Fox of France

Just as Talleyrand revealed to the Spaniards, the Austrians were indeed trying to negotiate with the French, and the conditions of the Austrians were indeed similar to what Talleyrand said, that is, Austria exchanged the Rhine region with France for the Lombardy region .

In fact, the people in the Directorate are quite excited about this Austrian plan. If the Rhine area is obtained, it means that the French border has advanced to the Rhine River. France has obtained a relatively safe natural border in the north. As for Lombardy, it is still separated from the French mainland by the Alps, so it is naturally inconvenient to manage.

Even Joseph felt that the Rhine region was much more valuable than the Lombardy region. This is not only because of natural boundaries, but also because of mineral deposits.

In this era, the industrial revolution has not yet fully begun, and the significance of those vital minerals to the country has not yet been revealed. But Joseph, who is a traveler, knows very well that Italy is a country with very poor mineral resources. For the most important coal mines and iron mines in the first round of industrialization, Italy has neither.

To say that the country with the best mineral resources in Europe is really the United Kingdom, which has both coal mines and iron mines. France has relatively large iron mines in Lorraine, but the coal mine resources are not particularly ideal. There is a coal mine in Lorraine that is the remnant of the Saar coal mine, but it is already the largest coal mine in France.

If such an agreement is reached with Austria, it means that the Saar mining area, which is rich in coal mines, will completely fall into the hands of France. In this way, the resources needed for the first round of industrial revolution will be basically complete.

But at this time, both Joseph and Napoleon opposed this plan. The reason is very simple. Even if the Rhine region is obtained now, this region belongs to France, not Bonaparte's family. And what about Lombardy? It certainly will not become part of France, but it is under the control of the Bonaparte family.

Of course, Joseph could not object with the above reasons, but anything, as long as you think, can have a high-sounding excuse. Then Lucien delivered the following speech in Parliament:

"For a long time, the Italian people, like the French people, have lived a miserable life under the oppression of the church and the feudal aristocrats. Now we have defeated the priests and nobles who are riding on their heads and giving power to the peasants and the nobles. The civilians brought freedom and liberation.

All Italy, all Europe, are waiting for us, like fields after a long drought for clouds and thunder.

It is for this reason that when our army advances toward Belgium, the Belgian people rise up and respond to us; when our army pursues the fleeing Austrian army in Italy, the Italian people greet us with bread and wine. They feed us, act as guides - why would they do that? Because they see us as their liberators! Why can we continue to achieve brilliant victories? This is not only because the people of France are standing behind us, but also because our army can get the support of the people wherever it goes!

If at this time, we abandon the Lombard people who have just been freed and liberated with our help, and push them back into the fiery pit of feudal autocratic rule, then I would like to ask how the people of Europe will treat us in the future ? In the future, when those feudal and autocratic countries unite again and attack us, can we still expect the people of Europe to be on our side?

Besides, how reliable is this so-called 'peace'? Do our enemies really want peace?

Do not! Not at all! I think anyone with a semblance of brain can see that our enemies have no intention of peace at all, because their hatred of the French Revolution has not changed in any way.

They still shelter those French traitors and exiles, they still support the clown who proclaimed himself the king of France, and in their propaganda, they still call us rebels—anyone who has eyes, as long as he sees these , it is not difficult to see that they do not need peace at all, what they need is actually a truce that allows them to lick their wounds and regain their strength. And once they feel like they've healed their wounds, they'll show us their teeth again!

Gentlemen, I love France as much as you do; I love peace as much as you do. Because we French are all peace-loving. But we French are not fools either! Is it possible for us French to accept that we betray our loyal friends for a peace that is doomed to be torn apart, a peace that does not conform to any moral or military principle? ?

Do not! no way! To accept such a peace would be a betrayal not only of our allies, but of the ideals of France, of France itself! "

Lucien's speech is of course quite good, but what really makes Lucien's speech particularly appealing is the attitude that his speech actually represents a force. The attitude of this force is:

"The Rhine region is ours, and Lombardy is also ours. We will never give up any of them! If they want peace, they must accept this peace, otherwise, let the war continue!"

Of course, since this force opposes such a peace and demands a peace of "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine", then this peace must be made by themselves.

As for how to fight it out, some people suggested that it should be a priority to equip the troops of the Northern Legion with new weapons so as to improve their combat effectiveness and strive for greater victories.

The person who put forward this point of view is a congressman named Alfred, and his point of view has also received a lot of support. Obviously these people don't want to see Napoleon's outstanding military exploits alone, so they hope that Joubert and Moreau in the north can establish meritorious deeds to balance Napoleon.

Both Joseph and Lucien understood this meaning, but neither of them had any reason to object to this suggestion. First, the north is the real main battlefield. If it weren't for the fierce fighting in Italy, military equipment should have been given priority to the north. The second is also because Kano also supports this issue. Thirdly, this is also a business, it is money!

It's just that the production capacity of Joseph's military-industrial complex is far less bluffing than the name of his organization. Because its production method is actually quite backward. The steam engine and the industrial revolution have not yet developed into military factories.

In Joseph's last life, the steam engine, at least the cylinder steam engine, had basically been eliminated. Joseph only knew a general principle of this thing, and basically knew nothing about other things.

This has led to the fact that although the weapons produced by the "military-industrial complex" are very advanced, the way they produce these weapons is still very backward-at least in Joseph's eyes, it is very backward. So relying on its production capacity alone is really not enough.

So under the instruction of Joseph, Lucien proposed that he hoped that other arsenals could also come together to produce new rifles in an authorized manner.

In fact, the technique of the Mini bomb is quite simple. And when this rifle began to enter the army on a large scale, even after Napoleon's army, it was actually impossible to strictly keep this secret. Not to mention the domestic manufacturers, that is, the Austrians, Prussians and the British, they should be able to know this technical secret in a short time. It's just that it will also take time for them to change their troops.

At this time, there is no patent system in France, which means that it will not take long for Joseph's competitors to produce the same rifle that meets the requirements of the army. Even if Joseph relies on his influence in the army, he can guarantee that he will earn the biggest share. Those people can also find ways to win over generals who are not in the Bonaparte system, so as to win a market for themselves.

That being the case, Joseph from later generations naturally came up with a set of countermeasures, which was to use technological advantages to establish a cartel alliance.

Generally speaking, there is a prerequisite for the existence of technology-based cartels, that is, there must be a patent system. For traversers like Joseph, patents are extremely important. Prior to this, Lucien had already proposed the establishment of a patent system in Parliament. However, this proposal was not passed, and the support votes were about ten votes less than the negative votes.

This was a setback for Joseph. But for such a setback, launching a military coup seemed too much. Therefore, Joseph came up with such a plan, first using the technology alliance to attract some arms dealers who have the strength to influence the parliamentary vote. Once these arms dealers enter the alliance, the establishment of patent laws will be very beneficial to them.

Once the patent law is passed, the alliance will be tied even tighter, and the Bonaparte family, which has mastered the source of technology, will undoubtedly become the leader of this cartel. Coupled with Napoleon's influence in the army, Joseph even felt that he could turn this technology cartel into a syndicate unified with technology patents and sales channels.

At that time, because there is no independent source of technology and sales channels, even if the companies in the alliance are still legally independent, all their economic activities can only follow the wishes of the headquarters. By that time, the "military-industrial complex" may be able to truly live up to its name.