Chapter 629 Philip's Initiative
Today, the Balkan powder keg has been ignited, which has little to do with the slave owners. The explosion of the powder keg is also thanks to the many European powers led by Imperial Russia. No snowflake is innocent when an avalanche occurs.
Sheffield had no opinion on this and was calmer than when he saw Mellon United's stock price cut in half.
What should we do next? This is the question Anne asked on the phone. Sheffield also encouraged her, "As long as any French troops appear on the battlefield, even if there is only one company, I will let John Connor lead the mercenaries to surrender to the French army. I believe my wife's compatriots will not make things difficult for her husband's men. Many soldiers are poor people who are forced to go to the battlefield."
"Don't you have any psychological burden?" Anne asked with a smile, "But there are thousands of citizens of the United States who are members of the mercenary army you sent to North Africa to command."
"Why would I have to bear the psychological burden? Why would I fight to the bitter end with a powerful army for a piece of land that has nothing to do with me?" Sheffield said nonchalantly. What's wrong with surrendering to the French? You can't surrender even if you can't defeat them!
The slave owners did not think that they were the chosen ones of God and that they could always succeed in everything they did. Whether it was business or other matters, they always insisted on going with the flow. This was the fine tradition of the United States. They would be embarrassed to go out and say hello unless they gathered dozens of countries to form a United Nations army.
The United States has suffered countless losses. After World War I, the United States wanted to use the League of Nations to hope that Britain and France would recognize its status. The failure was not a legitimate reason claimed by the United States. If there was a reason, it was only because Britain and France were still strong after World War I, forcing the United States to continue to shrink back to America and wait for the next opportunity.
The reason why Britain and France were able to push back the ambitions of the United States after World War I was that the naval strength of the two countries was still there. The navy is a stock service, and it would be too late to build capacity if a war broke out. After World War I, the strength of the British and French fleets was still higher than that of the United States Navy. If the United States did not know how to advance and retreat, the federal navy would only be destroyed in a war, and there would be no time for slow construction.
In the final analysis, Europe is still strong. It does have a solid foundation. Although it may be criticized for relying on its past achievements, it can be regarded as jealousy in essence. If France had not held on to Africa, it would not have the strength to be a permanent member of the Security Council.
It is not shameful to bow to France. Sheffield has always recognized this country. Otherwise, it would not have been directly promoted to a strategic competitor by the United States after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is the treatment of the world's second largest country. The Alstom incident can be regarded as the legacy of this policy. Of course, France's treatment did not last long. After the new millennium, the United States found that there was a more threatening existence, and the French escaped.
"The French just need to take a risk. If all else fails, they can use some other civilized methods, such as contacting French officers in Algeria and conducting a risky operation." Sheffield paused when he said this, and the atmosphere suddenly became peaceful. After all, it was a colonial matter, and it was not impossible for the lower class to overthrow the upper class.
After telling Anne about this, the slave owner asked John Connor to assist the French garrison and put on the yellow robe. When the news of the mercenaries' surrender spread back to France, with the support of public opinion, he did not believe that the French would shrink back. He could give in to the British, but if he gave in to the Italians, the French government would have to stop.
"Philip is now a minister in the Farrière Cabinet. If we could influence the Farrière Cabinet at the government level, there would be no need for such unspeakable means." Anne understood what her husband meant by overthrowing his superiors. It turned out to be a tradition of Japanese samurai. She was unhappy.
"Use whatever tricks work. Why do you care which country does it often?" Sheffield just said this and didn't say the rest. He saw the process before and after Napoleon's coup as a process of the lower class overthrowing the upper class.
The French are still arrogant! Sheffield hung up the phone and shook his head, muttering to himself, "What about the nobles? They still have to give birth to my children. The nobles' reputation is supported by my money. When the Russian Empire collapsed, there were not enough Russian noble ladies who fled to China and married peasants?"
But he forgave his wife's double standards, and there was a reason for the double standards. President Monroe of the United States issued the Monroe Doctrine, asking European countries not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. However, in the following two decades, European powers ignored this. The British reoccupied the Falkland Islands despite Argentina's strong protests; the French intervened in Mexico and the La Plata region; in all this, the United States never reminded the European interveners of the content or intention of the Monroe Doctrine.
It was not until 1842, nearly 20 years later, when Britain and France jointly prevented Texas from joining the United States, that President John Tyler jumped out to invoke the principles of the Monroe Doctrine. The United States frequently reiterated the Monroe Doctrine. On the one hand, it opposed Europe's transfer of any territory in the New World to other European countries, but on the other hand, it did not prohibit the exchange of territory between countries in the hemisphere.
The former was to oppose the expansion of European countries' influence in the Americas, and the latter was to create favorable conditions for the United States to annex land. The fact is that simple.
When the soldiers mobilized by the Balkan League began to gather, the war between the Ottoman Empire and Italy came to an abrupt end. The Ottoman Empire had given up its determination to continue fighting with Italy. In many positions, Ottoman soldiers had exchanged fire with soldiers of the Balkan League.
In order to ease this pressure, the Ottoman government applied for mediation and held peace talks with the Italian government. Enver Pasha, who was still in North Africa, got the news, and soon Sheffield's men John Connor knew about it.
So far, the mercenaries led by John Connor have not fought any fierce battles, but they have done their best.
With the all-out attack of the 950,000-strong army of the Balkan Alliance, the battle between Italy and the Ottoman Empire in North Africa fell into a lull.
At the National Assembly in Paris, Philippe went straight to the office of Prime Minister Fallière. As a rising star, he now had the ability to go directly to Fallière. In the early days of the French Third Republic, the president was the head of state and was elected by a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The constitution gave the president extensive powers. At first, this provision was intended to prepare conditions for the restoration of the monarchy in the future, but soon after the constitution was promulgated, the president's power was actually weakened and no longer occupied an important position in political life. The state power was clearly transferred to the cabinet, making France a relatively typical parliamentary republic.
Whoever gets the support of many members of parliament can realize his political ideals and even directly establish his own government. This is also the reason why the French cabinet is replaced at a rate of one cabinet every year and a half.
However, although the French Third Republic government always takes some time out of the year to form a cabinet, the position of prime minister is still very stable, but the cabinet members are changing. Now Philippe has become an important member of Prime Minister Fallier's latest cabinet.
"Mr. Prime Minister, are the Ottomans and Italians negotiating? The citizens are eagerly looking forward to news that will benefit us." After meeting Prime Minister Fallier, Philip went straight to the point and explained his purpose. "From the current situation, the combat effectiveness of the Italian army is not worth mentioning. We don't even need to mobilize. We can just order the French army in Algeria to cross the border and this problem will be solved."
"Philippe, crossing the line directly is a very dangerous move. It may also intensify the conflict!" Prime Minister Fallier sighed as he looked at the upstarts who have become famous in the past year, "The current situation is complicated and dangerous."
"It is indeed very complicated, but not necessarily dangerous." Philip frowned and said, "There is war in the Balkan Peninsula right now. From last year to now, we have a lot of news proving that the level of the Italian army is the same as that of many ordinary countries, and can only fight low-level and low-intensity wars. The war has lasted for a year, and the regular armies of the two countries are actually no different from the soldiers hired by an American tycoon. If we remain indifferent in this situation, God will not forgive us."
"Prime Minister Fallier, Italy has always been hostile to France. The entire Allied Powers are surrounded by the Triple Entente. We cannot allow the Italians to have the opportunity to penetrate into the African continent, otherwise this may be a big trouble one day." Seeing Fallier's hesitation, Philip said righteously, "This is really too dangerous."
"But we have to consider the British's opinion." Prime Minister Fallier said with embarrassment, "As a member of the Allied Powers, we can't violate the covenant and do this without telling our allies."
"Now that the Balkan Alliance and the Ottoman Army are at war, everyone knows that the Balkan ethnic groups are all loyal to the Russian Empire. I believe the British are also dissatisfied with this. Mr. Prime Minister, the Triple Entente is an equal alliance. Neither France nor Russia is inferior to the British. We take care of the British's feelings, but in turn, the British must respect the interests of us French, instead of asking for help unilaterally." Philip said with a hint of dissatisfaction with the British. "This country has always been pursuing a continental balance policy. If we quickly seize North Africa at the same time as the Balkan War breaks out and create a fait accompli, it is doubtful whether the British have the ability to mediate wars in two places at the same time."
Compared to decades ago, the British have already felt powerless to control the world, otherwise they would not have put down their pride and formed an alliance with France and Russia. Philip felt that France's actions would not affect the disunity of the Triple Entente. It's worth a try!
(End of this chapter)
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