The two camps in Europe are facing each other, but it is not the four countries that are most worried. Whether it is Russia and Austria, or Britain and France, they all have their own advantages and are enough to protect themselves.

The real misfortune is the small countries sandwiched between the two major alliances. At present, the contradictions between the two camps have not intensified, and everyone can barely cope with them.

Once the conflict between the two sides escalates, everyone will be forced to take sides. In fact, geopolitics has already determined the direction of each country's position, and it is simply not for them to choose.

Western European countries can only support Britain and France, while Eastern European, Northern Europe, and Southern European countries must support Russia and Austria.

Neutrality?

There is no problem for the time being, once the two alliances are aligned, they will become the first victims.

No matter which side you fall towards, you will be beaten by the other side. Especially in the case of Belgium, the poor strategic location means that they cannot stand alone.

This, of course, is the worst possible outcome. In a short period of time, the two alliances showed no signs of war.

Leopold II, who had a strong sense of distress, could no longer sit still. Originally, Britain and Austria were both quasi-allies of Belgium, and everyone worked together to resist the expansion of the French into Central Europe.

Now that the situation has changed radically, and Britain and France have formed an alliance, is the original promise of the British to protect the security of Belgium still effective?

"Your Majesty, the Austrian Foreign Ministry has sent a note inviting us to conclude a treaty for the maintenance of peace and stability in Europe with Switzerland, the North German Confederation and Spain. ”

If you open the map, you can see that the above-mentioned countries are good neighbors of the French. After the exclusion of the French, the conclusion of such a treaty is self-evident to whom.

This could be seen as a counterattack to the Anglo-French alliance, and Austria was prepared to prove that it was possible to contain the French without the involvement of the British.

Leopold II asked suspiciously: "The Austrians only invited four countries to participate, and there were no more countries to invite?" ”

Theoretically, all four of these countries would have to face the threat of the French, and it would be easiest for them to move closer to Austria if they had a painful experience.

However, "anti-French" has always been a common matter for all European countries, not a single country's problem. The sudden change was difficult for Leopold II to accept.

Foreign Minister Jull replied affirmatively: "It is true that Austria has invited only four of us, and it is said that the Vienna government is worried that other countries will not have a painful and unfirm position to contain the French, and that they may accept the bribes of the French and cause sabotage in the middle of the alliance."

Perhaps in the eyes of the Vienna government, it was enough to curb the expansion of the French into the outside world, and the five countries joined forces. ”

This is also the opinion of most people, although France is strong, it has not opened a qualitative gap with Austria, and after the addition of the four countries of Sibireid, the anti-French alliance is stable.

It is better to have a small alliance that has common interests and can cooperate with each other than an alliance that is internally divided.

Prime Minister August sighed and said: "If so, then next, we are in big trouble."

Without the participation of European countries to share the pressure, the pro-French Spanish government would probably not participate, after all, the possibility of the French going west is almost zero, and their pressure is not great.

Because of their geographical location, Switzerland's position is not really important. If the Swiss government had insisted on neutrality, Austria would have most likely not persecuted it.

Choosing between France and Austria, the North German Confederation would definitely support Austria, and even if Britain and France formed an alliance, they would be more inclined to Austria.

Because of its strength, the North German Confederation was able to temporarily neutralize itself for a short period of time.

As long as the two alliances are not at war, they can act as a buffer between France and Austria, and there is no need to take clear sides for the time being.

What seems like a tentative invitation is actually forcing us to take sides. Between Russia and Austria and Britain and France, we must choose a side. ”

The most tragic thing is this, others can avoid it, and Belgium is left with hard work.

There is no way, the ambitions of the French against Belgium always need to be contained.

Originally, Britain and Austria were responsible for this heavy task, but now that the British have turned to form an alliance with the French, Austria is the only one who can continue to contain the ambitions of the French.

Now that Austria is rejected, Belgium will be left alone in the event of a French invasion in the future.

As for the British, everyone really has no confidence. Even if the London government is willing to intervene, Belgium will be dead before the expansion of the British Army is completed.

After hesitating for a while, Leopold II said slowly: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent someone to negotiate with Austria, and we can sign the conditions for joint defense against the French, but the precondition is that it must be kept strictly secret.

Austria doesn't care about offending the French, we don't have the capacity to cause trouble. Remember that in the treaty it was agreed that Austria would have to provide us with security.

At the same time, it is very important to send people to strengthen our ties with the North German Confederation, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and other countries. ”

Belgium was also forced to turn to Austria, and it was the French who were now ambitious for them, not Austria, hundreds of miles away.

To join the British and French side is to seek the skin of the tiger. The identity of an ally is worthless in the face of interests. If the operation is not good, it will be eaten alive.

The choice to sign a secret treaty was actually Leopold II's hedging strategy.

It's best to be able to hide from the world, but you can't hide it, you can be exposed one day later, and you can take risks one day later.

……

Compared to Belgium, the North German Confederation was buzzing, with a wide range of opposition and support.

Originally, it was said to be confidential, but before the argument came out, the news was already flying all over the sky.

There was no surprise, and when things were on the table, it also meant that Austria's co-optation plan had failed.

Under pressure from Britain and France, Spain and Switzerland politely rejected the proposal of the Vienna government, and Belgium was only secretly in contact, and the Belgian government did not dare to take sides on the surface.

……

When the news of the defeat came, Franz was not surprised. No one is a fool, and Austria's current anti-French alliance is essentially cannon fodder, and it can't fool smart people at all.

As the French economy recovers, the voices of the main war faction in the country are getting louder and louder.

The military, led by the aristocracy, wanted to fight for success, and the capitalists wanted to solve the problem of coal supply, which happened to be solved by war.

Otherwise, there would not have been a decoy thrown by the British, and the French government would have been willing to abandon the century-old hatred between the two countries - the alliance.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg took out a document and said: "Your Majesty, this is the preliminary result of negotiations with the Belgian government, and the biggest problem at present is the distribution of rights and duties.

The Belgian government, under the pretext of its own lack of strength, was only willing to bear part of the responsibility for the war.

It is limited to: the French invade Central Europe, and they will send troops into battle.

If war breaks out between us and the French in Italy, Belgium will only promise to provide material aid, and they will remain neutral on the surface. ”

Limited war liability is in fact equivalent to no war responsibility.

If you open the map of Europe, you can see that the best route for the French to invade Central Europe was to borrow from Belgium.

The enemy has hit the door, and even without a joint defense treaty, Belgium can only bite the bullet.

It seems that Austria has suffered a little, but in fact this is a relatively fair treaty.

With Belgium's size, if Fao were to start playing in Italy, it wouldn't have worked for them to join in.

The French could defeat them with a single division, and Austria would inevitably send troops to the rescue.

The greatest value of winning over Belgium is not to expect Belgium to burst out with strong combat strength and how much role it can play.

The main thing is that after the Austrian army has gained the upper hand on the battlefield, it can take advantage of Belgium to take advantage of the long drive and gain the strategic initiative.

Without much hesitation, Franz made a decision: "Agree to their request, but add a request for a passage."

If we go to war with the French and need to take advantage of it, as allies they have to let them go and help maintain the logistics.

In return, they also have their share of the spoils of war after victory, and the disputed territories between France and Belgium can be owned by them in their entirety. ”

Who wouldn't write a blank check, anyway, it was French territory that was promised, and Belgium would give them away if they had the appetite.

Not only Belgium, but in fact, whenever allies joined, Franz did not mind that they were given a piece of land in France.

When dealing with the enemy, it is natural to weaken it severely. The Franco-Prussian War in the original time and space did not end perfectly, that is, it did not weaken France in the true sense.

Whether it is compensation or land cutting, it can only make people feel pain, and it will not kill at all.

If the Kingdom of Prussia had been a little more flexible in diplomacy at that time, fooling Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and other countries, and pulling everyone up to share the spoils, perhaps the outcome would have been very different.

When all the neighbors took the benefits, everyone was on the same front. As a victor, no one wants to see another resurgence of the enemy.

When the time comes, it will be everyone who will work together to suppress France. No matter how powerful the government of Paris is, it cannot withstand so many enemies to take care of it together.