The Vienna Conference began, and the representatives of various countries were trying to form alliances and show their prowess.
Russia and France attempted to divide up the remaining land in the Balkans, and John Bull, who was left behind, was naturally unwilling. He pulled the Osman Empire into a stance of not hesitating to fight.
The Russians were fearless in the face of the threat from the British. Since they had Constantinople in their hands, they could block the Bosporus Strait. Once the two sides fell out, the British Navy in the Black Sea would be locked up.
With a hostage in hand, the Hairy Bear was full of confidence. As a land power country, offending the British was not a big deal. The Hairy Bear, with its vast territory and abundant resources, was willing to go all out.
The Government of France was the first to hesitate. It was not that Napoleon Iii was afraid of war with the British. In fact, because of this small matter, the two sides would not go to war at all.
If they really did go to war, the French Navy was not powerless. Perhaps they could not win against the Royal Navy, but they could still make the Royal Navy suffer a great loss.
This was a high-risk gamble, and the Government of London would not bet on it. In the era of sail warships, it was too easy to destroy the navy. There would be no winner in the bloody battle between the two countries.
The main reason was still in terms of benefits. Anyone who was neighbors with the Hairy Bear would be wary. Napoleon Iii wanted benefits, but he did not want to bear the risk.
France monopolized Macedonia, Albania, Thrace, Epirus, and other areas. It seemed to be profitable, but in fact, after the war, the economy of the Balkans had long collapsed.
The destruction of war, the flood of refugees, the plague, and so many things added together. The population of the Balkans was directly reduced by a third, and the young labor force was even rarer.
The Balkans, which was originally a fat piece of meat, was now deoiled. To restore social order, it was necessary to invest a lot of resources.
Simply put, the benefits were not enough for the French to take the risk. If it was not for political needs, Napoleon Iii would not be interested in the territory of the Balkans.
"Everyone, it's not a good idea to continue arguing like this. Why don't we divide our territories and discuss it later?" Metternich suggested.
After that, he marked the area controlled by Austria on the map with a pen, and then handed the map to the Russia representative, Carr Vossel.
There was nothing to hesitate about. Carr Vussel circled his desired target on the map. Russia and Austria had an agreement, and the spheres of influence of both sides did not overlap.
The French followed closely behind and drew out their own sphere of influence. When it was the British's turn, Thomas was dumbfounded.
Good heavens, the three countries divided the map, and the Balkans were completely divided. Even if there were islands that slipped through the net, they would still be in the hands of the Osman Empire. Even the British would not bully their allies like this.
With a sudden inspiration, Thomas felt that he had to do something. He couldn't let the enemy get what they wanted so easily.
As for their ally, the Osman Empire, it was a pity that they could only be sacrificed. However, this was the will of all European people, including the British people. Thomas could not go against the current.
"The people of the Balkans have been enslaved by the Osman Empire for so many years. Now that they have returned to the embrace of the civilized world, we should help them establish an independent country. How can we continue to enslave them?
If this inhumane thing happened, how would the countries of the world see us? How would the international community feel? "
Metternich rolled her eyes. The four of them could represent the international community. If only one country acted out of line, it might be condemned by the European countries. With the four countries working together, they could make everyone obediently shut up.
In this era, there was no one in the world who dared to be enemies with Britain, France, Russia, and Austria at the same time. Even if the remaining countries were to band together, they would not be a match for these four countries.
"Mr. Thomas is worrying too much. How can we enslave the people of the Balkans?
The people of the Balkans have been under the rule of the Osman Empire for a long time. Many people have been poisoned by the barbaric world. We are helping them return to the civilized world.
According to the information we have gathered, the cultural heritage of the Balkans has been severely damaged. Now, the people on the island are either accomplices of the Osman Empire in suppressing the people.
They are either a group of illiterate people or traitors of the civilized world. Isn't it a joke to let them establish an independent country?
It is better for our countries to supervise and guide the people back to the civilized world to prevent further tragedies from happening. That is the best choice. "
Blackening the Osman Empire was also politically correct. For hundreds of years, the Osman Empire was the symbol of barbarism. It had been deeply instilled in the hearts of every European.
Of course, the Osman Empire's notoriety was not just in name. In history, they had done many things that angered the heavens and the people. Metternich could find a lot of evidence to prove their barbarism.
If these things were not exposed, then nothing would happen. Once they were brought out, regardless of whether it happened a hundred years ago or two hundred years ago, it was all proof of evil.
No matter what, it was impossible to clear their name. In this era, the moral integrity of the experts had not completely disappeared. They could not do something like helping the Osman Empire to clear their name.
As a politician, Thomas did not dare to defend the Osman Empire on this issue. Otherwise, the British people would not forgive him.
Now, the people in the Balkans with culture and knowledge were basically dependent on the Osman Empire. Even if they did not become traitors, their ancestors had.
From this perspective, it was barely reasonable to classify these people as the remnants of the Osman Empire.
Thomas did not continue to argue and directly suggested, "Mr. Metternich is right. Since that is the case, how about we jointly manage the The Balkans? We will help them return to the civilized world.
After we bring them back to the civilized world, we will find a suitable time to let the people of the The Balkans establish their own country and contribute to the civilized world. "
After hearing Thomas's suggestion, the French representative, the Auvergne representative, was obviously moved. However, the Russians reacted more violently.
Carr Vossel slammed the table and said angrily, "This is impossible! The people of the The Balkans are suffering from the tea poison of the Osman Empire. They must be supervised by us before they can return to the civilized world. "
Looking at the furious Carr Vossel, Metternich rubbed her forehead. It was obvious that this foreign minister, who had a military background, had not adapted to the role of a diplomat. It looked like he would start a fight at the slightest disagreement.
It seemed like the people of Russia would really beat someone up during the negotiation.
In order to prevent the negotiation from deteriorating, Metternich had to speak up to help. She immediately questioned Thomas, "The The Balkans have many nationalities. Ever since the Byzantine Empire, there has never been a unified country. Mr. Thomas, do you want to rebuild the Byzantine Empire? "
Rebuild the Byzantine Empire? What kind of joke was this? The nationalists in Greece could just shout slogans like idiots. Who else could tolerate the rebuilding of the Byzantine Empire?
After being questioned, Thomas calmly explained, "Mr. Metternich has misunderstood. Letting the people of the The Balkans establish their own country is just to help the people of the Balkans return to the civilized world.
The Byzantine Empire has already been destroyed. Why would we want to rebuild it? "
Metternich sneered, "It's best if you don't. Otherwise, the world will not be peaceful again. As for the issue of the people of the The Balkans establishing their own country, I don't think there is a need to discuss it.
The people of Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and other regions have already become Austrian citizens. They are all people of the motherland! "
Inspired, the Foreign Minister of Russia, Carr Vossel, immediately said, "We have already given citizenship to the people of Bulgaria and Constantinople, so you don't have to worry about it, Mr. Thomas."
Regardless of whether they had citizenship or not, Carr Vossel had used this excuse first. At most, he would make up for it later.
Anyway, no matter what Thomas did, it was impossible for the Austrians and Russians to establish their own countries. This meant that both sides were going to fall out.
Continue to attack the territory of the French? This thought flashed past Thomas' mind. He didn't want the Russian Fao to form an alliance. Once this alliance appeared, even if they had the whole world as their ally, they would not be able to withstand it.
Should he divide a piece of land in the The Balkans? After looking at the map, Thomas decided not to border these countries.
Auvergne, who had been slacking, suddenly changed the topic, "The most important thing in the The Balkans is the Black Sea Strait. Most of the international disputes are centered around this strait.
For the peace and stability of the world, I propose that the Dardanelles Strait and the Bosphorus Strait be jointly controlled by the international community. All coastal port cities will become free ports, and no country will be allowed to deploy any weapons.
No matter what time period it is, the governments of all countries will guarantee the freedom of navigation in the strait. No restrictions will be set, and no navigation taxes will be collected. "
After thinking about it, everyone agreed. Only Carr Vossel felt the pinch. However, considering the actual situation, even if they wanted to collect navigation fees, they would not be able to, so he still agreed.
They could collect taxes at the Bosphorus Strait, and the British and French could also collect taxes at the entrance of the Dardanelles Strait. At that time, merchant ships would not dare to pass through, and this golden waterway would be useless.
After solving the problem of the sea route, Thomas was too lazy to continue entangling with the problem of the The Balkans. The Russian Fao, Russia, and the French shared the The Balkans. Wasn't it a kind of balance?
Once the Russians rushed out of the Black Sea, the French would be the first to bear the brunt. Austria also could not tolerate the Russians continuing to expand.
Although they did not gain any practical benefits from the Near Eastern War, they still succeeded in terms of strategy. They used the new international order to block the Russians in the Black Sea.
After solving the problem of the Near Eastern War, the British, French, Russian, and Austrian countries signed the "Treaty of the Four Countries", which redefined the sphere of influence of each country in the form of a treaty.
After the treaty was signed, the governments of the four countries jointly issued a statement: The four countries will jointly maintain the peace and stability of the European continent, and fight against any behavior that breaks the rules.
With the end of the Vienna Peace Conference, a new international order was established again. Other than the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, each country had to actually control the area of interest.
The Osman Empire became the biggest loser. Because they did not have the strength to maintain their rule in the The Balkans, they had to sell Macedonia, Thrace, Albania, and the Gallipoli Peninsula to the French for 200 million francs.
The French and the Osman Empire were allies, so they had to pay attention to their table manners. They had no choice but to fork out a sum of money to buy it. Austria and Russia did not stand on ceremony. As the old enemy of the Osman, they naturally swallowed the territory that they occupied.
The Montenegrin Principality probably did not know whether it was a loss or a gain this time. Although they were eventually driven back to their hometown by the British, with the support of Russia and Austria, their territory doubled and they successfully took the sea.
The doubled territory was actually more than 10,000 square kilometers, which was not as big as the Montenegrin Principality in the future. There was no other way, who asked them to be small?
In order to increase more than 5,000 square kilometers, the Montenegrin Principality lost half of the young people in the country. The original population of the country dropped by 23%, plus the newly occupied land, the national population only exceeded 200,000.
The biggest winner on the surface, the Russian Empire, was silently licking its wounds at this time. Although they obtained Constantinople, it was only on the surface.
Whether it was the Bulgarian region or the Constantinople region, they were all destroyed by the war, and the local economy directly collapsed.
In particular, the city of Constantinople was directly turned into ruins, and more than two-thirds of the buildings in the city were damaged to varying degrees.
Of course, it may also be a good thing, just in time to demolish and rebuild, remove the traces left by the Osman Empire, and build the glory of the Russian Empire. If you don't consider the financial situation, it should be like this.
After counting the casualties, the people of Russia couldn't laugh anymore. Just the The Balkans alone cost the Russians 600,000 dead, plus the Crimean Peninsula and the Caucasus battlefield, the total number of Russian Army killed and injured was close to 900,000.
If it wasn't for the political gains brought by the conquest of Constantinople, Nicholas I Of Russia really didn't know how to end it.
The British and French who also participated in the war didn't have it easy either. The French army was killed 210,000, and 45,000 were injured, while the British army was killed 78,000, and 11,000 were injured.
This number included the losses caused by the plague and diseases, otherwise the number could be reduced by a third. In any case, the non-battle losses did not exceed the battle losses.
As for the Osman Empire, their losses were a mystery, and the Government of Sudan didn't know how to calculate it themselves. In any case, the millions of troops they had built before and after were destroyed.
The The Balkans were lost, and many of the soldiers were able-bodied men. If they were scattered, then they were really scattered. Don't expect these people to come back.
Presumably, the Government of Sudan wouldn't care anymore. The capital was lost, and the core of the ruling area was lost. Why should the casualties add to the troubles?
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