After sending Thomas off, Napoleon Iii immediately called for a meeting with the Think Tank. No, it was a meeting with the ministers.
Anyway, it was the same. Napoleon Iii's style was to appoint people through favoritism. The Think Tank also had part-time ministers, but there was no cabinet.
The Minister of Finance: Count Monier (speculator), Minister of War Arnaud (henchman and strategist), Minister of Police Moppa (strategist), Minister of Internal Affairs Persini (strategist), Minister of the Navy Ditko (supporter of big ship owner), and the Colonial Minister was his nephew …
Even though this group of people had connections, in fact, their business was not bad. At the very least, they were much better than the Seven Moon Dynasty and much better than the later Third Republic.
Other than losing the Franco-Prussian War, during Napoleon Iii's reign, France's economy developed rapidly, and the people's living standards improved significantly. Most of the world's second-largest colonial empire was established during this period.
Minister of War Arnaud said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the British are using us as guns. Once their plan succeeds, both Russia and Austria will be our enemies. In the future, our options in international politics will be very limited.
Moreover, it's not that simple to interfere with Austria. The allied forces are actually just a name.
The countries are scattered all over the world. They have to coordinate their relationships and organize the allied forces. It's impossible to keep such a big movement a secret.
The Austrians are not stupid. Once they receive the news, they only need to do one thing. Before the allied forces are formed, they will catch the people of Prussia and beat them up.
Without the Prussians as cannon fodder, we won't be able to interfere in this war unless we go all out. Otherwise, the Allied Forces will be defeated sooner or later. "
Arnaud was speaking from experience. The The Balkans only had four allied forces, and the command system was already very messy. Now that there was a nine allied forces, who could lead so many teammates with different intentions?
They were also experienced in tricking their teammates. When the nine allied forces moved together, not only did they have to guard against the enemy, but they also had to guard against their eight allies. It was simply fatal.
"Catch the people of Prussia and beat them up?"
"Arnaud, do you think the Austrians will catch the people of Prussia and beat them up?" Napoleon Iii asked with interest.
Arnaud replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. If the nine allied forces were formed, even if the Austrians could defeat the allied forces, they would try to avoid a war with the allied forces in order not to be isolated.
However, the Government of Austria could not just admit defeat. Otherwise, how could they explain to the people?
Franz Joseph I was in the prime of his youth, and he would not be able to take this injustice. Since he could not find trouble with the British, he could at least take advantage of the Prussians to vent his anger.
In order to avoid the failure of this operation, the Government of Vienna should support this operation and transfer the people 'anger to Prussia. By the time, the Kingdom of Prussia will be the Kingdom of Prussia Now.
If the Russians also take advantage of the situation, then before the allied forces arrive, Russia and Austria may first divide up Prussia. "
As a former underling and fighter, Arnaud had always been reckless. Now, he often analyzed problems with the same mindset.
Napoleon III's eyes lit up at Arnaud's analysis. Traitors were always more hateful than enemies. If Prussia was crippled or killed, the people's anger would be vented. Not only could the government get through the crisis smoothly, they might even get some benefits.
Traitors were always more detestable than enemies. If they crippled or killed the Prussians, the people's resentment would be vented. Not only would the government be able to get through the crisis smoothly, but they might also gain some benefits.
As for the intervention of the allied forces, Austria could not stop the other countries from sending their troops, but they could delay the time.
By the time the allied forces were formed, the Government of Prussia would be able to get their lunch boxes. Revenge for the Kingdom of Prussia was impossible. Who would do it if there were no benefits?
At least, Napoleon Iii did not think anyone had that kind of international spirit. At worst, the Austrians would work for nothing and would have to retreat from the newly occupied land.
Persini added, "Your Majesty, other than attacking the Kingdom of Prussia, Austria may choose to strike first and attack Paris!
Our main force is not in the country. The Austrian army is already at the border of Bavaria. As long as they pass through Baden, they can enter our country. With the advantage of military strength and a surprise attack, they may succeed. "
Attacking Paris was a high investment and high profit plan. Once it succeeded, France would fall into chaos and would not be able to cause trouble for Austria for at least three to five years.
The Russians could also take the opportunity to capture Constantinople and attack the British and French allied forces on the Crimean Peninsula. The British could only hide in the British Isles. At most, they could send out their navy. The entire European continent would be at the mercy of the Russo-Austrian Alliance.
Napoleon Iii sneered, "In other words, the British have been coming up with a bad idea from the beginning?"
Persini analyzed, "Your Majesty, this is the plan that best suits the interests of the British. The success rate of the Austrians attacking Paris is too low. Even if Marshal Radski personally commands, the probability will not exceed 40%.
And this is under the condition that we are unprepared. As long as we are prepared and the troops at the front line strengthen their vigilance, the Austrians can only attack all the way.
The conflict between us and Austria has not reached the point of life and death. The Government of Vienna should not take the risk of fighting us to the death.
As long as Paris is not conquered within a month, our troops at the front line will withdraw. When that time comes, it will be their turn to suffer.
In essence, the most important part of the British plan is intimidation. If they can use the momentum of the Nine-Nation Coalition to scare the Austrians, their goal will be successful.
If they can tear up the Russo-Austrian Alliance, it will be even more profitable. Even if they can't do that, they are still prepared to leave the Kingdom of Bavaria to Austria. In fact, they do not want to force Austria into a corner. "
After hesitating for a moment, Napoleon Iii made a decision.
"Since the British have already set up the stage, how can we not cooperate? If necessary, we can give the Austrians some hints and encourage them to attack Prussia.
On this issue, we can completely take what we need. We can also accept the three countries dividing Prussia between the Fao and Russia. "
Of course, it was acceptable. The core area of the Kingdom of Prussia was in the Rhineland. It was under the nose of the French. If Austria crippled Prussia, they could be the fisherman and reap the most benefits.
Allies? Since when did France and Prussia become allies? As long as the benefits were right, they could even betray their allies.
…
After leaving the Palace of Versailles, Thomas went to visit the representative of Prussia, Rotruff.
In addition to the French, the Kingdom of Prussia was also a key link. Without the participation of the powerful Prussians, this intervention would be a joke.
In fact, Thomas's heart was also beating fast. What happened in Bavaria was too scary. If the Prussia army was also influenced by nationalism and changed sides on the battlefield or became neutral, then the Allied Forces could only cry.
Fortunately, the plan this time was not prepared to really start a war. They even gave Austria some leeway, so the possibility of a war was not high.
The two of them did not have much friendship, so they went straight to the point. After changing his words and explaining the purpose of his visit, Rotruff fell into deep thought.
Taking advantage of the interference of other countries to kick Austria out of the German Region was the national policy of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Rotruff said with dissatisfaction, "Mr. Thomas, why don't you let Austria spit out the Kingdom of Bavaria? Allowing them to destabilize Europe will bring disaster to the world sooner or later. "
The British's proposal was exactly what he wanted. The only flaw was that Austria took away the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Without Austria, who else could lead Germany other than the Kingdom of Prussia? This was digging out their flesh, so Rotruff naturally opposed it.
Thomas suddenly said, "Mr. Rotruff, it's not that we want to condone Austria's illegal behavior, but the Russo-Austrian Alliance must be considered. Your country also doesn't want Russia and Austria to continue to be united!"
The Kingdom of Prussia should be the one under the most pressure in the Russian-Austrian Alliance. Maybe the Government of Prussia's response in this regard was slow, or maybe the three Northern European courts had been in alliance for a long time, so they ignored this threat.
In short, Thomas admired the Government of Prussia's nonchalant performance. If it were them, they would not have been able to sleep. The Government of Prussia actually did not make any big moves.
It was not that they did not make any moves. Originally, they were going to repair diplomatic relations with Russia and Austria. Unfortunately, Austria suddenly launched a war of unification and destroyed the Government of Prussia's plan.
Rotruff's expression did not change, but his heart was drumming. He always felt that the British did not have good intentions, but he did not find anything wrong, so he chose to drag it out.
"Mr. Thomas, this matter involves too much. I must first report to my country and wait for the Government of Berlin's decision."
Although Rotruff was an amateur diplomatic player, he was a soldier and always believed that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the sky. Only by force was the most reliable.
He was not sure, so he threw the problem to the Government of Berlin. Although Frederick William IV Of Denmark was also an amateur diplomatic player, he was the king, wasn't he?
There was no way to get a positive answer, so Thomas could only leave. He did not think that the Kingdom of Prussia would find out their plan, and the French would not leak the secret to the people of Prussia.
This was the inherent impression that the Kingdom of Prussia had left on the outside world for a long time. It could be said that before Bismarck, the diplomatic means of the Kingdom of Prussia were very immature. This was the inevitable disadvantage of a military country.
There was still a lot of things for Thomas to do. There were so many countries waiting for him to persuade. This diplomatic war was destined to be difficult.
…
The British's activities were destined to be unable to be kept secret. Not all countries would keep it a secret for them. Thomas frequently contacted the representatives of various countries, and Metternich could not be idle!
Unlike the British's offensive, Metternich's approach was much simpler. It was to throw money. She could not bribe the foreign ministers of various countries, but she could bribe their maids and attendants.
Most of the information that Thomas met and said were passed to Metternich's ears. However, it was normal to pass fake information and release smoke bombs in diplomacy. Metternich did not dare to judge the authenticity of the information.
Thomas was also a veteran in the diplomatic field. The information that Metternich collected from different channels was different. This meant that the content that Thomas told the representatives of various countries was different. Some were even contradictory, which made it more difficult for him to judge.
Looking at the information that had just been passed by the Swiss delegation, Metternich smiled coldly. Encouraging Switzerland to send troops to interfere with Austria's annexation of South Germany. Was this not a joke?
As Austria's good neighbor, the Swiss and the House of Habsburg had been at loggerheads for hundreds of years. It was not easy for them to obtain decades of peace, and now they were actively provoking Austria?
In any case, Metternich would not believe it. No matter how much the British promised, they did not have the ability to stop Austria from settling accounts. At least, Austria had the ability to do so against Switzerland.
Unable to determine the British's true intentions, they could only continue to collect information. Anyway, there were people watching the reactions of various countries. If they agreed to send troops to interfere, the mobilization of troops and the transportation of strategic supplies would always be indispensable.
Whichever country joined the intervention army did not depend on their representative sitting in the position of the intervention country, but on their actual domestic actions.
Metternich was not in a hurry. With his understanding of the British, it would be a problem if they did not stir up trouble.
Now that Thomas had taken action, he felt more at ease. A conspiracy on the surface was always easier to deal with than a conspiracy in the dark.
