Upon receiving the news of the Japanese Army's attack on the Philippines, Franz almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Just as he dozed off, someone handed him a pillow.
There was no doubt that the Japanese helped Austria a lot this time. They pulled the Spanish out of the battlefield for no reason, and now it was the French's turn to suffer.
No matter how much the Salted Duck Empire declined, it was still a member of the great powers. It was definitely not the kind of country that would take a beating without fighting back.
Even if the French said that the Japanese attack on the Philippines had nothing to do with them, they still needed the Spanish to believe it. The Japanese Army was able to pass through the Philippine Sea because Britain and France guaranteed the Spanish government.
Without Britain and France, the Japanese wouldn't even allow the Spanish to pass through the Philippine Sea, let alone stop for supplies.
In this day and age, there was no such thing as open sea. The great powers were more domineering than the other, and the so-called territorial waters were determined by themselves.
Indigenous countries like Japan had no right to speak.
If they really made it clear, it wouldn't be easy for the Japanese to invade the Philippines. The landing alone couldn't be completed in a day or two. There was a lack of supply points along the way, and all supplies had to be transported from the mainland.
With Japan's current national strength, if they went on an expedition and couldn't end the battle quickly, they would drag themselves to death in a few months.
In order to maintain his dignified image in the minds of his subordinates, Franz quickly calmed down and found an excuse to cover up his emotions.
"The Japanese entered Southeast Asia at the invitation of Britain and France. Now that they attacked the Philippines, the Spanish should be very angry now.
Let's find a way to push behind the scenes and try to divert the anger of the Spanish to the French. Let's see if we can get any unexpected gains. "
It was basically impossible to get any unexpected gains. No matter how angry the Spanish were, they would at most vent their anger on the Japanese. As for Britain and France, they couldn't do anything at all.
No matter what Austria promised, it was useless. Politicians were all smart people. Everyone loved the icing on the cake, and no one would do something like sending charcoal in a snowstorm.
Although joining the anti-French alliance now wasn't considered sending charcoal in a snowstorm, it was also accompanied by great risks.
France wasn't a pushover. Although they lost strategically, they were still not at a disadvantage on the European battlefield.
Before the outcome of the Central European battlefield was determined, no one could be sure that the French really couldn't make a comeback. If the French were to suddenly erupt, Austria might be able to withstand it, but it did not mean that Spain could.
This was a lesson learned from the mistakes of the past. Spain had won the last war against France, but as the winner, Spain was tormented to the point of losing a large number of colonies in America.
Despite paying such a high price, when it came to dividing up the spoils of war, the weak Spain could only play the supporting role.
The Spanish government would not have the courage to declare war on France unless they were sure that the French were on the verge of collapse.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg analyzed, "Your Majesty, the French will not admit that Japan's sneak attack on the Philippines has anything to do with them. If nothing unexpected happened, they would soon start fighting with the Japanese.
Coupled with the fact that the British also endorsed it, the Spanish government could only suppress their anger in their hearts no matter how angry they were.
However, it was good to guide them this way. After suffering such a big loss, the Spaniards would definitely retaliate.
As long as they incite a wave of anti-French sentiment in their country, I'm sure the Spanish government would have the guts to embark on a trade embargo against France. "
It was not a matter of admitting it or not. Normal people knew that the French could not instruct the Japanese to attack the Philippines at this time. In case the Spaniards were forced to the side of the anti-French alliance, France would be attacked from both sides.
Whether it was to appease the Spaniards' anger or to give the European world an explanation, the French had to cut off the Japanese.
Allies?
This was clearly a stupid teammate. France drew allies to get rid of its political isolation, not to make enemies with European countries.
The previous expulsion had already made many European countries feel uneasy. If there was another wave of seizing Spanish colonies, they would not be able to survive on the European continent.
If they could seize it, Franz would have done it more than a decade ago. The French would not have had a chance at all. It was because they were afraid of offending the public that they gave up this tempting plan and worked hard to open up their own colonies.
Prime Minister Carr added, "It's not completely impossible. As long as we make the Spaniards believe that we will definitely win the war and tempt them, they may still take the bait.
However, this does not make much real sense. The Spaniards are certain that we can win the war, and that can only be our victory in Central Europe or Southern Europe.
We have already won, and it will be awkward to drag them to declare war on France. It is easy to arouse suspicion if the deliberate elements are too heavy.
If we let people see through our true purpose, I am afraid it will cause another storm.
The British will not see us dominate, and the Russians do not want us to be the only European overlord. The other European countries do not want to see another master on top of them.
If we stand on the opposite side of all countries at once, it will be completely hopeless to want to weaken France. "
This was also the reason why Franz did not dare to order a full-scale attack. Defeating the French was only the end of the war, and there would be a more tragic diplomatic war.
The early end of the Anglo-Russian war disrupted the previous strategic layout of the Government of Vienna, and the plan to completely dismember France was declared bankrupt.
How to divide the European countries and let Austria occupy a dominant position in the post-war negotiations became the most important problem at the moment.
After hesitating again and again, Franz made a decision, "Mobilize our power to lobby the Tsarist government's bureaucrats and find a way to drag the Russians into the water.
They don't need to send troops directly. As long as the Tsarist government is willing to declare war on France, they will have a share of the post-war benefits.
We have to be fast. We have to establish the established facts before the British make a move. If we are late, our strategic goals will be mostly wasted. "
It was not that Franz thought too much, but with the current international situation, the British were likely to come up with a joint mediation team to intervene in the war before the end of the European war.
There was no doubt that the European countries had the motive to intervene in the war. For their own interests, no one wanted to see the overlord of Europe appear.
Once the two major powers, Britain and Russia, took the lead, this alliance could be established in minutes. Anyway, the law does not punish the masses. If Austria wanted to settle the score, they had to consider that it would be difficult to offend the public.
It was impossible to fight head-on. Although the anti-French alliance led by Austria was strong and powerful, if they really encountered international intervention, the alliance would immediately fall apart.
Franz was not crazy to count on those fence-sitters to advance and retreat with Austria. Without the anti-French alliance, the odds of winning against the European world with their own strength were at most 50-50. What was the difference between that and suicide?
In particular, this 50-50 was based on the premise that they first crippled France. If the French still had a breath left and the Intervention Alliance appeared, the situation would be even worse.
If military means couldn't solve it, then they could only use political means. Whether it was bribing or fooling, as long as the Russians were on board, the situation would be very different.
Although the British politicians were very thick-skinned, no matter how shameless they were, they couldn't let a belligerent country become a mediator.
Even if the Russians reacted later, they could only hold them back in the dark. No matter how much the Tsarist government tossed around, it was impossible to send troops to defend France.
With Russia on board, it was much easier to fool Spain. Looking at the lineup, it was obvious that the French would lose the European war.
There was no reason to refuse a project with zero risk and high returns. Anyway, there was a lot of bad things to do between France and Spain, so there was no psychological pressure to hit them when they were down.
Franz had already thought about it. After fooling Russia and Spain, he would directly force Switzerland to participate in the war.
Between two choices, they could either embrace victory with the anti-French alliance or be buried with the French.
Then, there was no then. Most of the countries in Europe were at war with the French. No matter how much the British tossed around, they couldn't let everyone give up the benefits.
At most, Austria would get a smaller share of the spoils and give it to their allies. Anyway, French Africa was almost finished, so Franz didn't care about the compensation.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg frowned and replied, "Your Majesty, it's not that easy to encourage the Russians to declare war on the French.
The situation is gradually becoming clear. The Tsarist government doesn't want to weaken France too much. The more we rope them in, the less Russians will participate in the war.
In this context, we can only push things in the dark. Including the power of the pro-Austrian faction, we can't use too much.
Only by making the Tsarist government realize the benefits of declaring war on the French will they be able to take the bait. It will be very difficult to achieve this. "
On the surface, it was true, but Franz was still unmoved. Although his butterfly effect had affected Russia's politics, the nature of the Tsarist government hadn't changed.
"Greed" was the biggest characteristic of the Tsarist government. Coupled with their decadent bureaucratic group, this point was even more exaggerated.
"Throw money! Buy the Russian bureaucrats and nobles at all costs and sell them the benefits of declaring war on the French.
Isn't the Tsarist government poor? As long as they declare war on the French, they don't have to pay off their previous debts to the French, and there will be a large amount of war reparations after the war.
They don't need to send troops, they don't need to spend money, they can get so many benefits just by declaring war on the French. I don't believe that the Russians won't be tempted. "
In the Russian Empire, there was nothing that couldn't be solved by throwing money. If there was, it must be because there wasn't enough money.
There might be honest bureaucrats, but in the Russian Empire, such people couldn't survive. The world was muddy, and innocence was the original sin.
No matter how shrewd Alexander III was, as long as his ministers unanimously said that declaring war on the French was good for Russia, it would be difficult for him not to be affected.
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