Chapter 959: Hiding Evil Intentions 2
Although Japan is a bit arrogant in this era, it is still relatively reliable after all. In the last years of Meiji and the early days of Taisho, the politicians and strategists who emerged in Japan's reform are still alive, although there are various infighting and problems. , but overall it is much better than the Showa era, especially in terms of national strategy!
Although the conflict between the United States and Japan has been intensified prematurely due to Ruprecht's operations, in terms of profits, Japan has really gained a lot, and the output of the Philippines is richer than that of Taiwan in history. There are so many! Japan's national strength has also improved a lot as a result, so it can be said that a blessing in disguise is a blessing in disguise. But now, Japan, which is stronger than in history, obviously has greater ambitions. Especially this time, after the British acquiesced to Japan's occupation of part of the Dutch East Indies colonies, the ambitions of Japan's top leaders once again expanded! They are looking for their next target! A goal that can gain a lot of benefits without worrying about opposition from Britain and France!
There was once a proverb: "When you have more friends than enemies, then you win." Akashi Genjiro forgot the origin of this sentence, but he agreed with the point of view. He believed that, The rise of any major country cannot be successful simply by relying on its own recklessness.
Why can Italy be unified? In Italy's Second War of Independence in 1859, if it weren't for the help of the French, would Italy have defeated Austria? In the Third War of Independence in 1866, Italy chose Prussia as its ally, and the Austro-Prussian War broke out that year! When Germany won, Italy also obtained Venetia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire! And finally completed the great cause of unification! Even Count Cavour, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, believes that relying solely on Italy itself is not enough and must rely on the international situation.
If used well, even rubbish like Italy can realize the dream of reunification. Well, since weak countries need strategies and allies to succeed, do strong countries need them? Of course we need it too! The rise of Prussia is an example! And from a strategic point of view, the difficulty of Prussia's rise is actually not small at all, because France, the European hegemon at the time, can tolerate a unified Italy. Italy that does not agree is a noob. Unification will be 5 noobs, with limited combat power, which is impossible. It affects France's hegemony, but Germany and Prussia are different. After Blücher, Prussia cannot be regarded as a first-class power, right? But at least it is a second-class power! How about carving up Poland with Russia? France is wary of this country that also has the potential for hegemony!
Different from the relatively few domestic problems when Italy was unified, the internal problems faced by Prussia during its unification were too great, even bigger than the external problems. The current situation in Bavaria is the sequelae of Prussia's internal unification problems. Prussia not only has to face the powerful France, but also Austria, which is also within the German system, and other kingdoms after Prussia and Austria! This is definitely not something that can be solved with fists. Think about it, if Prussia and France or Austria were fighting and Austria or France intervened, Prussia would definitely kneel down! Do you really think that because you are naughty, you have to fight against two? !
Akashi Genjiro admired Bismarck very much! Because behind the seemingly smooth military operation, there are actually very high risks! The Austro-Prussian War was also known as the "Seven Weeks' War".
What's the meaning? Obviously, this war only lasted seven weeks! Bismarck and Moltke could not let this war last too long! Otherwise, let alone the possible intervention of France and Russia, once the Kingdom of Bavaria decides to fulfill its obligation to send 100,000 troops to Austria, what will happen to Prussia? It’s hard to say!
Although Prussia won the Battle of Kregnitz, Austria was still able to continue to resist. If Prussia presses too hard at this time, the final result is likely to be that the interference of other countries will cause Prussia to fall short. And even if Prussia wins this time, if Austria is allowed to hold a grudge, then in the subsequent Franco-Prussian War, if Austria takes action, Prussia will definitely not be able to stop it!
And not only must Austria not be allowed to hold a grudge, but the middle countries must also accept Prussia as the future boss. This is why there is one emperor and three kings in the entire German Empire. Although the result was very bad, Bismarck had done his best, and after excluding Austria, Prussia had the capital to fight France. Thus the unification was finally completed!
Therefore, no matter which country wants to truly rise, superb diplomacy and a sharp saber are necessary. And does Japan have both of these now? The Japanese political elders during the Meiji period thought that their diplomatic and strategic skills were sufficient, so now they have to look at the saber. The navy's saber has been proven to be pretty good, and it's also the third best in the world, right? Japan has already repaired the United States twice. As for challenging the two giants, Britain and Germany, forget it. Not capable. Let’s not talk about the UK. In terms of Germany alone, if the German fleet led by Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria in Operation Thunder-Serbrus was pulled out and compared, it would be enough for the Japanese to drink...
Then when the Japanese high-level officials are fine, they still think about whether the army's saber is easy to use? (Especially the Japanese Army is more concerned about this issue.) Before the outbreak of World War I, the Japanese Army was quite confident. After all, the Russians had them defeated. No matter what you do, you are top-notch, right?
However, when the war really broke out, the Japanese suddenly discovered: "Holy crap, this is called a national war. The Bavarian and Bohemian legions commanded by Crown Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria are no bigger than the Japanese Army in the Russo-Japanese War. It's smaller, and the equipment is several levels higher! Isn't this terrible?! The army of a country can actually compete with the Japanese Empire!" In fact, the Japanese still overestimated their combat effectiveness , the same division, the Bavarian Division is nowhere higher than the Japanese army!
After the first round of fighting on the Eastern Front, the Japanese were even more frightened, not least because the Bavarian Army defeated two Russian armies in one round, with a total strength of more than 400,000. This is understandable for Japan. After all, the Bavarian Legion has many people, guns, and hundreds of tanks. By the way, there are also airplanes. Although until now, the Japanese are still looking at their large kite-like airplanes in a daze, wondering how this thing works.
The author has to go out for a while today, so I will update two chapters first and then three tomorrow! Please subscribe and reward~~~!