store, encountered a sudden price increase by the shopkeeper, went up to the shopkeeper and failed in their theory, and in a fit of anger, they directly robbed the rice store.
People were blindly obedient, and when they saw someone taking the lead in looting rice, people who were not willing to endure hunger joined in.
A rice store is certainly not enough to rob everyone, slow step did not get the harvest of the people, and aimed at other nearby rice store, a time the whole street is chaotic.
(End of chapter)