Chapter 313

Palace of Vienna

Franz looked at the telegram that Napoleon Iii had sent him and said with a smile, "The French want to make a move against the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now they want us to fulfill our promise. What do you think we should do?"

Grand Duke Louis suggested, "Your Majesty, the French are ambitious in the Regions of Italy. I'm afraid that the Kingdom of Sardinia is not enough to satisfy their appetite.

Once the French forces penetrate deep into the Regions of Italy, our national defense will be under great pressure. For the safety of Lombardy, we should stop this behavior. "

Metternich objected, "It's not that serious. The Vienna System has just been established. The French will not violate the treaty now. At most, they will take some advantages. It's impossible for them to swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia.

If the French really want to swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia, then let them. Once the French take this step, a new anti-French alliance can be established. "

Prime Minister Felix sneered and said, "Yes, France is no longer the France of the Napoleonic era. Since Napoleon Iii has this ambition, let's fulfill them.

The European countries have just relaxed their vigilance against the French. Now that the French have jumped out again, let's give them another push and let them stand higher. "

…

Strength determined position. If Austria was not strong enough, they would naturally stop the French from expanding and take precautions.

Now the situation was different. Even if the French annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, it would be within Austria's tolerance.

A powerful Russia and a powerful France. Under such circumstances, the appearance of a powerful Austria in Europe would not be eye-catching.

If they didn't attract attention, then Austria, which was growing stronger by the day, would soon become the target of public criticism.

Under such circumstances, it would be more in Austria's interest to give the French a push and make them a little fatter.

Franz made a decision, "Tell the French that we will abide by the agreement and support them in annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia.

However, they must find a reason that everyone can accept. The Vienna System cannot be destroyed. "

The Vienna System was Austria's national policy and would not change for at least ten years. Under such circumstances, France's annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia would be too eye-catching and would affect the stability of the Vienna System.

However, in order to let the French attract the firepower, Franz did not mind weakening the Vienna System. Anyway, it was only used to maintain the balance of the European continent and had limited binding power on the major powers.

As long as the problem of slow population growth could not be solved, France would not be a problem for Austria. Even if the annexation of Sardinia caused a rapid population increase in the short, it would not be a problem for Austria.

The Kingdom of Sardinia, whose nationalism had become fanatical, was not easy to rule. It would be difficult to digest this area without decades of effort.

The Habsburg Dynasty had been operating in Italy for hundreds of years. It was only after Franz came to power that he carried out a great purge in the region. He also liberated the serfs and bought over the people at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Only then did the situation truly stabilize.

The House of Habsburg had been operating in the Regions of Italy for hundreds of years. Even though the two sides were connected, the people on both sides still did not interact with each other.

The power of hatred could be seen from the relationship between the Lombardy Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Even though the two sides were connected, the people on both sides still did not interact with each other.

Would the French dare to carry out a purge when they could not find a scapegoat? If they did not carry out a purge, how could nationalism be suppressed?

Metternich replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Minister of Finance, Carr, reminded, "Your Majesty, since the Italian radicals plotted to assassinate Napoleon Iii, it is very likely that they will do something bad to you.

We need to carry out a public security crackdown to eliminate all possible hidden dangers. "

Franz was very afraid of death. When it came to existences that might threaten his life, he would never let go of a wrong person.

Not to mention pardoning the assassin, even if there was only a motive for the assassination, without the time to act, they would be sent to the gallows. In this regard, Austria's laws were much stricter.

After pondering for a moment, Franz said with a murderous look, "Yes, we do need to carry out a strict investigation. This matter will be handled by the Ministry of the Interior. Catch all the rats hiding in the corners.

As for the individuals and organizations that were related to these rats, they had to be thoroughly investigated. I want to see how many rats are hiding in Vienna. "

There was no doubt that someone was going to be unlucky. No matter what their background was, once they were stained with the crime of regicide, they would be dead. Although they had not taken action yet, the outcome would be the same.

Before this, the first to be unlucky would definitely be the gangsters and street thugs. After Franz succeeded the throne, every time there was a crackdown on public security, the government would use them as sacrifices.

As long as they were caught, it would be at least ten years. So far, only people had gone in, and no one had come out.

As a result, Vienna's Sorrow no longer had any decent organizations to speak of. Those who managed to escape the calamity were all cowardly veterans who couldn't keep a lower profile than they already were.

It was fine if they secretly made money in the gray areas, but those who dared to come out and dominate were all short-lived ghosts.

…

London

Ever since the outbreak of the Indian rebellion, the Government of the United Kingdom had been having a hard time. Several major powers had been playing tricks.

Russia was one thing. They were enemies to begin with, and the two sides had already shed all pretenses. The Tsarist government openly supported the Indian rebels, and the two countries were just short of declaring war.

Austria's expansion of power in the Mediterranean and Africa was still tolerable. It didn't hurt their own interests anyway.

He had thought that the pro-British Government of France would be more obedient and take advantage of the colonies. In the end, Granville helplessly discovered that the French's ambitions in the Regions of Italy had not diminished.

What was even more infuriating was that the Italians had sent themselves the excuse. Even if the Government of London was willing to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, they didn't have the confidence to do so.

Even if he wanted to act like a hooligan, he had to choose his target. France was not a pushover. She was a reasonable person.

Unfortunately, the French had a moral advantage. The members of the Italian Charcoal Burning Party had conspired to assassinate Napoleon Iii, and the murderer had been caught on the spot.

The more Granville thought about it, the more his head hurt. He cursed angrily, "Damn radicals, are their brains full of sh * t?

Assassinating Napoleon Iii, they could come up with such a rotten idea. Don't tell me someone would try to assassinate Franz! "

Granville didn't know that he had hit the nail on the head. The Charcoal Burning Party did have a plan to assassinate Franz, and they had already taken action.

Unfortunately, they ran into Franz, an old homebody who stayed in the palace all day. There was no chance at all.

It wasn't until the crackdown that they were reported for suspicious behavior, and the police found a bomb when they searched the house, that they were exposed.

Of course, Granville would rather he hadn't guessed right. France was troublesome enough. If Austria was added to the mix, it would be too much.

Thomas, the Foreign Affairs Minister, analyzed, "Prime Minister, it's too late to say that now. The French will hold the Kingdom of Sardinia accountable. If they don't give Napoleon Iii an explanation, I'm afraid they won't let it go.

The European countries won't support the Kingdom of Sardinia on this issue. Now it's the Sardinian government who will hand over the radicals and not give the French a reason to take action. "

Handing over the murderer was easy to say, but difficult to do. The Charcoal Burning Party was quite powerful in the Kingdom of Sardinia, and it had a great influence among the people. It wasn't easy to deal with them.

Under the outbreak of nationalism, the Sardinian people obviously couldn't calm down. They wouldn't seriously consider who was right and who was wrong, and would only choose to resist.

Under the pressure of public opinion, would the Sardinian government dare to take action against the Charcoal Burning Party? Or did they have the strength to take action against the Charcoal Burning Party?

John Russell, the Minister of Finance, shook his head and said, "At this point, this is no longer a problem that can be solved by handing over a few scapegoats.

The French want the Kingdom of Sardinia to hand over the murderer mainly for the sake of profit. Otherwise, they wouldn't have accused the Sardinian government of being involved in this conspiracy.

If the Sardinian government doesn't satisfy them, this suspicion can also become a fact. Once the French define the murderer as the Sardinian government, then war is inevitable. "

The murderer must be handed over, and the matter wouldn't end without giving the French a chance to vent their anger. Profit was also indispensable. Napoleon Iii wouldn't stop until the French were satisfied with the price.

After all, he was the emperor of a country. Just the psychological damage caused by the shock would have to be compensated by ceding land and paying reparations. The specific ceding of land or paying reparations would depend on the actual situation.

Granville thought for a moment and said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will mediate this conflict and see what the French want first.

It's best to pull in the Austrians and put pressure on the French together. I'm sure the Government of Vienna doesn't want to see the French continue to expand their power. "

The Government of London had never relaxed its vigilance against the French. Preventing the French from expanding was a consistent national policy of the Government of the United Kingdom.

The century-old feud between Britain and France wasn't a joke. Don't think that the Government of France was pro-British now that there were fewer conflicts between the two sides. In fact, in overseas colonial activities, Britain and France were still each other's biggest competitors.