Chapter 776 Looking for an Opponent
Some people are proud and others are disappointed. Russia and Austria are celebrating their victory, and the atmosphere inside the London government is particularly strange.
Politicians are not easy to be, no matter how bad the mood is, Prime Minister Gladstone still endured and sent a congratulatory message.
No way, the British people are still watching? It's one thing to support the Ottoman Empire in secret, but you can't sit on your butt in the open.
The influence of the butterfly effect is getting bigger and bigger, international conflicts are far less intense than the original time and space, and everyone's morals are correspondingly higher.
It's really only a loss, and it's a good face, secretly stabbing knives and not stabbing knives, all stabbing knives at each other.
In the Prime Minister's residence in Downing Street, Foreign Secretary George took out a document and said: "This is an agreement we have just reached with the Austrians to redefine the spheres of influence of the two countries in the Middle East.
We support Austria's annexation of the Ottoman Empire in exchange for their not expanding into Persia. "
Does this agreement make sense?
Can a contract really bind Austria?
It depends on what angle you start from. Austria's annexation of the Ottoman Empire was a foregone conclusion, which was not something the British government could oppose.
However, some Britons admit that this expansion can be made more legal. In this regard, the Vienna government has an incentive to compromise.
On the other hand, this is all based on the premise that the Vienna government pays attention to eating.
If the Vienna government suddenly let go of its integrity one day and no longer care about the pressure of the international community, these agreements will be waste paper.
Gladstone took a sip of the cigar in his hand and said slowly: "It seems that we still have a few years of stability. It will take time for the Austrians to digest the Asia Minor Peninsula. This agreement is effective in the short term."
Foreign Secretary George added: "According to the intelligence gathered by the embassy, Russia and Austria are negotiating secretly. The exact content is unknown, but it is certainly not just the sharing of the spoils after the war.
Not long ago, the Vienna government was still relocating immigrants from the Asia Minor peninsula. At present, millions of people have been sent away, and they have not stopped. They have the intention of evacuating the Ottoman Empire.
The real purpose is still unknown, and the relocation was definitely not for the safety of the Ottomans.
We have sent people to verify that there is no large-scale plague in the Asia Minor peninsula, let alone the Black Death.
After spending such a huge price to migrate the population, the Austrians have paid more attention to the Asia Minor peninsula than ordinary people imagined.
It is worth mentioning that the war was over, and the tsarist government did not send administrative officials to the Asia Minor peninsula, and did not even intend to establish an administrative agency.
This is very abnormal, perhaps it has something to do with the finances of the tsarist government, which is unable to undertake the post-war reconstruction and restoration work.
Based on the analysis of these signs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that it is possible for the Russians to give up the Ottoman heritage in exchange for financial compensation from the Austrians. "
No matter how passive the British Foreign Office seemed to be in the previous disposal, they were still at the pinnacle of this era in terms of diplomatic professionalism.
Being able to connect several unrelated things and analyze the purpose behind them through the clues on the bright side is enough to prove their professional ability.
Hearing this explanation, Gladstone stood up directly, walked to the map behind him, and stared at the Asia Minor Peninsula.
After a while, he said helplessly: "Our future is in great trouble, and Austria has grown bigger if we don't pay attention, and there is no way to limit it.
To migrate the Ottomans, I am afraid that the Vienna government is trying to bring the Asia Minor peninsula into the mainland. At that time, from Vienna to Jerusalem, it will be one piece.
Look at the map. After winning the Ottoman Empire, apart from the absence of Constantinople, what is the difference between Austria's current sphere of influence and the Eastern Roman Empire? "
There is definitely a difference. Italian heels are gone, Bulgaria and Crimea are gone.
However, Austria's territory penetrated into Central Europe, and colonized most of Africa, and its control range far exceeded the Eastern Roman Empire.
Overall, it is stronger. Before the demise of the Ottoman Empire, everyone's feelings were not obvious, and now you can open the map and know what it means.
Admiralty Astley Cooper Key blurted out: "They want to rebuild the Roman Empire!"
Then he denied it: "This is impossible, and none of the European countries will agree to it. Doing this is self-defeating."
Foreign Secretary George said indifferently: "It is impossible to rebuild Rome, but the current Austrian Empire is no less than the Roman Empire.
The regions from Central Europe to the Middle East are all Austrian territories, and once these regions are digested, Austria's native area doubles.
If you add the Arabian Peninsula, the land that is connected with their native land is as high as more than five million square kilometers, and the Roman Empire at its peak is just like that.
However, this is only part of it. If you count their overseas colonies, present-day Austria has substantially surpassed the Habsburg dynasty at its peak.
Unlike any previous empire, the Austrian Empire had very little internal trouble. The Vienna government's unswerving policy of population migration has made the newly expanded territories free from hidden dangers of domination.
The stability of this empire is far greater than that of the historical Habsburg dynasty, and it is impossible to count on their internal collapse.
If we let the Austrians continue to develop and digest these regions, all our previous plans are a joke. "
Regardless of the harsh natural conditions in the Middle East and Arabia, that is relatively speaking, at least more suitable for human survival than the Russian Siberia.
If it is really developed by Austria, nothing else can be guaranteed. Based on the productivity of this era, it is still very easy to feed 200 million people.
Including Austrian Africa, the population carrying capacity exceeds at least 500 million, and its development potential is comparable to that of the entire European continent.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers laughed: "Sir, you are too pessimistic. The bigger a country is, the more powerful it is, or the world's most powerful country is the Russians.
However, the Russians, who are the largest in the world in terms of local area, are also the fourth largest in Europe in terms of comprehensive strength, and do not have the strength to match their territory.
This is not only the decay of the tsarist government, but also determined by geographical conditions. The harsh environment of the ice and snow country has inherently limited Russia's economic development.
Now Austria is facing a similar situation. It seems that it has gained a large area of territory through expansion, but most of these lands are deserts and cannot be exploited at all.
The Asia Minor peninsula with slightly better conditions has also been reduced to white land because of the war, and it cannot produce benefits in the short term.
If you want to develop the economy, you must first improve the environment yourself. Otherwise, the Vienna government will not implement the "Land Fallow Law" in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.
Nature is not so easy to change. After so many years, there is still no result. The plan of the Vienna government should be a failure. "
Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "No, the Austrians are still fruitful. I don't know about other areas, but a large forest has indeed increased outside Jerusalem.
Now that the sandstorm can no longer threaten Jerusalem, London newspapers have published it, and religious personnel have always thought it was a gift from God.
From the implementation of the land fallow law to the present, at least 200,000 to 300,000 square kilometers of forest land and grassland have been added to the Austrian control area. "
It's not surprising that people have all left, and now the grass grows and warblers fly in the original farming area, and the greening rate naturally increases.
This is a virtuous cycle. Without agriculture that consumes water resources, grasses and trees have innate functions to prevent wind and sand, and preserve soil erosion. The gradual enrichment of water resources promotes the expansion of the oasis area, and the local ecology is slowly recovering.
Of course, this kind of restoration is mainly due to the obvious effect in the early stage. From farmland to grassland and woodland, it is naturally very fast. It is not easy to increase the area of oasis in the future.
Relying on nature to restore the ecology itself is not an overnight problem. Jerusalem is an exception, mainly driven by political and religious interests.
The declining religion needs miracles to consolidate the declining faith; the Vienna government needs a beautiful Jerusalem to demonstrate its contribution to the world of Christ, improve its international reputation, and increase the support of the people for the government.
Jerusalem is 24 kilometers away from the Dead Sea and 56 kilometers away from the Mediterranean Sea. After migrating hundreds of thousands of people away, the local water shortage problem has been solved.
After a large investment, the effect is naturally leveraged. Franz and Leo XIII are the top contenders when it comes to selecting environmental ambassadors this year.
Seeing that the topic was getting further and further away, Gladstone interrupted: "Okay, two people. It doesn't matter whether the Austrians have achieved results or not. It is not something that humans can accomplish now if they want to turn the desert into an oasis.
The top priority now is how to limit the growth of Austria's strength, or to undermine the possible Russian-Austrian deal.
You must know that after the annexation of the Ottoman Empire, there was only one Egypt blocking the route from Vienna to Austrian Africa.
The French are just looking strong now, in fact they haven't come out of the civil strife. In the future competition, they may be at a disadvantage.
With the passage of time, the national power gap between France and Austria has been continuously widened, and maybe they will compromise one day.
I just can't imagine the horrible scene. "
No matter what age, there is no shortage of mouth gun experts. The topic of desert turning into an oasis has long been raised.
It's just that they are still shouting in the corner, they have not been recognized by the mainstream society, and they are not influential.
Including the desert oasis plan of the Vienna government, only the Jerusalem area has a specific plan, and other areas only have a land fallow law, waiting for nature to slowly recover.
In contrast, the consequences of Fao's compromise are more serious.
You must know that France and Austria still maintain an apparent alliance relationship. As long as the strength gap between the two sides continues to widen, one side believes that it has lost its strength to compete for hegemony, and compromise is a matter of course.
Foreign Secretary George: "The best way to stop this from happening is to drag Austria into war and drain them.
Political diplomacy is the strength of the Habsburg dynasty, their only weakness is in the military.
Of course, this shortcoming is only relative. Looking at the whole world, only France and Russia can rival them. "
...