Chapter 720

In a manor in Paris, an aristocratic banquet was being held. In an inconspicuous corner, Thomas, the British Foreign Minister, and Carr Vossel, the Russian Foreign Minister, gathered together.

If the news got out, it would be on the front page of the Parisian newspapers.

Carr Vossel frowned and asked, "Mr. Thomas, you didn't ask me to come here just to drink, did you?"

He had been busy flirting with the rich ladies at the banquet, but he had been interrupted by Thomas. It would be strange if he was in a good mood.

Carr Vossel didn't think he had anything to talk about with the British. Moreover, this was not the right occasion. Trying to keep it a secret was deliberately letting the Austrians find out.

Thomas laughed and said, "Mr. Carr Vossel, don't you think that after annexing South Germany, Austria is a bit too powerful?"

Carr Vossel's expression changed. There were many people in the Tsarist government who felt that Austria was too powerful, and he himself was one of them. It was one thing to say it in his own house, but now that the British had exposed it, he didn't dare admit it.

Who knew if there were Austrian spies in the area? Even if there weren't, the British probably had a way to let Austria know the content of the conversation.

Carr Vossel's political ability was passable. He knew that this was a political trap dug by the British, so he naturally wouldn't follow up on the topic.

He said bluntly, "Mr. Thomas, if it's this matter, you don't have to worry about it. It's not your place to tell us what to do."

Ignoring his rudeness, Thomas continued to laugh and said, "Mr. Carr Vossel, there are no eternal friends in this world. As long as there are eternal interests, you and Austria are allies today, and tomorrow you may become enemies.

Now, for the sake of being allies, you allow Austria to expand in the German Region, and tomorrow you may face a unified Central European empire.

It's never wrong to make some preparations in advance to prevent it from happening.

Russia and Austria are too close. When Austria's expansion in Europe is blocked, they can only develop in the Near East. Sooner or later, you will have a conflict — "

Without waiting for Thomas to finish, Karl Vossel took his leave. He already regretted coming into contact with the Englishman.

The Russo-Austrian Alliance was Russia's most important foreign policy. How could it be changed so easily? They couldn't abandon the alliance just because there might be a threat.

If he couldn't see such an obvious attempt to sow discord, then there really was a problem.

If he couldn't see such an obvious attempt to sow discord, then there really was something wrong.

Naturally, Karl Vossel did not notice these problems. He had to admit that the British had been very effective in sowing discord. Deep down, he was also very afraid of the Austrians, just as the Austrian government was afraid of the Russians.

This was the brilliance of Thomas. Once the matter was brought to light, it would be hard not to be affected.

Karl Vossel hesitated as to whether or not to drag the Austrians down.

The next day, the conference was held as usual. Thomas made things difficult, and Carr Vossel couldn't help but cut down on his speech.

Originally, it was England, Prussia, Russia, and Austria. The French mediated, and the Spanish representative presided over the meeting. When the deadlock reached its end, he stood up and announced the meeting was adjourned.

Now that the French's attitude had changed, and Carr Vossel's support was not enough, Metternich was under a lot of pressure from the start.

However, negotiations didn't depend on the number of people. Otherwise, if all the countries were involved, there would be even more people who opposed Austria's expansion.

Metternich was a seasoned diplomat, so he naturally wouldn't be scared. No matter how the representatives of England, France, and Prussia scolded him, he wouldn't budge.

Thomas threatened, "Mr. Metternich, if your country doesn't give up on establishing the Holy Roman Empire, then the other countries will have to sanction you."

Metternich's expression didn't change. "Alright, we can make concessions. We won't establish the Holy Roman Empire. We will establish a new Holy Roman Empire. That should be fine, right?"

This was completely avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial. They had put in so much effort not just to change Austria's name, but to make them give up on the benefits that they already had.

Thomas wouldn't say any more threats and temptations at the conference. This had to be done in private. They couldn't make Austria change sides in front of the Russians, right?

The Russians weren't stupid. As long as they revealed their spearhead, they would immediately react and take measures.

Thomas's previous series of work was actually to create a gap between Russia and Austria, and to prepare for the breakup of the Russo-Austrian Alliance.

Flies wouldn't bite seamless eggs. If there was no gap between Russia and Austria, the British wouldn't be able to make a move!

Next was to suppress Austria. Thomas was very clear about the primary and secondary strategy. Now it seemed that the effect was very good. The inaction of the Russians had obviously become a thorn in Metternich's heart.

After the end of the meeting, Thomas didn't give Metternich any time and laid his cards on the table.

Either give up the Russo-Austrian Alliance, and Austria could swallow all the benefits; keep the Russo-Austrian Alliance and spit out the benefits; or welcome the intervention of the Coalition of the Nine Countries.

If it was an ordinary person, they would have been scared. Metternich's heart was also not calm, but she didn't show any flaws on the surface.

She directly ridiculed, "Mr. Thomas, this joke is not funny. Coalition of the Nine Countries, are you kidding me?

The Netherlands and Belgium have conflicts, and the relationship between Spain and Portugal is not much better. If your country and the French can cooperate closely, the war in the Near East would have ended a long time ago.

If you can make this contradictory coalition become close, then I have nothing to say. Austria doesn't have the strength to compete with the Nine Countries. "

If it could be done, Thomas didn't have to talk nonsense here. When the coalition was dispatched, the Government of Austria would definitely admit defeat.

No one was a fool. If they wanted to intervene in Austria, they also had to look at the benefits. If the benefits were not enough, even if the British forcibly pulled them together, they would not be able to contribute.

Perhaps, in many people's view, it was more cost-effective to fight Austria than to cheat their teammates. At least they could kill with a borrowed knife and consume the enemy's strength.

This kind of cheating teammates was done by the British many times. It could be said that they pulled down the moral integrity between their allies. Now everyone followed suit, and the close cooperation had long since ceased to exist.

Thomas's weakness was exposed, and he said calmly, "Mr. Metternich, the problems you mentioned are all there, but even if the contradiction between the Coalition of the Nine Countries is huge, the advantage in strength cannot be ignored.

Even if Prussia and France join forces, your country may not be able to hold on.

Don't doubt our determination. At worst, we will withdraw the coalition on the Crimean Peninsula. As long as the Constantinople are still in our hands, the initiative is in our hands.

If we make some concessions and admit the occupation of Bulgaria and the Danube by the Russians, what do you think the chances of the Russians compromising are?

In the face of interests, will the Russians care about the Russo-Austrian Alliance? The credibility of the Tsarist government is clear to everyone. Do you need to test it again? "

Metternich said without changing her expression, "Mr. Thomas, I admit that what you said is very reasonable. Unfortunately, you can make concessions to the Russians, but the French can't make concessions!

Mr. Thomas, I suggest that it is necessary for you to go to the streets of Paris and see the attitude of the French people towards the war in the Near East. "

There was no other way. The French people in this era were completely suppressed for a long time and had just been released.

Napoleon Iii's war against Russia was not only his personal will, but the French people were dissatisfied with the failure of the war against France and wanted to take revenge on Russia.

Under this background, making the Government of Paris make concessions was simply asking Napoleon Iii to get out.

It was related to his own interests. No matter how good the British were, Napoleon Iii would not compromise.

The future threat, that was a matter of the future. If he made concessions now, the French people did not have that long of a vision and would immediately ask him to get out.

At this point, Napoleon Iii could not win the war in the Near East, but he absolutely could not admit defeat. Even if the French army suffered heavy losses on the battlefield, he must end it with a big victory.

He could not let the Tsarist government put on a show and deliberately create a big defeat, could he? Nicholas I Of Russia, who came from a military background, could not do such a thing, no matter how big the benefits were.

The Tsarist government also could not afford to lose. If they lost, their position as the overlord of the European continent would no longer exist. The suppressed internal conflicts would immediately explode. They could not sacrifice themselves for others.

…

St. Peter's Castle

Franz was spending his days with a group of Russia nobles. Basically, it was eating, drinking, and having fun every day, living a very luxurious life.

Diplomacy and public relations? Other than discussing the future strategy of the two countries with Nicholas I Of Russia and further political communication, the rest of the matters were handled by his subordinates.

As for the issue of the unification of Germany, Franz only mentioned it symbolically, and Nicholas I Of Russia also gave a formulaic answer that everything would be done according to the rules of the alliance.

Then, most of the time, it was the future famous Alexander II Of Russia who received him. Tsar was also very busy. He had official business to deal with every day and did not have that much time to go out and have fun.

Touring the historical sites of St. Peter's Castle, attending noble banquets, and flirting with noble ladies. In short, Franz had a lot of fun in St. Peter's Castle.

The attendant whispered in Franz's ear, "Your Majesty, this is the telegram from the Paris Conference from Vienna. Please have a look."

Thanks to the establishment of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, in order to strengthen the communication between the two countries, the cable telegram from St. Peter's Castle to Vienna was finally connected.

Franz was a responsible emperor. Even though he was far away in St. Peter's Castle, he did not forget to pay attention to the domestic affairs, especially the Paris Conference, which was the focus of his attention.

After taking the telegram and reading it briefly, Franz had a headache. He did not expect the British to make a move at the last moment.

Interfering with the allied forces was not a matter of whether they could win or not, but they definitely could not win!

This was not a matter of fighting one wave and then stopping. Once the flames of war were ignited, it was not up to individual will to stop.

Was he really going to tie himself to the Russians and fight against the entire European continent? As soon as this thought arose, it was thrown to the back of Franz's mind.

The Russians had the geographical advantage and could not be afraid at all, but Austria could not. Once the war started, they would become the frontline. If they lost, they would have to take a lunch box. If they won, they would also suffer heavy losses. Franz would not do a deal that was bound to be a loss.

Looking at the map of Europe, Franz made a decision.

"Call back home and suggest that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicate with the French. We can also pull the Russians together and make it look like we are dividing up the Kingdom of Prussia. Let's see how the British deal with it."

It was not to see how the British would deal with it, but how the people of Prussia would deal with it. The British could still sit on the fishing platform. As long as the European continent was not dominated by one country, they could continue to play the balance.

The Kingdom of Prussia was different. France, Russia, and Austria divided up Prussia. This was completely killing them. They could not win a one-on-one battle, let alone a one-on-three battle.

The French would get the territory west of the Rhine River, the Russians would get Prussian Poland, and Austria would get the part of Berlin. It seemed to be perfect.

No one would have to worry about Austria becoming stronger, and France and Russia would both expand. With the friendship of sharing the spoils together, the war in the Near East could be stopped. After getting the Rhineland, Napoleon Iii could also answer to the people.

Franz really wanted to see the expression on Frederick William IV Of Denmark's face when he received the news. If they could not get South Germany, they would use the interests of the Kingdom of Prussia as compensation. It seemed acceptable to Austria.

The only problem was that the Kingdom of Prussia was a tough nut to crack. It was the easiest for the Russians to take Prussian Poland, and it was not difficult for the French to take the Rhineland. If Austria wanted to make a move on the Berlin area, they would have to fight the Kingdom of Prussia.

The most troublesome thing was that if the battle was too intense, the hands of both sides would be stained with each other's blood. After that, the post-war rule would be a hellish dungeon.

The specific example could be Switzerland. It was originally the ancestral land of the House of Habsburg. Because the ancestors of the House of Habsburg were not strong enough, they could not suppress the rebellion of the nobles in Switzerland in time. After fighting for a long time, the hands of both sides were stained with too much blood, and it became a feud.