Chapter 237 International Political Diplomacy

At a critical moment, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government were rarely efficient.

Everyone is smart and knows the seriousness of the consequences. If they didn't have the ability to see, they would have been eliminated in the internal struggle of the bureaucracy.

With such a large demand for weapons and ammunition, it is obviously not something that can be taken out at once, and must be ordered for production. Even if Franz is prepared, it is impossible to hoard hundreds of huge cannons and tens of thousands of tons of shells and place them there.

If the Russians don't buy it, who can he sell these arms to?

The Austrian army can't use these big guys who are inconvenient to move. The navy is a poor ghost.

After the decision was made, the tsarist government immediately sent someone to place an order with Austria. Unfortunately, the production capacity of the artillery was insufficient.

Since the Austrian Army usually purchases 6-pounder and 12-pounder artillery at most, these are the most commonly used active-duty equipment, and 24-pounder field artillery is rarely equipped. In this era, naval cruisers were mostly 24-pounders, and the capital ships were also equipped with 48-pounders.

Now also attack the fortifications of Constantinople, the power of these artillery is obviously not enough. The Russians need heavy guns of more than 68 pounds. Obviously, most of these guns are used as shore guns, and the actual demand is very small.

(Note: The caliber error of artillery in this era is relatively large. It is common for guns of the same model and batch to have errors of several millimeters; the same guns are produced by different arsenals, and the caliber error may be as high as ten millimeters. Use the caliber to measure the size of the artillery. out of date.)

These heavy artillery pieces are not only siege weapons, but also deadly threats to British and French warships. Obviously, the Russians want to change the current embarrassing situation of being passively beaten.

The market demand is small, and there are naturally fewer production lines opened by military enterprises. Many arsenals only have the ability to produce large-scale artillery. It takes time to open production lines after receiving orders.

Not enough capacity? It doesn't matter, is Russia and Austria not allies? Franz is an enthusiastic person, and active equipment can also be sold. As long as the Austrian army has it, just choose it.

The era of breech artillery is about to come, these artillery will soon be eliminated, and now it is time to replace them in advance.

Used goods? You don't have to buy it, it will be new in a few months.

Obviously the tsarist government can't wait, and the Russian army on the front can't wait even more. Don't care what used goods are not old, it can be used normally, and the big deal is to let the Austrians provide after-sales maintenance services.

Even the artillery ordered by the Austrian Navy has been cut off by the Russians. Anyway, the Navy has not fought in a short period of time. For the sake of Russian-Austrian friendship, please give priority to satisfying allies!

As it turns out, any plan is ideal. It took more than two months for Austria to collect more than 150 cannons, and the rest can only be made up with 24-pounder and 48-pounder guns.

The artillery is in hand, and that means it's ready to attack right away. It is easy to transport from Austria to Bulgaria via the Danube, but it is more troublesome to transport it to the front.

It is quite troublesome to transport the big guy with dozens of tons or hundreds of tons. Originally, these guns were all used as shore guns. As long as the power is strong enough, it doesn't matter if they are heavier or bigger. Now they are naturally troublesome to transport.

The artillery was not in place, and Menshkov slowed down the offensive on the front line. He did not want the Russian army to die in vain. The gray animals were worthless, but if there were too many deaths, it would be distressing!

...

Athens

The Minister of War said in panic: "Your Majesty, the British crossed the border and entered our border on the grounds of chasing the enemy. This is a document sent by the front line, please give instructions on what to do."

Otto I flew the documents, what should I do? Is it worth asking such a simple question? Of course nothing is done.

Block the British, they don't have that strength. It is even more impossible to help the British pursue the routed soldiers. No matter what the Greek government is, it cannot be so shameless.

"Let local governments find a way to hide the soldiers who have escaped. If you can't, send them to the rear. You must be careful not to let the British get the hang of it." Otto I ordered

At this point, it is impossible not to pay the price. Politically speaking, what the British did actually gave him a chance to escape.

The British Empire is a maritime overlord and a top power, and losing to them is more acceptable to the people than losing to the Ottomans.

This is not because the government is not working hard, it is because the enemy is too powerful.

If Otto I was a little shameless, he could still brag about how they beat the Ottoman Empire like a broken bamboo. He didn't expect to be attacked by the British, so he lost.

As for whether there will be a wave of anti-British people among the people, I don't care so much now. Relations between the two countries have not been better since the last conflict between Britain and Greece, and it would be okay to add more.

The Foreign Secretary reminded: "Your Majesty, from the current situation, the outcome of this war in the Near East has nothing to do with us.

British troops entered the Greek peninsula, and now that we have lost the right to choose, we must consider the aftermath. "

Although they had confidence in the Russians, the British had already arrived, and if they didn't do anything about it, before the Russians won, they would first become a government-in-exile.

Thinking of this, Otto I has a headache. The family has just been driven out of the Kingdom of Bavaria. If Austria hadn't paid attention to the exchange of the Lombard throne, it would now be a government in exile.

Now the family's resources are invested in Lombardy

Kingdom, but there is no energy to support him again. After so many years of pure investment, there is no return in sight, and many people in the family are dissatisfied.

Historically, after Otto I abdicated, the Bavarian royal family sent someone to take over the throne. As a result, his brothers and nephews were unwilling to take over this mess, and it was George I's turn.

Without external support, the problems he faces are more troublesome than in history, and if he is not good, he will be ousted by the British.

After wandering for a few steps, Otto I said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a secret negotiation with the British, the current situation can only stop the loss.

At the same time, we will send people to contact the Russians, French, and Austrians. Presumably they don't want to see the British as a dominant force. Now we need their diplomatic support. "

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied the Foreign Secretary

Now is the era of the great powers, without the support of the great powers, it would be difficult for them to get out of this crisis this time.

...

Facts have proved that Otto I's judgment is accurate. Although the Greek kingdom is not strong, economically underdeveloped, not rich in resources, and does not have much interest in itself, but their geographical location is good.

The Russians could not tolerate the British domination here, blocking their access to the Mediterranean; the French did not want to see the British expand their power in the Near East and affect their interests.

Not to mention Austria, out of the Adriatic Sea is Greece, making the British bigger here, and also threatening the maritime security of Austria.

...

Vienna

After receiving the help of the Greek government, Franz decided to intervene in the actions of the British in Greece. How to intervene became a problem.

Forced intervention is impossible, unless he sends the Austrian army over, the navy is not enough, the Austrian navy is not qualified.

Metternich proposed: "Your Majesty, this time we can join forces with the French, and Napoleon III will not be willing to watch the British seize power for their interests.

In the Mediterranean, as long as our two countries have reached an agreement, it is impossible for the British to ignore it. "

That's right, the Fao navy can't be the opponent of the British if they are tied together, but the British have more colonies, and naturally there are more areas where the navy is stationed.

In contrast, the Austrian navy is all nested in the Mediterranean, and it is the second largest naval force in the Mediterranean after Britain and France. The combined naval power of France and Austria in the Mediterranean surpassed that of the British.

Strength is the right to speak. Even if the British are the maritime hegemons, they cannot ignore the common will of Austria and France.

Historically, the existence of the Greek kingdom took advantage of the contradictions between countries, and now Otto I has made the same choice.

It can be said that in international politics, everyone is allies on this issue in the morning, and in the afternoon everyone becomes enemies on another issue at home.

Allies with absolutely no conflict of interest are almost non-existent in this day and age. The core factor that determines the relationship of allies is mainly to see whether the mutual interests or contradictions are great.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Let's talk to France first and see what they want. The domestic interests of Greece are not worth mentioning. We don't need to ask for anything, as long as the British don't completely control Greece."

No desire, no desire, this is Franz's attitude towards Greece. The reason is very simple. Putting aside strategic factors, all countries that have invested in Greece in history have lost money.

If nothing else, the Kingdom of Greece will soon be unable to pay the loans of various countries due to financial difficulties, and then the countries will entrust their finances for a period of time.

This is not one or two times. Whoever accepts this little brother will provide them with a loan to keep them going.

In a country dominated by finance like Britain and France, they can still do this kind of business. Capitalists can use various means to raise funds and seek benefits from it. In the end, even if the loans and bonds are not paid, it is only the common people who are unlucky. They get it in advance. enough benefit.

Austria can't play like this, and there is not enough idle capital in the country to participate in such speculative activities. If the financial group dared to play like this, the Vienna government was the first to refuse.

These funds are used for domestic development, which is more cost-effective than buying the Greeks. Under the concept of developing itself, Austrian financial capital appears to be very low-key in the international capital market.

Neither low-key nor low-key. Compared with the British and French consortia, the financial strength of Austrian domestic financial groups is still too weak. If you are too active, you might fall into the trap and be swallowed by others.

Since the end of the westward strategy, the Vienna government has been easing relations with European countries.

When there is no conflict of interest, diplomatic relations will naturally recover quickly. Especially small countries, as long as the Vienna government throws an olive branch, the relationship between them will be eased immediately.

If you hold grudges in international diplomacy, then congratulations, in the near future, the whole world will be your enemy.

Including the issue of the dominance of the German Federal Empire is actually the result of the compromise between Britain and Austria. If the two countries are constantly at odds, it is impossible to elect an emperor so quickly.

Now repairing the relationship between France and Austria has become the focus of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is estimated that the Paris government will make a similar decision. Without him, interest!

Don't think that Napoleon III has always implemented a pro-British policy, and think that Britain and France are allies. In fact, they are allies only when dealing with the Russians.

For most of the time, Britain and France were on opposite sides. The British are the first naval power in the world, the French are the second naval power in the world, and the strength gap between the two is not as big as that of later generations. The French Navy has the strength of the Royal Navy at six or seven layers.

.

This number is enough for the boss to suppress the second child. In addition to the conflicts between the two overseas colonies, the contradiction between Britain and France is not a star and a half. It's just that Mao Xiong's ability to draw hatred is too powerful, and it directly covers up the contradictions between Britain and France.

In this context, after taking advantage of the Crimea battlefield in history, Napoleon III immediately negotiated with the Russians, without taking into account the feelings of the British allies, because the French needed the Russians to contain John Bull.

The complex international relations gave Franz a headache. Before going out to open up overseas colonies, there was basically no conflict of interest between Austria and other countries.

Once this step is taken, the situation will change immediately. Conflict with colonial countries is a matter of time. How to deal with these relations is the biggest problem facing the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

On the other hand, the British have also done a good thing. Although they were worried about missing the opportunity to contain the Russians in order to avoid continental war, the establishment of the German Federal Empire also avoided direct conflict between France and Austria.

No matter how strong the buffer is, with this buffer there is no need for the French and Austrian governments to face military pressure from each other.

Franz was afraid of the French, why was Napoleon III not afraid of Austria? On the bright side, the strength of the two major powers is evenly matched, with Western Europe and Central and Southern Europe forming a balance.

Balance means stability, and neither Paris nor Vienna will rashly break this balance until enough interests emerge.

If the French want to expand their colonies outside, they must increase their naval investment. For the sake of homeland security, it is an inevitable choice to ease the relationship with Austria.

The Vienna government, which also wants to join this feast, must also ease the relationship between the two countries for its own safety.

In this context, it is inevitable that the relations between France and Austria will warm up. The joint mediation of the Greek issue has created an opportunity for the relationship between the two countries.