Chapter 536 A Big Game of Chess

Franz shook his head: "The immediate interests are not important, now we need a new strategy, a great strategy that can convince European countries.

The original German unification strategy can no longer deceive people. With the development and growth of the Kingdom of Prussia, we have been unable to swallow them, and now no matter how loud the slogan is, the European countries will not believe it.

In the event that the German region cannot be unified, we will definitely have a new strategic plan. Let another smoke pop out to attract the attention of countries, lest they discover our true purpose. "

True or false, false or true, the Vienna government has fiddled with many strategies over the years, but what everyone can believe is only the "German Unification Strategy".

These strategies are true and fully in Austria's interests. It's just that due to various practical reasons and the small success rate, the Vienna government has not invested many resources.

For example, the plan for continental hegemony was formulated by the Vienna government in order to seize European hegemony. Because the success rate was too low, it lay in the archives after a flash in the pan.

Another example: the strategy of naval hegemony, which is a product of the British, French, and Austrian arms race. According to the plan, Austria will build 100 ironclad ships within ten years to seize the British maritime supremacy.

A plan is a good plan, but when it comes to implementation, it encounters difficulties. Aside from a bout of bragging in the newspapers that gave the Royal Navy an excuse to expand, the actual time of action changed.

Ironclad ships are also divided into three, six and nine grades. The smallest is only a few hundred tons, and the largest is more than 10,000 tons. Battleships of different grades have different powers in naval battles.

In addition to brushing a wave of existence, the British soon found out that they were fooled. If you simply count the numbers, the Austrian Navy has built more than a hundred warships in less than ten years.

It's just some small boats, most of which are offshore patrol boats. The capital ships have increased by three or five ships. Although the ten-year deadline has not yet come, no one thinks that the Vienna government will continue to explode warships in the later time.

This is all on the surface. If the British didn't deliberately want to be fooled, the plan would have been ganged at the beginning. It is not easy for the Royal Navy to expand its army. How can it be done without an excuse to persuade Parliament to allocate funds?

In this regard, France and Austria are also allies of the Royal Navy. As long as France and Austria said they would build ships, the British would immediately follow.

With the active cooperation of the Royal Navy, it is naturally not difficult to fool the laymen of the Parliament. As long as the appropriation is approved, even if it is worn in the later stage, the money has become a warship.

In the former Anglo-German arms race in time and space, some people criticized the navies of the two countries colluding with each other and joining hands to defraud military expenses.

The word "collaboration" is used too much, but there is a real suspicion in this regard when they join forces to defraud the military.

Now is no exception. Every time the navy expands, Britain, France and Austria use each other as a raft. As long as there are good reasons, the government can pay.

Before the alliance of the Three Kingdoms, even if someone saw the problem, everyone could only follow up, and no one dared to take the risk of stopping the construction of the navy.

International politics is very complex, and it is very difficult to figure out what competitors are aiming for. But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter what the competitors' goals are, as long as they can't do what they want to do.

Since playing the banner of the German unification strategy, European countries have been working hard to prevent Austria from unifying the German region. Britain and France stared at the German Confederation, for fear that Austria would suddenly attack them.

The rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, in addition to Britain and France want to use their hands to attack the Russians; at the same time, by arming Prussia, preventing Austria from unifying the German region.

Everyone is besieging Austria on the European continent, and Franz will naturally not be looking for excitement. Attracting the attention of Britain and France to Europe, Austria's expansion in Africa was able to proceed smoothly.

Now Austrian Africa has developed and grown, but its foundation is not solid. Once the European countries have discovered the purpose of the Vienna government, who can guarantee that John Bull will not agitate for the independence of Austrian Africa?

At that time, the French will come up with ideas, and the British will be responsible for cheating, and then throwing a huge sum of money into it, who knows how much trouble it will cause.

On the bright side, Franz has been releasing Austria's strategic focus on unifying the German region. Everyone believes this statement, and the Austrians themselves believe it.

No one but top government officials knew that the actions on the European continent were camouflages. Even if Britain and France know that there is a problem, they must first protect Europe, otherwise the idiom "make a fake becomes a real" will appear.

Prime Minister Felix: "Your Majesty, if we say that we have ambitions for Poland, it is estimated that no one will believe it.

Both Prussia and Russia regard Poland as something in their pockets. No matter how unwise we are, we can’t go and swallow Poland alone; if we carve up Poland, it is estimated that it will be completed in one wave, and it will not achieve the purpose of attracting the attention of all countries. .

Or use the pretense of recovering the Holy Land. If Britain and France do not believe it, let them think that we want to annex the Asia Minor Peninsula, and an Ottoman Empire is always enough. "

The reality is such a comedy, don't do anything to Poland, not because Poland is too strong, but because Poland is too weak, so weak that it will fall if you push it.

Poland fell, and the end result was nothing more than being carved up. The strategic goal is directly completed, and the strategy naturally ends.

Unless we fight with Prussia next, or this is the end, except for an extra piece of land, the other benefits are almost zero.

Not to mention, the headache of the increased Polish populace. This kind of thing that increases the instability of the empire, the Vienna government has not done for many years.

The Ottoman Empire

It's different. It's big enough to be swallowed by Austria, and there are few competitors.

The weakened Russian Empire is not qualified to compete with Austria for the Ottoman Empire, and at most it will follow suit.

Only by grasping the rhythm, don't kill the Ottoman Empire all at once, it is better to win each other and have a slight advantage. European countries are still happy to see Austria and the Ottoman Empire fight to the death.

If Britain and France want to hold back, most of them will support the Ottoman Empire. Franz was not worried at all in this regard, and it was no joke that the mud could not support the wall.

The Son of Heaven has not yet been born, and the Ottoman Empire has too many internal conflicts, and it is almost impossible to be reborn from the ashes.

This is good for everyone. Austria can hide from the sky, Britain and France have achieved the goal of containing Austria, the Ottoman Empire can also deceive aid, and Prussia and Russia can also rest assured.

In the process of confronting consumption, it can also quietly nibble away the Middle East, not only do not have to worry about energy for the next century, but even half of the world's hegemony has been obtained.

A small fight in three years, a big fight in ten years, this scene can be played for a long time. The Habsburg Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire are feuds, and there is no need to worry about an excuse to attack them. Revenge is the best excuse.

After looking at the map, Franz pointed to Poland: "This is not enough, in order to make the scene more realistic, we need to add a few supporting characters.

Isn't the Kingdom of Prussia obsessed with Poland, so let's do it for them, and find an opportunity to sell it for a good price.

If the Prussians can defeat the Russian Empire, then this is ours, give them a little more strength, and strengthen the fighting spirit of the Junkers. "

Franz drew a circle on the map, and a large area of ​​Russian land was circled, and the Black Sea directly became the Austrian Inland Sea. Two hundred years of hard work by the Russians were all over in one fell swoop.

After this wave, it is really very difficult for a shrinking version of Russia to rise. Even if they became stronger again, they had to face the Kingdom of Prussia first.

As for Austria, how could Franz brutally annex Russian territory? The tsarist government that lost the war, doesn't it need someone to pull it?

This kind of difficult operation definitely needs to be paid. At that time, the Vienna government will pay a sum of money and buy these territories.

The Americans have done a very good job in this regard. The French have all been bought and sold by force. On the face of it, there is nothing to say. They bought it legally.

Looking at the circle drawn by Franz, everyone looked at each other as if they didn't see anything. If you count your allies like this, you can almost catch up with John Bull.

But by then, the Russian-Austrian alliance will also expire. The two sides are no longer allies, and it seems logical to do so again.

Although the paintings are beautiful, people still don't like Prussia very much. There may still be a chance to defeat the Russians, but it is very difficult to beat the Russians.

If the tsarist government is not beaten to the death, I am afraid that they will not be able to accept Austria's blackmail. It is not easy to realize this third strategy.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, the kingdom of Prussia is too scattered, and the pressure on its defense is too great. If they can't concentrate their forces, it may be difficult to even defeat the Russians.

After the annexation of Poland, Prussia is already very strong, and we cannot continue to let them grow.

I propose to let the Prussians give up the Rhineland, the Berlin government is clinking poor now, but the German Federal Reich is rich, so let them pay for the Rhineland. "

This proposal is very constructive. The Rhineland region is rich in coal and iron resources, and the local industry is also developing very well. If this enclave is cut off, the heavy industry of the Kingdom of Prussia will be cut in half, which will greatly reduce their development potential.

Franz is not worried that the Berlin government will refuse, as long as it is done properly. Potential is just potential. After the current crisis has passed, there will be a future.

Resolving the financial crisis and concentrating all military forces are essential for them to win the next war.

Although the Rhineland region is good, the next-door neighbor is French, and it suddenly becomes bad. If a war really broke out, this enclave could not be defended at all.

Britain and France are very wary of Austrian expansion on the Continent, but they are definitely not worried about the expansion of the German Confederation. Even if the Rhineland region is added, the German Federal Empire is only a medium-sized country, and the threshold for the powers is low.

With Austria's influence in the German Confederation, it is not difficult to push this deal forward. Even if the Imperial Council fails to pass it, it is the same to manipulate one of the states to buy it. In the German Confederation, Austria still has no shortage of younger brothers.

After clearing his mind in the shortest time, Franz nodded: "This plan is very good. After the Rhineland region is gone, the strategy that the Kingdom of Prussia needs will be completely moved eastward.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should improve the specific plan. It is not convenient for us to intervene in person. It is best to use the hands of the British to implement it.

In order to divide the German region, the British took great pains. Just let them believe that strengthening the strength of the German Confederation will make it more difficult for us to unify the German region, and that the London government will do everything for us.

The French should be more peaceful for the time being, but they can't relax their vigilance, and they can't let them take advantage of the loopholes, so we'll make wedding dresses for them. "

Back then, with the help of the British, Germany changed from two points to three points of Germany, which prevented the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, and now Franz naturally doesn't mind doing it again.