The Ottoman Sultan was actually very tempted, as long as he agreed, as long as the diplomatic representative with his authorized document signed the convention establishing the Straits Commission and the rules governing passage through the Straits Strait, his hundreds of thousands of troops could withdraw to the mainland and quickly put down the rebellion everywhere.

But Britain threatened the Ottoman Empire with economic aid if it dared to agree, and refused to provide loans to the Ottomans and refused to issue government bonds in London.

Without the support of Britain, the Ottoman Empire could collapse quickly, and at this time, it would collapse with either signing or not signing, and the Ottoman Empire would be very difficult. But what Britain can threaten is precisely what China can provide. Britain was not willing to take on the bonds of the Ottoman Empire, China was willing, as long as it signed. Ottoman bonds could be issued quickly in the Black Sea region, and once peace was restored, everyone was optimistic about the Ottoman Empire's geographical advantage and their ability to pay its debts.

This is very tempting, the Sultan is really a little afraid of the strait, it can be said that if it were not for this strait, the Ottoman Empire would not be what it is now, and if the Ottoman position was in Egypt, there would definitely not be so much trouble. Of course, the Egyptians can also accept that the Suez Canal can be in the hands of the Chinese in order to live comfortably, if they are the Ottoman Empire, which is obviously no longer good, but the horse cannot fall, I am afraid that Egypt is also about to end.

The Sultan quickly reached an agreement with the Chinese consul, but the Sultan hoped that after the other countries agreed, the Ottoman would sign, so that the Ottoman would take the least political risk, after all, everyone else had signed, and the Ottoman signature would not be so conspicuous, and the British could not only stare at the Ottoman threat, but also threaten other countries, such as Spain, which did not sign.

Because the British naval base in Gibraltar is on the edge of Spain, and now there is still no winner in the Americas, most of the colonies are occupied by the Carlos dynasty, which greatly affects the finances of the Spanish government, and also falls into a long-term competition with Carlos, they can guarantee half of the colonies, but also rely on British support, it can be said that Spain's current state of division is the result of the Sino-British game, they are already a small country bound to the British chariot, and can only follow the British road to the black.

There was no reason for the Manchu Empire, and the representatives of Daoguang left their names at will, for them, whether they had power or didn't have power, they didn't care at all, but they seemed very free.

China was the first to sign, Russia the second, France the third, and the Manchus the fourth.

After the signing of the great powers, the Greek king, who had turned his back on China in terms of westward expansion, probably chose to sign in order to make up for the broken relationship with China. Although the king of Egypt is sandwiched between the big powers, since China can control the Suez Canal for a long time, it reflects its influence on this country, so Egypt has no twists and turns in signing. The Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy, whose fundamental interests at this time were not at all on the sea, after the last revolution they tried to unify northern Italy, only to be defeated by Austria. Later, under the pressure of domestic public opinion, the bourgeois politician Cavour came to power, although Cavour had personal conflicts with the king, but the national interests were the same, Cavour began to rely on France one-sidedly, in the hope that France could support the Kingdom of Sardinia to unify Italy. So after France signed, they didn't have any worries about signing.

Half a month later, only Austria did not sign among the large countries, and only Spain did not sign among the small countries.

Spain is dispensable, but Austria is not only a big country, but also a country with coastlines in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, without their participation, this Straits Convention is meaningless, and signing represents recognition, signing also means maintenance, Austria does not sign, unlike Spain, Spain does not sign, it will not sign, Austria does not sign, it means that he will become a saboteur of the Straits Convention, because Spain can not go through the strait, but Austria must pass through the strait.

Around Austria, China and Britain fought a fierce diplomatic battle.

In order to show his attention, the crown prince of China personally visited Austria.

"Your Majesty. The Convention represents more than just a rule, it represents a power. After all, the Convention was to be adopted, even without Austria's participation. Do you know what this means, it can only mean that Austria relinquishes power on its own initiative. ”

The crown prince of China addressed the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph.

Emperor Joseph was still very young at this time, but he was very self-disciplined, he ruled a country full of holes, the second largest empire in Europe, he was of noble blood, he was the heir to the 600-year-old Habsburg family, he was extremely diligent, he worked more than 12 hours a day, took cold showers, slept on a marching bed, and was fluent in the eight languages of his people.

Able to speak eight languages, good at learning, and not mentally deficient. Hard work, no problem with attitude. Such a monarch, if placed in a normal period, is considered a good emperor. And he lived a long life, historically, to the last year of the First World War.

But being born in the complex country of the Austrian Empire, he could only barely survive and try his best to save the empire from collapse. His state is somewhat like Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, but he is in a much better situation than Chongzhen, because his empire is a developing empire after all, industrializing and moving forward. It can only be said that the general trend of history is unstoppable, and this era is destined not to belong to the Austrian Empire, but to the era of the rise of Prussia, the era of British hegemony in the world, and the era of strong growth of the United States.

So such an emperor with an upper level of intelligence, conscientious work, and leading the rapid industrialization of the country, but it is very bleak in history, and what everyone remembers more is his loser but beautiful wife, Princess Sissi!

This age can even remember his wife, but it can't remember him.

But his political ability cannot be denied, he recognized the truth of the Chinese crown prince, and the reason why he delayed signing was only to wait and see, expecting more benefits.

So he put forward a condition: "In the event of a war between Austria and other countries, China must remain neutral." ”

The Italian issue has already made Austria feel strained relations with France, and once Austria breaks out into war with France because of the Italian issue, then if China allied with France to attack Austria from the direction of the Black Sea, Austria could not afford this price. Given the good relations that China has had with France since the time of Napoleon, it is not surprising that there is a secret alliance between the two countries.

Austria was also worried about Russia, and their judgment was similar to that of Britain, and they felt that China was trying to push Russia westward, and Austria was the first to bear the brunt. Especially after the war with Russia had just ended and a large area of land had been seized from Russia, preventing Russian retaliation was also a diplomatic problem that Austria had to face. Britain could not provide any help in this difficult situation, but China was able to support Russia in defeating Austria.

It is a pity that China and France really do not have a secret alliance, and if there is, it is only against Britain, the agreement on the division of power in the Mediterranean, not against Austria, because Austria is not a major part of the relationship between China and France, and the biggest opponent of both countries is Britain.

On the Russian issue, China did intend to push Russia to expand westward, but it never thought of directly entering the war, China was not interested in European territory, and the territory that China was interested in has always been those territories that can be immigrated. Those empty territories, and not densely populated territories, Europe does not meet China's territorial claims, so they are no longer on the menu of Chinese territorial harvests.

So the crown prince acceded to this request, and openly signed a treaty of friendship with Austria, which stipulated that in the event of war between Austria and its neighbors, China was obliged to maintain good faith neutrality, not to form alliances with Austria's belligerents, and not to provide them with any assistance, including economic. Similarly, in the event of a war between China and its neighbors, Austria will maintain a neutral and benign neutrality, and will not ally with China's belligerents or provide them with any assistance, including economic.

This treaty was important because it avoided the risk of a two-sided war with France, and also avoided the risk of China supporting Russia in retaliation against Austria.

Austria then agreed to sign the Straits Pact and agreed to become a member of the Straits Pact, and while they gained the right to control the access of ships in the Mediterranean direction to the Black Sea, they were actually obliged to maintain this power.

The more countries that sign such a diplomatic treaty, the more legally effective it is. This is also why many countries that are obviously hostile will also be invited to join the treaty, because it is a guarantee for the countries that promote the establishment of the treaty.

China's promotion of the Straits Convention, like the signing of the free transit agreement with Prussia, is to establish a diplomatic rule that is in line with China's interests, and of course the more countries that accept such rules, the better it will be for China, even if the country is an enemy country, it is necessary to win it over.

It is as if the United Nations was initiated and controlled by the United States and other Western countries, but they have to accept China's accession, because China's failure to join is of course a loss to China, but it is also a loss to the United Nations itself.

After Austria accepted it, it didn't matter whether Spain accepted it or not.

Therefore, the Chinese consul immediately informed the Ottoman Empire and demanded that the other party fulfill its promise and sign it immediately.

After the Ottoman signature, China will invite all parties to a final meeting to announce the establishment of the Straits Commission, which will begin operations on the same day.

The Ottomans also fulfilled their promise to sign, and then, with the mediation of China, they quickly signed an armistice with Russia to return the Crimean peninsula to Russia, and then Russia lifted the blockade, and the Ottomans quickly hired merchant ships to withdraw their troops from Odessa.

China decided to convene a Straits Conference to announce the establishment of the Straits Commission, but at the last moment, Spain expressed its willingness to sign it, completing the last piece of the puzzle.