London
Prime Minister John Russell was having a headache over the Italian issue. After the Battle of Venice, he knew that things were troublesome. The British Empire's interests in the Regions of Italy might not be guaranteed.
"Mr. Palmerston, the Austrian War is about to end. What position do you think we should take?" John Russell asked.
Foreign Affairs Minister Palmerston said calmly, "Prime Minister, we still have a lot of interests in the Kingdom of Sardinia. In order to ensure the interests of the British Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia must be preserved.
However, we must also consider the Austrian's attitude. This war was initiated by the Sardinians, so we must give them an explanation! "
The theme of the world in this era was the struggle between Britain and Russia. The British Empire was not that powerful yet, and the Austrian Empire was also one of the great powers. They could not be deprived of the benefits that they deserved.
The Minister of State, Henry John Temple, frowned and said, "Mr. Palmerston, the problem now is that the Austrians will not let this go. No big country can tolerate a challenge to their dignity and remain indifferent.
The Sardinians have already angered the Government of Austria this time. For this, they did not hesitate to compromise with the French. Intelligence from Paris shows that the Fao and the Austrians may have signed a secret agreement.
If the Fao and the Austrians join forces now, then the Kingdom of Sardinia will become history. Even if we oppose it, it will be useless! "
On the Italian issue, the British, the Fao and the Austrians had the most say. Because of the geopolitical relationship, the Regions of Italy had always been the focus of the Fao and the Austrians' dispute. The British mediated and maintained the balance.
In order to better restrain the Fao and the Austrians, the British spread the idea of unification in Italy in the 19th century. After the European Revolution, the Government of London began to support the Kingdom of Sardinia to unify Italy.
There was no doubt that this time they played a big game. Austria only stretched out one hand and crippled the Kingdom of Sardinia. They did not even hesitate to collude with their competitor, the French, in an attempt to divide Italy.
Palmerston smiled and said, "Mr. Temple, things are not that bad. The French are full of internal conflicts. They change governments faster than women change clothes.
The political ideas of the previous government do not mean that this government agrees with them. If it really doesn't work, we can wait for the next government.
As long as we exert diplomatic pressure on them, the Government of France will not have the energy to expand. Without the French, Austria will not have the appetite to swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia. "
Everyone laughed when they heard Palmerston's analogy. The British were never stingy when it came to laughing at their old enemy, France.
If Faur and Austria were to join forces, no one could stop them from carving up Italy.
But now the French were absent, and the Republican government, which had only been in existence for a few short months, had already had several governments.
Originally, the British wanted to support a pro-British government, but after seeing the speed at which the French changed governments, they stopped.
They could not follow the pace. There were also revolutions in France from time to time, and there were a lot of messy groups of forces.
France Kingdom Minister. If they were to invest, they would be investing... Kingdom Minister would France.
If Minister, it, it, the Kingdom, the Minister, the Minister would not...
After a pause, Prime Minister Russell asked again, "Mr. Palmerston, how is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs going to convince the Government of Austria? If they insist on destroying the Kingdom of Sardinia, what measures will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs take? "
His meaning was clear. The British Empire's participation in the Italian issue was limited to diplomacy.
There was no need to consider sending troops to help the Kingdom of Sardinia. Regardless of whether they could win or not, under the basic national policy of balance in the European continent, Austria was also an indispensable part of the British mainland policy.
Palmerston thought for a moment and said, "Prime Minister, the Austrian Empire has just experienced a civil war. The Hungarian rebellion has not been extinguished yet. Their most important problem now is to deal with internal conflicts.
They should not have plans to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia. Even the Arcane Secret Pact may be a cover. Metternich, that old fox, is not easy to deal with. This time, the Kingdom of Sardinia will have to bleed a lot.
If the interests of the Regions of Italy cannot satisfy the Austrians, then we will appease them with the interests of the Balkans and let them compete with the Osman for hegemony in the Near East! "
This was what the British Empire was best at — shifting the blame to the east. The weak nature of the Osman Empire had not been exposed. On the surface, they were also a member of the Great Powers.
The House of Habsburg and the Osman Empire had been enemies for hundreds of years. They had fought from the Middle Ages until now. The two sides had experienced at least eight hundred battles, if not a thousand. The hatred had long been buried.
"The situation in the Near East is already very complicated. If we encourage Austria to enter, the situation will become even more chaotic. If the Government of Austria and the Russians join forces, can we control it?" Henry John Temple, the Minister of State, questioned.
Austria and the Osman Empire were enemies. The conflict between the two sides was very deep. If the British Empire supported them, the Government of Austria would not mind suppressing this old enemy.
But the problem was that the Russians and the Osman Empire were also enemies. Russia and Austria were allies. If they had a common enemy, it would be difficult for them not to join forces.
Palmerston explained confidently, "It's true that Russia and Austria are allies, but in the Balkans, they also have conflicts of interest.
Austria has long been eyeing the Danube River valley, but the appetite of the Russians is endless. It's only a matter of time before they have a conflict. At that time, the Russo-Austrian Alliance that has been giving us a headache will naturally collapse! "
Interests were always the best catalyst. Now, the biggest enemy of the British was the Russians. Many foreign policies were carried out around the Russians.
It was not easy to defeat the competitor Russia. Unlike any previous enemy, the Hairy Bear not only had a strong army, but it was also in the easternmost part of Europe. In terms of geographical location, it was invincible.
To defeat the Russians, it was necessary to first divide the allies of the Russians and isolate them. The British were very patient in this regard.
…
Vienna
After the victory in the Battle of Venice, Franz was thinking about how to deal with the aftermath. For Austria, the Regions of Italy were like chicken ribs. It was a waste to abandon them.
It was easy to occupy the Kingdom of Sardinia, but difficult to rule it.
"Mr. Metternich, what did the French say? When will they send troops?" Franz asked with concern.
The Kingdom of Sardinia was not easy to rule, but that did not stop him from using it to trick people. If he could trick the French into joining, then the British Empire would not have the time to keep an eye on Austria.
