The cold wind is faint, and St. Petersburg in September is already a little cool. In the Winter Palace, Alexander II was still dealing with government affairs, and the wrinkles on his forehead told the vicissitudes of time.

After the rise and fall of the Russian Empire, Alexander II had a strong sense of mission and did not allow himself to indulge in the slightest.

A man in his forties and fifties approached and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is top-secret news from Vienna. ”

After receiving the sealed information and confirming the seal, Alexander II pointed to the secret document and said slowly: "Got it, Ferens, you go out!" ”

What can be called top-secret information is definitely that something big happened, Alexander II did not have a hobby of sharing information with those around him, it had nothing to do with trust, it was just the instinct of the monarch.

opened the secret letter, and the content has already happened in half a month. There was no way, there was no radio in those days, and if the news was spread by wired telegraph, how could it be concealed from the Austrians?

It's not good to use a password, that's equivalent to telling people that there is a problem with this news, come and check!

In this era, telegraphs were charged according to the number of words, and ordinary telegrams only had a few words. Obviously, the transmission of information should not be so hasty, and if the meaning is not clearly expressed, it will be a disaster.

From Vienna to St. Petersburg, it took only half a month, and this efficiency is already the limit of the times.

As the minutes passed, the wrinkles on Alexander II's forehead became tighter and tighter. Finally, after reading the secret letter, a sigh slowly came out.

At this moment Alexander II was confused, and things did not go according to his plan. The Viennese government did not place as much emphasis on monetary hegemony as he had anticipated.

Of course, it was possible that it was a smoke bomb that was released, but he didn't dare to gamble. The consequences of this misjudgment can be catastrophic.

Abandon the plan, that's impossible. If it is not possible to obtain sufficient capital from the outside world this time, the development of the Russian Empire will suffer.

It doesn't matter in normal times, it's better to slow down the development, and you can also lay a more solid foundation.

Not now, the enemy won't leave them that much time. If the Russian Empire is not able to increase its strength in the shortest possible time, it will be destroyed before they can develop.

Don't look at the Russian Empire is still a giant, but it can't stand the surrounding enemies, one can't eat them, and more than a dozen families rush to it, so it's not necessarily.

In the event of another defeat, the prestige that the Russian Empire had accumulated over the centuries would be lost. The best result is to survive like the Ottoman Empire.

This is a dead knot. Having turned to the British, financial aid could be obtained, but there was a high risk that Austria, the most important ally, would be lost; To continue to maintain the Russian-Austrian alliance, there is no way to solve the problem of funding.

If Russia wants to win the next war, Austria's support is crucial, at least if the Austrians don't fall to Prussia. This is determined by geopolitics, and Britain and France will have to take a back seat on this issue.

The Russian-Austrian alliance is still easy to do, and it does not have to pay a price to get the unconditional support of Austria. If there is no covenant, it will be a matter of interest.

There was also a voice deep inside telling him: be careful, things are not so simple.

In order to break up the Russian-Austrian alliance, in order to establish the hegemony of the pound currency, the British naturally bid for reasons. But what if the goal is achieved? Who knows if the British will default?

Treaties are often just a piece of waste paper. What if the British don't do it, or if they make a discount in the process?

It is difficult to recover from the water, and it is difficult to turn back after taking this step. It is easy to break up the Russian-Austrian alliance, but it is even more difficult to build it.

Alexander II had anti-Austrian tendencies, which were based on the strength of the Russian Empire. Now that the Russian Empire has declined, the Russo-Austrian alliance has become crucial.

Now he somewhat understands why Nicholas I insisted on creating the Russo-Austrian Alliance. This alliance existed not only to seize Constantinople, but also to guarantee the strategic security of the Russian Empire.

As long as this alliance exists, there is no fear of invasion of European territory by foreign enemies. Even now, Prussia will never dare to take action against them until the Covenant is dissolved.

After the defeat of the Russo-Prussian War, Russia was able to successfully pass the dangerous period, and the role of the Russian-Austrian alliance was also the most important factor in it.

After the establishment of the Russian-Austrian alliance, both countries have reaped huge benefits. Russia successfully expanded in the Balkans and captured the coveted Constantinople; Austria expanded in the Balkans and also annexed South Germany to re-establish the HRE Empire.

If he wished, Alexander II could also gain access to the Dardanelles through a territorial exchange, controlling the shipping routes to the Mediterranean.

At the beginning of his succession, he would have found a way to make this territorial deal with Austria and expand Russia's influence into the Mediterranean.

Now there are no more such unrealistic illusions, it is easy to enter the Mediterranean, but it is difficult to gain a foothold.

If it weren't for the establishment of the British, French and Austrian Triple Alliance, the British were all squeezed out, why would Russia gain a foothold in the Mediterranean?

……

The more you think about it, the harder it is to make up your mind. You can't do without money, and the Russian-Austrian alliance is also very important, which is destined to be a difficult choice.

In fact, Alexander II had little choice at all, and whether the Russian-Austrian alliance could be maintained or not was not only something he could decide, but also the position of the Vienna government.

If the Austrians didn't want to renew the contract, then even if he didn't cooperate with the British, the alliance would also go bankrupt.

It's just that Franz wants to save face, when the Russian-Austrian alliance was established, it was in a period of weakness in Austria, and to a certain extent, it was the Russians who pulled Austria along.

Because of the need for face, the Vienna government gives the outside world the impression that it has always been defending the Russian-Austrian alliance, and there is no intention of falling into the ground.

This delusion made Alexander II miscalculate. It was only then that he tried to raise his own price through Britain and France to obtain more loans from the Vienna government.

As a result, the first step out, and now I am in an embarrassing situation. The Vienna government seems to be annoyed and angry, and does not play its cards at all.

Alexander II's headache, Franz didn't know, he himself was still annoyed. The situation in Mexico finally collapsed, and less than a week after the withdrawal of French troops, Massimiliano I lost control of the country.

Now that Empress Carlotta had returned to Europe for help, she had not been able to convince the French and had now returned to Vienna.

It's just a matter of asking for help, but there are also benefits. It was a pity that most of Mexico's property was mortgaged to the French, and Massimiliano I had little leverage in his hands.

There was not even money to recruit mercenaries, and the lessons of history taught Franz that the emperor would basically not end well if he was poor like this.

The muddy waters of Mexico, Franz will not go. Let Empress Carlotta persuade Massimiliano I to abdicate, but instead he was educated, and Franz was so angry that he left on the spot.

There is no way to communicate with people who are not in their right minds, what "the Mexican people need ......"? In Franz's opinion, the Mexican people are now eager to send Massimiliano I to the guillotine.

There is no such thing as talking nonsense with your eyes open. If at the beginning of the succession, Massimiliano I still had a chance to turn the tide, but now no one can go up.

The patience of the people has been tossed and gone, and the reforms of so many years have only stayed on paper and been introduced as a matter of course: the policies that benefit the country and the people have finally become policies that bring disaster to the country and the people.

Turned into a lonely emperor, there was only a bunch of mouths left around him, and Franz didn't know what to say.

Without support in Austria, Empress Carlotta went to other European countries for help. Without even thinking about it, Franz knew that this could not be fruitful.

No good, who wants to wade into the muddy waters of Mexico. The French have learned from the past, and everyone should think twice.

Now Franz waited for the rebels to break through Mexico City, and then lure Massimiliano I back to his homeland.

This time will not be too long, as soon as the French army withdraws, the rebels will kick off a major counteroffensive. It is better to count on the Mexican government forces to suppress the rebellion than to expect the rebels to break out into infighting and be torn apart in internal strife.

Now the Mexican rebel army is also full of internal contradictions, mixed with a large number of conservatives and racists, as long as these contradictions are detonated, they will immediately fall apart.

Until then, though, they have a common goal to get Massimiliano I out of here. When this goal is accomplished, Mexico will embark on a century-long infighting.

It is worth mentioning that many of the leaders of the rebel army were still from the royalists, the constitutionalist, and even the heroes who supported Macimiliano at the beginning.

To be able to turn them all into a revolutionary party, Franz had to admit that Massimiliano I was still capable. The emperor has done this, and there are few in the history of the world.

However, these people did not have to be proud for long, and when the revolution succeeded, it was their turn to be unlucky. If they are doing well, where will the faces of the Habsburgs go?

Massimiliano did a garbage job in Mexico, so it can only make them do a worse job, and someone must set it off to save face a little.

The gang of people in the original time and space did not become a climate, and they fell into infighting as soon as they took power, and now Franz is just pushing it. Let the warlord melee come early, and expand the sphere of influence by the way.

No, it can't be said to have come in advance, it should be the corrective force of history, so that history can return to its original track.

Because of Franz's butterfly effect, the French put in more force, allowing the Mexican Empire to hold out for a few more years.