Washington, different feelings for the same Christmas. The impact of this war on the United States was relatively small. Except for the slight impact on import and export trade, the United States was still peaceful in general.
However, this is only an appearance. Political sidings have dealt a fatal blow to the United States.
Washington has applied to the Continental Alliance many times, hoping to withdraw from this war. Unfortunately, the Continental Alliance has not responded.
Anyone who is familiar with politics knows that they are not afraid of the enemy's appetite, but they are afraid of being ignored by the enemy. There is a big appetite, and there is room for negotiation; being ignored, even if you want to talk, you can't start.
With the surrender of the British Empire, the last ray of hope for the United States was tossed away.
The strength of the United States surpasses that of the Americas, but compared with the Continental Alliance, it is a small bean.
The people are still celebrating Christmas happily, unaware that the crisis is approaching, but nothing can be done in the White House.
"Has the Vienna government responded?"
President Theodore Roosevelt asked expectantly.
Secretary of State Peter Niedermeier: "The response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Holy Roman Empire is, let's wait for a follow-up notification and everything will be resolved at the Vienna Peace Conference.
Judging from the current situation, we are afraid to be sad this time. Mainly because the British surrendered too quickly, leaving us too late to react. "
There is no doubt that "the British surrendered quickly" was just an excuse. The reason why the United States is really wearing small shoes is that its own development potential is too great.
Of course, the siege of Austrian Central America by the United States in the Organization of America was also one of the reasons why they received special care.
Now the British Empire has declined, but there is still a lot of accumulated information. The overall industrial strength is second only to Shinra, and it is still at the top level in the world in some subdivisions.
Just like the Soviet Union after the collapse, whoever inherits the Soviet Union's legacy is the military power second only to the United States.
The United States is too closely connected with the British, or the capital of the two countries is too closely connected. After the war, the British capital is bound to leave the mainland to find a more suitable survival air force.
Although the European continent is close, the capital power of the European world itself is not weak, and there are more powerful aristocratic constraints, which is obviously not suitable for them.
Looking at the world, there are not many countries that can accommodate the transfer of British capital. Taking into account the racial factors, the only countries that can really accept British capital are the United States, the Confederate States, and Brazil.
As for countries within Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela, the population is too small to accommodate too much capital.
A closer look reveals that Brazil is impossible. Not only is the population limited, but there are still a lot of internal conflicts. Revolution may break out at any time. The uncertainty is too high.
Although the situation of the Confederate countries is slightly better, they are playing the plantation economy, and there is obviously not enough space for capital operation.
The United States is the best choice. Whether it is population, resources, or social background, it is suitable for the development of capital.
If there is no external intervention, after the withdrawal of British capital from the mainland, the first choice is the United States.
Once the capitalists are allowed to transfer capital and technology to the United States, it will be a rising emerging power, which is very detrimental to Shinra's global layout.
It takes too much effort to specifically intercept each capitalist, and it is still hard to guard against. In contrast, it is much simpler to start directly with the United States.
As the so-called fans of the authorities, the Americans who are deeply involved in it simply do not think so much. After all, the strength of the United States is limited these days, and there are still a lot of internal contradictions. It is really not worthy of the hegemony's fear.
"Then we have to change our strategy, not only to lobby the Vienna government, but also to keep up with the PR to other countries."
Unsure of the reason for being specifically targeted, Theodore Roosevelt had no choice but to treat dead horses as living horse doctors and increase the scope of public relations.
This is destined to be an uneasy Christmas. Almost all the dignitaries of the Ocean Alliance member states are worried about the future of their own countries.
Even if it is a timely job-hopping, it is no exception. "Two or five boys" are not welcome anywhere.
During the war, because of practical needs, the Vienna government accepted everyone's surrender, which does not mean that everyone can enjoy the treatment of allies.
Just look at the ongoing conference on dividing the spoils in Vienna, and you can see that the countries participating in the conference were all early members of the Continental Alliance, and none of the latecomers.
The neutral countries that joined the alliance midway through were fine. Although they did not contribute much to the war, the political side finally caught up.
The countries that changed jobs in the later period were different. With the label of "two or five boys" on their heads, they were destined to be impossible to be trusted.
In particular, the unfortunate ones who sent troops to participate in the war not only have to pay for their losses, but also "special care" in the future.
It's too late to regret, no matter what you do now, you can't make up for the political mistakes of the earlier period. Even in order to consolidate the internal relations of the alliance, the Vienna government must "discriminately treat" countries.
Those who follow along will have meat to eat; those who watch the fun will continue to watch the fun when the meat is divided; those who stand on the wrong team and defect in time will have to pay the price; those who carry it to the end are the meat on the chopping board.
…
Time flies by, and the day of the Vienna Peace Conference is getting closer and closer. Delegations from various countries arrived in Vienna one after another, and public opinion was ignited.
When interviewed by the media, the representatives of the victorious countries were in high spirits, while the representatives of the defeated countries were downcast.
Even cartoon publications that have nothing to do with politics have come out to join in the fun and come up with a series of satirical stories.
For example: "Knights and Bandits Series", "Pirate Doomsday", "Animal World War"...
There are even more related literary works. Literati and writers from all over Europe are working hard to write about this war with extreme exaggeration.
It is completely opposite to the anti-war thought after the original time and space world war. It can only be said that it did not hurt everyone. Except for the British who licked their wounds, other European people did not feel deeply.
The casualties are heavy, that is the number on paper, and it can't even keep up with the anti-French war. Except for the British bombs, which killed a few unfortunate people, the European people did not feel that the war was approaching.
The bloodiest wars were fought in the Far East, the subcontinent, and Africa, not Europe at all.
Although the Continental Alliance also lost nearly one million people, these losses were shared by more than 20 countries, of which the Russian family contributed most of them.
The casualties were not large, and the results of the battle were substantial, so everyone's feelings were naturally different.
Although there is a lack of classics, compared with the classics created by tragedy, it is obvious that real happiness is more important.
The eyes of the world were all focused on the Vienna Peace Conference, and the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instantly became full of traffic, and there was an endless stream of people who came to visit every day.
When it comes to national interests, it is obviously not enough to entrust favors and relationships, but who doesn't want to have a better relationship with the boss
After all, this world is a human society. When it does not involve the interests of one's own country, impressions and perceptions are very important.
Shinra is now the world hegemon, even if he just helps to say a word, many times he can solve the problem.
If it weren't for the fact that Shinra's anti-corruption campaign was too strong, it is estimated that one of the top officials of the Vienna government would count as one, and all of them would make a lot of money.
Giving gifts to officials is too risky. If a big hat that corrupts Shinra government officials is buckled, it will be all over.
If you can't give gifts to ministers, then find a way to give gifts to the emperor. Recently, Franz received gifts with a soft hand.
It's not that he wants to receive gifts, it's really too chicken thief to give gifts. In order to give gifts and trust relationships, the European royal family is another family, and it can always be related to relatives.
It is euphemistically called to strengthen the relationship between relatives. If you don't accept it, you will not give face, and it will hurt the face of the other party.
In theory, this is a normal exchange between royal families. According to the tradition of ritual exchanges, it will be repaid in the future.
In other words, it has become a normal etiquette exchange, and it is still the kind that really needs to be paid back.
If he had just succeeded to the throne and was poor and needed capital turnover, Franz would naturally not refuse such a gift.
It's different now, there is no shortage of money in the pocket, and receiving gifts means receiving trouble. Not only to appreciate the love, but also to prepare a gift of equivalent value to send back in the future.
After only passing a circle in my hand, Mao didn't catch it in the end, and the social impact was not good.
The more I think about Franz, the more I feel that something is wrong. Gift-giving is the second thing. It is clear that the royal families are taking advantage of the opportunity.
Nominally, gifts are given in the name of each royal family, but the expenses are all paid for by the governments of various countries. He borrows his hand to turn around, and it will return to the hands of the royal families in the future, and it will become legal income.
After seeing the truth, Franz could only accept it obediently. It can only be said that the emperor can't escape the relationship between people.
There are many royal families in Europe, not all of them are rich, and there are also high debts.
The main reason is that private property and state property are clearly distinguished in the European world. The money of the state is not equal to the money of the king. On the contrary, the money of the king has nothing to do with the government.
The king can use the money in the treasury, but he can't kick it into his own pocket. In addition to the normal annuity, you can only rely on your own business.
If it is a big country, the annuity income is not bad. As long as the population is not too large, the normal expenses of the royal family can be maintained. With a little bit of financial savvy, you can live a very nourishing life when you are young.
In a small country, it is different. The government revenue is small, and the king's annuity is naturally not high enough, and it is simply not enough to maintain the monarch's reputation.
But the face of the monarch cannot be lost, no one cares about how to live behind the scenes, and the dignity on the face must be maintained.
If the annuity is not enough, you can only find a way to fill the hole. It's fine if it's done right, but it's a tragedy if it doesn't work.
As far as Franz knew, seven or eight royal families were borrowing to get by. Not that they were profligate, but mostly bad luck.
For example, in the Italian states, except for the Pope, who is not short of money, the other monarchs are very poor.
This is the fault of the French. During the war, everyone lost their manor land, and because of the restoration, they used up their accumulated wealth, and some even owed a lot of debt.
As for why Franz is so clear, it is naturally: as a creditor, it is difficult to think clearly.
The Royal Bank has already given them an extension and another extension. If it was placed on the heads of ordinary people, they would have been bankrupt and liquidated long ago.
In order to make money, these royal families have become the center of the fashion circle. Fortunately, they also know their self-esteem and have not become the spokesperson of luxury goods.
No one's moral integrity is much higher. This kind of opportunity to make a fortune justifiably, as long as the first company takes the lead, there will naturally be people who follow suit.
Anyway, the more you give away, the more you will recycle in the future, even if you don’t want to be generous. It happened to catch up with the post-war interest distribution threshold, no matter how reluctant the governments of various countries are, they can only recognize it.
You can't give it to everyone else, just your family
I didn't look, there were still a bunch of people who wanted to give gifts, but couldn't, and one or two were almost red-eyed.
Politics is also sophistication. As the leader of the monarchy world, Franz can't stop everyone from getting rich.
Hello, I, Hello, everyone, is the basis for the long-term maintenance of an interest group. It's just a matter of convenience, and it's natural to help.
If you study it carefully, you will find that you can appear on the gift list, and it is the protagonist of this spoils-sharing meeting.
I don't know how future generations will evaluate it. Anyway, Franz knew that the relationship between Shinra and European countries became more and more intimate through a shameful transaction.
In fact, this is just a small episode in Vienna and before the meeting. There are also many interest transactions, which are constantly being staged here.
Before the conference opened, the Vienna government signed more than 100 large commercial orders, of which the arms orders alone accounted for half.
The deal has been completed in advance, and when the Vienna Peace Conference opens, there is not much to do.
Aside from the fact that the defeated country is still selling out and praying for everyone's sympathy, the Continental Alliance is basically harmonious, except for the strong dissatisfaction of the Russians.
Franz himself was amazed that a good international conference was turned into sophistication and insider trading.
But the reality is like this. The Holy Roman Empire is the dominant family. As the second child, the Russian Empire is not only isolated by various countries, but also busy fighting civil wars, and has no energy to stab at it.
Going forward, Spain, as the third child, is really too weak, not to mention fighting with Shinra, it would be good to be able to maintain the status of the empty powerhouses.
Looking at the whole world, there is no one that can fight, and Britain, which has a little strength, is still a defeated country.
Under the monopoly of one family, as long as the Vienna government is willing, it can completely turn Hehui into its own one-word hall.
It is estimated that many countries are now regretting that they should not have been fooled during the Anti-French War, so that Shinra became bigger.
It is a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world. The Holy Roman Empire has become a general trend. Only one family is left to formulate the rules, and everyone can only follow behind.
In addition to regret, it is estimated that many countries are still secretly fortunate: the Vienna government, as always, pays attention to eating, otherwise life will not be able to pass.