The British-Russian negotiations were not kept secret. Franz, who was far away in Vienna, received news, and even the content of the negotiations was restored.

Everyone understands such a simple truth when they are waiting for the price. The Russians deliberately leaked the news, and it is obvious that they are waiting for Austria to make a bid.

It doesn't have to be taller than the British. As long as there is almost a difference, the Tsarist government will definitely choose to stand with Austria.

This is determined by interests. The value of the Russian-Austrian alliance is much more valuable than that of the British-Russian alliance, and the British will not yet form an alliance with them.

Open the map and you will know that the long border between Russia and Austria does not have so many natural dangers to release lines. Without the alliance, the pressure on national defense alone will be a headache.

Especially for the already tired Tsarist government, the situation is even more serious. If you turn a frown with Austria, it means that all countries bordering them are enemies, or potential enemies.

When the Russian Empire was powerful, it was a battle against the east and west, and it established its reputation. Now it showed signs of fatigue and turned into a group of wolves and tigers.

The last time the Prussian-Russian War told the Tsarist government how many enemies they had. If the Second Prussian-Russian War lost again, then the Nordic Federation should also rush up to share the meat.

It is no secret that the Finns and Sweden had a hookup. When the Russian Empire was strong, the Swedes were very at ease, but with the failure of the Prussian-Russian War, Karl XV dared to openly meet with the leaders of the Finnish independence movement.

Of course, this potential threat cannot scare the Russians. It is difficult for the Russians to fight, but it is still not a big problem to maintain their current foundation.

Although there are many enemies, not many are willing to contribute. Except for the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland and the Ottoman Empire, these three families have deep enemies like the sea and there is no possibility of easing, and the rest of the enemies will only take the blame.

Now the Tsarist government is so poor that they have no other trump cards except for the domestic market that can be used as bargaining chips. They naturally have to sell it at a good price now.

I originally wanted Britain, France and the Austrians to bid for competition together, but unfortunately the French are very busy now and are unwilling to participate in the competition.

...

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Franz asked with a gloomy face: "The Russians have shown their chips. Do you think we want to compete with the British?"

It can be seen that he was in a very bad mood. The Tsarist government caused trouble at this time, which completely hit Austria's key point.

South Africa's gold has not been mined yet. In the struggle for monetary hegemony, the gold system was at a disadvantage. At this time, the Tsarist government turned to the British again, and basically could declare victory in the pound-gold system.

Prime Minister Felix replied angrily: "Your Majesty, you cannot let the Russians offend like this. We need to teach them a profound lesson."

In order to win over the Russians to join the ASCHENG - the gold system, Austria also paid a considerable price. All the benefits were taken, and things came again when they were about to come. In the eyes of Prime Minister Felix, this was betrayal.

Franz nodded, and without waiting for the others to speak, he made a quick decision: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded the Russians that the Russian-Austrian alliance is about to expire, and their actions are very heartbreaking!"

It is impossible to bid. How can I buy the same product twice? The Tsarist government is short of money, so it doesn't matter to Franz.

No matter what reason, as long as you violate the agreement, even if it is a verbal agreement, it is a betrayal.

After pausing, Franz stopped him again and said, "Forget it, don't be annoying at this time. Send an invitation letter to the Prussians, and William I know what to do."

How can verbal threats be deterred? The Russians dare to turn to the British, and they will support Prussia in the next Prussian-Russian War.

Although the Berlin government cannot make any bargaining chips, the cakes they draw are big enough!

Unless Alexander II can lie down the Prussians before the end of the Russian-Austrian alliance, Franz has nothing to say, he is not a treacherous person, Austria will definitely be neutral.

If the Russian-Austrian alliance is disbanded and the Prussian-Russian war breaks out again, don’t blame him for taking the blame. Not to mention anything else, simply cutting off the Russian-Austrian trade can cause the Russians to get hurt.

If that is not enough, then letting the Prussian Navy enter the Aegean Sea and letting them join forces with the Ottoman Navy to block the Russians' trade passages into the Mediterranean is also a good choice.

Many people will play with things like putting in trouble. If the Nordic Federation still doesn't know how to close the Baltic gates, then Franz will look down on them.

Once the two lifelines are broken, the Tsarist government cannot import strategic materials from the Far East to fight a war, right?

The Siberian Railway has not yet started construction, and even if it starts construction immediately, it will take more than ten years.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg analyzed: "Your Majesty, we don't need to be so proactive. The Prussians should be more anxious than us. They will come to us soon.

Britain and Russia began to get closer. Whether their boss would support them in the next war was an unknown.

If the Prussians cannot destroy this British-Russian transaction, they will have to move closer to us. Relatively speaking, in Eastern Europe, we have the most say."

...

Every politician is a qualified actor. When the Russians use the monetary system to test, Franz naturally needs to cooperate.

Not all the bigwigs of the Vienna government played a big show for them, showing the Russians what they wanted to see.

It won't take long before the content of this meeting will be transmitted to Alexander II's desk through secret channels, and then it will be his turn to have a headache.

The truth is true, the truth is true, even Franz himself doesn't know whether the content of this meeting will become a fact.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that Franz is pretending to be "angry". He has been an emperor for so many years and has learned to be calm and unrestrained. How can he express it?

Moreover, everyone has their own positions and thinks from the Russians' position. They are not wrong with this approach.

Franz often does tricks his teammates, and being cheated by his teammates often happens. If he was angry, Franz would probably have been angry to death long ago.

If he was really angry, Franz would not hold a meeting. Instead, he took action to retaliate, such as raising a pirate in the Aegean Sea, specifically blocking the Russians' door.

Or maybe they sponsored the Russian Revolutionary Party with some funds to make them disturb the Tsarist government.

In contrast, supporting the Kingdom of Prussia is a completely inferior strategy. Isn’t it useless to fall Russia and rise another Prussia?

The act was to "build the plank road openly and cross the Chencang secretly". After so long preparations, Austria also needs to take action.

It won't take long before the strategic value of the Persian Gulf will be reflected, and Franz will naturally intervene. No matter what, the British will not be able to dominate the place.

If it weren't for the fact that it was too close to India, the British would have been too close to the target. Franz would have acted long ago.

When will we wait for Oman to extend our tentacles to the Strait of Hormuz if we don’t take advantage of the opportunity of the Three Kingdoms to form an alliance?

Austria beat the British in South Africa, and the London government lured the Russians to join the free trade system and prying Austria's corner. Franz took the opportunity to reach out to the Persian Gulf that the British targeted, and everyone used their own means.

The Russians probably never dreamed that Franz was going to sell them to the British from the very beginning.

There is no way. I have already snatched a large tract of land in British South Africa and now I want to snatch the Persian Gulf, which the British regard as their possession, and I always need to calm the British.

Monetary hegemony is not so easy to establish, especially in the era of the gold standard. If the British did not have enough gold, would the British pound-the gold system still be able to change?

Since that's the case, it's better to make the British happy for a few days first. Use the halo of victory to cover up their failure in overseas colonial expansion.

As for the Russians, I am sorry, as the conflicts of interest between the two countries increase, this alliance is almost unable to be maintained, and this cannot be saved by individuals.

Unless the Russian Empire continues to decline, everyone can become good friends. Obviously this is impossible. Alexander II's reforms have already made Franz feel threatened.

During this reform, Alexander II had too many places following Austria. Compared with the original time and space, this social reform was much more thorough.

Not only did he liberate the serfs, but Alexander II also resolved the land contradictions, and even the industry developed very quickly.

Since the end of the Civil War, the industry and commerce of the Russian Empire have entered a period of rapid development. Although industrial products are still as garbage as ever, the growth rate of production capacity is still amazing.

The industrial capacity lost in the Prussian-Russian War recovered in just a few years, and the total industrial volume exceeded that before the war.

If it weren't for transportation and lack of capital, the Russian Empire would have been transformed long ago. Once any of these problems were solved, it would enter a period of rapid development.

They already have the basic elements of industrial development: rich resources, cheap labor costs, and suitable development policies.

There is no way. After the massive land reclamation, Russia's grain was unsalable, and domestic grain prices fell again and again, resulting in a significant drop in labor costs.

Russia's labor costs are only one-quarter of that of Austria and one-fifth of that of the British. For a labor-intensive industry, this is an unparalleled advantage.

Not only is labor cheap, but industrial raw materials are also very cheap. The only expensive thing is transportation costs, but not all places are like this. The Russian Empire also has rivers.

Capitalists will see these advantages sooner or later. As long as the Tsarist government can maintain its current ruling level, it will be a matter of time before it develops.

This was Alexander II's contribution, and he successfully shocked the Russian bureaucrats by killing the chicken to warn the monkey. So far, he has exiled thousands of bureaucrats to Siberia to enjoy the scenery of the northern country.

The corruption of the Tsarist government is still serious, but its execution ability has been improved by several levels, and no one dares to disobey the Tsar again.

The more I know, the more I know the horror of the Russian Empire. Perhaps Austria is no longer afraid of Russia's rise, but there is no need to cultivate a competitor for itself.

Therefore, when the Russians were in a state of emotion, Franz no longer comforted him. If he wanted to gain benefits through this method, the Tsarist government made a mistake in judgment from the very beginning.

Franz was not active, including the currency reform carried out by Alexander II. Although there were a lot of benefits to intervene, the Russians benefited the most.

Since the Tsarist government wants to make a deal to sell, it’s better to just drag it down. Even if the Tsarist government turns to the British, it doesn’t matter.

The British are not charitable either. If London bankers don’t peel off a layer of skin from them, would they be embarrassed to regard themselves as bankers?

In order not to betrayal, Franz threw out this benefit. Anyway, the reputation of the Tsarist government was terrible, so it would be no big deal to let them bear the charge of betraying the alliance.

...
Chapter completed!