Chapter 834

To divide Poland, it wasn't enough for Prussia and Russia to reach an agreement. It also required the approval of the European countries, especially the understanding of the Fao and Russia.

Palace of Vienna

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, we have already reached an agreement with Prussia and Russia. They openly support our unification of the German Region in exchange for our neutrality on the Polish issue. "

This wasn't an empty promise, but it was even more unreliable than an empty promise. If Austria really unified the German Region, the strongest reaction would be from Prussia and Russia.

In the face of benefits, this kind of verbal promise didn't have any binding force. Whether or not it could be fulfilled depended on everyone's moral integrity.

Franz didn't think that Prussia and Russia would fulfill their promise. Don't look at them fighting to the death. If Austria really unified the German Region, the two countries would quickly ease their conflict.

No matter how deep the hatred between Prussia and Russia was, could it compare to the hatred between England and France? After the rise of the German Empire, England and France could let go of their hatred. Now, Prussia and Russia could do the same.

In the end, it was still benefits. Austria's unification of the German Region had already threatened their security, especially for the Kingdom of Prussia. It could be said to be a fatal political blow.

In recent years, the Government of Berlin had deliberately downplayed the unification of Germany and promoted the idea of Greater Prussia. This was the fortress that the Juncker nobles were worried about Austria breaking through from within.

Austria's annexation of the German Federal Empire was bound to stimulate the German nationalism in Prussia. This was something that the Government of Berlin couldn't accept.

England, France, and Russia were similar. They didn't want to see Austria continue to grow. After unifying the German Region, Austria would essentially be the overlord of Europe. This had already seriously threatened their strategic security.

Once this step was taken, even if Franz played diplomacy to the peak, he wouldn't be able to avoid the fate of being beaten up.

One-on-one, Austria wasn't afraid. One-on-two, they had to think twice before acting. One-on-three, they had almost no chance of winning. One-on-four, they might as well just surrender. They wouldn't even wait for death.

Prussia and Russia obviously didn't have good intentions. Rather than saying that they supported Austria's unification of the German Region, it was better to say that they wanted Austria to jump out and share the international pressure, splitting the French and French alliance.

Franz nodded. "It's to be expected. Prussia and Russia secretly made deals to prevent us from interfering. Let them be happy for a while. When is the British going to make their move? "

The diplomacy of large countries had always been about you scheming against me today, and I'll scheme against you tomorrow. Everyone relied on their own methods. There was only benefit between countries. There was no good or evil, right or wrong.

Weissenberg replied, "The exact time cannot be determined yet. The British are worried about us and have kept it a secret from us until now.

The approximate time is before William I ascended the throne. If we want to force the Kingdom of Prussia to make concessions, we must do it before the Berlin government completes its plan. "

When it came to deals and compromises, Austria was at the pinnacle. The current political situation in Europe was the result of deals and compromises between the Government of Vienna and other countries.

Otherwise, Russia wouldn't have gotten Constantinople, France wouldn't have been able to annex Italy, and the Prussian War wouldn't have broken out. The Polish Kingdom wouldn't have had the chance to become independent.

It was normal for the British to worry. Who wouldn't be tempted in the face of benefits? No one could guarantee that the Government of Vienna wouldn't use this opportunity to make a deal with the French.

To some extent, Austria and England's diplomatic philosophy was the closest. They were both centered on national interests. When faced with a problem, the first thing they thought about was not to solve the problem, but to maximize national interests.

After a moment of contemplation, Franz made a decision. "In that case, let's strengthen the Russian Empire so that Prussia won't cause trouble for us.

Doesn't the Tsarist government want to train their troops? Let's fulfill their wish. Agree to Russia's plan to increase troops, and we'll provide strategic supplies. "

International politics affected the whole body. They also played a balancing strategy. Franz now knew how difficult it was for the British.

It was difficult enough to maintain the balance between Prussia and Russia, but the British were playing with the balance of Europe. This involved more countries, and there were more things to consider. The difficulty of the operation was self-evident.

No wonder a world war broke out in the original time and space. Dancing on eggs every day, there would always be mistakes. The Government of London in the original time and space was probably also confused. The French actually destroyed themselves.

…

In the Middle East, Lieutenant General Vislav held a telescope and quietly watched the crowd gather to the north of Jerusalem.

The Austrian army, which was besieging the city, ignored it. It was as if the north had been forgotten.

A burly young officer reported, "General, the patrolling sentries found marks of camels passing by in the north. It's suspected that someone transported supplies to Jerusalem last night."

Since the patrol team was deliberately letting them go, there was no need to send people to patrol at night. This created an opportunity for the enemy to take advantage of the opportunity to transport supplies into the city.

Lieutenant General Vislav said nonchalantly, "Don't alarm them first. Send people to watch in secret. After digging out the spies of the Osman Empire, we'll catch them all in one fell swoop."

After a pause, Vislav shook his head again. "Forget it, don't investigate. Put up a notice. From now on, anyone who provides any help to the Osman Empire will be dealt with as collaborating with the enemy.

There's no need to specify the specifics. After the reporters leave, we'll slowly settle the score with them. "

The young officer wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say it. The Osman Empire had been operating here for hundreds of years, and its rule had long been deeply rooted. Even if the Austrian army destroyed its rule, it wouldn't be able to remove its influence in a short time.

It was normal for people to send supplies to the Government of Sudan for the garrison. However, how many could be sent a day with this kind of sneaky delivery?

For the hundreds of thousands of people in the city, these things were completely inadequate. Moreover, there were enthusiastic believers who came from all directions to defend the Holy Land outside the city. These people also needed to eat.

Vislav roughly understood the meaning of the Government of Vienna. The higher-ups weren't in a hurry to recover Jerusalem. The General Staff Headquarters also ordered that before Jerusalem was recovered, they weren't allowed to enter alone. They just wanted him to delay for time and fight slowly.

In this case, it was better to be a salted fish. War had to serve politics. Since politics needed to delay time, then let the war continue.

Otherwise, he would have already ordered the troops to cross Jerusalem and march to Jordan. Now that most of the Osman Empire's troops in the Middle East were concentrated in Jerusalem, they couldn't stop the Austrian army.

Because of the reporters, even the local forces of the Osman Empire were not cleaned up by Lieutenant General Vislav.

Knowing that someone was collaborating with the enemy, Vislav didn't bother to send people to investigate. It wasn't that he was lazy, but there was no need to waste energy.

In order to prevent desertification in the Holy Land, the Government of Vienna had sent geological and hydrological experts to assess the soil and natural environment in the Middle East. There were reporters following and recording the whole process.

The data collected was not optimistic. The land in the Middle East was overcultivated, soil erosion was serious, and desertification was serious. The local land needed to be fallow.

According to the experts, the Middle East needed to be fallow for at least 20 years to restore the local ecology.

This issue had already caused an uproar on the European continent. Everyone accused the Osman of being greedy and demanding from nature regardless of the consequences.

If there were no accidents, the Austrian Middle East would implement a land fallow program for up to 20 years after the war. Twenty years of no farming and no development of animal husbandry. The local people would definitely leave.

According to the previous practice, these people would definitely repatriate the Osman people back to their country. It sounded good, and they could all return home safely. In fact, it wasn't that simple. Did the Government of Sudan have the ability to settle so many people?

Especially for the local vested interests, the land and property were all returned to zero, and everything needed to start from scratch.

This was almost impossible. The social class in the Osman Empire had long been solidified. The number of people who wanted a piece of the cake was increasing, but the cake was shrinking. The future Government of Sudan would definitely be very lively.

Now, those who could take out money and food to support the Jerusalem garrison were not only the local rich and noble families. After the war, they were repatriated and became bankrupt families.

This psychological gap was probably more painful than killing them. Even if they had a strong heart and accepted reality, these guys would still be trouble for the Government of Sudan. Since that was the case, why should Fislav dirty his hands?

…

In the reporters' exclusive camp, the war reporter Brad complained, "This damned weather, it's so hot that I'm going to die. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come. "

Brad was an experienced war reporter. Almost wherever there was a war, he would be there. This time, he came because he was commissioned by the London Daily.

Of course, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem was also a factor. However, the plan didn't change. The Austrian army, which had been unstoppable all the way, stopped outside the city of Jerusalem.

The reason for stopping was that guns and cannons had no eyes on the battlefield, and they were worried that they would damage the holy land.

This explanation was maddening, but it was also politically correct. Due to the unique religious status of Jerusalem, devout believers naturally couldn't fight freely here.

The temperature in the Middle East was high, and ordinary people couldn't stand it at all. Recently, the non-combat casualty rate of the Austrian army had exceeded double digits.

The soldiers couldn't hold on, and the reporters who followed the army weren't much better. The Austrian army didn't have a boss, so it was naturally impossible to specially make ice to cool them down.

His partner, Henry, who was staying in the same tent, joked, "It's not too late to leave now. Every week, Austria has supply ships that deliver supplies. They won't mind taking you along."

Brad's face changed. It was very shameful to give up on a war report halfway. This was related to his professional ethics.

"Get lost! I'm not someone who gets cold feet. Don't even think about enjoying the glory of reporting on this war alone. This is the only chance to recover the holy land. If I miss it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. "

War reporters also had to look at their resume. The more wars they had participated in, the more valuable the news they reported, and the higher their status in the industry. A special war like the recovery of Jerusalem was naturally taken seriously.

Of course, if it wasn't for the recovery of the holy land, there wouldn't be hundreds of war reporters gathered, and they wouldn't need to squeeze two people into a tent.

For example, when the Austrian army attacked Kuwait, other than the domestic newspapers that sent reporters, the major European newspapers didn't bother to send anyone.

For this kind of unimportant news, they could take the Austrian official news or the news published in the Austrian newspapers, copy and modify it to change the perspective, and casually mention it in the international section of the newspaper.

Only a battle like Jerusalem, which was the focus of the whole nation, was worth sending people over to collect first-hand information and make a special report after artistic processing.

The treatment of a large number of people and a small number of people was completely different. If there were only one or two war reporters, the army would probably receive them warmly. Anyone would be disgusted when hundreds of war reporters came all at once.

Now, every move of the Austrian army was being closely watched by these reporters. If it wasn't for the impact, Fislav would have chased them away.

Therefore, the expenses of these reporters were paid by the newspaper behind them. The Austrian army only provided a safe camp and the most basic living security. Simply put, it was the same standard as the soldiers.

If they wanted better living conditions, they had to find a way to solve it themselves. Unfortunately, this was the Middle East. Because of the war, all industries withered and order was in chaos. Not only could they not spend money, but they also had to be careful when they went out and could not leave the military camp.

A few courageous colleagues ran out to interview the local people, and they were all sent to see God. Of course, it was also possible that they saw Allah.

Except for one lucky person who was rescued by a passing Austrian patrol, the rest became corpses. One of the unlucky ones was sent to the barbecue grill by the refugees.

After this lesson, no one dared to run around anymore. Now that the Austrian army was besieging the city, there was no news. Everyone could only stay in the camp to kill time.

Henry laughed and said, "I was just joking to liven up the atmosphere. Don't be so angry, Brad. Life is already very difficult. If we don't have an optimistic heart, how can we survive? "

Brad nodded and said, "Well, let's say you're right. Life is indeed very boring now. May God bless us to recover the Holy Land as soon as possible. "

Henry did not hesitate to attack and said, "I don't think God's blessing is very reliable. Otherwise, Jerusalem would not have fallen into the hands of the Osman.

You should go and tell the Austrians to attack quickly and recover Jerusalem as soon as possible. That way, we can go home quickly.

Based on the current situation, I estimate that we will be spending Christmas here this year. Not only this year, but maybe next year's Christmas will also be here. "

It was very normal for war reporters to spend Christmas on the battlefield. No one could guarantee that the war would end before Christmas.

It was just that the situation this time was special. The weather was bad, so it was fine. Everyone was out there, so it was not a problem for them to suffer a little.

The trouble was that the Austrian army surrounded the city and did not attack. There were cases of such a siege for three to five years in the history books. With the special status of Jerusalem, everyone believed that the Osman must have made preparations in advance.

Brad's good mood was instantly gone. He rolled his eyes and said, "Nonsense, the Austrians' excuse for not attacking is that they are worried about damaging the Holy Land. Why should I let them attack?

It's not like you haven't seen the cities along the way. If the Austrian army really goes all out, even if they recover Jerusalem, it will be in ruins. Who can bear this responsibility? "