A noble banquet was being held in a manor in Paris. In an inconspicuous little corner, British Foreign Secretary Thomas and Russian Foreign Minister Carl Woesel gathered together.

If this news spreads, you can book it first.

Carl Woesel frowned and asked, "Mr. Thomas, you asked me over here, isn't it just for the sake of drinking?"

He was busy hooking up with a lady at the cocktail party and having fun, but he was interrupted by Thomas who came to the door. It would be strange if he could be in a good mood.

When talking about things, Carl Woesel doesn't think he has anything to talk about with the British now. Besides, this occasion is not right. Keeping the secret like a bell is just intentionally trying to make the Austrians discover it.

Thomas smiled and said, "Mr. Carl Woesel, don't you think Austria is a little too powerful after annexation of the Southern German region?"

Carl Woesel's face changed. There were many people in the Tsarist government who thought Austria was too strong, and he himself was one of them. It would be fine if his family talked about it in the house, but now it has been exposed by the British, and he dare not admit it.

Who knows if there is Austrian eyeliner around this area? Even if there isn't, I believe the British will have a way to let Austria know the content of the conversation.

Carl Woesel's political ability is still qualified. Knowing that this is a political trap poached by the British, he naturally would not follow the topic.

Now, he said bluntly: "Mr. Thomas, if it is this, you won't worry about it. It's not your turn to do things."

Ignoring his unreasonableness, Thomas still smiled and said, "Mr. Carl Vosel, there are no eternal friends in this world. As long as there are eternal interests, you are allies with Austria today, and you may become enemies tomorrow."

Now for the sake of ally relations, you indulge Austria to expand in the German region, and tomorrow you can face a unified Central European empire.

Make some preparations in advance and beware of this situation.

Russia and Austria are too close to each other. When Austria and Europe's expansion path is blocked, they can only develop to the Near East. You will sooner or later have conflicts..."

Before Thomas could finish his words, Carl Woesel said goodbye and left. He regretted having rashly contacted the British.

The Russian-Austrian alliance is Russia's most important foreign policy. How can it be changed easily? You cannot give up the covenant just because there may be threats.

If he couldn't see such an obvious provocation, then there would be a problem.

This seemingly distant meeting fell into the eyes of those who are interested and actually had a qualitative change.

Carl Woesel naturally did not notice these issues. He had to admit that the British's sow discord was very effective. Deep down, he was also very afraid of Austria. Just like the Austrian government was afraid of the Russians, allies also needed to be prepared!

This is Thomas's cleverness. Once things are revealed, it is difficult to not be affected.

Whether to pull Austria's hindrance has become a problem facing Carl Vosel, and he hesitated.

Sleepless all night, the next day the conference was held normally, Thomas attacked on the spot, and Carl Woesel involuntarily reduced his speeches.

Originally, it was the British and Pudong, Russia and Austria, and the French were on the sidelines, and the Spanish representatives were responsible for presiding over the meeting. When the stalemate could not be reached, they stood up and announced the recess.

Now the French attitude has changed, and Carl Woesel’s support is not enough, and Metternich was under tremendous pressure from the beginning.

However, the negotiations do not depend on the number of people, otherwise all countries will be brought in, and there are more people opposing Austrian expansion, so the reasons do not need to be explained.

Metternich, who has been through many battles in diplomacy, would naturally not be scared. If the representatives of Britain, France and the public are just swearing, I will remain unmoved anyway.

Thomas threatened: "Mr. Metternich, if your country refuses to give up the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, then all countries will impose sanctions on you."

Metternier said without changing his face: "Okay, we can make concessions. If we don't build the Holy Roman Empire, we will build the new Holy Roman Empire!"

This is completely avoiding the important things. If you waste such a lot of effort, it is not to make Austria change its national name, but to make them give up the benefits they have obtained.

Thomas will not say further coercion and inducement at the conference, so he needs to communicate in private. You can't block the Russians and make Austria turn against each other, right?

The Russians are not stupid. As long as they show a little bit of a spear, they will immediately react and take measures.

Thomas' previous series of work was actually just to create gaps between Russia and Austria and prepare for the split of the Russian-Austrian alliance.

If flies do not bite seamless eggs, if Russia and Austria have no gaps, the British will have nowhere to do it!

The second is to suppress Austria. Thomas made this primary and secondary strategy very clear. It seems that the effect is very good now. The Russians' inaction has obviously become a thorn in Metternich's heart.

After the meeting, Thomas showed up to him without leaving time for Metternich.

Either give up the Russian-Austrian alliance, Austria can swallow all the benefits he has obtained; or retain the Russian-Austrian alliance and spit out the benefits he has eaten; or welcome the nine-country interference in the coalition forces.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have been scared long ago, and Metternich was also not calm inside, but there was no flaw on the surface.

He said directly: "Mr. Thomas, this joke is not funny. Are you sure that the Nine-Nation Alliance is not teasing me?

There are conflicts between the Netherlands and Belgium, and the relationship between Spain and Portugal will not be much better. If your country and the French can work closely together, the Near East War would have ended long ago.

If you can make this conflicting coalition close, then I have nothing to say, Austria does not have the strength to compete with the nine countries."

If this can be done, Thomas won't have to talk nonsense here. As soon as the coalition forces were dispatched to the Austrian government to keep the custody, they admitted defeat.

No one is a fool. If you want to interfere in Austria, you have to depend on your interests. Even if the British forcefully pull them together, they will not work hard.

Perhaps, in the eyes of many people, fighting Austria is not as cost-effective as cheating teammates. At least you can kill people with a knife and consume the enemy's strength.

The British have done too much of this kind of tricking their teammates. It can be said that they have lowered the integrity of their allies and removed from the line. Now everyone follows the example, and intimate cooperation has long disappeared.

After being exposed to his weakness, Thomas said calmly: "Mr. Metternich, all the problems you mentioned exist, but no matter how conflicted the Nine-Nation Alliance is, its strength advantages cannot be ignored.

Even as long as the two countries of France join forces, your country may not be able to hold on.

Don't doubt our determination. At worst, you can take back the coalition forces on the Crimean Peninsula. As long as Constantinople is still in our hands, the initiative is in our hands.

If we make certain concessions and acknowledge the Russian occupation of Bulgaria and the Danube, how likely do you think the Russians are to compromise?

In the face of interests, will the Russians take into account the Russian-Austrian alliance? Everyone knows the credibility of the Tsarist government. Do you need to test it again?"

Metternich said without changing his face: "Mr. Thomas, I admit that what you said makes sense. Unfortunately, you can make concessions to the Russians, but the French cannot make concessions!

Mr. Thomas, I suggest you need to walk the streets of Paris to see how the French people are experiencing this Near East War.”

There is no way. The French people in this era have been completely suppressed for a long time and have just been released.

Napoleon III launched a war against Russia, not just his personal will, but the French people were dissatisfied with the failure of the anti-French war and wanted to avenge the Russians.

In this ideological context, letting the Paris government make concessions is simply to let Napoleon III get out.

It is related to one's own interests. Even if the British can fool them, Napoleon III will never compromise.

The threat to the future is the future. If you make concessions now, the French people will not have that long vision and will immediately let him get out.

At this point, Napoleon III, the Near East War could not win, but he would never admit defeat. No matter how much the French army suffered losses on the battlefield, he had to end with a big victory.

It is impossible to let the Tsarist government act and deliberately create a big defeat, right? Nicholas, who was a soldier, could not do such a thing, even if the benefits were of great importance.

The Tsarist government could not afford to lose, and the status of the European hegemony no longer exists. The suppressed domestic conflicts will be immediately detonated, and they cannot do the things that sacrifice themselves for others.

...

St. Petersburg

Franz is living a life with a group of Russian nobles, basically eating, drinking, and having fun every day, living a very luxurious life.

Diplomatic and Public Relations? In addition to exchanging the future strategies of the two countries with Nicholas I and further communication in politics, the rest of the matter was discussed by his subordinates.

Regarding the issue of German unification this time, Franz only mentioned it symbolically, and Nicholas I also had a formulaic answer, and everything was done in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant.

Then, most of the time is the future of the Ming Dynasty, Alexander II, who is the grand Russian, who is receiving him. The Tsar is also very busy and has official duties to deal with every day, so there is not so much time to come out to waste.

Visit the scenic spots and historical sites in St. Petersburg, attend a noble party, and hook up with a noble lady. In short, I had a lot of fun in Franz, St. Petersburg.

The attendant whispered in Franz's ear: "Your Majesty, please check it out by telegram from the Paris Conference from Vienna."

Thanks to the establishment of the Russian-Austrian alliance, in order to strengthen communication between the two countries, the wired telegrams from St. Petersburg to Vienna were finally connected.

Franz is a responsible emperor. Even if he is far away in St. Petersburg, he has not forgotten to pay attention to domestic affairs, especially this Paris conference, which is the focus of attention.

After receiving the telegram and reading it briefly, Franz had a headache. He did not expect the British to take a move at the last moment.

Interfering with the coalition forces is not a matter of winning by fighting or not, but definitely not winning by fighting!

This is not enough to finish a fight. Once the war is ignited, if you want to stop, you will not be controlled by your personal will.

The difficulty really needs to be tied to the Russians to fight against the entire European continent? As soon as this idea arose, Franz left it behind.

The Russians have geographical advantages and can never be timid. Austria will not do it. Once the battle starts, it will become the front line. If you lose, you will get a box lunch. If you win, you will also suffer heavy losses. Franz will not do the business that is destined to lose.

After looking at the map of Europe, Franz made the decision.

"I call back to the country and suggest that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicate with the French, and also bring the Russians together to make the stance of our division of the Prussian Kingdom and see how the British deal with it."

It’s not about how the British deal with it, but about how the Prussians deal with it. The British can also sit firmly on Diaoyutai. As long as the European continent is not the only one, they can continue to play in balance.

The Prussian Kingdom is different. France, Russia and Austria divide Prussia, which is completely a matter of killing them. They can't win one-on-one, and the one-on-three battle cannot be fought at all.

The French obtained territory west of the Rhine, the Russians obtained Poland, and Austria obtained the part of Berlin, which seemed very perfect.

No one has to worry about Austria becoming bigger and France and Russia expanding. With the friendship of sharing the stolen goods together, the Near East War can be stopped. After getting the Rhineland region, Napoleon III can also give an explanation to the people.

Franz really wanted to see Frederick William IV's expression after receiving this news. If he couldn't get the Southern German region, he would compensate the interests of the Kingdom of Prussia, which seemed acceptable to Austria.

The only trouble is that the Kingdom of Prussia is a tough bone. The Russians are the easiest to take the Polish Poland, and it is not difficult for the French to seize the Rhineland region. If Austria wants to attack the Berlin region, it will have to fight the Kingdom of Prussia.

The most troublesome thing is that once the battle is too fierce and both sides are covered with each other's blood, then the post-war rule is a copy of hell.

For details, please refer to Switzerland. It was originally the ancestral land of the Habsburg Dynasty. Because the original ancestors were not strong enough and did not suppress the rebellion of the Swiss nobles in time, the battle lasted for a long time and the two sides had too much blood on their hands, which turned into a feud.
Chapter completed!