The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 879: France's Preparations for War - Friedrich Plan and the Moore Line

Paris, Palais des Peuples (formerly the Tuileries Palace), summer 1876.

The Times spread out on the long oak table was pressed down by the iron-like fingers, and the ink headline "Ten-year Shipbuilding Plan for the British Empire" was extremely eye-catching under the gas chandelier. The knuckles of the military industry committee member Friedrich knocked on the steel production data table, and the dongdongdong sound seemed to ring an alarm bell:
"Comrades, the capitalist world is one step closer to destruction. The British Admiralty has just announced an appalling ten-year shipbuilding plan. They announced that they would use the latest and best steam turbine technology as the power for new battleships. In ten years, they would build at least 45 super battleships with a standard displacement of more than 35 tons, 60 armored cruisers with a standard displacement of about 3000 tons, and at least 5000 cruisers with a standard displacement of 1890-140 tons, in order to maintain Britain's maritime hegemony in the s and decades thereafter! An order for battleships and cruisers! This is enough to plow the entire European coastline three times!"

Foreign Affairs Commissioner Moore raised his face from the smoke, his eyes behind the glasses piercing through the window of the conference room, as if he saw the wonderful scene of red flags flying all over Europe in the future:
"Okay, it's finally time to start! When the British naval shipbuilding frenzy is completed, the world war between Eastern and Western imperialism will inevitably break out!" He said confidently: "So, this is not a shipbuilding plan, it's the hammer that will nail the coffin of imperialism..."

Military Commissar Donbrowski frowned and asked, "Comrade Moore, Comrade Friedrich, how can you be so sure that the world war will break out in 10 years? Is it just because of the British's huge shipbuilding plan? But the British have long maintained the world's number one naval power! They now have more than 80 ironclad ships, and this shipbuilding plan is just to update the British battleship force."

Moore laughed and said, "The British's massive shipbuilding program was certainly not the cause of the outbreak of the World War, but the preparation for the World War. And the real cause of the outbreak of the World War was the ability to build these battleships and cruisers - that is, the excess industrial capacity of imperialism!"

He opened a report from the French Supreme Council's Bureau of Statistics:

"The UK's steel and coal production has grown rapidly in the past few years due to technological iterations. It is expected that crude steel production will reach 150 million tons this year! It will definitely exceed 500 million tons in ten years, and coal production will also increase significantly at the same time!"

"At the same time, the steel and coal production of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the United States, and Germany are closely following the United Kingdom, and a trend of catching up has emerged. Among them, the output of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is growing rapidly along with the United Kingdom. Their crude steel output will exceed 100 million tons this year, and it is expected to surpass the United Kingdom in five years!"

"By around 1890, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's steel production is likely to reach more than 150% of Britain's, or even twice as much, while Germany and the United States will at least have the same steel production as Britain. In other words, by then, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will have a maximum of 1000 million tons of steel, Britain will have 500 million tons, and the United States and Germany together may have 1000 million tons. The crude steel production of these four countries alone will exceed 2500 million tons. What an amazing production capacity this will be?"

"As we all know, steel is the food of industry, and coal is the blood of industry. Behind the rapid growth of coal and steel production, there must be a rapid growth in the production of almost all other industrial products! How big a market is needed to digest this? How much raw material supply is needed? What's more terrifying is that with the rapid growth of industrial production capacity of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, these countries already have or will soon have military manufacturing capabilities that can rival Britain. At the same time, their land area and population are larger than that of Britain, which means that they all have war potential that exceeds that of the British Empire! In this case, why do they allow Britain to remain the overlord of the sea and monopolize the largest and best colonies? Their industries either need huge overseas markets or huge supplies of raw materials. They also need colonies!"

“As the emerging imperialist country with the largest population, the greatest potential, and the greatest demand for external resources, especially food, the struggle for hegemony between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain was almost inevitable and unavoidable. If the loss of external markets and raw materials for the United States and Germany meant economic crisis, then the loss of external supplies for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom meant that the population of France would starve to death.”

Military Commissar Dombrovsky suddenly interrupted Moore: "They are all in excess, but we don't even have enough good steel to make bayonets! The iron mines in Alsace-Lorraine are occupied by the Germans, and the coal mines in Vosges are controlled by the Bonapartists!"

Blanqui, chairman of the Supreme Council, took over Dombrovsky's words: "Comrade Moore, Comrade Friedrich, what should we do in France now? Our industry, especially heavy industry, is in great difficulty now. The iron of Lorraine and the coal of Vosges are the two wings of France, and we have lost them all now! Our current pig iron production is less than 60 tons, which is almost half of the pre-war level. Our crude steel production is only 15 tons, while Germany is close to 100 million tons of steel."

Friedrich took over Blanqui's question: "Comrade Chairman, so we now need to tell the French people about the difficulties and severe international situation facing the country. Now, we need to use two five-year plans to rebuild France's military industry! In 2 years, Germany will have 10 million tons of crude steel, and France needs at least 500 million tons of crude steel. For this reason, we need to establish a new industrial zone in the Fosse-Marseille area, which is far away from the German bayonets, and develop our steel industry by importing iron ore from Spain."

"But will the Spanish sell it to us?" Industrial Commissioner Lafargue frowned.

Foreign Affairs Commissioner Moore said: "It depends on our relationship with Britain. Imperialism has never been a monolithic entity! Britain is hostile to all countries that may dominate the European continent. And in today's European continent, Germany is most likely to become the dominant force! So Britain needs a re-armed France. If we perish, no one will be able to stop the powerful German Empire. By then, even if Britain can defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the fruits of victory will be snatched away by Germany."

"How can we convince Britain?" Blanqui asked again, "British capitalists have always been hostile to us!"

"Use a line of defense!"

Moore walked to the battle sand table, picked up a wooden stick and drew a line from the English Channel to the Alps: "A red line of defense stretching from the English Channel to the Alps, consisting of trenches, minefields, barbed wire, machine guns, and breech-loading guns to ensure that our country can withstand the crazy attack of imperialist Germany in the future. I will tell the British cabinet that this line of defense will exhaust France's financial resources for the next 10 years. And its role is only defensive. No one can conquer the enemy with a line of defense. It can only ensure that it will not be conquered. If Britain does not want to see a European continent covered by the Iron Cross flag after defeating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with great difficulty, it should allow France to import iron ore from Spain and coal from Britain."

"Then how can we spread the flames of revolution throughout Europe?" Blanqui asked with a frown.

"Wait!" said Moore, "Let's wait and wait for the world war to be decided. The loser will surely be swept away by the storm of revolution!" Berlin, Imperial Palace Conference Hall, June 1876.

William I sat at the end of the long table, stroking his wine glass with his fingertips. Bismarck stood in front of the window, gazing at the vibrant life outside, as if he could see the future of the German Empire through them.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellencies." The Iron Chancellor turned around and said in a voice as deep as thunder, "London's shipbuilding plan is not a threat to Germany, but an opportunity."

The Army Chief of Staff, Moltke, frowned slightly: "Opportunity? The British are going to build 140 battleships, armored ships, and cruisers. When all are completed, the number will reach 5-10 times that of the German Navy!"

Bismarck sneered: "Two to three times is a threat, five to ten times is not a threat at all. Their target is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and they want to strangle it!"

He walked to the map hanging in the conference room, picked up a wooden stick and pointed at the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the map: "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is too big, has too many people, and its industry is growing too fast. The British are afraid. They must use their fleet to block the Pacific trade line, otherwise ten years later, London factory owners will find that their market has been taken away by Shanghai and Guangzhou. And how can the powerful Taiping Heavenly Kingdom let go of Malacca and Australia?"

Bismarck then turned his attention to India: "Then it will be India's turn, and once India is lost, the British Empire will be completely finished!"

Navy Minister Leo von Caprivi groaned, "What is our strategy then?"

Bismarck tapped his fingertips heavily on Paris's position: "Wait."

"Waiting for what?" Leo von Caprivi asked.

Bismarck said: "When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain go to war, it will be a war, and there will be winners and losers!"

"Are we going to do nothing but wait?" Moltke asked with a frown.

"We can also prepare for war!" Bismarck said, "Prepare for a war with the French! But we should not start the war too early, but wait until Britain and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are in a stalemate!"

Emperor Wilhelm asked: "And then?"

Bismarck looked at William I, with a stern smile on his face:

"We must stabilize Russia, advance westward with all our strength, and crush France in one fell swoop!"

William I nodded slowly, with a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "Once France is crushed, there will only be two chess players left on the European continent: Germany and Russia."

Moltke said coldly: "Your Majesty, Russia will be next!"

(End of this chapter)