Wild North America 1846

Early September
Richard came to Vienna with only a few close friends. This was his second visit to this beautiful metropolis in the Alps after 48 years. The last time was during the Austro-Prussian War.

half a century later
Vienna does not seem to have changed much. Time has frozen in this city on the Danube River. In this beautiful July, the whole city is shrouded in sadness and anger.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire assembled an army of 10 men to attack Serbia, but it resulted in a shameful failure and was defeated by the Serbian and Romanian coalition forces.

In the Balkan battlefield
The Austro-Hungarian Empire's army was severely punished by the Tsarist Russian army. They were defeated again and again. It was not until six German divisions came up with reinforcements that they could stabilize the front line. It can be said that they were humiliated.

The Germans gave the Tsarist Russian army a hard lesson on the Eastern Front battlefield, while the Tsarist Russian army gave the Austro-Hungarian army a hard lesson on the Balkan battlefield, proving that they were not soft persimmons.

It turns out
The Germans were really poor at selecting allies. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy were all burdens, and they were defeated by Tsarist Russia and several small countries in the Balkans.

On the contrary, Bulgaria, one of the Allied Powers, fought vigorously, firmly defended its own front, and still had the strength to launch a counterattack.

It is a pity that Bulgaria is too small and its population is too small. At best, more than 20 troops cannot change the overall passive situation in the Balkan battlefield.

It was in this atmosphere that Richard came to Vienna. More than half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire also belonged to the German-speaking area, but their combat effectiveness was unsatisfactory, ranking only at the third-rate level in Europe.

Basically, it is the same as the Kingdom of Italy, and its strength is limited.

Vienna is the capital of culture and music in Europe. It has a romantic feeling in its heart. People who engage in art do not like war.

Wandering through the streets of ancient Vienna, all you can see are historical buildings that are hundreds of years old. The old men on the streets are playing violin music, and the sound of the violin is like crying.

It has been more than half a year since the outbreak of the First World War. The Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered more than 1 casualties. A large number of young men were recruited to join the army and filled the Eastern Front and Balkan battlefields.

Richard rarely saw young men on the streets of Vienna.

These young men are either in factories or in the frontline trenches. There are more women and old people in the city, and people's faces reveal deep worries about the war.

He had seen this kind of scene in Berlin and Frankfurt.

As time went by, the casualties of the frontline troops became more and more heavy. The enthusiastic optimism at the beginning of the war had long since disappeared, and was replaced by deep anxiety.

No one knows when the war will end?

Familiar relatives are constantly being drafted into the army, and the recruitment range has spread from young people to middle-aged people. The army has been forming new infantry divisions, which is the case in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany.

"Sir, the impact of the war on European countries is much greater than we imagined. During the busy farming season, most of the people working in the fields are women and children. The urban economy is also in great depression, and it feels like it has lost its vitality." Xu Jinxun said with a very dissatisfied tone. .

Richard nodded and said;
"Neither of the two major military groups in Europe can afford to lose. The sunk costs are too high, so they can only continue to add chips to it, hoping to overwhelm the other side.

From a military perspective
Even if 100 million, 300 million, or 1 million people die in the war, there will be no end to the war.

They lack the decisive military power to kill the enemy with one blow. This war that affects the world has evolved into a real war of attrition, until one country's national power completely collapses.

The weakest point in the Allied camp was Italy, and the weakest point in the Allied camp was Tsarist Russia.

The German high command has clearly seen this, so it has invested more military power in the Eastern Front battlefield, trying to defeat the Tsarist Russian army first, and then move its troops westward.

The idea is good, but how can a country as large as Tsarist Russia be easily defeated? "

"Sir, according to the news from the imperial government, the British government strongly requested Datang to provide large-scale economic assistance to Russia. This request has been decisively rejected."

"Well, don't get involved in those bad things now. It is in the interest of the empire to remain neutral."

"Understand, the latest war reports show that the war has spread to the Middle East and the Arab region."

“It didn’t affect Kuwait, right?”

"Not yet. The Ottoman Empire and the Germans wisely did not provoke us. The empire sent an additional infantry division to Kuwait, Yemen and Jeddah each, and all strengthened a field artillery regiment. Soldiers were recruited in Yunzhong Province and local areas, A total of 5.2 troops have been added."

"Well, it is necessary to strengthen the troops. The Germans do not have many troops that can be used in the Near East. With the control of Britain and France and other countries, the controlled areas on the Arabian Peninsula and Yunzhong Province are safe. But we cannot place our hopes on potential The enemy’s self-control, at least the Ottoman Empire, was very angry at our control of the central and southern part of the Arabian Peninsula and had to guard against it.”

"Master, the country has also seen this and is strengthening the strength of the Red Navy District."

"Well, you're prepared!"

Richard and Xu Jinxun were walking along the street and chatting. After a few steps, they were stopped by a woman wearing a shawl.

This woman's hair was disheveled and her face was frightening. She stretched out a hand timidly and said, "Kind sir, I haven't eaten anything for three days. Can you please give me a piece of bread? As long as you need it, what can I do?" We can do it all.”

Xu Jinxun frowned and looked around. There were more women in the alley looking over with longing eyes.Due to the serious impact of the war, the number of men in the city has greatly decreased, and the women who originally sold sex in Vienna have lost their livelihood.

The poor at the bottom lived in poverty, but the nobles of Vienna still spent money and lived a luxurious life.

Dual empires like the Austro-Hungarian Empire were relatively backward and corrupt countries in Europe. The industrialization process was seriously lagging behind, and the economy was still dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry.

Seeing this woman blocking the way, Xu Jinxun took the initiative to stand up and said;
"Call your companions and I will buy you each a loaf of bread, but do not pull or crowd us, keep a certain distance."

"Thank you so much, kind sir."

With that said, a group of women walked out and followed Xu Jinxun.

Nothing to do

Xu Jinxun could only go to the bakery on the street and buy more than 20 French baguettes, giving one to each person.

Many women gobbled up the food on the street, which made people frown.

In this situation, there was nothing Richard could do.

About one-third of the people in Vienna were starving. The war caused the Austro-Hungarian Empire to lose millions of young and middle-aged laborers. A large number of fields were deserted, and the harvest was naturally not ideal.

The food produced must be given priority to the German troops on the Eastern and Western Fronts. The country's troops participating in the war must be given priority to male laborers and nobles.

As a vulnerable group, the old, young, women and children were ranked last, which also led to hundreds of people starving to death in Vienna every day. This situation is very common and can be found in towns large and small.

throughout the war

Germany lost more than 700 million people to disease and starvation, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost 420 million people, which was much more than the number of troops who died on the battlefield.

The price of bread has increased more than ten times compared to before the war. Many Jewish merchants are hoarding and driving up prices, which has aggravated the situation.

Honestly, everything sucks.

Today, Europe and North America are two worlds, one shrouded in the clouds of war, with panic, hunger and death, tormenting the warring countries at all times.

The situation in countries such as Britain and France is much better. After all, there are massive imports of materials from the Tang Empire. You can also see coffee, tobacco, toffee, cocoa, canned food, frozen meat and medicines on the market. There are also fewer people dying from hunger and disease. Much more.

The situation in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy was much worse. Under a comprehensive blockade by the Allied Powers, the materials imported through smuggling channels were of little use and it was difficult to meet demand.

So in many cities the shelves are empty, and you can’t buy food even with money.

The Tang Empire and other North American countries in North America are prosperous. More and more cars are entering middle-class families, and driving a car on vacation has become a new way of life.

Thousands of gas stations have sprung up across the Americas, convenient roads lead to cities and villages, new department stores and grocery stores offer a wide variety of products, and people's living standards are improving.

War and peace are completely two different scenes reflected in society.

After the six countries joined forces to kill Brazil, America is now dominated by the Tang Empire. The remaining Venezuela hastily signed a comprehensive military alliance treaty with the Tang Empire and invited the Tang Empire to station troops.

Except for Canada, every country in the Americas is under the military protection of the Tang Empire. They all have military bases of the Tang Empire, and more or less bear part of the garrison expenses.

Fortunately, the Tang Empire did not have many troops. There were only 3000 to [-] troops stationed in countries such as Venezuela. The cost of garrisoning for a year was more than one million Tang Yuan, which even small and weak countries could afford.

If you change the name, it would be protection fee.

Almost half of the more than 36 Royal Army troops in the Tang Empire were stationed in various American countries. These countries allocated military bases for free and paid for the garrison costs.

The Royal Guards are allocated funds from the Royal Household Office, so the annual military expenses of the Tang Empire are extremely low, which is about 1.3 million Tang Yuan per year, [-]% of which is allocated to the Royal Navy.

Due to the outbreak of World War 1
The Royal Navy of the Tang Empire accelerated its military construction, completing and launching two Dreadnought-class ironclad battleships every year, and continuously updating its main battle fleet lineup.

within the globe
The Royal Navy of the Datang Empire ranks third after Britain and Germany. It has 11 new battleships, 18 old 130-ton ironclads, and more than [-] cruisers and destroyers of various types. The main fleet lineup is quite impressive.

The most powerful is the Atlantic Fleet, which has the ports of New York, New Jersey, Miami, Guantanamo, Buenos Aires and Storm Harbor as naval bases, covering the entire American coast on one side of the Atlantic.

Such a strong strength was the basis for the Tang Empire to maintain its neutral policy.