Chapter 355: Cooperation will benefit both parties, while fighting will cause both parties to lose.
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz was very willing to see the confrontation between Britain and France. After all, when a cannon is fired, gold is worth ten thousand taels, and middlemen and dealers are the most profitable. If you don't believe it, you can read the history of the United States.
In order to bring Britain and France to the situation they are in today, Franz spent a lot of effort and a lot of financial resources, but most of it was just to create discord between Britain and France, making it impossible for the two sides to easily reach cooperation.
After all, Britain was too powerful at this time and had gained many fans around the world, causing high-level officials in many countries to be pro-British.
This exaggerated political influence gave Franz a headache. For this reason, he had to weaken his influence, otherwise there would be no need to fight at all. As soon as Britain came to the negotiating table, it had a five-point chance of winning. How could it be fun?
For this reason, this war must be fought, otherwise Britain and France will discover an "objective law", that is, as long as they reach an agreement, they can carve up the world.
At this time, the United States was still too far away from its era, Russia was still trapped in the bathtub of the Black Sea, and Prussia's navy was like a toy.
Although the Portuguese and Dutch navies started early, their upper limit is too low and they are already in decline. As for the population and location limitations of the Kingdom of Sweden, it can only be a theoretical power.
The Ottoman Empire Navy was once the overlord in the Near East, but after two heavy losses, it has fallen into decline. Its philosophy is even more behind the times. It is one of the few countries that continues to develop sailing battleships in this era.
The Austrian Empire had money, technology, and naval warfare experts at this time, but the Adriatic Sea limited its upper limit very low. At this time, the British Mediterranean Fleet could block it at any time if it wanted to, and the rest was just The question of cost.
In order to avoid this situation of two divided worlds, Franz had to think intensively about how to break them up. Although there has never been a situation in history where Britain and France carve up the world, in terms of objective strength at this time, they do have this strength.
Divide the world? It sounds ridiculous and absurd, but in fact, as early as 1493, Spain and Portugal successively formulated the "Papal Meridian" under the witness of the Pope, and signed the "Treaty of Tordesillas" and the "Treaty of Zaragoza" ”, the two teeth successfully divided the world.
Although they all eventually declined and the agreement to carve up the world became invalid, they also proved that carving up the world was not impossible.
Colonization and industry are the two major themes of this era. If Austria gives up its overseas route, the ending and upper limit will not be much better than the historical Allies.
Buenos Aires, Governor's Palace.
The warm morning sun shines lazily on people.
Buenos Aires, the most developed city in the Viceroyalty of La Plata, now lacks some fireworks.
Juan Manuel raised the banner against Rosas (the current president). Juan Manuel was very popular in southern Argentina. In addition, Rosas's cruel rule had long made others Heartbroken, rebellions soon broke out in some northern provinces in addition to the seven southern provinces.
Argentina has a total of 24 provinces, but the population at that time was mainly concentrated in the southeastern coastal provinces.
Rosas first sent a force of 2,000 men to try to defeat the rebels. However, due to long-term lack of military pay, the sent troops defected on the battlefield.
Then, Rosas fell into chaos. He issued many contradictory orders in succession. On the one hand, he ordered the army besieging Montevideo to resolve the war within a week, and on the other hand, he required them to resolve the war within three days. He returned to Buenos Aires and at the same time sent a letter of request for help to Uruguay, asking the other party to help him put down the rebellion.
Rosas also sent letters for help to many countries. In addition to Britain and France, it even included Spain (former sovereign country), Brazil (sworn enemy), the United States, Mexico and other countries. Even Austria received his letter for help.
In the city of Buenos Aires, Orbu trees flutter in the wind, and the blooming peach blossoms and orange kapok complement each other.
The city's residents were gathered into the square, and the crowd was silent as this was the fifth group of people to be hanged by Rosas in three days.
At first it was some political prisoners and bandits, then the rebels’ family members and relatives, and then the rebels’ friends, neighbors, colleagues, and partners were also hanged. In the end, anyone with the same name or surname as the rebels was hanged. After catching up with the gallows, the people who are going to be hanged now are the people who Rosas thinks may be traitors.
Some people must have doubts about how such a cruel ruler could have soldiers working for him. After all, his life could be lost if he is not careful.
But in fact, Rosas treated his firing squad very well, and these people had complete immunity in Argentina. At the same time, any questioning of the leader's orders would be regarded as betrayal and would end up with the same fate as traitors.
So naturally there will be a lot of people willing to sacrifice their lives for Rosas. The square is filled with gallows, and groups of people are hanged. Everyone in the audience is silent, for fear of looking into the eyes of this terrifying ruler. .
The remains of the deceased were randomly thrown together, then burned in the fire, and floated outside the city along with the kapok.
In the temporary command post of the rebels outside the city, the Eighteenth Route Rebel King was discussing the issue of dividing the spoils after defeating Rosas.
Some people planned to celebrate after entering the city for seven days. Some people thought that the city should be slaughtered first to prevent Rosas from making a comeback. Some people proposed restoring the monarchy and inviting a king from Europe. Some people advocated inviting Saint Martin back from Paris to take charge of the overall situation.
Of course, there are also people who want to be kings or presidents, but at this time the rebels always lack an absolutely powerful force, that is, they do not have a political or military strongman, so they started quarreling before they entered the city.
At the same time, the French army and the British army met off the coast of Buenos Aires. The two sides did not fight but just showed off their muscles a few kilometers apart.
In the end, the French army landed in St. Matias Bay. They chose to avoid a head-on conflict with the British Royal Navy. The generals on both sides were not crazy. They knew what would happen if a war started.
Soldiers may not be afraid of death, but no one wants to die.
The fishermen in San Matias Bay looked at the well-equipped French troops and either fled desperately, or hid in their homes and knelt down to pray.
This made the French officers and soldiers who called themselves "liberators" feel very hurt. The French official explanation of this war was to rescue the people of the Viceroyalty of La Plata and return them to its true owner (Spain).
Rosas has been in power for more than ten years, and he once forced French expatriates to death. His misdeeds are so bad that there is no need to spread rumors. Against such a person, the French soldiers certainly feel that they are the just party.
At the same time, France and Spain are both under the rule of the Bourbon dynasty, and King Louis Philippe's youngest son Antoine will marry Queen Isabel II of Spain, so the French still have a high degree of recognition of this war.
However, the French officers and soldiers were still very hurt by the "confusion" of local civilians.
Counting French reinforcements outside Buenos Aires, the total strength of the rebels has reached 13,000. Rosas's strength was only 9,000 men, but there was a British Expeditionary Force of 3,000 men at the port.