I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 737 Never compromise!

When the Duke of Broglie finished speaking, the ministers' expressions became even uglier.

16 versus 40, this is destined to be an extremely difficult war.

Joseph smiled and said, "Look, there is no need for us to give up our interests to Austria."

Everyone: "?"

Joseph continued, "Not to mention the weapons and equipment and training of the army, the enemy's army comes from so many countries that it is very difficult to coordinate and command them, let alone coordinate with each other. We should have enough confidence to defeat them."

This was not out of arrogance, but a conclusion he drew from the battle situation of the first anti-French alliance in history.

At that time, in addition to Britain, Prussia, Austria, Portugal and other countries, Spain and Italian states also declared war on France.

At the moment, Spain would definitely not stand on the side of Britain. Although the Spanish army was weak, the scale of the anti-French alliance was slightly reduced due to the increase in strength.

In addition, Prussia and Austria did not fight the Silesian War in history, and their national strength was stronger than it is now.

Of course, historically, Britain joined the war relatively late. It was basically after Prussia and Austria suffered a defeat on the northern front that Britain joined the anti-French alliance. At this time, the British actively participated in the war and invested their full efforts.

At the same time, although Prussia and Austria had suffered from the Silesian War, they also gained a group of veterans who had participated in actual combat. So overall, their overall strength was roughly the same.

But let’s look at France.

During the first anti-French alliance in history, France had just experienced the destruction of the Great Revolution and its national strength had not yet recovered. In addition, many nobles fled abroad, including many excellent officers, which led to a significant decline in the strength of the army.

Although it has the buff of revolutionary fanaticism, its combat effectiveness is several levels lower than that of the current French Royal Elite Legion.

As we all know, the result of the First Anti-French Alliance was that after suffering some minor losses in the early stages, France fought all the way to the Rhine River.

In this life, with a new army in his hands and a France that had not experienced turmoil, it was impossible for Joseph to fight worse than in history.

Even if we take a step back and say that he really performed poorly and put the war situation into an unfavorable situation, don't forget that France only mobilized its standing army, and he still had the powerful weapon of general mobilization in his hands.

France is now carrying out land reform!
As long as Joseph gave the order, the farmers who had bought the land would fight desperately with the enemies of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with red eyes.

France has a population of 3 million, so mobilizing an army of tens or even hundreds of thousands should not be a problem.

However, French officials were inevitably worried when they saw that many European powers were ready to become enemies of France.

Trade Minister Bailly hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "Your Highness, perhaps we can contact the Austrian side first. After all, it is always good to reduce one enemy."

Joseph took a deep breath, looked around at everyone with a sharp gaze, and raised his voice and said, "I repeat, from now on, there will be only one topic for discussion, that is, how to prepare for war.

"For anyone who dares to be hostile to France, we only need to give them thunderous punishment, not compromise!"

The conference room fell silent instantly.

Someone stole a glance at Queen Mary, but saw that she just clasped her hands, lowered her head and said nothing. Queen Mary had never encountered such a big battle before, and her mind was already in a mess. How could she have any ideas? If it weren't for her son, she would probably ask the ministers "what to do" at this moment.

Brian, as the chief minister, stood up first and shouted to the Dauphin: "Yes, Your Highness! France will never compromise!"

The eyes of the other ministers began to become determined, and they stood up and shouted: "No compromise!" Joseph nodded with satisfaction and motioned for everyone to sit down.

Brian then said, "Your Highness, in terms of finance, we can take out 9 million francs for military expenses under extreme circumstances. But in order to ensure that there are no accidents, I suggest that we can borrow money from neutral countries or private consortiums in advance."

9 million francs may seem like a lot, but it is only enough to sustain an army of 16 and a naval fleet for four or five months.

Mirabeau continued, "We also need to reserve industrial raw materials. I mean, after the war, it may be difficult for us to obtain raw materials from overseas."

Talleyrand nodded: "So, we should use some diplomatic skills to delay the start of the war as much as possible so that we have more time to prepare..."

"The food reserves are still sufficient. More than 3 million pounds of grain will be delivered from Poland soon, and the strategic grain reserve will reach about 80% of the maximum reserve..."

"War propaganda at home must be intensified..."

"I suggest that a "Reserve Service Law" be enacted to improve mobilization efficiency..."

After setting the tone, Joseph basically just listened quietly.

France is like a huge machine. Over the years, he has worked tirelessly to eliminate its faults one by one and make every part and every gear of it run in the best possible condition.

At the moment, he doesn't need to do anything. This state machine can run at a high speed and handle everything in an orderly manner.

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The cabinet meeting lasted a whole day and most of the next day. Decrees were continuously sent from the Palace of Versailles to all parts of France.

The whole of France seemed to make a loud rumbling sound and moved with an unstoppable force.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of troops from Prussia, Austria and other countries began to converge towards the French border.

The British Mediterranean Fleet and Atlantic Fleet have also basically completed their mobilization and are sailing out of the naval port one after another. The sea is covered with black warships.

Of course, such a large-scale military mobilization will take at least two or three months to complete all deployments.

After Joseph finished arranging the preparations for war, he handed over domestic affairs to Brian and others, and drove to Madrid, Spain.

Originally, this matter could be left to Talleyrand, but after careful consideration, he decided it would be better for him to go there in person.

Historically, France fought alone against the entire anti-French alliance.

This was certainly due to the fact that the monarchs of other countries were dissatisfied with the orders given by the Grand Duchy, but it was more due to the self-aggrandizement of the Directory and later the Emperor, as well as their crude diplomatic skills.

Joseph naturally would not follow their old path.

Why not bring in allies if you can?
Especially for a country like Spain, whose king has the same surname as France, Bourbon, there is no major conflict of interest with France, and it is difficult for it to develop and threaten France. It is simply a godsend ally.

You know, although Spain’s army is shabby, it has the third best navy in the world.

The combined navies of Spain and France are close to 80% the size of the British Navy.

Although the French Navy was able to rely on steam frigates to deal with the British fleet in the Mediterranean, only with the help of Spain could it ensure full control of the Mediterranean waters.

(End of this chapter)