Chapter 583

After careful consideration, the Government of London made the decision to blockade the Baltic Sea. In fact, after the Government of Berlin agreed to take the order placed by the Russians in Britain, the opposition to the blockade in the Baltic Sea disappeared in the Parliament.

Anti-Russia had always been the national policy of the British. Without harming everyone's interests, no one would object to attacking the Russians.

On January 11, 1866, the Royal Navy blocked the Baltic Sea with the excuse of eliminating pirates.

There was no blockade of the Baltic Sea, but considering the safety of passing ships, the Royal Navy suggested that everyone suspend access to the Baltic Sea.

The suggestion was given, and it was up to the people to listen. If they were robbed by pirates, they didn't regret it.

The threat of "pirates" was terrifying. After the two Russian merchant ships met with an accident, everyone wisely chose to suspend this sea trade route.

For a time, the British Foreign Office was filled with protests from various countries. The Foreign Minister, Sir Lesling, ordered for it to be dealt with coldly, and then there was no then.

The continuation of the Prussian war was in the interest of the Fao. Without the big countries taking the lead, the small countries could only protest.

In Franz's view, the tactic of adding fuel to the fire was the most exhausting way to play. The Russian Empire couldn't exert its military superiority and directly crush Prussia. It had already failed strategically.

Politicians looked at problems differently from ordinary people. Winning the war didn't necessarily mean victory, and losing the war didn't necessarily mean failure.

There were too many classic cases in history. In the eyes of ordinary people, the protagonists lost their footing, but after careful analysis of the gains and losses, they found that the final winner was actually the loser in front.

However, in modern times, with the awakening of the people and higher demands on the ruling class, the cost of this game gradually increased, and finally it was abandoned.

The most direct benefit of the British blockade was that the Russian-Austrian trade volume increased again. Now the Tsarist government had no choice, and it was the only seller.

Franz didn't care how much the price rose. Anyway, now the Tsarist government directly placed orders with the capitalists, and whatever price was negotiated was the price.

Anyway, now that the Tsarist government had money, the bureaucrats would find a way to spend it. As the price of goods rose, the profits of the capitalists increased, the kickbacks of the bureaucrats increased, and even the taxes of the Government of Vienna increased.

This was a win-win situation. Good for you, good for me, and good for everyone.

The Chief of Intelligence, Teren, handed over a document and said, "Your Majesty, this is the latest European strategy of the French."

Although he did not win the Crimean War, Napoleon III was still very open-minded. When formulating a strategy, he always brainstormed with the others.

The advantage of brainstorming was to reduce the rate of mistakes, but it also increased the chance of exposure. Once enough people knew about something, it would no longer be a secret.

Although the French's strategic plan was not known to everyone, there were dozens of people involved in the plan, so it was not surprising that it was leaked.

Of course, it could also be a smokescreen deliberately released by the French. Almost every country had a dozen real and fake strategies.

Before the event happened, no one knew which strategy was real. They could only gather as much information as possible and then make a judgment.

Even Napoleon III himself could not guarantee which plan would be the real strategy for the future.

This choice could change at any time, unless it was a long-term national policy, which was less likely to change. Any other strategy was only one of the options.

This choice could change at any time, unless it was a long-term national policy, which was less likely to change. Any other strategy was only one of the options.

After reading it carefully, Franz had to admit that the French were ambitious.

They wanted to use the Prussian war to pull the Russians down from their position as the world's hegemon, and they were also plotting to take over the Rhineland region of Prussia.

This was only the first step. There were plans to annex Belgium, the German Confederation, and the west of the Rhine River. They were even preparing to annex the Regions of Italy.

In his heart, Franz had already crossed a cross on this grand strategic plan. It would be impossible for such a strategy to be implemented. It would be better if this was the Napoleonic era.

Other than using the Prussian war to pull the Russians down from their position as the hegemon of the European continent, the rest of the strategy could not be implemented.

The Fao dividing Prussia between the three countries was a fallacy from the beginning.

The Tsarist government had invested so much for this war, and Poland alone couldn't recover the war costs. If the French got the biggest cake, how could Alexander II Of Russia feel at ease?

Even if he was open-minded, he couldn't do something like supporting the enemy! Dividing the spoils was never a simple task, especially when dividing the spoils with the enemy.

The French gained the Rhineland region, and their industrial development potential at least doubled. The Russian Empire gained Poland, but it was better than nothing. It didn't increase their strength by much.

Not to mention Austria, the benefits of dividing Prussia were directly negative. If Franz had to choose, he would rather go to war with France than to accept this kind of ridiculous conditions.

In terms of benefits, a mere 100,000 square kilometers of land directly put Austria in a strategic dead end. The value of this part of the territory was not as much as the increased national defense spending.

In terms of politics, once they participated in the division of Prussia, it meant that Franz gave up his political position as the co-ruler of Germany, and the legitimacy of the new Holy Roman Empire's throne would be seriously challenged.

This was different from the original German and German empires. They didn't have the title of co-ruler. Therefore, William I didn't become the German Emperor, but the next best thing was to become the German Emperor.

Legally, the German Empire was a republic, and the emperor was only a hereditary president. Even if William I obtained the title of emperor through the "Emperor's Declaration," his actual identity was still the president of the Federal Federation.

This was the main reason why William II lost the throne after the defeat of the war. The House of Habsburg struggled a bit. If the last emperor, Carr, hadn't done a series of stupid things, he could have kept a few crowns.

Unlike other things, once it was lost, it couldn't be recovered. Franz's co-ruler status stemmed from the unification of the German Region. Once the German Region was divided with other countries, could the people still accept him as the emperor?

Even if it was for his own benefit, Franz couldn't let this happen.

"Pass the information to the cabinet, and let them arrange for someone to analyze the French's previous strategies to see what the French are hiding," Franz ordered.

These messy strategies were actually valuable, and no one could guarantee that these strategies wouldn't become reality.

At least compared to Bismarck's German unification plan in the original timeline, the French strategy had a much higher success rate, and Bismarck's whimsical plan in the original timeline had succeeded.

There was also Cavour's Italian strategy, and Ito Hirobumi's Japanese strategy. In terms of probability, the success rate was lower than the French plan.

With so many successful cases, Franz naturally didn't dare to take it lightly. After all, the French were strong, and as long as Napoleon Iii didn't go to the front lines and blindly command, they would be one of the most powerful empires in the world.

In theory, with so many plans, except for the Rhineland region, where Austria couldn't compromise, it was possible to achieve an exchange of interests in other regions.

The minerals in the Rhineland region were very important to the French, and in fact, it wasn't irreplaceable. Belgium was one of the substitutes.

As long as the coal supply was guaranteed for a few decades, with the development of sea transportation, shipping costs would continue to decrease, and the cost of mining minerals from overseas colonies would also be within the acceptable range of industry.

The French might even find an opportunity to strike first, catch Austria off guard, and seize the Rhineland region from the battlefield.

Franz never doubted this possibility. The Austrian General Staff had hundreds of battle plans to attack France, and they were still increasing. It wasn't surprising that the French had the same idea.