Holy Roman Empire

The bait was lowered, and Metternich was not afraid that the Prussians would not be tempted.In the end, whether the Prussians got the meat or got themselves into trouble was none of his business.

……

In 1853, Paris still maintained part of its medieval style. New forces surged in the corners of the classical city, and a large number of immigrants flowed to Paris with their dreams of making a living.

The soaring population brings not only economic development, but also piles of garbage and feces, and congested streets at any time.

A wide ditch bisects the road and blocks roads on both sides of the road.As long as there is a light rain, the road will be a rickety bridge.

The cattle slaughterhouse was located in the city center, and the blood flowed down the road like a stream, congealed on the soles of the shoes, and then the leather shoes were stained crimson.

This was the Paris in Metternich's eyes. He was used to the cleanliness of Vienna, but it was hard for him to like the messy Paris.

The most unacceptable thing is the infanticide that occurs from time to time in the stinky ditch. The cruel society forces the people to lose their morality. In order to survive, the people at the bottom have to artificially control the birth rate... The big peasant family full of children and grandchildren has disappeared here The sound is gone.

Here is a prosperous international metropolis, here is a landmark city in Europe, and here is also a sea of ​​crime, this is Paris in the 19th century.

Versailles Palace

Metternich and Napoleon III had a secret meeting. Interests are always the best catalyst for state relations. Before the Great Revolution, it was the honeymoon period of the French-Austrian relationship.

After the Great Revolution, the situation took a turn for the worse. After Napoleon III succeeded to the throne, the relationship between France and Austria once warmed up. With the outbreak of the Near East War, the relationship between the two countries dropped to a freezing point again.

Now the two can talk and laugh together, or because of interests, there are some common topics between Fao and Austria who are both mainland countries.

There is nothing that cannot be resolved by interests. If interests cannot be resolved, then the interests must be insufficient.

Napoleon III was not a saint without desires, so he had great expectations for Metternich's arrival, which meant benefits.

Metternich said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, on the European continent, France and Austria can cooperate with each other and get what they need.

'Confrontation between the two countries', which is what the British's continental balance policy requires, is not in the interest of our two countries.

My visit to Paris this time is to have in-depth communication with your country to resolve the current disputes between the two countries. "

"What do you need from us, and what can we get?" Napoleon III asked bluntly

In fact, the higher the level of negotiation, the simpler it is.We are all very busy and don't have much time to talk about it.

Usually, the time for high-level meetings is very short. To achieve results within a limited time, it is easier to reach a consensus by directly discussing interests.

Metternich stated the conditions directly: "Your Majesty, Austria hopes that your country will recognize the new Holy Roman Empire. In return, Austria will support your country's expansion in the Kingdom of Sardinia and Central Europe."

Napoleon III thought for a while and said: "It seems that the unification of the German region is just a cover. Your real purpose is to annex the southern German region. Now your goal has been achieved?"

Metternich replied solemnly: "Yes, Your Majesty! It is too difficult to unify the German region. Everyone does not want us to succeed. Austria has no plan to challenge the world."

Napoleon III fell into contemplation, and the call for the unification of the German region was very loud. Austria in the southern German region had already eaten it, and obviously it would not be easy to spit it out.

From the standpoint of France, he naturally does not want Austria to continue to grow, but it is very difficult to interfere now.

Regardless of the temporary truce of the Near East War, Napoleon III knew very well that the conflicts between Britain, France and Russia had not eased, and as long as the Russians did not give up, they could not give in.

Relying on diplomatic pressure to make Austria retreat?Napoleon III can say with certainty, stop dreaming.In this day and age, everyone speaks based on strength. Austria has already shown its muscles. If they don't have the strength to overwhelm them, don't expect them to compromise.

He had to admit that Austria chose a good opportunity to take advantage of the fierce battle between Britain, France and Russia, and took down the South German region in one fell swoop, creating an established fact.

Napoleon III said solemnly: "Your country wants to cede the land west of the Rhine to France, and at the same time, your country must withdraw from Italy.

The sphere of influence of the new Holy Roman Empire is limited to the current member countries, and no further expansion to the German region is allowed.

Your country must not continue to support the Russians in the Near East War.If your country can do this, we can recognize the legitimacy of the new Holy Roman Empire. "

How is it possible to agree to the demands of Napoleon III?Paying such a high price and harvesting a South Germany, Austria is not busy in vain.

Metternich shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, your appetite is too great, and it has exceeded Austria's bottom line.

Except that the new Holy Roman Empire will not continue to expand in Germany, we cannot accept other conditions.

First of all, there is an alliance between Russia and Austria. It is impossible for us to betray our allies. There is no need to discuss this issue.

Secondly, it is impossible to withdraw from the Italian region. The most we can promise is not to continue to expand in the Italian region.

The German land west of the Rhine can be negotiated, but not now, we must consider the feelings of the people.

In fact, our territory west of the Rhine is not much, and the value is not very high. It may be better for your country to make up for it elsewhere. "

After receiving Metternich's own admission of the existence of a covenant between Russia and Austria, Napoleon III's heart sank to the bottom, which meant that intervention was no longer possible.

Don't look at all the countries in Europe coming to join in the fun. In fact, most countries are just trying to gain a sense of international presence. If they are really asked to send troops, one or two will retreat.

As long as the Russians supported Austria, the Intervention Coalition could not be organized.Unless the war in the Near East is stopped immediately and Britain and France withdraw their troops from the front line, they will have the strength to interfere with Austria.

Napoleon III didn't know whether the British were willing to do it. Anyway, it was absolutely impossible for him to do it himself.After paying such a high price, the battle has been fought to this extent. If there is not a big victory, he will not be able to end it at all.

This is related to his own political life. It is impossible for Napoleon III to gamble his throne in order to intervene in Austria. It is not worth it.

Now that there is a deal between Russia and Austria, and Metternich secretly appeared in Paris, what about London?If the Austrians had persuaded the British, French recognition was irrelevant.

Thinking of this, Napoleon III found helplessly that he didn't have much choice at this time. Unless France did not expand in the future, it would be the best choice to exchange benefits now.

France lacks mineral resources, and the mineral resources in the Rhine region of Germany have always been coveted by France, especially the local rich coal resources.

Most of these areas are currently under the control of the Kingdom of Prussia, which is also one of the incentives for the Franco-Prussian War in history. The Prussians did not fulfill their prior commitments, and Napoleon III provoked the war.

……

Maximizing interests is the essence of any politician, and Napoleon III is no exception. Now he needs to get a benefit in Austria to consolidate his unstable country.

After some bargaining, on August 1853, 8, Metternich and Napoleon III signed the "Fano-Italy Issues Handling Outline", "Fao-Austria Treaty on the Division of Spheres of Influence in Central Europe", and "Fao-Austria Mutual Assistance Treaty" at the Palace of Versailles.

The first two treaties only stipulated outside the spheres of influence of the two countries, and many possible disputes were stipulated in the treaty.

The following secret agreement is the core of this negotiation. According to the agreement: France supports the establishment of the new Holy Roman Empire, and Austria will support the French in obtaining the areas west of the Rhine and parts of Italy. (including Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhineland, Kingdom of Sardinia, Sicily)

Franz is always generous when he is generous to others. If the French dare to ask, even if they include the Netherlands and North Germany, Metternich will not refuse.

Anyway, the support of this promise is only verbal, and there is no need to pay actual benefits.

Didn't Napoleon III know?It is obviously impossible, but he has confidence in the strength of France, and he thinks that there is no problem in winning these areas.

As long as the Austrians can fulfill their agreement, give verbal support, and not interfere with other countries, they will have great success.

There is always an ideal, what if it is realized?

An agreement was made in advance, and if an action was to be taken in the future, an opponent was also ruled out in advance.

Of course, Napoleon III was not stupid. He would not really believe in the promise of the Austrian government. With so many goals, even if they wanted to take action, they would not be able to achieve them in one go.

The road has to be taken step by step, and the meat has to be eaten bite by bite. As long as they don't rush forward, these goals are still very likely to be achieved by the French.

In short, everything depends on strength to speak.As long as France is strong enough, these small goals can be achieved.On the contrary, if the strength is insufficient, even if the Austrians fulfill their promise, they will not have the appetite to eat it.

Chapter 1

London

In any case, the British government is a hurdle that cannot be avoided.Since the German reunification process was stopped by the joint countries, Prime Minister Felix transferred to London.

In fact, the joint intervention plan of various countries has been in progress for a long time, and it was able to be delayed until an agreement was reached with the South German states. It was because of the help of the Russians that they hindered it.

In this regard, the tsarist government is still very reputable, and of course the public relations fees paid by Austria also played a role.

Otherwise, it is estimated that the joint declaration appeared just after the Kingdom of Saxony was settled, and it would be difficult for Austria to proceed with the subsequent plans.

It is almost impossible to achieve these goals without being able to make established facts and deal with them at the negotiating table.

The joint declaration has been released for so long, and the international conference has not yet been held. This is to leave time for Austrian public relations.

In other words, Austria has taken advantage of you, and we are jealous. If we can't get enough compensation, we will make trouble.

This is Franz's opinion, if the international conference is held immediately, Austria will not have time to act at all.No, it should be said that there is no time to go to London for activities.

Under the strong request of Napoleon III, this international conference was held in Paris, and the Paris government, which is close at hand, obviously had the opportunity to publicize.

Not to mention the Russians, Austria would not dare to act rashly without the support of Mao Xiong. Obviously, the two sides had already made a deal.Shrewd John Bull, how could he tolerate such a thing happening?

The meeting was originally planned to be held in July, but it was dragged abruptly to late August, which was requested by the British.

Faced with this situation, the Austrian government naturally had no choice, and Prime Minister Felix had to go to London himself.

……

Prime Minister Felix asked instead: "Mr. Henry, the importance of the Kingdom of Lombardy Venetia to Austria, you must not be unclear, the local economic value is still higher than that of South Germany.

Venice is Austria's largest foreign trade port. Most of Austria's naval ports are in the Venetian region. Do you think we might let go? "

British Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon smiled and said: "Mr. Felix, your country does not lack ports. Both Rijeka and Trieste are excellent ports. In the Dalmatia region, your country still has more ports. There are many ports that can be developed."

Felix shook his head and said: "Mr. Henry, in theory, as long as it is adjacent to the sea, it can be transformed into a high-quality port, but what about the development cost?

The Dalmatia region is the poorest province in Austria, and the local traffic is enough to make any port worthless.

So let’s stop talking about the proposal to abandon the Kingdom of Lombardy Venetia, it is impossible for us to agree. "

The British wanted to unify the Italian region, while at the same time checking and balancing Austria and France, and balancing the power of the Mediterranean.

However, on this issue, it was opposed by Austria, France and Spain at the same time, and the unification of Italy became far away.

The Kingdom of Lombardy Venetia is the compensation obtained by Austria for abandoning the Austrian Netherlands. It has a territory of 46991 square kilometers and a population of about 516 million, mainly Italians and some Germanic peoples.

This is the most fertile land in Italy, with the largest plain in Italy - the Po River Plain, where more than half of Italy's industry converges, and the most prosperous port in the Mediterranean - Venice, which once accounted for 30% of Austria's fiscal revenue. %.

Naturally, the Vienna government cannot easily give up such huge economic benefits.Even now that the British have recognized the new Holy Roman Empire as a condition, Prime Minister Felix has refused.

Unable to achieve this goal, Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon once again put forward new conditions: "Mr. Felix, your country cannot give up the Italian region, so it is not a problem to stop supporting the Russians!

Presumably you don't want to watch the Russians annex the Ottoman Empire, push their tentacles deep into the Mediterranean, and break the balance of Europe? "

After arriving in London, Felix had a feeling in his heart that the real goal of the British should be to dismantle the Russian-Austrian alliance, and now they have nothing to do.

"Mr. Henry, I think you have misunderstood. In the Near East War, we will only remain neutral and have never supported the Russians.

From the outbreak of the war to the present, the Austrian government has maintained neutrality, doing business with the Russians, which is adhering to the principle of free trade. "

Free trade was proposed by the British. This is one of the national policies of the British government. It is naturally impossible for Prime Minister George Hamilton Gordon to slap himself in the face.

George Hamilton Gordon asked: "Has your country decided, then, to join the free trade system?"

Felix said flickeringly: "Mr. Henry, the situation in Austria is different from that in your country. Many people in the country are worried that once they join your country to establish a free trade system, the economy will be hit.

After all, your country's industrial strength is too strong, and all the countries in the world may not be able to compare with you. "

That's right, the industrial strength of the British Empire is now thriving, and no country in the world can compare with them.

However, once the industrialization of the countries is completed, the weaknesses of the British Isles, which are small in size and poor in resources, will be exposed, and then there will be another ending.

Can't the British see this problem?The answer is: did not see.

The current British Empire is so brilliant that they ignore possible crises.Otherwise, they will start preparing now, not to mention being at the top forever, at least they can prolong the time of being the world's hegemon.

The best choice in theory is to shift the focus of development to Canada and compete with the Americans for the Americas. It is not impossible to kill the United States in this era with the national strength of the British Empire.

Secondly, it is to develop Australia and occupy the Nanyang region. With such an area supported, it can also support a superpower.

Thirdly, it is to develop the African continent. The total population of the African continent in this era was at most 2000 million. Thanks to the prevalence of the black slave trade, the African population is still in decline.

Americans can turn Indians into minorities, more professional John Bulls, or black uncles into protected animals.

No matter which one of these three options is, a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources will be invested. Unless the British elite are all time travelers, it will definitely be useless.

Although it's a bluff, in this day and age, it's a compliment.George Hamilton Gordon was very happy to be complimented by Felix, but this did not affect the subsequent negotiations.

George Hamilton Gordon was sure that the Austrian government would not mind joining the free trade system as soon as they let go of the German region.

This is obviously not the bottom line of Austria. George Hamilton Gordon continued to test: "Mr. Felix, since your country maintained neutrality in the Near East War, now that you have occupied the land of the Ottoman Empire, should you return it after the war? "

Felix could only lament that he was indeed the master of the mainland balance policy, and he thought of the problems after the end of the Near East War so quickly.

"We have to discuss this issue with the Ottoman government. If they can pay enough ransom, we don't mind returning the land they occupy now."

This "ransom" is obviously not something that the Ottoman Empire can afford. It is nothing more than to make the British make concessions on the issue of re-establishing the Holy Roman Empire in Austria.

In terms of territorial area, the sum of the major states currently targeted by Austria is less than 14 square kilometers, which is less than half of the territory currently occupied by Austria in the Ottoman Empire.

Kingdom of Bavaria: 75865 square kilometers

Kingdom of Württemberg: 20682 square kilometers

Grand Duchy of Baden: 15070 square kilometers

Kingdom of Saxony: 14993 square kilometers

Principality of Hessen-Darmstadt: about 1 square kilometers

Frankfurt Free City 248.31 square kilometers