In St. Peter's Castle, the joy on Alexander II Of Russia's face disappeared as he looked at the battle report in his hand. What was left was a deep sense of sadness.
The Russian Army had achieved a great victory on the front line. Strategically, the enemy had been overwhelmed, and they were getting closer and closer to victory.
However, behind these victories were the bones of the Russian Army. Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Alexander II Of Russia admitted that he was afraid.
There were more than just two countries in the world. The Russian Empire had many enemies. In order to win this war, they had lost everything. What should they do next?
…
Helardo Jeseroth, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, "Your Majesty, this morning the Austrian Minister in St. Peter's Castle sent us a diplomatic note. The Government of Vienna proposes to convene an international conference to mediate the war."
Alexander II Of Russia nodded. "It finally came."
He seemed to be relieved, but also a little uneasy.
After a pause, Alexander II Of Russia asked, "What conditions did the Austrians give?"
Helardo Jeseroth, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, shook his head. "It's just an ordinary diplomatic note. The Austrians didn't state their position.
Judging from the current situation, I'm afraid the Government of Vienna won't easily express its position. "
This was the truth. The Government of Vienna was really in a difficult position now. On one side was interests, and on the other side was public opinion. No matter what they chose, it would be wrong.
Since they couldn't choose, they wouldn't state their position first. They would wait for the situation to develop further before making their position clear.
At this time, Austria didn't need to rely on taking sides. Whether it was earlier or later, they wouldn't lose their share of the benefits.
After hesitating for a moment, Alexander II Of Russia made a decision. "Tell Austria that we agree to accept mediation.
Prepare the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for negotiations. There will be a tough battle to fight next. The blood of the soldiers can't be shed in vain. We absolutely can't let the things we obtained on the battlefield be spat out on the negotiation table. "
Although there was no smoke of gunpowder in the diplomatic game, the intensity was no less than the battlefield.
After Britain, France, and Austria established a new international system, the outcome of the war in Europe could no longer be decided on the battlefield.
The military victory was just the beginning. The final ownership of benefits still had to be determined at the negotiation table.
Of course, Russia is also a big country and has the right to speak. If they won on the battlefield, they would have the absolute upper hand at the negotiation table. The only difference was the size of the benefits.
…
The Tsarist government had agreed, and the Government of Berlin had no reason to disagree. They were the ones who couldn't hold on any longer. Even the radicals in the army knew that the situation was hopeless. If they didn't negotiate now, they wouldn't have the ability to do so.
Since the start of the war, the Kingdom of Prussia alone had lost more than 400,000 people. Including those who died of illness or were seriously injured, the number might increase by another 200,000 to 300,000.
Six to seven hundred thousand people had died, and naturally, there were also many who were injured. It was not an exaggeration to say that there were more than a million permanent casualties.
For Prussia, which only had a population of a little more than ten million, this was enough to make every family mourn and cry bitterly. Except for a few who were deeply poisoned, most people had already woken up from their dreams.
Fortunately, the population structure was younger, and the proportion of young adults was higher. If it was an aging society, the casualties would have collapsed so early.
At the Prussia headquarters, the news of the negotiation came. Mao Qi seemed to have aged ten years overnight. The impact of this war on him was too great.
The difference in strength couldn't be made up by individual strength. They won all the battles, but in the end, they ended the war in defeat.
After losing this war, Mao Qi's reputation didn't fall. Instead, it became even more resplendent. It was ironic.
Mao Qi endured the pain in his heart and continued to perform his duty. "Order the troops to strengthen their defenses and guard against a sneak attack by the Russians."
Different from the previous defeats, there wasn't much criticism of him as the commander-in-chief.
Perhaps everyone was too shocked and hadn't recovered yet. No one was clamoring for a change of commander, and no one was shouting for him to be killed.
"Yes, Marshal."
"Yes, Marshal."
…
The replies in twos and threes made Mao Qi's face even uglier. "Didn't you eat? All of you look so weak. Look at yourselves. Do you still look like soldiers now?
Didn't we just lose a war? It's not like we haven't lost before. Our ancestors were able to survive, why can't we do the same! "
No one answered. From their expressions, it could be seen that most of them were ashamed, and only a few were indifferent.
There was nothing more sorrowful than a dead heart. The more people knew, the less confidence they had in Prussia.
Now that the situation in Europe had basically stabilized, it was too difficult for Prussia to turn the tables. Many people were already desperate.
Seeing that the effect wasn't good, Mao Qi sighed helplessly. A few words might be able to wake up a muddle-headed person, but it wouldn't have much effect on someone who was already sober.
"Alright, I don't care what you're thinking. As long as you wear this uniform, you must fulfill your duties.
At this time, I don't expect you to be brave and good at fighting, to be able to turn defeat into victory on the battlefield.
As long as you do your job well, don't give the enemy an opportunity, and protect the last capital of Prussia, that is the best reward for the country that gave birth to you. "
…
In London, the news that Prussia accepted Austria's mediation came. The Government of the United Kingdom seemed to be in a dark cloud.
Prime Minister Benjamin said, "The Austrians want to hold the Vienna Peace Conference, and Prussia has accepted the invitation. Britannia's hegemony is being challenged. We must take action."
Although the United Kingdom, Fao, and Britannia existed side by side, everyone tacitly agreed that Britannia was the leader. This Vienna Peace Conference clearly broke this convention.
The Government of London failed to mediate the Prussia War, but the Austrians succeeded. This meant that Britain's influence in Europe had fallen behind.
It didn't matter if it was other regions. The British Empire's hegemony couldn't penetrate into every region. It didn't matter if it lost one or two regional hegemony.
But Europe couldn't. These days, the center of the world was in Europe. There was only a thin line between the hegemony of Europe and the hegemony of the world.
Whether it was from an economic or military point of view, the European continent surpassed the rest of the world combined. With the hegemony of Europe, the hegemony of the world was almost set.
The Government of the United Kingdom couldn't tolerate this. Although Austria holding the Vienna Peace Conference wasn't equivalent to gaining the hegemony of Europe, it still broke Britannia's hidden hegemony in Europe.
It was always easier to destroy than to build. Britannia's position in Europe was established through hundreds of years of hard work. Now that it had been attacked, it was almost impossible to recover.
As the hegemony of the world, the British had taken too many benefits. Austria wasn't the only one who coveted their interests. However, everyone was intimidated by the prestige of the British, so no one dared to make a move.
With Austria taking the lead, if the Government of London didn't react in time and dispel the delusions of other countries, they would fall into endless probing and provocations. There would be no peace.
Foreign Minister Edward said, "We can't influence the Russians. The Government of Berlin really can't hold on anymore. It's impossible for them to reject Austria's proposal.
It's no longer realistic to directly start with the peace conference to break Austria's plan. We can only fight back from other aspects.
Maybe we can increase our investment and establish the North German Empire as soon as possible. Cutting off Austria's dream of being a Central European Empire should be able to shock the European countries. "
Before this, the Government of London had also been planning to establish the North German Empire, but because they were afraid of Austria's reaction, they had been pushing it behind the scenes. Now that they had shed all pretense of cordiality, there was naturally no need to be polite.
Finance Minister Garfield objected, "It's not easy to establish the North German Empire. Most of the German states have limited interest, and the Austrians may sabotage it. The chances of success are too low.
If we directly stand up and push it, it'll be fine. If the plan fails, it'll be another blow to our reputation.
Continuous failures will make our allies waver. For now, it's better to protect Prussia first, and then think about how to retaliate against Austria. "
How many ways did Britannia have to retaliate against Austria?
The answer was: a lot.
Either the influence was too small to achieve their goal, or there were repercussions that could backfire on them.
For example, causing trouble in the colonies.
It was just that the places they could succeed were all remote places. Even if they succeeded, the impact would be very small, and it wouldn't cause a stir in the European world at all.
Intercepting at sea and obstructing shipping was also a way.
Unfortunately, it couldn't be done openly. The Royal Navy could pretend to be pirates, and the Austrian Navy could do the same. It was a lose-lose situation.
The most effective way was to cause trouble on the European continent. This was very challenging for the Government of London. Ever since the relationship between Britain and France became cold, their influence on the European continent had been affected.
If there were still French thugs around, Franz wouldn't have caused trouble at this time.
Foreign Minister Edward shook his head. "Sir, do we have a choice?
If we don't suppress Austria, there will be more countries popping up. When that time comes, we won't be able to take care of ourselves, and we won't have the energy to retaliate against Austria.
The establishment of North Germany was originally planned in advance. With the fiasco of the Kingdom of Prussia, the chances of success have been very high. "
The fiasco of the Kingdom of Prussia reduced the European countries' fear of the North German Empire to a minimum, and many countries that originally opposed it were likely to turn to support.
This was decided by interests. It wasn't without benefits for the Government of Berlin to borrow money everywhere. At least now, when the creditors considered international issues, they had to take care of their own money bags.
For example, although France didn't lend much in this war, they had released a lot of money before, from Prussia and Poland.
Poland was gone, and no one could make the Russians spit it out. These debts fell on the Government of Berlin, and under normal circumstances, the Government of Berlin definitely couldn't pay them back.
If they wanted these debts to be paid, they had to help Prussia recover its economy. This required investment, and the French would certainly not be willing to continue to pay.
At this time, the importance of the North German Empire was reflected. As the central government, they certainly couldn't watch the countries below them collapse. Even if they didn't directly pay for Prussia's debts, they had to provide aid and help the Kingdom of Prussia recover its economy.
A loose German coalition could not threaten the interests of France at all, and it could also hinder Austria's unification of Central Europe. The Government of Paris was very likely to support it.
Even the Russian Empire could be bought over. Although Prussia and Russia fought a bloodbath, as long as the interests were in place, many things could be discussed.
The heavily injured Kingdom of Prussia had lost the power to threaten Russia after the war, even if it united with Germany to form the North German Empire.
The population and territory determined the upper limit of this new country, and no matter what, it couldn't catch up to the former Pubo Federation. Not to mention the many countries in the country were independent and couldn't integrate their forces.
The Tsarist government was poor, and it wasn't easy to win the war, so they definitely wanted to extort a sum of war reparations.
It was easy to get the Government of Berlin to sign the reparations treaty, but there was a problem if they wanted the Kingdom of Prussia to pay the reparations.
No one would extend Prussia's life. Not to mention paying the war reparations, just the post-war pension would be enough to crush the country.
In addition, this also involved the relationship between Russia and Austria. It was impossible to say that the Tsarist government wasn't afraid of Austria at all.
It was only because they couldn't leave Austria that the two sides didn't fall out. After the war, Russia's need for Austria would gradually decrease, and the relationship between the two sides would also change. It was only a matter of time before they went from allies to competitors.
Under the situation where they didn't stand out, they could restrict Austria, and the Tsarist government had no reason to refuse.
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