Chapter 627

The arms race in Europe began, and the negotiation between the FAO and France was coming to an end. Napoleon Iii wanted to establish a Great France, and Franz also wanted to establish a Great Shinra Empire. Both sides had their own plans.

Without a doubt, the FAO and France were destined to have a conflict of strategy. But the time for the conflict to break out was definitely not now.

Before the empire was established, the FAO and France were still allies. They needed to work together to share the international pressure. This was a cooperation with a tiger for its skin.

On June 6, 1866, the Foreign Minister of the new Holy Roman Empire, Wesenberg, and the Foreign Minister of France, Abraham, signed the '66 Treaty'.

The contents of the treaty included: 1. France and the new Holy Roman Empire officially formed an alliance, valid for ten years;

2. The two countries mutually recognized each other's sphere of influence, with the current area of actual control as the main;

3. Austria sold the suzerainty of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal State, Tuscany and other Italian states to France for 20 million BND (250 million BND);

4. France sold the Balkans to Austria for 200 million BND (16 million BND), and sold the West African colonies to the new Holy Roman Empire for 50 million BND;

5. Austria acquiesced to France's annexation of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal State, Tuscany and other areas. In return, France would not interfere with Austria's unification of the German Region;

6. The two countries divided their sphere of influence on the African continent:

France obtained most of North Africa and parts of West Africa;

(Note: Mainly Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Chad and parts of Sudan …)

The new Holy Roman Empire obtained most of West Africa and Central Africa, and parts of North Africa and South Africa;

(Mainly Libya, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d 'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Central Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Chad and parts of Sudan …)

(Note: Most of East Africa and South Africa that had not been included by the two countries would belong to the first country. The two countries recognized each other's sphere of influence on the African continent.

…)

Without a doubt, this' 66 Treaty 'was full of compromises and uncertainties. The alliance would only last for ten years, and both sides were mentally prepared to fall out in the future.

The core conflict was the Rhineland region. There was no clear agreement in the treaty, and this was a hidden danger for the future of the two countries.

Of course, there was no verbal agreement in the treaty. Whoever occupied it would own it. In other words, the treaty belonged to whoever occupied the German Region.

As for how to determine the specifics, they would have to wait until the great French empire was established, or until the German region was unified. That would be the time to solve the problem.

In Franz's view, in addition to sharing the diplomatic pressure with France, this treaty only divided the interests of the African continent. France and Austria each occupied one-third of the African continent.

If it weren't for the fact that the two countries didn't have enough strength in East and South Africa, they might have directly divided the African continent.

The African continent was not small. Even if it was only a third of it, it would still be more than ten million square kilometers.

Franz had sent so many immigrants over, but the actual area of control on the African continent was less than five million square kilometers, and the rest was only ruled in name.

The French were even worse. Even if Napoleon Iii immigrated from the The Balkans, there were only a million immigrants in the French African colonies. It was fine to control the coastal areas, but there was no need to think about going further.

The Austrian colonies were fine. Even if there were colonies from other countries, they would not be a problem. It would not be difficult to get rid of them.

The French would be very busy. For example, would the British agree to help in Egypt? Another example was Morocco. They had to ask Spain and the Netherlands if they agreed.

It made sense that East Africa and South Africa would not be divided for the time being. The French could not swallow it. It was easy to sign a treaty, but without the power to make it a reality, it would be a joke.

Dividing the African continent was just the Fao and the Netherlands being happy behind closed doors. In fact, before the British, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch were kicked out, this plan could not be realized.

For Franz, the Dutch and Spanish could be ignored. These two countries did not have a large sphere of influence on the African continent. They were not close to the new Holy Roman Empire.

In the treaty, it was Austria and the new Holy Roman Empire. This was a European tradition. There was no other way, otherwise, there would be no legal effect.

The suzerainty of Italy was in Austria. Although this was only tacitly agreed, since the French had now recognized it, they could only buy from Austria.

Similarly, Franz was prepared to incorporate the French Balkans into Austria. It could only be paid for by Austria, otherwise, other countries would have objections.

The colonies were owned by the new Holy Roman Empire. Naturally, the central government would fund the purchase. Although for Franz, this was a problem of the left hand turning to the right hand, he still had to do it according to legal procedures.

All the countries in the empire would benefit from the colonies. The cost of colonization would naturally be shared by everyone.

After the African colonies were localized, there would be more problems. Now, it was necessary to clarify these systems.

Franz was very satisfied with this treaty. Austria had long lost control of the Italian countries, or rather, it had never really controlled them.

If the Regions of Italy were to be annexed, Austria would become a copy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in less than ten years. It should be called the "Austrian Empire."

One had to know that the Regions of Italy had a population of more than 25 million people. Moreover, it was a people with a unified cultural tradition. Franz had already experienced how difficult it was to assimilate.

After so many years, Lombardy Venetia still had a strong Italian flavor. On the other hand, the other regions of Austria had basically changed under the influence of Germanic culture.

It could not be helped. It was easy for them to learn German and practice German. They could just send the children to school. However, it would take a lot of time to wash away the local customs and culture.

No matter what, with every generation, the mark of Italy would fade a little. According to the current progress, it would take another two or three generations for the Austrian Regions of Italy to basically complete the ethnic integration.

As for the other ethnic groups in Austria, many had already become Germans.

For example, the Czechs had long been culturally assimilated. Other than the difference in language and writing, the local life and customs were no different from the Germans due to the influence of the nobles. Now that the language and writing were unified, the last problem did not exist.

Franz could not do anything with more than 20 million Italians, so he could only send them to harm the French. It did not matter how strong the French Empire would become in the short term. As long as the French and Italian Empire were merged, it would sooner or later follow the footsteps of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The total population of France was already more than 44 million. This was the result of the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which brought more than 6 million people. Now, the main ethnic groups in France included: French, Corsicans, Brittany, and Italians.

However, the French, Corsicans, and Brittany had already completed the ethnic integration, and the newly joined Italians were incompatible with them.

After annexing a few more Italian states, the largest ethnic group in Napoleon Iii's Great France Empire would become the Italians.

He probably would not care about this problem. Under the circumstances that the emperor himself was an Italian, would it still be a problem for the Italians to become the largest ethnic group?

It was still too early to talk about this problem. For Napoleon Iii, the biggest problem now was how to annex these Italian states, and not consider the trouble that would come after the annexation.

It was impossible to directly annex them. The European countries would not let this happen. France was not the Shinra Empire, which could add a few more states.

Legally, the Kingdom of Sardinia was still an independent country. They shared a country with the French, but they were not a part of France.

Even though the Government of Paris controlled the politics and foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it still could not change this. If the French wanted to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, there was still a long way to go.

Franz did not know what Napoleon Iii was thinking, but Franz had already helped to prepare the plan to annex the Italian states.

When the conditions were ripe, it would appear in the hands of Napoleon Iii. The solution was very simple: first, form the Italian Federation, let the Italian states join it, and then let the Italian Federation and France form a new federal empire.

Did it not look very familiar? That's right, this was specially designed by Franz for Napoleon Iii with reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Anyway, no one knew how terrible the two-dimensional empire would be without experiencing it. Just like in the original time and space, the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still considered the great revival of the House of Habsburg.

In addition, Napoleon Iii did not have the legal system of the Regions of Italy at all, and there were very few supporters among the people. Now, he could only rely on force to rise to power, and this hidden danger was even greater.

Prime Minister Felix said worriedly, "Your Majesty, we have obtained the French Balkans, and there are still a series of problems to deal with later. If we are not careful, it will lead to even more trouble.

There is a clear agreement in the Russian – Austrian Secret Treaty that the current French Balkans was given to the Russians. Although we bought it from the French, the explicit provisions of the treaty are also not a small problem.

Especially the Dardanelles Strait, the Russians have been eyeing it covetously. Now that they are busy with the Prussian war, they may not say anything, but in the future, these will be hidden dangers in Russian-Austrian relations. "

The annexation of the French Balkans was, of course, a good thing for Austria. Not only did it pull out a nail in its back, but it also extended its power to the Aegean Sea region.

However, the consequences were not small. Austria acted as the guardian of Europe, blocking the Russians in the Black Sea, and the Russo-Austrian Alliance was bound to be divided.

In the west, there was the ambitious France and the shit stirrer John Bull, and in the east, there was the Russia. Austria's future was not going to be easy.

Franz said indifferently, "It doesn't matter, this is our deal with the French. If the Russians are interested in these areas, they can pay for it, and the price can be multiplied by 10.

We can also accept the exchange of land. If the Tsarist government wants to enter the Mediterranean, then let them pay the price they deserve!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can contact the Russians. Except for the Polish area, we don't want it, but other areas bordering our mainland can be accepted. "

This was nonsense. If the Tsarist government was so rich, it would have conquered the entire The Balkans in one go, and the Prussian war ended last year.

At that time, the Polish area had not been lost, and most of the military food could be settled locally. There was a waterway connecting to Austria, so logistics was not a problem. As long as they were willing to spend money, millions of troops could press all the way, and the people of Prussia would have already knelt down.

Without money, they could only exchange territory. Don't look at how big Russia was, except for Russian Poland, the only territory bordering Austria was the western Ukraine region. This was almost telling the Russians that they were interested in the western Ukraine region.

The specific way to exchange land, whether the Tsarist government agreed or not, wasn't the point. In any case, it was impossible for the Russians to make a comeback in the next 20 years.

Twenty years was enough to change a lot of things. At that time, Austria's African strategy would almost be completed. If there were no accidents, the French would jump into the pit.

If they were lucky, the Frenchman might collapse on his own. Napoleon Iii was almost 60 years old, and his body was not in good condition. He died in 1873 in the original universe, and how long he could live now was also a question mark.

He had many illegitimate children, but only one legitimate son. He was only born in 1856. If Napoleon Iii didn't live a few more years, his son wouldn't have the ability to control the empire.

The two-dimensional empire wasn't something that ordinary people could play with. Without enough prestige and power to suppress the opposition, there would be problems.

And in Paris, the Mecca of the Revolution, where the slightest movement might set off a revolution, a young monarch was a disaster.

Even if there was no disaster, it could be artificially created, such as: supporting the independence of the Italians, or the sudden outbreak of the Fao war.

As long as France was defeated and they got rid of the crisis of fighting on two fronts, Russia and Austria could really get along well.