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

This is the war that has affected the most countries in the world, involved the widest areas of war and the largest scale since the anti-French war.

There is no doubt that this is also the war with the worst casualties and the biggest economic losses. The total loss of troops of both sides of the war exceeded two million, and the total economic losses of each country exceeded two billion Aegis.

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

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

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

If you do it again, the Russians will definitely not just go so straightforward.

The two principalities of Schleswig and Holstein were assigned to Denmark at the Paris Conference. The war of Prussian invasion of Denmark was opposed by European countries, and they could completely use roundabout ways to solve the problem.

Of course, the Russians are not good at roundabout diplomatic methods, and do not look majestic enough to show the glory of their European hegemony.

Unexpectedly, the war that was originally used to establish authority finally buried the hegemony of the Russian Empire, and a great empire was dying.

The negotiations fell into a nonsense mode at the beginning, and the Russian delegation was slandered. In addition to the help of the Danish representative, they were directly trapped in a state of siege.

This is the disadvantage of too many enemies. If Poland is considered a country, the Russians will face the Eight-Nation Alliance. (The Kingdom of Prussia, the Ottoman Empire, the Four Central Asian Countries, Poland, and the **** Empire)

The disputes between the belligerent countries will naturally be watched. If everyone participates, the Russians will be even more tragic.

The Prussian diplomatic activities still played a role, gaining the understanding of most European countries, and they provided a lot of evidence that was unfavorable to the Russians, obviously well prepared.

After the first day of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov knew that things were broken and met with Austrian representative Wesenberg overnight.

Clarence Ivanov didn't take a turn and said straight to the point: "Your Excellency, we need your country's help now!"

After a while of silence, Austrian Foreign Minister Wesenberg spoke: "We are allies, and it is appropriate to help each other. What kind of help does the Marquis need?"

He knew the Russians' purpose very clearly, but now they had to pretend to be confused in order to gain a more favorable position and re-establish the dominance of the Russian-Austrian alliance.

Clarence Ivanov didn't think so much about it. The change of European hegemony became a foregone conclusion. No matter whether it fell into the hands of the French or Austria, they were nothing.

The dominance in the Russian-Austrian alliance is not that important to the Russians who have lost their continental hegemony.

"The current diplomatic situation is very unfavorable to us. I hope your country can exert its influence and turn this situation around!"

The one-sided situation was completely beyond the expectations of the Tsarist government. In their plan, most European countries should adopt a neutral attitude rather than directly standing on the opposite side of Russia.

This is when the Russians didn't have time to change their mindset and still brought themselves into the role of European hegemony.

Even if everyone was very dissatisfied with the Russian Empire in the era of continental hegemony, few countries dared to express their position. Neutrality is the position of a small country.

It's different now. The Russian Empire was not only seriously injured in the war, but also fell into a civil war. Its status in the world has been greatly reduced and it will not scare European countries.

The anger in the past broke out at this time. Before that, the Tsarist government also conducted diplomatic and public relations, and according to the results, we knew that they had helped. Not only did they not attract allies, they pushed some countries to the opposite side.

In this case, they had to seek Austria's support. Since the Vienna Conference in 1815, Austria has occupied an important position in European political and diplomacy.

The establishment of the Vienna system twice was the pinnacle of Metternich diplomacy. Until now, Austria has the best influence in European political and diplomatic affairs.

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

It seems that this kind of political and diplomatic influence is of no use, but in fact it ensures that Austria will not fall into isolation and avoids the crisis of being enemies all over the world.

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

Wesenberg shook his head and said, "Marquis Marquis, you overestimate our influence. The current situation is indispensable to the pushers of Britain and France. You don't think Austria can fight against the combined influence of Britain and France, do you?"

If you can’t help this, there will be endless troubles. It will be a price to change your diplomatic stance in various countries. There is no sufficient benefit, why does Austria pay this price?

Clarence Ivanov's face darkened. He knew that things were not that simple. If Austria took action, these small countries would now be neutral again.

Nothing can compare to the influence of the United Kingdom and France. In fact, these small countries are fence-bearing without involving their own interests.

In the Vienna system era, Austria could expel the British from Europe, suppress France to one another, and restrict the Russians to Eastern Europe, relying on diplomatic SCO.

The annexation of the Southern Germany region caused panic among European countries, and did it quickly overcome the difficulties?

"Old Earl, we will not let you help in vain."

After saying that, Clarence Ivanov sent a check from the Royal Bank, and the numbers on it were blank, so he asked Wesenberg to fill it out by himself.

After receiving the check, Weisenberg was a little amused. Is he such a person? It is not popular in Austria to ask for bribes. If this thing is accepted today, he will go home to retire tomorrow.

These days, Austrian ministers have no poverty. Franz is very generous in taking action. They have a family property in the colony, and at least thousands of hectares of land were started.

These lands need to be managed by themselves, and many rich people can disdain it, but the land with the title of fiefdom and nobles doubled instantly.

No one would think there were too many noble titles, especially those with fiefs. It doesn’t matter if they are far away in the colony, as they will be localized sooner or later.

In order to leave a few more home business for future generations, Wesenberg pushed the check back and said, "Sorry, Marquis, I dare not accept this money.

If countries want to change their positions, they will have to pay a price, which will definitely not be solved in just a few words.

If you want to get rid of the current dilemma, you can start with Sweden-Norway. The Nordic Federation is being formed. At this time, they must take into account the Danes' feelings.

Then win over the German Federation and exaggerate the Prussian threat theory. If the Prussian Kingdom wants to become a real big country, annexing them is the only choice.

It is not difficult to convince Belgium. The French pose too much threat to them. They will need your help, at least make them neutral.

Spain, Portugal and your country have no conflict of interest, and I believe your Excellency has the ability to convince them to remain neutral."

Wesenberg gave a solution. Whether it can be done depends on the ability of the Tsarist government. No country without conflicts of interest can keep people neutral, so what else can diplomacy?

This is the confidence of the great powers. No matter how the Russians decline, they are still one of the four major powers in Europe, and their comprehensive national strength is far superior to Prussia and Spain.

After hearing this idea, Clarence Ivanov was a little embarrassed. These should be considered routine operations, but they actually messed up before and now they need to be remedied.

There is no doubt that in addition to the "mentality" of diplomats causing "mistakes", the mistake in the starting point of lobbying is also an important factor.

This is not a person's responsibility. Russians can solve problems through diplomatic means, and they have to wait until the time of Alexander III, before that, before they are used to dealing with everything by force.

Under this general background, it is normal for diplomats to fail in their abilities. Even if they can reach the passing level, they are elite diplomats.

After pausing, Clarence Ivanov still handed over the check and said politely: "Thank you, Lord Earl! You have gained friendship with the Russian Empire."

There was no business, but the other party gave an idea and still had to give the money.

This set of rules of the money game is passed through within the Tsarist government bureaucratic group, and Clarence Ivanov has become accustomed to it.

In fact, in this era, the foreign ministries of various countries were also a severely affected area of ​​corruption. It should not be too simple to make a fortune when working abroad.

It turned out that Wesenberg also received gifts when he was in office, but as his position rose, he gradually became more and more caring about his feathers, afraid that his competitors would catch his braids.

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

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

There was no result in the Ottoman battlefield in the Near East, so it would not cost much to send them away; I don’t know much about the Far East, but the distance is too far, so it should not be of much value.

The Central Asian region has almost lost, so I just let it give up. As long as the core interests are protected, other side branches are not worth mentioning.

From the perspective of long-term development, I think the Eastern European issue is not a big deal. With your country's strength, what you lose now can be brought back sooner or later.

Britain and France are making small moves. If the negotiations are delayed for too long, it is easy to cause trouble. As far as I know, the Kingdom of Prussia is still expanding its military preparations, and it is very likely that the war will be ignited again."

It is really good to let the Russians complete the negotiations quickly and end the war. After all, if it continues, it is not strange that the war breaks out again.

According to European practice, if you cannot get benefits at the negotiating table, you can get them on the battlefield. In the current situation, as long as the Russian Empire dares to fight, the front-line army will dare to lose.

At least there is no hope on the battlefield in Eastern Europe. Logistical supplies cannot be guaranteed, and war cannot be fought at all.

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

After listening to Wesenberg's explanation, Clarence Ivanov was in a much heavier mood.

It is not a problem to lose other regions. The Russians have lost money, and Eastern Europe is the core of the Russian Empire.

The land that is lost now will definitely be fought back in the future. The bears are very revengeful. The Prussian Kingdom has replaced the Ottoman Empire and become their number one enemy.

Once the Tsarist government recovers, they have to look for their bad luck. Wherever they fall, they have to get up. The Russians never lack resilience.

Wesenberg's kind reminder only deepens his impression and makes the Russians always remember this hatred.
Chapter completed!