On March 21, 1851, the Tsarist government appointed Duke Alexander Menshkov as a special envoy to Constantinople to negotiate with the Ottoman government.

After hearing the news, the diplomatic community was in an uproar. Duke Alexander Menshkov served as Governor-General of Finland, commanded wars with Persia and the Ottomans, served as Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Minister of the Navy.

As the core figure of the ruling group of the tsarist government, the appointment of Duke Alexander Menshikov as a special envoy for negotiations is enough to show the importance of the Russians.

This emphasis seems to send a signal to the outside world that the Russians want to solve the problem through negotiations.

However, considering that Duke Menshkov was a member of the main war faction and had also commanded the last Russo-Turkish war, it seems that this was another demonstration to the Ottomans.

Before leaving for Constantinople, Duke Menshkov went to Sarabia to inspect the troops stationed there, and then to Sevastopol to inspect the Black Sea Fleet.

Russia even conducted a landing exercise, targeting Constantinople. After the completion of the exercises, on March 12, Duke Menshkov went to Constantinople on the warship "Thor".

Menshkov was not a qualified diplomat, he himself despised diplomacy and etiquette, and as the backbone of the main war faction, he opposed all compromises and concessions to the Ottoman Empire.

Franz was not optimistic about the Constantinople negotiations, the appetite of the Russians was so great, could the Ottoman Empire still be able to compromise?

While the Russians and the Ottoman government were negotiating, the Austrian Foreign Ministry was also not idle, and diplomatic negotiations with the Ottoman Empire also began, but Franz did not attach importance to this negotiation and directly authorized the Minister to Constantinople to be in charge of Mestesell.

Schönbrunn Palace

It was a sunny afternoon, and Franz was fishing. It seems that his luck is good, the fish just don't bite.

In contrast, his father, Archduke Karl, had already harvested three, the largest of which weighed three pounds. If nothing else, this unlucky egg fish will probably be on the table tonight.

The maid's crisp voice sounded: "Your Majesty, Monsieur Metternich asks to see you." ”

"Take him to the gazebo, and I'll be right over." Franz said lightly

After saying that, Franz put down the fishing rod and said to his father and younger brothers not far away: "You go on, I'm going to work." ”

Without even thinking about it, Grand Duke Karl blurted out: "Go, unlucky boy, may God wish you good luck!" ”

Franz was choked directly, he would have liked to say "fish eat bad luck". However, if Austria does not have this proverb, everyone will not understand it.

Good upbringing allowed him to directly filter out his father's words, and just glared fiercely at a few younger brothers who were laughing and watching the excitement.

As if remembering the days when they were dominated by horrible homework, the little ones were very sensible and restrained their smiles, and Franz left satisfied.

Duke Karl didn't fold, can't he clean up a few little kids? In line with the principle that it is better to be happy alone than to be happy with all, Franz directly copied the pain he had experienced to several younger brothers.

There is nothing left, just a person is stared at by more than 30 tutors, and there are always endless classes and homework to do.

Franz is a good brother, and he paid for this education directly. The European aristocracy attached great importance to the education of their children, and no one interceded for them on this issue.

Then, the three little ones all became good children, they were not school tyrants, and for the sake of a better life under the blue sky and white clouds, they decisively surrendered to the evil brother.

Otherwise, they are still gnawing on books now, where is the opportunity to come and cultivate aristocratic temperament (fishing and playing).

Perhaps in the eyes of Archduke Karl, Franz was really a complete unlucky bastard. What is there to be an emperor? Every day, there are unfinished official duties, and even on vacation, something will come to the door.

Franz never expressed any opinion on his father's opinion. If he had the slightest ambition, he would be the one sitting on the throne now.

In the opinion of Archduke Karl, it is more comfortable to work hard to be an emperor than to eat, drink and be merry.

Under this conception, many times the look in the eyes of Archduke Karl was pity for Franz.

Franz could not do anything about it. You can't always say: if you don't have your own efforts, you, the Habsburg family, will not be able to eat rice for a long time.

……

"Your Majesty, news has just arrived that the French have intervened in Jerusalem, and the Catholic Church wants our support."

The news brought by Metternich made Franz only lament the power of historical revision. However, on closer analysis, this is also an inevitable result.

If Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to be restored, he had to enlist the support of the people. The current crisis in the Holy Land, which seems to others to be a nuisance, is an opportunity in his eyes.

Not only can you take the opportunity to increase France's foreign influence, but you can also gain the support of Catholics, how can you refuse this kind of good thing that kills two birds with one stone?

As for the consequences of doing so, it is nothing more than offending the Russians and Ottomans. Others are afraid of hairy bears, but he is not afraid. Anyway, with the German Confederation in the way, can't the Russians be afraid of a hair?

The attitude of the Ottomans can be ignored, the current Ottomans are no longer the Ottomans they once were, and any European power can step on them.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "So the French are already in the room." It seems that the Russians are in trouble, and this Russian-Turkish war may not be easy to fight.

But this has nothing to do with us, since the French have already acted in Jerusalem, with their great strength, they must not need our help, just support them verbally. ”

Help? It was impossible for the French government to allow Austria to intervene, and when Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was gaining prestige, how could Austria be allowed to join in diluting his "credit"?

Metternich frowned and said, "Your Majesty, things are not so simple. It's not just the Russians who are in trouble, but even we are in trouble. ”

Franz was slightly stunned, he didn't see anything to do with Austria.

Metternich explained: "Your Majesty, the intervention of the French in this conflict means that Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte is ready to seize power, and it will not be long before we hear the disappearance of his restoration.

When the time comes, an absolutely pro-British French government will emerge. In international affairs, Britain and France will further deepen cooperation.

There is a bipolar pattern in the world, the Russian-Austrian alliance and the Anglo-French alliance. With the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war, the contradictions between the two alliances will become deeper and deeper, and even go to war.

Britain and Russia have geographical advantages, and the possibility of a full-scale war between the two countries is unlikely, at best, a local conflict.

However, we are different from the French, and under the contradiction between the two alliances, it is very likely that Austria and France will directly break out into war in the future. ”

Franz was stunned, Metternich's analysis made him wonder who the traverser was.

He also considered the possibility of war between Austria and France, but he always thought that it was the Italian issue, and now it seems that the contradiction between the two alliances is the fuse of the future Austrian-French conflict.

Against this backdrop, Austria has only two paths to take. Either join forces with the Russians and inflict heavy losses on the French in the next war. Without this thug, the British would have coaxed.

Or do nothing and wait for the Franco-Prussian conflict to escalate. The French have been eyeing the Rhineland for a day or two, and with the deepening of industrialization, the Prussian government has also paid more and more attention to this land, and the possibility of concessions is almost zero.

The contribution of the Rhineland region to the strength of German industry in later generations was enormous, and the mineral resources here were indispensable and irreplaceable for the Kingdom of Prussia.

As for whether it is possible for the two countries to compromise? Franz can answer unequivocally - no, don't look at the history of Bismarck's repeated promises to cede the Rhineland to the French.

But in the end, the Prussian government preferred to take a military adventure and fight the French rather than really cede the area.

This is the future of the Kingdom of Prussia, the importance of which the Prussian government has been aware of since the beginning of industrialization. If the Kingdom of Prussia had abandoned this area, the Ruhr industrial area would have cooled.

Franz frowned and said, "It seems that we can't do anything now." The French were bogged down in the Russo-Turkish war, which was very beneficial to the westward strategy we had prepared.

Once the westward expansion strategy was completed and the South German region was integrated, the balance of power between France and Austria changed. Even if there is a war in the future, the odds of us winning are very good. ”

This is not Franz self-confidence, but a fact. Austria, which integrated the South German region, has grown in strength by no means on the surface.

In this era, many people overestimate France, which is the shadow left by Napoleon's sweep across the European continent, ignoring today's France, and they are not the France of the past.

Whether it is in terms of comprehensive national strength or military combat effectiveness, they are not the number one power that makes the world tremble.

Metternich had a phobia of France, and he was pessimistic about the outbreak of war with the French, as if Napoleon had returned.

Franz could not do anything about this problem. Metternich was a politician who came from that era, personally participated in the war against France, and was cast a shadow in his heart by Napoleon, which was simply incomprehensible.

Fortunately, the performance of the Austrian army that year was not too bad, the two sides fought back and forth, and they were not taken away by the French in waves, and the generals who came from that year were not intimidated.

The military hardliners, led by Marshal Radesky, were very unconvinced by the defeat of that year and wanted to find an opportunity to get it back.

If the military hadn't been tough enough, Franz would have actually coaxed it. Who let the performance of the Austro-Hungarian army in later generations leave him with the impression of waste?

Franz, who had personally known the Austrian army, knew very well that the Austrian Empire was definitely not equal to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it was much stronger than the Austro-Hungarian period in terms of military morale and soldier training.

Metternich shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, a France with constant infighting is indeed not to be worried. But once Louis-Napoleon-Bonaparte was restored, the infighting in the French government would be suppressed.

When the time comes, we must take into account the situation of the Franco-Prussian coalition. As long as we put enough pressure on them, it is possible for Franco-Prussian and Franco-Prussian countries to reach a compromise. ”

Franz was shocked that if Austria annexed South Germany, its strength would change dramatically.

Then both Franco-Prussian countries will feel threatened, and in order to solve this threat, as long as one side makes concessions and joins forces to give Austria a ruthless blow, it seems that it is not impossible.

Franz shook his head again, the question was considered too early. The French were very proud of themselves, and it was almost impossible to get them to make concessions to the Kingdom of Prussia without having experienced defeat.

To be sure, even if Austria had been defeated, the French would not have been able to unite Prussia with Germany. So was it necessary for the Prussian government to take risks for this?

If Fao goes head-to-head, or Austro-Prussia goes head-to-head, the Russians may watch the show and use their power to weaken Austria; If Franco-Prussian joined forces, as long as the Russians did not want to fall into isolation, it would be inevitable to send troops.

The French were far away and could not feel the threat of the Russians, not the Kingdom of Prussia, which was so close at hand. Perhaps in the end, Austria was crippled by the Franco-Prussian alliance, and the Kingdom of Prussia was destroyed by the Russian and Austrian alliances.

Franz thought for a moment and said, "It seems that next, we have to converge a little." If you want to be feared by all countries, then it will be a big trouble. ”

No matter what the alliance is, it must speak with interests. Once there is a conflict of interest, turning the other cheek is faster than turning the page.

In order to avoid the worst, Franz chose to pretend first.