Chapter 706

Things that were consensual were always easy to produce results. The Tsarist government quickly convinced Austria, and both sides agreed to beat the Osman Empire.

Now, there were only some details that needed to be discussed. For example: When to attack? Where to start the attack? Post-war distribution of benefits …

After reaching a preliminary agreement, Alexander II Of Russia's mood did not relax. The Russian Empire was not in a good state. In theory, it was not suitable to start a war at this point in time.

The Osman Empire was also not the first choice of the Tsarist government. If possible, Alexander II Of Russia would like to beat the Kingdom of Prussia now.

Unfortunately, the Government of Vienna did not cooperate. No matter what conditions they offered, even if it was to support Austria to unify the German Region, the Government of Vienna was not tempted.

This was also within Alexander II Of Russia's expectations. This kind of promise between countries was very unreliable, and the Government of Vienna would not easily believe it.

If Austria really unified the German Region, it was estimated that Russia and Austria would also fall out. In the face of benefits, allies were not worth mentioning.

There was no other choice. The Far East was too far away, and the value was too low. It would not help the domestic agricultural crisis.

The Khaganates of Central Asia were a good target, but if they started a war in Central Asia, all the pressure would fall on the Tsarist government.

Now the Tsarist government was still waiting for the British's loan for military expenses. If they went to fight their underlings, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Only the unlucky Osman Empire was left. This enemy was big and had a lot of meat, enough for the two countries to divide. The international pressure could be left to the Government of Vienna to deal with. Alexander II Of Russia also understood that they really could not play diplomacy.

If they joined forces with Austria, there was no need to fight in the Caucasus region. Any area along the coast of the Osman Empire could become a battlefield.

Alexander II Of Russia, who was good at learning, now attached great importance to logistics. If he didn't gather enough supplies, he wouldn't take any military risks.

"Did the Government of Vienna agree to provide us with strategic supplies?"

The second reason to join forces with Austria was logistics. This attack mainly relied on sea supplies, so the logistics pressure was relatively small.

The most important problem was not the transportation, but the problem of "money". The Tsarist government's finances were not good. The funds that they had raised with great difficulty had to be used to repair the railways. There was no money at all for war.

Since they had no money, they naturally had to find allies. There was no need for money. As long as the Government of Vienna was willing to provide strategic supplies, then there was nothing to be afraid of.

Foreign Secretary Chris Basham: "Your Majesty, the Austrians have already made concessions. They agreed to provide us with 150,000 troops for half a year.

It's just that we've suffered a big loss in terms of the division of interests. The Austrians have a big appetite. They want the Middle East and half of Asia Minor. "

The Austrians have a big appetite. They want the Middle East and half of Asia Minor. "On the surface, it seemed that the Government of Vienna wanted to destroy the Osman Empire and completely get rid of this old enemy.

Alexander II Of Russia shook his head. "This is a small problem. The Middle East is mostly desert. The value is not high, and we can't reach it. If they want it, then we'll give it to them.

This war is 30% military and 70% political. If we can't stop the European countries from interfering, we can't eat the Osman Empire at all.

As long as we get the Caucasus region and half of Asia Minor, we won't lose. "

The Middle East in this era left everyone with the impression that it was a desert. Although the area was large, the actual value was not high.

Not knowing what he had thrown out, Alexander II Of Russia naturally did not feel that he was at a disadvantage. On the surface, Austria had to bear a heavier responsibility, so it was normal for them to take the biggest share.

Chris Basham nodded in agreement. The Tsarist government had many goals to achieve in this war.

First, to alleviate the domestic food crisis and avoid large-scale agricultural bankruptcy.

Second, to get rid of the Osman Empire and solve the enemy in the next Prussian war in advance.

Third, to restore the morale of the army through victory and get rid of the shadow brought by the Prussian war.

Fourth, to expand the power and establish the prestige of the monarch.

…

To achieve the above goals, preparations were naturally indispensable. The Tsarist government could not afford to lose, and Alexander II Of Russia could not afford to lose either.

Large-scale military preparations could not be deceived. With the actions of the Russians, Prussia, Poland, and the Osman Empire also followed suit. The smoke of war filled the European continent.

It was true that William I wanted to take the millet out of the fire, but before the war started, no one could guarantee that the Russians would not turn around and attack them.

Prussia did not have a strong foundation. As long as they failed, they would be doomed. The Government of Berlin could not afford to gamble and could only follow suit.

On the contrary, Austria, one of the protagonists, did not make much movement. This was not Franz being arrogant. The main reason was that he was not prepared to get rid of the Osman Empire in one go.

If the Russians were willing to fight, Franz would not object. After all, the Government of Vienna could only provide so many strategic supplies. The Osman Empire could not possibly face a Russian Army of more than a hundred thousand and not even hold out for half a year, right?

It was not that Franz looked down on the Osman Empire, but the Government of Sudan in this era was really not good enough.

In recent years, in order to consolidate the regime, the Osman Empire had not been peaceful. There were constant power struggles within the government. The reformists used bloody violence to cripple the conservatives in the government.

This was not enough. The conservatives scattered among the people were still strong. These forces usually wore the cloak of religion, which made things more complicated.

The reform of the reformists did play a positive role, but it did not solve the internal ethnic conflicts. The Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Slavs in the Osman Empire all wanted independence.

Of course, there was the promotion of external forces and the spread of nationalism, but more of it was caused by the internal ethnic inequality. The main problem was still religion.

An enemy full of loopholes, Franz was naturally not worried. Anyway, he had decided to slowly nibble away from the Middle East. He would fight a long war of attrition, or in other words, a practical training.

It would be useless even if Britain and France gave blood to the Osman Empire. Unless they were willing to work hard, the Government of Sudan would definitely lose.

It was already halfway through 1873, and it was impossible to start a war within this year. Although Alexander II Of Russia had improved the efficiency of the Tsarist government, they still could not organize an expedition of more than a hundred thousand troops in a few months.

This war, Alexander II Of Russia wanted to win beautifully, so the gray animals must also be trained well. This would take time.

Naturally, Franz had no objection to delay the time. Strategic planning also took time. It was definitely not an easy task to induce all parties to make the decision he wanted.

If there were any mistakes midway, he would be responsible for dealing with the aftermath. He could not let these problems affect the overall situation.

To ensure that nothing went wrong, Franz was now very concerned about Napoleon Iii's health. Although he received news that Napoleon Iii had fallen ill in January this year, his body had already been failing.

Since June, Napoleon Iii had not appeared in any public events. Most of the events were attended by Crown Prince Eugène.

The ambitious person was not dead, so it was worth being vigilant. If he delayed it until after Napoleon Iii's death, then he would be more confident.

Crown Prince Eugène was still young. If it was a peaceful time, it would not be a big deal. He could slowly accumulate prestige and control the power step by step. Unfortunately, he was caught up in this era of great competition.

In recent years, France had begun to hide its strength and bide its time. It was because Napoleon Iii wanted to leave as much of an international environment as possible for his son so that the enemies would not come after him once he died.

In the inducement plan, the Government of Vienna also had a top-secret plan against the French. The success rate of this plan was very low. It could only succeed if the French actively cooperated.

Simply put, it was to let the French send troops to occupy Belgium, the Rhineland, or the German Federal Empire. Any of these places would do. It would be best if the little Emperor personally led the troops.

It was too difficult to defeat the French in France. If the main force of the French army was lured out, the chances of winning would be greatly increased.

The smooth annexation of the Regions of Italy had already made many French arrogant. If it was not for Napoleon Iii's strong pressure, they would have already annexed the territories west of the Rhineland.

Franz was very clear that the annexation of the Regions of Italy by France had already crossed the bottom line of the European countries. They did not form an anti-French alliance because there was no leader and Prussia and Russia were opposed.

If the French continued to expand, the European countries would have no choice but to take action. Even though the power of these small countries was limited, it was still more important than the last straw that broke the camel's back.

As for whether or not France would become enemies because of this, Franz was not worried at all. Too many debts were no longer a burden. If one flipped through history, they would find that France and Austria had a bunch of messy debts to settle.

Moreover, the two countries did not border each other. Would the French dare to attack all the way?

The original conflict between France and Germany was not in the war. The main conflict was between Arthas and Lorraine. There was no way for both sides to give in on this issue.

Arthas and Lorraine were the old territories of Shinra and were part of the German Region. The Germans would definitely not give in. France was bursting with nationalism. With John Bull fanning the flames, the Government of Paris also did not dare to compromise.

This problem did not bother Austria. At most, it would be given to the German Federal Empire and Austria would be given some colonies.

If the French sent troops to take revenge, then the German Confederation would cry and shout to join Shinra. At that time, no one would be able to stop them.

The prerequisite was that Napoleon Iii died first. The little emperor could not suppress the pro-war faction in the country. Otherwise, the French would stay at home and not come out, and Franz would not dare to attack them.

This was related to the problem of power projection. If the army in Austria could play a full role, then the battlefield in France would be at most 50 to 60%.

It was not that the army's combat power had declined. The main problem was logistics. The original Kingdom of Prussia won the bet. That was completely God's blessing. Napoleon Iii personally led troops to the door.

The emperor was captured, and a revolution broke out in France. They got rid of the government, and there was no resistance.

Otherwise, as long as the war dragged on for a few months, the French would mobilize, and the result would be completely different.

Intelligence chief Teren said, "Your Majesty, something happened in Greece. Last night, a revolution broke out in Athens. The rebels defeated the government forces and captured Prince Ludwig, who had not had time to succeed the throne. "

Prince Ludwig was King Ludwig III of Bavaria in the original time and space. It was not time for Ludwig II to fall ill. His father, Prince Liutbod, had not had time to become regent.

In the order of succession of the Lombard royal family, Prince Ludwig was already in the top five. The possibility of him inheriting the throne was almost zero.

In theory, he did not even have a share of the Greek throne. However, the guys ahead of him refused to come, so it was his turn.

Franz could only attribute this to Ludwig's bad luck. Sending him to Greece to be the king was the right move.

This time, it was even worse. Before he became king, he became a prisoner. This time, it was even worse. Before he could even become king, he had become a prisoner.

In Franz's view, this was just a small matter. It did not need all the cabinet ministers to come and discuss it together.

In Franz's view, this was just a small matter. There was no need for all the cabinet ministers to come and discuss it. Franz was not worried about Ludwig's safety at all.

Right now, Ludwig was only one of the heirs to the Greek throne. More importantly, he was the prince of the new Holy Roman Empire, the Lombard Kingdom. If the Greeks dared to kill him, there would be a pretext for war.

Austria did not annex Greece because they were paying attention to their table manners. In Europe, annexing a sovereign country for no reason would have serious consequences.

If the Greeks took the initiative to do something, the situation would be different. Even if it was not easy to annex them, it would be very easy to beat them up.

Many people could think of such a simple reason. Therefore, the most worried about Prince Ludwig's safety now should be the rebels.

If this guy were to die, they would be in trouble as well. Even if it was for the sake of face, Austria had to send troops to avenge Ludwig.