The war in the Near East broke out again, and countries that did not want to see Austria continue to expand also took action.

London

In the Downing Street Prime Minister's residence, the British Cabinet gathered. Prime Minister Gelston pulled out a stack of top-secret documents and distributed them to everyone.

"This is the battle plan of the Austrians, and the intelligence services have paid a heavy price to get it, and hopefully it will help us in the next operation."

It did come at a heavy price, and this semi-public battle plan was almost published in the newspapers of Vienna.

It took British intelligence officers £50,000 to get the initial plan. Don't ask where the money is spent, intelligence is priceless.

The crowd did not speak, but read carefully. There is not much content on the document, only a rough plan, and there is no specific operational part.

Admiral Robert frowned, and the beard on his face was particularly eye-catching: "According to this battle plan, the Austrians will win this war without much cost."

With the few broken ships of the Ottoman Navy, they did not even have the ability to fight back against Austria. Having lost sea power, coalition forces can land in any area at any time.

According to the intelligence known to the Navy, the Ottoman Empire had at least thirty ports suitable for large armies to land, and the actual number may be even higher.

To defend so many places, at least a million troops are needed. With the national power of the Ottoman Empire, this could not be done.

Once the coastal areas are eroded and a large number of war refugees are generated, the Ottoman Empire will soon be dragged down, and this scorched earth plan is too vicious. ”

Robert's words were understood by everyone, and the criticism of the Austrians' war plan was secondary, and the main purpose was to emphasize the importance of "sea power."

No one objected to it, and sea power was indeed very important to the British Empire. What happened to the Ottoman Empire only proves this point once again.

Prime Minister Gelston nodded: "Yes, the Austrians' plan is indeed very vicious. If we don't find a way to intervene, it won't be long before the Ottoman Empire collapses.

And it was still a complete collapse, and it could not even consume Austria's strength. Without this nail in the back, it will be even more difficult for us to balance Austria. ”

He picked up a baton and pointed at the map on the wall: "You can look at this world map, it is marked."

These blue areas are all Austrian colonies, or spheres of influence. Only twenty years have passed, and Austria is already second only to us as a colonial power.

There is no hurry to deal with the issue of overseas colonial expansion, now that the world has been almost divided, the rest are some hard bones, or relatively low-value areas.

Returning to the European continent, this is the pattern of Europe after the Great War of the United Nations and Russia. The Russian Empire was suppressed, and its influence was suppressed in Eastern Europe.

The Kingdom of Prussia has risen, France has been revived, and at present the European countries are holding each other in check, and with our mediation in the middle, we are generally able to maintain balance.

But we still can't let our guard down, and from the end of the war against France to the present, the Austrians have been dominating the European continent through diplomatic means.

If Austria twenty years ago, then it was a good thing, they helped us achieve continental balance.

However, the situation has changed in the last decade or so, and the foreign policy of the Vienna government has become incomprehensible, and their strategic goals have become obscure.

The only thing that is certain is that the policy of continental balancing is no longer the core strategy of the Vienna government, otherwise the French would not have been able to annex Italy. ”

Taking a step back, Gelston's expression became serious: "In today's world, there are only two countries that have the strength to threaten the hegemony of Britain. "The baton tapped twice on the map, and it was France and Austria.

"The information from Paris came that Napoleon III was already sick in bed, and the crown prince was too young to suppress the many forces in the country. Once Napoleon III died, this power struggle was inevitable, and the French would not be a threat anytime soon.

Austria was different, the domestic political situation was stable, Franz was in the prime of life, and now he was ambitious to start the war in the Near East.

Once the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the next goal of the Vienna government would definitely be to annex the German Confederation.

They chose a good time, when Prussia and Russia contained and antagonized each other, and it was impossible to intervene together; France, which is in the process of transferring power, is very likely not to send troops to interfere in the process of stability.

The rest of the European countries are all grass on the wall, and it is okay to wave the flag and shout, but it is too reluctant for them to balance Austria. As a family, even if we want to interfere, we can't do it. ”

This was the biggest concern of the British, because Austria unified the German region, and it was a monopoly on the European continent, and it was impossible to know where to start if it wanted to balance it.

This is not the original plane, and there is Franco-German hatred to exploit. European countries are not stupid, they do not have enough interests, how can they rush to fight with Austria in a daze?

The Vienna government is also good at playing diplomacy, and after so many years of Franz's succession, Austria has never been isolated.

The Vienna system has been established twice, and it can also be established a third time. Against the backdrop of the Prussian-Russian confrontation, the end of the Ottoman Empire, and the civil strife in France, the success of establishing Austria's continental hegemony over Europe was very high.

Foreign Secretary Maclean: "From the standpoint of the Empire, the Ottoman Empire cannot be finished in any way. It was not enough to support the Ottoman Empire, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great for the Sudanese government to hold out for long.

It's too difficult to start directly from Austria, so we can only find a way to do it in Franco-Prussian Russia. The Foreign Ministry is lobbying the Berlin government to create a conflict on the Prussian-Russian border, and the Central Asian countries can also move and find a way to get the Russians out of the war.

As soon as the Russians withdraw from the war, we will unite the French in military exercises in the Mediterranean to make an appearance of intervention and intimidate the Viennese government.

Franz didn't like to take risks, and he had to plan for whatever he did, which was both an advantage and a disadvantage. As long as we make enough noise and pull the European countries to mediate, it is very likely that Austria will stop.

If the plan fails, we will create trouble overseas and distract the Vienna government.

Austria's colonial system is not invulnerable, Austrian Africa is not easy to move, Central America is not easy to move, other regions are different. ”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Larouch Lloyd asked: "It sounds like a good plan, but where are our interests, we can't afford to spend so much and gain nothing, right?" ”

The most important characteristic of British diplomacy is pragmatism, and there is no problem in suppressing Austria, but it must not harm Britain's own interests.

Wooing European countries is not a matter of one sentence, it comes at a cost, even if a small country helps to wave the flag, it will also require an appearance fee, which has a cost.

In particular, the last resort, which is to start directly with the Austrian colonies, requires a greater investment.

Regardless of the gains, Austria's most fertile colony could not be moved, and the remaining scraps were cold, and there was no return at all.

Alaska that's ice, a little fur at best, or a few fish. If Britain was not interested, it would have been in the hands of the last century, and there would be no need to wait until now.

Patagonia was not much better, and the colonial strongholds that the Spaniards had abandoned were obviously losing money.

Argentina and Chile were somewhat interested in this land, but they were not brave enough to take it from Austria, or rather tempted to do so.

The Austrian South Seas are relatively fertile, but the cost of capturing them is too high, and there are no thugs to be found around, unless the British go on it themselves.

However, considering the cost, even if the plan succeeds, Britain will lose money. It's not just about losing money, it's about gaining an enemy.

Putting Austria down is worth it. The most troublesome thing is that it did not continue to fight, forcing France and Austria to get closer together, and then it was a big loss.

Maclean's feet up, walking over to the hanging map, and drawing a circle with his hand.

"This is the map of Austria now, which is twice as much as the first war in the Near East."

And then a little bit on the map: "This is the Suez Canal, and once the Ottoman Empire is over, Austria's power will be united, and its influence will spread to the Indian Ocean."

The Suez River is bordered by Austria's Sinai Peninsula on one side and Egypt by the French on the other. The second exit of the Mediterranean, there is nothing to do without us, I think everyone has an idea!

This operation may not hurt Austria's vitality, but at least how about reaching into the Suez Canal and turning the Franco-Austrian condominium into a British-French-Austrian condominium? ”

The two countries of France and Austria watched the Suez Canal very closely, and did not give the British a chance to intervene at all, and if they wanted to get involved, they had to first separate Franco-Austrian relations.

The London government has been trying, but with little success. Although there are many pro-British factions in the Paris government, being pro-British does not mean that they are about to betray the country.

Napoleon III was also not a fuel-efficient lamp, and when it came to the issue of the Suez Canal, he did not talk to Britain at all. There's no room for talk, let alone meddling?

Not to mention Austria, Franz regarded the Suez Canal as his lifeline. All the Viennese government was thinking about was how to monopolize the Suez Canal and let the British intervene, how could it be?

……

In Paris, the bedridden Napoleon III could no longer care about the war in the Near East. He had reached the last moment of his life, and the ministers did not dare to bother him with these questions.

In case the emperor was stimulated to receive a boxed lunch during the report, he would become a sinner. The current Napoleon III is not the unlucky guy who was ousted from the throne in the original time and space, and the French people still support the emperor.

Even if the little emperor is generous and doesn't care, the spitting stars outside can kill people. In short, the emperor's recuperation was far more important than the war in the Near East.

Crown Prince Eugène, who presided over government affairs, was influenced by Napoleon III, and chose to be "stable" in the face of uncertainty, so as to respond to all changes without change.

It's okay to shout slogans, but the Paris government has been calling on both sides to exercise restraint and take action. It seems that they are looking forward to the government of London, waiting for the British to act, and they are waving their flags and shouting.

The French's immobile approach made the British feel extremely troubled, and they were really not used to it without this thug charging into battle!

……

At the Vienna Palace, Franz put down the newspaper in his hand: "Haven't the Prussians acted yet?" ”

The reaction of Britain and France was expected by Franz, but the Berlin government's approach made him a little incomprehensible.

If the Prussians had no ambitions for Poland, they did not believe in killing Franz. But if you have ambitions, you should act, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has appeared, and the Berlin government has not moved at all, what is this?

Could it be that William I saw through his plan? This is not right, even if the Prussians saw through the plan, they could not have refused to annex Poland.

Even if there is a fear that Polish nationalism is too strong, this does not affect the two countries. It's a big deal to run two sets of government teams, and both sides are in charge of their own affairs.

There are many examples of this, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the original time and space is an upgraded version of the co-monarchy system, and it is also a degraded version of the unified empire.

Intelligence Leader Tyron: "No. We have resisted the Berlin government, and so far they have not taken any action.

By the way, in recent times, there have been a lot of meetings in the royal palace in Berlin, sometimes until late at night. The Prussians strictly blocked the news, and no one knew the exact content of the meeting.

According to the observation of intelligence officers, after the participants came out, their expressions were relatively serious, and some of them still had gloomy faces. The preliminary judgment should be that there has been a dispute. ”

It's good to have abnormal behavior, but what I'm most afraid of is that there is no movement. As far as a major country is concerned, as long as it does not make big mistakes, it will be difficult for the outside world to defeat them.

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