Chapter 544 Diplomatic Efforts

War serves politics, and propaganda is of course indispensable. Since the Vienna government and the Russians reached an agreement, there have been more news about the black history of the Ottoman Empire in Austrian newspapers.

This time, there is no need to fake it. The crimes committed during the Ottoman Empire's arrogant period were too numerous to list, and just flipping through them is black material.

The call for revenge is growing, and the various petition letters received by the Vienna government are estimated to fill a room.

The power of hatred is beyond Franz's imagination. If it weren't for the power of the Vienna police, it is estimated that the Ottoman embassy would have disappeared.

Now the Vienna police also have to send people to patrol the surrounding area 24 hours a day to ensure the safety of the Ottoman embassy. The supplies inside the embassy all need to be transported by Austrian personnel, and the staff of the embassy simply do not dare to go out.

If it wasn't for the Russians, Franz could have ordered the war.

For Austria, this is just a local war, which does not require full mobilization at all, and has little impact on the domestic economy. Government departments are still doing what, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is busy.

The moral high ground, if you don't occupy the enemy, you will occupy it. Diplomatic activities are indispensable. Fortunately, the enemy this time is the Ottoman Empire. Most Europeans are more inclined to Austria, and there is little pressure on public opinion.

At the Vienna Palace, Foreign Minister Wesenberg dragged his exhausted body and reported back to Franz: "Your Majesty, this is a telegram from the Holy See.

The Holy See wants us to wage holy war against the Ottoman Empire in the name of God, and Pope Pius IX is ready to issue a call to Christ to organize another crusade. "

In the words of later generations, this is rubbing the heat. In recent years, the Holy See has declined sharply, and even the Papal State has been deprived by the French. Now the Holy See can only hide in the Vatican headquarters.

If it weren't for the donations from the Catholic Church in various places, it is estimated that the people of the Holy See might still be hungry. Napoleon III was not polite to them, and the wealth accumulated by the Holy See was basically confiscated.

The fallen phoenix is ​​not as good as the chicken, and now the prestige of the Holy See has plummeted. Except for the only remaining headquarters, many dioceses outside ignored the Pope's orders.

In this context, if there is no way to restore the prestige, it is estimated that it will not be long before the local parish can find an excuse to cut off even the symbolic relief.

It is not so easy to go back to the bad days after the good times have passed. Just at this time, I heard that Austria was going to attack the Ottoman Empire, and the Holy See naturally came to the door.

If the Holy See cooperated like this one or two hundred years ago, Franz would definitely be willing to accept it. The Ottoman Empire has not yet fallen and is a public enemy of Europe. Naturally, there is no reason for the Austrian family to contribute.

The current situation is completely different. The Ottoman Empire has already declined, and Austria does not need so many helpers. If there are more people participating, how will the final spoils be divided?

Franz, the fat meat of the Ottoman Empire, has been eyeing it for a long time, and took it out and divided it up with the Russians. That is, the Russian Empire has declined, and it is okay to take advantage of it. They have not yet been able to digest the annexation of the Ottoman Empire.

Even Austria was unable to digest the Ottoman Empire, and Franz was ready to move all the local population.

The excuse is naturally "environmental protection", in order to protect the local vegetation and avoid desertification of the land, all the aborigines are relocated away.

Some of them will be sent to Africa for construction, and the rest will be settled on an island in the South China Sea, or sent to the Americas for resettlement.

Franz shook his head: "Tell them that this time is just a secular war, and there is no need to rise to a religious level. We should be tolerant towards pagans."

"Holy war" is very cruel. Religious wars are always life and death, leaving no room for them. It took a lot of hard work to knock down the influence of the Holy See, how can it be possible for them to return to the altar now?

...

The smell of gunpowder smoke permeates the Near East, and the Sudanese government, which has sensed the threat, is not idle. To win the war, the Sudanese government is also working hard on foreign relations.

There is no way to say St. Petersburg and Vienna, the Sudanese government can only retreat and focus on London, Paris, and Berlin.

There is nothing wrong with the saying that the enemy of the enemy is a friend. The three countries of Britain, France and Prussia do not want the Ottoman Empire to end. Although the Ottomans are a little weaker, their existence itself has contained Austria and Russia.

However, the plan did not change quickly, and the Ottoman delegation in Berlin hit a nail, and William I did not meet them at all.

You must know that in the last Russian-Prussian war, the two countries were still allies fighting side by side, but they parted ways so quickly.

The Sudanese government also expected Prussia and Poland to send troops to contain the Russians and share part of their pressure.

It is a pity that the Prussians have a bigger appetite than they thought, and want to use this war to invade Poland. No, it should not be regarded as embezzlement, to be precise, it is to put William I on the throne of Poland.

The annexation of Poland cannot be accomplished overnight. Even if the European countries do not object, the Polish people will not agree.

The co-monarchy of the two countries is different. There is precedent for this kind of thing. It turned out to be the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and now it can also become the Polish-Prussian Commonwealth, which is much easier for the public to accept.

European countries may oppose the common monarchy of the two countries, but they are definitely not as fierce as Prussia's annexation of Poland, and they will not organize interference with the coalition to disrupt the situation. After a private exchange of interests, the possibility of reaching the goal is very high.

not reached in Berlin

As a result, there is no need to go to Warsaw at all. Without Prussia as the main force, the Poles would not have the strength to contain the Russians at all.

In Paris, not only the representatives of the Ottoman Empire were active, but the Austrian ambassador in Paris was not idle either. Both parties were engaged in public relations.

From a military point of view, to rescue the Ottoman Empire, the French are absolutely indispensable. If the Paris government stands on the sidelines, even if the Sudan persuades the rest of the country to intervene, it will have little effect.

Napoleon III threw the question to his son again: "Eugène, what do you think we should choose?"

Crown Prince Eugene replied with a tight face: "This choice is very difficult, strategically speaking, the existence of the Ottoman Empire is our natural ally.

History has proven that the presence of the Ottoman Empire can contain a large part of the Habsburg dynasty's energy, preventing them from fully competing for hegemony in Europe.

It's just that this time Russia and Austria have joined forces. If we want to intervene, the price we need to pay is too high. If not, war may break out.

Judging from the current situation, we are not suitable for a war with Austria, and we should try our best to avoid a war with a big country for at least five years.

Whether or not to save the Ottoman Empire mainly depends on the strength of the Ottoman Empire. If they're really dead, it's useless even to save them.

If they withstood the first wave of offensive, then we will pull the European countries to mediate together, and the Vienna government will stop at no cost. "

Napoleon III patted his son on the shoulder and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, Eugene. Your progress is very fast. It seems that it will not be long before you can be on your own."

After taking a few steps forward, he added: "Now is really not the time to intervene. If Austria wants to compete for hegemony in the European continent, it must first pull out the nails behind it.

Both the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire are their obstacles. Franz chose to form an alliance with Russia, which is equivalent to reducing an enemy behind him.

Their only confidant was the Ottoman Empire. Once the nail was pulled out, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea was completely in the hands of the Austrians, and their power extended to the Indian Ocean.

But don't worry too much, the existence of the Ottoman Empire is the basis for the final alliance between Austria and Russia. Without the common enemy of the Ottoman Empire, the St. Petersburg-Vienna alliance would have no value.

Perhaps in the near future, the Russians and Austria will see each other as enemies of life and death, fighting for continental hegemony.

Of course, the premise is that the tsarist government can win the second Russian-Prussian war. Franz's layout ability is very powerful. The Kingdom of Prussia, which originally blocked them in the German Federation, has now become the best thug to contain the Russians.

If one day the Russian Empire is really going to collapse, remember to give them a hand. With this nail in place, neither Prussia nor Austria dared to fully participate in the struggle for continental hegemony.

This time, let the British have a headache! Inform the London government that we are in line with them on this issue. If they want to send troops to interfere, we will pay as much as they will. "

When a person is about to die, see the problem more thoroughly. Now Napoleon III has realized that the most suitable ally for France is the Russian Empire, but it is too late.

In the era of Nicholas I, the Russian Empire was in full swing, and the entire European continent trembled under this behemoth.

In order to revive France and get rid of the shackles, Napoleon III and European governments made a similar decision - to suppress the Russian Empire.

With the joint efforts of everyone, the decaying Russian Empire was still overwhelmed and slowly fell. The reforms of Alexander II restored some of the strength of the Russian Empire, but it was by no means comparable to its peak.

By this time it was too late to unite the Russian Empire. For no reason, Napoleon III could not use money to fill the bottomless pit of the tsarist government, and even if he personally agreed, the French people would not agree.

"The enemy is in Paris" is no joke. The fighting power of the people in Paris is the best in the world. Once they find out that the government is betraying the country, a revolution should not be too easy.

Now they have not exerted their full strength. When the original time and space are exerting their full strength, changing the government is more diligent than changing clothes.

The average person does not necessarily change three sets of clothes in a week, but the French can change three governments in a week, including weekends off.

In order to strengthen the wits of the Ottoman Empire, Napoleon III still gave support to the Sudanese government. In addition to the material assistance in weapons and ammunition, he also issued a big empty check.

That means: you have to hold on and send troops when we are ready. Now it's just to confuse the enemy so that they can be caught off guard.

...

In London, Prime Minister Gerston was very unhappy with his attitude towards the two countries. He not only acted like a tortoise, but also lost the right to make decisions. Isn't this putting the British Empire on fire?

Nominally they follow their lead, but who actually listens to them? Napoleon III put it nicely, Britain sent as much troops as France.

Just think about it and see how unreliable this is. This war is mainly carried out on land, even if it is a landing operation, it can also go to the Black Sea.

The Royal Navy can't possibly go to the Black Sea to help the Ottoman Empire, right? If they dare to go in, don't think about it.

The Black Sea Strait is so narrow that it is not difficult to block the gate. Once it is blocked inside, it will not be far from the annihilation of the entire army.

cannot block the sea,

Fighting on land, the British Army's strength is not enough for the first wave.

Of course, they could also threaten Austria and Russia with a blockade of overseas trade. If they do that, the French people will applaud and cheer, and then act as the melon eaters to watch the fun.

Don't look at the fact that Austria's navy is only half their size, it seems that the Royal Navy can easily roll over, in fact war is not a numbers game.

If there is a fight, the Austrian Navy can still rely on the colonies scattered all over the country to conduct a broken war.

Material blockade, people are not the public enemy of Europe, why do you guarantee that European countries will not do business with Austria? If nothing else, at least the French will not give up the opportunity to make war fortunes.

In theory, these problems would be solved simply by unplugging Austria's scattered overseas colonial strongholds. The problem is that these colonies are not easy to fight, except for the weak Alaska and Austrian South America, where they are heavily armed.

With the size of the British Army, even sending all of them out would not help. For the Ottoman Empire, Britain can't do its best to expand its army and fight Austria at all costs, right?

Prime Minister Gerston expressed that he was not interested in such things that harmed themselves and others.

...