"Find out what the Austrians really mean?" Prime Minister Gladstone asked

After Prussia announced the moratorium on its debts, the London government was immediately suspicious of Austria, and a first investigation revealed what role the Vienna government played.

There is no way to keep this kind of thing secret, and if Austria does not jump out to cheer it on, the Berlin government does not have the courage to do so.

Foreign Secretary Granville George Levisen-Gower: "On the surface, the Austrians are trying to drive a wedge between us and Prussia, and they have succeeded.

Our intelligence officers have discovered that Austria's rail traffic has skyrocketed in recent times, and an in-depth investigation has revealed that a large number of strategic goods are converging towards the port.

The Austrians seemed to be preparing for a war, but their army was not unusually mobile, and it was not supposed to be headed for France. ”

After the outbreak of the Paris Revolution, the London government closely monitored the movements of Austria, fearing that if they were not careful, the balance of the European continent would be upset.

In terms of interests, France and Austria have been fighting for continental supremacy for many years, and now that France is ill, Austria has enough motivation to fall into the trap.

However, France is not a soft persimmon, and even if civil strife breaks out, it is not easy to provoke. Without adequate preparation, Austria could not have done it blindly.

Looking at the world map, Gladstone nodded, and said thoughtfully: "If there is no military mobilization, then the target that Austria wants to do this time should not be very strong."

The Vienna system had just been established, the Austrians were not going to slap themselves in the face, and the war was mostly outside Europe.

The Far East, South America, the Near East, or the African colonies, do you think the Austrians want to attack the place? ”

Colonial Chancellor Primroth analyzed: "The Far East is unlikely, Austria has limited power there, and it is not their strategic focus.

The odds of South America are also slim, and the Panamanian independence movement is going so well that there is no need to increase investment unless they are prepared to swallow the Republic of Colombia in one gulp.

Colonial contention in both the Near East and Africa was possible, and the Ottomans were the feud of the Habsburgs, and Franz repeatedly stated in public that he wanted to eliminate this ......

The colonial core of France and Austria was on the African continent, and the two countries were afraid of each other's strength, coupled with geographical constraints, so that no large-scale conflict broke out, and the Vienna government had the motive to fall into the ground.

I think they're more suspicious of Egypt's actions. An attack on the Ottoman Empire could be done at any time, and the opportunity to seize the Suez Canal could be just this one.

France was very tough on the outside world and offended many people in the colonial struggle. After the outbreak of the civil war, many countries made small moves, including we also wanted a piece of the pie.

There was no war, there was a lack of a leader. If Austria takes the lead, the feast of carving up the French colonies will erupt.

France, having lost its overseas colonies, would hardly have the strength to threaten Austria even if the civil war was over and it would have increased and decreased. ”

Franco-Austrian condominium of the Suez Canal, that is no way, does not mean that everyone does not want to monopolize it.

Today, unlike in the past, it now has the strength to dominate the Suez Canal. As long as the Egyptian region is taken, the Austrian Asian and African colonies will be connected, and they are not afraid of prying eyes at all.

Foreign Secretary George retorted: "My opinion is quite the opposite, and in the present international situation, the chances of Austria attacking the Egyptian region are very small. ”

Then he picked up a baton, walked to the hanging world map and pointed: "This is Austria, and you can see from the map how bad their strategic position is, and it can be described as a strong enemy."

In recent years, the Vienna government has successfully abolished the Ottoman Empire through diplomatic vertical and horizontal + military strikes, and used the Russo-Prussian War to finish Prussia and the Russians to lose their vitality, and the situation has gradually improved.

In the short term, the capture of Egypt and the attack on the French Empire may be more profitable; But this would worsen Franco-Austrian relations, and France was Austria's worst enemy after the end of the Civil War.

History repeats itself when France and the Ottomans united to form an anti-Habsburg dynasty. In the interest trend, the Russians will most likely join in.

Against this backdrop, it was difficult for Austria to find allies, and even the pro-Austrian German states were likely to lead to an anti-Habsburg alliance. ”

George drew a circle on the map with his baton and pressed a little harder: "There are enemies on all sides, once war breaks out, Austria will be exhausted, and no matter how strong the national strength is, it will not be able to withstand such a toss."

In the long run, it is Austria that needs most to continue to maintain friendly relations with the French, to take the opportunity to destroy the Ottoman Empire, and to obtain a stable rear. ”

The "strategy" determined by the geographical location cannot deceive people, the map is laid out there, and you can see it at a glance.

The revival of Austria, in the heart of Europe, is a miracle in itself.

Behind this miracle is a series of diplomatic crossings, while maintaining friendly relations with many countries, creating conditions for revival.

Needless to say, if Austria's plan is discovered, of course, it will be sabotage, or it will live up to the reputation of "-stirring stick".

……

The British were still a step slower, the success of the Paris Revolution had emboldened Austria, and the Vienna government had decided to cut through the mess quickly and not wait for diplomatic results.

Franz: "Has the pretext for war been found?" ”

The key to Austria's war was no longer the international situation.

A gunshot rang out in Paris, pushing the European revolution to a climax again, and no one dared to risk the world to start a war in defense of the Ottoman Empire.

Not to mention strength, after the blows of two wars in the Near East, the Ottoman Empire has long been weakened.

Now everything is ready, and only one "excuse" for war is owed. For this plausible excuse, Franz's hair was about to fall out.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "We have the evidence of the massacre of the Amerians by the Ottoman government, including 1,867 citizens of the Reich. ”

With that, Wesenberg took out a thick stack of photographs from the envelope, on which were images of the massacre carried out by the Ottoman soldiers.

If it weren't for the fact that after looking through a few photos, it felt a little familiar, and Franz almost believed it.

The photos are definitely real, and with the photography technology of these years, it is unrealistic to want to fake them.

It's just that there may be a little error in the time of the occurrence, and it is only a few years in advance.

The timing is not critical, as long as the content of the photo is real, it is enough.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz still took out the most impressive photo of "Gatling Strafing Refugees": "If it has been published in the newspaper, don't publish it to the public." ”

Weisenberg replied without changing his face: "Your Majesty, rest assured, these photos have not been published.

If you feel familiar, it may be that the content of the shooting is somewhat close, but there is still a difference in substance. ”

Franz nodded, still trusting the eyes of professionals. The task of creating a pretext for war was entrusted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and not to the military, mainly because of the "professionalism".

Otherwise, if some soldiers are missing or sunken, this kind of excuse for holding back will not be justified at all.

Don't say that people in the world will believe it, even in China.

In contrast, the deaths of thousands of Imperial citizens in the Foreign Office were far more shocking.

Anyway, people are dead, and the Vienna government says that they are Austrian citizens, so Austrian citizens are nothing more than a question of renewing a nationality.

The numbers are too big, it doesn't matter. The purpose of making this big number is to divert everyone's attention.

Shifting everyone's attention to quantity, deep down I couldn't help but accept the murder of Austrian citizens in the Ottoman Empire.

The problem of quantity, it is a big deal to rehabilitate them after the war. Replace citizens with "immigrants who apply for approval", reduce the number of citizens killed, and dump the blame on unscrupulous media.

In any case, until the dust settles, the Vienna government will not state the number of people killed in official documents. How the outside world interprets it, just feel free.

……

On April 20, 1882, when the European world was still immersed in the Paris Revolution, a news article published by the Balkan daily newspaper "Ottoman massacre of Austrian citizens" broke the situation.

The number of "1867" has attracted people who eat melons in various places. A number of newspapers followed suit, but the number diversified.

The largest number has exceeded 10,000, and at least only 2 people have died, and they were mistakenly hit by the auxiliary car when the Ottoman Empire was massacring the ethnic minorities in the country.

It didn't matter how many there were, in any case the Austrians were furious. The bloody photos have touched everyone's bottom line, and all walks of life have asked the government to punish the Ottoman Empire.

As a result, on 22 April 1882, the Vienna government sent an official note to the Ottoman Empire to negotiate the massacre.

The Ottoman government, which knew nothing, received an Austrian diplomatic note in a bewildered face, and it took a while to react - no, dangerous.

Originally, it was to find fault, and the negotiation naturally could not go smoothly. On 24 April 1882, the Vienna government unilaterally announced the breakdown of the negotiations.

The reason was that Austria requested to send an investigation team to conduct an on-the-spot investigation into the territory of the Ottoman Empire, but the Ottoman government refused.

The massacres of minorities existed, and not so long ago several Armenian villages were destroyed in the national conflict in the country, but this was not the main reason for the Ottoman government's refusal.

As long as it can be proved that there was no massacre of Austrian citizens, these things are small problems, and they are scolded by public opinion for a while, and they have always been attacked by European public opinion anyway.

The problem is that at the same time as the investigation team was sent, Austria also asked for troops to be sent to protect it, and this number was as high as a division, which was unbearable.

The Russo-Prussian War had already proven the transport capabilities of airships, and it would be suicide to put an Austrian infantry division inland.

The reasons for the refusal were naturally selectively ignored by the Austrian media. The Ottoman Empire is full of barbarians, and for the safety of the investigation team, troops must be sent to protect it!

Crowded?

It is only an infantry division, and as long as the Ottoman government has no ghosts in its heart, it should not be feared.

The angles from which both sides think about the problem are not on the same channel, and the conclusions drawn in the end are naturally different.

After the negotiations broke down, the cries of retaliation in Austria suddenly rose to a height.

The voices of the main war faction gradually overwhelmed the anti-war faction, and the atmosphere of war became more and more intense.

……