Chapter 314 The New Three-Pronged Strategy

Time flies by, and in a flash, we entered the year 1860. The first major event at the beginning of the year was that Nicholas I went to see God.

If it happened in other countries in Europe, this is also a small problem, isn't it just a change of emperor, life goes on as usual.

What happened in Tsarist Russia was different. Changing the Tsar also meant that the foreign policy of the Russians was about to change.

As the hegemon of the European continent, the foreign policy changes of the tsarist government will definitely affect the international situation, and the Vienna government must take appropriate measures.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg said: "According to the information we have gathered, Alexander II's character was not as strong as Nicholas the Great, and he was better at the art of compromise.

Alexander II's political stance was different from that of Nicholas the Great. He advocated more thorough social reforms and opposed busy external expansion.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs judged that Alexander II may compromise with the British and stop supporting the Indian rebels in exchange for a compromise between Britain and Russia.

Without the support of the Russians, the Indians could not stop the British, and it would not be long before this rebellion was suppressed.

In another two years at most, the British could withdraw from India. At that time, it is uncertain whether the strategic focus of the British will return to the European continent or launch a new round of colonial expansion.

Against this background, the French should speed up their actions in the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The Paris government has successfully persuaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries to withdraw their troops from the Kingdom of Sardinia. According to the agreement, after catching the murderer, we will also withdraw from the Sardinian kingdom.

As long as France and Russia reach an agreement and the Russians withdraw their troops in the Kingdom of Sardinia, the British will be left alone, and none of the remaining European countries have the confidence to be enemies of France.

It is not difficult to convince the Russians. When Alexander II wanted to carry out social reforms, the biggest problem was the lack of funds. As long as the French would provide a loan, the Tsarist government would sell the kingdom of Sardinia. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl shook his head and said: "The London government will not stop and provide loans to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Although it was done by previous governments, the British government provided guarantees for the loans after all.

It is impossible for the British Parliament to take on this debt, and it is even more impossible for the capitalists to give up this loan, not to mention that there are huge interests behind the loan.

Now the Kingdom of Sardinia is a dumping ground for their industrial and commercial products, with an export trade volume of millions of pounds every year, and they are reluctant to let it go.

Once the French took over the kingdom of Sardinia, their privileges were all gone and the loans turned into bad debts.

Now the British have lost half of the Sardinian market, almost as far as they can bear.

Unless the French take advantage of the opportunity that the British have no time to take into account the Kingdom of Sardinia, they will cut through the mess quickly, resulting in the established fact of occupying the Kingdom of Sardinia.

It is a pity that the Paris government could not make this determination. They were worried that they would directly occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia, causing everyone's fear, and even triggering an anti-French war. "

This is a sequelae. Napoleon left a glorious era for the French, and also let the French stand under the spotlight. Any actions they do on the European continent are seen by everyone with a magnifying glass.

Napoleon III was unable to accurately judge the true positions of various countries and chose to seek stability. Encroaching on the Kingdom of Sardinia, on the surface, relieved the fears of various countries, but in fact it is useless.

Whether or not they annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, the fears of all countries towards them were not reduced in the slightest. No action was taken, mainly because of interests.

If there are not enough interests, and without a big country taking the lead, how can a small country be the first bird?

Of course, this is only for bystanders. If Franz stood on Napoleon III's position, he would also choose to seek stability, even more stable than him.

The Italian region has never been easy to advance. Even if it wants to expand on the European continent and push the border to the Rhine, it has more potential for development than Italy.

Stabilizing the fundamentals means stubbornly fighting North Africa. With the national strength of France, it is not a problem at all to bring Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco into the mainland.

The importance of the African continent, Napoleon III has seen. After he succeeded to the throne, he stepped up the pace of expansion. If it wasn't for the Kingdom of Sardinia to disperse their energy, it is estimated that the largest colony in Africa is not Austria.

Prime Minister Felix put forward a different opinion: "The choice of the French is not wrong. At the current rate of encroachment, even if the British withdraw and return to Europe, the French can eat half of the Sardinian kingdom.

Even if the rest of the site is preserved, it will be their meal sooner or later. Slowly the British will find that the death of the Sardinian kingdom is actually more than worth the loss.

As for the losses they suffered, they could completely make up for it elsewhere. As long as the balance of Russia, Austria and France is not broken, the British's continental European policy has been realized, and there is no need to care about the small kingdom of Sardinia.

It's just that the French are very ambitious. Once they occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia, I'm afraid they will also plot other parts of Italy, and we will be in trouble. "

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg made a surprise announcement: "Maybe we can make a big deal with the French and give them the Italian territory!"

Everyone's face changed greatly, France + Italy is completely a Big Mac.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl objected: "No, paying for the entire Italian region can indeed be exchanged for the French to acquiesce in our unification of the German region, but there are also the British and the Russians.

The strength of the Kingdom of Prussia is not weak, and the reluctantly unified German Federal Empire also has considerable strength. It is difficult for us to achieve a quick solution.

Unless we win over another family between Britain and Russia, or if the operation is not good, that is, Fao will join forces to challenge the entire European continent. We do not have much chance of winning. "

This proposal is indeed very tempting, but unfortunately the risk is too great.

Franz is not worried that Fao's team will fail to challenge the European continent. Now that the Russians are not strong in the outside world, they are not in a good state. Without the main force of Mao Xiong, the odds of winning are not low.

The thing is, it's just their wishful thinking. The French people may be willing to make this deal, but Napoleon III, who loves the wind, is not necessarily.

In case of being scammed, then you will inevitably be disgraced, and if you don't get it, you will have to spit out a lot of benefits, unless...

Unable to think any further, Franz immediately stopped his fantasy. The international situation did not obey his command, and Napoleon III's ambition had just been ignited, and he had not yet reached that stage.

"Today's content is archived as top secret, and everyone can bury it in their hearts.

The international situation is ever-changing and beyond our control.

The unification of the German region is still our core strategy, but we must be careful how and when to unify the German region.

Any idea can be brought up for discussion. What can't be done today may be an opportunity tomorrow.

The most important thing now is development. Blindly breaking the international situation is not in our interest. Compared with European countries, we have a great advantage.

Population, territory, resources, these three core elements, apart from the Russians, no other country on the European continent can compare with us.

The longer the delay, the stronger the overall national strength these advantages translate into. Now the strength of the French is not far from ours, and the gap between the two sides will be completely widened after ten years.

It will be easier to talk about this issue then. Napoleon III won't look left behind by us. If they want to catch up, they must expand externally. "

In this era, it is inconvenient to transmit information, and Austria's economic development data has not been disclosed to the public. No country has yet paid attention to the development advantages brought by population and territory.

However, this also cannot be kept secret for long. As everyone communicates more and more frequently, you will definitely notice the changes in Austria.

At that time, Napoleon III will definitely not be able to do it. The French who have not had their spines broken in this era will not tolerate being surpassed and gradually decline.

Either fight a war to contain Austria's development; or expand externally and increase its strength.

This multiple-choice question is easy to do, and there is a hairy bear with more population, territory, and resources. These are all enemies of the French hegemony on the European continent.

It is obviously impossible to fight by force. The Russian-Austrian alliance has not yet disbanded, and military operations do not see any chance of success.

Even if Napoleon III did not want to expand, fanatical nationalism would force them into battle. Not externally, but internally.

By then, the French government will have little choice. The temptation is that there is a very good chance that the two sides will strike a deal.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl reminded: "Your Majesty, the expansion of the French is a great threat to us. At that time, even if we unite the German region, we will be caught in the center of France and Russia, and we will be very passive strategically."

Foreign Minister Weisenberg explained: "On the contrary, when Russia, France and Austria have formed a tripartite division of the European continent, we are very safe.

As long as the British do not abandon the continental balance policy, we need not worry about being isolated. The France that annexed the Italian region is not the current France.

Likewise, the Russian Empire that annexed Northern Europe is not the current Russian Empire.

Three huge empires standing side by side are actually the most stable. Unless there is a problem in one of the families, and this balance is broken, a war will break out.

As long as we ensure that it is not our own fault first, then the danger is still within the controllable range. Judging from the current situation, we are stable among the three countries.

The Russians are still reforming, and success or failure is hard to predict. If reforms fail, the Russian Empire may collapse one day in the future.

Napoleon III was in the wrong position, and many people in the country did not accept his rule. The crisis would be exacerbated by the annexation of the Italian region. "

I have to admit that Wesenberg's strategic vision is still very good, but it is too radical.

This is not a big problem, and the cabinet cannot be all moderate, and Franz is also ambitious.

Wesenberg, at just 35 years old, was able to stand out from the crowd of competitors. In addition to Metternich's strong recommendation, it is a superhuman strategic vision. This is also the most important prerequisite for serving as foreign secretary.

Prime Minister Felix asked: "Since the annexation of Italy is so dangerous, how can we guarantee that Napoleon III will be fooled?"

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg explained: "Your Excellency, Napoleon III has been fooled since he annexed the kingdom of Sardinia.

During the Austro-Sardinian War, the capitalists and nobles who supported the Sardinian government suffered heavy losses, and the foundation of the Sardinian government's rule had long been shaken.

After carrying a huge amount of debt, the French are now taking political coercion as the mainstay, supplemented by military threats.

The influence of the Napoleon family in the Italian region is not weak, and many Italians are proud of Napoleon. I have reason to believe that the local power factions in the Kingdom of Sardinia will turn to the French.

With the cooperation of these people, French rule in the local area can be established very quickly.

However, the calm is only temporary. The French can't win over everyone,

It must also suppress some people in power and cultivate cronies to take power.

These people will not be willing to fail, and under the threat of force from the French, they dare not do anything in the short term.

All we need is a short-term calm in the kingdom of Sardinia, which can give Napoleon III the illusion of destiny.

We can also control some media, sing praises to him, and deepen his awareness.

Once Napoleon III believed that the Italians would support his rule, the ambition to annex Italian regions could not be suppressed.

But Italian nationalism has awakened. Once the French army is reduced or withdrawn, these guys who are unwilling to fail in the political struggle will definitely jump out.

For example: agitating patriotic youth to rise up against French rule, subsidizing revolutionaries, etc.

Rebellion is also contagious. If Italy is in chaos, France will not be stable. Without decades of recuperation, the French cannot digest the Italian region.

If done well, the French Empire itself would collapse.

Of course, if this is to be done, the ambitions of the French must be further stimulated, and they will only be killed if they annex more land. "

Franz was overjoyed that the Vienna government finally had a strategic visionary! Despite these operations, it is still somewhat idealistic.

However, life is inherently nonsense. If you don’t dare to think about it, how can you succeed?