Chapter 408 British Diplomatic Ability
Since neither side wants to fight, the only option is to negotiate. On May 2, 1866, representatives of Austria and France held secret talks in Naples.
The interests of the two Sicilian kingdoms are only an appetizer, and the most important thing is the great strategy of the two countries to carve up the European continent.
There is no overnight feud in front of interests, and the military conflict between France and Austria, both sides tacitly put the responsibility on the British.
Anyway, the British are not there and cannot defend themselves. It will be good for everyone to let them take the blame.
Compared with the French-Austrian conflict, the conflict between Britain and France is actually much deeper. In Franz's view, the contradiction between Britain and Austria is now deeper than the contradiction between France and Austria.
The small actions of the British on the African continent have seriously affected Austria's African strategy. For Franz, who is responsible for the localization of Africa, this cannot be compromised.
In contrast, the conflict between France and Austria is easy to handle. Before the European continent is divided up, the two countries still have a series of interests that can be exchanged.
Under the common interests, the contradictions between the two parties can also be suppressed.
On the contrary, the conflict between the British and Austrian colonies in Africa is difficult to resolve. With the style of John Bull's shit stick, it would be strange to watch Franz complete the strategic layout!
There can be no conflict with two great powers at the same time, this Austrian national policy, for the sake of safety, now has to take the French into the gutter.
This strategic negotiation to carve up the European continent is to fool Napoleon III. As long as the French take the first step, they will be isolated!
But it is not the isolation of the current level, the vigilance of small countries is not worth mentioning at all. Only the hostility of the foreign powers can make the French really uncomfortable.
In a way, Franz didn't mind the French's strategy being successful. Only at that point, can we truly cross the French Empire.
Just think about it, one France + three-quarters of Italy + Belgium + all the territory west of the Rhine River in Germany, when such a giant appears, is there any other choice besides the anti-French alliance?
But this pit is the strategic plan of the original time and space of the French. No, the original time and space Napoleon III planned to swallow Italy, and now it has shrunk with the rise of Austria.
The Franco-Austrian War was part of their strategy to annex Italy, but it just fell apart when Napoleon III actually did it.
In order to annex Luxembourg and Belgium, there was even a European crisis, which was jointly suppressed by Britain, Russia, and Austria.
Franz's strategy of dividing up Europe was almost a copy of the French strategy and used to fool Napoleon III.
It's just that France's military strength was insufficient ten years ago, and Napoleon III just took the throne and coincided with the Near East War, so he didn't dare to take risks at all.
Now that France's military strength has developed, and the Russians have been weakened, they are unable to intervene in European affairs in a short period of time. Naturally, Napoleon III's ambitions cannot be held back.
The purpose of reaching out to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was to test Austria's reaction. Now that the results have come out, it is naturally time to quarrel.
If Austria does not have enough benefits, even if it is to fool Napoleon III, he will not dare to directly promote this crazy strategy.
Napoleon III can be reassured only if both parties have common interests and everyone takes actions at the same time.
There are too many exchanges of interests involved and all aspects are involved, and this negotiation is destined to be protracted. By contrast, getting Francesco II out of the way is not worth mentioning.
At the same time as the Fao Negotiations, the Prussian-Russian War broke out again. The British were still strong this time. Although they did not find allies for the Russians in Europe, they still achieved results in Central Asia.
Under the planning of the British, at the end of April 1866, the Samarkand people broke out an anti-Russian uprising, which opened a wave of resistance to the tsarist rule in Central Asia.
The British not only sponsored the weapons of the rebel army, but also formed a volunteer army-8,000 Gurkha mercenaries to help the people of Central Asia get rid of the rule of the tsarist government.
Gurkha mercenaries are the top three mercenaries in the world. They once defeated 30,000 British troops with 12,000 people with backward weapons and equipment, and won the recognition of the British, and they have since entered the world stage.
If not for its small population, it is also a military power. It is estimated that there is nothing to do with India, but they are invincible in South Asia.
The Central Asian Khanate, which has not been conquered by the Russians, was also forced into the battlefield by the British, including Afghanistan. In a short period of time, hundreds of thousands of anti-Russian armed forces appeared in Central Asia.
By mid-May, Tashkent, the largest city in Central Asia, had been conquered, and Russian rule in Central Asia was in jeopardy.
In order to deal with the crisis in Central Asia, the tsarist government was forced to mobilize troops from the Caucasus region to reinforce the Central Asian theater.
Looking at the combat map, Franz knew that the Russians were in big trouble. A bad business in Central Asia these years will be a waste.
If not before, the tsarist army attacked the three Khanates of Central Asia, it is estimated that the situation would be better. Under normal circumstances, these countries would not dare to provoke the Russians.
However, the situation is no longer normal. Everyone knows the ambitions of the Russians, and there is no possibility of compromise. In order to protect themselves, they have to turn to the British.
Now that the boss wants to go to the battlefield, these khanates can only bite the bullet. If they offend the British again, they are really screwed.
Franz asked: "The Russians have deployed their troops in the Caucasus, and the Ottomans have an opportunity. Do you think the British can persuade the Sudanese government to bring down the government?"
Prime Minister Felix replied: "It is difficult to determine, although the voice of the main war faction in the Ottoman Empire is currently high.
, but the Sudanese government, in the shadow of the failure of the Near East War, did not dare to challenge the Russians.
They cannot ignore the position of the British. The Ottoman Empire cannot survive without the protection of European countries. The British are the most important part of their diplomacy.
We have implicitly stated our position that as long as the French ask the Ottomans to send troops, the Sudanese government is likely to be forced into the battlefield.
At present, the Paris government is still hesitating, but as long as Napoleon III wants to implement the European strategy, then continuing to weaken the Russians is a must. "
In fact, it is not only the position of the French, if Austria can openly ask the Ottoman Empire to send troops, it will also cause huge pressure on the Sudanese government.
The Russians' ambitions for the Ottoman Empire have never been extinguished. It can be said that the Sudanese government is the most hopeful of seeing the Russians unlucky.
The only problem is that the people who fought the Near Eastern War in the economy of the past have not been eliminated, and the younger generation has not dominated the government.
The old guys are afraid. In the recent "Turkish-Russian wars", they have all ended in failure and have lost their confidence in defeating the Russians.
However, the sad thing is that if they don't attack the Russians, the Russians will not let them go. If you open the history book, you will know that the "Turkish-Russian War" once every 20 years has become a part of everyone's life.
The next "Turkish-Russian War" will be at most ten years away. This is a historical rule, and there has never been an exception in the past two hundred years.
Without the support of European countries, the Sudanese government does not have the confidence to single out the Russians. Even if their social reforms have achieved initial results, the strength gap between the two sides is still huge.
In this context, the positions of Britain, France and Austria are of great importance to them. Moreover, Britain and France are still their creditor countries and have mastered their domestic finance. If the London government sneezes, the economy of the Ottoman Empire will be turbulent.
Historically, the French could use economic means to pull the Russians into the chariot, and now the influence of Britain and France on the Ottomans has gone even further.
Franz said with a smile: "So, the Prussians should expect God to bless Napoleon III to make up his mind sooner!"
He is very satisfied with the current situation. The British were able to make such a big move in Central Asia, completely beyond his expectations.
But it's normal to think about it. Rabbits will bite people when they are in a hurry. In order to protect themselves, the Central Asian Khanate must also cooperate with the British at this time.
Everyone burst into laughter, Central Asia is only a problem for the Russians, even if they are all lost, the Russian Empire is still the Russian Empire.
The Central Asian coalition formed by the British was full of internal contradictions, and was able to cooperate reluctantly under the pressure of the Russians. Once the threat of the Russians disappeared, infighting would occur.
If you want them to go all the way to the interior of the Russian Empire, let's wash and sleep! If these people have this ability, Franz can't be unimpressed.
Not to mention the Ottoman Empire, the recovery of the Caucasus is enough for them to struggle for many years. To further threaten the Russians, perhaps they could have done it in the last century.
The Vienna government has always liked things that can weaken the strength of the Russians without killing the tsarist government.
Foreign Secretary Wesenberg said: "Your Majesty, the British have not only made progress in Central Asia, but also in the Far East.
At their instigation, the Japanese expelled the Russian troops on Tsushima. In that ancient empire in the Far East, a dispute between the Haiphong faction and the Saigon faction also broke out, and the Sailors faction now has the upper hand.
Maybe they will also make a move. Unfortunately, the telegraph network has not been laid, and we do not know the current situation. "
Franz was startled, could it be that the historical events are going to be brought forward? This is not impossible. Now is the weakest time of the Russian Empire. Obviously, it is a good time to regain lost ground. Maybe there will be windfalls.
After thinking about it for a while, Franz said nonchalantly: "The Far East is too far away to affect the European region, and even if the Russians lose the Far East, it will not have much impact.
It is they themselves who will decide the outcome of the Russian-Prussian War, and at best the British will distract the Russians and consume the tsar's wallet.
Unless the Swedes can be persuaded to do it, the Kingdom of Prussia is still on its own. These potential allies can't really help them much. "
Although these actions contained a large number of Russian troops, the tsarist government did not have much else, except that it had a large number of troops.
No matter how they are pinned down, the number of Russian troops on the Prussian battlefield will not decrease. Unless the Swedes do it, the tsarist government is constrained by the supply of supplies and cannot maintain the huge force on the front.
This is determined by geographical location. Whether it is Central Asia or the Far East, the transportation of strategic materials and materials is all to the east; while the strategic materials needed by Sweden and the Prussian front line overlap with some routes.
For the Berlin government, the same goes for other allies, the only ones who can play an immediate role are the Swedes.
Foreign Secretary Weisenberg said: "I'm afraid this is a bit difficult, the Swedish government has no sign of participating in the war, and the British can't give more bargaining chips.
All the promised benefits were taken from the Russians. The London government has played too many tricks with empty gloves and white wolves, and it cannot play its due role at all.
The Kingdom of Prussia is even worse. They want to win over Sweden, but they can't even give chips.
Karl XV asked the Prussians to withdraw from the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Berlin government agreed to give up only Jutland, but the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein did not dare to let go. "
The duchies of Schleswig and Holstein are now vital to the Kingdom of Prussia, and only by holding high the national flag can Austria not fall to the Russians in the war.
With the righteousness recognized by the German people, there are people who donate money and materials to them, and volunteers who bring their own dry food come to give their lives.
Including Austria, there are volunteers who went to support the Kingdom of Prussia. It is inhumane if this has anything to do with the Vienna government.
In short, the German National Unification Committee, the German Folk Art Exchange Committee... and many other social groups committed to the unification of the German region are all strongly supporting the Prussians in their fight against the Russians.
If the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were abandoned, these supports would cease to exist, and the absolute neutrality of Austria's diplomacy might change.