Chapter 531 Meeting Begins

Austria, Vienna.

The powers gathered here again, and the purpose was naturally to maintain peace in the Near East (divide the Ottoman Empire).

In addition to the five traditional powers of Britain, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia and the Ottoman Empire, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark were added.

The reason was naturally to build up courage, after all, there were more people and more power.

Let's talk about the factions here. Spain naturally mixed with the French, Portugal and Denmark were the running dogs of the British, and Sweden was diplomatically biased towards Russia at this time, after all, this neighbor was too strong.

Similarly, the Netherlands, which joined the German Customs Union, had to act according to Austria's face at this time.

As for Prussia, as the weakest and smallest power, and at the same time a member of the German Confederation, it was naturally considered a member of the Austrian side.

Yes, Prussia was represented again. However, Prussian diplomats have long been accustomed to this, and it is better to say that they are a little excited to see so many new faces this time.

The representative of Spain was General Espartero, a talented general who had taken the blame in the civil war but still stood out with his own strength.

In order to strengthen his international influence, he immediately mocked the Russian side and was then asked to leave the conference hall.

This is the reality. The second-largest power has no dignity in front of the great powers. Of course, this is also the premise that Britain, Russia and Austria unanimously agree, because no one wants France to have more say.

At this time, the French representative, Duke Napoleon Lannes de Montebello, was also helpless. His name alone would cause controversy at such an international conference.

If he is not careful, it may even trigger the "Anti-French Alliance" again.

Although Duke Napoleon Lannes de Montebello is also called Napoleon, he has nothing to do with the Bonaparte family. He is 43 years old and the son of Marshal Lannes, the "Immortal Grenadier".

(The "Immortal Grenadier" Lannes died in the Battle of Aspern-Essling between Napoleon and Archduke Karl.)

At this time, Archduke Albrecht, the eldest son of his father's murderer, was sitting opposite him. When the two introduced themselves to each other, they couldn't help but look at each other twice.

The reason why Archduke Albrecht appeared at the negotiation table this time was because Metternich was skeptical about Franz's plan.

In fact, before the negotiations began, British Foreign Secretary Lord George Hamilton found Metternich and proposed a more attractive condition.

That is, Britain will support Austria's complete annexation of Serbia, but the latter must give up its alliance with Russia and prevent the Tsar from moving further south.

Although Austria won the breath-holding competition between Britain and Austria, Britain kicked the ball to the former.

This proposal was very attractive to the pro-British Metternich. He had long wanted to form an alliance with the real world's first power, not Russia, the false world's first power.

Especially on the issue of Italy and Switzerland, if Austria could get the support of the British, then there would be a lot to do.

In fact, Metternich himself was very concerned about the Swiss civil war and even borrowed money to help it. In history, the Austrian Empire still provided a lot of assistance to the Catholic League (Orthodox League) in Switzerland despite its tight finances.

It's just that the weapons, money and materials provided by Austria finally fell on the side of the Protestant League (Free League).

France and Austria rarely agree on one thing, but Britain does not want to see Switzerland split, because Switzerland will lose its checks and balances and buffering effect.

As for the Italian issue, it is even more poking the lungs of the French. France is unlikely to give up the Apennine Peninsula.

This is the hatred of the two Habsburg and Bourbon families for hundreds of years, which cannot be easily resolved, and the so-called support of the British is likely to remain only verbal.

Once Russia, the ally, is lost, it is very likely that the same situation as in history will occur. Countries like Prussia will jump up and export madly in the face of Austria, and eventually go crazy and destroyed in isolation.

In addition, the most realistic problem is that after the end of the Mexican-American War, the honeymoon period between the United States and Austria will end.

At this time, 70% of Austria's textile industry's cotton was supplied by the United States, although the West African colonies and Mexico were expanding cotton production.

However, once the United States stopped supplying cotton to Austria, it would be a devastating blow to the latter's textile industry.

At this time, the textile industry was the most critical link in Austria's industrial economy, and once it was broken, irreparable consequences would occur.

At the same time, its position in the German Customs Union would plummet, and the rise of the steel industry would require time to settle.

Some opportunities can make pigs take off, but once some opportunities are missed, they will require several times or even dozens of times the effort.

The spirit of Yugong is respectable, but it cannot be learned in the context of the 19th century, because the road itself is wrong, and the price paid to achieve the same effect may be unacceptable to Franz.

The Russians also need Austria's blood-making machine, otherwise everything on the former's land cannot be transformed into truly usable resources.

In the end, they can only choose to be militaristic and then be squeezed dry by the Anglo-Saxons.

Back to the book, Archduke Albrecht did not like this kind of diplomatic occasion.

As usual, the Russian representative Neserlov immediately stated Russia's position and put all the blame on the Tsar.

Even the layman, Archduke Albrecht, thought the other party was stupid. He still remembered that the book Franz gave him said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

How could he show his cards to others right away? Archduke Albrecht was not interested in such an opponent.

At this time, British Foreign Secretary George Hamilton immediately raised objections. Although he said it in a high-sounding manner, the content was just two words, "No."

Nesherlov and George Hamilton held their own opinions. The former looked at Albrecht with eager eyes, while the latter directly put forward the conditions he had told Metternich before at the meeting.

The Ottoman Grand Vizier faced the great powers dividing his territory and vassal states. Although Leza Pasha wanted to stand up and loudly denounce the great powers for such blatant and barbaric behavior, he was in a state of trembling and couldn't even speak properly at this time.

The 500,000-strong army that the Ottoman Empire was proud of seemed completely unworthy of mention in front of the great powers. Previously, on the battlefield in Morocco, the French army of less than 10,000 men defeated the combined forces of the Alaouite Dynasty (Morocco) and the Algerians, who were more than 100,000 strong, and made them flee in panic.

Archduke Albrecht saw the people in the room and what they did, and gave this evaluation.

"A clown who can only make a lot of noise and cannot see his own strength, a retard who only knows how to pin his hopes on others, a conspirator who likes to play tricks and is self-righteous, and the Arab in front of him almost has the word weak written on his face."