Chapter 495 Alexandrovich

France and Russia are moving closer, not just on the lips. Although Napoleon III is now only conducting a tentative attempt to gain more right to speak in the British, French, and Austrian Tripartite Alliance, he must also take practical actions.

On March 6, 1871, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire announced that Crown Prince Alexandrovich would visit the European continent, the first stop being France.

The cooperation of the Russians is surprising. Under normal circumstances, the first stop of the crown prince's visit abroad should be Vienna, or it can start from Denmark.

The order of the crown prince's visits seems to be irrelevant, but in fact it also contains a strong political meaning, which is sending a political signal to the outside world.

Austria is the most important ally of the Russian Empire, and the only ally of weight, and occupies an important weight in diplomacy.

The Kingdom of Denmark is an in-law of the Russian royal family, Crown Prince Alexandrovich married the Danish princess Maria Fyodorovna.

Geographically, both countries are bordered by the Russian Empire. As usual, by sea, they will visit Denmark first, and the last stop will be in Austria; or by land, they will visit Vienna first and Denmark last.

This is a normal diplomatic visit process, which not only reflects the importance of diplomacy, but also does not lose etiquette.

Now that the unconventional starts in France, it's interesting. This is not a business trip abroad. There are so many countries along the way that are visited, and Alexandrovich's travel route is obviously awkward.

When it comes to politics, Crown Prince Alexandrovich has to go all the way no matter how awkward it is, which is related to the foreign policy of the tsarist government.

It is widely believed that this is the tsarist government's dissatisfaction with the Vienna government. Not long ago, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs disrupted the Tsarist government's "grain repayment plan", and it is natural for the St. Petersburg government to have opinions.

There are problems in Russia-Austria relations, which European countries are happy to see. Many people who eat melons are ready to watch the excitement, and the international media are also expressing their opinions.

Everyone was waiting for a response from the Vienna government, and they were disappointed. There was no reaction, it was as if nothing had happened.

This is just the opinion of ordinary people. In the eyes of dignitaries from various governments, no response is the biggest response.

Either the two parties had communicated beforehand, then there was no problem; or the Vienna government didn't care.

The former is irrelevant, the latter is not. If the Vienna government really didn't care what the Russians did, there were only two reasons:

Either the two countries have a very good relationship and don't care about this little thing. This is obviously impossible. Although the relationship between Russia and Austria is good, it is far from being close.

Either the Vienna government has lost confidence in the Russian-Austrian alliance, or is not interested in it. There is no doubt that this is the truth of the matter.

The tsarist government expressed dissatisfaction in this way. In addition to the appearance fee given by the French, it is more likely to test the Vienna government and want to ask Austria for benefits.

If there was no real money, Alexander II would not have given the French so much face, and to cooperate with them in this performance, there has never been a so-called traditional friendship between the two countries.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich's appearance fee is that France agreed to provide a 500 million franc loan to the tsarist government.

This is not easy. Since the tsarist government announced the default, all financial institutions in the world have closed their doors to the tsarist government. Whether it is bonds or loans, as long as the tsarist government is involved, no one will accept it.

There must be gains and losses. The French promises have not been fulfilled, and the Russian-Austrian alliance first appeared in crisis. The more indifference the Vienna government behaved, the more worried the tsarist government became.

The Russian-Austrian alliance is not far from its expiry date. If the contract cannot be renewed, the Russian Empire will face unprecedented diplomatic isolation after the alliance expires.

The pressure of Alexander II increased greatly, and there were also many criticisms within the tsarist government. Many people believed that the tsar's willful actions caused the alliance to rupture.

This is the stain left by Alexander II when he was young. He was a pro-Pussian on the issue of the German region at the beginning, and he also had obvious anti-Austrian tendencies.

The former kingdom of Prussia was able to establish the German Empire, and Alexander II's personal political inclination also played a role.

It is normal to have political inclinations. After he succeeded to the throne, Alexander II did not compromise with Prussia because he was pro-Prussian; nor did he alienate Austria because of his personal anti-Austria.

Even the inadvertent behavior at the beginning led to the speculation of his subordinates and inadvertently caused the relationship between the two countries to turn cold, which was later repaired by Alexander II.

It's just that all the heroes have arrogance. At the beginning of Alexander II's succession, he was at the peak of the Russian Empire, and he naturally had more arrogance.

The failure of the Prussian-Russian War, the decline of the Russian Empire, and the failure of Alexander II to adjust his mentality in time, made the subsequent restoration of Russian-Austrian relations unsuccessful.

This test of Austria has made relations between the two countries even worse. Let the conservatives who oppose reform at home find an opportunity to take the opportunity to attack politically.

The internal pressure made Alexander II devastated. To be honest, Alexander II is not very responsible for diplomatic issues, and the coldness of Russia-Austria relations is more caused by conflicts of interest.

The diplomacy of the tsarist government has always been known as "rough", which is not what the Russians are good at at all. Most of the time, the Tsarist government failed in diplomacy.

It is a pity that Alexander II was not a strongman in diplomacy. His main achievements in the original time and space were only internal reform and external expansion, and there were not many achievements in diplomacy.

This visit to Europe, or Alexandre

Roerich himself requested. The famous Alexander III in the original time and space, his diplomatic vision is obviously more powerful.

Aleksandrovich's own travel route map, followed by Denmark-Nordic Federation-Germany Federal Empire-Netherlands-Belgium-Portugal-Spain-Britain-France-Greece-Montenegro- Austria.

Leaving out Prussia and Poland, the two sides have become enemies, and as the crown prince, naturally, he cannot visit the enemy country. Without Switzerland, the country is unimportant, and the inland areas are not the way to go.

This roadmap arranged according to the geographical order seems to be irrelevant, but in fact it is the best choice, taking into account the face of all parties.

Start with France, which means many countries have to give up halfway through. As crown prince representing the Russian Empire, Alexandrovich could not possibly go back and forth.

If you really want to do that, the emphasis on France is reflected, but the ingredients of kneeling and licking are too strong, and the face of the Russian Empire is also disgraced.

Alexandrovich shredded the road map in his hand. He was very dissatisfied with the actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the actions of his father Alexander II.

Just because of the loan of 500 million francs, this time I will visit Europe, and I will start from France. I originally planned to use this opportunity to repair relations with other countries, but now I have to reconsider.

Dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, Alexandrovich just vented his emotions in private. He still knows how poor the tsarist government is now. People are poor and short-sighted, and the country is almost the same.

Although Alexander II's land reclamation plan solved the peasant's land problem, the price paid was spending money like running water.

The grains that have been grown cannot be sold now, and it is difficult to obtain returns in a short period of time.

In order to develop the industry, the government is now vigorously carrying out infrastructure construction, and at the same time starting a number of railway lines.

All these need to be spent, and the money from the house raiding in the early stage has been used up. Now the tsarist government can't wait to mix a penny into half.

In the Winter Palace, the itinerary plan was suddenly changed, and Alexander II had to appease his son's emotions. Otherwise, the son got angry and announced that he would not go, which would be bad.

The crown princes in Europe still have a lot of power to speak, and they do a lot against the emperor. Although Aleksandrovich is less extreme, the political differences between the two are still very large.

"I'm sorry, Aleksandrovich. This time is special. You know how short of money the government is right now. We can't refuse the offer made by the French."

Looking at his embarrassed father, Alexandrovich's anger subsided. Emperor Nicholas I captured Constantinople, bringing the Russian Empire to the top, while also leaving behind a mess.

Unfortunately, this glamorous empire was pierced by its tiger skin in the last war.

In order to reform, Alexander II paid a lot, and the whole person looked at least ten years older than his actual age.

Alexandrovich replied calmly: "There is no need for this. Although I don't agree with your approach, I understand your decision. For the sake of the country, it is normal to make certain sacrifices as the crown prince.

But I have to remind you that this is playing with fire, and it is very dangerous to get close to the French now. If handled carelessly, it is likely to bring disaster to Russia.

The Austrians have shown their position with practical actions. In our opinion, this is not that they really don't care about the Russian-Austrian alliance, but that they are warning us not to get close to the French.

Once the Vienna government feels threatened, they are likely to strike first. The hands-on target may be the French, and more likely we are.

When it comes to national strategic security issues, the Russian-Austrian alliance seems insignificant. If it continues, I think the Vienna government will probably not renew the contract after it expires. "

After listening to his son's words, Alexander II nodded, and he also considered these issues. Just miscalculated the response of the Vienna government.

"Well, I see. When you visit Europe this time, you still need to make more preparations. At the same time as your visit, you must also inspect the development of various countries on the spot and learn what is useful to us.

Compared with European countries, Russia has lagged behind for many years. Especially the three countries of Britain, France and Austria, their strength is very terrifying.

Don't look at the Near Eastern War, we also defeated the British and French forces and took Constantinople from them.

In fact, that war was a game between Russia and Austria and Britain and France. Russia provided people, Austria provided materials and equipment, and finally paid a heavy price to force Britain and France to retreat.

After so many years, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria have achieved great development. Only we are not advancing but retreating, and we have opened the gap with them.

In the last war, the Russian Empire lost not to Prussia, nor to the coalition, but to ourselves. "

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