Impact (1)
Four days later, the France fleet returned to Brest Port, its most important naval port in the Atlantic Ocean. Before the fleet entered port, the France military had already learned of the battle's outcome via radio. However, to maintain secrecy, France newspapers did not report the news. Nevertheless, some influential media outlets received hints. For example, * Science Truth Daily * and * Businessman's Daily * were alerted in advance that the French Navy might have taken a decisive action.
So both the newspapers * Science Truth Daily * and * Businessman's Daily * sent reporters to Brest Port in advance. Before the main fleet entered the port, the lead communications ship entered first, followed by the gun emplacements outside the port firing salutes to announce the victory to everyone in the port area. Then the main fleet entered the port.
Ten minutes later, Pierre, a reporter from Science Truth Daily, rushed into the telegraph office, sweating profusely. He pulled out a ten-franc note and switched places with the person at the front of the line waiting to send a telegram. A few minutes later, news of the victory was transmitted to the Paris newspaper office through that telegraph line.
A few hours later, a group of newsboys appeared on the streets of Paris, carrying urgently printed extra editions. They ran and shouted:
"Breaking news! Breaking news! Behold the decisive battle between our naval fleet and the British Navy fleet in the North Atlantic Ocean!"
"Breaking news! Breaking news! The Navy has achieved an epic victory!"
Pedestrians on the street stopped and took a free copy of the extra edition from the newsboy. Yes, these kinds of extra editions have always been free in France.
"What? The Britain 'Queen Elizabeth' has sunk, and the entire expeditionary fleet has been wiped out?" Everyone who saw the news couldn't help but widen their eyes.
The news spread like wildfire throughout Europe. Even in Britain, some began to circulate it privately. The Britain government, of course, already knew that the France fleet had intercepted the expeditionary force in the North Atlantic Ocean. However, they did not know the specific results. Of course, the fact that no warships returned in the following days already hinted that the expeditionary force's fate was not optimistic, but since this was not the final word, many still held onto a glimmer of hope. In addition, to maintain morale, the Britain government also forcibly suppressed the news.
However, information blocking has always been a practice targeted at the lower classes. For those at the top, information blocking serves a greater purpose: to give them time to respond to unforeseen events and minimize their losses.
In reality, everyone knew that this news couldn't be kept secret for long. The defeat in this war almost meant Britain had lost control of the seas, and France cruisers would continuously raid Britain trade routes, preventing supplies from entering the colonies and hindering the export of British goods. It was impossible to keep this secret. Controlling public opinion is effective, but it's also limited. It's like how, even with Pravda, the Soviet Union couldn't keep Russia from knowing that the Soviet Union had collapsed. In fact, without the steel torrent, many people already believed that the United States liberated Auschwitz.
However, before the news can be completely concealed, and before the market inevitably reacts as a result, those who get the news first still have time to take various measures to minimize their losses, or even take advantage of the opportunity to make a profit. Just like how a country's Senate can precisely sell off stocks before a circuit breaker is triggered, before the plague inevitably gets out of control.
After the outbreak of war, Britain issued a considerable amount of war bonds. These bonds offered very high interest rates, and of course, high interest rates also meant high risk. Many prominent individuals had invested heavily in them. Now that the news is confirmed, the market value of these bonds will plummet. One of the biggest advantages of suppressing the news is that it allows those influential people to find someone to take over their positions before everyone else knows, and then conveniently short the market to make a profit.
By the time the France had spread the news throughout Europe, the Britain were still keeping it under wraps. By this time, the most powerful and wealthy had already sold off their unprofitable holdings to new buyers, exchanging them for glittering gold coins. However, among those who bought the shares were some still relatively powerful individuals who needed to quickly find new buyers. Of course, most of them had already shorted the market before they could even do so.
In short, by using the time gained through information blocking, most of the most privileged individuals did not suffer any direct losses and even made a profit. Those who were relatively privileged also largely mitigated their losses. Ultimately, these losses fell on the heads of those urban test-takers who considered themselves "middle class." Thus, almost overnight, they went from being "middle class" to being destitute proletarians.
"Joseph, what do you think the Britain will do next?" Napoleon asked Joseph.
"What to do? How should we deal with the situation after losing control of the sea?" Joseph sneered. "Isn't it simple? Those noblest Britain have already realized that for their own interests, they have no choice but to compromise with us. At the same time, they are certainly already advocating that we fight to the end, unite to overcome the difficulties, and defeat the France invaders. And those 'middle class' who have just become proletarians in the market turmoil will definitely be excited by such propaganda, feeling that it is a great honor to 'take over for the country,' and eager to answer the call of their motherland and fight us to the death. With their intelligence, they certainly can't understand that their efforts only have one meaning: to increase the bargaining chips of those noblest Britain when they negotiate with us."
"So, do we need to compromise with them?" Napoleon asked again.
"Of course, but not now," Joseph said. "If we really don't compromise and maintain a tight blockade for two months, a revolution will break out in Britain, and then, of course, the most noble people will go to the guillotine or go to Americas. And a revolutionary regime will emerge in Britain. And it will likely be a very left-wing regime, like the Mountain, like Marat and Hébert. Then, this fire might cross the Channel and burn back to Europe. In short, this situation is very complicated and very difficult to control. On the contrary, as long as we put enough pressure on them, and eventually make them choose between becoming the current Austria monarchy and becoming the France monarchy of the past, our interests can be guaranteed to the greatest extent."