saint petersburg

The tsarist government was in a dilemma, Austria was expanding too fast, and it had to find a way to contain it.

However, the Russian-Austrian alliance could not be broken, and Austria was the only important ally of the tsarist government on the European continent and could never be lost.

Now Austria is not expanding beyond the scope of the treaty, and they cannot even find a pretext for intervening.

This has nothing to do with credibility, as long as the interests are suitable, the tsarist government does not care about selling teammates.

It is clear that the benefits now are not enough for the tsar to sell his teammates. Even if Britain and France abandoned the Ottoman Empire, the tsarist government would not be able to tear up the Russian-Austrian alliance.

The reason is very simple, the war in the Near East woke up the tsarist government and made them realize that they were not as strong as they expected. Since it's not strong enough, allies are needed.

Throughout the world, there are only a handful of countries that are qualified to be allies of Russia, and Austria, a traditional ally, is reliable.

Spain was unstable, and Isabel II was too busy with infighting to meddle in the affairs of the continent. Such an ally, if sent over, Nicholas I would not have wanted.

The two guys of Britain and France are powerful, but everyone is at war? How can a clear enemy, unquestioned, become an ally?

Looking at it again, the Kingdom of Prussia is a quasi-power, and putting aside the previous contradictions between the two sides, the Russians who are allied with the Kingdom of Prussia will obviously suffer.

When help was needed, the Prussians could not do anything; In turn, they had to support Prussia from time to time.

Finding allies is because of common interests, and if they can't take what they need, there is no way to form alliances, which is also the reason for the collapse of the three Nordic court systems.

Foreign Minister Karl Wossel said worriedly: "Your Majesty, the call for the reunification of the German regions is very high, and the nationalism of Bavaria is not the most fanatical, and they have all supported the unification war initiated by Austria with practical actions.

The other states were not much better, except for the Kingdom of Prussia, and the other states were likely to be lured by the Austrians by political means.

Now the Prussians were also intimidated and did not dare to intervene in the war with troops. What we had envisioned as a war for German unification turned into an armed march in Austria.

If we do not intervene, Britain and France will not be able to stop Austria's next move. ”

Allies also need to beware, Austria is developing too fast, and it is not a good thing for the Russians.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Arry Stanley Rhodes objected: "We cannot directly intervene in this war of German unification. The Russian-Austrian Secret Treaty has already demarcated the spheres of influence of the two countries, and we cannot break it until Austria has crossed the pre-agreed line.

The enemies of the Russian Empire were the Anglo-French Ottomans, and if they had the audacity to intervene in this war, they would only cheapen our enemies for nothing. Without Austria's support, we would not have been able to fight this war in the Near East.

The Austrian threat was only possible, and it was based on their unification of the German regions. The chances of unifying Germany are still slim, at least not before the Kingdom of Prussia has yet to succumb.

Moreover, this threat is not only against us, but now it is the French who should be most worried, and Austria is the greatest threat to them after the unification of the German regions. ”

Geopolitics determines the strategic threats of countries. The British Isles were cut off from mainland Europe, and the threat from the British could only come from the sea; After the reunification of the German regions, the French were the first to bear the brunt, and then to Russia.

"No, Mr. Aristanley Rhodes, you misunderstood. Interfering in this war and keeping the Covenant are not contradictory, and as long as we support the Austrians in obtaining the territory agreed upon in advance, it is not a breach of the Covenant.

In this matter, Britain and France can be the villains, and there is no need for us to directly clash with Austria. Carl Wassel explained

Aristanley Rhodes asked uncertainly: "You mean to divide the German regions and completely cut off the road to the unification of the German regions?" ”

Karl Wauselle replied in the affirmative: "Yes, it has been proven that after the awakening of nationalism, the reunification of the German regions will sooner or later take place if they are not divided."

It's too late to stop it, and if it's a little later, the Kingdom of Prussia will also be swayed by public opinion, and it will be difficult for us to prevent their unification! ”

"What are your specific plans?" Nicholas I asked with interest

Karl Woosell analyzed: "Your Majesty, this plan still needs the help of Britain and France, and it cannot be put forward by us, which will affect Russian-Austrian relations.

According to the current situation, the Austrians had little problem getting to the South German region, and if Britain and France were willing to stop it, they could let them do the wicked.

Prussia could gain some expansion in North Germany, the Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein was given to the Danes, and the states in the western region could be merged with Belgium and the Netherlands.

Of course, the West German states didn't care about our business, and the British themselves had a headache. It didn't matter if it was for Prussia, Belgium or the Netherlands, or for independence.

As long as these economically developed regions were not annexed by Austria, their power would not skyrocket. After the division of Germany, Austria's expansion was blocked, and they had to fight for overseas colonies.

This is bound to clash with Britain and France, and after having a common enemy, the relationship between the Russian-Austrian alliance in the future is expected to go further. ”

Once and for all, the best option is indeed to solve the problem, as long as the German region is completely divided, no country on the European continent can threaten the security of the Russian Empire.

At least for the time being, it is not clear that one country has the strength to threaten Russia. Even the French, who were most feared by the Tsarist government, were not as terrible as they were in Napoleon's time.

……

Paris

The situation changed so quickly that Napoleon III's plan to sit on the tiger and watch the tiger fight had already died before it could begin.

All the states of Germany became ostriches, as if the Bavarian government had really committed a great crime, and Austria was expected to overthrow their rule.

Well, with the intelligence coming from Bavaria, Napoleon III had to admit that Austria was indeed expected this time.

This meant that the annexation of Bavaria by Austria would have been easy, and it would have been an armed march from beginning to end, with casualties on both sides adding up to no more than three figures. With a good popular base, there is no problem at all in ruling in the future.

Napoleon III cursed: "The news from the German region, everyone knows."

The situation is completely out of control, and if we don't take any more action, it may not be long before Austria can rebuild that damned HRE Empire.

If you don't want to see the monster that has haunted France for hundreds of years come back to life, then find a way to strangle them now! ”

The Minister of the Interior, Pessini, proposed: "Your Majesty, in the present situation, we must be prepared for armed intervention. Considering the current situation in the German region, these states will not become our allies either.

Austria is not weak, and for the sake of insurance, it is better to be able to act in conjunction with Britain and Russia. The most important thing now is to coordinate diplomatic relations and ensure that the great powers are on the same page. ”

Pesini was the mastermind of Napoleon III, including the plan for the restoration, which he single-handedly formulated. He may not be good at governing the country, but he is definitely a master at playing power.

It was obviously to persuade Napoleon III not to presumptuously intervene in this war, but when he said it, it became a diplomatic need.

He also vaguely reminded Napoleon III that the main French forces were still on the battlefield in the Near East, and the domestic troops were empty, and if these troops were sent, they would contribute to the enemy's achievements.

There is no way, the whole army of the Napoleonic era is a thing of the past. The current French Empire has not yet caught up with Prussia in terms of mobilization speed.

Isn't it a joke that you don't have enough troops in your hands and jump out to intervene by force?

Napoleon III asked with concern: "How long will it take for us to have enough troops to intervene in this war?" ”

War Minister Arnault thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, because of the war in the Near East, our standing army now exceeds 800,000, and a large number of reserves have been recruited.

There were 280,000 troops on the Crimean Peninsula, 200,000 in Constantinople, 154,000 in the overseas colonies, and less than 170,000 troops at home.

We are now able to mobilize 150,000 young people every month to join the army, and these recruits need at least three months of training before they can be put on the battlefield.

If we want to intervene in this war alone, it will take at least half a year for us to have enough troops. ”

Napoleon III completely gave up the idea of going it alone. This was all a good thing done by the July Dynasty, and during the Louis-Philippe period, the standing army of France was usually more than 200,000, and the system of all soldiers was abandoned.

After Napoleon III ascended to the throne, the army was expanded to 800,000, and where there were so many reservists could be recruited directly.

There is no shortage of young people of appropriate age in France, but these people can go to war without taking up arms, and they must also undergo a certain amount of training.

Three months of basic training, in fact, is already cannon fodder among cannon fodder, and the combat effectiveness is pitiful. Such an unreliable army, Napoleon III did not dare to take to the battlefield.

It's not that the French are really poor in mobilization, everyone is similar in this era, and before Franz reformed the military system, Austria's mobilization ability was similar to that of the French.

In this era, the countries that can quickly mobilize 800,000 troops out of Europe are Russia, France and Austria. Of course, there are still many countries that can gather the number of people, but there is no way to guarantee the combat effectiveness.

In light of the situation in France, Napoleon III quickly came to the conclusion that this armed intervention would be difficult to continue.

Unless the Austrians really want to unify Germany, which makes everyone anxious. Britain, France, and Russia withdrew the warring troops, otherwise there would not be enough troops in everyone's hands now.

His judgment was not wrong, the British immediately abandoned the plan of armed intervention because the British Army could not come up with a large enough force.

……

While countries were preparing, Franz was not idle, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was busy, and PR was launched across the continent.

Even Switzerland, which had a feud with the Habsburgs, did not let go, and hatred was a thing of the past. Relations between the two countries had been normalized since the declaration of permanent neutrality at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Of course, this is not the focus of Austrian PR, but just a routine affair to make an attitude to the Swiss government.

Unless Switzerland is willing to renounce its position of neutrality, it is impossible for them to participate in this war, and in fact they are not capable of doing so.

At this time, Switzerland was not the developed country of later generations, and as a mountainous country, it was naturally poor before the completion of industrialization.

Outside the German states, the biggest PR targets were actually the French. The Russians can't be counted, this was done in advance, and now it is just a matter of continuing to communicate.

It's not that Franz didn't want to do the work of the British, the problem was that John Bull was too shrewd, and Austria had no interests to buy them.

On the contrary, it is the French, who have a common language and can pay a certain price for buying. Cutting flesh on his own body, Franz was afraid of pain, so he could only be generous to others.

……