St. Petersburg, looking at the battle report in his hand, Alexander II's face disappeared with joy, and only a deep sorrow remained.

The Russian army has achieved a great victory on the front, strategically overwhelming the enemy, and is getting closer and closer to victory in the war.

However, behind these victories, they were all piled up by Russian soldiers with vast white bones. Looking at the ever-increasing casualty figures, Alexander II admitted that he was afraid.

There are not only two countries in this world, there are many enemies of the Russian Empire, and in order to win this war, they lost all their wealth, what should they do next?

……

Foreign Minister Gerardo Jeserot: "Your Majesty, this morning the Austrian Minister in St. Petersburg sent us a diplomatic note that the Vienna Government has proposed to convene an international conference to mediate the war. ”

Alexander II nodded: "It's finally here." ”

It seemed to be relieved, mixed with a little unease.

After a moment's pause, Alexander II asked: "What conditions did the Austrians give?" ”

Foreign Minister Gerardo Jesselrot shook his head: "Just an ordinary diplomatic note, the Austrians did not take a position.

Judging by the current situation, the Vienna government may not take it lightly. ”

It is a fact that the Vienna government is now really having a hard time deciding. On the one hand, there are interests, and on the other hand, there is public opinion, and no matter how you choose, it is wrong.

Since there is no choice, let us not take a position for the first time and wait for the situation to develop further before taking a stand.

At this time, Austria does not need to live by standing in line, and its own share of profits is indispensable sooner or later.

After a moment of hesitation, Alexander II made a decision: "Reply to Austria, we agree to accept mediation."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready for negotiations, and there is a tough battle to be fought next. The blood of the soldiers must not be shed in vain, and they must not be allowed to get something on the battlefield and spit it out at the negotiating table. ”

Although there is no smoke of gunpowder, the intensity of the diplomatic game is not inferior to that of the battlefield.

After Britain, France, and Austria established a new international system, the outcome of the European War was no longer just something that could be decided on the battlefield.

Winning militarily is only the beginning; The ultimate ownership of interests should still be determined at the negotiating table.

Of course, Russia is also a big country, and it still has the right to speak, and it will not be slaughtered by others. Victory on the battlefield gives the absolute upper hand at the negotiating table, and the difference is only in the size of the gains.

……

The tsarist government agreed, and the Berlin government had no reason not to agree. Now they can't hold on, even the radicals in the army know that the tide is gone, and if they don't negotiate, they won't have the capital to negotiate.

Up to the present time in the war, the Kingdom of Prussia alone has lost more than 400,000 casualties, and if we add in the death of disease and serious wounds, this number may increase by 200,000 or 300,000.

There are 6.7 million people who have died, and the disabled are naturally indispensable, and it is not an exaggeration to permanently reduce the number of employees by more than one million.

For Prussia, which has a population of just over 10 million, everyone has already worn filial piety and everyone is crying bitterly. Except for a few people who are too deeply poisoned, most people have already woken up from their dreams.

Fortunately, the population structure is younger in these years, and the proportion of young and strong people is relatively high, and if we catch up with the aging society, the casualties will collapse so early.

The Prussian command, the news of the negotiations came, Moltke seemed to have aged ten years overnight, and this war hit him too hard.

The gap in strength cannot be bridged by individual strength. Win battles along the way, but end the war with defeat in victory.

Having lost this war, Moltke's aura of a famous general did not fall, but became louder and louder, and I have to say that this is an irony.

Resisting the grief in his heart, Moltke continued to fulfill his duty: "Order the troops to be on guard against a sneak attack by the Russians. ”

Unlike previous war failures, the failure of this war has not been widely criticized by the country as the commander-in-chief.

Maybe everyone has been hit too hard and hasn't eased up yet. No one shouted for a change of general, and no one shouted at him to kill.

"Yes, Marshal."

"Yes, Marshal."

……

The reply made Moltke's face more and more ugly: "Have you not eaten, one by one, you are weak, look at yourself for yourself, do you still look like a soldier?"

Isn't it just that we lost a war, and it's not that we haven't lost, and our ancestors have been able to survive, so why can't we do it! ”

No one answered, and judging by their expressions, most of them were ashamed, and only a few were indifferent.

There is no greater mourning than death. The more people who know, the less confidence they have in Prussia.

Now that the European landscape has basically stabilized, it is too difficult for Prussia to turn around, and many people are already desperate.

Seeing that the effect was not good, Moltke sighed helplessly. A few words may be able to wake up a confused person, but it will not have such a great effect on a person who is already sober.

"Well, I don't care what you're thinking. As long as you wear this military uniform, you must fulfill your duties.

At this time, I don't expect you to be brave and good at fighting, to be able to turn defeat into victory on the battlefield.

As long as you do your job well, do not give the enemy a chance, and keep the last capital of Prussia, it will be the best reward for the country that gave birth to you. ”

……

In London, when the news came that Prussia had accepted Austrian mediation, the British government seemed to be caught in a black cloud.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "The Austrians want to convene the Vienna Peace Conference, Prussia and Russia have accepted the invitation, the hegemony of Britain is being provoked, and we must act." ”

Although Britain, France and Austria stand side by side, the default boss is still Britain. The Vienna Peace Conference obviously broke with this convention.

Instead of mediating the Russo-Russian War, the London government allowed the Austrians to do it, which meant that British influence on the continent lagged behind.

If it doesn't matter if it's other regions, the world hegemony of the British Empire has not been able to penetrate into every region, and it doesn't hurt to lose the regional hegemony of one or two places.

But not in Europe, where the center of the world is these days. There is only a thin line between continental hegemony and world hegemony.

Economically and militarily, the European continent surpasses the rest of the world combined. Having obtained the hegemony of the European continent, the hegemony of the world is actually almost certain.

The British government could not tolerate such a thing, and although Austria's convening of the Vienna Peace Conference did not mean hegemony on the European continent, it broke Britain's hidden hegemony on the European continent.

It is always easier to destroy than to build, and Britain's position in Europe, which had been established over the course of hundreds of years, was now under attack, and it was almost impossible to recover.

As a world hegemon, the British took too much of the benefits. It was not only Austria that coveted their interests, but they were so frightened by the prestige of the British that everyone did not dare to do it.

Austria has begun, and if the London government does not react in time to dispel the delusions of other countries, they will then be plunged into endless temptations and provocations, and there will be no real peace.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "We have no influence on the Russians, the government in Berlin really can't hold on now, and it is simply impossible for them to reject the Austrian proposal."

It was no longer realistic to start with the peace conference to dismantle Austria, and the only way to fight back was to fight back from other fronts.

Perhaps we can increase our investment and get the North German Reich up as soon as possible. Breaking off Austria's dream of a Central European empire should be able to deter the countries of Europe. ”

Prior to this, the London government was also planning the North German Empire, but it was afraid of Austria's reaction and had been behind it. Now that you've torn your face, you're naturally welcome.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield objected: "It will not be easy to establish the North German Empire, most of the German states have limited interest, and the Austrians may destroy it, so the odds of success are too low."

If we stand up and push it directly, it will be fine if it succeeds, but if the plan fails, it will be another blow to our prestige.

Successive defeats will shake our allies, and for now we should keep Prussia and then consider how to retaliate against Austria. ”

What was Britain's method of revenge against Austria?

The answer is: a lot.

Either the influence is too small to achieve the goal; Either there is a trouble, and a bad one will eat itself.

For example: doing things in the colonies.

It's just that all they can get hold of is the poor countryside, and even if they succeed, the impact is very small, and they can't cause movement in the European world at all.

Interception at sea and obstruction of shipping is also a solution.

Unfortunately, it can't be said that the Royal Navy can pretend to be pirates, and the Austrian Navy can do the same, and this thing is a lose-lose situation.

The most effective way is to do things on the European continent. This was very challenging for the London government, whose influence on the continent had been affected since the Anglo-French relationship had cooled.

If there were still French thugs, Franz would not have done anything at this time.

Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head: "Sir, do we have a choice?"

If Austria is not pressed, more countries will emerge in the future. When the time comes, we will all be too busy to take care of ourselves, and where will we have the energy to take revenge on Austria.

The creation of North Germany had been planned in advance, and with the crushing defeat of the Kingdom of Prussia, the odds of success were already high. ”

The crushing defeat of the Kingdom of Prussia minimized the fear of the North German Empire among European countries, and many countries that had originally opposed it may have turned to support.

This is determined by interests, and it is not without benefit that the Berlin government is borrowing from all over the place, at least now the creditors have to take care of their own pockets when considering international issues.

For example, France, although it did not lend much in this war, but it released a lot of money in front of it, both Prussia and Poland.

Poland is gone, and no one can make the Russians spit it out. These debts fell on the Berlin government, which would not normally be able to afford to pay them.

In order for these debts to be fulfilled, it is necessary to help Prussia recover its economy, which in turn requires investment, and the French are certainly not willing to continue to pay for it.

At this time, the importance of the North German Empire was reflected, as the central government, it must not watch the following states collapse, even if they did not directly pay off the debts of Prussia, they had to pay for the rescue to help the Prussian Kingdom restore its economy.

A loose German confederation would not threaten the interests of France at all, and would be able to prevent Austria from unifying Central Europe, and it is very likely that the Paris government would support it.

Including the Russian Empire can also be bought, don't look at the bloody war between Prussia and Russia, as long as the interests are in place, many things can be discussed.

The devastated Kingdom of Prussia had lost the strength to threaten Russia after the war, even if it had united with the Germans to form the North German Empire.

The population and territorial area determine the upper limit of this new country, and no matter how much it can't catch up with the previous Pubo Federation. Not to mention the fact that the many states in the country are siloed and unable to integrate their forces.

The tsarist government was so poor that it had won the war, and it certainly wanted to extort a war reparation.

It was easy for the Berlin government to sign an indemnity treaty, but the problem arose if the Kingdom of Prussia wanted to pay the reparations.

No one gave Prussia a life, let alone the payment of war reparations, and the post-war pension alone was able to crush the country.

In addition to this, there are also Russian-Austrian relations behind this. It is impossible to say that the tsarist government was not at all afraid of Austria.

It's just that because they can't do without Austria, the two sides have not turned their faces. After the war, Russia's demand for Austria will gradually decrease, and the relationship between the two sides will change, and it will only be a matter of time before they go from allies to rivals.

In the absence of its own appearance, it was able to restrain Austria, and the tsarist government had no reason to refuse.