The topic of going south and going north reappeared in the imperial meeting. But unlike in the past, the strategy of going south is now bankrupt.
Since the plan to capture the Philippine Islands has failed, then the follow-up Nanyang Raiders need not be thought about. If the Continental Union can interfere the first time, it can interfere the second time. If you continue to go south without knowing how to live or die, you will be tired of living.
From an overall point of view, although Japan suffered heavy losses in the Philippine war, they were not completely without gains.
Among them, the biggest benefit is the acquisition of a modern fleet. In the past, they got all the battleships that they could not buy with money.
In terms of total tonnage of warships alone, the Japanese navy has become the fifth naval power in the world after Britain, Austria, Russia and the four countries of the West.
If there is no accident, after the Philippine war, the warships purchased by the Japanese government at auction will return to China, and they will be able to surpass Spain and Russia in their rankings and become the world's third naval power.
If nothing else is considered, this was the highlight of the Empire of Japan. It is a pity that behind this bright and beautiful, there is an empty treasury.
With Japan's current situation, it is impossible to support such a fleet if it does not expand externally, even if all the government's fiscal revenue is invested in it.
"From the current situation, it is indeed easier to go north than to go south. The problem is that the empire's finances can no longer support a major war.
North Korea is nothing to worry about, but xxx's reaction, we can't ignore it. Even though they're gone, they're still a behemoth to us.
Once a war breaks out, when it will end is not something we can unilaterally end. If the war continues, the empire is likely to be dragged to death. "
It's not that Kiyotaka Kuroda is timid, it's just that the Japanese government's finances are too bad. Although the Philippine archipelago is rich, they have not had time to operate, and the wealth plundered alone is simply not enough to support the war.
No money in my pocket, nothing to do. Although the neighbors are in decline, their family is solid, and with the current strength of the Japanese Empire, there is no certainty of victory.
A friend from Shanxian County: "Kuroda-kun, now is the best opportunity to go north. Because of the Philippine battle, our neighbors have relaxed their vigilance against us, and they are fantasizing that we and the Spanish will lose both.
But they forgot that although we suffered heavy losses in the war, the military power of the empire was constantly growing, and the balance of power between the two sides had changed.
The financial constraints of the empire restrict the development of military power, and we cannot support such a large army in peacetime. Our national strength determines that the military power of the empire is now the peak, at least in the next twenty years.
If we don't take advantage of our present advantages to knock down our neighbors and expand enough living space for the empire, we will have no chance in the future.
We have no choice. For the future of the Empire of Japan, no matter how risky it is, it must be done. What's more, the risk is not big now, even if the failure is big, it's a repeat of the old events of 1874. "
Ambition comes not only from strength, but also from the "face" of a decaying empire. If the invasion fails, you can get compensation. What else is there to be afraid of
Even if he loses the war, the big deal is that he will perform a few times and the matter will be over, and maybe he can take advantage of it.
No matter how powerful such a country is, it cannot be feared. It is more cost-effective to be an enemy than to be a friend.
In a sense, the ambitions of the Japanese government were indulged by the xxx empire. If you change the master, Japan will be crippled in 1874, and there will be no following...
In addition to the soft persimmons, the more important thing is that there is no need to encounter the powers of the major powers in the north, unlike the great powers in the Nanyang that get together and step on the thunder if you are not careful.
The main reason is that the tsarist government has been very busy in the past 30 to 40 years. It first captured Constantinople, then taught the restless Prussia a lesson, and is now busy going south to India.
The government's strategic focus has not shifted eastward, and the Russians' expansion in the Far East has naturally slowed down, and the tentacles have not yet had time to penetrate into North Korea.
With the lessons of the failure to go south, this is the time when the Japanese government is most afraid of foreign powers. Although they did not lose out against Spain, they couldn't be arrogant if they didn't win.
Seeing that no one answered, Emperor Meiji frowned and asked, "Does the Admiralty disagree?"
"No!"
Naval Minister Saigo replied slowly.
According to the practice of the Japanese military, the navy will object to any proposal made by the army, and vice versa. What's more, the battle for the expansion route is now involved, and the contention should be more intense.
However, Xixiang follows the Tao, but there is suffering. No matter how good the reason, the strategy of going south has failed. As the base camp of the southern faction and the leader of the invasion of the Philippines, the Admiralty is naturally to blame.
With such a great responsibility, even the Admiralty cannot afford it. In order to avoid political reckoning in the future, they have to make compromises for now.
In fact, not only the Ministry of the Navy, but also the high-level Japanese government are grasshoppers on a rope. Fighting against the Continental Alliance is a life-and-death situation, and making compromises cannot be explained to the country.
If you want to land safely, you must find an excuse that can be accepted by the people. Although "sound south strikes north" is a bit far-fetched, it is better than nothing.
The current Japanese people have not yet reached the craziest time, as long as they win the victory in the end and have a decent trophy, they can explain the past.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Meiji said indifferently: "If everyone has no opinion, then prepare to negotiate with the European Union.
Prime Minister, if you are in Europe, you know the European Union best, and you will be in charge of the negotiations. Don't expect to keep the Philippine Islands, get as much compensation for the Empire as possible!
On the issue of going north, the military came up with a plan as soon as possible. We can't afford to lose anymore. You should know what the consequences will be if another accident happens. "
It can be seen that Emperor Meiji is very dissatisfied with the current situation. However, apart from warnings and beatings, he couldn't do anything else, and the depression in it can be imagined.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
…
After a game is over, it's time to go to another table. In the face of a gambler-style government, Ito Hirobumi has nothing to say.
I know it's wrong, but the Japanese government has no choice. It's easy to leave the gaming table, but the question is what happens to the debt you leave behind after you close your hands
Regardless of the "government bankruptcy-debt restructuring" of European countries, if the Japanese government dares to follow suit, it will immediately become the "chicken" used to warn the monkeys.
Not to mention the Anglo-Japanese alliance, it involves vital interests, and it is useless to ignore any alliance. In this regard, the British government is the most realistic.
To use the most popular phrase in the international media to describe it: "The one who dares to rely on the British account must be the land power country". If you want to be specific, you can also add a Russian Empire after it.
Up to now, only the tsarist government has been able to get rid of the British account successfully and has not received "cordial condolences" from the Royal Navy.
Including the countries of the European Continental Union, bankruptcy is fun now, and still no one says that they are ready to default on their debts. One by one the requests are: partial loan interest relief, or a grace period for payment.
They have a backstage, but they really have no money, and the British government can't help it. The creditors can only accept the debt restructuring with a sad face. After all, it is better to be able to recover the cost than to lose everything.
If you change the Japanese government, don't think about this kind of treatment. The strategy of going south has failed, and the Russians have not moved eastward. The value of Japan to Britain has dropped to a low point, and it is not worth the British government to sell their face.
…
Of course, Franz did not know about the suffering the Japanese government was facing. Although the memory of the past life has faded over time, it still does not affect his dissatisfaction with the Meiji government.
The price of the labor expedition is too high, and it’s okay to beat the sap in secret. What is more comforting is that the Japanese government, which has been severely beaten by the society, has now thought that the public relations of the Spanish government played a role.
Since the Japanese have misunderstood, let them misunderstand, just be the hero behind the scenes, and Franz has always stayed away from things that draw hatred in the limelight.
Franz no longer cares about the next international mediation. As long as the British government does not have water in its head, Japan's withdrawal from the South China Sea is a foregone conclusion.
Franz would be even happier if the British government jumped out to support Japan at this time. As long as the event escalates, it's Britain versus the Continental League.
If it really becomes "the eighteen princes asking for Dong", then there is no need to do anything. In five years, Shinra will be the only world overlord.
It’s just that the hegemony obtained by this grouping is not stable. The Russian Empire, which is a good ally of Shinra, is likely to seize India; and the United States of America, which is far away in the Americas, may also take the opportunity to annex Canada.
This is not a problem of 1+1=2, and mass production will also cause qualitative changes. Whether it is Russia annexing India, or the United States annexing Canada, they all have the potential to become world hegemons.
Shinra alone is not cowardly. Although the current Russian Empire has fewer internal conflicts, the price paid is a substantial reduction in population, and the quantitative advantage of gray animals no longer exists.
Even if India is obtained, with the bureaucratic efficiency of the tsarist government, it will not be transformed into national strength in the short term.
The United States, known as the country of choice, is now a shrunk version. Not only does the southern region and Alaska disappear, but more importantly, the quality of the population has been greatly reduced, and domestic racial conflicts have risen sharply.
It is a pity that the Virgin Mary is not popular now. The government of the United States relied on force to suppress the contradiction. Otherwise, if they sent them a saint, there would be no problem.
A single family of Shinra can't hold back, if these two guys from all over the world join hands, things will not be so easy to handle.
The direct use of violent beatings is obviously unrealistic. Every time a war of this level broke out, it was a heavy blow to the Shinra Empire.
Especially since these guys are big, they can't be killed with a stick. The French next door is an example. Before it has recovered from the trauma of the war, the domestic voices clamoring for revenge have begun to rise.
Although King Carlos has tried his best to suppress it, in a country that advocates freedom, it is impossible not to let people speak.
Hatred will continue. If you really become a world hegemon all the way, it is estimated that the hatred will overturn Shinra's hegemony before Shinra himself falls.
As long as he thinks of Britain, France, Russia, the United States or more countries taking revenge together, Franz feels his scalp tingle. Fighting all the way, what is the road of hegemony, it is clearly the road of suicide leading to hell.
Not only destroying himself, but also dragging the entire human civilization to hell. It seems that the original time and space mustache did this, and the awesome Third Reich soon became history in the war.
Since you can't go all the way to A, then the overlord of Britain should be left alone for the time being. As long as the British do not commit suicide, it is not a problem to support them for another ten or eight years.
Shinra just took advantage of this time to continue to practice his internal skills, and after he has an absolute strength advantage, he will go over to take over. Lest the strength is not good, it will be taken advantage of by others.
For now, don't do anything, just deal with the economic crisis honestly! If the European continent collapses, no matter what hegemony is, "the flower in the mirror and the moon in the water" will collapse at a touch.
…
Prime Minister Carr: "Your Majesty, the list of the first batch of specially dispatched workers has been finalized. They come from 13 countries including Saskatchewan, Belgium, and Switzerland, with a total of 468,000 people. It is expected to start boarding ships to go overseas next week.
The recruitment of the second and third batches of laborers is almost the same. The number of applicants was unexpectedly high, with more than 18 million applicants as of last week, and it seems that governments around the world are underreporting the crisis. "
There is no way. The "labor dispatch plan" was originally intended to solve the unemployment rate of the younger brother. With the participation of other European countries, the scope of recruitment has also expanded to the entire European continent.
Don't look at the ratio of the number of applicants for recruitment is only 1:6, it doesn't seem to be very many, and any job fair in the future can add a zero to the end.
The problem is that the base is large. 18 million people signed up to recruit three million workers. Even though some of them have jobs, there are still more unemployed people who did not sign up because they were unwilling to work in the colonies.
From the data analysis, it can be determined that the unemployment rate of European countries has far exceeded the information provided by the governments of various countries.
Franz now understands why the economic summit is progressing so fast. With such a high unemployment rate, governments of various countries are sitting on the powder keg every day, and the efficiency is not high.
Not to mention that the conditions of the Vienna government are not excessive, no matter how harsh the conditions are, in order to maintain their own rule, they can only accept it.
"Um!"
After a pause, Franz asked with concern: "Is the language teacher in place?"
The scope has been expanded, and the original labor dispatch plan has also undergone qualitative changes. If it weren't for fear of arousing the vigilance of governments, Franz would have already opened up recruitment.
Attracting immigrants is secondary, and the most important thing is to promote language and culture and expand the soft power of the empire.
Whether you like to admit it or not, the most widely used language these days is English, followed by Spanish, and Austrian is not as widely used as French.
Because of historical problems, French has the reputation of "aristocratic language", so that European aristocrats went to learn French. Even as France declined, the language of European diplomacy remained French.
If people don't want to learn about language and culture, you can't force it into people's minds.
Overseas is a little better, because after defeating France, Shinra has become more attractive to people of insight who are eager to learn to save the nation, and even the wind of learning the Austrian language.
The European continent will not work. They are all old neighbors. Who doesn't know who
If you say that Shinra has the biggest fist, everyone will believe it; if you want to say that Shinra's culture is better, go fooling the ghost!
Wudou can't compare to you, and Wendou is still not cowardly. Regardless of whether it is a divided Italy or a declining Greece, in terms of history and culture, it is the existence that hangs Shinra.
If it weren't for the banner of Roman heir, Franz himself would be embarrassed to publicize his long history and culture. But it's okay to take this thing overseas to fool people, so don't humiliate yourself in continental Europe.
It's not that the Vienna government didn't make efforts, but when it comes to art, the French and Italians are obviously more professional.
As the saying goes, "the country is unfortunate and the poet is fortunate." Now that the country is developing well, those works of art that worry about the country and the people will naturally not come out.
In contrast, divided Italy and defeated France both provided the best stage for literati and writers to create. Various works of art are now spewing out.
If you can't compare with art, you can only play with technology. The economic crisis is the best opportunity. Others may not learn it, but those who go to work in the overseas territories of Shinra must learn the Austrian language.
Whoever owns the site is the master. When you arrive at the place, you must not only learn the language, but also change your living habits.