Chapter 418

Time flew by, and in a flash, it was 1860. The first major event of the new year was that Nicholas I Of Russia went to see God.

If it happened in other European countries, it would be a small problem. It was just a change of emperor, and life would go on as usual.

It was different if it happened in Tsar Russia. Changing to Tsar also meant that the foreign policy of the Russians was about to change.

As the overlord of Europe, the change in the foreign policy of the Tsarist government would definitely affect the international situation, and the Government of Vienna must be prepared to deal with it.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg analyzed, "According to the information we have collected, Alexander II Of Russia's character is not as strong as Nicholas the Great. He is better at the art of compromise.

Alexander II Of Russia's political position is different from that of Nicholas the Great. He advocates more thorough social reform and opposes blind expansion.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs judged that Alexander II Of Russia may compromise with the British, stop supporting the Indian rebels, and ease relations with the British.

Without the support of Russia, the Indians could not stop the British, and it would not take long for the rebellion to be suppressed.

In two years at the most, the British would be able to withdraw from India. At that time, it was uncertain whether the British strategic focus would return to the European continent or launch a new round of colonial expansion.

In this context, the French should speed up their actions in the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The Government of Paris has successfully persuaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries to withdraw their troops from the Kingdom of Sardinia. According to the agreement, after the arrest of the murderer, we also have to withdraw from the Kingdom of Sardinia.

As long as France and Russia reach an agreement, the Russians will withdraw their troops in the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the British will not be able to do anything alone. The remaining European countries do not have the confidence to be the enemy of France.

It is not difficult to persuade the Russians. The biggest problem for Alexander II Of Russia to carry out social reform is the lack of funds. As long as the French are willing to provide a loan, the Tsarist government will sell the Kingdom of Sardinia. "

Minister of Finance Carr shook his head and said, "The Government of London will not give up. Although it was the previous governments who provided a loan to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Government of the United Kingdom provided a guarantee for the loan.

The British Parliament will not bear the debt, and the capitalists will not give up the loan, not to mention the huge benefits behind the loan.

Now, the Kingdom of Sardinia was the dumping ground for their industrial and commercial products, with millions of pounds of exports every year, and they were reluctant to let go.

Once the French occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia, their privileges will be gone, and the loan will become bad.

Now that the British had lost half of the Kingdom of Sardinia's market, it was almost at the limit of their tolerance.

Unless the French took advantage of the fact that the British had no time to care about the Kingdom of Sardinia, and made a swift move to occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Unfortunately, the Paris government couldn't make up their mind. They were worried that directly occupying the Kingdom of Sardinia would arouse everyone's fear and even trigger a war against France. "

This is the aftereffect, Napoleon left the French a glorious era, but also let the French stand under the spotlight, their every action on the European continent is looked at with a magnifying glass.

Napoleon III could not accurately judge the true position of each country, so he chose to seek stability. Encroaching on the Kingdom of Sardinia seemed to ease the fear of other countries, but in fact, it was useless.

Whether they annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia or not, the fear of them did not decrease. The main reason they did not take action was because of interests.

There were not enough interests. Without a big country to take the lead, how could a small country take the lead?

Of course, this was just a bystander's view. If Franz stood in Napoleon III's position, he would also choose stability, or even more stable than him.

The Regions of Italy had never been easy to enter. Even if they wanted to expand on the European continent, pushing the border to the Rhine River had more development potential than developing in Italy.

Once they stabilized their base, they would go all out against North Africa. With France's national strength, it would not be a problem to bring Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco into their territory.

Napoleon Iii had already seen the importance of the African continent. After succeeding the throne, he stepped up the pace of expansion. If it were not for the Kingdom of Sardinia, they would probably not have the largest colonial area in Africa now.

Prime Minister Felix put forward a different opinion, "The French's choice is not wrong. According to the current speed of encroachment, even if the British withdraw and return to Europe, the French can eat half of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Even if the rest of the territory is saved, it will be a meal for them sooner or later. Slowly, the British will find that protecting the Kingdom of Sardinia is not worth it.

As for the losses they suffer, they can make up for it elsewhere. As long as the balance between Russia, Austria, and France is not broken, the British policy on the European continent will be achieved. There is no need to care about the small Kingdom of Sardinia.

It's just that the French are ambitious. Once they occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia, I am afraid they will also plot other parts of Italy. At that time, we will have a lot of trouble. "

Foreign Minister Wesenberg said a piece of news that caught everyone off guard, "Maybe we can make a big deal with the French and give them the Regions of Italy!"

Everyone's expression changed drastically. France and Italy, this was completely a giant.

Finance Minister Carr objected, "No, we can give the entire Regions of Italy in exchange for the French's acquiescence in our unification of the German Region, but there are still the British and Russia.

The Kingdom of Prussia is not weak, and the barely unified German Federal Empire also has a lot of strength. It will be difficult for us to make a quick decision.

Unless we rope in one of the British and Russians, otherwise, if we do not do it well, FAO will join forces to challenge the entire European continent. We do not have much chance of winning. "

This proposal was indeed very tempting, but the risk was too great.

Franz was not worried that Fao would fail to join forces to challenge the European continent. Now that the Russians were strong on the outside but weak on the inside, they were not in their best condition. Without the Hairy Bear as the main force, the odds of winning were not low.

The problem was that this was just wishful thinking on their part. The French people might be willing to make this deal, but the crazy Napoleon Iii was not sure.

If he was cheated, then he would inevitably be disgraced, and he might even have to spit out a lot of benefits, unless …

I can't think about it anymore. Franz immediately stopped fantasizing. The international situation did not listen to his command. Napoleon Iii's ambition had just been ignited, and he had not reached that step yet.

"Today's content is archived as top secret. Everyone can bury it in their hearts.

The international situation is ever-changing, and it is not something that we can control.

Unifying the German Region is still our core strategy, but how to unify the German Region, and when to unify the German Region, we must be cautious.

Any ideas can be put forward for discussion. What can't be done today, perhaps the opportunity will come tomorrow.

The most important thing now is development. Blindly breaking the international situation is not in our interest. Compared to the European countries, we have a great advantage.

Population, territory, resources, these three core elements, except for the Russians, no country on the European continent can compare to us.

The longer the war dragged on, the stronger these advantages would become in terms of overall national strength. Currently, the French's strength is not far from ours, but after ten years, the gap between the two sides will be completely widened.

At that time, it will be easier to discuss this issue. Napoleon III won't let us leave him behind. If they want to catch up, they'll have to expand. "

In this era, the transmission of information was inconvenient. Austria's economic development data was not open to the public. Countries have not yet noticed the development advantages brought by population and territory.

However, this could not be kept a secret for long. With the increasing frequency of communication, they will definitely notice the changes in Austria.

At that time, Napoleon Iii will definitely not be able to do it. In this era, the French, who have not yet broken their backbone, will not tolerate being surpassed and gradually declining.

Either fight a war to curb Austria's development, or expand and increase their strength.

This choice was easy to make. There was also the Hairy Bear with more population, territory, and resources. These were all enemies of the French in the European continent.

It was obviously impossible to fight their way through with brute force. The Russo-Austrian Alliance has not yet disbanded, and there was no chance of success in military action.

Even if Napoleon Iii did not want to expand, fanatical nationalism will force them to the battlefield. If it is not external, it will be internal.

At that time, the Government of France will not have much choice. Lure them, and the possibility of a deal between the two sides is very high.

Minister of Finance Carr reminded, "Your Majesty, the French are a great threat to us. At that time, even if we unify the German Region, we will be sandwiched between France and Russia, and will be strategically very passive. "

Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained, "On the contrary, when the Russian Fao divided the European continent, we will be very safe.

As long as the British do not abandon the European Continent Balance Policy, we do not have to worry about being isolated. The France that annexed the Regions of Italy is not the current France.

Similarly, the Russian Empire that annexed Northern Europe is not the current Russian Empire.

Three huge empires side by side, in fact, is the most stable, unless there is a problem in one of the empires and this balance is broken, then war will break out.

As long as we ensure that we are not the first to have a problem, then the danger is still controllable. From the current situation, we are stable among the three countries.

The Russians are still in the process of reform, and it is difficult to predict the success or failure. If the reform fails, the Russian Empire may collapse one day in the future.

Napoleon Iii is not in the right position, and many people in the country do not accept his rule. If the Regions of Italy are annexed, this crisis will worsen. "

He had to admit that Wesenberg's strategic vision was very good, but a little too radical.

This was not a big problem. The cabinet could not all be moderate, and Franz was also ambitious.

Wesenberg was only 35 years old, and he could stand out from many competitors. In addition to Metternich's strong recommendation, he had a superior strategic vision. This was also the most important prerequisite for serving as Foreign Minister.

Prime Minister Felix asked, "Since the annexation of the Regions of Italy is so dangerous, how can we guarantee that Napoleon Iii will not be fooled?"

Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained, "Prime Minister, Napoleon Iii has already been fooled since the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

In the Austrian War, the capitalists and nobles who supported the Sardinian government suffered heavy losses, and the foundation of the Sardinian government's rule has long been shaken.

Then there was a huge debt, and now the French are mainly using political persuasion, supplemented by military threats.

The Napoleonic family's influence in the Regions of Italy is not weak, and many Italians are still proud of Napoleon. I have reason to believe that the local forces in the Kingdom of Sardinia will turn to the French.

With the cooperation of these people, the French rule in the region can be established very quickly.

However, the peace is only temporary. The French cannot win over everyone, and they will certainly suppress some of the people in power and cultivate their cronies to take power.

These people will not be willing to fail, and under the threat of the French force, they will not dare to do anything in the short term.

We only need the short-term peace in the Kingdom of Sardinia, and this peace can create the illusion of destiny for Napoleon Iii.

We can also control some of the media, sing praises to him, and deepen his awareness.

Once Napoleon Iii thinks that the Italians will support his rule, then the ambition to annex the Regions of Italy will not be suppressed.

However, Italian nationalism has awakened, and once the French army is reduced or withdrawn, these people who are unwilling to lose the political struggle will definitely jump out.

For example: encouraging patriotic youth to rise up against the French rule, funding the revolutionaries, and so on.

Rebellions are also contagious. If the Regions of Italy are in chaos, France will not be stable. Without decades of recuperation, the French would not be able to digest Italy.

If it is done well, the French Empire will collapse by itself.

Of course, to achieve this, we need to further stimulate the ambitions of the French. Only by letting them annex more land will they be stuffed to death. "

Franz was delighted. The Government of Vienna finally has an ambitious person with a strategic vision! Although these operations are still a bit idealistic.

However, life is nonsense. If you don't even dare to think about it, how can you succeed?