章節 204: Chapter 205: The Anti-French Alliance
This was like an investment, with risks and rewards coexisting. For the revival of the Jewish people, Otto was willing to stake the entire nation.
Otto did not give Roland a clear answer right away. Roland didn't mind at all because he knew they would agree. No one else would offer them such generous terms.
Sure enough, three days later, Otto came to him again and told Roland that they had agreed to all of his demands.
So, the two parties signed a secret agreement. The agreement stipulated that over the next ten years, the Jewish consortium would provide Roland with 30 million francs in annual aid, and the consortium's various resources would also meet Roland's needs as much as possible.
In return, Roland was to gradually improve the living conditions of the Jewish people, granting them the same rights as other nations. After meeting these requirements, they could continue their cooperation. The agreement also required Roland to support the establishment of a Jewish state through leasing or purchasing land, with France stationing troops there to protect the state's security and assisting in training a small Jewish army.
This agreement tied the fate of French Jews to Roland.
Although Jews sometimes did not keep their promises, under Roland's enticement, they always stood by him. Even in subsequent wars where Roland faced difficulties, they never abandoned their support.
Roland was also very trustworthy. In the end, he helped them achieve their millennia-old dream by establishing a Jewish state in their holy land of Jerusalem. But that is a story for another time.
…
A month later, with Otto's help, Roland consolidated the mineral resources. To better manage these resources, Roland and Otto formed a company named French Metal Refining. Roland held 70% of the shares. To compensate Otto for his losses and bind him firmly to his cause, Roland gave Otto 20% of the shares. The remaining 10% of the shares were given to Jobst.
Roland initially managed French Metal Refining, but soon became a hands-off manager, as he had many other things to attend to and couldn't focus entirely on business, which would be putting the cart before the horse.
So, Roland handed over all company affairs to Jobst, as he was a very good friend and someone Roland trusted deeply. Jobst had ample business experience, which was evident from how well he managed the arms factory. Roland felt very confident leaving the metal company in his hands.
Seeing that Roland trusted him so much, Jobst was deeply moved, almost to the point of wanting to cut off his hand as a gesture of loyalty.
From being rescued, to being given the arms factory to manage, to being granted a military identity to avoid persecution, and now being put in charge of French Metal, Jobst felt he could never repay Roland's kindness in his lifetime.
…
Once everything was on track, Roland's life returned to its usual busyness. The only difference was that after a short period of time, his relationship with Anya had suddenly improved significantly. During this time, Anya was constantly with Roland, and the two seemed like lovers. Roland would take time to accompany Anya shopping, watching operas, going on outings, and attending various banquets. It seemed that women, regardless of the era, loved shopping, and each time, Roland's role was to be Anya's porter, with his wallet quickly thinning out. This made Roland sigh, thinking that indeed, women of any era had no resistance to shopping! At the same time, he was somewhat grateful that he had a share in the arms factory, which allowed him to have some money. Otherwise, his monthly salary alone would not be enough to support this young lady.
However, Roland was quite happy with this, because who wouldn't enjoy having such a playful and charming little beauty by their side?
…
But good times are always short-lived. While Roland was immersed in a pleasant atmosphere, outside France, the winds of change were blowing.
With Napoleon's ascension to Emperor, the monarchic system of Europe faced a massive shock. The old European aristocracy, who valued lineage, couldn't accept that a minor noble from an island had now ascended to the French throne, standing on equal footing with them. Additionally, due to continuous development, France had not only recovered its previous strength but had become even more powerful, causing further anxiety among other nations. In their fear, countries tacitly increased their armies, making the already tense situation even more strained.
Thus, although countries were still relatively restrained for now, any keen observer could see that this was just the calm before the storm.
Roland knew that according to the timeline, it wouldn't be long before Austria and Russia formed the Third Coalition against France. When that time came, a war sweeping across Europe would break out once again. Therefore, Roland had to make preparations during this period.
To prepare for the impending war, Roland had been urging the armory to research new weapons. He knew that these modern weapons would increase the chances of victory for the French army in future battles.
In 1805, to counter France's growing power, the British began to curb France's foreign trade. The British navy resumed their old profession: piracy. Numerous British naval ships, under the orders of the British monarch, hoisted pirate flags and disguised themselves as pirates, robbing French ships on the high seas. This caused significant losses to French trade.
Napoleon, clearly not one to take a loss without retaliating, chose to take revenge. To strengthen the French navy's power and counter the British, Napoleon ordered a halt to the invasion of America, which greatly relieved President Jefferson of the United States. After all, the current strength of the United States was far from being a match for France.
While Napoleon relaxed his aggression towards America, he tightened his control over Europe. To counteract British trade sanctions, Napoleon ordered all Dutch ports to prohibit British ships from docking and banned trade with the British. He also sent troops to threaten the Netherlands, forcing them to sever trade with the British. He even occupied some German territories and kidnapped British diplomat Lombard from Hamburg, bringing him back to Paris for imprisonment.
In what seemed like a demonstration of power, on May 26, 1805, Napoleon established the Kingdom of Italy and crowned himself King of Italy in Milan. He also annexed Genoa, Piedmont, and Savoy. It was hard to believe that someone who constantly claimed to genuinely want to establish peace in Europe would take such actions.
Napoleon's adversaries reacted swiftly and fiercely upon learning of his coronation in Milan. In April 1805, Britain and Russia signed a military alliance treaty to restore "European peace," forming the Third Coalition against France. In August, Sweden and Austria joined the coalition (six months earlier, Russia and Austria had secretly signed a defense treaty stipulating that if Napoleon invaded Italy or threatened the Ottoman Empire, the two countries would jointly declare war on France).
Due to Napoleon's occupation of British Hanover and his widespread expansion during his retaliatory actions against Britain, the British were highly motivated in organizing the new coalition.
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