Thanks to Franz's butterfly effect, the Russians were able to get the coveted Constantinople despite their heavy losses in the war in the Near East, and the domestic crisis was suppressed in the face of victory.

After two years of recuperation, the tsarist government began to be restless again. It was only at this time that the Vienna system was rebuilt, and there was no opportunity for them to expand on the European continent, and the tsarist government had to set its sights on Asia.

In October 1856, at the instigation of the Russians, the Persian dynasty captured Herat, and the British, who were provoked, immediately declared war on the Persian dynasty, and the Anglo-Polish War broke out.

Bordered by the Persian Gulf to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Axel River to the north, and the Indus River to the east, Herat's special geographical location determines its strategic position and has become an important link in the Anglo-Russian struggle for hegemony on the Asian continent.

During the Near Eastern War, the Russians planned an expedition to India to force the British to withdraw from the war, and Herat was an unavoidable hurdle.

At that time, the Herat government, fearing that it would offend the British, rejected the Russians' request for an excuse, and relations between the two countries deteriorated.

In order to pull out this nail, the tsarist government turned to support the Persian dynasty and now the Persian invasion of Herat.

Affected by the outbreak of the war in Central Asia, the negotiations in the Gulf of Guinea also took a turn for the better, and the British government had to make concessions in order to gain the support of international public opinion.

Without the-stirring stick of the United Kingdom, the subsequent negotiations would be much easier. Because of the late entry time, the French did not have much interest in the local area, and the Paris government did not make great efforts to compete, and the remaining countries did not have the strength to compete.

On November 1, 1856, Britain, France, Austria, the United States, Portugal and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of the Gulf of Guinea, also known as the Treaty of the Seven Powers, in Vienna.

The treaty stipulates that the coastal area of the Gulf of Guinea shall be divided into areas actually occupied by various countries, that the colonial strongholds of various countries shall not attack each other, and that the gold mines in the inland areas shall be discovered first and shall belong to whomever discovers them.

On the surface, no one suffered, but in fact this had already established Austria's hegemony in the region, and Austria, with its superiority in manpower, had an absolute advantage.

The United States, Spain, and France jointly occupy Liberia, Austria, Britain, and Portugal jointly occupy Sierra Leone, Austria, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands jointly occupy Côte d'Ivoire, Austria, Britain, and the Netherlands jointly occupy Ghana, Britain and Austria jointly occupy Togo, and Austria occupies Guinea.

The intertwining of the powers of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea has directly made it the most chaotic region in the world, and the Treaty of Seven has only temporarily suppressed the contradictions between the countries, but not eliminated them.

Seeing the map of the distribution of power in various countries, Franz had nothing to say, it was completely intertwined, for example: the British in Togo only had a stronghold of a few hundred people, but they just relied on it.

There is no way, the British Empire is so good at sea in this era, even if Austria has an advantage in the region, it cannot expel them.

Franz didn't feel unbalanced in his heart, diplomacy was within the range of artillery, and the British colonies couldn't be touched on the surface, so couldn't he do it secretly?

Don't look at the current criss-crossing of the countries in the Gulf of Guinea, and think that the competition between the countries is very fierce, but in fact, it is only Britain that plays the role of a-stirring stick, and does not want to see Austria dominate the Gulf of Guinea, so many countries can be used to contain Austria.

If there are not so many countries' forces, with their local strength alone, the possibility of being squeezed out of the Gulf of Guinea is very high, after all, their advantages are at sea, not on land.

Unless you are cowering in a colonial stronghold and do not come out, you may encounter danger once you go out to carry out colonial activities. This is the African continent, and it's normal for a little accident to happen.

In order to avoid this situation, the London government enlisted the countries to jointly divide the Gulf of Guinea. Anyway, they all got the biggest benefit, and Franz naturally didn't do things out of the way.

Don't look at the strength of the countries here, but this also represents everyone's face, and they will be expelled directly, and Austria will not have to mix in the international community.

……

"Your Majesty, the Anglo-Polish war has broken out, and the Russians want us to support their actions," Metternich said. ”

Yes, we have to support! At least pay lip service to support, no matter how restless the Russians are, as long as they don't make things happen on the continent, Franz doesn't care.

The negotiations in West Africa were already deadlocked, and the British, who had naval superiority, could not easily admit defeat, but as soon as the Russians made a move, they immediately gave in.

Now is the critical moment for the British to secure the Indian colonies, and the Russians are still suspicious of the motives for the Persians to occupy Herat?

Without the French as thugs, it is possible to play against the Russians on land, and even if they have an early strike, the London government does not dare to take it lightly.

Franz thought for a moment and said: "The tsarist government wants to find the bad luck of the British, just to facilitate our overseas expansion, what kind of support do they want?" ”

Metternich replied calmly: "In addition to diplomatic support, they also want to get a loan. ”

Again "loans", Franz understood why the German-Russian alliance collapsed in history. It's not that the government of Wilhelm II is stupid, it's just that they can't afford to support the Russians.

Don't look at the development of the German Second Empire at that time, it seems to be very rich, in fact, as a nascent empire, they don't have much capital accumulation at all.

No matter how fast the economy develops, it can't change the fact that they lack money. In the gold standard, rival Britain controlled most of the world's gold, and the German government had to be cautious if it wanted to issue more currency.

The size of the economy in the market has arrived, but unfortunately the government reserves are insufficient, and it would be good if the currency issued could meet its own needs, and there is not much money to lend to the Russians at all.

In order to contain the British, Franz decided to admit it, thought for a while and said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has negotiated with the Russians, and if the loan amount is small, you can agree to them, but you must have collateral." ”

Huge loans are out of the question, and the Vienna government is not rich, even if it is a condition for the use of loans.

Franz did not dare to act brutally on the matter of blindly issuing more currency, even if there were sufficient gold reserves, and the influx of a large amount of money into the market would cause inflation. Even if economics is not good, he still knows this bit of common sense.

Metternich explained: "Your Majesty, the tsarist government should not personally go into battle in this war, so their funding gap will not be too large.

The victory in the war in the Near East, although many people in the tsarist government drifted. But there were also many people of insight who recognized their own strength, they wanted to promote the reform of serfdom, and they were supported by Nicholas I.

After the end of the war, Nicholas I was ready to give all the soldiers the status of freemen, but the nobles joined forces to push them back on the pretext that the compensation was insufficient.

Now that the reformers and the conservatives are at loggerheads, it will be difficult for the tsarist government to concentrate on foreign expansion in a short period of time. ”

Franz asked with concern: "Is it possible for the tsarist government to use the war as an opportunity to divert domestic attention and carry out serfdom reforms?" ”

After pondering for a moment, Metternich replied, "Your Majesty, this is almost impossible. The tsarist government was now in great financial difficulty, and they could not raise so much money for the war.

India was the most important colony of the British, and the London government could not give it up easily, and the war would be protracted once it broke out.

It is impossible for the tsarist government to know this, and now what they are doing is nothing more than adding to the blockage of the British and delaying the annexation of India by the British. ”

Obviously, the tsarist government also knew the strength of the British, and as the biggest competitor, if they didn't pull back, would they still be considered enemies?

Waging a proxy war is a good choice, if you succeed, you will make a lot of money, but it doesn't matter if you fail, the tsarist government is also very experienced in selling teammates.