Chapter 223: Schemes
A noble banquet was being held in a Parisian mansion. In a small, inconspicuous corner, British Foreign Secretary Thomas and Russian Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode met.
If this news were to get out, the headlines on the front pages of the Parisian newspapers could be booked in advance.
“Mr. Thomas, did you invite me here just for a drink?” asked Karl Nesselrode with a frown.
He had been busy at the wine party flirting with noblewomen and enjoying himself, only to be interrupted by Thomas looking for him, so his mood could hardly have been better.
As far as business was concerned, Karl Nesselrode thought there was nothing good for him and the British to talk about now. Besides, it was not the right occasion. This was done deliberately so that the Austrians would discover it.
Thomas smiled and said, “Mr. Nesselrode, don’t you think Austria has become a little too powerful after annexing Southern Germany?”
Karl Nesselrode’s complexion changed. Many in the Russian government felt that Austria was now too strong, and he was one of them. It was one thing to say this at home, but now that the British were on to them, he dared not admit it.
Who knew if there were Austrian spies here? Even if there weren’t, the British surely had ways of letting Austria know the contents of their conversation.
Karl Nesselrode’s political skills were at least passable. He knew that this was a political trap dug by the British, so of course he would not pursue the topic.
He casually said, “Mr. Thomas, if that’s what this is about, don’t bother sticking your nose in. We can handle our affairs without your input.”
Ignoring his unreasonableness, Thomas continued smiling and said, “Mr. Nesselrode, there are no eternal friends in this world, only eternal interests. Today you and Austria are allies; tomorrow you may be enemies.
Now, for the sake of your alliance, you allow Austria to expand into Germany. Tomorrow you may find yourself facing a unified Central European empire.
Making some preparations beforehand and taking precautions can never be wrong.
Russia and Austria are too close to each other. With Austria’s path of expansion in Europe blocked in the future, they would only be able to develop towards the Near Eastern regions. Sooner or later, conflicts would inevitably arise between the two…”
Before Thomas could finish speaking, Karl Nesselrode directly bid farewell and left. He already regretted the rash contact with the British.
The Russo-Austrian alliance was Russia’s most important foreign policy. How could it be changed so easily? One cannot abandon an alliance just because of potential threats.
This open provocation to sow discord was so obvious. If he could not see it, then there would be real problems.
This seemingly unfortunate meeting had already undergone a qualitative change in the eyes of the interested parties.
Karl Nesselrode, of course, did not notice these problems. He had to admit that the British sowing of discord was very effective. In his heart, he was also extremely wary of Austria, just as the Austrian government was wary of the Russians. You have to be careful even with allies!
This was Thomas’ brilliance. Once things were provoked, it became difficult not to be affected.
The dilemma for Karl Nesselrode was whether or not to cut Austria’s legs off. Since this was a matter of great national importance, he hesitated.
Sleepless all night, the grand meeting took place the next day as planned. Thomas went on the offensive right away, and Karl Nesselrode involuntarily reduced his speaking time.
Originally, it was Britain and Prussia on one side, Russia and Austria on the other, with France mediating in between. The Spanish representative was in charge of presiding over the meetings, standing out to announce adjournment when deadlocks occurred.
Now the French attitude had changed, and Karl Nesselrode’s support was also insufficient. From the beginning, Metternich was under enormous pressure.
However, negotiations were not about having a larger number. Otherwise, all countries could be included and those who are against the Austrian expansion would be even more. There is no need to explain the reasons.
Metternich, a seasoned veteran of the diplomatic arena, was not easily intimidated. No matter how righteously the representatives of Great Britain, France, and Prussia warned, he remained unmoved as a mountain.
Thomas threatened: “Mr. Metternich, if your country is not willing to give up the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, then the various nations will have to impose sanctions on you.”
Metternich said impassively: “All right, we can make concessions and not re-establish the Holy Roman Empire. It should be all right if we found the New Holy Roman Empire instead!”
This was a complete avoidance of the key issues. The effort was not only to get Austria to change its national title to settle the matter but also to get them to give up the interests they had gained.
Further intimidation and inducement would not be openly stated by Thomas at the meeting. This required private communication. One could not expose things in front of the Russians and have Austria change sides!
The Russians were no fools either. As long as there was a hint of the spearhead, they would react immediately and take action.
All of Thomas’ work so far was just to create rifts between Russia and Austria in preparation for splitting the Russo-Austrian alliance.
Flies never visit an egg that has no cracks. If there were no cracks between Russia and Austria, the British would have no place to start!
The secondary objective was to suppress Austria. Thomas made this primary-secondary strategy very clear. Now it seemed to be working quite well. The Russians’ inaction had become a thorn in Metternich’s side.
At the end of the meeting, without leaving Metternich any time, Thomas laid his cards on the table.
Either abandon the Russo-Austrian alliance, and Austria could swallow all the interests gained, or keep the Russo-Austrian alliance and spit out the interests that were eaten, or welcome the allied forces of the nine-nation intervention alliance.
If it were an ordinary person, he would have been frightened long ago. Metternich, too, was not calm inwardly, but outwardly he did not show the slightest fault.
He mocked directly: “Mr. Thomas, this joke is not funny at all. The Nine-Nation Alliance Army, are you sure you’re not joking with me?
The Netherlands and Belgium are at odds with each other, and relations between Spain and Portugal are not much better; if your country and the French could cooperate closely, the Near East War would have ended long ago.
If you can make this alliance full of contradictions become intimate, then I have nothing more to say, Austria does not have the strength to resist nine countries.”
If they could achieve that, Thomas would not need to babble here. As soon as the allied forces are dispatched, the Austrian government will surely admit defeat.
Nobody was a fool here. Intervention in Austria still depended on interests. If the interests were not sufficient, even if the British forced them together, their participation would be superficial.
Perhaps in many people’s eyes, attacking Austria was not as cost-effective as sabotaging allies. At least they could borrow the knife to kill without spilling blood and draining the enemy’s strength.
The British had done too much of this sabotaging of allies. It could be said that they lowered the level of ethics between allies. Now everyone followed their example, and there was no longer any close cooperation.
With the weaknesses exposed, Thomas calmly said, “Mr. Metternich, the problems you mentioned do exist, but even with all the contradictions, the superiority in the strength of the Nine-Nation Alliance cannot be ignored.
Even if only France and Prussia were allied, your country might not be able to withstand it.
Do not doubt our resolve. At worst, we will withdraw the allied forces from the Crimean Peninsula. As long as Constantinople remains in our hands, the initiative will still be with us.
If we make some concessions and recognize Russia’s occupation of Bulgaria and the Danube region, how likely do you think Russia would compromise?
Would Russia care about the Russo-Austrian alliance in view of its interests? Everyone knows the credibility of the Russian government. Do you need to test it again?”
Metternich said without changing his expression: “Mr. Thomas, I admit that what you have said makes a great deal of sense. Unfortunately, while you can make concessions to Russia, France cannot!
Mr. Thomas, I suggest that you take a walk in the streets of Paris to see the attitude of the French public towards this Near East War.”
There was no way around it. The French public of that time had been pent up for too long and was ready to explode.
When Napoleon III launched the war against Russia, it was not only his will but also the desire of the French public to take revenge on Russia, which was dissatisfied with the failure of the Napoleonic War.
From this point of view, getting the French government to compromise would be tantamount to overthrowing Napoleon III.
When it came to his interests, Napoleon III could not give in, no matter how much the British cajoled him.
Future threats were matters for the future. If concessions were made now, the French public would not have such foresight and would immediately overthrow him.
At this point, Napoleon III might not be able to defeat Russia in the Near East War, but he could not admit defeat. Even if the losses of the French military on the battlefield were huge, he would still have to end it with the appearance of a great victory.
You cannot make the Russian government put on a show and deliberately manufacture a huge defeat! As someone from the military, Nicholas I could not do such a thing even for greater interest.
The Russian government could not afford to lose either. If it lost its status as Europe’s hegemon, its repressed internal contradictions would immediately explode. They were incapable of putting the interests of others before their own.
Saint Petersburg
Franz was partying with a group of Russian nobles in Saint Petersburg. Every day was spent eating, drinking, and having fun, living a very extravagant life.
Diplomatic public relations? Apart from communicating with Nicholas I about the future strategies of both countries and further political coordination, the rest of the business was handled by subordinates in discussions.
As for the question of German unification, Franz mentioned it only symbolically, and Nicholas I also gave a formulaic answer — everything would be handled according to the alliance agreements.
Afterward, he was received mostly by the later famous Alexander II of Russia. The Tsar was also very busy, he had to deal with state affairs every day, without much time to come out and mess around.
Touring the sights and antiquities of St. Petersburg, attending noble banquets, taking advantage of opportunities to flirt with noble ladies... In short, Franz had a great time in St. Petersburg.
A servant whispered in Franz’s ear: “Your Majesty, there is a telegram from the Paris Conference, forwarded from Vienna, please check it.”
Thanks to the establishment of the Russo-Austrian alliance to strengthen communication between the two countries, the telegraph line from St. Petersburg to Vienna was finally connected.
Franz was a responsible emperor. Although he was far away in St. Petersburg, he had not forgotten to keep an eye on domestic affairs, especially this Paris Conference, which was the focus of attention.
After receiving the telegram and briefly reading it, Franz got a headache. He had not expected the British to make a move at the most critical moment.
The interference of the allied forces was not a matter of winning or losing, but of not being able to win!
This was not a simple battle where they could just end things. Once the flames of war were ignited, the power to stop it would be beyond anyone’s control.
Should they stand together with the Russians and confront the entire European continent? This thought had just arisen when Franz tossed it out of his mind.
Thanks to its geographical advantage, Russia could afford not to submit. Austria could not. Once the fighting started, it would become the front line. To lose would be to surrender sovereignty; to win would also be catastrophic. Franz would not make such a gamble.
Looking at the map of Europe, Franz made his decision.
“Telegraph back internally, advise the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to communicate with the French. You can also pull Russia together to take the position that we are dividing the Kingdom of Prussia, and see how the British deal with it.”
It’s not a matter of seeing how the British deal with it, it’s a matter of seeing how the Prussians deal with it. The British can still sit firmly in the British Isles, as long as no single power dominates the European mainland, they can continue to maintain the balance of power.
Things were different for the Kingdom of Prussia. The division of Prussia by France, Russia, and Austria would kill them. Even one on one, they couldn’t win; if it was one on three, this battle couldn’t be fought.
France would get the territory west of the Rhine, Russia would get Russian Poland, and Austria would get the Berlin area; on the surface, this seemed perfect.
No one had to worry about Austria getting bigger because France and Russia would also expand. Relying on the relationship of sharing the spoils, the Near East War could also end, and after receiving the Rhineland, Napoleon III could also have something to tell the public.
Franz very much wanted to see how Frederick William IV would react to this news. Unable to hold on to Southern Germany, compensating with the interests of the Kingdom of Prussia also seemed acceptable to Austria.
The only problem was that the Kingdom of Prussia was a tough nut to crack. For Russia, it was easiest to take Russian Poland; for France, it was not difficult to conquer the Rhineland. For Austria, a move on the Berlin area meant a fight to the death with the Kingdom of Prussia.
The worst thing was that if the fighting became too intense, and both sides ended up covered in each other’s blood, then governing afterward would be hell.
One could refer to Switzerland, originally the ancestral land of the House of Habsburg. Because the original ancestors failed to promptly suppress the rebellion of the Swiss nobles after prolonged fighting, both sides were covered in too much blood and became lifelong enemies.
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