Chapter 570 After the War (Part 2)
Franz still likes people like Tasan Anna. After all, this kind of guy has a self-awareness of being a "benevolent king".
On the contrary, Juan Pablo Duarte, the former president of Dominica, has overestimated his capabilities.
First, he held democratic elections to dilute his power, and then he was directly driven out of Dominica by Pedro Santana's coup.
Franz spent a lot of effort to get the former Dominican president to Austria, but the latter actually wanted Austria to send troops to help him suppress the rebellion.
Franz sent someone to tell him that the time had not come yet and to be patient. In exchange, Juan Pablo Duarte escaped overnight.
Franz didn't know how this guy escaped from Vienna, or how he escaped from Austria to France. But even thinking about it with his buttocks, the French hands had already reached into Vienna and even reached Franz's side.
It's just that Duarte is far less important than the French spy thought, especially since the former Dominican president was unwilling to even agree to some of the small "additional conditions" proposed by Louis Philippe.
This made the head of the Orleans Dynasty very dissatisfied, but what made him even more unexpected was that Duarte dared to urge France to send troops as soon as possible.
At this time, Marshal Soult's cabinet firmly opposed Louis Philippe's plan to return to Haiti. In the eyes of these veterans who had experienced the Haitian Independence War, this behavior was seeking death.
(There are two countries on the island of Haiti, one is Haiti and the other is Dominica. I have mentioned them before, so I won’t go into details here.)
You must know that Haiti once defeated three powerful colonial powers, Spain, Britain, and France, killed hundreds of thousands of white people, and then enslaved a white country.
No major power dared to look down upon him. The French cabinet even suspected that Austria had deliberately released this person. After all, they had not received any news that the Austrians were preparing to attack Haiti.
Although Duarte's reputation is not low, no politician wants to make a deal with such a fool. Not to mention that Pedro Santana had already sent people to contact France, hoping to use the latter's power to fight Haiti.
One has a false reputation, and the other holds great power. Everyone knows how to choose, but the country of Dominica is really not worth such a large investment.
If France loses another 35,000 troops in Haiti, I am afraid Prime Minister Sirte can retire early. After all, the previous Luxembourg crisis and Alsace-Lorraine incident have already discredited him.
The first time, Jean Durde and Guizot took the blame. Last time, Grouchy took the blame. Who will take the blame next time? Who has this weight? His Majesty the King is a non-stick pan, he is the first citizen of France and a moral model, so he is the only one left who is an antique from the Napoleonic era.
Not only did the Prime Minister object, but the Finance Minister also held up the deficit statement. France now needs too much money, and the Battle of Alsace-Lorraine stimulated the military.
War Minister Alexandre Morin demanded that a series of military research projects be put into effect immediately, as well as a comprehensive update of equipment and a continued increase in the number of standing troops, otherwise he would not be able to guarantee France's security.
(Historically, Alexander Moran came to power in 1845, but at this time France was developing much faster than in history. Soult was old and had too many things to do, so he could not preside over the army reform and had to give way. For young people.)
At this time, France's standing army ranked first in Europe, with 620,000, equivalent to the sum of the two great powers of Prussia and Austria, and with it came outrageous expenses.
The French navy has a thousand ships transporting soldiers and supplies to the colonies alone. In addition, they often fight tough battles, and this consumption will increase exponentially. France's military expenditure is now the largest in Europe.
In addition, the Minister of Transport was also greatly stimulated. After visiting the UK and the German region, he sadly discovered that what the Germans said was true.
The speed of French trains has lagged behind. Although it is faster than the Spaniards who travel at 20 kilometers per hour, it is not enough to make the Gallic chickens proud.
Moreover, France was defeated in its mobilization ability in both conflicts with the German Confederation. The military also supported the Secretary of Transportation's railway reform plan, but the money required to invest was astronomical.
Louis-Philippe was so annoyed by this group of people asking for money that he simply chose to leave. The remaining navy and colonial ministers could only ask Soult for money.
The latter have no choice but to find a solution to the financial consortium, but these people are bankers, not philanthropists, and they are not interested in investments that do not know when the cost will be recovered.
At the same time, there is another point, that is, they cannot raise so much money, because their counterparts in the German region are busy investing in their own countries.
Historically, French bankers borrowed money from the German region to develop France. The frugal money of the nobles of the Austrian Empire was also invested in France, which was why it was able to develop so rapidly.
Franz mainly relied on technological innovation to develop the Austrian economy, but financiers were not fools. When they saw that there was money to be made, they would naturally try their best to participate.
Of course, there are also some who plan to find another way. Franz has killed several batches, and thanks to their money, the Austrian economy can develop more rapidly and steadily.
Duarte could not see King Louis Philippe and Prime Minister Soulte for many days, and he felt that these people were avoiding him.
Then Duarte decided to ignore the guards and found the right moment to stop Louis Philippe's car.
Louis Philippe, who was in the carriage, had just received news from Vienna that the intelligence system that had cost millions of francs to build had been uprooted by the Austrians.
He was in anger when the carriage suddenly stopped suddenly. Since Louis Philippe did not like Austrian goods, his carriage still had wooden tires and no new shock absorbers were installed, causing his forehead to hit directly in front of him. on the seat.
Louis Philippe climbed out of the carriage in embarrassment, and was furious when he saw Duarte.
"What do you want to do? I have been treating you like a distinguished guest, and look what you have done!"
Although Louis-Philippe was very angry, his tone and words were relatively mild. This gave Duarte the illusion that the other party was not a serious concern and that his own country's affairs were more important.
"Your Majesty the King, I have considered the suggestions you gave me. I think the Dominican Republic can reduce the 1% tariff on French goods, but you should immediately send troops to help my people regain democracy and justice, and eliminate that potential threat."
"No! Sir, France will not fight a war thousands of kilometers away for a 1% tariff reduction, let alone sacrifice the precious lives of French soldiers for this.
Please come back, I don't want to see you again. Your justice is only your personal justice. I don’t think the people of Dominica will recognize your civil war behavior! "
Louis Philippe really couldn't bear it anymore. He had never seen anyone stingier than himself.
Louis Philippe returned to the car holding his forehead, leaving Duarte alone and messy in the wind.