On April 21, 1874, Napoleon Iii died of illness in the Palace of Versailles. This news quickly became the hottest topic of the Near East War, and everyone's eyes were focused on Paris.
In the Palace of Vienna, Franz sighed deeply. A competitor left just like that.
After adjusting his mood, Franz quickly recovered.
"Napoleon Iii died, and the transfer of power in France is inevitable. We don't have to worry about the threat from the west for a short time. We have to hurry up with the next step of the plan.
Our people in Berlin and London can start to act. The change in the situation in Europe this time is related to the international pattern for the next few decades. We must not let the situation get out of control. "
It had to be said that strategic planning was troublesome. Any mistake in any place could trigger a chain reaction.
Including the death of Napoleon Iii. If he persisted for a few more years, Franz's European strategy would have to be completely overturned.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, the situation in France is more chaotic than we had expected. Napoleon Iii just died, and the Government of France is also caught in a power struggle.
Napoleon Iv, who is about to ascend the throne, does not have enough prestige to suppress the elders in the government. At present, several major factions are fighting very fiercely.
If the internal struggle does not end, I am afraid the French will not have the energy to intervene in international affairs in the short term. Our plan to lure the enemy may not work. "
The infighting in the Government of France was deliberately created by Napoleon Iii. Only when the ministers fought could the emperor's power be protected.
Napoleon Iii died too early, and the time to pave the way for Eugène was too short. He did not have time to establish prestige and suppress the people.
In this case, the ministers below were fighting with each other, and the little emperor appeared as an arbitrator. After a few years, the emperor's position would be stable, and the ministers below would be replaced.
This was a very clever trick that could achieve a smooth transition of imperial power. However, the sequelae were also very big. The government wasted a lot of energy in the infighting, which would affect the development of the country.
France was a big country, and it was not a big problem to develop slowly. There were almost no external threats, and no country would be stupid enough to invade France.
France, with its constant internal strife, obviously wouldn't jump out to stir up trouble. No matter how much they coveted the resources in Belgium and the Rhineland region, with so many teammates who were holding them back, it would be difficult for them to achieve their goals.
As long as the main French army did not come out, the Austrians could do nothing to the French. According to the plan, it was to tempt France to send troops to the Rhineland, and Austria would pull the European countries together to form an anti-French alliance.
Although France had a strong army, they weren't as good as they were during the Napoleonic era. If there was another war against France, they wouldn't be able to hold on.
Franz nodded. "It doesn't matter. The probability of this plan working is very low to begin with. It would be best if it works, but it doesn't matter if it fails.
France is not our real enemy. Europe is not our real enemy. Our real enemy will always be ourselves. "
When he said the last sentence, Franz couldn't help but feel excited. After so many years of development, Austria had finally developed to the point of ignoring external threats.
The situation on the European continent had been stirred up beyond recognition. In the situation where Prussia and Russia were in a stalemate, only France was left, and it could no longer threaten Austria's security.
From the beginning, the Government of Vienna had two sets of plans: balance Prussia and Russia's strength, or defeat France.
No matter which one was achieved, Austria would get rid of the crisis of fighting on multiple fronts. It wouldn't be easy to defeat France, so they would continue to implement the Prussia and Russia's strategy of balance.
This was learned from the British. John Bull implemented the policy of balance on the European continent while also maximizing the benefits. Franz naturally had to follow suit.
…
In Berlin, after receiving the news of Napoleon Iii's death, William I almost went crazy with joy. This was like "meeting a pillow when you want to doze off."
Russia and Austria were beating the Osman Empire, and the French emperor was dead. It could be said that the biggest stumbling block for William I to ascend to the Polish throne was gone.
The Foreign Minister, Jeffrey Friedman, reminded, "Your Majesty, things aren't that optimistic. Napoleon Iii's death only means that the chances of France intervening have decreased, but it doesn't mean that they won't intervene at all.
Although the war in the Near East has tied up a part of Austria's energy, they still have the strength to intervene. We also have to consider the British's reaction. The Government of London doesn't want to see us really rise.
If we want to annex Poland, it's best if we can get the support of two of the three countries, Fao, or at least get their acquiescence. "
William I, who was excited, instantly sobered up. It was too early to be happy. Before dealing with the three major countries, annexing Poland was just an illusion.
"This is indeed a problem. If we do a deal with the two countries, Fao, how much do we have to pay?"
Benefits were always the best way to solve problems. If it couldn't be solved, it must be because the benefits weren't big enough. Don't look at the European countries opposing Prussia's annexation of Poland. As long as the benefits were in place, the opposition could be turned into support.
Choosing to buy the two countries, Fao, was also a practical need. The Russian Empire was a mortal enemy, and the Government of Berlin couldn't buy it. The British's strength was at sea, and the possibility of sending troops to intervene was very small.
Jeffrey Friedman thought about it and said, "Based on the current situation, we can promise the two countries, Fao, to support Austria's annexation of the Osman Empire and the German Confederation, and support France's annexation of Belgium as a deal.
If necessary, we can also promise to sell the Rhineland to the French, and promise to sell the southern part of the Kingdom of Poland to Austria. "
A promise was a promise, but whether it could be fulfilled depended on the actual situation. Just like when they divided the Osman Empire, Franz also promised half of the The Balkans to the Russians, but in the end, most of the area fell into the hands of Austria.
The Government of Vienna also didn't violate the agreement. The extra territory was bought by Austria from the French, not taken from the Osman Empire.
However, when it came to Prussia, the situation changed. The two countries, Fao, were a little too powerful, and the possibility of changes was relatively small. The promise now was likely to become a reality in the future.
The room fell into silence, and everyone was weighing the pros and cons. In this regard, they were not as bold as Bismarck, who directly gave an empty promise to Napoleon Iii, and then turned around and turned back.
After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Moltke broke the silence, "We can try to fight for it. As long as we can annex Poland, the strength gap between us and Fao will be greatly reduced, and the situation will be different.
In the future, we can also lead the French to the Low Countries, and Austria to the Osman Empire.
Don't forget the reaction of other European countries. Maybe the promise now doesn't need to be fully fulfilled. "
This was not the first time this kind of thing happened on the European continent. If other European countries interfered and the deal couldn't go smoothly, Fao and Germany couldn't blame Prussia for breaching the contract.
This was similar to William I's plan. He had long planned to let the British come out to make trouble and stop the expansion of Fao and Germany into Central Europe.
After a pause, William I made a decision, "Then let's take action. First, establish the established facts, and then negotiate later. The result will be more favorable to us."
If possible, William I wanted to annex the German Federal Empire. Unfortunately, the difficulty was too great, and Britain, Fao, and Germany couldn't agree.
Austria's strategy of German unification was well known. Even for political propaganda, the Government of Vienna would do its best to interfere.
The French also wanted to annex the territory west of the Rhine River. There was the German Confederation in the middle, and the Prussian Rhineland was an enclave. If Prussia annexed the German Confederation, the territory would be connected, and it would not be easy to do anything.
Unlike the original time and space, in order to prevent Austria from annexing the German Confederation, John Bull invested a lot of resources in the German Confederation. It was like treating a son.
The relationship between the two was even closer than the relationship between Belgium and the Netherlands. The German Confederation was also playing with balance. The navy was all equipped with British equipment, and the army was basically equipped with Arcana equipment.
Relying on good diplomatic relations, the Government of Vienna couldn't use force against the German Confederation. If they wanted to unify the German Region, they could negotiate. As long as Austria could settle the European countries, they wouldn't object.
It seemed like a cooperative move, but in fact, it was a very clever political move. They pushed all the responsibility of destroying the German Region to the international forces.
No matter what the final result was, the interests of the ruling class wouldn't be damaged. They didn't even have to worry about national security. If they encountered trouble, they could ask Austria for help.
This was also the reason why the Government of Vienna gave up the national policy of German unification.
It seemed like a cooperative unification, but in fact, there were many hidden secrets. Through negotiations to achieve peaceful unification, the government could only get a nominal unification, and it would also plant hidden dangers for the Empire to split.
Franz wasn't a person who fished for fame. Just a nominal rule wasn't worth Austria risking the entire Empire.
Then everyone acted together. The more the German Confederation cooperated, the more the European countries were worried that after Austria unified the German Region, the integration would be completed in a short time, and their strength would skyrocket. Everyone desperately tried to stop Austria from annexing the German Confederation.
…
In Warsaw, it seemed like everyone was paying attention to the succession of the Polish throne overnight. Experts and scholars published comments in the newspapers, attributing all the problems encountered by Poland to the lack of a king.
This wasn't nonsense. They had evidence. All the powerful countries in Europe had a monarch, either a king or an emperor.
A republic couldn't even elect a representative. The division of the American Civil War had been publicized as a negative example in Europe. "The emperor took turns" was seen as one of the main reasons for the American Civil War.
Who knew if it was true or not? Anyway, the monarchies all publicized it like this. After saying it more, everyone believed it.
The more radical newspapers had begun to openly accuse the government of deliberately preventing the birth of a king for the sake of the power in their hands.
This statement couldn't be considered wrong. The Polish government really didn't want the king to appear and affect the power in their hands.
But this cover had been opened, so they absolutely couldn't admit it. This was the era of monarchy. When Poland gained independence, it established a constitutional monarchy.
It was written clearly in the constitution, and the Polish interim government couldn't afford to bear this charge. Looking at the crowd protesting outside, Prime Minister Dombrowski knew it couldn't be delayed any longer.
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