The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 779: Turn Paris into the Steel Gerhard of France! (asking for monthly tickets)
Under the dim light of the copper kerosene lamp in the study, Napoleon III held a yellowed letter between his middle and index fingers - it was a letter written by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph to Napoleon III during the Second Italian War of Independence. In this letter, the Austrian emperor begged France not to support the unification of Italy. In the letter, the Austrian emperor earnestly told Napoleon III that a unified Italy would not benefit France at all!
But Napoleon III, who regarded himself as the "liberator of European nations" at the time, simply would not listen. At that time, he did not want to use Sardinia to weaken Austria, but simply wanted to prove that he was a capable fighter and the shadow of Napoleon I in the world.

To this end, he imitated his uncle Napoleon I and led the army in person, and won a great victory in the Battle of Solferino. But what other significance does this victory have other than proving that Napoleon III is "very powerful"?
Will it bring Italy one step closer to full unification? What good would a united Italy do for France? It seems like nothing!

In Napoleon's study, Archbishop Doria, Duke Valevsky and Prince Napoleon all looked surprised. They all saw the German cursive writing on the letter in Napoleon III's hand. They could all recognize that it was the handwriting of the Austrian emperor!

Napoleon III's thoughts were very clear - fighting alone has never been popular in Europe, and using the majority to bully the minority is the mainstream in Europe!
"Your Majesty, Prussia's railway mileage reached 11 kilometers last year, while our main lines are stuck at 000 kilometers." Prince Napoleon unfolded the 9 Western and Central European railway map and ran his finger over the densely packed Prussian stations along the Rhine. "It only takes 500 hours for their military trains to travel from Berlin to Cologne, while it takes us a whole day to travel from Paris to Strasbourg."

The French Emperor took a deep puff on his cigar, the smoke blurring the portrait of Empress Eugenie on the wall: "What about steel?"

"The Beselmeier steelmaking process enabled Prussia to produce more than 150 million tons of iron and 40 tons of steel last year, which is much more than ours..." The prince pulled out the 1863 industrial report, "The phosphorus content of Lorraine iron ore is too high. We need to spend a lot of time upgrading the steelmaking furnace to produce qualified steel. In addition, our coal is not enough and needs to be imported from Britain."

Valevsky suddenly interrupted, "Population is also a problem. Although Prussia has only 2000 million people, their population structure is younger and the growth rate is higher. Although we have 3800 million people, the average age is older and the population growth rate is slow." He opened the 1864 census of the German states, "If the population of other German states is included, the German population may have exceeded 4000 million. Even if the 500 million Germans in Austria are deducted, there are 3500 million damn Germans!"

It's 3500 million young, strong Germans versus 3800 million old Frenchmen.
Archbishop Doria reminded Napoleon III: "The Russians will never forgive the Austrian emperor's betrayal in the Crimean War! Alexander II would rather see Berlin unify Germany than see the Holy Roman Empire reappear in the world. Of course, he is even more unwilling to see the French tricolor flag flying over Berlin!"

Valevsky's brows were twisted into a ball: "The British are more insidious. They used us to stop Russia, and then began to support Prussia to contain us. Prussia's industry could not have developed so rapidly without the support of Britain!"

The French Emperor sighed: "What about Austria? What do the British say? There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in the world, right?"

"Franz Joseph's conditions remain the same." The archbishop put on his gold-rimmed glasses. "First, France withdraws its garrison in Rome. Second, recognize Venice as Austria's sphere of influence."

Prince Napoleon slammed the table: "Ridiculous! Without our troops in Rome, Garibaldi's Red Shirts would storm the Vatican tomorrow!"

Archbishop Doria reminded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the Crusade from Macau? The Pope really has a division!"

Napoleon III pressed his forehead and said, "That was 10 years ago. Can they still fight?"

"It doesn't matter," Doria said with a smile, "What matters is that the whole world knows that the Pope really has a division! We can let this division return from Asia and station in Rome. And I will be the commander of this division!"

Archbishop Doria had an irresistible impulse when he thought that he might become a pope with soldiers in his hands.

"And Austria is our last hope!" said Valevsky. "Since we supported the unification of Italy, we have gained a powerful neighbor in southern Europe. And Austria has been weakened too much. Once Austria is annexed by Prussia, a super Germany with more than 4000 million people will emerge!"

The French emperor suddenly murmured to himself: "The oath of the Carbonari..."

"Your Majesty!" the Archbishop interrupted sharply, "The Italians have never been grateful to you! Cavour mocked you in Turin as a 'speculator wearing a crown', and Garibaldi even secretly supported the French Republicans!"

Valevsky reminded the emperor: "In 1859, we could have completely defeated Austria, but you suddenly stopped the war and interrupted the process of Italian unification. From then on, the Italians will no longer be grateful to you!"

"Okay! I am the Emperor of France first, and also a Napoleon!" Napoleon III was determined. "Archbishop, go to Vienna and contact the Austrian Emperor and tell him that I want to sign a treaty with him to jointly defend against Prussian aggression! The condition is to recognize that Venice will always belong to Austria!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Archbishop Doria accepted the task without saying a word.

"Duke," Napoleon III said to Valevsky again, "you find a way to contact Bismarck." "And Bismarck?" Valevsky was stunned.

"Yes!" Napoleon III said shrewdly, "I want to prevent Prussia from becoming too powerful and threatening France's hegemony, and at the same time prevent Austria from using its alliance with us to become bigger and annex Prussia. That would be a superpower empire with a population of nearly 6000 million!"

When the crowd dispersed, the emperor sat alone in front of the mirror. The glass reflected countless swaying Napoleons - some wearing Roman laurel wreaths, some standing in front of the army at Waterloo, and some living on a small island. He remembered his uncle's warning: "Europe cannot accommodate two emperors."

At the same time, in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Embassy on Saint-Honoré Street, the flames of the kerosene lamps flickered in the glass cover, illuminating the four oriental faces. Hu Wansheng's fingertips gently tapped the sandalwood tabletop, the rhythm like the prelude of a war drum. Feng Xiuying played with a red gold pocket watch - it was a wedding gift from Luo Yaoguo to her and Hu Wansheng. On the cover of the watch was a picture of the Heavenly King, and inside the cover were engraved the four words "Great Harmony in the World".

Weng Tongjue wore a pair of Western glasses on his nose, but his eyes behind the lenses were always fixed on the map of the European revolution on the wall. In the corner, Feng Yunshan's other adopted daughter, Countess Rinko of Temple Hill, sat quietly holding a copy of The True Covenant.

"The situation in Europe has become clear." Ma Baocai's voice was low and hoarse. He unfolded a secret letter. The wax seal on the letter paper was the dragon emblem of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. "The teacher's instructions are very clear - the European war and revolution are inevitable, and our mission is to turn France red."

This secret letter is an order. Whoever conveys it will be the person in charge of this "Red Law Operation"!
"Red France?" Rinzi raised her eyebrows. "What does His Royal Highness the King of Wu mean?"

"France will definitely lose the war with Prussia." Ma Baocai put away Luo Yaoguo's letter, "and the workers' leaders of European countries will gather in London soon to form a party, work together and seek common cause."

Rinko frowned slightly: "Conspiracy? Do they have that ability?"

"Abilities can be cultivated." Hu Wansheng said, "Nicholas Zhao Si can teach black slaves how to fight, and we can also help French workers master fighting skills. In fact, the people of Paris have never lacked the spirit of struggle!"

This is the oldest district in Paris!

Weng Tongjue pushed up his glasses and said, "But spirit alone is not enough."

"So we have to give them weapons." Ma Baocai took out a list from his briefcase. "These are the things the French workers need. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will do everything it can to provide them."

Hu Wansheng took the list and took a look at it: "Wire, shovel, sugar, rubber, American oil, fertilizer?"

"Your Highness Prince Yu, do you know how to use these things? Each one can be legally bought and sold, but as long as they are used properly, they can make the people of Paris the best fighters in the world." Ma Baocai's voice echoed in everyone's ears like a nightmare, "When the German shells fall on the streets of Paris, they will find that they have crashed into a 'Steel Graf'!"

"German Steel?" Weng Tongjue was a little confused. "German Steel Steel" sounds like Russian. What does it mean?

"I don't know," Ma Baocai said, "This is what my mentor told me in person. I just repeated it to you word for word! My mentor said that our mission is to turn Paris into the Steel Graf of France in the future!"

Outside the window, the bells of Notre Dame struck twelve o'clock at midnight. Hu Wansheng looked out the window at the Seine River, where the lights of the Tuileries Palace were reflected on the water. In a trance, he seemed to see the magnificent palace burning in blood and fire.

"Remember," Ma Baocai's voice was as cold as steel, "our goal is not to help Prussia defeat France, nor to help France defeat Prussia. Our goal is to turn this war into the fuse of revolution and help the working people of France seize the world."

(End of this chapter)