Chapter 712

You set me up, I set you up. Struggle was the theme of the era of the great powers.

People had no choice in the world. There were only interests in international politics. Those with the same interests were friends, and those with conflicting interests were enemies. Changing roles was the basic operation.

In this aspect, the British were the best. They could be allies a moment ago, then become enemies a moment later, then become friends again after a while.

To some extent, the diplomacy of the European countries in this era was learning from the British. Everyone's bottom line and moral integrity were lowered again and again. The close alliance only existed before the Middle Ages.

In this context, the relationship between the European countries was a mess. It couldn't be narrowed into enemies and friends.

In order to get more support in the negotiations, both Prussia and Russia were carrying out diplomatic attacks. The slow Osman Empire also launched diplomatic activities. Only a few Khaganates in Central Asia and the Eastern Empire were still idle.

Idle was a tragedy. Under the European rule system, international support was still very useful. Even the diplomatic support of a small country was also valuable.

The younger brother didn't have diplomatic skills, so John Bull had to do it himself. Perhaps this was what the Government of London wanted to see the most. It could increase their influence in these countries and gain more benefits.

Franz wanted to be a spectator, but the tree wants peace, but the wind doesn't stop. Because of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, Austria was involved.

"The Russians want to return to the pre-war state and want our support?"

Franz couldn't help but be surprised. This was simply a fantasy. Whether they admitted it or not, the Russians were the losers this time. How could the losers not want to pay the price?

They didn't cut an inch of land and didn't pay a single ruble.

It would be strange if such a condition could be agreed by everyone. Unless they could persuade all the European countries to endorse together, they would inevitably pay the price.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. That's what the Russian Minister said. They don't want to take responsibility for this war. "

There was no doubt that this involved the internal politics of the Tsarist government. No one in the government wanted to take responsibility, so they played rogue.

Franz was so angry that he was amused. He didn't care about the Russians' mess. He decisively said, "Reply to the Tsarist government. If they think they have the ability to persuade all parties to agree, we have no opinion.

If they can't do it, then don't do these whimsical things to avoid becoming an international laughing stock. "

"International laughing stock" was the weakness of the Russians. Their diplomatic jokes almost never stopped. They would come every three to five years, as if they couldn't grow if they didn't make a joke.

Of course, Franz didn't want to play along with the Tsar's government. He treated everyone as a fool, only to find out in the end that he was the fool.

Diplomacy was built on strength, and the Russian Empire at its peak had the confidence to do so. If they had stopped fighting a year ago, they would still have the strength to not cede territory and pay reparations.

Unfortunately, the gunshots in Moscow put an end to all this. Internal threats were the primary problem of the Tsarist government, and foreign enemies were only secondary.

In terms of strength, except for the Kingdom of Prussia, who could fight, the other countries were fighting with ease. The main force of the Tsar army was held up by the Prussia. The enemies they faced were all second-rate troops of the Russians. Their fighting strength was not on the same level at all.

The tragedy was that the Tsarist government's main force was exhausted. The fighting strength of the new recruits was second-rate at best. The fact that they were at a disadvantage on all fronts proved this.

The tragedy was that the main forces of the Tsarist government had been exhausted, and the combat power of the new recruits was second-rate at best. The fact that they were at a disadvantage on all fronts proved this point.

Now that the war has gone on, it's impossible for the Tsarist government to not know that they can't fight anymore.

Prime Minister Felix analyzed, "Your Majesty, I think the Russians are testing our position.

The economy of the Russian Empire is about to collapse, and social contradictions have reached a critical point. If they don't end the war, the Tsarist government will be finished. "

"Economic collapse, internal and external troubles." Franz put himself in the position of Alexander II Of Russia. What would he do?

Very quickly, Franz came to a conclusion. Stabilize first, then change. Don't worry so much. Keep the regime first, then use external pressure to promote social reform.

Nicholas I Of Russia won the Near East War. Not only did he cover up the social crisis, but he also increased the difficulty of reform. The ruling group didn't feel the pressure of survival.

Now that the situation had worsened, it might be an opportunity.

After this failure, the strength of the reformist party would inevitably skyrocket after the war. Alexander II Of Russia could also investigate the failure of the war and take the opportunity to clean up some of the parasites.

If he was ruthless enough, he could also use the opportunity to suppress the rebellion to hit the conservatives in the country.

This was a ready-made example. More than a decade ago, Austria completed social reform because of the reshuffle of the Great Revolution.

Franz didn't doubt the ability of Alexander II Of Russia. In the original time and space, this person completed a social reform. During this period, there was naturally no lack of bloody violence. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assassinated by the revolutionary party.

As an emperor, Franz was very clear about how difficult it was to assassinate an emperor. Without the cooperation of internal traitors, the revolutionary party couldn't even get close.

How could they throw the bomb? Especially after throwing a bomb, when Alexander II Of Russia checked the coachman's injury, he threw a second bomb to kill him.

Are the guards made of wood? If someone launched an attack at close range, would they give them a second chance?

There was a time interval in the middle. Throwing a bomb meant that the distance between the two sides was only a few dozen meters. Under normal circumstances, the assassin would either be shot into a sieve or captured alive. There was no second chance at all.

Including the surrounding crowd, they would be immediately cleared and controlled. The assassination was obviously covering up something. It was very unreasonable to analyze it on the surface.

Franz could determine that there was no mole based on his own security capabilities. The assassin couldn't carry guns and bombs to get close to him.

The security personnel around him would prohibit strangers from getting close. Even if it was a political show, the people who could get in touch with the emperor had to investigate several generations of his ancestors to make sure that there would be no problems before they could get close.

In a country with a strict hierarchy like Russia, it was difficult for civilians to get close to the great nobles, let alone to get close to the emperor.

Not to mention an assassin, even a group of assassins might not be able to get close to him for a few dozen meters.

Franz was too lazy to continue to think about these problems. Anyway, he just needed to be careful. Even if it was in Vienna, there would be hundreds of guards accompanying him, and there would be four figures of police on the periphery.

The safety factor was absolutely the highest. Even if there were assassins who saw this lineup, they could only obediently retreat.

Traveling incognito was out of the question. A monarch who traveled in a carriage with a few guards only existed in a small country. They couldn't afford to put on a show, so they could only make do.

Franz said with a smile, "It seems that Alexander II Of Russia is about to make a big move. Now I'm afraid he is deliberately indulging the bureaucratic group to numb these people.

The Tsarist government's great purge is coming. I guess Alexander II Of Russia will launch a coup to clean up the moths in the government and then throw the responsibility of the failure of the war to them.

This is killing two birds with one stone. Not only can they clean up the moths in the government, but they can also take the opportunity to suppress the conservatives and give the people an explanation.

If the corrupt officials are cleaned up, the rebel army will have no excuse to rebel. It won't be long before the rebel army will fall into internal strife. If the revolutionary party doesn't run fast, they might be taken down and asked for rewards. "

The revolutionary party's foundation was too shallow. Don't think that they made a lot of noise. In fact, in this era, any revolutionary party in Russia only had one hundred and eighty people.

In order to seize power, they temporarily united. If it wasn't for the fact that they were too weak, they wouldn't accept the banner of "clean up the emperor's side and punish the corrupt officials."

This banner certainly united a lot of people, but it also brought a problem. As the rebel army grew stronger, the revolutionary party lost control of the army.

The "corrupt officials" were all killed. The people's goal of rebellion had been achieved. Many people wanted to quit. To put it bluntly, many people joined the rebellion because the taxes were too heavy.

Alexander II Of Russia could solve the problem with a few edicts. He pushed the responsibility to the bureaucracy and the people's grievances were vented. Tsar was still good Tsar.

The people still supported Tsar, and the army also supported Tsar. The aristocratic group, whether it was the reformists or the conservatives, had no intention of overthrowing Tsar.

Including the newly rising capitalists, these people also thought that keeping Tsar was better than not having Tsar. They supported the revolution only to seize power, not to carry out a social revolution.

In a country where more than 99% of the people supported Tsar, wasn't it nonsense to want to overthrow the Tsarist government?

From this point of view, Alexander II Of Russia was born in a good time and a good place. The revolutionary teacher of Russia had not yet been born, the proletarian revolutionary party was nowhere to be seen, and the current bourgeois revolutionary groups were not anti-imperialist.

If the time was pushed back 50 years, or if the setting was changed to France, there would be a republic by now.

Prime Minister Felix said disapprovingly, "Reform is not that easy. The conservative forces in the Russian Empire are very strong. Even Nicholas I Of Russia did not complete the social reform. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for Alexander II Of Russia.

Right now, I'm afraid what he can do is carry out limited reforms, change the feudal system of the Russian Empire, and improve the strength in the short term. "

He had the right to speak. During the Austrian reform, the Hungarian aristocracy completely lost the right to speak. The conservatives in Vienna were swept into the trash by the rebels, and the conservatives in the Bohemian region were scattered by the rebels.

When the Government of Vienna announced the reform, the conservative forces were less than 10%, and most people lost their roots.

Even so, the struggle between the two sides had not lessened in the past decade.

Now the Tsarist government had no way to rely on the rebels to clean up the conservatives. They needed Tsar to do it himself. Just this wave of hatred was enough to give Alexander II Of Russia a headache.

This was destined that in the future, the reformists and conservatives would also be at each other's throats for a long time under the power of hatred. Even with the support of Tsar, it would be difficult for the reformists to surpass the conservatives in a short period of time.

There was no other way. According to European tradition, even if it was to clean up the aristocrats, Alexander II Of Russia could not kill them all.

The crime of corruption and bribery was too light. For the aristocrats, it was only a minor offense. If it involved military supplies, at most, a few people in charge could be killed.

Most people would just be driven home or exiled to Siberia. These people lost their power, but their lives were still there. They were still a hidden danger.

The rebels in Moscow were very weak and did not make any big news. There were no big aristocrats or big capitalists involved at all. It was impossible to implicate them even if they wanted to.

"Clean up the side of the emperor and punish the corrupt officials" was naturally one level lower than a rebellion. Even if it was to prove the benevolence of the emperor, Alexander II Of Russia still had to issue an amnesty order.

The people who took the blame were the revolutionaries. As long as the rest were smart, they would wait for Alexander II Of Russia to issue an amnesty order and decisively choose to change sides. After the war, they would at most be marginalized, and there would be no liquidation.

This meant that the conservatives only lost in the political struggle, and their own strength did not lose much.

After all, like Austria, the Russian Empire's army was also dominated by the aristocrats. Tsar could not violate the rules of the game.

Franz nodded and said, "For the Russian Empire, limited social reform is enough to create a world power.

They have a vast territory, abundant resources, and a large population. As long as they complete industrialization, they will be a large European country.

If they really carry out a complete social reform, it will not be a good thing for us. You have to know that in Europe, only the Russian Empire has more development potential than us. "

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