Chapter 474: Strategic Contraction
Watching the French jumping up and down diplomatic activity, Franz just smiled. Obviously, Napoleon III was not fully prepared for this sudden action.
Otherwise, as early as a few years ago, you should have prepared your chips in advance, and have already taken them out for the exchange of interests at this time.
In international politics, there is no problem that cannot be solved by interests. If there is, it must be that the interests given are not large enough.
The benefits the French brought out this time are really inconspicuous. For example, the promise of Austria's annexation of the Ottoman Empire makes it difficult for Franz to be tempted.
It's not that this piece of meat is not attractive, the key is that after eating it, it is not easy to digest. The Ottoman Empire has more than 10 million people, how can it be so easy to solve?
Even if they can be expelled to Central Asia, the political impact of the destruction of the Ottoman Empire will push Austria to the forefront again.
Even the German Federal Empire, which is close at hand, Franz can put down first, not to mention the Ottoman Empire.
It took a long time for the French to take the thunder, and now they jumped out to share the pressure for them. How could Franz do such a loss-making business?
As long as the flag of the Great French Empire is flying on the European continent, Austria can develop with confidence without worrying about being the target of public criticism.
Unless the French can really assimilate Italy, the empire is a threat. It is useless to buy people's hearts, there are too many Italians, more than any nation in France.
There is also a long cultural heritage, which is not bad for the French. With the exception of Greece, no European country can compare with the Italians in terms of history.
As the birthplace of the Renaissance and the enlightenment of modern thought, Italians still have their own pride, which is not so easily shattered.
The Colonial Minister Stephen analyzed: "Your Majesty, the French are strategically contracting overseas, and our pressure is likely to increase.
Especially in the Americas and Asia regions, our local strength is weak, and it is very difficult to compete with the British. Next, we will also shrink these regions. "
This is one of the drawbacks. Without the French to share the pressure, Austria does not have enough confidence to face the British in the Americas and Asia.
Asia is relatively better, the good neighbors of the Austrian colonies are the Dutch, and the threat is relatively small. Even if there is a conflict, they can still threaten their European mainland.
The Americas are different. Alaska is the worst and has no ability to resist risks at all. If the British are shameless, they can pretend to be pirates to take this place.
The anti-risk ability of Tagonia in Austrian South America is also very low, whether it is Argentina or Chile, it is a threat.
A few years ago, the two countries proposed to Austria to buy this colony. At that time, the Vienna government quoted a sky-high price of 100 million Aegis, which scared them off.
Shocked by the strength of Austria, under normal circumstances, they would not dare to be presumptuous. In case John Bull was in, things could change.
The Central American colonies seem to be strong and strong, but they are also facing the greatest challenges. The Confederate States of America are eyeing this place and have made tentative purchase requests to Austria many times.
This group of plantation owners has an unimaginable interest in land. Most of the land in the United States was seized during the Democratic Party's administration, and the main force among them is the plantation owners.
It is not that they are in peace now, mainly because they lost too much in the American Civil War, and European countries are opposed to their expansion.
Austrian Central America is not a wild place. After the original immigrants and the original residents, the number of white people in the area now exceeds one million.
Coupled with the Indians and a large number of mixed-race people, the total local population is as high as more than 3.5 million, which is no weaker than a country in Central and South America.
However, it is limited to this. The possibility of developing Central and South America is very small. If there is no Austrian backing, it will not be able to achieve this step.
Want to go further, unless you annex Colombia in South America, or Mexico in North America. This is not so easy to do, neither the United States of America nor the Confederate States of America are in the way.
Unless Austria puts its strategic focus on the Americas and devotes all its energy to it, it is almost impossible to do so.
In fact, Austrian Central America has not expanded externally in recent years. Even in the Panama region, it is mainly infiltration.
Franz smiled and said very calmly: "It doesn't matter, the more colonies, the better. Today, the areas that can be colonized are almost divided, and it is time to stop our expansion.
Not only us, but actually the British have reached the limit of expansion, they just haven't realized it yet.
Now the good places are all divided, and the remaining areas are either hard bones or rotten land that is tasteless and a pity to abandon.
Let's start the construction of the colonial ministry. As long as the African continent is localized, we will be able to meet any challenge. "
With enough advantages, Franz naturally sits and lives. He didn't even bother about the ongoing South African war.
Strength is confidence, and the original time and space Boers can make the British exhausted. Now the power of Austria on the African continent is equivalent to one hundred and eighty Boer republics, so there is nothing to worry about.
The nobles who can stand on the African continent are not just wine bags and rice bags. The real waste has already died in the middle of the road, and everyone here is killed in the fire of war.
Even Franz suspects that their military literacy exceeds that of the regular army, at least the regular army still has moral integrity.
People can do anything to win.
Human nature and bottom lines do not exist. Colonists are equal to executioners. This is not a joke. If the charges are traced, one of the colonists in the world counts as one, and they can be pulled out to shoot.
Maybe there are occasional injustices, but it's just that they haven't had time to commit the crime.
The crows in the world are generally black, and the major colonial empires in Europe are not like this. Naturally, no one will lift the cover.
Not doing anything to the Ottoman Empire now does not mean that it will never do anything to the Ottoman Empire. The last wishes of the Habsburg kings will still be fulfilled.
Moreover, Franz is also very interested in recovering the Holy Land to gain political prestige.
Franz still took the olive branch thrown by the French, and then there was no more. With the commitment of the Paris government, Austria will have the upper hand when it comes to the Middle East issue in the future.
As for the British, it can be ignored. The establishment of the Great French Empire has divided the Mediterranean into two, and it is a matter of time before John Bull's forces are squeezed out of the Mediterranean.
What if it occupies the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta?
The surrounding area is the sphere of influence of France and Austria, sandwiched between the two major powers. The British need to invest too much power to ensure their influence.
In case everyone turns their faces one day, it is impossible to defend this isolated overseas archipelago. The more resources invested, the greater the future losses.
The Royal Navy's number one in the world does not mean it is the world's number one in every region. It is normal for other countries to have regional maritime hegemony.
Austria was not tempted by the French, but it still made an effort to contain the British. France and Austria had a very tacit understanding to exclude the British in the Mediterranean.
This kind of conflict is staged all over the world almost every day. For example, Austria was squeezed out of the Far East by Britain and France, and even its interests in Japan were not preserved.
Another example: the French were squeezed out of the Southeast Asian region by the three countries of England, Austria and the Netherlands, and only a few isolated islands were left to support them.
There is also Australia, where Austria just stretched out its tentacles and was blocked by the British.
...
Similar things happen too much. We are still allies here, but we have become enemies in another place.
This era is an era of coexistence of cooperation and confrontation. As long as there is no ripping off the face, anyone can become an ally.
Allies with exactly the same interests only exist in theory. In reality, as long as they can fulfill the covenant, they are all good allies.
Napoleon III was not surprised by the actions of the Vienna government, and everyone took their own interests as the starting point.
Austria's annexation of the German Federal Empire is completely different from their annexation of the Italian region. The former is based on the people, and there is no need to take risks at all.
The Vienna government chose to follow the steps, which is actually the best choice. Combining voluntarily, and merging together by force, the consequences are completely different.
If possible, Napoleon III also wanted the Italians to join France on their own initiative, which is obviously impossible.
Therefore, he can only take the oldest method. The first generation of monarchs used force to unify, and the second generation of monarchs adopted tender measures to buy people's hearts. This was the most effective method of governance in the feudal dynasty.
With the credit for ruling the world, the throne will be stable. By the third generation, the foundation is solid and an orthodox position has been established, as long as it is not killed.
In order to pave the way for his son, Napoleon III was also heartbroken.
The French carried out strategic contraction overseas, and the biggest victim was Massimiliano I. As the reforms progressed, Mexican rebels emerged one after another.
If it was not for the French army to contract the business of destroying the rebels, Maximilian I would have been overthrown by the rebels long ago.
You must know that this contract is a disaster for the French. In order to destroy the Mexican rebels, the French army has paid at least 8,000 casualties in the past few years.
In return, most of Mexico's minerals and tariffs fell under the control of the French, but unfortunately, because of the civil war, they were ultimately unable to pay for it.
Before you knew it, the Mexican government owed more than one billion francs to the French, £8.6 million to the British, and more than 30 million pesos to Spain.
Notarized, Massimiliano I's reforms have some positive significance for the country, hitting the conservative forces and promoting the modernization process of Mexico.
The price paid is also very obvious. The emperor became a loner. Except for a group of like-minded idealists, the original royalists were almost turned into revolutionaries.
Now the French are strategically shrinking overseas in order to concentrate on the possible changes in the European continent, which means that Mexico is about to lose its biggest patron.
Even if Napoleon III had a good face and did not give up Mexico, the French army in Mexico alone could not deter the Americans who were about to move.
No one liked the emperor who shouted to take back his homeland. Whether it was the United States of America or the Confederate States of America, they all wanted to overthrow the rule of Massimiliano I.
With the support of the French ahead, and on the American issue, Britain, France, and Ossie have maintained the principle of unanimity among the great powers, the Americans naturally dare not act rashly.
It's different now, the French can't protect themselves, the crown prince established by Massimiliano I has fallen out with the Habsburg dynasty again, and the possibility of Austrian intervention is very small.
If Americans don't know how to take advantage of such a good opportunity, they don't have the family business they have now. From the news that the French decided to shrink their strategy, both the United States and the Confederate States moved into action.
With external support, the Mexican rebels became active again. A series of uprisings broke out in Mexico, and the reign of Massimiliano I was once again in jeopardy.
...