Chapter 538: The Balkans Rise
What you want and what you want is always easy to get results. The tsarist government soon persuaded Austria, and the two sides unanimously decided to beat the Ottoman Empire.
Now there are some detailed issues, and we need to continue to communicate. For example: when to attack? Where to start offense? The distribution of benefits after the war...
After a preliminary agreement was reached, Alexander II's mood did not ease. The current state of the Russian Empire is not good, and theoretically it is not suitable to provoke a war at this point in time.
The Ottoman Empire is also not the first choice of the Tsarist government. If possible, Alexander II would prefer to beat the Kingdom of Prussia now.
It is a pity that the Vienna government does not cooperate. No matter how they offer conditions, even if they support Austria's unification of the German region, the Vienna government cannot be tempted.
This is also expected by Alexander II. This kind of promise between countries is very unreliable, and the Vienna government naturally cannot easily believe it.
If Austria really unifies the German region, it is estimated that Russia and Austria will be turned against each other. In the face of interests, allies are simply not worth mentioning.
There is no choice for the rest, the Far East is beyond the reach, and the value is too low, it will not help the domestic agricultural crisis.
The Central Asian Khanate is a good target, but in the Central Asian region, all the pressure falls on the tsarist government.
Now the tsarist government is still waiting for the British loan to be used for military expenses. If it goes to beat someone's younger brother, wouldn't it be a draw?
That leaves the hapless Ottoman Empire, an enemy big enough and meaty enough to be divided between the two countries. International pressure can also be left to the Vienna government to deal with, and Alexander II also understood that they really can't play diplomacy.
Fighting together with Austria, this attack does not need to die in the Caucasus, and any area along the Ottoman Empire can be turned into a battlefield.
Eating a cut grows a wisdom, and Alexander II, who is good at learning, now attaches great importance to logistics. He will not go on a military adventure without mobilizing enough supplies.
"Has the Vienna government promised to provide us with strategic supplies?"
The second reason to join forces with Austria is logistics. This attack mainly relies on sea supplies, and the logistical pressure is relatively small.
The most critical issue is not in the transportation, it is mainly a "money" issue. The Tsar's government was not financially good, and the funds it had managed to raise would be used to build railways, so there was simply no money to fight wars.
I have no money at home, so naturally I have to find allies. No real money is needed, as long as the Vienna government is willing to pay for strategic supplies, then they have nothing to fear.
Foreign Secretary Chris Basham: "Your Majesty, the Austrians have made concessions, they have agreed to provide us with 150,000 troops for half a year of combat supplies.
Only in the division of interests, this time we suffered a big loss. The Austrians have a great appetite. They want the Middle East and half of the Asia Minor peninsula. "
On the surface, the Vienna government is going to destroy the Ottoman Empire in one go and completely solve this old enemy. Naturally, there will be competition for interests.
Alexander II shook his head: "These are all small problems, most of the Middle East is desert, the actual value is not high, and we can't reach it, they can give it to them if they want.
Three parts of this war are military and seven parts are political. If we cannot prevent the interference of European countries, we will not be able to eat the Ottoman Empire.
As long as we get the Caucasus and half of the peninsula of Asia Minor, we will not suffer. "
In this era, the Middle East left everyone with the impression of deserts. Although the area is large, the actual value is not high.
Not knowing what he threw out, Alexander II naturally did not feel disadvantaged. On the bright side, Austria needs to bear a heavier responsibility, and it is normal to take the largest share.
Chris Basham nodded in agreement, the tsarist government has many goals to achieve in this war:
First, alleviate the domestic food crisis and avoid large-scale bankruptcy of agriculture;
Second, kill the Ottoman Empire and solve the enemy in the next Prussian-Russian war in advance;
Third, restore the morale of the army through victory and get rid of the shadow brought by the Russian-Prussian War;
Fourth, expand the power and establish the prestige of the monarch;
...
To achieve the above goals, preparation work is naturally indispensable. The tsarist government could not afford to lose, and Alexander II himself could not afford to lose.
Large-scale military preparations cannot be deceived. With the actions of the Russians, Prussia, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire also followed suit, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the European continent.
William I wanted to take grain from the fire, but before the war started, no one could guarantee that the Russians would fake a shot and turn their heads at them.
Prussia's family is not rich, and as long as it fails once, it will be forever. The Berlin government couldn't afford to gamble, and could only follow to prepare for the war.
On the contrary, Austria, one of the protagonists, did not have much movement. This is not Franz's pride, the main reason is that he is not ready to kill the Ottoman Empire in one go.
The Russians are willing to fight hard, and Franz will not object. Anyway, there are only so many strategic materials provided by the Vienna government. It is impossible for the Ottomans to face hundreds of thousands of Russian troops, even for half a year, right?
The main decisive battle is not because Franz looks down on the Ottoman Empire. The Sudanese government of this era is really not good enough.
In recent years, in order to consolidate the regime, there has been no peace within the Ottoman Empire. The power struggle within the government continued, and the reformers beat the conservatives in the government by bloody violence.
It's not enough,
Conservatives scattered among the people are still strong, and these forces are usually dressed in religious guise to complicate matters.
The reformists' reforms did play a positive role, but they did not resolve the internal ethnic conflicts. The Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Slavs within the Ottoman Empire all wanted independence.
Of course, there is a push from outside forces to spread nationalism, but more of it is caused by internal ethnic inequality, and the main problem is religion.
An enemy with loopholes all over his body, Franz is naturally not worried. Anyway, he has decided to slowly nibble from the Middle East, and will fight a long-term war of attrition, or a practical training.
Steady and steady, even if Britain and France donated blood to the Ottoman Empire, it would have no effect. Unless they are willing to burst their livers, the loser must be the Sudanese government.
Halfway through 1873, it was impossible to start a war within the year. Although Alexander II improved the efficiency of the tsarist government, they were still unable to organize an expedition of hundreds of thousands of troops within a few months.
In this war, Alexander II wanted to win beautifully, so the gray animals must also be trained well, which takes time.
If the time is delayed, Franz naturally has no problem. Strategic layout also takes time, and it is definitely not an easy thing to induce all parties to make the decisions they want.
If something goes wrong in the middle, he will also be responsible for the aftermath, and he cannot let these problems affect the overall situation.
In order to make sure nothing goes wrong, Franz is now very concerned about the body of Napoleon III. Although I received news that Napoleon III fell ill in January this year, his health was already dead.
Since June, Napoleon III has never appeared in any public places, and many events are attended by Crown Prince Eugene.
The hero is not dead, it is worth being vigilant. If it was dragged to the dead dog of Napoleon III, it would be more certain.
Crown Prince Ou Ren is young, if the peaceful years are innocuous, he can slowly accumulate prestige, and control the rights step by step. Unfortunately, he has caught up with this world of great competition.
In recent years, France has begun to hide its strengths and bide its time, that is, Napoleon III wanted to leave a relaxed international environment for his son as much as possible, lest the enemy would attack him as soon as he died.
In the inducement plan, the Vienna government also has a top-secret plan for the French. The success rate of this plan is very low, and the French must actively cooperate to be successful.
To put it simply, it is to let the French send troops to occupy Belgium, the Rhineland, or the German Federal Empire, any of which can be, and it is best for the little emperor to lead the troops himself.
It is too difficult to beat the French in mainland France. If the main force of the French army is caught, the odds of winning will be greatly increased.
The successful annexation of the Italian region has already left many French people floating. If it were not for Napoleon III's strong pressure, they would have been unable to bear the annexation of the territory west of the Rhineland.
Franz is very clear that the French annexation of the Italian region has exceeded the bottom line of European countries. If an anti-French alliance is not formed, it is because no one is leading, and the Prussian confrontation cannot join forces.
If the French continue to expand, the European countries will not be able to think of it. Don't look at the limited strength of these small countries, but they are nothing more than the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Franz is not worried at all as to whether he will have a deadly vengeance if he crippled France. If you have too much debt and don't press yourself, you will find that France and Austria have a bunch of confused accounts to settle when you turn to history.
Besides, since the two countries do not share borders, how dare the French fight all the way?
The contradiction between France and Germany in the original time and space is not in the war, mainly in Alsace and Lorraine. Neither side can make concessions on this issue.
Alsace and Lorraine are the old places of Shinra, which are part of the German region, and the Germans must not let them. French nationalism is bursting, and John Bull is fanning the flames, and the Paris government also dare not compromise.
This problem can't trouble Austria, the big deal is to assign it to the German Federal Empire, and Austria can be divided into some colonies.
If the French send troops to take revenge, then the German Confederation will cry and cry to join Shinra, and no one will be able to stop it.
The premise is that Napoleon III hangs up first, and the little emperor can't suppress the main war faction in the country, otherwise the French will not show up at home, and Franz will not dare to call.
This is related to the issue of power projection. If the local army in Austria can play a tenth of combat effectiveness, then if the battlefield is placed in France, it will only have five or six points at most.
It's not that the combat effectiveness of the army has declined, but the main reason is that there are logistical problems. The original time and space of the Kingdom of Prussia won the bet, it was completely blessed by God, and Napoleon III personally led his troops to the door.
The emperor was captured, a revolution broke out in France, the government was killed by himself, and there was no resistance.
Otherwise, as long as the war dragged on for a few months and the French mobilized, the result would have been completely different.
Intelligence chief Tyron: "Your Majesty, something happened in Greece. Last night, a revolution broke out in Athens. The rebels defeated the government army and captured Prince Ludwig, who had not yet had time to take the throne."
Prince Ludwig is the Bavarian King Ludwig III. Now Ludwig II did not have time to fall ill, and his father Prince Luitpold did not have time to regent.
In the Lombard royal family succession sequence, Prince Ludwig is already out of five, and the possibility of inheriting the throne is almost zero.
In theory, even the Greek throne has no place for him, but the guys above him refused to come, so it was his turn.
This kind of unlucky thing has happened, and Franz can only attribute it to Ludwig’s unfortunate attributes. Sending him to Greece to be the king is the right move.
The original time and space is also the first to abdicate in the world war. This time it was even worse. Before he became a king, he became a prisoner.
"Call the General Staff to prepare for an armed intervention in Greece, and have the cabinet ministers on duty come over for a meeting."
In Franz's view, this is only a small matter, and it does not require all cabinet ministers to discuss together. Franz was not worried about Ludwig's safety at all.
Now Ludwig is only one of the heirs to the Greek throne, and his more important identity is the prince of the Lombard kingdom of the new Holy Roman Empire. If the Greeks dared to rub him, the casus belli would come.
Austria did not annex Greece, it was paying attention. In continental Europe, annexing a sovereign country for no reason can have very serious consequences.
It would have been different if the Greeks had taken the initiative to do things. Even if it is not easy to annex them, it is still very simple to beat them.
Such a simple truth, many people want to get it. Therefore, the most nervous about Prince Ludwig's safety now should be the rebels.
If this guy dies unfortunately, they will be unlucky. Even for the sake of face, Austria must send troops to avenge Ludwig.