Everyone was embarrassed, and Franz was relieved that the Prussian-Danish war would not end anytime soon, which meant that he had enough time to fill the hole.

You can't hold the fire in the paper, and if you don't fill the hole, even if you put a basin on the head of the Prussians, it's not reliable!

In case one day it is a goof, do you want Franz the Great's face?

Embezzlement and embezzlement are two completely different concepts, the former can explain the normal capital operation of the bank, anyway, as long as the money is taken out on time, the latter is forever black history.

When Prussia and Prussia were in confrontation, the European powers were not idle.

In addition to occasionally expressing their opinions on international issues and swearing their sense of existence, the French were mainly busy with internal struggles, and even overseas colonial expansion was affected.

The British were busy, intensifying their aggression against India and colonizing Southeast Asia at the same time, as well as invading New Zealand......

The British colonial empire was about to take shape, and with the exception of the African continent, which had largely been incorporated or was in the process of being incorporated into the British colonial empire, with the exception of the African continent.

Everyone is busy, and that creates opportunities for Austria.

On April 15, 1849, Austria established the Holy Roman Economic Alliance in Rome with the states of Naples, the Papal States, Tuscany, Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and Hess-Darmstad.

Public opinion in Europe was in an uproar, but fortunately Franz did not set up his headquarters in Vienna, otherwise the political influence would have been even greater.

The most fierce reaction was Prussia, who fought with the Russians in front for the unification of Germany, and Austria actually came to the bottom of the kettle.

With the exception of the Kingdom of Prussia, the major states of Germany joined the Austrian-led Holy Roman League, which meant that Prussia was kicked out of the German region.

Under the influence of the establishment of the Holy Roman League, the idea of Greater Germany was once again on the rise, and in the opinion of many nationalists, economic solidarity would help the unity of the country.

Even within Prussia there were those who advocated joining the alliance established by Austria, and as for the German Customs Union, the historical task had been accomplished and it could be allowed to go to the garbage heap.

This change was a major headache for Frederick Wilhelm IV, and nationalism was a double-edged sword, as they were able to support the unification of Prussia with Little Germany, as well as Austria with Greater Germany.

As for adding the Italian region, the nationalists don't care. In their view, as long as the German nation was dominant, the bigger the empire would be, the better.

"Prime Minister, what is the attitude of all countries towards Austria's wolf ambitions?" Frederick Wilhelm IV asked expectantly

Josef von Ladowitz thought for a moment and replied: "The British sent a diplomatic note to Austria opposing Austria's alliance and strongly condemning Austria for breaking the principle of free trade.

The French Government protests against Austria's exclusion of third countries from the establishment of an economic union, and no further action has yet been taken.

The Spaniards said they were closely monitoring the aftermath of the situation, with most of Europe being neutral and the Russians yet to take a stand. ”

There is no doubt that everyone is too busy to bother Austria right now.

The British did not intervene forcefully in the Prussian-Danish War, nor did they have the energy to interfere with Austria's alliances, and without the European powers as thugs, they had limited say on the continent.

The French waited until they had settled the factions in the country, otherwise the French government would not be able to do anything under the partisan struggle and opposition for the sake of opposition.

Frederick-William IV was very depressed, and in his opinion, the Russians, who were most capable of interfering in Austria, were being pinned down by their help, and the tsarist government could not interfere with Austria at the same time.

Without the threat of force, protest alone can overwhelm Austria? Frederick Wilhelm IV shook his head, Prussia was facing more diplomatic pressure, didn't it withstand the same thing?

Austria has only established an economic alliance, and most European countries have nothing to do with themselves, and they have started to eat melons on the sidelines.

"Didn't the British take action?" Frederick Wilhelm IV asked with concern

……

London

As the world's number one-stirring stick, how could the British watch Austria forge an alliance?

You must know that the Holy Roman Economic Alliance, but the monster of the small half of Germany + most of the Italian + Austrian Empire, in terms of economic volume, this is the first economy in Europe.

Although most of these places are still semi-feudal and semi-capitalist, and their own industries are not weak, the British do not have a large market share in the local market, and they do not lack a market.

But no matter how small the mosquito is, it is still meat, and giving up in vain is not John Niu's style.

"Something is wrong, why are the Russians so slow to react this time?" Prime Minister John Russell asked suspiciously

Palmerston thought for a moment and said: "Maybe they are hesitating, the Prussian-Danish war has already restrained a lot of their energy, and if they intervene in Austria at this time, they will have to join forces."

Nicholas I was not a fool, and once he got to that point, the system of the 'three courts of Northern Europe' fell apart, and as long as they did not want to be isolated in Europe, they would not act against Austria. ”

Since the Berlin Convention, the European continent has entered the "era of the three countries of Prussia, Austria and Russia", and the three countries have joined forces to maintain the Vienna system, and even the British have been excluded from the European continent.

Now that there is a rift in Prussian-Russian relations because of the Prussian-Danish War, it is natural for the British to find a way to break up this alliance.

Whether it was agitating Austria to expand into the Balkans, supporting Austria's occupation of the Danube, or allowing Prussia to wage war against Denmark, it was all part of this plan.

I have to say that this time the Russians did a strict job of secrecy, deceived everyone, and everyone made up their own brains.

"The Russians probably never dreamed that the Prussians would hold out this time, and now they are also riding tigers.

However, the Holy Roman League established by Austria is also a problem, and with the old fox Metternich here, it will be difficult to unite countries to exert pressure. John Russell said with a frown

Palmerston laughed and said, "Why do you have to force the Austrians to dissolve the League?" When this alliance is established, it is not us who should be most anxious.

Russia, Prussia, France, which of them is not in a hurry than us?

Especially the Prussians, who were in a stalemate with the Russians, Austria was originally the best conciliator, but now Austria has come up with this alliance, and the Nordic three-court alliance is probably coming to an end.

Do we need to help them continue this alliance? ”

Prussia had contradictions with Russia and Austria at the same time, and naturally it could not get along in the Triple Alliance.

In order to break up this alliance, the British have put in a lot of efforts, and now they are only one step away, and they will naturally not give the alliance a new life.

"It may seem like a good thing for us, but we still have to be wary of Austria, the old fox of Metternich is what balance is best at, and the influence of the Habsburgs is deeply rooted.

You can't let them turn this economic alliance into an empire. Otherwise, our interests in the Mediterranean cannot be guaranteed. John Russell said cautiously

This is not unfounded, everyone knows that the Habsburgs were best at marriage, internal marriages within the framework of alliances, and after a few generations they merged into one family, which is how the Austrian Empire came to be.

If Franz had known what the British were thinking, he would have wanted to laugh. It's okay to form an alliance with the Italian states, but if you annex the Italian states, forget it, he doesn't want to ask for trouble.

"Rest assured, Prime Minister. The Austrians would not have had this opportunity, and if they dared to take the first step, the alliance would fall apart.

On the contrary, the Prussian-Danish war was a trouble, and the Prussian government was forced by public opinion to insist, and I was afraid that they would provoke the Russians and that war might break out between the two sides.

If the Kingdom of Prussia had been crippled by the Russians and had no internal control, Austria might have dared to unify the German regions. Palmerston thought for a moment and said

In many cases, imperial states cannot be analyzed from the perspective of interests alone, and if the tsar is provoked, it is really possible to fight a war regardless of the consequences.

"Be prepared to mediate, and if the situation gets out of hand, put pressure on the Prussian government to compromise." John Russell said fiercely

There is no way, to exert diplomatic pressure on the Russians, and they will not bird them at all, but can only bully the soft persimmon of Prussia.

Despite the good relations between Britain and Prussia, this did not allow Britain to support Prussia unconditionally. In the face of interests, it is nonsense to have a relationship with the British.

……

Vienna

Since the establishment of the Holy Roman League, Franz has not slept well for several days, and it seems very abnormal.

It was natural that the Russians would not intervene, there was a secret pact between the two sides, and if it was not for the sake of secrecy, the Russians could directly support Austria.

However, the performance of other countries surprised Franz. Forget about the small neutral countries, they have no right to speak, they were originally playing soy sauce, and now eating melons and watching the excitement is a normal performance.

But the performance of Britain and France surprised Franz.

He could barely understand the performance of the French government, and Austria had not invaded France, so it was difficult for them to share the same enemy.

The British actually did nothing but protest. According to the prior analysis, at this time, the British should have pulled in the French, plus a group of younger brothers to come over to put pressure on Austria.

This kind of non-scripted play made Franz a headache. Metternich, the Foreign Minister, is still presiding over Rome, and the Foreign Office gives two answers:

1. The British were too busy with colonial expansion to take care of Austria;

2. The British wanted to provoke the contradictions between Prussia and Austria, and disintegrate the Triple Alliance between Prussia and Austria.

With the exception of a few cabinet members, the others did not know the contents of the secret treaties between Austria and Britain, France, and Russia, so it was naturally impossible to conduct a comprehensive analysis.

At this time, Franz suddenly discovered that in just over a year, Austria had signed so many secret agreements, which was simply incredible.

Had it not been for Metternich, the foreign minister, Franz suspected that the Austrian government would have collapsed.

Historically, Austria also tried to walk a tightrope between Britain, France and Russia, but in the end it failed to grasp the balance and turned all the three countries that could be allies of Britain, France and Russia into enemies.

The thought of it makes Franz shudder, not to mention that Austria is in a much better position now than it was in history, but once the diplomatic game collapses, it will fall into isolation in an instant.

Do you still need to think about the consequences?

Naturally, he is a man with his tail between his legs, and he farms at home in an instant. Quietly watch as Prussia unifies the German region, and then join them in challenging the world order.

Theoretically, the Austrian Empire, which had completed its internal reforms, would be much stronger than the historical Austro-Hungarian Empire, and perhaps the German-Austrian alliance could also have a counterattack.

However, this kind of thing is obviously not possible, Franz is ready, in case the situation is out of control, then Russia and Austria will join forces to fight Britain, France and Prussia head-on.

From a purely military point of view, it is unlikely that it will fail, at most it will be a defeat for both sides, and the war will end when Russia and Austria run out of money.

Historically, the Russians singled out Britain and France and lost the Crimean War, not because of military defeat, but because the government ran out of money, and if they had money, they could continue to fight.

Only 300,000 troops were lost, which was a complete drizzle for the woolly bears, and even if this number was increased tenfold, they still had enough gray livestock.

。 m.