Franz's breakfast was very simple, bread, jam, milk, and some fruits and vegetables, which was about the same as the middle-class standard.

It's just that coffee has been replaced with milk, perhaps due to the influence of his previous life, Franz has no love for coffee, and even he prefers brown bread.

The black bread in the court was naturally different from the black bread with messy things added to the outside world, and at Franz's request, melon seeds, sesame seeds, and walnuts were added to it......

Today there are more people, and the kitchen preparation is naturally more sumptuous, with the addition of coffee, sandwiches, butter, pastries, ham.

Everyone's taste preferences are different, and breakfast is also chosen according to your taste. The relationship between European monarchs and ministers is different from that in the East, everyone is very casual when dining, and there is no such caution.

After breakfast, everyone has their schedules and goes off to start their day.

"Your Majesty, the time for your appointment with Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich is coming soon." The maid Jenny reminded

Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich was the eldest son of Nicholas I, the famous Alexander II in history, who completed the reform of serfdom in Russia.

He was also a scholar who mastered four foreign languages, English, German, French, and Polish, and was the most educated of all the tsars of the Russian Empire.

Alexander Nikolayevich and Franz have many similarities, both of them received military training from childhood, and both have a military temperament in their style, and at the same time they are both academic tyrants.

Two people who originally shared a common language should have become friends, but unfortunately after the outbreak of the Crimean War, the two sides stood on opposite sides.

Naturally, history is about to change now, and Austria must have at least one stable ally in the midst of four wars.

At the moment, the best option is Russia. Despite their greed, it is difficult to take advantage of them when they are allies.

However, this kind of alliance with the imperial state is much more reliable than that of the British who only look at interests, and the possibility of the Tsar's personal thinking can sometimes be put above the national interests and stabbed in the back is much lower.

Franz had already decided to abandon the struggle for hegemony in the Near East, and if the Russians wanted to occupy Constantinople, it would be better for Austria to let them go, and it would not matter to Austria that there was more or less interest in the Balkans.

Of course, the most important thing is that Russia is also full of internal contradictions, and it is already a paper tiger with a strong external power and a dry middle, and it is impossible to really grow big before solving internal problems.

……

In September, the weather in Vienna is cool after autumn, the rain is cool after autumn, and the weather is cool for a long time. The earth presents a gratifying harvest scene, which makes people feel refreshed and happy, and makes people sing and dance. But at the same time, it makes people feel stunned and think calmly.

People who can talk to each other on an equal footing are naturally very casual to get along with. This was not the first time Alexander had visited Austria, having visited Vienna as early as 1838.

It's just that Franz was still a little kid at that time, and the two sides had met and had a little impression of each other, but they couldn't talk about any friendship.

As Emperor Franz, it was no longer possible to be a tour guide for others, although if the visitor was a beautiful princess, there should be an exception.

Alexander has already begun to get involved in Russian politics, and the crown prince has a big say in politics, and the meeting between the two is also because of politics.

After a period of pleasantries, the two sides moved on to the topic of today's conversation.

"Russia and Austria have a long history, and it is necessary for us to have more in-depth communication on international issues and achieve win-win cooperation as much as possible.

The Ottoman Empire was in decline, and Russia and Austria should reach an agreement on the Near East as soon as possible, so as not to leave Britain and France with an opportunity to take advantage of. Franz proposed

Compared with the Ottoman Empire at its peak, the Ottoman Empire in this period did decline, but their nature of being a foreign power and a cadre in the middle has not been exposed, and the great powers have not yet set off a frenzy to carve up the Ottoman Empire.

"Of course, the Ottoman Empire is our common enemy, and it is natural to strike at the enemy quickly. They are carrying out internal reforms, which are not so easy to deal with once they are completed. Alexander said seriously

"Are the Russians now ready to do something against the Ottoman Empire?"

This doubt flashed in Franz's mind, the Russo-Turkish war averaged once every ten years, and the time was almost up again.

"In that case, Alexander might as well make a division of the two countries' spheres of influence in the Balkans, so as not to cause unnecessary conflicts and affect relations between the two countries." Franz proposed

Partition of the Balkans? Alexander's face changed dramatically, which meant that Austria was no longer opposed to Russian expansion into the Near East.

It soon became clear to Alexander that in the just-concluded Austro-Saxon War, Austria had given up its expansion in Italy because of the intervention of the British.

Then Austria was left with little choice, either to continue to unify the German regions to the west, or to advance towards the Balkans.

If the German regions were so easy to unify, the Habsburgs would have unified Germany long ago, so why wait until now?

In order to unify the German region, the Habsburg dynasty was wiped out without even setting the sun. A large part of the decline of Spain was due to the fact that too much money was spent on participating in the melee of the German princes and not developing industry.

"There is no problem, in order to save the people of the Balkans from the evil Ottoman Empire, our two countries must cooperate sincerely." Alexander said cheerfully

Obviously, the negotiations on the division of specific interests cannot be completed in a few words, and even because of this issue, it is not surprising that the two countries have been talking for two or three years.

"While it is important to rescue the people of the Balkans, the friendship between our two countries is equally important, and I propose to support each other's core interests, and if there is a conflict, we can make amends elsewhere." Franz proposed

"Is Austria willing to support Russia in acquiring the Black Sea straits?" Alexander couldn't help but ask

The Black Sea Straits are not just Constantinople, the Russians are going to go further, and even the peninsula of Asia Minor must pay attention.

"Of course you can, Austria has no interest in the Black Sea straits, this is not our goal, and as allies we have no reason to hinder the actions of the Russian Empire!" Franz said cheerfully

He is not afraid of Russian greed, he is afraid of Russian indifference. At present, Britain and Russia are standing side by side on the European continent, and relying on the prestige fought in the war against France, the Russians claim to be the first army power in Europe.

Strength + interests are the best catalyst for ambition, watching the British make a lot of money by opening up colonies overseas, the Russians are no longer willing to control only land power.

Russia's sea area is very large, but unfortunately most of the area is icy and snowy, and the ports of the Arctic Ocean are frozen for a long time every year, and there is no environment for the development of the navy.

The only areas where it is possible to develop a navy are the Baltic and Black Seas, where the Russians have already failed in their actions and have now set their sights on the Black Sea.

Needless to say, anyone with a little military common sense knows that the Ottoman-controlled straits of the Black Sea are in the way, and Russia must kick off this stumbling block before going to the ocean.

Hearing the definite reply, Alexander's heart was not as calm as he appeared to be.

Austria actually relaxed its restrictions on Russia, which is different from history, in this time and space, Austria did not turn to Russia to suppress the domestic revolution, and naturally did not need to make compromises.

"Franz, Austria has completely changed the national policy, what do you want to gain? Danube Basin? Alexander asked

It's no wonder that Alexander was so excited, with the support of Austria, who would be able to block Russia from gaining the Black Sea straits?

The French are still busy with infighting, and they don't even have the time to carve up the Kingdom of Sardinia, which is close at hand, so where can they care about preventing the Russians from joining the struggle for hegemony in the Mediterranean?

Ottomans? Briton?

No, even if the British fully supported the Ottoman Empire, the Russians did not hesitate, and at sea did not say that the Russians did not fold them, but the Russians on land were unprecedentedly confident.

"On this issue, I suggest that we let someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs talk about it, and our identity is not suitable for quarreling over matters of interest." Franz reminded

He, the Austrian emperor, is okay and can be the master, but Alexander, the crown prince, is not necessarily.

Without the Tsar's authorization, even if an agreement is reached, who knows if something will happen? When the time comes, where will Alexander's face go?

If the two sides had reached an agreement now, and the Russians had been fast enough, perhaps they would have taken Constantinople before the French could have settled their internal problems, and the course of history could have been reversed.

Unless the Russians open up and defeat the British at sea, then Franz will admit it and obediently be the little brother of the woolly bear, which is no more likely than the chance of winning the National Football World Cup.

Otherwise, it is estimated that Britain and France will have to rely on their strong capital and the Russians to consume, and in the end, most of them will lose both.

This was what Franz would like to see the most, and it was in Austria's interest to win or lose.

The Russians were defeated, and Austria had the opportunity to expand further in the Balkans; Britain and France were defeated, and Austria, an overseas colony, could take an extra share.

……

。 m.