Chapter 837

1874 was destined to be an extraordinary year. In addition to the Near East War and the Russo-Polish War, the Asia- Pacific region was also unstable.

First, the French and the Annan government signed the "Treaty of Peace and Alliance between France and Annan", then the Japanese invasion of Taiwan broke out.

Needless to say, the latter naturally ended in failure. "Treaty of Peace and Alliance between France and Annan" sounded harmonious, but in fact, it was just a nice name. In essence, it still served for colonial invasion.

After shrinking their strategy for so long, some people in France were unwilling to be left out. The world had been divided up, leaving only a few leftovers. If they were any slower, they would get nothing.

The Government of Paris was in the power struggle and had no intention to do things outside, but it still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of colonial expansion at home.

Colonial expansion did not necessarily rely on fighting. For example, the signing of the treaty with the Annan people this time relied on diplomatic fraud. They coaxed the Annan government into signing the treaty.

The seemingly ordinary treaty actually provided a legal basis for France to interfere in the internal affairs of Annan. No matter what the Annan people thought, it was enough as long as the French had a statement that could be accepted by European countries.

The British, Fao, and Russia had formed an alliance, and the loose international situation created opportunities for France to expand in Indochina.

Indochina was not within the scope of Austria's colonial plan, and it didn't involve its own interests. The Government of Vienna naturally wouldn't jump out to act as a messenger of justice.

…

In the Palace of Vienna, Franz's attention was attracted to the Kingdom of Poland. He became a spectator, quietly watching the performance of Prussia and Russia.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg reported, "Two days ago, the reinforcements of the Kingdom of Prussia arrived at the front line. Yesterday, there was a small-scale exchange of fire with the Russian Army.

However, both sides were very restrained, and it looked like they were acting. Now Russia has occupied most of the Polish Ukraine, about one-third of the Polish territory.

Preliminary judgment, this should be the reward promised to the Russians by the Government of Berlin. Next, the two countries will probably sit down to negotiate and settle the contents of the agreement.

Affected by this, this morning, the British Minister sent an invitation to European countries, including us, to form an international intervention alliance to mediate the war.

The Government of London couldn't sit still. The smoke bomb we released some time ago has worked. In order to prevent us and the French from continuing to expand in Europe, the British couldn't help but make a move. "

It was not that there was no movement at all. Franz also called for everyone to restrain themselves and sit down to discuss things slowly.

It was not that there was no movement at all. Franz called for everyone to exercise restraint and sit down to discuss things slowly. The Government of Paris also warned Russia and Russia and Russia to Prussia and Russia.

What they to do? Unfortunately, both France and Austria were very busy and did not have the time to meddle in such trivial matters.

For France and Austria to not interfere, there must be a deal of interest behind it. Britain Wang Wang Union Union to Empire, Union with India, War Russia Britain King, Union.

If he didn't mess things up, would he still be John Bull?

Franz nodded. "Now that things have come to this, we will face a lot of public pressure. The British are playing a big game of chess.

Franz nodded. "At this point, we will face a lot of public pressure. The British are playing a big game.

From all the signs, Franz judged that the British wanted to take the opportunity to provoke a conflict with the FAO, and at the same time, divide the relationship between Austria and the German Confederation.

This was an unavoidable plot. The French wanted to annex the Rhineland. For the sake of political correctness, the Government of Vienna could only stand against it.

The German Region had been divided for many years, and each country was used to being the master of their own country. Under the pressure of nationalism, everyone was forced to pretend to support unification, but in reality, they still wanted to protect their own independent kingdom.

Austria was powerful and had the power to unify the German Region. In order to protect their own interests, the government of the various countries had to lean towards the Government of Vienna.

But once they found out that Austria was unable to unify the German Region, or that they were strong enough to get rid of this threat, the situation would change.

Just like the Kingdom of Prussia. They simply withdrew from the German Region and did not call themselves the German Confederation. They played with the Great Kingdom of Prussia.

In reality, Franz could only deal with it passively. Even if the conflict with the Fao broke out, the two sides could not fight.

The only border was in the Regions of Italy. Although the French had occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia for many years, they still had no base here.

This was the consequence of Napoleon Iii's bad table manners and lack of legal foundation. More than ten years had passed, and the local people still did not agree with the French rule.

If they fought with Austria in the Regions of Italy, they would not only have to fight with the Austrian army, but also have to be careful of civilian guerrillas.

The leader of the Italian Confederation of Independence was the former King of Sardinia. He was a ready-made chess piece. If the French did not move, no one could do anything to them. As long as they were defeated on the battlefield, the fragile Great France Empire could collapse.

In general, the longer the Great France Empire existed, the more advantageous it was for Austria. Not only could it help Austria share the international pressure, but it could also speed up the national integration movement in Lombardy and Venetia.

In the beginning, when there were a lot of states in the Regions of Italy, the Italians in Lombardy and Venetia also wanted independence, and the progress of national integration was not smooth.

Ever since the French annexed the Regions of Italy, the national independence movement in Lombardy and Venetia suddenly fell into a low tide.

This round of social beatings made many people wake up. The local capitalists no longer supported the independence movement, but actively moved closer to Austria.

In recent years, the Austrian language was popularized in the local area at a rapid pace. The newspapers, books, and advertisements on the streets were all in Austrian, and the traditional Italian language was abandoned.

Social mores had changed. Those who did not speak the Austrian language were despised. It was difficult to move in the city, and no capitalist would hire workers who did not speak the Austrian language.

Before Napoleon Iii died, he once wanted to emulate the Austrian policy of national integration, but he was forced to give up as soon as he started.

It was not easy to be a socialist emperor. The increase in social welfare inevitably increased financial expenses.

In addition to financial problems, there was also the resistance of the Italian local government. The French forcibly annexed the Regions of Italy, but there was no way to replace all the local officials with French.

Without the cooperation of the local officials, how could the central government carry out the policy?

This was different from Lombardy and Venetia. When Franz promoted national integration, there were hundreds of thousands of local Germans, and a group of nobles loyal to the House of Habsburg. If they did not obey, they would be replaced, and there was no need to worry about not having supporters.

If they were all Italians, how could the Government of France be replaced? Even if they were replaced, they would still be passive and slack. To establish a local government loyal to the French Empire was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

The national integration policy that Napoleon Iii could not carry out would be even more difficult in the hands of Napoleon Iv.

Without real national integration, France was a powder keg that could explode at any time.

An enemy with a weakness was not scary. The French had such an obvious weakness, so Franz naturally did not worry about France becoming stronger.

…

The German Federal Empire itself was a joke, and Franz had never worried that the Union would become a threat.

In the beginning, the European countries wanted to forcibly upgrade them to an empire. In addition to the existence of a kingdom within the German Confederation, they were more worried about Austria's peaceful evolution and unification.

No matter how the British tried to sow discord, it could not change the nature of the two cultures. The ruling class also had to consider the feelings of the people. The Kingdom of Prussia could not get rid of the influence of German nationalism, let alone the German Federal Empire.

…

At the call of the Government of the United Kingdom, on July 16, 1874, the European countries held an international conference in London to discuss a solution to the ongoing Russo-Persian War and the Near East War.

In the Austrian Embassy in London, Britain and Austria were in a secret meeting.

The British Foreign Minister, Marquis Macklin, said, "Minister, this world needs peace, and a stable Europe is the foundation of world peace.

Our two countries have the same interests in maintaining European stability. Now we need your country to come up with more active measures to contribute to European stability. "

The Austrian Minister, Hummel, smiled and put down the coffee in his hand. "Minister, we are also happy to work for world peace, but the facts tell us that world peace needs to be maintained by a republic.

Maintaining the stability of the European continent is the common responsibility of all European countries, not the responsibility of one or two countries. We have done enough for the sake of stability in Europe.

The lessons of history tell us that sometimes doing too much will be counterproductive. Occasionally indulging, perhaps there will be unexpected gains. "

There was no doubt that Hummel was talking about the era of Metternich. At that time, the Government of Vienna was an active defender of European order. However, Austria maintained European stability, and the greatest interest was taken away by the British.

After the war against France, Europe was stable for 30 years, creating favorable conditions for British colonial expansion. Austria, who worked hard to maintain European order, locked itself in the European continent and was unable to carry out colonial expansion.

It was not until Franz succeeded the throne that the Government of Vienna abandoned Metternich's European balance strategy, and then caught up with the train of colonial expansion.

Macklin was unmoved and said as if nothing had happened, "That's not necessarily true. There are risks in letting the situation develop. Once the situation gets out of control, everyone's losses will be even greater.

Instead of letting the situation develop, it is better to take the initiative to attack. Presumably, your country does not want to see the French continue to expand.

If they are allowed to take the Rhineland region, I am afraid that Belgium will not be able to protect itself. Even the German Federal Empire will be cut by them. "

This was an inevitable result. With the resources of the Rhineland region, France's strength would be further strengthened.

At that time, it would be almost impossible to stop them from annexing the territory west of the Rhine River. For Austria, this had exceeded the bottom line of tolerance.

Hummel nodded. "The whole of Europe does not want to see this happen, and we are naturally no exception. I don't know what your country's plan is. As long as it can prevent this from happening, we are happy to cooperate. "

…