On April 22, 1867, the London Peace Conference was convened. Representatives from more than 20 countries from around the world gathered in London to discuss this special battle.

This was the largest war in the world since the Anti-French War, which affected the largest number of countries, involved the widest range of belligerent areas, and was the largest in scale.

Undoubtedly, it was also the war with the heaviest casualties and the greatest economic losses, with the total military losses of the warring sides exceeding two million and the total economic losses of the countries exceeding two billion Aegis.

(about 1 billion pounds, equivalent to 7322.38 tons of gold)

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the casualties and economic losses, the countries of the world are collectively dumbfounded. You must know that many countries have a population of less than two million, and the entire country is not worth 2 billion Aegis.

The biggest losses were naturally the Russians, who not only suffered heavy losses in the army, but also suffered heavy losses in the domestic economy, lost cities and land, and lost their hard-won position of world hegemony.

If they had to do it all over again, the Russians would certainly not have just gone straight ahead.

The Paris Conference had assigned the Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein to Denmark, and the Prussian invasion of Denmark was opposed by the European powers, who could have solved the problem in a roundabout way.

Of course, the Russians are not good at roundabout diplomacy, and they don't seem to be imposing enough to show off their European hegemon.

Unexpectedly, the war that was originally used to establish prestige finally buried the hegemony of the Russian Empire, and a big empire was made to its death.

From the very beginning of the negotiations, they fell into a mode, and the Russian delegation was in a state of siege, except for the help of the Danish representatives.

This is the disadvantage of having many enemies, and if Poland is also a country, the Russians will face the Eight-Nation Alliance. (Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Empire, four Central Asian countries, Poland, **** Empire)

The quarrel between the belligerents, the representatives of other countries naturally watched the excitement. If everyone participated, the Russians would be even more tragic.

The diplomatic activity of the Prussians nevertheless worked, gaining the understanding of most European countries, who presented a large amount of evidence against the Russians, apparently well prepared.

After the first day of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov knew that something was wrong and had a secret meeting with Austrian representative Wessenberg overnight.

Clarence Ivanov did not beat around the bush and said straight to the point: "Your Excellency, Count, now we need the help of your country!" ”

After a moment of silence, Austrian Foreign Minister Wessenberg spoke: "We are allies, and it is appropriate to help each other, what kind of help does His Excellency the Marquis need?" ”

The Russians had a clear aim, but now they had to play in a state of confusion in order to gain a more advantageous position and reassert their dominance in the Russo-Austrian alliance.

Clarence-Ivanov did not think so much, the change of continental hegemony was a foregone conclusion, whether it fell into the hands of the French or Austria, nothing happened to them.

Dominance in the Russo-Austrian alliance is now also less important to the Russians, who have lost hegemony on the European continent.

"The current diplomatic situation is very unfavorable for us, and I hope that your country can exert its influence to reverse this situation!"

The one-sided situation was completely unexpected by the tsarist government, in which most European countries should have taken a neutral attitude rather than standing directly in opposition to Russia.

This is because the Russians have not had time to change their mentality and still bring themselves into the role of European hegemon.

In the Russian Empire in the era of continental hegemony, even if everyone was very dissatisfied, few countries dared to show it, and neutrality was the position of small countries.

Now it is different, the Russian Empire has not only suffered a great loss of vitality in the war, but also plunged into a civil war, and its position in the world has been greatly reduced, and it cannot scare the countries of Europe.

Those who were angry in the past broke out at this time. Prior to this, the tsarist government had also conducted diplomatic PR, and it was clear from the results that they had done a bad job. Instead of pulling allies, it has pushed some countries to the opposite side.

In this case, they had to seek Austria's support. From the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Austria occupied an important place in European politics and diplomacy.

The establishment of the Vienna system twice was the pinnacle of Metternich's diplomacy. To this day, Austria has been one of the most influential countries in European politics and diplomacy.

This kind of political and diplomatic influence is also one of the reasons why Franz has always paid attention to eating appearances.

This kind of political and diplomatic influence seemed useless to ordinary people, but in fact it ensured that Austria would not fall into isolation and avoid a crisis of becoming an enemy of the world.

Now the Russians know the consequences of being isolated, and at the same time being targeted by various countries, means that they will be reactive in negotiations and will have to pay a greater price to end the war.

Wesenberg shook his head and said, "Your Excellency the Marquis, you overestimate our influence. The current situation is indispensable for Britain and France, and you don't think that Austria can counter the combined influence of Britain and France, do you? ”

This kind of help can't help, and if you really help, you will have endless troubles. There is also a price to be paid for countries to change their diplomatic stance. There are not enough benefits, why should Austria pay this price?

Clarence Ivanov's face sank, he knew that things were not so simple. If Austria had intervened, these small countries would now have to be neutral again.

Anything that is not comparable to the influence of the Anglo-French alliance is nonsense. In fact, these small countries are grass on the wall when their own interests are not involved.

In the era of the Vienna system, Austria could expel the British from Europe, suppress France, and confine the Russians to Eastern Europe, relying on diplomatic cooperation.

The annexation of South Germany caused panic in Europe, but didn't it quickly get through it?

"Your Excellency, we won't let you help in vain."

After saying that, Clarence Ivanov handed over a check from the Royal Bank, the numbers on which were blank, and asked Wessenberg to fill it out himself.

After receiving the check, Wessenberg was a little crying and laughing. Is he that kind of person? It's not popular to ask for bribes in Austria, and if you take it today, he'll have to go home tomorrow to retire.

In these years, the Austrian ministers were not poor, Franz was still very generous, and they had a share of the industry in the colonies, at least a few thousand hectares of land.

These lands need to be managed by their own people, and many wealthy people can disdain them, but this land is attached to the fiefdom and aristocratic title, and the value is instantly doubled.

No one has too many titles of nobility, especially those with fiefs. It doesn't matter if it's far away in the colony, sooner or later it will be localized.

In order to leave a few more family inheritances for posterity, Wessenberg pushed the check back and said, "Sorry, Your Excellency the Marquis, I dare not take this money.

There is a price to be paid for getting countries to change their positions, and it is definitely not something that can be solved in a few words.

If you want to get out of your current predicament, you can start with Sweden-Norway, the Nordic Confederation is being formed, and they have to take into account the feelings of the Danes.

Then it would be enough to win over the German Confederation and exaggerate the Prussian threat theory. The Kingdom of Prussia wanted to become a real power, and annexing them was the only option.

It will not be difficult to convince Belgium, the French are too much of a threat to them, they will need your help, at least to neutralize them.

Spain, Portugal and your country have no conflict of interest, and I trust that Your Excellency will be able to persuade them to remain neutral. ”

Wesenberg gave a solution, and whether it can be done depends on the ability of the tsarist government. Countries that do not have conflicts of interest cannot allow others to remain neutral, so what kind of diplomacy is there to engage in?

No matter how the Russians declined, they were still one of the four major European powers, and their comprehensive national strength far surpassed that of Prussia and Spain.

Listening to this idea, Clarence Ivanov was a little embarrassed. These should be routine operations, but they actually messed up before, and now they have to remediate it.

Undoubtedly, in addition to the "mentality" of diplomats causing "trouble", the wrong choice of starting point of lobbying is also an important factor.

It was not the responsibility of any one person, the Russians were able to solve the problem diplomatically, and only under Alexander III, before which they were accustomed to using force to get everything done.

Against this backdrop, it is normal for diplomats to be incompetent. If you can reach the passing level, you can be considered an elite diplomat.

After a pause, Clarence Ivanov handed over the check and said very politely: "Thank you, Your Excellency the Count!" You have gained the friendship of the Russian Empire. ”

I didn't do anything, but the other party gave an idea, and the money still had to be given.

This set of rules of the money game was common within the bureaucracy of the tsarist government, to which Clarence Ivanov had become accustomed.

In fact, in this era, the foreign ministries of various countries are also the hardest hit areas of corruption, and it is not too simple to make a fortune while serving abroad.

Wessenberg also received gifts when he was in office, but as he rose in office, he gradually became fond of feathers, fearing that his competitors would catch his pigtails.

Now there is no need to do things, and the money is not so hot.

For the sake of money, Wessenberg added: "Your Excellency the Marquis, the difficulty of this negotiation is in Eastern Europe, which is the core of your country, and I personally suggest that you first solve the troubles in the Far East, Near East, and Central Asia.

The Ottoman Empire did not achieve results on the battlefields in the Near East, and it did not cost much to send them; I don't know much about the Far East, but it's too far away to be of much value.

The Central Asian region has almost lost it, so I simply let it go. As long as the core interests are protected, other side items are not worth mentioning.

From the perspective of long-term development, I don't think the issue of Eastern Europe is a big deal. With the strength of your country, you can get back what you have lost now sooner or later.

Britain and France are constantly making small moves, and if the negotiations drag on for too long, it is easy to cause extraneous complications. As far as I know, the Kingdom of Prussia is still expanding its armaments, and it is very likely that it will ignite the flames of war again. ”

It is really a good intention to let the Russians quickly complete negotiations and end this war, after all, it is not surprising that if it drags on, the war will break out again.

According to European practice, if you can't get a benefit at the negotiating table, you can take it on the battlefield. In the current situation, as long as the Russian Empire dares to fight, the army at the front will dare to lose.

At least on the battlefields of Eastern Europe, there is no hope. If logistical supplies cannot be guaranteed, the war cannot be fought at all.

To dig a hole and encourage the Russians to fight back in the future is to fulfill the duties of Austrian Foreign Minister.

After listening to Wesenberg's explanation, Clarence Ivanov's heart was much heavier.

It is not a problem if other regions are lost, and from the loss of the Russians, Eastern Europe is the core of the Russian Empire.

The land that is lost now will definitely be fought back in the future. The Woolly Bear is very vindictive, and the Kingdom of Prussia has replaced the Ottoman Empire as their number one enemy.

As soon as the tsarist government relented, it was to look for their bad luck. Where you fall, you have to get up from there, and the Russians are never short of resilience.

Wesenberg's kind reminder only deepened the impression and kept the Russians in mind the hatred.