Chapter 348

After the peace talks between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia ended, the peace talks between Germany and Russia also ended quickly.

The Germans eventually extorted an indemnity of up to 20 million marks from Russia; this money is something the Russians have to pay whether they want to or not.

However, there is also good news for the Russians, which is that the French ambassador has already talked with the Russian government, indicating that France is willing to provide a large loan to Russia to help Russia restore post-war order faster.

Although neither the German nor Russian sides really fought with real swords and guns in this war, the hundreds of thousands of mobilized troops cannot be fake.

The reason for mobilizing so many troops is, on one hand, to probe the other side's investment in this war, and on the other hand, to prevent the other side from really fighting a battle with real swords and guns after quickly mobilizing troops.

Facts have proved that the large-scale mobilization of the Russians is still very effective.

If it weren't for mobilizing so many troops, relying only on the garrison in the Polish region would not be able to resist the offensive of the German-Austrian Allied Forces.

In case the Germans broke through the defensive line, this would be a huge disaster for Russia.

The main reason Russia has been able to hold its territory from the Napoleonic era to the present is that Russia in winter is too cold, and other countries are simply not adapted to fighting in Eastern Europe in winter.

The Russians have long adapted to such a cold climate, and their capital, Shengbidebao, is even close to the Arctic Circle.

You know, the Northeast region of a certain country known for its cold in later generations did not reach a position as far north as Shengbidebao in terms of latitude and longitude.

From this aspect, one can also see how cold Russia is, and at the same time, it can also reflect the importance of the Ukrainian plains and the Polish plains to Russia.

Especially the Ukrainian plains, which provide Russia with a large amount of food and are also the guarantee for Russia to maintain a population of hundreds of millions.

The time the war broke out was just after winter, and the time it ended was just summer. If it weren't for Serbia's collapse too early, Russia would also not be having a good time on the front battlefield.

After all, the temperature in Eastern Europe in summer is still relatively high, and the German and Austrian troops are very adapted to fighting in such an environment. Without the restriction of the cold environment on logistics and supplies, the combat effectiveness of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies will not be weakened.

The peace treaty signed between Germany and Russia is not harsh. Besides the war indemnity of up to 20 million marks, Russia does not need to pay any other price, which is also the reason why they agreed to this peace treaty.

The European situation after the war is only then lively; the connection between the powers attracted the attention of various countries, and everyone is also waiting for the formation and confrontation of the two major military groups.

Not disappointing the European countries, France and Russia quickly strengthened their connection.

On June 20, 1889, the plenipotentiary diplomatic ambassador representing Tsar Alexander III met with the French government in Paris; the two sides talked secretly for several days and eventually signed an unknown agreement under the reporting of various countries' media.

Most of the contents of this agreement are confidential, but some contents have been leaked.

Mainly these contents have nothing to do with military aspects; even if things in the economic aspect are strictly confidential, they cannot be hidden for long in the end.

The leaked contents of the agreement mainly include France's loan to Russia. Although the specific amount is unknown, the total amount of the loan is at least as high as 200 million francs, which is about 10 million pounds.

This is not a small number, enough for Russia to build a powerful sea and land army. From this aspect, one can also see the intensity of France's aid to Russia; they are sincere about signing an alliance treaty with Russia, and they really want to make Russia a more powerful country to help themselves distract Germany's attention.

Of course, considering the high degree of corruption within the Russian government, when France issued this loan to the Russian government, it also made requirements for the scope of the loan's use.

One-third of this loan will be used to purchase food and other supplies from France to reduce the agricultural crisis after Russia's food production is affected.

The other two-thirds will be used for development in the military aspect, including purchasing weapons and equipment, building a navy, expanding the scale of the standing army, etc.

Although this war did not last long, some shortcomings of the Russian army were displayed vividly.

One of the biggest shortcomings is that the Russian army's weapons and equipment are relatively backward; in the era when breech-loading guns are everywhere, some of the Russian army even uses muzzle-loading guns as standard weapons.

The reason for this problem is, on one hand, because Russia's military industry cannot keep up with the army's needs, and on the other hand, Russia's finance is not enough to support the army's comprehensive replacement.

Russia possesses an army scale far exceeding other countries, which also gives Russia the title of "European Bulldozer," which is feared by other countries.

But a larger army scale not only represents a larger military expenditure but also represents the need for additional military expenditure when weapons and equipment are updated.

With Spain's continuously growing prosperous economy, it takes more than a year to replace weapons and equipment for 200,000 standing ground troops.

Let alone Russia, which has a worse economy; replacing weapons and equipment for more than 600,000 standing ground troops is completely taking the life of Russia's finance.

Moreover, Russia has also experienced multiple wars in the past few years, and the expenditure of military funds has made Russia suffer.

If it weren't for the previous Russo-Turkish War, Russia's weapons and equipment would not even reach the current situation. The French naturally also understand the financial situation of the Russian government, and they require that among this loan of 10 million pounds, at least 2 million pounds must be used to replace equipment for Russia's ground forces to prevent the combat effectiveness of the Russian army from continuously declining.

Regarding the requirements of the French government, the Russian plenipotentiary diplomatic ambassador naturally nodded and agreed continuously.

This money was originally paid by the French, and it is natural for people to require how Russia uses it. What's more, replacing the weapons and equipment of the ground forces is also a good thing for Russia; the Russia after replacement is the true European Bulldozer.

In order to show his sincerity to his ally, this loan of up to 10 million pounds is interest-free, which is also the reason why Tsar Alexander III sent a plenipotentiary diplomatic representative and couldn't wait to sign an alliance treaty with France.

There is no help for it; France at this time is really too rich. Although France is not as rich as Britain's finance, Britain's money has to be invested in factories and enterprises in Britain, while French capital does not have too many related worries.

Compared with investing in enterprises in France, French capital prefers to lend money to other countries and then lie down and earn interest on the loans.

France at this time is called the "Usury Empire," and the countries that have accepted French loans are countless; even Spain has had loan cooperation with France.

Don't say, Spain at this time is a gold client in the eyes of French capital. Because of the rapid growth of Spain's domestic economy and industry, after these French capitals poured into Spain for investment, they could soon make a big profit with both principal and interest. Added to the fact that Spain and France are adjacent, these French capitals do not reject coming to Spain for investment, and even rush to participate in some of Spain's engineering construction.

It is no exaggeration to say that the reason for Spain's rapid economic development is absolutely inseparable from the help of French capital behind it.

In fact, this cannot blame French capital for not investing in enterprises in France; it is mainly because the changes in the French government are too frequent, which seriously affects the execution of some of the French government's decrees.

Only under a stable political situation can there be more prosperous economic and industrial growth. It is very clear that compared to France, which has political turmoil, Spain is the more stable country.

Regarding the influx of these French capitals, the Spanish government is also paying high attention. The industries most popular with French capital at present are agriculture, chemical industry, and mechanical production; French capital's investment in these three industries has reached hundreds of millions of francs.

French capital's investment in agriculture is mainly concentrated in the vegetable and fruit industry, which is also the characteristic of Spain.

At present, Spain's total vegetable production accounts for one-fifth of Europe's total production, and total fruit production accounts for one-third of Europe's total production; it is Europe's most important vegetable and fruit exporter.

In terms of olive and olive oil production, Spain accounts for 35% and 42% of Europe's total production respectively, and this scale is constantly growing.

It is no exaggeration to say that half of the olives and olive oil in the European market come from Spain, which is also the reason why Spain is known as the "Vegetable and Fruit Kingdom."

In terms of citrus fruits, Spain's total production accounts for nearly half of Europe's total production; the citrus produced by Spain is famous for being sweet, delicious, and fragrant, and it sells well in Europe and even the Americas.

The Pepsi and Coca-Cola invested in by Gao Da have also launched citrus and lemon flavors; these uniquely flavored sodas also sell well in Europe, and even have related branches in the Americas.

The reason why Spain's vegetable and fruit industry can reach such a scale is, on one hand, the agricultural development of the West African colonies, which allowed the local land to transform from grain planting to vegetable and fruit planting, and on the other hand, it is the various policy support and subsidies from the local government, as well as the vigorous investment of French capital.

Because Spain's vegetable and fruit production accounts for half of Europe's total production, in terms of vegetable and fruit prices, Spain's fruit and vegetable export companies also have a great right to speak.

The money that can be earned by this almost monopolistic position is several times that of non-monopolistic enterprises, which is also the reason why the French are willing to invest.

It is worth mentioning that after French capital invested in Spain's vegetable and fruit industry, it transported the vegetables and fruits produced in Spain back to France for sale.

Although France's agricultural scale is quite good, because of the larger population, in terms of per capita vegetable and fruit production, it cannot compare with Spain.

Added to the various propaganda of French capital, it instead made the fruits produced in Spain more popular in France.

Thanks to the propaganda of French capital for the sake of making money, Spain's wine also quickly expanded its market in France, gradually entering the daily life of the French people.

Regarding the behavior of French capital vigorously investing in Spain, Gao Da not only does not refuse but also warmly welcomes it.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the French are also interested in Morocco, there would still be a great possibility for France and Spain to form an alliance.

Spain can become France's strong backing, and France can also help Spain better build the Iberian fortress.

If France is Spain's ally, the geographical advantage of the Iberian Peninsula where Spain is located will be infinitely improved; other countries wanting to attack Spain can only do so through maritime landing.

Maritime landing has never been an easy thing, let alone the fact that Spain's army and navy construction have achieved certain results.

Wanting to invade Spain from the sea, besides having a navy more powerful than Spain's, one must also have an army more powerful than Spain's.

Only when the navy suppresses Spain's navy does the army have a chance for coastal landing. Every coastal landing will pay a huge price in casualties; such a task, even Britain and Germany, may not necessarily be 100% completed.

The reason why Spain has been slow to express its stance is actually waiting for the win-over of the Franco-Russian Entente and the German-Austrian Alliance.

As a country with a powerful army and navy, Spain has room for its own choice. Even Spain can maintain neutrality; as long as Spain does not want to participate in European affairs, no country can force Spain to express its stance.

If France can provide Spain with a large amount of funds and support in industrial technology, and express its willingness to give up its demands on Morocco and support Spain's annexation of Morocco, Gao Da really wouldn't mind signing a series of cooperation treaties with France.

After all, if it were on the German-Austrian side, it would mean that if Spain wants to take down Morocco, it must experience the double pressure of Britain and France.

Although the main forces of Britain and France are held back by the German-Austrian Alliance, if Spain also enters the fray, perhaps Britain and France will prioritize focusing fire on Spain.

As for Italy, which repeatedly jumped back and forth in history, Gao Da does not have much hope.

Even if Gao Da was born in the Italian royal family, he still dares not assert that Italy will join the German-Austrian side in the war. If it were the current Italian King Umberto I, perhaps Italy would be the more firm side.

But unfortunately, this brother of Gao Da did not reign for long and failed to persist until the outbreak of World War I. His son, who is Gao Da's nephew, does not have the firm attitude of his father, which is also the reason why Italy repeatedly jumped back and forth in World War I.

Of course, even if Italy does not jump back and forth, the role it plays in the war is really limited.

When Gao Da considers the two major military groups in Europe, he generally only considers the situation of France-Russia vs. Germany-Austria.

Although Britain is strong, Britain does not exert much effort in the early stage. The sides that really exert effort are actually France and Germany, which are the two most powerful ground force countries on the European continent in the true sense.

If viewed from the perspective of history, Spain joining either side has a certain chance of winning.

The Entente side, as the winner in history, certainly has a greater chance of winning. Spain joining the France-Russia side, even if it relies on dragging, can drag Germany to death.

If it joins the German side, it can only preemptively crush Russia and then focus fire on France to have hope of winning this war.

(End of this chapter)