Chapter 435 We Want to Save France (Third update, please subscribe)
There has never been any friendship between countries.
Only interests are eternal.
"The French want to buy Gatling guns?"
Zhu Xianhai, who was sitting behind his desk, glanced at the documents on the desk without even raising his head. Almost subconsciously, he thought of rejection.
After all, even he did not expect that machine guns in this era would be so powerful.
"Yes, sire."
Zuo Zongtang replied.
"The French side announced that the relationship between them and Prussia was becoming increasingly tense. For security reasons, they proposed to purchase 300 Gatling machine guns and 3 million rounds of artillery shells. They were willing to pay a 60% deposit!"
The French are quite generous!
Zhu Xianhai thought so in his heart, but he did not give an answer immediately. Instead, he thought for a while before speaking.
"Ji Gao, what do you think?"
Unlike his autocratic behavior in the past, he now prefers to seek the opinions of his subordinates before making some decisions.
After all, this is the role of think tanks and subordinates. Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang, not to mention that Zuo Zongtang himself has a reputation as a wise man. There is absolutely no problem in asking for his opinion.
"Well, because of the friendship between us and France, I think there is no problem in selling artillery and shells to France. The key issue is that if France and Prussia come into conflict, if France is defeated, it will probably not be a good thing for us!"
Zuo Zongtang not only did not think that there was anything wrong with selling such a military weapon to France, he even began to worry about the safety of France.
"Oh? So you think France can't win?"
Zhu Xianhai asked with a little curiosity.
No one in the world would doubt that a war would break out between France and Prussia, not only now but also in the past few years. Since 1866, France and Prussia have repeatedly provoked each other, and the Spanish succession to the throne has only further intensified the conflict.
But no one seemed to doubt that the French could win. After all, France had been the second most powerful country in the world for many years. Prussia, or the North German Confederation, was just a newly rising "small country" whose industrial economy was far from comparable to that of France.
Almost no country would think that France could be defeated by Prussia, at least for the time being. All countries agree on this view.
"Your Majesty, don't you have a corresponding judgment? The mobilization capacity of the North German Confederation headed by Prussia far exceeds that of France. In comparison, France is not only backward in armaments and mobilization capabilities, but even its domestic political situation is extremely unstable. During the French parliamentary election last year, demonstrators were everywhere in the streets of Paris singing the Marseillaise and shouting the slogan "Long Live the Republic." In the end, out of a total of 283 seats, the Liberals won 120 seats, becoming the largest party in parliament, and the Republicans also won 30 seats - you know, this is the result of the imperial government's various pressures on voters. How can we defeat foreign enemies if we are internally unstable and the people are not of one mind?"
Nodding slightly, Zhu Xianhai motioned Zuo Zongtang to continue.
"Even if France could divert internal attention through war, it would need a war, but France would never be a match for Prussia. France had a standing army of 400,000, while its opponent Prussia had 300,000. It seemed that France had an advantage in terms of manpower. However, the French army was highly professional. The seven-year service period and continuous re-employment system meant that France had almost no reserve personnel. When the war came, half of the soldiers in the French army were re-employed soldiers, with a service period of between seven and twenty-one years."
Before Zuo Zongtang went to Europe, he did not just visit it in a cursory manner. He not only went deep into parliaments to observe the decisions of parliaments in various countries, but also went into cities, residential areas, factories, schools and other places to gain an understanding of all aspects.
"And his opponent, Prussia, put all men over the age of 20 into the army through a three-year military service system. After they retire, they will serve as reservists for another four years and as land soldiers for another five years. This allows Prussia to mobilize 400,000 reservists and 500,000 land soldiers in wartime, reaching a huge scale of 1.2 million people. This does not include the army of the North German Alliance!"
Reserve!
This is exactly where Prussia's military reform was most successful, and Nanhua is implementing the same system, even going a step further than Prussia - all men must receive military training, basically everyone is a soldier, and even women are required to receive live-fire shooting training in the new immigrant education camp.
"Your Majesty, the reason why we were able to defeat Argentina is not because of how advanced our weapons are. The most important thing is that from the beginning to the end, South China has maintained an absolute advantage in military strength. Even until the demise of Argentina, we still had 200,000 troops that had not yet been deployed to the battlefield, and we can mobilize more than one million troops at any time if necessary."
Zuo Zongtang looked at His Majesty. The mobilization system of Nanhua was created by His Majesty, which was even better than the Prussian mobilization system. If Nanhua was in Southeast Asia instead of far away in South America, with millions of troops marching north, it must be... China will be restored!
"Prussia can mobilize a million troops, but France cannot, even though Neil's military reform in 1868 attempted to establish a Prussian-style mobilization mechanism in France. However, because some people were worried about the strengthening of dictatorship, the mobile guards that were eventually established were prohibited from being transferred away from their source, and now their numbers are scarce. At most, there are only 90,000 people, and France can only rely on the standing army. Once a war breaks out, France may win in the early stages, but France will surely collapse under the crushing of Prussia and the North German Alliance's million-strong army! Because Prussia's reserve forces will defeat them!"
Due to the fatal strategic mistakes of France, they didn't even survive the initial stage! They were simply thrown into France. But this is only the first time. A few decades later, the French will once again be honored to extract the "reputation" of "milk law". Of course, by that time, they will be numb and accustomed to it.
It's just a failure. No big deal.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Xianhai said,
"Your judgment is that the defeat of France is not good for us, right?"
"Your Majesty, by dividing Paraguay and Uruguay with Brazil, we have gained about ten years of development, but the peace in South America depends on the old European empires. Once France is defeated, the balance of power in Europe will be broken. Without the restraint of France, will Britain turn its attention to us and break the balance and peace between us and Brazil? These are all unknowns, and when it comes to national development, the unknown is the most terrifying!"
Looking at Zuo Zongtang with admiration, at this moment, Zhu Xianhai knew that he had not chosen the wrong person. He sent him abroad for inspection in order to let him understand the world. Facts have proved that Zuo Zongtang did it. The current Zuo Zongtang is no longer the Zuo Zongtang in history. He has a clear understanding of the world today and can make relatively accurate judgments in this chaotic world.
"But according to your analysis, the French cannot win! Their only hope is that Denmark and Austria-Hungary, eager for revenge, will attack Prussia from behind. However, it seems that the French have not taken any action in this regard."
"Your Majesty, whether it's Denmark or Austria-Hungary, no matter how deep their hatred for Prussia is, they will not help the French before the French gain the upper hand. They will only stand on the side of the victor. What we have to do is to help France in every possible way before they fail!"
Taking a deep breath, Zuo Zongtang said,
"I have read a report from the General Staff, which also worries that France will be defeated at the very beginning of the war. In this case, not only will the empire collapse, but we will also lose a powerful ally."
Zuo Zongtang’s words made Zhu Xianhai stunned, and then he said.
"Report from the General Staff?"
Zhu Xianhai said.
"Yes, this is a report written by several young officers after they returned from their inspection in France. Your Majesty, if we want to save France, we must consider aiding France in its fight against Prussia!"
Zuo Zongtang answered directly that if he did not have the reports of those young officers as a basis, he would not have been able to give such a firm answer as he did now.
"The report of several young officers? Are you saying that they also think that France is doomed to fail?"
"Yes, they thought not only that France would be defeated, but that she would be defeated very quickly."
Zhu Xianhai raised his eyebrows and said.
"Call them over. I want to see these officers."
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(End of this chapter)
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