Chapter 518: All Acting

  Chapter 506 are acting

The Anglo-Russian negotiations did not keep secret, far away in Vienna Franz have received the news, and even the content of the negotiations are restored to the seven or eight.

To sell at a price, so simple reasoning everyone understands. The Russians deliberately leaked the news out, obviously waiting for Austria to bid.

It does not have to be higher than the British, as long as it is a small difference, the Tsarist government will certainly choose to stand with Austria.

This is determined by interests, the value of the existence of the Russian-Austrian alliance can be much more valuable than the Anglo-Russian alliance, besides, the British will not ally with them.

If you open the map, you can see that the long border between Russia and Austria has not so many natural dangers as a line of defense. Without the alliance, the defense pressure alone would have been a headache.

This was especially true for the already tired Tsarist government. If it flipped with Austria, it would mean that any country that bordered them was an enemy, or a potential enemy.

When the Russian Empire was strong it was east to west and built up a great reputation, now that it was showing fatigue, it became a pack of wolves devouring tigers.

The last Russo-Prussian War told the Tsarist government how many enemies they really had. If the second Russo-Prussian War was lost again, then it was time for the Nordic Confederation to rush up and share the meat.

It was no secret that the Finns and Sweden were hooking up. When the Russian Empire was strong, the Swedes were very peaceful, but with the loss of the Russo-Prussian War, Karl XV had the audacity to publicly receive the leaders of the Finnish independence movement.

Of course this potential threat didn’t scare the Russians. It was difficult for the Russians to fight their way out of the country, but they had little problem holding on to their current foundations.

Although there were many enemies, not many were willing to contribute. With the exception of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, which had no chance of a détente, the rest of the enemies were just going to fall on their swords.

Now that the Tsarist government was so poor that they had no other cards left except the domestic market to use as a bargaining chip, it was only natural that they should now sell for a good price.

Originally, they wanted Britain, France and Austria to bid together to compete, but unfortunately the French are now very busy and are not willing to participate in the competition.

……

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Franz grimly asked, “The Russians have shown their chips, do you think we should compete with the British?”

It was obvious that he was in a very bad mood. The Czarist government messing around at this time had completely hit the bull’s-eye for Austria.

South Africa’s gold has not yet been mined, and in the struggle for monetary hegemony the S.H.I.E.L.D.-gold system was already in a disadvantageous position, and at this time the Tsarist government fell back on the British, basically declaring the victory of the pound-gold system.

Prime Minister Felix angrily replied, “Your Majesty, it is not possible to indulge the Russians in this blackmail, it is necessary for us to teach them a deep lesson.”

In order to draw the Russians into the S.H.I.E.L.D.-Gold System, Austria had also paid a small price. Having taken all the favors, to come back with this when it came down to it, in Prime Minister Felix’s opinion, this was betrayal.

Franz nodded, and without waiting for the others to speak, he made an immediate decision, “The Foreign Ministry reminds the Russians that the Russo-Austrian alliance is about to expire, and their behavior is chilling!”

Bidding is impossible to bid, how is it possible to try to sell the same item twice? The Czarist government was short of money, and that didn’t concern Franz.

Regardless of any reason, if one breaks an agreement, even if it is a verbal one, it is still betrayal.

After a pause, Franz stopped again, “Forget it, no need to be obnoxious at this time. Send an invitation to the Prussians; Wilhelm I knows what to do.”

How can verbal threats be as deterrent as actual action? The Russians dared to fall to the British, and he would support Prussia in the next Russo-Prussian War.

Even though the Berlin government couldn’t get the leverage, the pie they drew was big enough!

Unless Alexander II was able to fuck the Prussians over before the end of the Russo-Austrian alliance, then Franz had nothing to say, he wasn’t a backstabber, and Austria would certainly be neutral.

If he waited until the Russo-Austrian alliance was dissolved and the Russo-Prussian War broke out, then don’t blame him for falling on his sword. Not to mention, simply cut off the Russian-Austrian trade, will be able to make the Russians hurt.

If that wasn’t enough, then releasing the Prussian Navy into the Aegean Sea and letting them team up with the Ottoman Navy to block the Russian trade routes into the Mediterranean Sea was also a good option.

Falling down a well is something that a lot of people play around with. If the Nordic Confederation didn’t know about closing the Baltic gates, then Franz was going to look down on them.

Once the two lifelines are broken, the Tsarist government can’t import strategic materials from the Far East for the war, right?

The Siberian Railway has not even begun to repair, even if the construction begins immediately, it will take more than ten years.

Foreign Minister Weissenberg analyzed, “Your Majesty, there is no need for us to be so proactive. The Prussians should be more anxious than we are, and it won’t be long before they come to us on their own.

Britain and Russia are starting to come closer together, and it’s an open question whether their bosses will still support them in the next war.

If the Prussians can’t sabotage this Anglo-Russian deal, then they’ll have to move closer to us. Comparatively speaking, it’s in Eastern Europe that our voice is the heaviest.”

……

Every politician is a competent actor, and it was natural for Franz to go along with it when the Russians took the monetary system for a test drive.

This was not the case with a bunch of bigwigs in the Vienna government, who all put on a big show for them and showed the Russians what they wanted to see.

It would not be long before the contents of this meeting would reach the desk of Alexander II through hidden channels, and then it would be his turn to have a headache.

True or false, even Franz himself wasn’t sure if the contents of this meeting would turn out to be true.

The only thing that was certain was that Franz was falsely “angry”. After so many years of being the emperor, he had learned not to move when he was angry, so how could he show it?

Moreover, we all have our own positions, and in the position of the Russians, there is nothing wrong with this approach.

Franz also often do things to pit teammates, by teammates pit is also sometimes happen. If he had to be angry about that, Franz would have been pissed off already.

If he was really angry, Franz would not have had a meeting. Instead, he took direct action to retaliate, for example: to raise a pirate in the Aegean Sea, specializing in blocking the door of the Russians.

Or maybe sponsor a grant to the Russian Revolutionary Party, so that they give the Tsarist government to add obstacles.

In contrast, supporting the Kingdom of Prussia that was completely underhanded. After the fall of Russia, the rise of Prussia is a waste of effort, isn’t it?

Acting was a way to “get out of the way”. After preparing for so long, Austria was about to take action.

It will not be long before the strategic value of the Persian Gulf will be realized, Franz naturally want to intervene into the. In any case, the British will not be able to monopolize the area.

If it were not for the fact that it is too close to the Indian region and the British are watching too closely. Franz would have acted long ago.

If he didn’t take advantage of the alliance between the three countries to take action against Oman and extend his tentacles to the Strait of Hormuz, when would he wait?

Austria in South Africa in the region knocked the British stifle, the government in London to pull the Russians to join the free trade system, pry Austria’s corner. Franz took the opportunity to reach out to the Persian Gulf, which the British had their eyes on, and everyone did it by their own means.

The Russians probably never dreamed that Franz was ready to sell them to the British from the very beginning.

There was no way around it, having already grabbed a large swath of British South Africa, and now the Persian Gulf, which the British regarded as their most prized possession, there was always a need to appease the British.

Monetary hegemony is not so easy to establish, especially in the era of the gold standard. If the British did not have enough gold in their hands, would the pound-gold system still be in play?

In that case, it would be better to let the British be happy for a few days first. Use the aura of victory to cover up their failures in overseas colonial expansion.

As for the Russians I’m sorry to say that the alliance was on the verge of being untenable as the conflict of interest between the two countries grew, and it wasn’t something that could be undone by individuals.

Unless the Russian Empire stays in decline then everyone can still become good friends. Obviously this was not possible, Alexander II’s reforms had made Franz feel threatened.

There were too many parts of this reform that Alexander II was emulating Austria. Compared to the original time, this social reform was much more thorough.

Not only did it free the serfs, Alexander II also solved the land conflicts, even the industrial development was very fast.

Since the end of the civil war, the Russian Empire’s industry and commerce had entered a period of rapid development. Even though the industrial products were as trashy as ever, the growth rate of production capacity was amazing.

The industrial capacity lost in the Russo-Prussian War was restored in just so many years, and the total amount of industry exceeded that of the pre-war period.

If it wasn’t limited by transportation and lack of capital, the Russian Empire would have been transformed long ago. Once either of these problems were solved, it would have gone into high gear.

They already had the basic ingredients for industrial development: abundant resources, cheap labor costs, and suitable development policies.

There was no way around it; after the Great Reclamation there was a stagnation of grain in Russia, and the price of grain in the country dropped again and again, leading to a significant drop in labor costs as well.

Labor costs in Russia were only a quarter of those in Austria and only a fifth of those of the British. For labor-intensive industries, this was an unparalleled advantage.

Not only was labor cheap, but even industrial raw materials were very cheap. The only thing that was expensive was the cost of transportation, but that wasn’t true everywhere; the Russian Empire also had rivers.

Sooner or later, the capitalists will see these advantages. As long as the Tsar’s government can maintain its current level of governance, it is only a matter of time before it develops.

It is to Alexander II’s credit that by making an example of him he has succeeded in deterring the Russian bureaucrats. As of now, he had exiled thousands of bureaucrats to Siberia to enjoy the northern lands.

The corruption of the Tsar’s government was still serious, but the ability to enforce it had been improved by several notches, and no one dared to disobey the Tsar any more.

The more he learned, the more Franz realized the terror of the Russian Empire. Perhaps Austria no longer feared the rise of Russia, but there was no need to cultivate a rival for itself.

Therefore, when the Russians were in an uproar, Franz stopped appeasing them. Trying to gain advantage by such means was an error of judgment on the part of the Tsarist government from the very beginning.

Including the monetary reforms carried out by Alexander II, Franz was not active anymore. Although there was a great deal to be gained by meddling in it, it was the Russians who benefited the most.

Since the Tsarist government was going to make a deal out of it and sell it for a price, it was better to simply drag it out. Even if the Czarist government turned to the British, it didn’t matter.

The British are not a charity, if the London bankers do not peel off a layer of skin from them, still have the nerve to call themselves bankers?

In order not to bear the name of perfidy, this piece of interest Franz also threw out. Anyway, the tsarist government’s credibility is rotten to the core, and then let them bear the charge of reneging on the alliance, it’s not a big deal.

……

(End of chapter)