Chapter 513: The Host Becomes the Guest

Both Britain and Russia intended to pass the buck to Austria to test its attitude towards the Middle East issue. However, Franz did not intend to do as they wished, so he paid a special visit to Metternich.

A busy man like His Excellency the Prince is as difficult as ascending to heaven for ordinary subjects and low-level officials of the empire. Even wealthy businessmen and local tyrants, as long as they are not at the level of Rothschild, basically have to wait for a year to see the Prime Minister. After all, the Prime Minister's appointment has been scheduled for two years.

However, it is not a problem for the Royal Grand Duke. After a simple greeting, Franz went straight to the point.

"Sir, I think you should convene an international conference to discuss the current situation with the powers."

His response to Britain and France's passing the buck was to kick it back, and by the way, it could also enhance the influence of the empire.

Because being the convener and host of such an international conference is very beneficial to a country's international prestige and influence.

By analogy, if a country originally called on other countries to discuss important matters together, but was stood up halfway, its reputation would also decline greatly.

For example, in the previous London Conference, Austria, France, Prussia and Russia were absent for their own reasons. In the end, the isolated British could only force a bunch of small countries to stay there and have fun, and they had to bite the bullet and pretend to be rich.

But this time, Vienna was not afraid of threats and retaliation from London. After all, Britain and Russia both needed it at this time, and Prussia, which had suffered two crises in succession, did not dare to confront it head-on.

So instead of waiting for others to die, it is better to take the initiative and at least seize the benefits in front of them.

Reputation is illusory. It is dispensable for some countries, but it is a vital link for the ancient empire of Austria, because it is one of the ties that maintain this country.

Metternich is essentially a person who attaches great importance to national reputation, but he was influenced by other powers (mainly Britain) in the previous series of confrontations, and he felt that practical interests should be given priority, so he asked again with doubts.

"Your Highness, I believe you should be very clear that Britain, Russia, and even France and Prussia are waiting for our reply or are ready to laugh at us.

If we take the initiative to take over the Middle East issue now, isn't it a bit inappropriate?

And the US-Mexico War on the other side of the ocean has already harmed our vital interests. You should know that the Austrian-Mexican Joint Development Company can pay more than 50 million florins of profits to the treasury every year."

You should know that Mexico's annual fiscal revenue is only 40 million pesos (about 88 million florins) at this time.

50 million florins is equivalent to 10% of Austria's fiscal revenue at this time, which is almost twice that of the Kingdom of Hungary, equivalent to the income of Lombardy, slightly lower than that of Venice, and about half of Bohemia.

It is obvious that the actual thoughts of this prime minister are inconsistent with what he usually advocates in front of the stage. He attaches great importance to the income of this "overseas enclave".

In addition, let's talk about why the Austrian-Mexican Joint Development Company can pay 50 million florins of income to Vienna after paying 70% of the net income to the Mexican government.

Because at this time, Mexico actually owed Austria hundreds of millions of florins in foreign debt, and this number was still rising.

Otherwise, how could the Mexicans have fought for years, how did Tasan Anna and his cronies live a luxurious life, and how was the world's largest opera house built?

Although the empire sacrificed a lot of interests, it actually made some money, not to mention the gold mines in California.

But for Austria at this time, a transoceanic war was still too far away, and doing so in the absence of the attitude of the great powers was tantamount to seeking death. Even if it was endorsed by the great powers, the risk and cost were too uneconomical.

Although Mexico is very important to the development of the empire today, it can only be put aside for the time being. Biting off more than you can chew, once it involves North America, it is equivalent to handing your handle to the enemy.

"Sir, we cannot expose our weaknesses to the enemy. We must believe that justice will prevail."

Faced with Franz's words, Metternich was a little confused. Although the United States was the aggressor, they claimed that they were the righteous side, and Tasan Anna was the evil tyrant. It was the Mexicans who asked the Americans to "liberate" them.

However, these propagandas were just the opposite in Europe. Tasan Anna was a "civilized man", and America was the representative of barbarism and backwardness.

"This is a war of barbarism trampling on civilization."-"Goodnight, Vienna"

But as the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, a real insider, Metternich actually knew that both sides were not as "civilized" as they advertised, so he asked, "But who is the righteous side?"

"Of course, the side with more money and a bigger caliber." Franz answered without hesitation.

Metternich felt very speechless. Is this the "born saint" that the archbishop was talking about? Why does it feel that the conscience is darker than those black-hearted businessmen? But he thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense.

The Austrian side's reversal of power soon paid off. Although the troublemaker Palmerston wanted to stir up trouble, he still voted in favor of Britain's participation in the Vienna Conference.

Tsar Nicholas I also wanted to test the tone of this Western ally. After all, the Balkans represent Austria's traditional strategic direction. Although Austria seemed to have little interest in it at this time, everything remained on the surface and did not involve the root.

And Prussia's reaction was indeed not unexpected. Their poor performance in the previous two crises caused their status in the German Confederation to plummet.

At this time, they naturally did not dare to sing against the powerful neighbor in the south, so they readily agreed.

Louis Philippe himself was not very interested in the Near East crisis, but the church and any French officials with a little strategic vision strongly expressed their willingness to attend this meeting.

After all, the Ottoman legacy will affect the pattern of world power, at least the pattern in the Near East.

In fact, Algeria, which France now occupies, itself belongs to the Ottoman territory, and Russia's strength is a threat to the whole of Europe...

So representatives of major European powers will rush to Vienna to attend this upcoming international conference, the purpose of which is naturally to deal with the problem of the second Near East crisis (sheep eating dirt).

While the great powers were all looking towards Vienna, a conspiracy was brewing in the mountains of Switzerland.

Ticino is located in the southernmost part of Switzerland, bordering Sardinia and Austrian northern Italy. It is the only channel for the Orthodox League to communicate with the outside world, and it also shoulders the responsibility of transporting supplies to other Orthodox League regions.

There is a reason why the Protestant League of Switzerland (the liberals at this time) was able to completely defeat the Catholic League (the orthodox) in history. At least in terms of talent, it was a completely crushing victory.

Joseph Roy, the leader of the liberals, spent only 130,000 francs to bribe the governor of Ticino and persuade him to appoint the liberal general Malo Condor as the commander of the Ticino garrison. At this point, the liberals took the lead.