Chapter 316

Franz asked in surprise, "Did they really catch the assassins?"

According to his thinking, after the failed assassination in Paris, these people would have gone into hiding. How could they stay there and wait for death?

However, he neglected the inconvenience of communication in this era. The government had received the information early, but it did not mean that the assassins had received the information too.

The news published in the Vienna newspapers was that Napoleon Iii had been assassinated, the assassins had been caught, and the Government of Paris had held the Kingdom of Sardinia accountable. These things had not spread that fast.

The Charcoal Burners were powerful in the Kingdom of Sardinia, but it did not mean that they were powerful in Austria. In fact, they were a cult organization in Austria, and their tentacles deep into Lombardy and Venetia had long been cut off.

Even if the organization in Sardinia had received the news, they did not have the ability to tell these assassins to retreat. Even the assassination this time had been decided by the subordinates, and the higher-ups of the Charcoal Burners did not know at all.

The Charcoal Burners were an alliance, and they only had nominal leadership over the members. In fact, everyone was still doing their own thing, and there was no binding force over the members.

Grand Duke Louis replied with a smile, "Yes, Your Majesty! After these assassins were caught, they still insisted that they were French, and said that they were ordered by Napoleon Iii to assassinate you. "

It was indeed funny that someone would do such a clumsy framing. Did they really think that they could be trusted by changing their nationality?

Franz sneered and said, "Then keep an eye on them first. Don't let them die. They might be of great use later on."

A ready-made excuse was delivered to the door, and the reason for the Government of Vienna to support the French came out. An assassin who did not act was still an assassin. Under the circumstances of empathy, there was nothing wrong with the Fao and the two countries sharing a common enemy.

What was even funnier was that in this era, the Charcoal Burners were an organization on the surface, and the identities of its members were public. It was impossible to throw out a few scapegoats. When it involved the regicide, no one could get away.

The "Three Heroes of the Founding of Italy" Mazzini, Garibaldi, and Gafur were all members of this organization. There were even rumors that Napoleon Iii had joined this organization.

What could the Sardinian government do? Hand them all over? Unfortunately, except for the king, all the higher-ups of the Kingdom of Sardinia were among them. This was an unsolvable problem.

Grand Duke Louis replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

In order to encourage the French to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, Franz had put in a lot of effort. He even gave up the opportunity to blackmail the Sardinia.

St. Peter Castle.

No matter what the Tsarist government was doing, they would not be spared if something happened to Europe in this era. As the hegemon of Europe, it was their responsibility and obligation to mediate the conflicts between countries.

Of course, this responsibility and obligation was what the Russians believed themselves to be, and the European countries had never acknowledged it. The Tsarist government's hegemony in Europe was entirely based on military force.

Nicholas I was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he hated the Italian radical group that had tried to assassinate the Emperor. On the other hand, he did not want to see the French expand their power.

Not only Nicholas I, but all the monarchs on the European continent, except for Franz, were facing the same problem.

Regardless of whether Napoleon Iii was a nouveau riche or not, he was a member of the monarchs since he was recognized as the emperor. Ordinary political assassinations would be resisted by everyone, not to mention the assassination of a monarch.

Bismarck was assassinated. Poland suffered heavy losses. Not only were they brutally suppressed by Prussia and Russia, but they were also boycotted by other European countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Carr Vasser said righteously, "Your Majesty, this evil organization that wants to kill the king must be punished. All the leaders must be sent to the gallows."

This was political correctness. Even the Kingdom of Sardinia's ally, the British, wanted them to hand over the murderer. No monarch could tolerate the existence of an evil organization that wanted to assassinate the king.

Nicholas I Russia nodded and said, "Yes, this evil organization must be eradicated. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to the Kingdom of Sardinia, asking them to arrest the murderer immediately.

The question now was how to prevent the French from expanding their power. The lesson of the Napoleonic era cannot be repeated. We must limit the enemy's expansion. "

Foreign Affairs Minister Carr Vasser said confidently, "Your Majesty, stopping the French's expansion is not our problem alone. The French are expanding in the Regions of Italy, and the British and Austrians are the first to bear the brunt.

We don't have to worry about this problem at all. Even if the French grow stronger, Prussia and Austria will stop them.

Times are different now. Napoleon Iii is not Napoleon. He doesn't have his uncle's talent. Once the French enter Central Europe, they will be boycotted.

With the French's current strength, they don't have the ability to sweep across Europe. Once the French expand into Central Europe, we will form an anti-French alliance and eliminate this enemy once and for all. "

Being wary of the French was completely out of instinct. Napoleon had fought all the way to the heart of Russia. If it wasn't for the winter, the Russian Empire would have been finished.

Therefore, in the struggle for supremacy in Europe, the Tsarist government had always seen the French as their number one competitor. Of course, the French also saw the Russians as their number one competitor.

The French and John Bull joined forces to start the Near Eastern War. Other than diverting the domestic political crisis, it was more to continue the struggle between France and Russia for supremacy in Europe.

Finance Minister Arestani Rode reminded, "Your Majesty, in recent years, the Austrians have developed very quickly. Although they are our allies, we still have to be on guard against them.

Now that the French have jumped out, why don't we let the Austrians restrain each other! We can also learn from the British and Austrians and play a game of European balance. "

The Russians playing with the balance of the European continent sounds like a fantasy story, but this is what they have to do.

Of the three main characters of the Near Eastern War, Britain and France had already recovered their strength. As the victor, the Russian Empire was still recuperating.

This shocked the Tsarist government and forced them to carry out a system reform. Nicholas I Of Russia was indeed old. He didn't have the spirit of his younger days. In the face of strong opposition from the conservatives, he adopted a slow and steady approach.

Moreover, the Russian Empire was too big. It wasn't easy to rule it.

The cable telegraph was almost universal in Europe, but in Russia, it only covered a few big cities. It was still a long way to go before it covered the whole country.

In this case, the central government's control over the local governments was naturally not enough. The reform measures that were passed with great difficulty were discounted when it came to the final implementation.

The effect of the reform wasn't obvious. It didn't solve the financial dilemma. The Russian Empire no longer had the power to suppress other countries. Changing the national policy was also a last resort.

Nicholas I Of Russia sighed deeply. For a long time, it was Britain and Austria who played the game of European balance. He didn't expect that Russia, who had always wanted to break the situation in Europe, would also become a supporter of the European balance policy.

"Fine, let's do it this way!"

After making this decision, Nicholas I Of Russia seemed to have aged a lot.

Once the European balance policy was launched, it meant that the Russian Empire completely gave up its expansion on the European continent. In the future, the Tsarist government's strategic options would be even smaller.

But in the face of reality, they couldn't refuse. Even if they didn't give up the expansion on the European continent, the Tsarist government couldn't find a place to expand. Those who were connected to them were all hard bones, so there was no way for them to bite.

Before this, the Tsarist government had already done it. The reconstruction of the Vienna system was part of the European balance policy, but the starting point at that time was different.

At first, the Tsarist government only wanted to consolidate its hegemony and buy time for domestic reform. Now because they had no money, in order to save the cost of maintaining hegemony, they had to implement the European balance policy.