Chapter 894 "Peace Agreement"

Franz's conditions made the British feel that they seemed to be still asleep, otherwise they should never have seen such an outrageous peace agreement.

But in fact, this is Austria's peace agreement. As for why the Austrian government allowed such an outrageous peace agreement to appear on the negotiation table.

This is of course Franz's credit. At this time, the senior officials of the Austrian Imperial Government were replaced one after another like a horse-watching.

Franz grabbed a lot of scapegoats at random. He would not dirty his hands with such a provocative peace agreement, and he also had to leave a way out for Austria and himself.

After all, if a strong man fell from the sky in Britain or a meteorite hit the ship, Franz still needed a scapegoat.

In addition to asking the British to return Crete and confiscate all facilities on the island, Franz also made requirements on the number of British troops stationed in Albania.

It cannot exceed 3,000, but this is just a trick. In fact, Franz hoped that the British would send more people to Albania, preferably hundreds of thousands, so that they can feel what the Balkans are.

But the most fatal one is the last one, which is what Franz really wants to say, that is, to restrict British warships from entering the Adriatic Sea.

Ships over one thousand tons and any ships that may threaten the safety of the sea are not allowed to enter.

The reason why Franz did this is to tell the British whose territory the Adriatic Sea is. In fact, if there are other ways to go, Franz does not want to do this.

But the reality is that the Austrian Empire is the first bird on the European continent, and the British will never let it go. No matter how low-key Franz is, no matter how he doesn't provoke the British, no matter how he finds things for the British.

They will still keep an eye on Austria, which is the inevitable fate of the hegemon and the challenger.

Since he can't avoid it, Franz can only face the challenge.

London, England.

The gentlemen in Whitehall thought for a long time, and they finally came to a conclusion.

That is, the Austrian side is asking for a sky-high price, and they are bluffing. After all, it was the French who defeated the British fleet at this time, and they just took the opportunity to seize Crete.

But Britain's own battle line was too long. From Asia to Europe to America, there were enemies everywhere, and almost every one of them was a regional hegemon. In the Mediterranean alone, there were France and Austria.

"Mr. Prime Minister, now the German Confederation is pulling Prussia to fight Schleswig inexplicably. I think this is an Austrian conspiracy!

They are obviously heading for the Kiel naval port. The Austrians know that they can't break out of the Mediterranean, so they want to move to the North Sea, so that they can directly attack our homeland!"

Canning's mind was open, and he was always good at black Austria. But the Minister of the Navy George Eden sneered at this statement, he said.

"The Austrians just want to distract us!"

At this time, John Russell's head was about to explode. There were contradictions everywhere in the world, and every thing could cause a huge disaster. He was just an average person and couldn't bear it.

"Then what do you say?"

The Minister of the Navy George Eden actually just wanted to emphasize his presence. He didn't have any good way to deal with the mess at this time.

John Russell usually doesn't listen to advice, but this time he was asked by name. George Eden couldn't refuse the other party's face and had to say.

"The Mediterranean is not a blessed land for our British Empire. Two of our three disastrous defeats in recent years occurred in the Mediterranean.

Perhaps we shouldn't go too deep, because there are too many interests of the great powers involved here. Like this time, if France and Austria hadn't joined forces, I don't believe that our Mediterranean fleet would be wiped out!"

George Eden just said his guess, but this sentence made other British high-level officials nervous like a bolt from the blue.

This is the guess they don't want to hear the most. Although they have thought about it themselves, there is no worse situation than this.

However, this guess is extremely reasonable, because only in this way can it explain why the Austrian side is so arrogant and puts forward such harsh demands.

Then the strategy of pulling one to fight another that they had envisioned before may fail again, because this is a trap at all.

Withdrawing troops and accepting peace is probably the most favorable and stable choice for Britain at this time, but the problem is back again, who will take the blame.

Suddenly, everyone looked at the Earl of Auckland, who still owed a day's shit. On the contrary, his name and reputation were already in the street, so why not let him go.

John Russell grabbed the hand of the Minister of the Navy and shook it violently.

"Auckland, my friend. You are a genius! I am willing to support you."

The cabinet members around him saw this scene and knew that the Prime Minister had finally found a scapegoat. Everyone came forward to congratulate.

"Earl of Auckland, we support you."

"Your suggestion is so useful!"

"I think Her Majesty will approve your genius suggestion."

"Merciful Earl of Auckland, I thank you on behalf of those soldiers who should have gone to the battlefield! You are such a humanitarian!"

Earl of Auckland gradually lost himself in the praise.

Britain submitted two letters of credence with completely opposite tones and wordings to Austria and Prussia respectively, accusing Prussia of its aggressive behavior.

At the same time, the United Kingdom stated that it would send troops to protect Denmark's interests when necessary, and that Prussia would use all means, including military strikes and economic blockades, when necessary.

Although the British said it was serious, in fact they were not prepared to send an army to help Denmark, or even go deep into the Baltic Sea.

At this time, the British were not sure whether this was a conspiracy by other countries, so they would only use maritime power in the North Sea to check the Prussians, and if necessary, they could destroy the Danish military port again.

(During the Napoleonic Wars, the British directly set fire to the Danish capital and the Danish Navy in order to prevent the Danish Navy from being used by the French.)

On the other hand, the British almost accepted all the harsh conditions proposed by Franz, but they also brought some additional terms.

Franz had expected this. After all, would he still be British if he didn't bargain?

The British conditions were also very simple. The first was that Austria could not ally with France.

Secondly, the island of Crete belongs to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and the United Kingdom has no right to transfer it, but its interests in Crete can be transferred.

However, this transfer is not free. The Austrian side needs to pay five million pounds to redeem these rights. Afterwards, it does not matter whether the Austrian side wants to enjoy them exclusively or transfer them to the Greeks. The UK will not interfere in this matter.

Third, Britain will move the Mediterranean Fleet to Cyprus, so Austria should be responsible for the navigation safety of British merchant ships in the Western Mediterranean.

Finally, Austria was not allowed to annex the Papal States.

The first three items were all used by the British to disgust Austria, and some of them also meant to sow discord. After all, the British like to judge others by themselves, and they feel that Austria, France and Greece cannot be monolithic.

In fact, their ideas are quite accurate, because there is no so-called secret agreement between Fa and Austria.

If there was a secret agreement, it was a gentleman's agreement between Franz and Count Chambord.

It is impossible for the British to find any substantive evidence of this so-called gentleman's agreement. Even the French naval marshal who knew about it has passed away, so it is even less likely that anyone will know the inside story.

As for the Kingdom of Greece, Franz must be responsible to the end.

After all, Greece will be Franz's trump card in his fight for hegemony in the Mediterranean and the Balkans in the future. And if you don’t look at the monk’s face or the Buddha’s face, everyone is a family and Franz must take care of them.

The so-called rights and interests in Crete are just a big hole dug by the British for Austria. Any country around the Mediterranean understands the importance of the large island of Crete, but the cake is not that delicious.

Just like Jingzhou during the Three Kingdoms period, everyone wanted it, but whoever took it would be worried because it would be jointly targeted by other countries, and even the martial sage Guan Yu could not hold it.

However, Franz is neither Tao Qian nor Sun Quan. He will help the Kingdom of Greece defend it, thus serving as a springboard for Austria to dominate the Mediterranean.

The last one, not to annex the Papal States, is the British's killer move, and it is also what they are most worried about.

Although the war between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia does not have much reference value, it can be seen that the so-called Italian army is simply a ragtag group of people.

As for the Hungarians and Bohemians, although they assured Palmerston that they were not afraid of the Austrian army, they could not provide any evidence to prove this.

The British would not pin their fate on other nations, so Palmerston only planned to watch with a cold eye.

Not annexing the Papal States is the bottom line of the British, and it is also the bottom line of other powers. The reason why the British raised it at this time is to remind other powers that Austria has ambitions for Italy.

At this time, if other powers also plan to get involved in Italy, or want to take advantage of the situation, then Austria will have another backyard fire.

At the same time, this is also a double insurance. Only in this way can they ensure that Austria cannot annex the Papal States. In this way, even if the Austrians won the war, they would not receive any substantial benefits.

The British did not know that Franz had already connected the monarchs of China and Italy, and that Pius IX himself was already on his way to Venice.

However, it would take several days for the news to reach Franz, who was still on his way to Venice.

"Archduke Franz, someone wants to see you."

Franz was a little confused, because he didn't like to be disturbed. Neither Bordeaux nor Colonel Monta should be so rash.

What surprised him even more was that the convoy was resting in the wild at this time. You must know that Franz's route of action was not notified to others in advance, and who was so powerful to find this place.

Franz sat up straight and asked.

"who is it?"

Colonel Monta's expression was a little strange.

"explain."

"It's a lady."

Before Colonel Monta finished speaking, a proud and charming woman walked over.

Franz's first impression was that he was very beautiful, very beautiful and aggressive. However, he did not remember that he knew such a woman. There was no such person even in the Royal Women's College and the underground institutions that secretly trained agents.

But what Franz cares about most at this time is not the origin of this beauty, but why she can appear here openly.

"Why is she here?"

Franz blurted out, but his tone was not a question but a rebuke. Colonel Monta immediately realized that something was wrong. He knew that Franz would not make a point and knew that his behavior was inappropriate at this time, so he wanted to explain immediately.

But before Colonel Monta could speak, the woman spoke first.

"I have already searched my body. I am not an assassin."

As she spoke, she took off her suspenders and swaggered into Franz's carriage. Then she took off her clothes one by one, completely ignoring the samurai sword on her neck and the muzzle on her temple.

"Did you see it clearly? Do you want to search again? Let them, or do it yourself?"

The woman's teasing words and eyes were still sharp. Franz was a little helpless, so he had to signal Colonel Monta to close the door.

Franz did not answer the woman's boring questions. He didn't like to be led by the other party, so he chose three soul questions.

"Who are you? Where are you from? What do you want to do?"

"Who am I and where am I from? Does it matter?"

The woman asked back. She was using her natural advantage to try to take over the guests, but Franz was not the kind of adventurer who liked excitement. He had more important things to do.

Fortunately, this woman of unknown origin had a strong ability to read people's expressions. Seeing Franz's impatience, she immediately changed her routine.

"I can help you. I think this is the most important thing."

"Oh? What can you do?"

"What do you want to do? I can meet all your needs."

The woman started playing routines again, and Franz interrupted her performance.

"Enough! Give you 30 seconds to explain the matter clearly. If you can't explain it clearly."

Franz looked at the new guard holding a katana.

"Ms. Zouche, please chop off her head."

This Miss Zouche was actually one of the international students selected by Kagura from the "tribute" sent by the shogunate nobles. Franz brought her with him not because she had any special abilities.

It's just that Franz simply thought that her image and personality were a bit like the heroine in an anime, and the knife was actually a reverse-edged knife.

Franz said that the reason why he asked her to use this knife was to test her character and ability, but in fact it was more out of safety considerations.

After all, Franz didn't want to play with fire and get burned.

"I am Lola Montes, the evil woman you call a disaster. Are you satisfied?"

Franz was indeed a little surprised when he heard the name Lola Montes, but he still said.

"Ten seconds left."

"I can find you, this is my ability! I can offer myself to be your pillow, and I can also be your eyes in the dark.

Believe me, I have this ability! I will definitely make you inseparable from me."

Lola Montes shouted and her voice was a little broken, but Franz still looked at her coldly and said only one word.