What you want is always easy to bear fruit. The tsarist government quickly persuaded Austria, and both sides unanimously decided to beat the Ottomans severely.

Now it's just a matter of detail, and we need to continue to communicate. For example: when to attack? Where to start the offensive? Distribution of benefits after the war......

A preliminary agreement was reached, and Alexander II's mood did not ease up. The current state of the Russian Empire is not good, and it is theoretically not suitable to provoke a war at this point in time.

The Ottoman Empire was also not the first choice of the tsarist government, and Alexander II preferred to beat the Kingdom of Prussia now, if possible.

It is a pity that the Vienna government did not cooperate, and no matter how they put forward conditions, even if they supported Austria for the unification of the German regions, they could not make the Vienna government move.

This was also expected by Alexander II, and such promises between countries were so unreliable that the Viennese government could not easily believe them.

If Austria really reunifies the German region, it is estimated that Russia and Austria will also turn their faces. In the face of interests, allies are not worth mentioning at all.

The rest had no choice, the Far East was beyond the reach of the whip, and the value was too low, which did not help the domestic agricultural crisis.

The khanates of Central Asia were a good target, but when the war began in Central Asia, all the pressure fell on the tsarist government.

Now the tsarist government is still waiting for the British to take out loans for military expenses, if you run to beat someone's younger brother, isn't it looking for a draw?

All that was left was the unlucky Ottoman Empire, an enemy with a lot of size and meat, enough to divide the two countries. International pressure could also be left to the Vienna government to deal with, and Alexander II understood that they really couldn't play diplomacy.

Fighting in conjunction with Austria, this attack did not need to be fought in the Caucasus, and any area along the Ottoman coast could be turned into a battlefield.

Alexander II, who was good at learning, now attached great importance to logistics. He will not go on a military adventure without mobilizing enough supplies.

"Has the Vienna government promised to provide us with strategic supplies?"

The second reason for joining forces with Austria was logistics, and the offensive was mainly supplied by sea, and the logistical pressure was relatively small.

The most critical issue is not in transport, but mainly in the issue of "money". The tsarist government was not financially good, and the funds that had been raised with great difficulty had to be used to build railways, and there was no money for war at all.

If you don't have any money, you naturally have to find allies. There is no need for real money, as long as the Viennese government is willing to pay for the supply of strategic materials, then they are not afraid of anything.

Foreign Secretary Chris Basham: "Your Majesty, the Austrians have made concessions, and they have agreed to provide us with half a thousand troops for half a year's worth of war materiel.

It's just that in the division of interests, this time we suffered a lot of losses, the Austrians had a great appetite, they wanted the Middle East and half of Asia Minor. ”

On the surface, the Vienna government wants to destroy the Ottoman Empire in one go and completely solve this old enemy, and the interests will naturally be contested.

Alexander II shook his head: "It's all a small problem, most of the Middle East is desert, and the actual value is not high, and we can't reach it, so they can give it to them if they want."

If we can't put an end to the intervention of European countries, we will not be able to eat the Ottoman Empire at all.

As long as we get the Caucasus and half of Asia Minor, we will not suffer. ”

The Middle East at this time left everyone with the impression of a desert, although the area is large, but the actual value is not high.

Not knowing what he threw out, Alexander II naturally did not feel at a loss. On the bright side, Austria has a heavier responsibility, and it is normal for Austria to take the largest share.

Chris Basham nodded in agreement, this war tsarist government has many goals to achieve:

First, alleviate the domestic food crisis and avoid large-scale agricultural bankruptcy;

second, to take out the Ottoman Empire and solve the enemy in the next Russo-Prussian war in advance;

third, to restore the morale of the army through victory and get rid of the shadow brought about by the Russo-Prussian War;

Fourth, expand power and establish the prestige of the monarch;

……

To achieve the above goals, preparation is naturally indispensable. The tsarist government could not afford to lose, and Alexander II himself could not afford to lose.

Large-scale military preparations could not deceive people, and with the actions of the Russians, Prussia, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire followed suit, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the continent.

It was true that Wilhelm I wanted to take the fire out of the fire, but before the war began, no one dared to guarantee that the Russians would turn against them with a false shot.

Prussia did not have a strong foundation, and if it failed once, it would be doomed. The Berlin government could not afford to gamble, so it could only follow suit and prepare for war.

On the contrary, Austria, as one of the protagonists, did not move much. This is not that Franz is arrogant, the main thing is that he is not ready to take out the Ottoman Empire in one fell swoop.

The Russians are willing to fight hard, and Franz will not object, anyway, there are so many strategic materials provided by the Vienna government. It's impossible for the Ottomans to face more than 100,000 Russian troops, and they can't hold out even half a year, right?

To carry out the main decisive battle, it is not that Franz looks down on the Ottoman Empire, but the Sultan government in this era is really not good.

In recent years, in order to consolidate power, there has been no peace within the Ottoman Empire. There was a constant struggle for power within the government, and the reformers used bloody violence to cripple the conservative wing of the government.

As if that weren't enough, the conservative faction scattered among the people, often cloaked in religion, made things more complicated.

The reformist reforms did play a positive role, but they did not resolve the internal national contradictions. The Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Slavs within the Ottoman Empire all wanted independence.

Of course, there are external forces that have promoted the spread of nationalism, but more of this is caused by internal ethnic inequality, and the main problem is still in religion.

An enemy full of loopholes, Franz is naturally not worried. Anyway, he has decided to slowly encroach from the Middle East, so he will fight a long war of attrition, or a real combat training.

Steady and steady, even if Britain and France give blood to the Ottoman Empire, it will have no effect, unless they are willing to burst their livers, otherwise it will definitely be the Sultan government.

Halfway through 1873, it was impossible to start a war within the year. Although Alexander II increased the efficiency of the tsarist government, they were unable to organize an expedition of hundreds of thousands of troops in a few months.

Alexander II wants to win this war, so the gray cattle must also train well, which will take time.

Time dragged on, and Franz naturally had no opinion. Strategic layout also takes time, and it is definitely not a simple matter to induce all parties to make the decisions he wants.

In case something goes wrong, he is also responsible for the aftermath and can't let these problems affect the overall situation.

To make sure nothing went wrong, now Franz was very concerned about the health of Napoleon III. Although it was reported that Napoleon III had fallen ill in January of this year, he had already lost his health.

Since June, Napoleon III has not appeared in any public appearance, and many events have been attended by Crown Prince Eugène.

If the hero is not dead, then it is worth being vigilant. It would be even more certain if it dragged until Napoleon III's dead dog moved.

Crown Prince Ou Ren is young, if the peaceful years are harmless, slowly accumulate prestige, and control the power step by step, it is a pity to catch up with this world of great contention.

In recent years, France has begun to maintain its obscurity, that is, Napoleon III wants to leave his son as a relaxed international environment as much as possible, lest the enemy will attack the door as soon as he dies.

Among the inducement plans, the Vienna government also had a top-secret plan against the French. The success rate of this project is very low, and it will only be possible if the French take the initiative to cooperate.

To put it simply, let the French send troops to occupy Belgium, the Rhineland, or the Federal Empire of Germany, any of which is fine, and it is best to have the little emperor himself lead the troops.

It was too difficult to defeat the French on French soil. If the main force of the French army is fished out, the odds of victory will be greatly increased.

The successful annexation of Italy had already made many French drifters, and if it had not been for Napoleon III's pressure, they would have been unable to resist the annexation of territories west of the Rhineland.

Franz knew very well that the French annexation of Italy had exceeded the bottom line of European countries, and they did not form an anti-French coalition, that is, there was no one to take the lead, and the opposition between Prussia and Russia could not join forces.

If the French continue to expand, the countries of Europe will not be able to do so. Don't look at the limited strength of these small countries, but they are more important than the straw that breaks the camel's back.

As for whether he will have a mortal enmity because of the cripplement of France, Franz is not worried at all. If you look at history, you will find that France and Austria have a bunch of confused accounts to settle.

Besides, the two countries don't share a border, so can the French dare to fight all the way?

The Franco-German contradictions in the original time and space were not at war, mainly Alsace and Lorraine, and neither side could make concessions on this issue.

Alsace and Lorraine are the old lands of the HRE, part of the German region, and the Germans certainly could not let it. Nationalism was booming in France, and John Bull fanned the flames, and the Parisian government did not dare to compromise.

This problem does not bother Austria, it is not a big deal to assign it to the Federal Reich of Germany, and Austria should have a few colonies.

If the French send troops for revenge, then the German Confederation will cry and shout to join the HRE, and no one will be able to stop it at that time.

The premise is that Napoleon III hangs up first, and the little emperor can't suppress the main war faction in the country, otherwise the French will not dare to attack the door at home.

This is related to the question of the projection of forces, if the Austrian army can exert ten points of combat effectiveness, then the battlefield in France will be only five or six points at most.

It's not that the combat effectiveness of the army has declined, it's mainly that there are logistical problems. The kingdom of Prussia won the bet, it was completely God forbidden, and Napoleon III personally led troops to the door.

The emperor was captured, a revolution broke out in France, and the government was taken out by itself, and resistance was impossible.

Otherwise, as long as the war dragged on for a few months and the French mobilized, the result would have been very different.

Intelligence Chief Tyrann: "Your Majesty, something has happened in Greece. Last night, a revolution broke out in Athens, the rebels defeated the government forces and captured Prince Ludwig, who had not yet had time to succeed to the throne. ”

Prince Ludwig is the Bavarian king Ludwig III of the original plane. Now it was not time for Ludwig II to fall ill, and his father, Prince Lütpod, had not had time to regent.

In the order of succession to the Lombard royal family, Prince Ludwig is already outside the five, and the possibility of inheriting the throne is almost zero.

Theoretically, even the Greek throne didn't have his share, but the guys in front of him refused to come, so it was his turn.

This kind of bad luck has happened, and Franz can only attribute it to Ludwig's bad luck attributes, and send him to Greece to be king, which is the right move.

The original time and space was also the first lord to abdicate in the world war. This time it was even worse, before he became a king, he became a prisoner.

"Call the General Staff and prepare them for armed intervention in Greece, and at the same time have the Cabinet ministers on duty come over for a meeting."

In Franz's view, this is a trivial matter that does not require the consultation of all cabinet ministers. Ludwig's safety, Franz was not worried at all.

Now Ludwig is only one of the heirs to the Greek throne, and more importantly as a prince of the Lombard Kingdom of the new Holy Roman Empire. If the Greeks had dared to rub him, the pretext for war would have come.

Austria did not annex Greece, it was paying attention to the appearance. On the European continent, the consequences of annexing a sovereign state for no reason can be very serious.

If the Greeks had taken the initiative to do things, the situation would have been different. Even if it's not easy to swallow them, it's still very easy to beat them up.

Such a simple truth, many people want to get it. So the most nervous about Prince Ludwig's safety now should be the rebels.

If this guy dies, they're going to be unlucky. Even for the sake of face, Austria had to send troops to avenge Ludwig.

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