In a Parisian manor, where a banquet of the nobility was taking place, in a small and inconspicuous corner, British Foreign Secretary Thomas and Russian Foreign Secretary Karl Wassel gathered.

If the news spreads, the front page headlines of the Parisian newspapers will be booked first.

Carl Vorsel frowned and asked, "Mr. Thomas, didn't you ask me over just to have a drink?" ”

Originally, he was busy hooking up with the noble lady in the drinking party and having fun, but he was interrupted by Thomas, who came to the door, and it was strange that he was in a good mood.

Talking about things, Karl Wassel doesn't think he has anything to talk about with the British right now. Moreover, this occasion is not right, and the secrecy of covering one's ears and stealing the bell is simply deliberately for the Austrians to discover.

Thomas smiled and said, "Mr. Carl-Wusel, don't you think that after the annexation of South Germany, Austria is a little too strong?" ”

Karl Wussell's face changed, and there were many people in the tsarist government who felt that Austria was too strong, and he himself was one of them. It's just a matter of talking about it in the house, but now that it's been exposed by the British, he doesn't dare to admit it.

Who knows if there is Austrian eyeliner in this area, and even if there is none, presumably the British have a way to let Austria know what the conversation is about.

Carl Wassell's political ability is still passable, and he knows that this is a political trap dug up by the British, so he naturally will not follow the topic.

At that moment, Hao said unceremoniously: "Mr. Thomas, if this is the case, I won't worry about you, we can't do things before you dictate." ”

Ignoring his unreasonableness, Thomas still smiled and said: "Mr. Carl-Wasel, there are no eternal friends in this world, as long as there are eternal interests, today you and Austria are allies, and tomorrow you may become enemies."

Now for the sake of alliances, you have connived at Austrian expansion in Germany, and tomorrow you will be faced with a unified Central European empire.

It's always a good idea to do a little bit of preparation in advance.

Russia and Austria are too close to each other, and when Austria's European expansion is blocked, they will have to develop into the Near East, and sooner or later you will clash......"

Before Thomas could finish speaking, Karl Wassel left directly, and he already regretted that he had taken the liberty of engaging with the British.

The Russian-Austrian alliance is Russia's most important foreign policy, how can it be easily changed, and the alliance cannot be abandoned because of a possible threat.

Such an obvious sowing discord, if he can't see it, then there is really a problem.

This seemingly unhappy meeting has actually undergone a qualitative change in the eyes of those who have a heart.

Carl Wassel naturally did not notice these problems, and he had to admit that the British were very effective in sowing discord, and deep down he was also very jealous of Austria, just as the Austrian government was jealous of the Russians, and the allies also needed to be on guard!

That's where Thomas excels, once things are figured out, it's hard not to be affected.

Whether or not to pull Austria's hind legs became a difficult problem for Karl Wassell, and he hesitated.

After a sleepless night, the next day the conference was held normally, Thomas was attacked on the spot, and Carl Wassel involuntarily reduced his speech.

Originally, it was a wave of Britain and Prussia, a wave of Russia and Austria, the French were on the sidelines, and the Spanish representative was responsible for presiding over the meeting, and when the stalemate was over, he stood up and announced the adjournment.

Now that the attitude of the French has changed, and Karl Worsel is not supported enough, Metternich is under great pressure from the start.

However, the negotiation does not depend on the number of people, otherwise all the countries will be brought in, and there will be more people who oppose Austrian expansion, and the reasons do not need to be explained.

Metternich, who has experienced a hundred battles in the diplomatic circles, will naturally not be frightened, and no matter how the representatives of Britain, France and Prussia spray righteous words, anyway, I will not move.

Thomas threatened: "Mr. Metternich, if your country refuses to give up the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, then the countries will impose sanctions on you. ”

Metternich said without changing his face: "Well, we can make concessions, instead of establishing the Holy Roman Empire, let's establish a new Holy Roman Empire!" ”

This is completely evasive, and such a great effort is wasted, not to let Austria change its name and finish the matter, but to make them give up the interests they have in hand.

Further coercion and inducement, Thomas will not say at the conference, this must be communicated privately. You can't stand in the way of the Russians and turn Austria against you, right?

The Russians are not stupid, as long as the slightest spearhead is revealed, they will immediately react and take measures.

Thomas's previous series of work was actually just to create a gap between Russia and Austria and prepare for the breakup of the Russian-Austrian alliance.

Flies don't bite seamless eggs, if there is no gap between Russia and Austria, the British will have nowhere to start!

The second is to suppress Austria, this primary and secondary strategy, Thomas is very clear. Now it seems that the effect is very good, and the inaction of the Russians has clearly become a thorn in Metternich's heart.

After the meeting, without giving Metternich time, Thomas went to him for a showdown.

Either abandon the Russian-Austrian alliance, and Austria can swallow all the benefits it has in its hands; Either keep the Russian-Austrian alliance and spit out the benefits that have been eaten; Either to meet the Nine Nations to intervene in the coalition.

If it was an ordinary person, he would have been frightened a long time ago, and Metternich was also not calm in his heart, but he did not show the slightest flaw on the surface.

Directly ridiculed: "Mr. Thomas, this joke is not funny. Are you sure you're not kidding me?

The Netherlands and Belgium are at odds, Spain and Portugal are not much better, and if your country and the French had been able to cooperate closely, the war in the Near East would have ended long ago.

If you can bring this conflicted coalition into close proximity, then I have nothing to say that Austria does not have the strength to compete with the Nine Nations. ”

If this can be done, Thomas will not have to talk nonsense here, and the Austrian government will take care of the confession as soon as the coalition forces are dispatched.

Everyone is not stupid, if you want to interfere with Austria, you have to look at interests, and if the interests are not enough, even if the British forcibly pull them together, it will be a failure to work.

Perhaps, in the eyes of many people, it is more cost-effective to fight Austria than to pit teammates, at least you can borrow a knife to kill people and consume the enemy's strength.

This kind of pit teammates, the British have done a lot, it can be said that they have lowered the discipline between allies, and now everyone is following suit, and the intimate cooperation has long ceased to exist.

After revealing the weakness, Thomas said unhurriedly: "Mr. Metternich, these problems you mentioned exist, but even if the contradictions of the Nine-Nation Alliance are great, the advantage in strength cannot be ignored.

Even as long as the two countries join forces, your country may not be able to hold on.

Do not doubt our determination, it is a big deal to withdraw the coalition forces on the Crimean peninsula, as long as Constantinople is still in our hands, the initiative is in our hands.

If we make some concessions and recognize the Russian occupation of Bulgaria and the Danube Valley, what do you think are the chances of a Russian compromise?

Will the Russians take into account the Russian-Austrian alliance in the face of interests? The credibility of the tsarist government is clear to everyone, do you need to test it again? ”

Metternich said without changing his face: "Mr. Thomas, I admit that what you say is very reasonable. It's a pity that you can make concessions to the Russians, but the French can't make concessions!

Mr. Thomas, I suggest that it is necessary for you to walk the streets of Paris and see the attitude of the French population towards this war in the Near East. ”

There is no way, the French people in this era have been completely suppressed for a long time and have just been released.

Napoleon III launched the war against Russia, not only because of his personal will, but because the French people were dissatisfied with the defeat of the war against France and wanted revenge on the Russians.

Against this ideological background, to get the Paris government to make concessions is simply to get Napoleon III out of the way.

When it comes to their own interests, even if the British can fool again, Napoleon III will not be able to compromise.

The threat of the future, that's the future. If he made concessions now, the French people would not have such a long term of foresight and would immediately let him go.

At this point, Napoleon III could not win the war in the Near East, but he must not admit defeat, even if the losses of the French army on the battlefield are great, he must also end with a big victory.

You can't let the tsarist government act and deliberately create a big defeat, right? Nicholas I, who was born in a soldier, could not do this kind of thing, even if the interests were great.

The tsarist government could not afford to lose either, and if it lost, the position of the hegemon of the European continent would no longer exist, and the suppressed domestic contradictions would soon be detonated, and they would not be able to do anything about sacrificing themselves for others.

……

saint petersburg

Franz was living with a group of Russian aristocrats, eating, drinking, and having fun almost every day, living a very luxurious life.

Diplomatic PR? Except for exchanging the future strategy of the two countries with Nicholas I and further communicating politically, the rest of the matter is the responsibility of his subordinates.

On the question of this German reunification, Franz only mentioned it symbolically, and Nicholas I also gave a formulaic answer, and everything was done according to the provisions of the Covenant.

Then, most of the time, the future Emperor Alexander II was receiving him, and the tsar was also very busy, with official business to deal with every day, and there was not so much time to go out and wave.

Visiting the places of interest in St. Petersburg, attending aristocratic banquets, hooking up with aristocratic ladies by the way, in short, having a good time in St. Petersburg Franz.

The attendant whispered in Franz's ear: "Your Majesty, please take note of the telegram from the Paris Conference from Vienna. ”

Thanks to the establishment of the Russian-Austrian alliance, in order to strengthen communication between the two countries, the cable telegraph from St. Petersburg to Vienna was finally connected.

Franz was a responsible emperor, even if he was far away in St. Petersburg, he did not forget to pay attention to domestic affairs, especially the Paris Conference, which was the focus of attention.

After taking the telegram and reading it at first, Franz had a headache, he did not expect the British to make a move at the last moment.

Interfering with the coalition forces is not a question of whether to win or not, but whether to win or not!

It's not just a matter of fighting a wave, once the fire of war is ignited, you can't stop without the control of your personal will.

Is the difficulty really tied to the Russians against the entire European continent? As soon as the thought arose, Franz threw it away.

The Russians have a geographical advantage, they can not be cowardly, Austria will not be able to, once the war starts, it will become the front line, lose the essentials lunch, and win the war It will also suffer heavy losses, and Franz will not do the trading that is destined to lose money.

Looking at the map of Europe, Franz made a decision.

"Call back to the country, suggest that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicate with the French, and you can also pull the Russians together to make a posture for us to carve up the Kingdom of Prussia, and see how the British deal with it."

Not to see how the British coped, but how the Prussians coped. The British can also sit firmly on the Diaoyu Tai, and as long as the continent is not a monopoly, they can continue to play balance.

The Kingdom of Prussia is different, France, Russia and Austria divided Prussia, which is completely asking for their lives, they can't win one-on-one, and they can't fight one-on-three.

The French took the territory west of the Rhine, the Russians took Prussian Poland, and the Austrians got Berlin, and it seemed to be perfect.

No one has to worry about Austria getting bigger, France and Russia are expanding. With a friendship that shared the spoils, the war in the Near East could be stopped, and after taking the Rhineland, Napoleon III could also give an account to the people.

Franz was very interested in seeing Frederick Wilhelm IV's expression when he received this news, and it seemed acceptable for Austria to compensate for the interests of the Kingdom of Prussia if he could not get the South German region.

The only trouble is that the Kingdom of Prussia is a hard bone, the Russians have the easiest time with Prussian Poland, it is not difficult for the French to take the Henland region, and Austria will have to fight with the Kingdom of Prussia if it wants to make a move against the Berlin area.

The most troublesome thing is that once the fight is too fierce and the hands of both sides are stained with each other's blood, then the post-war rule is a copy of hell.

Specifically, you can refer to Switzerland, which was originally the ancestral land of the Habsburg Dynasty, because the original ancestors did not give their strength and did not suppress the rebellion of the Swiss nobles in time.