Franz just laughed at the Russians' wild imagination. In fact, this kind of whimsical plan had always been emerging in real life.
Politicians were also human, and since they were human, they would make mistakes. Especially when it came to interests, the probability of them making mistakes was even higher.
On the surface, Russia took the initiative to occupy France in the name of an ally. Austria was indeed helpless, but the Government of Vienna could delay it!
Even if they couldn't forcibly divide France, they still couldn't delay the negotiations. If one year wasn't enough, then two years. If two years wasn't enough, then three to five years. After a long time, would the Russian Army be able to live in peace with the French people?
Austria could just watch the show and wait for the Russians to withdraw before considering how to deal with France.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was too troublesome to coordinate the relationship between Britain, France, and Russia, and there was almost no possibility of success, Franz really wanted to give it a try and slowly enjoy the game between Tsar's iron fist and French nationalism.
"Send electricity to the frontline troops and let them end the war as soon as possible. The soldiers are still waiting to come back for Christmas!"
It was only July, almost five months before Christmas. It wasn't difficult to defeat the French, but to sign the treaty and withdraw before Christmas, time was very tight.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of post-war conference that involved the interests of many countries would usually be noisy, and it could drag on for two or three years.
There was no doubt that Franz didn't want to continue to drag on. There were signs that the Hanoverian government was active again, and there was the shadow of the British behind it.
One had to know that internal enemies were far more terrifying than external enemies. Once these guys persuaded the interest groups of the various states, there would be a lot of trouble in the future.
Franz didn't want to test human nature. In the face of interests, human nature was the most unreliable. The most important thing was to establish the status of ruler and subject as soon as possible.
With this status, Franz wasn't afraid of these guys making trouble. Even if he couldn't touch the king, he could still change the state government. If anyone dared to jump out and cause trouble, he would collect dirt on them and take them down.
As long as the various states' armies, customs, diplomacy, and money-issuing powers were united, as well as the judiciary, culture, and education were unified, no matter how noisy the people below were, they wouldn't be able to do anything.
Things were different now. Back then, in order to gather these powers, the governments under Franz had fought with their wits and courage for more than ten years before they could get it little by little. Now, they could get it all in one go.
As for the conflict of the state government, it could be resolved through negotiations. As long as the benefits were right, there was nothing that couldn't be negotiated.
Franz was already very familiar with these kinds of tricks, such as bluffing, bribing, and enticement. In any case, the core was to get rid of enemies while roping in allies.
Compared to killing the chicken to warn the monkey, sometimes killing the monkey to warn the chicken was more effective. The happier they danced now, the faster they would die in the future.
Franz wasn't worried that someone would cause a scene. What he was most worried about was that these guys wouldn't do anything. After all, the more he did, the more problems he would expose.
If there really was such a pure and flawless politician, Franz would not be able to do anything about it. After all, even the Emperor had to abide by the rules of the game.
However, such people who were dedicated to the public would not be an obstacle to unification. After all, after experiencing this war, the idea of grand unification had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
…
With Franz's order, the flames of war burned again. From Central Europe to Southern Europe, there was no longer an inch of pure land.
At the Southern Front Coalition Command, the representatives of the Italian states had gathered to participate in this conference of great political and military significance.
Since ancient times, the Regions of Italy had been a gathering of vassals, and the chaos of the situation was second only to the German Region. Now that the German Region was about to be unified, the Regions of Italy also needed to be sorted out.
Previously, in order to unite all the forces that could be united and for the purpose of roping in the Italian nationalists, the Government of Vienna had not publicly expressed its stance on the handling of the Regions of Italy.
Now that the situation was set, there was no need to delay it any longer. Whether to form a partnership to form the Kingdom of Italy or directly split into several states, a clear conclusion was needed at this time.
In a sense, this conference was just a formality. The bigwigs who were qualified to participate in the conference were clear about the intentions of the Government of Vienna.
No one objected. Other than the fact that they were weak, the most important reason was the distribution of interests. It was easy to establish a unified Kingdom of Italy, but the problem was who would be the leader?
Not to mention the specific distribution of interests, just the ownership of the crown was a difficult problem.
In the past, the Italian Independence Organization was the most powerful organization. Even though the organization was divided, there was still a nominal leader, Vittorio Emanuele III.
Now it was different. The royal families of the various states were involved, and no one was more noble than the other. Behind these people were a group of interest groups, and no one could give in.
Since they could not reach an agreement, they could only go it alone. Anyway, they had never been unified, so it was not a big deal to play separately.
It was easy to split up, but difficult to split up. Originally, there were territorial disputes between the Italian states, but because of the French occupation, it had now become a mess.
Since the parties could not come to an agreement, it was Austria's turn to be the arbiter. Because the states had not really restored their political power, it was inconvenient for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to directly intervene. The heavy responsibility of mediating the conflicts fell on the shoulders of General Morkes.
"I think everyone is clear about the purpose of today's invitation. The defeat of the French is imminent. In order to avoid some unnecessary trouble, the post-war structure of the Regions of Italy needs to be clarified.
First of all, the states will regain their independence. The series of tasks such as forming a government and resuming production will be the task of the new government. As for what to do, it will be up to the future governments to deal with.
What we need to do today is to preliminarily define the territory of each state. In principle, we will focus on historical origins and consider the contributions of each state in the war against the French.
If you have any requests or suggestions, you can put forward them. We will discuss them together and strive to come up with a result that satisfies all parties. "
"Discuss"? That's just thinking too much. The so-called "historical origins" was nothing more than restoring the territory before the war. At most, there would be some small changes, but overall, it would remain the same.
What could really be discussed was the distribution of "contributions." Because everyone was smart and joined the anti-French alliance, the Government of Vienna could not give the territory of one state to another.
Therefore, this part of the land could only be divided by the French. In a sense, this gathering was also a rehearsal for the post-war distribution of spoils.
The main reason why Morkes chose to hold the meeting at this time was that the attack and defense of Turin was about to begin. If they did not come up with some incentives, other than the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Italians in the other states would not be enthusiastic enough!
Ceding the territory of the French was definitely exciting news for the Italians who had suffered under the rule of France.
As for the problem of Austria taking the opportunity to expand after the division of France, this was not a problem that everyone should be concerned about.
As the enemy, the Italians naturally hoped that France would be as weak as possible. It would be best if they could directly divide it and end it all.
Vittorio Emanuele III suggested, "Your Excellency, the conflict between the few of us is not that big of a dispute. The crux of the conflict is to drive the French away.
Since 1870, the French have been imposing taxes in the Regions of Italy. We have the right to claim damages from the Government of France.
As long as the French pay a sufficient price to make up for the losses of all parties, the little dispute that exists between us can be easily resolved.
In order to drive the French away as soon as possible, the Kingdom of Sardinia is willing to do our best. 300,000 Sardinian soldiers are now ready to go and can attack the enemy at any time. "
Among the Italian states, only the Kingdom of Sardinia was directly connected to France and was under the greatest military pressure. On the contrary, once France was divided, the Kingdom of Sardinia would also be the biggest beneficiary.
After clarifying Austria's intentions, Vittorio Emanuele III naturally had to cooperate. Especially since they were going to recover the capital of Sardinia, they were even more duty-bound.
Morkes smiled slightly, "Very well, the next attack and defense of Turin will be handed over to you.
On behalf of the Government of Austria, I promise that after the war, everyone will receive at least 30,000 square kilometers of territory as compensation and a considerable amount of war reparations.
However, these lands and reparations will only be distributed to the states and individuals who have made contributions.
You don't have to worry about the problem of governance of the enclaves. If it is allocated to the states, we will be responsible for coordinating the exchange of territory; if it is allocated to individuals, they will be allowed to establish their own countries, and Austria will provide security. "
Glancing at the expressions of the people, Morkes was slightly disappointed that there was no fanaticism.
Thinking about it, it made sense. They had just been beaten by society, and this was the time when they most desired a strong country. All the knowledgeable people wanted to unify the Regions of Italy. Who would be so stubborn as to run out and establish their own countries?
Not to mention the weak nobles in Italy, even the Austrian nobles with military achievements had not heard of anyone wanting to establish their own countries for so many years.
It was not that everyone did not want to be the boss, but the problem was that it was no longer the Middle Ages. The era of village chiefs being kings had long passed.
In this world that emphasized on law and bloodlines, one could not be the king of the grass just because one had a gun. Without the support of the subjects, establishing an independent country was equivalent to seeking death.
Unless one was a member of the royal family, had the legal right to inherit the throne, and had the support of the local people, even if all the powers supported him, he would not be able to sit firmly on the throne.
From this point of view, Morkes's promise to the individuals was like a flower in the mirror, the moon in the water. It could be seen, but it could not be touched.
The ones who could really gain something were the states. Other than the Kingdom of Sardinia, where the king himself participated, the rest were just representatives. Since they were just working, it was normal for them to not be excited.
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