Chapter 737 Never compromise!
When Duke Broy finished speaking, the expressions of the ministers became even more ugly.
160,000 vs. 400,000, this is destined to be an extremely difficult war.
Joseph smiled: "Look, there is no need for us to transfer our interests to Austria."
Everyone: "?"
Joseph continued: "Not to mention the weapons, equipment and training of the army, the enemy's armies come from so many countries. It is very difficult to coordinate and command uniformly, let alone coordinate with each other. We should have enough confidence to defeat them. ”
This is not arrogance, but a conclusion drawn from the battle situation of the first anti-French alliance in history.
At that time, in addition to Britain, Prussia, Austria, Portugal and other countries, there were also Spain and Italy that declared war on France.
At the moment, Spain will definitely not side with Britain. Although the Spanish Army is the fifth scum of the war, the scale of the anti-French alliance has been slightly reduced due to the ebb and flow of one another.
In addition, historically Prussia and Austria had not fought the Silesian War, and their national strength was stronger than it is now.
Of course, in history, Britain entered the war relatively late. It was basically after Prussia and Austria suffered a defeat on the northern front that the British joined the anti-French alliance. At this time, the British actively participated in the war and devoted themselves to it.
At the same time, although Prussia and Austria had withstood the exhaustion of the Silesian War, they also gained a group of veterans who had participated in actual combat. So taken together, the overall strength is roughly the same.
But look at France.
At the time of the first anti-French alliance in history, France had just experienced the destruction of the Great Order and its national strength had not yet been restored. And many nobles fled abroad, including many outstanding officers, resulting in a significant decline in the strength of the army.
Although it is blessed with the buff of revolutionary fervor, its combat effectiveness is several notches lower than the current French Royal Elite Legion.
Everyone knows the result of the first anti-French alliance. After France suffered a small loss in the early stage, it fought all the way to the Rhine River.
In this life, with a new army in hand and a France that had not experienced turmoil, Joseph could not fight any worse than in history.
Even if you take a step back, he really performed abnormally and put the war situation into an unfavorable situation, but don't forget that France only used its standing army, and he still had the big killer weapon of general mobilization in his hand.
France is now carrying out land reform!
Those farmers who bought the land, as long as Joseph said hello, they would fight the enemies of His Highness the Crown Prince with red eyes.
France has a population of 30 million, so it should not be a problem to mobilize an army of more than 100,000 or 200,000 people.
However, France's important ministers saw that a large number of European powers were becoming enemies of France, and they were inevitably uneasy.
Trade Minister Bai Yi hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said: "Your Highness, maybe we can contact Austria first. After all, it is always good to reduce one enemy."
Joseph took a deep breath, looked around everyone with sharp eyes, and raised his voice: "I repeat, from now on, there will be only one thing everyone is discussing, and that is how to prepare for war.
"Anyone who dares to be hostile to France, we only need to give them thunderous punishment, not compromise!"
The conference room fell silent instantly.
Someone glanced at Queen Mary secretly, but saw that she just clasped her hands and lowered her head without saying a word - Queen Mary had never encountered such a big battle, and her heart was already in a mess. What else was there? idea? If it weren't for her son's support, she would probably ask the ministers "what to do" at this moment.
As the chief minister, Brian stood up first and shouted to the Crown Prince: "Yes, Your Highness! France will never compromise!"
The eyes of the other ministers began to become firm, and they stood up and shouted: "No compromise!" Joseph nodded with satisfaction and motioned for everyone to sit down.
Brian immediately said: "Your Highness, in terms of finance, under extreme circumstances, we can allocate 90 million francs for military expenses. But in order to ensure that no accidents occur, I suggest that we can borrow money from neutral countries or private consortiums in advance."
90 million francs may seem like a lot, but to maintain an army of 160,000 and a naval fleet for operations, it is actually only enough for four or five months.
Mirabeau continued: "Industrial raw materials also need to be reserved. I mean, after the war starts, it may be difficult for us to obtain raw materials from overseas."
Talleyrand nodded: "So, we should use some diplomatic skills to delay the start of the war as far back as possible so that we can have more time to prepare..."
"The grain reserves are currently sufficient. More than 3 million pounds of grain from Poland will arrive soon, and the strategic grain reserve will reach about 80% of the maximum reserve capacity..."
"Domestic war propaganda must be strengthened..."
"I suggest that a "Reserve Military Service Law" can be enacted to improve mobilization efficiency..."
After Joseph set the tone, he basically just listened quietly.
France is like a huge machine. He has worked hard over the years to eliminate its faults one by one, so that every part and every gear of it can run in the best possible condition.
At the moment, there is no need for him to do anything at all. This state machine can run quickly by itself and handle everything in an orderly manner.
Read the error-free version at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar debuts this novel.
The cabinet meeting lasted all day, and lasted for most of the next day. Government orders were sent from the Palace of Versailles to various parts of France.
The whole of France seemed to make a loud rumble and move with unstoppable momentum.
At the same time, hundreds of thousands of troops from Prussia, Austria and other countries began to gather towards the French border.
The British Mediterranean Fleet and Atlantic Fleet have also basically completed their mobilization, and they sailed out of the military port one after another, with black warships covering the sea.
Of course, such a large-scale military mobilization will take at least two or three months to complete all deployments.
After Joseph finished arranging the preparations for the war, he handed over all the domestic matters to Brian and others, and rushed to Madrid, Spain by car.
Originally, this matter could be left to Talleyrand, but after careful consideration, he decided that it would be better to go there himself.
Historically, France fought alone against the entire anti-French alliance.
Although there are factors in this that the monarchs of other countries were dissatisfied with Dage's orders, it was more caused by the directorial government and later the emperor's self-aggrandizement and rough diplomatic skills.
Naturally, Joseph would not follow their old path.
If you can win over allies, why not?
Especially for a country like Spain, where the king has the same surname as France and whose surname is Bourbon. There is no major conflict of interest with France and it is difficult to develop a country that threatens France. It is simply a god-given ally.
You know, although Spain's army is scummy, it has the third largest navy in the world.
The combined navies of Spain and France are close to 80% of the size of the British navy.
Although the French navy can rely on steam frigates to deal with the British fleet in the Mediterranean, only with the help of Spain can it ensure full control of the Mediterranean waters.
(End of chapter)