Chapter 642

Although the 1966 Treaty only exposed the tip of the iceberg, the Government of London could no longer sleep. John Russell had a headache looking at the map of the Mediterranean Sea. The French had landed in Sicily in the name of helping to suppress the rebellion.

Austria suddenly let go. Was there anyone who could limit the French expansion in the Regions of Italy?

The answer was cruel: no.

The Regions of Italy had always been the focus of contention between the FAO and France. However, now that they had chosen to compromise, this conflict naturally did not exist.

"Win-win cooperation" may be useful in resolving international disputes, but it was completely poisonous to the British Empire's European policy of balance.

In the Prime Minister's residence in Downing Street, John Russell said seriously, "In the past decade, the strength of the FAO and France has grown rapidly, and they already have the strength to threaten us.

Look at the latest European map. Austria has annexed South Germany and expanded in the The Balkans. After this deal with the French, their territory has nearly doubled.

The French are not far behind. A few years ago, Napoleon Iii took advantage of our suppression of the Indian rebellion to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia. Now he has extended his hand to the Southern Regions of Italy.

Since the FAO and France joined forces to dig the Suez Canal, they have been excluding us in the Mediterranean. If we don't find a way to stop them from moving closer, there will soon be no place for us in the Mediterranean. "

John Russell's statement was a bit exaggerated. The so-called exclusion was complete nonsense. Everyone's sphere of influence collided, and for the sake of interests, they naturally fought.

Unfortunately, in this new round of fighting, the British lost.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the Suez Canal project, the British Suez Railway project and Egypt's strategy of promoting cotton cultivation went bankrupt under the joint intervention of the Fao and France.

In addition, the British interests in the Osman Empire, Greece and other areas were not affected. Driving them out of the Mediterranean was not in the plans of the two countries.

It was not that Franz did not want to do it. The key was that the French were too timid in the face of the British. Unless the benefits were big enough, it would be difficult to convince Napoleon Iii.

However, there were only so many benefits. Austria could not do it for free. It was not enough for the two countries to share.

Edward pointed to the map on the wall and said, "The French have already extended their tentacles to Sicily, and Tunisia has been included in their protectorate. It won't be long before we go in and out of the Mediterranean Sea depends on the French. "

There was no doubt that Edward was pressuring the Foreign Office. The Royal Navy controlled the Strait of Gibraltar, which was the most important area of the Mediterranean before the opening of the Suez Canal.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Reslin replied with a gloomy face, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for France and Austria getting closer to each other, but isn't it because we are giving them too much pressure?

In recent years, in order to restrict France and Austria, our continuous actions have raised the vigilance of the two countries.

The Prussia War with Prussia of of the of the War of the of the France.

For their mutual benefit, I have reason to believe that France and Austria are preparing to form an alliance, or have already formed an alliance.

Of the compromise on Italy was of the Sea Continent. It was no secret that the French wanted to annex Italy, and it was no secret that the Austrians wanted to unify Germany.

France wanted to annex Italy. Austria wanted to unify the German Region. " "However, the Fao alliance is different. Both countries are taking action at the same time. We can't interfere even if we want to."

Everyone's expression changed. They thought of more. In recent years, the conflict between Britain and France and Austria had been escalating. In order to limit the expansion of the two countries, the Government of London had been taking action.

John Russell said with certainty, "The Prussia War can't continue. The Russians have been weakened. If the Prussia War with Russia continues, there will no longer be any power in Europe to balance the Fao and France. "

Attacking the Russian Empire was Britain's national policy. The Government of London did a good job, but they didn't think that they would be so focused on attacking Russia that they would ignore the rise of the Fao and France.

The strength of the three empires in Europe had changed dramatically. Russia, the number one country, had fallen to the bottom. It would be difficult for them to recover in the next ten to twenty years.

With the rapid expansion of the Fao and France, any one of them had the potential to challenge the hegemony of Great Britain.

Foreign Affairs Minister Leslin objected, "It's too late to stop it now. The two countries are fighting for real.

Russia has lost so much. The Tsarist government won't let the Prussia go easily. Similarly, the Kingdom of Prussia won't stop the war with Russia. If they miss this opportunity, their dream of being an empire will be shattered.

Since that's the case, it's better to cripple the Russians once and for all, lest they threaten India when they recover.

It's easy to destroy the Fao and France. The Russians have lost their position as the hegemon of Europe. The next step will be between the Fao and France. The seeds of conflict have been sown long ago. "

Finance Minister Agarwal asked, "What if they've already formed an alliance?"

Leslin said in a domineering manner, "Then we'll join the alliance and break it up."

…

The outcome of this meeting hurt Lei Slin very much. Perhaps due to strategic security considerations, it didn't go according to his plan. The cabinet decided to take the initiative and take over the Tunisian region.

Purely from a military point of view, this was the best choice. The French had already landed in Sicily. The Royal Navy had lost the opportunity to control the largest island in the Mediterranean.

Since that was the case, they could only start with the Tunisian Strait. The Royal Navy had Malta and Tunisia. The Mediterranean was still under their control.

As for offending the French, this problem was not within the scope of the people's consideration. Ever since the French annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, the relationship between Britain and France had not been good.

Other than the honeymoon period during the Near Eastern War, the two countries appeared as opponents most of the time.

Leslin didn't have time to dwell on this issue. His current task was to break up the Russo-Austrian Alliance. As long as this alliance existed, it was a threat to the hegemony of the British Empire.

Who knew if the Tsarist government would return to Central Asia and expand to the Indian subcontinent after failing to expand in Europe?

Don't think that Russia didn't have the strength to expand just because they suffered heavy losses. As long as the Austrians were willing to contribute money and effort, this situation would become a reality.

With the escalating conflict between Britain and Austria, Vienna could compromise with the Government of Paris. Why couldn't they support the Russians?

In this era, Canada, Australia, and South Africa hadn't been developed. If they lost India, what kind of hegemony would the British Empire be?

If this really happened, the British Empire's position as the hegemony of the sea would be replaced by the Fao and Russia in less than ten years.

The world's factory was also built on the background of raw materials and the market. Without the cheap raw materials from India and the huge consumer market, the British would immediately lose their position as the industrial hegemony.

At this point in the industrial revolution, the British had lost their technological advantage. The industries of the Fao and Russia were gradually on the same level.

…

In St. Peter's Castle, Alexander II Of Russia was much calmer. Whether the Fao was close or not, it had nothing to do with him now.

The war between Prussia and Russia was still going on. Because the number of troops invested was limited by logistics, the Russian Army couldn't make progress. He was so worried.

In theory, the Russian Empire would be the final winner if this continued. However, this victory needed to be marked with a question mark.

Sweden was stabilized, but the war in Central Asia was already rotten. The situation in the Far East was rising again. They couldn't even take care of themselves.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov reported, "Your Majesty, the Austrians have given their reply. They agreed to give up most of the French Balkans, but we need to pay a price."

This didn't surprise Alexander II Of Russia. Although there were provisions in the Russian-Austrian secret treaty, the Austrians had bought the French The Balkans, so they naturally couldn't give it away for free.

Even blood brothers had to settle accounts, not to mention allies.

Alexander II Of Russia asked with concern, "What do they want?"

Although they had missed the best time to enter the Mediterranean Sea, the Dardanelles Strait was still strategically important. If the Austrians' conditions weren't too excessive, he didn't mind getting it.

Clarence Ivanov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, replied, "We have made preliminary negotiations. The government of Vienna believes that in addition to economic benefits, they have also paid a political price for this land deal.

Their offer is very high. If we invest in the land, we will have to pay a one-time payment of 200 million CD. We can accept the land exchange. They want a five to one exchange of land area.

If we agree to this deal, even if we get a 50% discount in the end, we will still suffer a great loss. "

Obviously, Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov was against this deal. The Russian Empire didn't have the strength to enter the Mediterranean Sea in a short period of time.

Moreover, the coast of the Mediterranean Sea was almost divided up. They couldn't even find a foothold.

The only choice left for them was the Osman Empire. However, this was a tough bone to chew. They couldn't swallow it at the moment.

After a moment of contemplation, Alexander II Of Russia made a decision. "In that case, we will continue to fight with the Austrians on the price. We are not in a hurry. It doesn't matter if we drag it out for three to five years. "

He knew that this was the Government of Vienna trying to extort them. Or it could be said that the Austrians didn't want to see them enter the Mediterranean Sea to fight for territory. After all, the Mediterranean Sea had been divided up by the UK, Fao, and Russia.

If there was another competitor, it was bound to break the balance of the Mediterranean Sea. Because of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, the Austrians couldn't stay out of it. This would put the Government of Vienna in a passive position in diplomacy, especially when the FAO and Russia were getting closer.