Chapter 299

Vienna Palace

Franz looked at the telegram sent to him by Napoleon III, and said with a smile: "The French want to attack the Kingdom of Sardinia, and now they want us to fulfill their promise, what do you think?"

Archduke Louis, Minister of the Interior, proposed: "Your Majesty, the French are very ambitious for the Italian region, and I am afraid that a Sardinian kingdom cannot satisfy their appetite.

Once the French forces are allowed to penetrate deep into the Italian region, our national defense will be under great pressure. For the safety of the Lombardy region, we should stop this behavior. "

Metternich objected: "It's not so serious, the Vienna system has just been established, the French will not violate the treaty now, and at most take advantage of it, it is impossible to swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia in one bite.

If the French really want to annex the kingdom of Sardinia, then give it to them. Once the French take this step, a new anti-French coalition can be formed again. "

Prime Minister Felix sneered and said: "Yes, France is no longer the France of Napoleon's time. Since Napoleon III has this ambition, we will fulfill them.

European countries have just relaxed their vigilance against the French, and now the French have jumped out again. "

...

Strength determines the position. If Austria's strength is not good, it is natural to prevent the French from expanding and prevent it from happening.

The situation is different now, even if the French annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was within the scope of Austria.

A strong Russia + a strong France, in this case, the emergence of a strong Austria on the European continent will be inconspicuous.

Without them attracting attention, the growing Austria would soon be the target of public criticism.

In this case, it is more in Austria's interest to push the French and make them puffier.

Franz made a decision: "Tell the French that we will abide by the agreement and support their annexation of the kingdom of Sardinia.

However, they had to find acceptable reasons for the Vienna system to not be destroyed. "

The Vienna system is a national policy of Austria and will not change for at least ten years. In this case, France's annexation of the Sardinian kingdom would be too conspicuous, which would affect the stability of the Vienna system.

However, Franz did not mind weakening the Vienna system in order to attract firepower to the French. Anyway, this is only used to maintain the balance of the European continent, and it has limited binding force on several major powers.

As long as the problem of slow population growth cannot be solved, France will not be a problem for Austria. Even if the kingdom of Sardinia was annexed and the population skyrocketed in the short term, it would not have any effect.

The Sardinian kingdom, where nationalism has become fanatical, is not easy to rule. It is difficult to digest this region without decades of hard work.

The Habsburg dynasty has been operating in the Italian region for hundreds of years. After Franz came to power, it carried out a major purge of the local area, and then relied on the liberation of serfs and land redemption to buy off the people at the bottom before it truly stabilized.

Because of the Australasian War, Franz made the Sardinian kingdom a scapegoat and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

Just look at the civil relations between the kingdoms of Lombardy and Sardinia now. Even though the two sides are bordering, the people on both sides still do not communicate with each other, and you know the power of hatred.

Can the French dare to carry out a major cleaning when they can't find a backer? If there is no major purge, how can nationalism be suppressed?

Metternich replied: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl reminded: "Your Majesty, since the Italian activists conspired to assassinate Napoleon III, it is very likely that it will work against you as well.

It is necessary for us to carry out a public security crackdown to eliminate all possible hidden dangers. "

Franz is very afraid of death. For this kind of existence that may threaten his life, he has never let it go.

Don't say that the assassin is pardoned, even if there is only a motive for assassination, and there is no time to act, it will be sent to the gallows. In this regard, Austrian laws are much stricter.

After pondering for a while, Franz said murderously: "Well, it is indeed necessary to conduct a strict investigation. The Ministry of the Interior will be responsible for this matter and catch all the mice hidden in the corners.

All individuals and organizations associated with these mice must be investigated. I'm here to see how many mice are hidden in Vienna. "

No doubt someone is going to be out of luck. No matter what the background is, once you are contaminated with the crime of slaughtering the monarch, you are all dead. Even though they haven't acted yet, the ending is the same.

Before that, the first unlucky people must be gang members and street gangsters. After Franz's accession to the throne, every time the law and order was cracked down, the government would take them to sacrifice the flag.

As long as it is caught, it will start in ten years, and up to now, only people have entered, and no one has come out.

In Vienna, there is no gang organization that can get on the table now. Those who can escape the disaster are all timid old rivers and lakes, and the low-key can't be low-key anymore.

It’s okay to make money quietly in the gray area, and those who dare to come out and dominate are short-lived ghosts.

...

London

Since the outbreak of the Indian rebellion, the British government has had a difficult time, and several major powers have made small moves.

The Russians are nothing but enemies. The two sides have long since torn their faces. The tsarist government has publicly supported the chaotic party in India, and the two countries are about to declare war.

Austria

Li's expansion of power in the Mediterranean and African continents is still within their tolerance range, and they have not lost their own interests anyway.

Originally thought that the pro-British French government would be more peaceful and take advantage of the colonies, but Granville reluctantly found that the French still had undiminished ambitions for the Italian region.

What's even more irritating is that the excuse was sent to the door by the Italians themselves. Even if the London government was willing to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was not enough.

Playing hooligans also needs to be divided into objects, France is not a soft persimmon, it belongs to the object of reasoning.

But now the French still have a moral advantage. Members of the Italian Charcoal Party conspired to assassinate Napoleon III, and the murderer was caught on the spot.

The more Granville thought about it, the more he had a headache, and he cursed angrily: "Damn activists, are their heads full of shit?

Assassination of Napoleon III, they also came up with such a bad idea. Wouldn't someone go to assassinate Franz? "

Granville did not know what he said, the Carbon Burners did have a plan to assassinate Franz, and had already taken action.

It's a pity that I ran into Franz, an old otaku, who stayed in the palace every day and didn't go out, so there was no chance at all.

It was not until the time of the crackdown that people reported suspicious behavior, and the police found a bomb when they searched the residence, and it was exposed.

Of course, Granville would rather not guess, one France is enough trouble, and adding another Austria, it really can't hold back.

Foreign Secretary Thomas analyzed: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, it is too late to say this. The French hold the Kingdom of Sardinia accountable. If they can't give Napoleon III an account, I am afraid they will not let it go.

On this issue, European countries will not support the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now it is the Sardinian government that handed over the radicals and gave the French no reason to do it. "

Handing over the murderer is easier said than done. The coal burning party's influence in the Kingdom of Sardinia is not small, and its influence among the people is very large, and it is not so easy to move at all.

In the case of the outbreak of nationalism, the Sardinian people obviously cannot calm down, they will not seriously consider what is right and what is wrong, and will only choose to resist hard.

Under the pressure of public opinion, does the Sardinian government dare to take action against the Charcoal Party? Or do they have the strength to attack the Charcoal Party?

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Russell shook his head and said: "It's no longer a matter of handing over a few scapegoats to solve the problem.

The French wanted the Sardinian kingdom to hand over the murderer, mainly for profit, otherwise they would not accuse the Sardinian government of planning this conspiracy.

If the benefits given by the Sardinian government cannot satisfy them, this suspicion can also become a fact. Once the French define the murderer as the Sardinian government, war is inevitable. "

The murderer must be handed over. If the French don't breathe a sigh of relief, the matter will not end. Interests are also indispensable, and Napoleon III will not give up without paying a price that satisfies the French.

After all, he is also the emperor of a country, and only the mental loss of being frightened can only be compensated for by ceding the land. The specific land ceding, or compensation, depends on the actual operation.

Granville thought for a while and said: "The Foreign Ministry has come to mediate this conflict, let's see what the French want first.

It is best to pull the Austrians and put pressure on the French together. Presumably the Vienna government does not want to see the French continue to expand their influence. "

The London government has never relaxed its vigilance against the French. Preventing the expansion of the French is a consistent national policy of the British government.

The century-old feud between Britain and France is no joke. Don't think that the French government is pro-British now, and the contradictions between the two sides will be less. In fact, in overseas colonial activities, Britain and France are still one of each other's biggest competitors.