Chapter 548 The Unbalanced Continent
"Oh, according to the intelligence collected by Lord Grenville, the current cost of France's textile industry is only about 15% higher than ours, and the steel industry has even almost equaled ours. The French have unearthed a huge mine in northern Russia's Crimea Coal and iron mines gave them a large amount of high-quality pig iron.
"As for the wine industry, the French's costs have dropped by 40% compared to two years ago, and the quality has even improved."
What he was talking about was the three most important industrial areas between Britain and France - either fierce competition or huge trade volume.
Little Pete paused and his expression became solemn: "In short, France is becoming as strong as a giant beast at an extremely fast speed.
“Before, we were all blinded by arrogance and carelessness, but now we must first admit the most critical point, that is, we will face an opponent that is more difficult than ever.
"This is far from the France of the Seven Years' War. It has begun to upset the balance of power on the continent."
The Marquis of Wellesley did not show shock when he heard this. Instead, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "My old man, your strategic sense is still as sharp as ever. To be honest, I was worried that you would not notice it all the way. These."
Little Pete shook his head and said: "This is not my credit, but what was stated in a report submitted by the Duke of Leeds a few months ago."
As he spoke, he took out a stack of documents from the suitcase next to the seat and handed it to Wellesley: "I thought I would give it to you in two days. After all, you just came back from the Far East and need a good rest. But I just suddenly felt that I need you to help me as soon as possible. "
"Oh, of course I firmly support you..."
Wellesley took the document and immediately saw the words "Cabinet Top Secret" on the cover. He immediately hesitated and said: "I don't hold a government position now. I'm afraid this is not appropriate?"
"Nothing," Little Pete waved his hand nonchalantly, "Your opinion is what this report needs most."
He said, leaning on the armrest: "And, I hope you can serve as Minister of War. If you don't refuse, you will be a member of the cabinet."
"Secretary of War?" Wellesley was startled, "What is this position?"
Yes, because the British Army had played a dirty trick on the King during the Glorious Revolution, and the British had relatively little demand for the Army, until this time the British only had the Minister of the Navy, and the Army was managed by several senior generals. Historically, it was Napoleon's intense pressure that led the British to establish the Minister of War three years later, but now it appeared earlier.
Little Pete said seriously: "As I just said, we must deal with the French seriously. This is an important military measure.
"Although you are young, you have accumulated prestige in the battles in the Far East. The soldiers all admire you. It is most suitable for you to integrate the army."
"Okay, I'll do it." Wellesley nodded without any pretense in front of his old friends, "You can't leave this matter to those old-fashioned old guys. In fact, I really have some achievements in reforming the army. idea."
The quasi-war minister confidently opened the report of the Duke of Leeds, browsed it quickly, and continued: "According to the information I have obtained about the French army, they have made huge improvements in the past two years. Even more than they did in the past two years. Industrial achievements.
"The Prussians got some French rifles, and I want to buy a few. They are a revolutionary weapon. The French call them 'flock guns.' No matter the range, power or loading speed, they must exceed our most advanced weapons." A large section of Brown Bess 1769.
"It can be said that when our soldiers face this kind of weapon, unless they have a strength advantage of more than 30% or the enemies are all infected with malaria, they will definitely lose." Little Pete was not familiar with the military field and frowned: "I He had heard of such a gun, but Sir Henry Conway thought it posed no threat."
Sir Conway is currently the most senior general in the British Army.
"This is why I don't like those old-fashioned people." Wellesley pouted, "They must be beaten before they are willing to admit that their methods are outdated.
"Oh, and there are cavalry artillery. Prince Edward and I proposed to vigorously develop this weapon invented by Frederick a few years ago, but our old generals only agreed to build two battalions.
"Do you know how amazingly effective the French cavalry artillery was on the battlefields of Southern Netherlands and Silesia last year?"
Little Pete nodded: "This is why I asked you to serve as Secretary of War. You can do all these things now. I will not let the parliament embarrass you in terms of funding."
"Only you have such courage." Wellesley cast a grateful look, "The French army still has a lot to learn from, but I can assure you that we will give you a force that can defeat Their powerful army..."
He suddenly paused in the middle of speaking. The Duke of Leeds' report made him frown. He raised his eyes and looked at Little Pete: "Are you sure what you said here is not exaggerated?"
The latter nodded: "The cabinet has held several meetings on this, and everyone very much agrees with the contents of the report."
"this……"
Wellesley quickly turned forward a few pages, where he mentioned that France had stabilized the situation in Tunisia, Tripoli and other North African colonies, initially established a governance system, and the number of immigrants continued to rise.
Last year alone, more than 70,000 French immigrants went to North Africa, especially in the last month, the number was as high as 11,000. This has resulted in a 35% increase in ticket prices from Marseille to Bizerta.
You must know that whether the British or colonial powers such as Spain and Portugal want to stably control overseas colonies, they have to go through a long period of time, go through a series of wars, gradually eliminate the will of the local population to resist, and invest a lot of money.
This usually takes 5 to 10 years. The French did it in only one and a half years!
Although North Africa is very close to France, which gives them a considerable advantage, the speed is too amazing.
In fact, if Britain had not interfered with it before, this time would have been shortened a lot. Joseph's set of "Roman identity" and "miraculous manifestations" operations were extremely effective, far beyond the reach of colonial empires that only relied on guns and "persuasion."
At the same time, the report also said that although the area of Luxembourg and the Wallonia region of the Southern Netherlands acquired by France was small, a large number of coal and iron industries were rapidly developed in these two places.
In addition, the residents of the two places already identified with France, so the ruling order was established faster. The Duke of Leeds estimated that France would be able to recoup all its investment in these places within two years at most, or even one year.
France's previous overseas colonies lost in the Seven Years' War have been largely made up for by these places.
(End of chapter)