Chapter 451

The Greeks were dragged over, but Franz didn't take it seriously at all. The protagonists of the war in the Near East were Russia, and Austria was just a bystander. At most, they threw a few stones at the Osman Empire.

Even though the two countries had declared war, there was still a lot of room for negotiation. Austria only occupied two of their vassal states, and the conflict was still within control.

The decadent Sudanese government was actually very tolerant. It was just that they had misjudged their own strength before, and Austria needed this war, so the two sides reached this point.

Franz didn't care whether or not to crush the Osman Empire. With the support of Britain and France, the Ottoman Empire would be able to protect Asia Minor no matter what.

As for the Greeks, to be honest, Franz didn't have any expectations for them.

Their geographical location determined that it was the best choice for them to ride on the British's coattails. Their lack of strength meant that the Ottomans could suppress them with just one hand.

If they joined the alliance openly and declared war on the Osman Empire, then for the sake of political needs, the responsible Franz and Nicholas I Of Russia would definitely help them.

Even if they lost on the battlefield, they wouldn't lose out in negotiations after the war.

Sneaking in wasn't considered an ally. If they won, it would be fine. Franz was trustworthy. The Government of Austria would definitely support their request, and the Russians would most likely fulfill their promise.

If they lost, they could just cry on their own. It was all done by the armed forces, and it had nothing to do with the Greek government, Austria, or Russia. Franz remembered that the Greeks lost in history, and they were beaten black and blue by the Osman Empire.

Compared to the Greeks, the other small Balkan country, Montenegro, or Montenegro, had a much firmer stance.

Originally, Bishop Danilo wanted to be neutral. Montenegro, a small country with a population of less than 200,000, had waged war against the Osman Empire in 1821, 1829, and 1835, in order to gain access to the sea in the south. They had just recovered their strength.

Bishop Danilo was a pacifist. Montenegro was surrounded by the Osman Empire, and he was afraid that they would fail before reinforcements arrived.

Unfortunately, the pro-Russian people of Montenegro didn't agree. Belligerence was a common characteristic of all Balkan countries, and Montenegro was one of the best.

The Osman Empire had ruled the The Balkans for hundreds of years, but they still hadn't been able to conquer Montenegro. The Government of Sudan was impatient.

Not long ago, they made a proposal to the Montenegro government. As long as they were willing to stop their hostility to the Osman Empire and recognize the Osman Empire's sovereignty, they would be given the city of Skotai, the Adriatic Sea, and a part of Herzegovina.

The strong-willed people of Montenegro decisively refused this temptation. They would rather fight for these territories with blood and sacrifice than give in to the Osman Empire.

The power of hatred had penetrated deep into the bones of the people of Montenegro. Now, the opportunity had come. Russia and Austria had declared war on the Osman Empire at the same time. How could they be absent?

In the Crimean War, the pro-Russian people of Montenegro had to participate in the war.

However, Bishop Danilo saw the situation clearly. He thought that the Russians were too far away. Once the war broke out, Montenegro would fall into a state of isolation. It was too dangerous, so he chose to be neutral.

Because of this, Bishop Danilo was almost overthrown.

Now that they didn't have to worry about being isolated, and they were not far from the Austrian province of Dalmatia, Bishop Danilo couldn't refuse.

In order to be able to get married, Bishop Danilo made a compromise. He agreed to support this war in exchange for everyone's consent. He gave up the position of bishop to someone else and let himself be crowned as the 'Grand Duke of Montenegro and Brda'.

As the traditional younger brother of the Russians, the Grand Duchy of Montenegro was still taken care of. Russia communicated with Austria, and Austria provided them with assistance.

Franz naturally wouldn't refuse this small request of the Russians. It was just weapons and strategic materials. As long as they were willing to pay, everything could be discussed.

At this time, the superiority of state-owned enterprises was reflected. With an administrative order from the government, the enterprises began to produce strategic materials ahead of schedule.

Considering the ability of the Grand Duchy of Montenegro to pay, Franz also very considerately provided loan services to solve the urgent needs of the customers.

Providing loan services was also something that couldn't be helped. Not to mention the Grand Duchy of Montenegro, even the Russians' ability to pay was very limited.

Now that they hadn't completed their internal reform, the wealth that a feudal dynasty could gather could not be compared to that of a capitalist country.

The Tsarist government didn't expect Britain and France to intervene. Now that the sea route was blocked, the strategic materials stored along the coast of Ukraine could only be transported by land. This obviously couldn't meet the needs of the frontline army, so they could only purchase from nearby Austria.

The military expenditure of the expedition to the The Balkans was much higher than the war in the Crimea region in history. Due to the corruption of the Tsarist government, even if the Government of Austria didn't raise the prices, the prices would still rise.

Franz couldn't stop the Russian bureaucrats from getting rich, right?

In the end, it was naturally good for everyone. The only one who would be hurt was the Central Finance of Russia. Anyway, they had a large business and could support it. If they didn't have money, they could get loans.

The Government of Austria was very happy to accept this business. These loans were targeted. They could only buy Austrian goods, and they didn't need to take out real money. Anyway, it was better to loan money to the Russians than to let the Russians default on the payment.

Political loans were never simple. There were additional commercial and trade conditions. Even if the Russian government couldn't pay back the loan, the Government of Austria wouldn't lose money.

Only the Central Bank of Austria had the ability to accept this business. Otherwise, it would be a loan of hundreds of millions of guilders. Even the major domestic commercial banks couldn't come up with it.

With Franz's order, the Central Bank of Austria started printing money and raised the first sum of money in the shortest time possible.

The Russians borrowed 100 million guilders, and the Principality of Montenegro borrowed 5 million guilders. The loan request of the Greeks was rejected by Franz.

The reason was that Austria was unable to provide them with material assistance. They weren't connected by land, so they hoped to send the goods to their doorstep by sea. Did they think the British didn't exist?

Take out real money? This was obviously not happening. The Government of Austria wasn't a fool. With the finances of the Greek government, how could they expect them to pay back the money?

One had to know that since the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, their finances depended on borrowing from the big boss behind them. When did they ever pay off their debts?

After the loans from the Russians and the Principality of Montenegro were completed, the money flowed into the Austrian market and stimulated the economic development of Austria.

Anyway, it was a time of war. It was normal for prices to rise. As long as they didn't go too far, there wouldn't be any major problems.

After the unification of South Germany, the market's monetary capacity increased, and the problem of inflation was easily solved.

As long as there wasn't an outflow of funds, it was normal to issue more money when the wealth of society increased. It wouldn't cause serious inflation.

As for the economic pain caused by the market returning to normal after the war ended, weren't there still the Russians to pay off the debt? As long as there was real money flowing in, all the crises could be easily solved.

At the same time, they could use this opportunity to make the economic ties between Austria and Russia closer and use this economic link to consolidate the alliance between the two countries.

The French could influence the Tsarist government by controlling Russia's finance. Austria didn't have the power to control Russia's finance, but they could at least influence it, right?

Franz was very conscientious. The monthly interest on the loan to his allies was only 0.2%. There were absolutely no unequal conditions attached.

It was just to promote economic exchanges between the allies. Anyway, Britain and France had become enemies. It wasn't too much for Austria to grab their market, right?

At this time, Britain and France didn't have a chance to protest. From the moment the Marines blocked the door, they were the enemies of the Tsarist government.