Chapter 506

The Anglo-Russian negotiation was not kept secret, and Franz, who was far away in Vienna, received the news, and even the contents of the negotiation were restored.

We all know the simple truth of waiting for a price. The Russians deliberately leaked the news, apparently waiting for an Austrian bid.

It does not have to be higher than the British, as long as it is similar, the tsarist government will definitely choose to stand with Austria.

This is determined by interests. The value of the existence of the Russian-Austrian alliance is much more valuable than that of the British-Russian alliance, and the British will not form an alliance with them.

When you open the map, you can see that the long border between Russia and Austria does not have so many natural dangers. If there is no covenant, the defense pressure alone will be a headache.

Especially for the already exhausted tsarist government, the situation was even more serious. If they turned against Austria, it means that all countries bordering them are enemies, or potential enemies.

When the Russian Empire was strong, it was a strife and established a prestigious name. Now that it shows fatigue, it has become a pack of wolves eating tigers.

The last Russian-Prussian war told the tsarist government how many enemies they had. If the second Russian-Prussian War is lost again, then the Nordic Federation should also rush to divide the meat.

It's no secret that the Finns and Sweden hooked up. When the Russian Empire was strong, the Swedes were very peaceful, but with the defeat of the Russian-Prussian War, Karl XV dared to openly receive the leaders of the Finnish independence movement.

Of course this potential threat did not frighten the Russians. It is difficult for the Russians to break out, but it is not a big problem to keep the current foundation.

Although there are many enemies, there are not many willing to contribute. Except for the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland and the Ottoman Empire, there is no possibility of easing the feud between these three families, and the rest of the enemies will only fall to the ground.

Now the tsarist government is so poor that they have no other trump cards other than the domestic market as a bargaining chip, and now they naturally have to sell for a good price.

Originally, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria wanted to bid and compete together. Unfortunately, the French are very busy now and are unwilling to participate in the competition.

...

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Franz asked with a gloomy face: "The Russians have shown their chips. Do you think we should compete with the British?"

It was obvious that he was in a very bad mood. The tsarist government was doing things at this time, and it completely hit the key point of Austria.

South Africa's gold has not been mined yet. In the struggle for currency hegemony, the Aegis-gold system was already at a disadvantage. At this time, the tsarist government fell to the British again, and basically the pound-gold system could be declared victory.

Prime Minister Felix replied angrily: "Your Majesty, you can't let this blackmail by the Russians. We need to teach them a deep lesson."

In order to win over the Russians to join the Aegis-Gold system, Austria also paid a lot. The benefits have been taken, and when things come to an end, this is a betrayal in the eyes of Prime Minister Felix.

Franz nodded, and without waiting for the others to speak, he immediately said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded the Russians that the Russian-Austrian alliance is about to expire, and their actions are very chilling!"

Bidding is impossible, how is it possible to sell the same item twice? The tsarist government was short of money, and that was not about Franz.

No matter what the reason is, as long as the agreement is violated, even if it is a verbal agreement, it is also a betrayal.

After a pause, Franz stopped again: "Forget it, don't be annoying at this time. Send an invitation to the Prussians, and William I knows what to do."

How can verbal threats be deterrent in actual actions? The Russians dared to fall to the British, and he supported Prussia in the next Russo-Prussian war.

Although the Berlin government can't come up with a bargaining chip, the cake they draw is big enough!

Unless Alexander II can get the Prussians to the ground before the end of the Russian-Austrian alliance, Franz has nothing to say, he is not a perfidious person, and Austria will definitely be neutral.

If the Russian-Austrian alliance is disbanded and the Russian-Prussian war breaks out again, then don't blame him for falling into the trap. If nothing else, simply cutting off the Russian-Austrian trade can hurt the Russians.

If that wasn't enough, it would also be a good idea to let the Prussian navy enter the Aegean Sea, and have them join forces with the Ottoman navy to block the Russian trade routes into the Mediterranean.

A lot of people will play with this kind of thing. If the Nordic Federation doesn't know how to close the gates of the Baltic Sea, Franz will look down on them.

When the two lifelines are cut off, the tsarist government cannot import strategic materials from the Far East to carry out the war, right?

The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet started, and even if it is started immediately, it will take more than ten years.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg analyzed: "Your Majesty, there is no need for us to be so proactive. The Prussians should be more anxious than us, and they will come to the door by themselves before long.

Britain and Russia are beginning to move closer, and it is unknown whether their boss will support them in the next war.

If the Prussians cannot break the Anglo-Russian deal, they will have to move closer to us. Relatively speaking, our voice is the heaviest in Eastern Europe. "

...

Every politician is a qualified actor. The Russians are testing the currency system, and Franz will naturally cooperate.

This group of bigwigs from the Vienna government all put on a big show for them, showing the Russians what they wanted to see.

It won't be long before this meeting

The content will be passed into Alexander II's desk through secret channels, and then it will be his turn to have a headache.

Whether it is true or false, even Franz himself does not know whether the content of this meeting will become a fact.

The only certainty is that Franz was falsely "angry". The emperor who has been an emperor for so many years has long learned to keep his emotions in check, so how could he show it?

Moreover, everyone has their own positions, thinking in the position of the Russians, and they are not wrong.

Franz also often does things to pit teammates, and it also happens from time to time to be pitted by teammates. If this is going to be angry, it is estimated that Franz would have been pissed to death.

If he was really angry, Franz would not have the meeting. Instead, take direct action to retaliate, for example: raising a team of pirates in the Aegean Sea to block the doors of the Russians.

Or to sponsor a fund for the Russian Revolutionary Party so that they can block the tsarist government.

By contrast, supporting the Kingdom of Prussia would be a complete bummer. Falling a Russia, and rising a Prussia, isn't it a waste of time?

The purpose of acting is to "build the plank road in the Ming Dynasty and cross the Chencang in the dark". After so long in preparation, Austria is about to take action.

Before long, the strategic value of the Persian Gulf will be reflected, and Franz will naturally step in. In any case, the British cannot be allowed to dominate here.

If it weren't for the fact that it was too close to the Indian region, the British would be watching too closely. Franz had already acted.

If we don't take advantage of the opportunity of the alliance of the three countries, and extend our tentacles to Oman to the Strait of Hormuz, when will we wait?

Austria hit the sap of the British in South Africa, and the London government wooed the Russians to join the free trade system and pryed Austria's corner. Franz took the opportunity to reach out to the Persian Gulf, which the British were eyeing, and everyone used their own means.

The Russians probably never dreamed that Franz was ready to sell them to the British from the very beginning.

There is no other way. We have already robbed a large area of ​​British South Africa, and now we want to rob the Persian Gulf, which the British regard as their belongings. It is always necessary to appease the emotions of the British.

Monetary hegemony is not so easy to establish, especially in the age of the gold standard. If Britons don't have enough gold, is the sterling-gold system still working?

That being the case, let's make the British happy for a few days first. Use the halo of victory to cover up their failures in overseas colonial expansion.

As for the Russians, I'm sorry, with the increasing conflict of interests between the two countries, this alliance is almost unsustainable, and this cannot be salvaged by individuals.

Unless the Russian Empire continues to decline, then we can still be good friends. Obviously this is impossible, and the reforms of Alexander II have already made Franz feel threatened.

In this reform, Alexander II imitated Austria in too many places. Compared with the original time and space, this social reform is much more thorough.

Not only did he liberate the serfs, Alexander II also solved the land conflict, and even the speed of industrial development was very fast.

Since the end of the civil war, the industry and commerce of the Russian Empire has entered a period of rapid development. Although industrial products are still garbage as always, the growth rate of production capacity is still amazing.

The industrial production capacity lost in the Russian-Prussian War was recovered in just a few years, and the total industrial volume exceeded that before the war.

If it weren't for the constraints of transportation and lack of capital, the Russian Empire would have been reborn long ago. Once any one of these problems is solved, it will enter a period of rapid development.

They already have the basic elements of industrial development: abundant resources, cheap labor costs, and appropriate development policies.

There is no other way. After the great land reclamation, the Russian grain has become unsalable, and the domestic grain price has dropped again and again, resulting in a substantial drop in labor costs.

Labor costs in Russia are only a quarter of those in Austria and one-fifth of those in Britain. For a labor-intensive industry, this is simply an unparalleled advantage.

Not only is labor cheap, but even industrial raw materials are very cheap. The only expensive thing is the cost of transportation, but this is not the case in all places, the Russian Empire also has rivers.

These advantages, capitalists will sooner or later see. As long as the tsarist government can maintain its current level of governance, it will be a matter of time before it develops.

This is the credit of Alexander II, who succeeded in deterring the Russian bureaucracy by killing chickens as an example. Up to now, he has exiled thousands of bureaucrats to Siberia to enjoy the scenery of the Northland.

Corruption and corruption in the tsarist government are still serious, but the execution ability has been improved by several grades, and no one dares to disobey the tsar.

The more he knew, the more Franz understood the horrors of the Russian Empire. Perhaps now Austria is no longer afraid of the rise of Russia, but there is no need to cultivate a competitor for itself.

Therefore, when the Russians were upset, Franz was no longer reassuring. The tsarist government made a mistake in its judgment from the very beginning in order to obtain benefits by this means.

Franz was not active, including the currency reforms carried out by Alexander II. Although there are plenty of benefits to meddling in, it is the Russians who benefit the most.

Since the tsarist government wants to make a deal for it, it should just drag it on. Even if the tsarist government fell to the British, that would not matter.

The British are not charitable. If the bankers in London don't take a layer of skin from them, how dare they call themselves bankers?

In order not to bear the name of treachery, Franz also threw out this interest. Anyway, the letter from the Tsarist government

Their reputations are rotten, and it's no big deal to let them bear the charge of betraying the alliance.

...