Chapter 226: No End in Sight
Chapter 221: No End in Sight
London.
In any case, the British government was an inextricable obstacle. Since being called off the German unification process by a coalition of nations, Prime Minister Felix turned to London.
In fact, the joint intervention plan of the countries had been in progress for a long time, and it was only because the Russians had helped to pull the plug that they were able to delay the process until after they had reached an agreement with the South German states.
In this regard, the Tsarist government was still very credible, of course, Austria’s public relations money also played a role.
Otherwise, it is estimated that just after the Saxon Kingdom was dealt with, this joint declaration appeared, then the later plan, Austria will be difficult to carry on.
Can not be made into a given fact, dealt with at the negotiating table, want to achieve these purposes, almost impossible.
The fact that the joint declaration was issued so long ago, and the international conference has not yet been held, is to leave time for Austria’s public relations.
In other words, it is that you, Austria, have taken advantage of the situation, we are red in the eyes, if we are not able to obtain adequate compensation, we have to make things happen.
This is Franz’s view, if the international conference is convened immediately, Austria simply does not have time for activities. No, I should say that there was no time for activities in London.
By the strong request of Napoleon III, this international conference was held in Paris, and the government of Paris, which was close at hand, obviously had the opportunity to public relations.
The Russians, not to mention, without the support of the hairy bear Austria did not dare to move, obviously both sides have long had a deal. Shrewd John Bull, how can tolerate this kind of thing?
Originally planned to convene a meeting in July, hard to be delayed until late August, is the British request.
In the face of this situation, the Austrian government naturally had no choice, Prime Minister Felix had to personally run to London.
……
Instead, Prime Minister Felix asked, “Mr. Henry, the importance of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia to Austria, I think you will not be unclear, the local economic value is still above the South German region.
Venice is Austria’s largest foreign trade port, and most of Austria’s naval ports are in the Venetia region, do you think it’s possible for us to let go?”
British Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon laughed and said, “Mr. Felix, your country is not short of ports, Rijeka and Trieste are both excellent ports, and there are numerous ports in the Dalmatian region that your country can develop.”
Felix shook his head and said, “Mr. Henry, theoretically as long as it is adjacent to the sea, it can be transformed into a quality port, but what about the development costs?
The Dalmatia region is Austria’s poorest province, and the local traffic is enough to make any port worthless.
So the proposal to abandon the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia should be left alone, there is no way we will agree to it.”
The British wanted the Italian region to be united, to check both Austria and France, and to balance the forces in the Mediterranean.
However, on this issue, it was opposed by Austria, France and Spain at the same time, and the unification of the Italian region became remote.
The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was a compensation obtained by Austria’s renunciation of the Austrian Netherland, with a territory of 46,991 square kilometers and a population of about 5,160,000, mainly Italians, with some Germanic peoples.
It was the richest land in the Italian region, with the largest plain in Italy, the Po River Plain, where more than half of Italy’s industries converged, and the busiest port in the Mediterranean, Venice, which at one time accounted for 30% of Austria’s financial revenue in the .
Such huge economic interests, the Vienna government naturally can not easily give up. Even now the British to recognize the new Holy Roman Empire as a condition, Prime Minister Felix is also a mouth refused.
Unable to achieve this goal, Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon once again put forward a new condition: “Mr. Felix, your country is unable to give up the Italian region, so it is not a problem to stop supporting the Russians, is it?
I’m sure you don’t want to see the Russians annex the Ottoman Empire and push their tentacles deeper into the Mediterranean Sea, upsetting the balance of Europe, right?”
After arriving in London, Felix had a feeling in his heart that the real goal of the British should be to break up the Russo-Austrian alliance, and now it was a poor attempt to do so.
“Mr. Henry, I think you have misunderstood, we will only remain neutral in the Near East War and have never supported the Russians.
From the outbreak of the war until now, the Austrian government has always maintained neutrality, and doing business with the Russians, that is adhering to the principle of free trade.”
Free trade was introduced by the British, it was one of the national policies of the British government, and naturally Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon could not punch himself in the face.
George Hamilton Gordon asked, “So has your country decided to join the free trade system?”
Felix snubbed, “Mr. Henry, Austria’s situation is not the same as your country anymore. Many people in the country are worried that once they join your country to establish a free trade system, they will be hit economically.
After all, your country’s industrial strength is simply too strong, and all the countries in the world combined may not be able to compete with you.”
That’s right, right now, the British Empire’s industrial strength was one of a kind, and there wasn’t any country in the world that they could compare to.
However, once the countries have completed their industrialization, the weaknesses of the British Isles in terms of small area and poor resources will be exposed, and then it will be another end.
Can’t the British see this problem? The answer is: no.
The present British Empire is so brilliant that they have overlooked the possible crisis. Otherwise, they would have started to make preparations now, not to say that they would be at the top forever, but at least they could prolong the period of world supremacy.
Theoretically the best option would be to shift the center of development into Canada and fight the Americans for the Americas, and it’s not impossible to take out the United States of this era with the power of the British Empire.
The next best thing would be to develop Australia and encroach on the South Seas region, with such a region to feed on, it could also support a superpower.
Once again, is to develop the African continent, the total population of the African continent in this era is at most more than 20 million, thanks to the prevalence of the black slave trade, the population of Africa is still in a state of decline.
The Americans could turn the Indians into a minority, more specialized John Bulls, or they could turn Uncle Black into a protected animal.
All three of these options, either one of them, would require a huge investment of human, material and financial resources, and unless the British elite are all cross-breeders, it’s definitely out of the question.
Even though it was a snub, in this day and age it was considered a compliment. It was a great pleasure for George Hamilton Gordon to receive a compliment from Felix, but it did not affect the negotiations that followed.
George Hamilton Gordon was certain that the Austrian government wouldn’t mind joining the free trade system right away, as long as they loosened up on the issue of the German region.
This was obviously not Austria’s bottom line, George Hamilton Gordon continued to test, “Mr. Felix, since your country remained neutral in the Near East War, now that you are occupying the Ottoman Empire’s land, shouldn’t you return it after the war?”
Felix could only sigh, it is true that he is the master who plays with the continental balance policy, so quickly thought of the problem after the end of the Near Eastern War.
“This is an issue we will have to discuss with the Ottoman government, if they can pay enough ransom, we don’t mind returning the land we are occupying now.”
This “ransom” was obviously not something the Ottoman Empire could afford, but was merely a way to get the British to concede on the issue of re-establishing the Holy Roman Empire in Austria.
In terms of territorial area, Austria’s eyes on several major states combined, not less than 140,000 square kilometers, less than half of the current Austrian occupation of the Ottoman Empire’s territory.
Kingdom of Bavaria: 75,865 square kilometers
Kingdom of Württemberg: 20,682 square kilometers
Grand Duchy of Baden: 15,070 square kilometers
Kingdom of Saxony: 14,993 square kilometers
Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt: approx. 10,000 square kilometers
Free City of Frankfurt: 248.31 square kilometers
However, the Austrian annexation of South Germany was not for the land, but for the population, which exceeded 10 million in these German states.
The population of these German states was more than 10 million. This population could effectively compensate for the weakness of the Austrian main ethnic group, and make the seemingly powerful Austrian Empire into a really powerful empire.
As for the land in the Balkans, what would be the point of giving it back to the Ottoman Empire, could the current Ottoman Empire keep it?
In the case of the two Danube Valley principalities, as long as Austria persists in its opposition to letting them become independent, the Ottoman Empire will just have to send it back again, unless they want to be neighbors with the Woolly Bear.
If the Russians win the Near East War or it’s a draw, then the Ottoman Empire will suffer, sandwiched between the Russians and Austria, let them manage the enclave, is not it a joke?
To Austria to give up the Balkans can be, only Britain and France won this Near East war, the promise of Prime Minister Felix will be honored.
This is a problem that George Hamilton Gordon was quick to react to. The British Empire has too little say in such landlocked areas.
Don’t look as if Austria seems to be taking them seriously now, but in reality it is the Russians who have the most say, followed by the French.
The government in London recognizes that it is good, but opposing it will not change the final result. As long as one of the two countries supported Austria, the reconstruction of Shinra would not be a problem.
In the end, the two sides did not reach any agreement, from the hands of Austria can not get enough benefits, but also can not force the Austrian government to give in, John Bull naturally can not give an accurate answer.
South Germany region can not interfere, North Germany region they can not give up, to the coast, they can find the prestige of Britain.
It was time for the British to have a headache with these problems. Felix would not worry for them, anyway, Austria’s goodwill brought.
With an ambiguous answer, Prime Minister Felix set off on his way home. It was better to leave the upcoming Paris conference to Metternich, who was admittedly the most expert in this field.
(End of chapter)