Chapter 669: Austrian Threat Theory
Chapter 654 Austrian Threat Theory
After William I’s trip to London, the international situation became clearer and clearer. British-Prussian relations warmed up, just ended the alliance of Russia and Austria again leaned together, to determine the future of the situation in Europe towards the right to choose, again to the hands of the French.
If the Paris government supported the Russians, the outcome of the war was already decided in advance. On the other hand, if the government of Paris supported the Russians, the war would be decided in advance.
At Versailles, Napoleon IV was very pleased with the situation. The feeling of swaying the future direction of Europe, with the Russians and Prussians vying to be the first to draw in France, was too wonderful to be true.
Foreign Minister Dumbledore: “Your Majesty, the Russian delegation has suddenly changed its itinerary, canceled its trip to London, and is expected to arrive in Paris in three days.”
Napoleon IV smiled slightly, he knew the Tsarist government was in a hurry. The Russian Empire was superior to the Pupo Federation in terms of comprehensive national power, but war was not only about comprehensive national power, but also external power.
The Pupo Federation had already gained the support of the British, and if it gained the support of the French, even if Russia gained the support of Austria, it would still suffer.
The cruel reality told the Russians that they could not do without money. In terms of financial power the two main gold masters of Britain and France combined could certainly provide more money than what Austria took out.
To put it bluntly, this war was the Russians’ war, not Austria’s, and the government in Vienna could support them, but could not invest without limit.
Unless it is possible to end the war in a short period of time, the final fight will be financial strength. Having had the lesson of the last war, the Tsarist government had no more illusions of a quick victory.
Napoleon IV shook his head, “It’s only now that we are starting to move, the Russians are afraid that they are not stupid!”
The Russian mission had arrived before William I’s visit to Paris, and on the surface it was certainly not too late. But Napoleon IV had a point when he said it was late.
There was a time when France and Russia had the opportunity to get closer to each other, but unfortunately neither side cherished it. This is the legacy of history, the war against France brought the two countries contradictions, Near East war and once again magnified.
Napoleon III once wanted to ease the relationship between France and Russia, was obstructed by Britain and Austria, and finally ended in failure.
After the Prussian-German territorial deal, France and Russia lost the pivot of interest to join forces, and the last chance of alliance was shattered.
There are no pills of regret in this world. With the changing international situation, France no longer had the need to ally with the Russians.
The young Napoleon IV was equally ambitious, wanting to surpass his father and establish greater feats.
Therefore, what France needed was just a little brother, not a rival.
There was no way that the Russian Empire would put its foot down and give someone a little brother, and even if Alexander II was able to lie in wait, the Russian public would not agree.
Foreign Minister Dumbledore waved his hand, ”Russian diplomacy has always been rather spontaneous, there is nothing to be surprised about.
Starting from the alliance between Nicholas I and Austria, to the pro-Prussian and anti-Austrian strategy implemented by Alexander II after he succeeded to the throne, to the later Prussian-Russian flip-flopping, as well as the collapse of the Russo-Austrian alliance are all the same.
The diplomatic strategy of the Tsarist government was too much influenced by personal will. Not only did it not have a long-term plan, but it also changed from time to time and even contradicted itself.”
Seemingly realizing something, Dumbledore decisively chose to stop there. The foreign policy of the Tsarist government was in disarray, and the foreign policy of the French government was actually not much better.
The best continuation of foreign policy among the European powers was Britain and Austria, whose policy of continental balance had lasted from the end of the war against France until now.
Although there have been changes in the middle of the road, the general direction has never changed. The current European political landscape is a product of the Anglo-Australian “Continental Balance” policy.
Napoleon IV nodded: “Never mind, this is also a good thing. The Russians are here so that I can negotiate with the Pope Federation.
The European continent is too small to accommodate so many great powers. One Austria and one England are enough for us, there can never be a fourth.”
The cake was so big that three divisions would not be enough to satisfy everyone’s appetite, and another division of the cake would not be welcomed by anyone.
On the issue of suppressing the rise of the later, the position of the three countries of Britain, France and Austria could be said to be the same. Whether they support the Pupo Federation or the Russian Empire, there is a prerequisite – they cannot be allowed to grow and develop.
Britain, France and Austria split into two waves this time around, seemingly because of interests, but in reality there was a tacit agreement in everyone’s mind long ago: they could not let either of the PBF or the Russian Empire win the war with ease.
In this round of diplomatic competition, the Russians lost from the beginning. No matter how hard the Tsarist government tried, it was impossible to gain more support.
Foreign Minister Dumbledore: “Your Majesty, news has come from London that William I is seeking an alliance with the Great Powers, and the British have clearly rejected them.
If nothing else, William I will also seek an alliance with us. This issue is of great importance, we must be cautious.”
“The Franco-Prussian alliance, if it was twenty or thirty years ago, the French government could not wait to have an ally to share the pressure. Even a decade or so ago, the French government would have agreed without hesitation.
Now it was different, the Anglo-French-Austrian alliance aside, France still had a Spanish ally, and the need for an ally was no longer so famished.
Napoleon IV sneered, “There is nothing to consider. The Pupo Confederation wants to ally with us, and that’s only if they defeat the Russians first. If they lose the war, what qualifications do they have to talk about an alliance with us?”
Now that the Franco-Prussian alliance was in place, what benefits could the French government get other than obligations?
Even if the Prussian-Polish Confederation was victorious, Napoleon IV would have to weigh the pros and cons of a Franco-Prussian alliance. At least the attitude of England and Austria, they would have to consider.
……
The grand welcome ceremony is over, once again visited Paris Alexandrovich (Alexander III) Crown Prince face showed a strong sadness.
The seemingly grand welcome ceremony was mixed with a strong sense of alienation. There was no doubt that the people of Paris did not welcome them.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the Bonaparte family wanted to integrate into the circle of European royalty and attached great importance to etiquette, I’m afraid that they wouldn’t even bother to do the face-saving work.
Right at the beginning was a dismay, Alexandrovich had no hope for the next negotiations.
Originally, according to his intention, the first stop is to visit Denmark, the Nordic countries as the focus of public relations, as for Britain and France to do their best to listen to God on the line.
Unfortunately, the Russian Empire is not yet his turn as the Crown Prince to make decisions. Even if he has been involved in political affairs for many years, the right to speak on foreign affairs is still very low.
Pulling together Britain and France, seemingly rewarding, can directly lock the victory, in fact, there is no possibility of success.
The most critical issue is the “chips”, the tsarist government simply can not get them to move the interests.
Take gold as collateral? Sorry, the Tsar didn’t dare. Britain and France could not trust the Russians, and the Tsarist government could not trust Britain and France.
Unlike Austria, which was right in front of them, if the Austrians defaulted, they could still have a real war. The cost of the war was clearly more than the cost of mortgaging the gold, and these benefits were not enough to make the Vienna government default.
Britain and France are different, thousands of miles away, the Russians simply can not reach them, in case of one day in a bad mood to violate the contract, the Russian economy will immediately collapse, not even the opportunity to retaliate.
Mortgage the territory? Not to mention mortgage, even if it is sold or ceded, they are willing to give Britain and France do not dare to want.
Under normal circumstances, no European country would want to be allies with the Russians. Britain and France are colonial empires, there is no shortage of enclaves.
Diplomacy without interest is all hooliganism. Crown Prince Alexandrovich was just doing his best, and naturally his excitement was not high.
“Your Highness, William I will be arriving in Paris tomorrow, and the French are clearly unsettled by scheduling the welcome banquet together.” A foreign ministry official accompanying him said indignantly
After a moment’s effort of silence, Alexandrovich coldly said, “Just say that I’m not feeling well, and I won’t be attending tomorrow’s banquet.”
As the Crown Prince Alexandrovich was also arrogant, how could he be willing to suffer such humiliation?
As the Crown Prince, now Alexandrovich is only a Grand Duke, and William I is the King, put together on the identity of the first low a grade.
At the time of the imminent outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, this kind of untimely meeting, who knows what news will be organized by the outside newspapers?
“But, Your Highness. If we don’t go, the outside world will ……”
Without waiting for him to finish, Alexandrovich interrupted, “There are not so many buts, what will the outside world say? Nothing more than making up some paragraphs that we are afraid of.
Just based on the relationship between France and Russia, do you think the French newspapers will say good things about us? If you want to hear people say good things, you can just throw money at them, it works better than anything else.”
The more he learned about France, the less confident Aleksandrovich became. Back in the day, the French had actually organized volunteer armies for the Polish independence movement.
Although in the end this volunteer army did not step out of the country, but the strong malice towards Russia can not be covered. Against this background, wanting to conduct a public opinion war in Paris, there is no choice but to smash money.
If France is in a republican era, public opinion can influence the government’s decision-making, then smashing money will also be smashed. Obviously not now, smashing more money is also a waste of money.
Alexandrovich deliberately avoided William I, William I also avoided Alexandrovich, the two seemed to have reached a tacit agreement, never appear in the same place.
Seemingly seeing through the sinister intentions of the French, both men were deliberately avoiding direct outbreaks of conflict, which disappointed the eating public who wanted to watch a good show.
Versailles, Napoleon IV is meeting with William I, the scene is a happy one, as if it is a good friend who has not seen for many years to meet.
On the other hand, the representatives of France and Prussia are starting a war of words around the interests. Seeing that a short time can not make a breakthrough, the foreign minister of the Prussian-Polish Federation Jeffrey Friedman decisively changed the topic.
“Your Excellency, the current international situation is not only unfavorable to us, it is equally unfavorable to your country.”
French Foreign Minister Dumbledore shook his head, “Earl, there is no need to be alarmist here. The current international political landscape is the best period for France in the last hundred years.
We have survived the toughest days, let alone now! Some threats are not even worth mentioning.”
It was true, for nearly a hundred years France had been in the political maelstrom of Europe, hostile and targeted by everyone.
Jeffrey Friedman picked up his coffee, took a small sip, and then asked, “Really? Could it be that Austria, whose strength has grown dramatically, you don’t feel threatened either?”
Dumbledore laughed coldly, “Austria is indeed powerful and growing rapidly, but it is not yet a threat to the great France.
Instead, it is your country that needs to face the pressure of Austria head on, the border line between Prussia and Austria is so long, and now the Vienna government is supporting the Russians.”
The Austrian threat was naturally felt by the French government, just not as obviously as the Prussian-Polish Confederation. The border line between the two countries is not long, and France’s confidence in its own military power is obsessive, so naturally it does not feel much.
Jeffrey Friedman took out the information he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Dumbledore.
“This is part of the Austrian intelligence we have gathered, Your Excellency can take a look at it.”
Since he had already offended Austria, he would simply do it to the end. In order to avoid the Vienna government pulling the strings in the following war, the Berlin government naturally had to find an enemy for Austria.
Throughout the world, the only ones with the strength to hold Austria at bay were Britain and France. The British were too cunning to be fooled, and so far removed from Austria that they could not feel the threat of Austria.
As neighbors of the French is not the same, the two countries have always been rivals, next door to a little wind, they will care.
(End of chapter)