Chapter 1131: Anglo-Austrian Truce

With the exception of Russia, all countries had no objection to the British mediation.

The main purpose of the Austrian Empire's declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire was actually to cease fire with Britain. After all, there was no reason for the warring countries to accept mediation.

The British also understood this very well. In fact, most people in the British political arena did not want to continue this meaningless and costly war.

However, the two sides still had to bargain, the most important of which was the ownership of the Malta Islands and Cyprus, and the delivery of captured ships of both sides.

The British certainly wanted to take all of them, and Franz did not have much attachment to these spoils, but it was meaningless to talk about favors with a country like Britain, so he talked about the price directly.

The Austrian Empire claimed 1.5 billion florins, a price that the British naturally could not accept, but at this time Britain could no longer drag it out.

So Franz put forward his own requirements:

First, stop all hostile acts against the Austrian Empire, any piracy should be stopped, and at the same time, the Austrian Empire has the right to dispose of any British who commit piracy against the Austrian Empire.

Second, recognize Patagonia as the territory of the Austrian Empire and withdraw all British expatriates (actually only a few dozen people) before October 1849.

Third, do not continue to occupy the southern African colonies of the German Confederation and recognize the Tswana region as the territory of the German Confederation. At the same time, recognize Texas as the North American colony of the German Confederation.

(The Tswana region is actually today's Pozana.)

Fourth, compensate the Austrian Empire for losses and pay a ransom of 35 million pounds, of which 20 million pounds must be paid immediately and the rest must be paid within ten years.

Fifth, Austria and Britain will resume trade, and the barriers shall not exceed 10% except for some commodities.

Sixth, Britain shall not interfere with the Austrian Empire's rescue and commercial activities in Ireland.

In fact, there were originally 16 points, but it must be said that Franz was too kind and agreed to the British request for an armistice after only completing six of them.

The Austrian Empire will return all British prisoners and ships, and withdraw from the Malta Islands and Cyprus.

The two sides officially ceased fire on November 20, 1848, for a period of five years.

Franz originally planned to sign a ten-year armistice agreement to buy more development time for the Austrian Empire, but the British seemed very unconvinced. It seems that some things are inevitable after all.

At the same time, far away in St. Petersburg.

The news of Magid's sudden death made the Tsar excited, but the British's intervention made him angry. He didn't know how the British came from the frozen Baltic Sea.

Nicholas I felt that this was a godsend opportunity to take Constantinople in one go, but the Russian troops in the east and west were all tripped up.

Nicholas I wanted to send the Black Sea Fleet to take Constantinople directly, but the Russian high-ranking officials generally believed that this action was too risky.

Their Black Sea Fleet was insufficient in manpower and lacked sufficient offensive capabilities. Not only might they fail to capture the target, but they might also be wiped out by the Ottoman Navy.

On the other hand, the British were still very good at controlling the Russians. The British ambassador even privately stated that as long as Britain and Russia joined forces, they could divide the world.

Britain and Russia divide the world together, which is a great temptation for the Russian monarch and ministers.

As soon as the British ambassador threw out this bait, Russia immediately agreed to the request for peace talks.

However, Russia also added an additional clause, that is, Greece shall not attack or occupy Constantinople.

The Russians overestimated the Greeks. The latter dared not attack Constantinople at all because of the former's reputation. Even after the news of Magid's sudden death came out, the Greek high-level officials strongly opposed Otto I's reckless behavior.

Otto I didn't know whether it was because of sorrow and anger or because of the climate and water. In short, the king who proposed the great ideal of Greece fell ill.

In this way, no one in the Greek government would oppose Britain's proposal for peace talks.

As for Muhammad Ali, he has recaptured the areas on the east bank of the Jordan River and the west bank south of the holy city, and controlled the Gulf of Aqaba that he had been thinking about.

These areas are the essence of Jordan, and Egypt also has a certain ruling foundation in these areas. As long as these areas can be preserved, Muhammad Ali has nothing else to ask for.

He was looking forward to the British mediation. After all, there were tigers and wolves in front of him, and the British could not care about him.

Milos Obrenovic did not receive an invitation, but he thought that it was just because Serbia was located inland, and the British envoys would arrive later. He also took advantage of this God-given opportunity to further expand the results of the war and create a fait accompli so that he could get a share of the pie.

The Ottoman Empire finally waited for the British mediation, but the state of the Ottoman Empire at this time was a bit difficult to describe.

If the Russians were not too cruel, I am afraid that the Balkan Peninsula and the Anatolian Plateau would have been full of rebellions.

The reason why the Ottoman army was still holding on was mainly because of the Russians' fierce reputation and the poor information.

The Ottoman high-level officials were not fools. They blocked the news of Magid's sudden death as soon as possible, but the Ottoman government, which had long been infiltrated like a sieve, was completely transparent to the powers.

In fact, some powers also wanted to spread the news, but there were too many rumors in the Ottoman Empire, and the news of Mejid's sudden death did not seem explosive enough and did not cause much impact.

Due to Reshid Pasha's double-dealing during the rebellion, Queen Mother Shevkefza (evkefza Kadn), the biological mother of Mehmed Murad V, decided to act as regent herself.

"Kadn" means "woman" in Turkish, and is usually used as a honorific for female members of the royal family.

Although Queen Mother Shevkefza had experienced many ups and downs, she was still a woman without much opinion in essence, and she was deeply afraid of the powers of various countries, so she directly handed over the right to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire to Viscount Stratford.

This news was a shot in the arm for Viscount Stratford, so that Britain could take the initiative at the negotiating table again and could use this opportunity to gain more benefits from the Ottoman Empire.

The final result was that all countries accepted Britain's request for mediation, but the aftermath of the war continued.

Later, Britain requested a peace conference in London as an agent of the Ottoman Empire, which caused strong dissatisfaction from Russia and Greece.

In fact, not only them, but also Franz was very dissatisfied. He had finally created the posture of the six countries attacking Qi, but the Ansa bandit gang reaped the benefits.

Is there really such a thing as destiny in this world?

No, it seems that there is no reason for desperate efforts. In fact, Britain and the Ottoman Empire have established a stable trade relationship since the 16th century, and the political relationship between the two sides is quite consistent.

In the early days, the British and the Ottomans joined forces to fight against the Venice and Habsburg alliances, and then suppressed Russia and restricted France, so at this time the Ottomans handed over the fate of the country to the British.

The Ottomans calculated this account very clearly. Without the British, they would not be able to escape the fate of being divided. Only the British would try their best to maintain the integrity of the Ottoman Empire to limit the expansion of European countries.

However, Franz would not let the British return to their home ground.

Regarding the Wagner Street mentioned in the previous article, it is actually the location of the Vienna General Hospital and the Lunatic Asylum.