Chapter 444: Subsequent Effects
Chapter 434 The Aftermath
The impact of the opening of the Suez Canal was far-reaching, especially for the British, whose strategic sovereignty in the Mediterranean Sea no longer existed.
The most worrying thing for the London government was that India was exposed to the eyes of France and Austria, and after the opening of the Suez Canal, the distance from the two countries to India was greatly shortened.
Do not say that there is no ambition of silly words, did not hit India’s idea, the real reason is that the French and Austrians are not strong enough to grasp from the British hands to seize India.
The richest piece of colony in the world, put on the table, who is not moved? The value of this one colony alone exceeded the combined colonies of France and Austria.
At least that’s how it looked in this day and age. The potential of the African continent had not yet been demonstrated, and the importance of its resources had not been appreciated. Purely in terms of the economic benefits it brought, one India outweighed the entire African continent.
It was not that John Russell was delusional, but reality told him he had to be vigilant. All it takes is a snooze and you could be toppled.
That’s how Spain, the dominant power of the day, was toppled by them. Now it’s become a case of them holding the ring and someone else challenging them.
How to solve the impact brought about by the opening of the Suez Canal became the biggest headache of the London government right now.
Edward, the Secretary of State for the Navy, warned, “With France and Austria in control of the Suez Canal, the door to the Indian Ocean is open to them.
From now on, Austria’s voyage to India will take just half as long as ours, and France’s voyage to India has been shortened by forty percent.
We have been seriously challenged in terms of global strategy. From now on, both the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific will be under threat from France and Austria.”
This is the immediate threat, the Suez Canal is only open to civilian traffic, warships and the like are not included.
However, this restriction is only effective for other countries, the two shareholders of France and Austria will not be restricted.
There is no doubt that it was set against the British. The Suez Canal is a joint holding company of the French and Austrian governments, and the rules set by them naturally prioritize politics.
Kicking the British out would mean that the two countries would be much more competitive in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, and would be more favorable to the expansion of their spheres of influence in these regions.
The detour from the Cape of Good Hope was too far, and the delays in the voyage had seriously threatened British maritime hegemony.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal added: “It is not only the military that is being challenged, commercially we are also facing a shock.
The opening of the Suez Canal has meant that Austrian goods have become more competitive in Asia, and our original advantage of low transportation costs has now become a disadvantage.”
Considering transportation costs, this was actually the result of being forced out. To this day, the proud industrial empire of the British is going downhill.
The technological advantage no longer exists, and many factories are already at a disadvantage in international competition due to older equipment and higher labor wages, resulting in higher production costs.
These problems were concealed by the colonies, with their vast colonial markets, the British capitalists did not perceive this crisis, or did not pay attention to it if they did.
In the international market outside the colonies, the market share of British goods was declining year by year, and both France and Austria were seizing the British market.
Only the share of this market was not too big and did not attract the attention of the outside world, but the top level of the government was still aware of it.
After contemplating for a while, Prime Minister John Russell asked, “These problems are real, how are you going to solve them?”
It was useless to discover the problems, the key was still to solve them. As the world’s hegemon, the British encountered all kinds of such and such problems every day, and what the government wanted to do was to solve the problems.
Colonial Secretary Steve proposed, “We are attacking Ethiopia, and if things go well we can take control of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait along the way and take control of the Red Sea gateway.
However, this is a natural strait with a width of about 26 to 32 kilometers, and it is very difficult to block it.
There is also the possibility of triggering a strong backlash from France and Austria, and if they take direct action, they won’t be able to hold it at all unless the entire Royal Navy is pressed into service.
The best way is still to start from Egypt, or to directly occupy Egypt and take the Suez Canal under control.
Or grab the Sinai Peninsula from the Austrians, but that was difficult. Since the opening of the Suez Canal, the Vienna government has increased its garrison there, and it is now about one division strong.”
The Straits of Mandebank are similar to the Straits of Gibraltar, and the British wouldn’t dare block the shipping lanes even if they controlled them, which would trigger outrage.
France and Austria are not soft, if they feel threatened, no one can guarantee that they will not be desperate, directly reckless up.
After Prussia’s challenge to the Russians, the British didn’t have that confidence. Impulse is the devil, Prussians dare to reckless wave of the Russians, France and Austria have not dared to reckless wave against them?
Anyway, both are land power empire, the navy can not be killed. As long as and they play a lose-lose, for France and Austria is a strategic victory.
Even if Britain’s shipbuilding industry is stronger and its navy replenishes faster. But this is only for a family, and France and Austria together than, and to be a little bit worse.
Look at the two strong standard know, slogan shouting amazing, to realize the goal is still far away.
Forcing the Suez Canal was not a good idea, and could easily ignite conflicts. The British Empire was not prepared to go to war with two great empires, and even a war with either of them would have killed it.
If you win, you will not be able to recover the cost of war; if you lose, you will lose your world hegemony and you will not be able to keep your colonial empire.
France and Austria were different, even if they lost the war, they had enough strength to keep their African colonies.
The British army is so small, even if they want to go to rob, they do not have that kind of strength. Maritime blockade on this kind of continent is not useful at all, the African continent coastline is also tens of thousands of kilometers, simply can not blockade over.
Foreign Minister Raistlin objected: “The use of force is the worst way, not only can not achieve the goal, but also may make things worse.
The Suez Canal is already open, and France and Austria will definitely not agree if we want to block it back. Since this is the case, why don’t we retreat and join in?
Although the strategic value of the Suez Canal is high, the canal company may not be able to make a profit right away, and the high construction costs have made shareholders lose confidence.
We can absolutely acquire a portion of the stock and make our voice heard within the Canal Company, and France and Austria can’t stop legitimate commercial trade.”
Raistlin’s proposal was right in the heart of Prime Minister John Russell’s heart, not that they were bullying, but the reality of the interests required it.
Talking to the weak about fists and talking to the strong about rules is the code of behavior of 19th century imperialism. We are all great powers, so naturally we have to follow the rules.
Throughout history, when has the British Empire ever been impulsive? In the original space and time, the British were so impulsive, and as a result, not only did they get themselves into a lot of trouble and owe a lot of debt, but they also lost their world hegemony.
Not waiting for John Russell to open his mouth, naval minister Edward objected: “Not so simple, France and Austria are not fools, are they willing to let us enter?
If we are opposed by the two governments, we will not be able to buy the stock even if we offer two or three times the price.
It is said that the private circulation of the stock has no decision-making power, all the rights are in the hands of the French and Austrian governments, and the shareholders only have the right to supervise the finances of the canal company.”
It wasn’t that he wanted to start a war, but the Navy needed to flex its muscles and prove its importance in order to compete for the coming year’s budget.
There was no way around it, and that was the most important job of the Minister of the Navy. Specific naval construction, training, and command, that is the military’s business, and he, a naval minister with a civilian background, is simply an amateur.
Want to get the embrace of the navy, but also very simple, as long as from the hands of the government to get enough budget on the line. Other things, the less he cares, the happier everyone is.
The most in line with the interests of the Navy is to send the Royal Navy out to deter France and Austria, and then we can reach an agreement.
No matter how much of a role it played, there was a share of credit for the Navy, and an advantage in the next budget fight.
The essence is no different from collecting stocks before negotiating with France and Austria, just expressed differently. The Foreign Ministry dominated the former, the Navy Ministry featured prominently in the latter.
……
The London government was arguing and the Paris government was discussing. It all revolves around the Suez Canal, just handled differently.
Napoleon III was debating whether to immediately send troops to occupy Egypt to secure control of the canal.
After so many years of infiltration, France was already the number one power in Egypt and had cultivated a large pro-French bandwagon.
If a few more years had passed, he could have probably controlled Egypt without bloodshed. Now if he sends troops to occupy Egypt, a war is still inevitable.
Minister of War Edmund LeBoeuf proposed, “Your Majesty, only 100,000 troops are needed, and we can occupy Egypt within a year.
If we just control the Suez Canal, then 50,000 troops can also achieve the goal.
Egypt’s strategic location is very important and is the most important part of our African strategy. If we drag it out and let Britain and Austria make the first move we will be in trouble.”
Egypt can be considered on France’s doorstep, winning or occupying Egypt is not a problem, the only thing to think about is whether it is worth it or not.
It also involves a strategic choice for France, whether to prioritize the Mediterranean strategy or the Central European strategy.
Once Egypt, the next step in the French government’s strategy is the Italian region, the Italian states are in the French target, Sicily is the first to bear the brunt.
And to give up on Egypt would be to hit the Prussian, Belgian, and German federal governments, with the territories west of the Rhineland in the French strategy for Central Europe.
This time, the French military is very harmonious, all chose to prioritize the Mediterranean strategy. Persimmon looking for soft pinch, to the Central European strategy, the Mediterranean strategy to face the enemy are soft.
This is not enough to make Napoleon III made up his mind, once France to Egypt, will inevitably make the Anglo-French relations tense, which makes the “Anglophobia” patients very uneasy.
Foreign Minister Abrahams added: “Your Majesty, we have no choice now. We can not occupy Egypt, but we can not prevent the British and Austrians from occupying Egypt.
Even with our allies, we can only restrain Austria for ten years at the most, while we can’t restrain the British at all.
Once Egypt falls into their hands, our Mediterranean strategy is lost. I’m afraid that France’s future path is going to be difficult.”
It’s true, the world is about to be carved up. It is now the last train to carve up the world, and if we don’t try to grab the last of the cake, we are going to have a hard time in the future.
The fact that the British didn’t grab Egypt wasn’t just that the London government didn’t want to. The main two factors: on the one hand, they were worried about triggering a backlash from France and Austria, and on the other hand, they didn’t have the certainty that they would be able to bring the Egyptians down.
The Egyptian government had a new army, and it wasn’t weak. It was also a considerable challenge to Britain’s pocket-sized land routes.
Besides, they were still PKing Ethiopia and didn’t have enough troops to commit to the Egyptian theater. It would be a shame if they lost another fight.
After entering the 19th century, the British Army was not doing well. Losing several wars in a row, albeit for specific reasons, made the British Army a statement.
Forget the wars against France, losing to Napoleon was normal practice and needs no explanation.
In 1814, the attack on the Kingdom of Nepal, 30,000 British troops were more than 10,000 Gurkhas to push back, and finally rely on the country to fight the war of attrition, barely won the war.
In 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan, tens of thousands of British troops fought hard for three years, and finally ended in defeat.
The next war in the Near East, the British lost; later invaded Persia, the result is still ended in failure, forced to reach a compromise.
Now the attack on Ethiopia is still bitterly fought, and the final outcome is still unknown.
With one defeat after another, how could the politicians in London dare to have high hopes for the Army without breaking down, even if the spiritual world was strong?
Reason? I’m sorry, people don’t need that. A loss is a loss, and no amount of explanation is good for nothing. The politicians in London have formed a habit of having little confidence in the Army.
The French, by contrast, are different. After the Russians fell off the wagon, they were about to boast of being the world’s number one army power, so naturally they didn’t lack confidence.
(End of chapter)