I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1170: Pay close attention, I'll only demonstrate the standard S-stirring motion once.

"The French and Spanish colonies may appear large, but they bring very limited benefits to their governments," Lord Hawkesburg said with a proud wave of his hand. "At the same time, these places are very poorly developed."

As he spoke, he leaned back in his chair:
"There were no wealthy towns and the number of immigrants was small. This meant that the colonies could even become a burden for them."

"I can give you some information. By this time, the Prime Minister's special envoys should have already arrived in the United States and the United Kingdom of Portugal and Brazil respectively."

"French influence in St. Louisiana has significantly hampered American westward expansion. The Philadelphia government is indeed afraid of the French, but with our support, their troops will soon cross the Mississippi River."

"In fact, several transport ships loaded with flintlock muskets, cannons, and uniforms will arrive in Philadelphia early next month, enough to arm 20,000 soldiers. Of course, there is also a loan of £250,000."

"As you know, the French only have a little over 1,000 soldiers in Saint Louisiana, and even if the Spanish there were willing to pledge their allegiance to them, they could muster at most 2,000 troops. The Americans will defeat them very quickly."

"At that time, Paris will have no choice but to send a large expeditionary force to stop the Americans. And the military expenditure for fighting in North America will be staggering."

Well, no one knows better than the British government how expensive it is to fight the Americans in North America.

Lord Hawkesburg continued:
"Similarly, once His Highness João receives sufficient military funding, his newly formed Royal Guard will launch a fierce offensive against Cayenne, New Granada, and other locations. This will be a continuation of the war between Portugal and Spain on the Iberian Peninsula."

Kobutzl had begun to nod slightly, following the British description.

Spain's main military presence in the Americas was in the Potosí silver mines of Peru, with fewer than two thousand soldiers in northern South America, making it difficult to withstand a sudden attack from the Portuguese army.

In other words, before the war broke out on the European continent, a large number of French and Spanish military forces would be tied up in the American colonies.

Spain, in particular—the Americas are their economic lifeline—will absolutely dedicate all its resources to defense. This effectively cripples half of France's alliance system.

He then thought of France's other half of its allies and looked again at Lord Hawkesburg:

"But there's also northern Italy. France can get a lot of reinforcements from there."

The latter returned his smile with a calm one:

"I cannot reveal too much to you about the situation in Italy."

"However, believe me, not all Italians are willing to stand with France. Once the war begins, a very powerful nation will step forward, rally its anti-French forces, and deliver a heavy blow to the French in the back."

“Oh, and Naples too. His Majesty Ferdinand IV has always been very wary of French influence in Italy. Whenever there is unrest in northern Italy, he will immediately join forces with that country to expel the French.”

Yes, Sardinia had already begun contacting Sir Norris during the last Young Italy uprising. Sardinia secured a British promise to help them unify the northern Italian states and establish an Italian nation-state after driving out the French.

Kobbutzl's heart had begun to pound violently.

The British had such a meticulous plan; the French would surely be exhausted from dealing with it. If Austria's formidable military strength were added to the mix, the chances of victory in this battle would be very high!

Lord Hawkesburg, however, did not stop:
"Furthermore, we must make the most of the power of the German states."

"In the last war, most small countries did not send troops to participate because they lacked sufficient military funds."

Kobutzl shook his head:

"Don't waste money on them. The armies of most small countries lack even the most basic training, and their officers are seriously corrupt."

"Thank you for reminding me. Therefore, I hope to obtain His Majesty the Emperor's permission to recruit troops in the German region. Our government will provide these soldiers with weapons, equipment, and salaries, and will be responsible for their training."

"That is indeed a good idea."

The following day, Lord Hawkesburg was summoned by Emperor Franz II.

"Your Majesty, our country will recognize your rule over the northern Italian region," the Englishman said confidently to the Holy Roman Emperor. "More importantly, our country will do everything in its power to make the Rhineland a directly administered province of the Holy Roman Empire."

"As you know, most of the people who originally ruled there have defected to France. After the war, these traitors will be tried, and their territories should rightfully be reclaimed by you."

"Furthermore, I will persuade Prussia to grant you the right to use a Baltic port."

Franz II nodded repeatedly as he listened.

The temptation was indeed too great—the Habsburg family had always wanted to extend their reach into the Rhineland, but had never succeeded. Unexpectedly, their defeat in the last war led the French to "help" them eliminate the rulers of those smaller countries, giving them a legal basis to directly govern the region.

After acquiring the Rhineland, Bavaria would be semi-surrounded by Austrian territory.

Coincidentally, this third-largest German state, which was hindering his unification of the Holy Roman Empire, had been flirting with France in recent years. He could then use this as a pretext to launch a war against it, and the other states would certainly be unable to raise any objections.

Of course, Prussia would most likely not stand idly by.

Therefore, Austria must achieve a decisive victory over Prussia in this war against France, so that the German states will know who the true ruler of the empire is!
He stood up excitedly:

"Your suggestion is excellent, I think..."

"Ahem!" The Minister of State beside him quickly interrupted him with a dry cough, and then said to Lord Hawkesburg, "As you know, the Empire is currently undergoing reforms, so I'm afraid it won't be able to come up with enough military funds to participate in the war."

The latter replied without hesitation: "A loan of £70 with an interest rate of 1.5%. Depending on the progress of the war, we can continue to add more."

Kobutz's eyes lit up immediately.

Although this figure is less than that of Prussia, and it is a loan that needs to be repaid, Austria is not a "follower" of Britain, so it is already considered quite good.

The Englishman continued:

"In addition, our country will provide your country with a complete set of percussion cap gun production technology, as well as 7 of the latest large-size boring machines for artillery processing."

The Austrian army was still using flintlock muskets, and its cannons were primarily cast and hand-finished, placing it only slightly ahead of Russia in terms of technology across Europe. Britain, in its efforts to enhance its fighting capabilities, spared no expense.

However, Count Bellegaard, who was standing to the side, said:

"Your Excellency, in fact, our country has already developed an even better weapon—the 'Wind Gun'."

　Thank you to Arthur Xiu for his generous donation of Qidian coins to Earl Emman. This is the first time he has ever received a donation.

　　Thanks to: Wujue44, Xuanxiong, the Morning Star of the Night Sky of Lingao, the Meteor of Travel, and Book Friend 20210301106500666712 for their generous donations to this book!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)