Chapter 718: Legacy and Threats
Chapter 702 Legacy and Threat
The Russo-Prussian War had developed to this point, and the international situation in post-war Europe would surely change radically. The Vienna government, as a chess player, naturally wants to steer the situation in a direction favorable to itself.
Pulling back his runaway thoughts, Franz said slowly: “The Berlin government is already in a hurry. The situation in the Puppo Federation may be even worse than what we have learned.
According to the current development of the situation, the possibility of the Pupo Federation flipping is already very small, so we can prepare for the aftermath.
This time, not only do we want to strike down our competitors and recoup our previous investments, we also want to take the biggest share of the dividends.”
The Prussian-Russian War was more than just what it appeared to be, and the Vienna government had invested so much blood money not just to let the Russians win the war.
The credibility of the Tsarist government was well known, so how could Franz support them without a handsome return?
The Russian-Austrian friendship would, at best, have fooled ordinary people. Anyone with a modicum of common sense knew it was unreliable.
Perhaps before the Russo-Prussian War, the Russian-Austrian friendship did have a long history, and after the war the two countries were about to transition from allies to rivals.
Of course, the Czarist government paid a somewhat heavy price in the war, owed huge debts, and could not turn around for decades, and did not have the capital to turn the tables with Austria anytime soon.
For a long time to come, Russian-Austrian friendship would remain the theme of diplomacy between the two countries, until one side did not need it.
The reason for Franz’s bloodshed, naturally, would not have been the tempting collateral offered by the Russians. In fact the demand for territory as collateral was only to reassure Alexander II that he could take his revenge on the Pupo Confederation with confidence and boldness.
No matter how fertile the land in the Ukrainian region was, it was only in Austrian hands if the Russians were defeated and in breach of contract that it was established.
If the Tsarist government had won the war, Austria would only have earned a loan interest, plus a little war money, the return and the risk were completely disproportionate.
The use of debt default against the British, can be counted as a line; the use of post-war overcapacity, suppressing the French manufacturing industry, can also be considered one of the goals; really make the Vienna government blood money, or in order to eat the legacy left by the defeat of the Pope’s Federation.
It was not the land; the land of the Confederation of Poupo, though considerable, was not enough to move Franz.
Besides, the Russians had paid a terrible price of millions of casualties for the war, so it was impossible to let them do it for nothing, right?
If Austria foolishly ran to receive the territory of the Pupo Confederation, the meat could not be eaten much, but instead had to bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the eastern gate of Europe, and from then on to the end of the dead with the Russians.
The establishment of a central European empire is certainly tempting, but the price to pay is also very heavy. Austria’s strategic position was already very bad, and if it extended its territory to the Baltic Sea, there would be no more peace.
In Franz’s view, the greatest legacy left by the Pope’s Confederation was not the land, but the people on it, especially this group of battle-experienced officers.
After the end of the Pupo Confederation, those who were eligible to inherit these legacies were none other than the Russians and Austrians.
There is no doubt that the Pupo and Russia have just had a bloodbath, and the seeds of hatred have already been planted, and the Junker nobles, no matter how uncouth they are, will not be able to immediately defect to the past.
Moreover, even if they are willing to defect, they also need people to be willing to take them in.
Do not say that the Russian military does not welcome the Junker nobles, even the Austrian military will not welcome them, who are not willing to increase a group of people to their bowl to grab food.
Franz wants to accept these people for his own use, but also will not directly recruit, the Austrian army also does not have so many positions to place them.
In addition to a very few generals, who were able to enter the military academy to teach war experience, most of the Junker nobles still need to go home to farm, and become a member of the Austrian military reserve officers.
If a European war broke out, there was still a chance for them to perform, or else they could only die of old age in the fields.
This is the emperor’s instinct, the military literacy of the Junker nobles need not be doubted, Franz must be held in the hands. Even if you don’t use it yourself, you can’t give it to someone else.
After the Russians had won the war, they would have to settle their own people in the region on the basis of merit, and would inevitably have to liquidate those of them who had a vested interest.
Not only the Junker nobility, even the ordinary people are afraid to have bad luck. In fact, they want not bad luck can not, the Russians do not raid their homes, what to pay the Austrian debt?
The Russian-Austrian loan is also a secret contract, not just a territorial exchange, the population against the debt is also one of the conditions secretly agreed upon by the two sides.
This is also the needs of each side, the tsarist government can clean up the local instability, Austria can get a group of development of colonial labor.
Of course, there were limits to the agreement. Austria was not a rag collector of anything, and after the war the government in Vienna would buy the native prisoners of war from the Russians in the name of rescuing their fellow Germans, taking the soldiers’ families with them in the process.
Franz is not afraid of someone to steal business, nationalism has risen, except for him, the emperor of Shinra, holding high the banner of unification of Greater Germany, can use the national righteousness to subdue them, other countries do not have this money.
Scattering these people in the colonies, Austria can be quickly digested. If it falls into the hands of Britain and France, I’m afraid they won’t even dare to put these people on the colonies.
The remnants of the army is also relative, these people’s fighting strength is not bad, to the colonies is definitely the front.
If they entered the British and French colonies, the cultural traditions were different, and they wouldn’t be able to integrate at all in a short period of time. That would be a proper destabilizer, and still the kind that could ignite a wolf’s smoke at any time.
Prime Minister Felix: ”Your Majesty, the most troublesome thing right now is the British, who may encourage other European countries to intervene in this war.
The death of the Puppo Confederation is of no concern to us, but the Kingdom of Prussia is one of the German states, even though they themselves have announced their withdrawal.
As the leader of the German nation, we cannot completely fall back on the Russians in this matter. On the surface we must also make a gesture of defense of Prussia and give an account to the outside world of society.
If the Czarist government cannot resist the pressure and spares the Kingdom of Prussia, I am afraid it will be very difficult for our plans to proceed.”
Nationalism is a double-edged sword. Since Austria enjoyed the benefits of nationalism, it had to bear the obligations that nationalism brought.
For example: unifying the German region, maintaining the territorial integrity of the German region, and fighting separatism ……
There is no doubt that the government in Vienna would certainly have had to intervene. Not to say that the whole Kingdom of Prussia should be preserved, but at least the territories of the Prussian German region should be preserved.
After a little thought, Franz shook his head: ”There is no need to worry. The Polish and Lithuanian regions are all territories that were once internationally recognized as Russian, and as the victor the Tsarist government will certainly be able to take them back.
The Kingdom of Prussia would have to shed a layer of skin even if it was preserved. Huge debts, war reparations, domestic exhausted economy, so many factors added together, not so easy to get rid of.
If they wanted to make a comeback, they would have to be allowed to do so by the international situation. The Russians are not going to give up on suppressing them, and we’re not going to offer them that opportunity.”
The Kingdom of Prussia was still a little too big for Austria, so big that Austria feared it would choke to death if it swallowed them.
Without splitting up the Kingdom of Prussia, the road to German unification would always remain a castle in the air. The new Shinra Empire established by Franz did not need strong states, and the existence of the Kingdom of Prussia would weaken the authority of the central government.
Splitting was easier said than done, but it was very troublesome to operate. First of all, this kind of hate-pulling thing could not be done by Austria. Otherwise, even if it is unified in the future, the Prussian people will be centrifuged from the central government.
Against this background, Franz chose the Russians to be the sword. It is not surprising that he supported the Russians in the Russo-Prussian War out of a combination of strategic considerations.
Foreign Minister Weissenberg: “Your Majesty, if the Prussian-Polish Confederation is defeated, in the future the continent of Europe will be dominated by four countries, Britain, France, Austria and Russia.
Geographically, we occupy the center of the European continent and are naturally the most favorable contenders for European hegemony.
Whether willing or not, in the future we will have to participate in the European disputes. In recent years, our strength has grown so rapidly that it has made many people feel uneasy.
With the development of the times, the number of international conflicts will gradually increase in the future, in the trend of interests, France and Russia are very likely to be close.
Theoretically, we could also pull in the British as allies to counteract the French-Russian alliance, but that would be the worst option.”
Not likely, but very likely. In the original time France and Russia leaned in while the Anglo-German alliance was a bust.
Did the Russians really fall to the French because of the loans? Before the crossing Franz thought it was, now he no longer thinks so.
In the original time and space France and Russia came closer together, it was still essentially a strategic necessity, the German II empire was too strong, it made them feel threatened and they had to stick together to keep warm. The loan was only a catalyst, not a decisive factor.
Now the international situation has changed, but Austria’s strength is equally capable of causing France and Russia to be wary.
France and Russia have not yet come closer, is nothing more than the fact that now Russia and Austria relations are cordial, the French are still immersed in the glory of the Napoleonic era, did not clearly recognize the Austrian threat.
Franz nodded with satisfaction, to be able to clearly see the potential threat to Austria in the post-war international landscape is enough to prove that the Austrian Foreign Ministry has matured, not immersed in the past glory, there is a clear self-awareness.
“It is indeed not a small threat, but this is something for the future. We still have time to lay out the groundwork and completely weaken our competitors before they react.
The most important thing right now is still the Russo-Prussian War, eating up the legacy left behind by the Pupo Federation and enhancing our potential strength.”
……
(End of chapter)