At the Vienna Palace, the content of the Anglo-Prussian negotiations had already reached Franz. It's not how powerful the intelligence services are, it's completely deliberately leaked by the British.

This kind of high-level negotiation, in which only a few people know about it, and all of them are ministerial-level high-ranking officials, and it is simply not something that intelligence organizations can bribe.

It is not surprising that the Popo Federation moved closer to the British, in any case John Bull is a sea power country, it is impossible to become a continental hegemon, and there is no direct conflict between England and Prussia.

Austria, in contrast, is different. The Vienna government cries every day for the unification of the German region, and the core territory of the Pubo Confederation is in the German region, so it is no wonder that the Berlin government is not worried.

From Austria's standpoint, it is in the best interests of both Prussia and Russia to lose both. To cooperate with Austria is to seek the skin of the tiger. In the case of a choice, the Berlin government naturally leaned towards the British.

"What do you think is the conspiracy behind the British to promote Franco-Prussian relations?"

The British, who had been trying to isolate the French all along, were suddenly pushing the French closer together, and it was difficult for Franz not to figure it out with the greatest malice.

Foreign Secretary Wessenberg analyzed: "Your Majesty, there may be two reasons for this.

The outcome of this Prussian-Prussian war is unpredictable, and the British alone can guarantee the victory of the Prussian-Polish Federation, and they do not want to give up the benefits sent to the door, they must find someone to share the risk.

If the French are co-opted, with the British and French joining forces, even if the war situation is unfavorable, they will be able to keep the Popo Federation and ensure that the investment will not be lost.

The other thing is for us. The London government believes that the Franco-Austrian power has become unbalanced, and it needs to win over allies for the French to continue to maintain the balance on the European continent.

The latter is unlikely, and with the prestige left by Napoleon, the British will only overestimate the strength of France, and it is impossible to underestimate it.

Since supporting the restoration of the Spanish crown, the strategic situation of the French in Europe has been reversed. The government in London is still having a headache over the breakup of the Franco-Spanish alliance, and there is no reason to continue to woo allies for them. ”

In the mid-19th century, after the restoration of Napoleon III, France broke the shackles of the Vienna system and revived its military strength.

Fearing the military threat from France, European countries signed mutual defense treaties under the leadership of Austria, and France's strategy fell into a passive state.

Of course, the French did not block the path of expansion. For example, Aus-Sa had bad relations, the Kingdom of Sardinia was excluded from the United Defense Organization, and the French had only one way to expand into Italy.

In order to overcome the diplomatic embarrassment, Napoleon III took a series of political and diplomatic actions to improve relations with European countries.

After the outbreak of civil strife in Spain, the French government supported the restoration of Alfonso XII, Spain announced its withdrawal from the United Defense Organization, and the strategic blockade was declared bankrupt.

Geopolitical relations, the proximity of France and Spain, John Bull can't sleep. For the sake of their own strategic security, the British have always tried to find ways to divide France and Spain.

Prime Minister Felix: "Whatever the reason, it has become a fact that the law is getting closer. Without the cooperation of the British, it would have been difficult for us to stop this from happening.

The French were ambitious, always wanted to seize hegemony on the European continent, and it was impossible to refuse the Pop-Po Federation sent to their door.

The two sides already have a basis of interests for cooperation, and even if they are non-aligned, the relationship will go further. We need to be prepared in advance so that we don't get caught off guard. ”

There was no way, the Pop-Po Confederation chose the British, and Austria could only support the Russians, which was determined by national interests.

Franz was not interested in continental hegemony, but he couldn't say it! Austria had no ambitions for the European continent, and Franz himself did not believe it.

It's not a matter of ambition, it's mostly determined by strength. Whether you want it or not, as long as the strength is reached, interest groups will push the government upward.

Now Austria is not moving, that is, the game is still going on. The French are particularly powerful, and on the surface, the military strength of France and Austria is comparable, and there are British on the side.

The rise of Austria was one part military and nine parts politics, and there were relatively few radicals in the country. The ideal strategy for most people is to unify the German region, and world domination is not within the scope of the plan.

Of course, this also has something to do with the distribution of benefits. Austria did not get much from the colonial movement, and as a vested interest, it was naturally not so cynical and in a hurry to break the world order.

Foreign Secretary Wissenberg: "It's not that serious, and it's not all bad that the Franco-Prussian people are coming closer, at least the German Confederation is going to fall on us." If you're lucky, you might be able to win over Belgium.

As long as the Russians do not fall, the Pop-Po Federation will always be pinned, and the main thing we need to face is France.

The only headache is the uncertainty of the British's options. However, this is not difficult to solve, there are definitely more anti-French factions in the London government than anti-Austrian factions, and we have a greater advantage in diplomacy.

Moreover, it is still Belgium and the German Confederation, and it is impossible for the London government to completely ignore the interests of the younger brother, and it is more likely that it will join forces with us to suppress the French. ”

The reality is that the French import tens of millions of tons of coal from Belgium and Germany every year, and this number continues to increase.

This has seriously affected the development of the French economy, especially in the field of heavy industry, which has lagged behind Britain and Austria in general.

Even if the French government wanted to exercise restraint, the capitalists at home would not allow it. If the Paris government does not want to see an escalation of Italy's problems, it must address the energy problem.

Looking around, in addition to Belgium and the German Confederation, Britain and Austria are the only countries that are rich in coal nearby. This multiple-choice question is simply a fixed answer.

At the moment, the French were still actively looking for coal mines, hoping to make a profit in the North African colonies. When they finish prospecting, they take the most extreme way.

Everyone is a realist, and as soon as the French move, Belgium and Germany will find that the British are unreliable, and there is only Austria as an option.

Franz shook his head: "It's not that simple, hatred can't influence the decisions of the British, they can only be influenced by interests."

Judging from the current situation, the demand for resources in France is increasing, and in no more than twenty years, the French will reach out to Germany for resources.

When the time comes, we will either enter the market passively or actively participate in the game. The British will continue their balancing strategy, suppressing whoever is strong.

Judging by the economic data, the French have gone off the rails. In order to maintain rapid economic growth, I don't know which genius came up with the development of an industrial chain with the financial industry as the core.

At the current pace of development, how long do you think the Franco-Austrian balance can be maintained? ”

The essence of the usury empire has not changed, since the death of Napoleon III, the French government has been unable to suppress the domestic capitalists, and the economy has involuntarily tilted towards finance.

This situation has intensified as the energy crisis intensifies and the costs of industry in France continue to increase, with manufacturing as a share of GDP decreasing.

In the short term, illusory figures cover up contradictions, and no one can see the crisis. But once the war breaks out, all the problems will erupt.

Needless to say, the world boss always wants to suppress the second one. The bubble of the French was punctured, and that was when Austria and the British turned their faces.

Reinhardt Haldegen, Minister of the Economy: "How long the military balance can be maintained depends on how the international situation changes. Economically, however, the equilibrium has long been upset.

According to the analysis of data collected by the Bureau of Statistics, the industrial strength of France is only 68.1% of that of the British and only 58.6% of ours, and this proportion is still declining.

The gap is even greater in heavy industry, for example, in the steel industry: France produces only 37.2% of steel from the British, less than a third of ours.

Coal production is even more disparity, less than a third of the British, less than a quarter of ours.

These figures already tell a lot, but it is worth mentioning that the new Italian region has contributed almost nothing to French heavy industry, coal production is negligible, and steel has only a few small workshops. ”

It's not to underestimate the Italian region, there really aren't many resources there. The capitalists were willing to support Napoleon III in order to obtain more cheap industrial raw materials.

No one could have imagined that France was also resource-poor. The annexation of Italy only nominally increased the national power of France, but in reality it was more of a burden.

If nothing else, without Italy, France would definitely not have the resources it has now.

After a moment of hesitation, Franz made a decision: "Speed up the negotiation process with the Russians." As long as the Russians were willing to deposit their gold reserves in the Austrian National Bank, the insufficient part was subject to their territorial mortgage.

If the tsarist government agrees to spend ninety percent of these funds on the purchase of Austrian goods, we will accept that they will pay off their debts with industrial raw materials. ”

It no longer matters whether the loan is collected or not, and since the Popo Confederation has made a choice, Austria cannot afford not to react.

Moreover, this is also a long time predestined. With the international credibility of the tsarist government, who would dare to lend them money except Austria?

If the Viennese government had not supported the Russians, the war would have been decided before it had even begun.

Chancellor of the Exchequer's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly dissuaded: "Your Majesty, the financial situation of the Russians is very bad. Even if they win the war, they will not be able to pay it back.

There is no problem with the gold mortgage. But there was no need for a territorial mortgage, and Austria did not need the rotten land now.

The partition of the Pop-Po Confederation was a complete blank check, and now that the British have decided to support the Po-Po Confederation, there is a good chance that the French will support them.

With the backing of Britain and France, even if the Russians can win, they will not be able to destroy the Pop-Polish Federation, and at most they will recover the Polish region, and we don't need these rotten lands. ”

Karl repeatedly emphasized the "rotten ground", and Franz also had a headache. From the beginning of the localization of Africa, the desire of the Vienna government to expand on the continent was gone.

It's not that the land mortgaged by the Russians is really rotten, on the contrary, it is still very fertile, mainly because the cost is too high.

Franz stubbornly explained: "This is a strategic necessity, we need both Prussia and Russia to lose and eliminate two potential threats at the same time."

Without funding the tsarist government, what will the Russians fight with?

The issue of collateral can also be discussed with the Russians slowly. You can fool the tsarist government first, and as long as they win the war, you can exchange the territory of the Popo Federation.

Where the homeland of the German region is exchanged, we can exchange it at a ratio of 1:3, and let them mortgage the Ukrainian region as much as possible.

If the tsarist government insisted on taking the Bulgarian region as a mortgage, let them add Constantinople. They can also be allowed to redeem, but at a rolling interest. ”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl was worried: "With the credibility of the tsarist government, I am afraid that it will be difficult for them to fulfill the treaty, and I am afraid that there will be another dispute at that time." ”

It's not "I'm afraid", but there will inevitably be disputes. With the credibility of the Russians, the possibility of taking the initiative to fulfill the promise is almost zero, and it will depend on the strength at that time.

Franz was very relieved at this point, the Pubo Confederation was not weak, and the Russian Empire after the war would have to shed its skin if it did not die.