Chapter 206: The Second Economic Crisis

While Spain's primary school compulsory education was going on hotly, on the Baerganbandao, the smoke of war had already filled the entire peninsula, covering all the ethnic groups living on this land.

Regarding the chaos and decline within the Ottoman Empire, the Eguozheng Prefecture government held an attitude of gloating. The Eguozheng Prefecture even vigorously supported several vassal states of the Ottoman Empire in terms of diplomacy, including Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, to resist the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Speaking of this, one has to mention the last Russo-Turkish War, that is, the treaty signed by various countries regarding the situation on the Baerganbandao after the Crimean War.

Among them, there was such a clause: various countries required the Ottoman Empire to implement partial reforms in the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, including giving the people of these two regions the power of religious freedom, reducing taxes in these two regions, and carrying out tax reform, etc.

The Ottoman government at that time expressed approval for this and indicated its willingness to implement relevant reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

But good times did not last long. After the end of the Crimean War, the reform of the Ottoman Empire not only had no movement but instead suppressed the uprisings and rebellions of various ethnic groups on the Baerganbandao more brutally.

This not only intensified the hatred between various ethnic groups on the Baerganbandao and the Ottoman Empire but also gave European powers led by the Eguozheng Prefecture the opportunity to participate in the situation on the Baerganbandao.

Under the vigorous support and call of the Eguozheng Prefecture, many countries and ethnic groups on the Baerganbandao united, expressed their dissatisfaction with the Ottoman Empire one after another, and joined the armed rebellion.

At present, except for the Kingdom of Greece, all the remaining countries on the Baerganbandao were vassal states of the Ottoman Empire. Any vassal state could not form a threat to the Ottoman Empire, but if all the vassal states united and had the support of the Russians behind them, it would already be a considerable threat to the Ottoman Empire.

In early July, the armed rebellion between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan ethnic groups had already begun to enter a stalemate stage.

The Ottoman Empire possessed advanced weapons and equipment from the United Kingdom and the Aodilizheng Prefecture, and the weapons and equipment of the rebel ethnic groups were not inferior at all, all coming from the provision of the Eguozheng Prefecture.

The Ottoman Empire had no tolerance for the rebellions between these Balkan ethnic groups, and for these rebels, there was only one way to deal with them, which was to use military force to brutally suppress them.

In just the month of July, the Ottoman Empire mobilized troops many times to armedly suppress the rebellion of the Balkan ethnic groups, destroying a total of hundreds of rebel teams, and thousands of people were affected, facing long prison sentences.

Although the Ottoman Empire was relatively rotten, behind the Ottoman Empire stood two traditional European powers, the Aodilizheng Prefecture and the British Empire, maintaining a significant lead in terms of weapons and equipment.

Even if the Balkan ethnic groups actively and enthusiastically participated in the rebellion and armed uprising against the brutal rule of the Ottoman Empire, they still could not cause too much threat to the Ottoman Empire.

As long as the Eguozheng Prefecture, a power, did not personally enter the field, the current situation on the Baerganbandao was acceptable to the Ottoman Empire.

This was also a problem that powers including the Aodilizheng Prefecture and the United Kingdom were concerned about, which was whether the Eguozheng Prefecture would personally enter the field? Participate in this conflict that had already attracted the attention of the whole of Europe?

Whether to participate or not was a question worth thinking about for other European countries, but for the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture, this question actually already had an answer.

There were two major contradictions between the Eguozheng Prefecture and the European powers, namely the contradiction with the Aodilizheng Prefecture over the Baerganbandao and the contradiction with the United Kingdom over Central Asia and East Asia.

And these two major contradictions were related to another major shortcoming of the Eguozheng Prefecture, which was that although the Eguozheng Prefecture had a vast territory, it lacked natural ice-free ports.

The three main outlets of the Eguozheng Prefecture at present faced the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Japan.

The Sea of Japan was located in the Far East and could not help the Eguozheng Prefecture's layout in Europe. In this case, the Eguozheng Prefecture's outlets to the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea appeared particularly important.

But these two outlets faced the crisis of being blocked by enemies. If the Eguozheng Prefecture wanted to go to the Atlantic Ocean from the Baltic Sea, it had to pass through the strait controlled by Denmark and pass through the North Sea area controlled by the United Kingdom.

If it wanted to enter the Indian Ocean or the Mediterranean from the Black Sea, it also had to pass through the Suyishiyunhe under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

It was impossible to solve the problem of the Baltic Sea outlet; after all, there were many neighboring countries in the Baltic Sea, and there was also a powerful country like Germany, which was one of the five traditional European powers.

Even if it controlled the Baltic Sea, it was useless; further west of the Baltic Sea was the sphere of influence of the British, and the British Navy could still block the Baltic Sea.

In this case, the relatively weak Ottoman Empire became the only choice for the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture to expand its outlets, which was also the reason for the multiple outbreaks of the Russo-Turkish War.

For Alexander II, this was a great opportunity that must not be missed, and it was also the best opportunity for the Eguozheng Prefecture to completely reach its hand into the Baerganbandao and seek to control the Suyishiyunhe.

Speaking of Alexander II, the reform of abolishing serfdom he promoted still had a great impact on the Eguozheng Prefecture. But at the same time, his reform was not thorough, and the Eguozheng Prefecture was essentially still that rotten empire, just having its life extended for a short time.

Comparing the entire Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture to a dam whose water storage was about to reach its limit of endurance, Alexander II's reform was to raise the height of the dam by a few meters, delaying the time for the dam to be full of water by a few decades.

But the dam would always be full of water, and the moment the water was full was the moment the rotten Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture fell apart.

At present, judging from the troop strength and the composition of weapons and equipment of both the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture, the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture possessed an absolute advantage.

As one of the most populous countries in Europe, the Eguozheng Prefecture's standing infantry reached a terrifying 720,000, and it possessed nearly 3,000 artillery pieces, distributed in 16 corps across the vast territory of the Eguozheng Prefecture.

And on the Ottoman Empire side, although it had undergone some reforms, the total troop strength possessed by the empire was only over 400,000. Compared with the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture, which possessed more than 3,000 artillery pieces, the number of artillery pieces of the Ottoman Empire was only about 800, a considerable part of which were relatively backward artillery.

However, considering that the aid from the United Kingdom was arriving continuously, the gap in weapons and equipment between the Ottoman Empire army and the Eguozheng Prefecture army would actually become smaller and smaller.

The Russian Empire's 720,000 troops were scattered across the vast regions of the Russian Empire, and the number of troops that could be used in the Balkan region was not large.

And the Ottoman Empire was not much different. Although it claimed to possess 400,000 troops, the troops deployed on the Balkan Peninsula were only about 280,000, and the remaining nearly 130,000 troops were located on the Sinai Peninsula, separated from the Balkan Peninsula by the Suez Canal.

As time came to September 1876, the war between Serbia and Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire became more and more scorched.

Yes, it was war. As vassal states, Serbia and Montenegro had already announced their declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire a few months ago, and the reason for the declaration of war was to recover the legal land illegally occupied by the Ottoman Empire.

Seeing that the fire on the Baerganbandao was becoming more and more fierce, the Aodilizheng Prefecture and the United Kingdom could only call on both sides to remain rational, and at the same time support the Ottoman Empire as much as possible to ensure that the Ottoman Empire possessed an advantage in this war.

In just the month of September, the United Kingdom transported a large amount of weapons and equipment and food supplies to the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire also relied on these weapons and equipment to fight back and forth with Serbia and Montenegro, and even in most cases could occupy the upper hand.

These precious aids from the United Kingdom were like a life-saving straw for the Ottoman Empire. Because as early as the end of last year, the Ottoman Empire had caused the empire's finance to collapse due to the great famine in the Sinai Peninsula, and it was even unable to maintain the existing army.

On the Aodilizheng Prefecture side, when the war on the Baerganbandao was fought exceptionally lively, the Aodilizheng Prefecture was already considering how to deal with it after the Eguozheng Prefecture intervened in the war.

Judging from the existing information mastered, it was difficult for the Russians not to intervene in this war, unless the United Kingdom directly announced that it would help the Ottoman Empire suppress the rebellion.

But this was obviously impossible. Unless there were sufficient interests, the British could not actively join this war.

Even if the British were really willing to join this war, was this a good thing for the Aodilizheng Prefecture? I am afraid not necessarily.

With the British personally entering the field, the Ottoman Empire would definitely be able to end the rebellion quickly, and there would be no need to worry about the danger of the Russians.

But the Ottoman Empire afterward would definitely be infiltrated by the British, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to infiltrate the Balkan region again, which would not be so easy.

It was precisely because of these reasons that the current Aodilizheng Prefecture was in a relatively vague attitude. If one had to say, the attitude of the Aodilizheng Prefecture was more like hoping that the Eguozheng Prefecture and the United Kingdom, which participated in the situation on the Baerganbandao, would all disappear, and it would be better if only one power, the Aodilizheng Prefecture, was left on this land.

The Aodilizheng Prefecture rarely maintained neutrality regarding the situation on the Baerganbandao, patiently waiting for the new round of diplomatic struggle between the United Kingdom and the Eguozheng Prefecture.

At the same time, Franz Joseph I ordered the Aodilizheng Prefecture's army to stand by at any time, ensuring that the Aodilizheng Prefecture could intervene in the war on the Baerganbandao at any time.

Although the Aodilizheng Prefecture did not intend to interfere in this war, based on the principle of seeing a share, no matter who won the final victory of this struggle, it had to ensure that the Aodilizheng Prefecture could eat a piece of meat in it.

If the Eguozheng Prefecture defeated the Ottoman Empire, then Franz Joseph I would choose to unite with the British, and even not hesitate to use the threat of war to force the Russians to make concessions, dividing the Baerganbandao into three, instead of letting the Russians swallow it all.

If the Ottoman Empire defeated the Eguozheng Prefecture, that would naturally be the best news. Not only could the situation on the Baerganbandao be maintained, but the ambition of the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture could also be further frustrated.

But the possibility of this idea was far lower than the first idea. Although the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture were both declining empires, the Ottoman Empire was obviously already dying, and although the Tsarist Eguozheng Prefecture was lingering, the lean camel was ultimately bigger than the horse.

Since the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the war on the Baerganbandao might be the liveliest news in Europe for some time.

It was precisely because of this that the Baerganbandao not only attracted the attention of the three major powers but also attracted a large number of newspaper media and Europeans who were concerned about this aspect of the news.

Spain was not idle during this time. On the one hand, it vigorously promoted primary school compulsory education and did a good job in the pilot work in the two regions of Catalonia and Madrid.

On the other hand, it secretly contacted the Ottoman Empire and the Eguozheng Prefecture to find opportunities for the export of Spain's weapons and equipment.

Besides weapons and equipment, other strategic materials including food could also be sold. Spain's environment in recent years had been relatively stable, and food production was also rising steadily, so taking out a part of food for export was no problem.

Seeing that the Eguozheng Prefecture and the Ottoman Empire on the Baerganbandao could not fight for a while, Gao Da also gradually began to pay attention to other things, especially regarding the response to the economic crisis.

Just as said at the cabinet meeting at the beginning of the year, after the estimation of the government and the financial department, there was a high probability of triggering the second round of economic crisis this year.

Facts were indeed so. Between February and March, the British economy ushered in a new round of fluctuations, and this fluctuation prompted the outbreak of the second round of economic crisis.

Fortunately, Spain had long been prepared for this, and the fluctuation of the economic crisis did not cause too serious an impact.

Of course, there was a big reason for this because the current Europe was still experiencing an economic crisis.

The impact brought by the first round of economic crisis could only be said to have weakened, but the economic crisis itself had not ended. As of the beginning of 1876, there were still many European countries whose economies were a mess, and industrial production had suffered relatively serious impacts.

In this case, although the second round of economic crisis affected many countries, it was no longer fatal compared to the first round of economic crisis.

Those enterprises that could not withstand the economic crisis had already gone bankrupt in the first round of economic crisis, and most of the remaining enterprises that could stand firm had the help of the government, so it was no problem to withstand the second round of economic crisis.

If the countries most seriously affected by the first round of economic crisis were Germany, the United States, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then the countries most seriously affected by the second round of economic crisis were the United Kingdom and France.

Relying on a large number of colonies, the United Kingdom and Falanxi persisted for a longer time in the first round of economic crisis, and the impact of the economic crisis on industry and economy was far less serious than in other countries.

But after the second round of economic crisis began, even if the United Kingdom and Falanxi could rely on colonies to suck blood, they obviously could not persist any longer.

But fortunately, many enterprises with unstable foundations had already gone bankrupt in the first round of economic crisis, and the impact brought by the second round of economic crisis was really limited, which was not worth mentioning for countries with such huge economies and industries like the United Kingdom and Falanxi.

In the first round of economic crisis, during the period when Germany and the United States were most seriously affected by the economic crisis, more than one-third of the factories were shut down, and nearly half of the workers faced the crisis of unemployment.

And in the second round of economic crisis, the total number of shut-down factories in the United Kingdom was less than one-fifth of the total factories, which was the impact caused by the superposition of the two rounds of economic crisis.

Of course, for the British Empire, the impact caused by the second round of economic crisis was still very large.

If there was no second round of economic crisis, the British Empire's support for the Ottoman Empire could be much greater. But now, because the United Kingdom's own industry and economy were also affected, the intensity of support for the Ottoman Empire was not great, and there was no idea of mobilizing the army to interfere in this war at all.

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 207 =====