1855 United States Tycoon

"Carl, do you think that if we go to war with France now, who can win? To be honest." Bismarck said to the chief of staff of the Kingdom of Prussia, Mao Qi.

"Our army will definitely win." Mao Qi replied without hesitation.

"Really?" Bismarck said. He actually believed Mo Qi's judgment, but it was just that on the European continent, the prestige accumulated by France over the centuries was almost impossible to look at. Some future generations of military novices only remember that Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War, and Germany quickly flashed France and occupied Paris in World War II, but they did not know how France had beaten the German states in the previous hundreds of years. Yes, whether it is Austria or Prussia, they were all beaten by the French, and they were beaten by the French, and they all suffered from psychological barriers. Just like when the French Navy faced the Royal Navy in Trafalgar, even if there were more warships than others, all they thought was to escape.

In the Battle of the Three Emperors that year, Emperor Napoleon crushed the armies of the German states, and then in the hands of Napoleon, the French army was in Crimea again, so that the Russians knew what the best in Europe is. army. Facing such a prestigious army, although Bismarck, who has seen how the Prussian army grows up step by step, also knows that the current Prussian army has a huge advantage over the French army in terms of training and equipment. , And even the number far exceeds the French army. And all the time, the various construction and training of the Prussian army have been aimed at defeating France as the ultimate goal, but when this day is really about to come, even Bismarck can't help but feel extra nervous.

"Yes, Prime Minister, our army has been ahead of the French army by an era in terms of equipment. As far as artillery is concerned, although the number of artillery equipped by our army is slightly less than that of the French army, it is because half of our artillery is already on the tube. The retreat of the new type of artillery, although the rest are retreats, but they are all steel artillery. The French are still using bronze retreats, and both the rate of fire and the range are far behind. We, the overall artillery firepower, we are more than three times that of the French army. This still does not take into account the range advantage of our artillery and the difference in the power of the high-explosive artillery shells used by our army compared to the howitzer shells and ordinary solid shells. Otherwise, The power of artillery alone is more than ten times that of the enemy. As for infantry, even if we do not consider our training level is much higher than that of the French army, only in terms of the rifles used, our army has been generally used with smokeless propellant. There are magazine rifles, and the French are still using black gunpowder fired after-loading rifles without magazines. They are also much worse than us in terms of rifle firepower. Moreover, over the years, we have been studying how to defeat France all the time. , Prime Minister, I can assure you that we are ready." Mo Qi continued to say firmly.

"Well, let's go to see your Majesty together. Persuade him to support his own cousin to fight for the succession of the King of Spain." Bismarck said to Mochi.

If Bismarck only had some worries about war with France, then His Majesty King William I was full of fear about war with France. Although it is an established national policy to meet with the French army, it is not easy to make up your mind at this time.

...

"There will be war in Europe soon. Because Napoleon III has no choice but to war." Scrooge said to Carol and Catherine at the family meeting. Dorothea had a big belly. For the safety of the fetus, she had been temporarily deprived of the qualification to participate in the meeting.

"I have notified MacDonald Ventures Bank's European trader to be long in Prussia-related companies and short in French-related industries," Catherine replied.

"Generally speaking, after the outbreak of the war, a large amount of hot money will be sent from Europe to the United States in a short time. Railways and agriculture will become the hot spots for these hot money investments. When the railway is hot, um, steel will also Become a hot spot. Carol, you have to be prepared to raise the price of steel a little bit, while you can make money, while also allowing others to enter the steel industry." Scrooge said to Carroll again.

"Scrooge, we managed to crush all those competitors, and now why... Do you think I have nothing to do, so you need to get some opponents out and crush them to play?" Carol said Scrooge didn't understand this approach.

"Carol, of course, this is to crush them again. But this is not to crush them for fun, but because we want to take this opportunity to let the European capitals know that they can't touch those things. You think, We have indeed achieved a monopoly in the steel industry. But Carol, what is the purpose of the monopoly?" Scrooge asked.

"Of course it is excess profits. Well, Marx has made it very clear in his new "Das Kapital"." Carroll replied.

"If you are afraid that someone will come in to break the monopoly and you will always maintain a low price, then where do you go to pursue the'excess profit'?" Scrooge said with a smile, "We can attract this group of people to invest in it, and wait until theirs. Once the factory is built, it is necessary to form productivity. Let us crush them again. This means that they are building factories for us, and we can also get more profits."

"And in this way, next time we raise the price, few people dare to enter this market." Catherine interjected.

"Scrooge, I want to mention one thing, it's about oil." Rockefeller, who was invited to the McDonald family's family meeting for the first time, said.

"Oh, John, what do you think?" Scrooge asked.

"I have consulted some of our experts, and they told me that petroleum can be used as a raw material in the manufacture of synthetic ammonia, and that the cost may be lower. I think we should carry out research in this area. In addition, someone and I mentioned the idea of ​​an internal combustion engine, which I think is also good. He said that Scrooge knows this idea, and even this idea originated from you. I know that this is the true value of oil. I really want to know when these things can be put into research and production?"

"Synthetic ammonia and even the use of petroleum related to other organic chemistry are already under development. Perhaps results will be produced in a year or two. The internal combustion engine is still a bit technologically immature now, and we decided to make the railway crash. Before, this thing was not the time to appear. John, you should understand the purpose of this thing. To a large extent, this thing is used to compete with the railway.” Scrooge did not hide his own ideas from Rockefeller, and It was to tell him the own strategy straightforwardly, "John, the oil is now mainly used as marine fuel and some raw materials for the chemical industry in a short period of time. Your focus should be on how to control more oil fields. Um. The large laboratory is verifying a technology that uses shock waves to detect oil fields. Once it is implemented, it will be of great benefit to our exploration."

...

"Your Majesty, I heard that we have sent a special envoy to Prussia to meet with King William I. Ask him to publicly promise that he will never support Prince Leopold's succession to the King of Spain. And we will send Bavaria and Hesse on the west bank of the Rhine. -Part of Darmstadt’s territory was merged with France as a reward for France’s conservative and neutrality in the Prussian-Austrian War. It is almost impossible for them to agree to such a condition. If they do not agree, do you really intend to resort to war? ?" The leader of the third party Emil Olivier asked directly to Emperor Napoleon III.

"Yes, Emile. Even if he agrees, I must start a war." Napoleon III also bluntly replied, "Because the Prussians will soon mass produce urea, which will ruin French agriculture. Competitiveness. I have a report from the Academy of Sciences here. You can read it. Only through war and defeating Prussia can we protect our agriculture and prevent our farmers from starving to death."

Emile Olivier looked at the report seriously, and then asked: "Your Majesty, can't we directly request the purchase of related patents?"

"Do you think it's possible?" Napoleon III smiled. "Everyone knows the Prussian's desire to unify Germany. Now the biggest obstacle is our France. Because their unification means that there will be a powerful land on the border of France. Powerful country. Although Europa is big, it cannot accommodate two land powers. At the same time, their unification means that we will lose many of the interests of southern Germany, which is intolerable. Once they want to do this, they must They want to fight against us. By using agricultural technology and cheap agricultural products to break down the French agricultural market and plunge France into a revolution, they can avoid the danger of direct fighting with us and achieve their goals. Will such technology patents be sold? Even if they agree, they will deliberately delay. As long as the food is mature next year, they will be able to achieve their goals. So this battle must be fought. Emil, I know you have always hoped to turn the monarchy into a constitutional monarchy System. If you and your party can support war in Parliament, I agree with your idea of ​​political reform. How about this deal?"

"Your Majesty, are you true?" Emile Olivier asked with eyes wide open.

"Of course, how can I talk nonsense on such a big question?" Emperor Napoleon III replied. If he can defeat Prussia, then his prestige in France will be close to his uncle, the emperor who is small but very tall in the hearts of countless French people. At that time, even if the government becomes a constitutional monarchy, who can restrain a king who thinks he has the same prestige as Emperor Napoleon I?

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