Chapter 378 Spreading the Net
Chapter 378 Spreading the Net
Uh, you, Franz with thick eyebrows and big eyes, are indeed an old liar. You cheated such a beautiful Princess Sissi, but you are still greedy and come to the capital to take advantage of me?
You are dreaming, the Qing Dynasty and Austria-Hungary divide the Ottoman Empire? Both sides contribute? I think you are just expecting me to contribute.
If you could defeat the Ottoman Empire, you would have done it long ago. Why would you travel all the way to Beijing to find me?
You saw the mechanized tank division of the Huai Army easily wiped out the 250,000-man Loire Army, and you wanted to instigate me to fight Turkey, so you followed behind to pick up the slack, right? If I really wanted to destroy Turkey, why not do it myself? Is there any need for me to cooperate with you and give you half?
Historically, it was the Russians who launched the tenth Russo-Turkish War, which severely weakened Türkiye's strength. You took advantage of the opportunity to attack Serbia, which triggered the First World War.
Now my Crimean Principality controls the Black Sea, and the Russians have obtained their technology sharing, and are now manufacturing tanks and armored vehicles.
With the sea of tanks, the Russians probably don't want to go through the trouble of crossing the Caucasus Mountains and heading south to attack Turkey. They must be holding back and sending their tank army to push forward from the plains of East Europe.
The Russo-Turkish war cannot be fought, so you come here to trick me into fighting Türkiye, right?
However, it is a good thing that Austria-Hungary is interested in the Balkans, the powder keg of Europe. How can I weaken the British big brother if Europe does not fight?
Shao Quanzhong rolled his eyes, "Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness. To be honest, it's not a problem for me to deal with Turkey. The problem is that Türkiye has the British support behind it. How dare I offend the British boss?"
Franz waved his hand. "Britain's support for Türkiye is a habit after the Crimean War. Now Britain's national policy is to win over Russia and France to besiege Germany."
"Russia and Türkiye are sworn enemies. If Britain wants to win over Russia, it must give up Türkiye, so Britain will not care whether Türkiye lives or dies."
"I will not use the Huai Army in vain. After we join forces to conquer Tu, we will be comrades-in-arms who have been tested by war. In the future, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will advance and retreat with the Qing Dynasty in international affairs and become a firm ally."
Ah! You are willing to stand with me, but I am not. I know that you will disintegrate and be destroyed after one battle, so who will stand with you?
You can't fool me with this. If you want to borrow my power, you have to do something practical.
Shao Quanzhong looked at Franz with a smile, "Qing has signed an alliance with Britain and Turkey to jointly fight against Russia. Although the two sides are no longer fighting and we have also formed an alliance with Russia, we still have a relationship of friendship, so Qing must not send troops."
Seeing Franz's disappointed face, Shao Quanzhong patted the back of Franz's hand and said, "However, Your Majesty has come all the way to the Qing Kingdom and specifically asked to see me. This is a great honor for me."
"Shao is a particular person. If anyone gives me face, I must repay him. Let me put it this way. I have an idea. We don't want the Asian and African parts of Turkey, but you have a chance to get the Balkans."
"Look, we in the Qing Dynasty don't dare to provoke the British big brother, but there are people who dare to provoke. My plan is this..."
After hearing Shao Quanzhong's plan, Franz was delighted. "Thank you so much. Shao, you are such an open-minded person."
Shao Quanzhong touched the back of his head and laughed, "Those who cooperate with Shao will get benefits, don't worry."
In the corner, Hou Batian's ghost objected, but the objection was ineffective because Franz did not know Hou Batian.
If Song Qing knew about Zhang Zhidong's plan of killing three birds with one stone, he would also strongly oppose it.
Li Xuyi, who fought against Chen Yucheng with the Huai Army, had coughed up blood eight years ago and died young. Until his death, he was still worried about the large landmines he encountered while pursuing the King of Ying who was about to be captured...
Zeng Guoquan is still puzzled as to why the huge amount of money that the Taiping Army had accumulated over more than ten years disappeared after they cooperated with the Huai Army to attack Nanjing?
Shao Quanzhong said that attacking friendly forces and betraying teammates are common operations, which are laughable and ridiculous.
"Shao can only do this much. Once Türkiye is weakened and Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria no longer have the support of the Ottoman Empire, if you, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, still cannot take them, then don't blame me."
"No problem. I don't care about the small countries in the Balkans."
"Shao, you are so open-minded. I have received your help for nothing. I am worried. If you have any requests, please feel free to ask."
Shao Quanzhong subconsciously glanced at Princess Sissi, who was dazzling him, and quickly looked away.
"Well, Brother Fu, what do you think? The Qing Dynasty is so backward now. What's the use of the Huai Army alone? It has no stamina. It still needs the support of advanced countries like the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
"I heard that Bailu's special steel is quite good, and Skoda's machine tools are of very high quality, world-class."
"We in Qing are in need of experts and technicians who know how to make steel, and the more skilled we are in machining, the better. We have a large territory, so there aren't enough of them, so—"
Oh, Prince Shao knows a lot about the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It's okay. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is the heart of Europe. Vienna is full of talents, including technicians. Franz waved his hand and said, "We in the Austro-Hungarian Empire do not have the industrial capacity of Germany, France, and the United States. We cannot provide too much support, but we will do our best to help the Qing Dynasty, our sincere ally!"
…………
On June 15, the tenth year of the Tongzhi reign, Prince Rui of the Qing Dynasty, General Fuyuan, and Grand Tutor Shao Quanzhong signed the "Agreement on Austro-Hungarian Aid to the Qing Capital" with Emperor Franz I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in a certain pavilion of the Leopard House.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire sent one hundred steelmaking experts and technicians and two hundred mechanical experts and technicians to Hailing to provide free aid to the Qing Dynasty.
No, the Qing Dynasty has no obligations.
Skoda is a very famous company. How did Shao Quanzhong know about Bailu, a very obscure company?
Well, the Northeast Arsenal built by Master Shao in his previous life was the largest in Asia, and its name was also called "Good Fruit Company". It introduced the Feldkanone M18 field gun from Bailu Company, which was called "Fengzao 77th Year Type 30mm -caliber field gun" in China, with a range of meters.
Once this cannon was introduced, Haoguozi Company's cannon-making technology was far ahead in the country.
At that time, Bailu Company raised the price to clear the inventory and asked for double the price. Mr. Shao bought it all with a wave of his hand. It seems like a loss, right? Other powers would not sell their good things to you if you paid money.
Mr. Shao’s reputation for a big head did not start now. To have a big head you must first be rich and then dare to invest money in key areas.
It is said that if you lose money you can rob again, but not if you lose arms. Once a warlord is defeated, everything will be wiped out. Shao Quanzhong understands this better than anyone else.
The Leopard Room sent frequent telegrams, and the Qing Dynasty's ambassador to Germany, Wu Ziyi, was ordered to visit the founder of the Battenberg family, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, whose full name was Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil.
The prince held the dual military rank of Austrian and Russian general.
He also made a special meeting with Prince Alexander's son, Prince Alexander I of Battenberg, whose full name was Alexander Joseph of Battenberg.
Prince Alexander I of Battenberg was only fourteen years old and had extremely complicated personal connections.
Born in Germany, he is the nephew of the Russian Queen and is related to the British royal family by blood.
Shao Quanzhong planned to make Bulgaria independent from the Ottoman Empire and fire the first shot against Turkey. Alexander I was the only candidate to rule Bulgaria recognized by all the powers.
Afterwards, Wu Ziyi made a whirlwind trip to Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece, and began to secretly form an anti-Turkish alliance. He also visited Romania to discuss the issue of the Crimean Volunteer Army passing through Bulgaria.
Romania also wanted to formally become independent from the Ottoman Empire. If Bulgaria became independent, Romania would become an enclave and the Ottoman Empire would no longer be able to control it at all. This was definitely a solution.
Serbia and Montenegro wanted independence from Ottoman rule more than Bulgaria. Greece was Turkey's mortal enemy, and had cooperated with the Qing Dynasty to fight Türkiye... Therefore, an anti-Turkish alliance was bound to be established.
On the French side, two Irish youth volunteer divisions announced that they had completed their mission to aid France, left France, went to Cadiz, and boarded the Spanish Royal Navy fleet to the Grand Duchy of Crimea.
The next step is to train the Russian volunteer guerrillas of the Grand Duchy of Crimea. The red-haired men will also join the Crimean Volunteer Army going to Bulgaria and directly participate in the war.
Goal: To overthrow Türkiye's rule in Bulgaria, raise the banner of rebellion and launch the first uprising, and then the "Balkan Anti-Turkish Alliance" will act together to bring chaos to the Balkans...
The two Irish youth volunteer divisions were led by Garibaldi, the top general under Zhang Siwen, the leader of the Fenian International, one of the founding fathers of Italy and the father of modern guerrilla warfare.
Shao Quanzhong sat in the Leopard House, weaving a big net, preparing to provoke the First Balkan War, and Türkiye could not escape.
Franz took his wife to rest. Maria went to send a telegram on the orders of Shao Quanzhong. Ping'er was fine and sneaked over.
"Your Highness, I just noticed that you looked at Princess Sissi with a strange look in your eyes. Do you have any thoughts about her? Princess Sissi's husband is an old man. You are much younger and more handsome than him, and you are also a world-famous hero. I will contact him for you, maybe..."
Shao Quanzhong glared at her, "Who do you think I am? My husband is here, how can I do such a vulgar thing?"
Ping'er admires Shao Quanzhong's noble character very much——
Shao Quanzhong then muttered quietly, "Wait until she becomes the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, and then study this matter."
what? !
(End of this chapter)