Austria, Danube dam.

The melody of "Against the Waves" is passionate, and the content of the lyrics, although slightly sad, lacks a lot of content of moaning without disease, which is more likely to resonate with German laborers.

The whole song is full of Great German thought, but there is no mention of Germany, only the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, and even the wandering artists who play the music may not understand the true meaning of the song.

When the Danube dam was completed, Pfister Laubin chose to reclaim the wasteland for the royal estate, and he was accompanied by many Germans, who were assigned the same land.

The royal family gave them food and tools, but they had to carve out a land that belonged to them on their own.

After the dam was completed, some laborers returned to their home countries with the money they earned from their part-time jobs, but it was not just the money that they brought back.

Istanbul, Ottoman Empire.

Palmerston never expected that Muhammad Ali would be so shameless, obviously not abiding by the laws of the Ottomans, but he was embarrassed to say that he was the minister of the Ottomans, and Egypt had no independence.

And the Ottomans really can, obviously the Egyptians have jumped their faces, but they don't dare to send troops.

In fact, the ruin between the Ottomans and Egypt was initially only concerned by Britain and France, Russia was watching the play, Prussia was indifferent, and Austria was studying which side to bet on.

Although the Austrian Empire was heavily indebted, its revenues were much higher than in the same period of history.

At this time, the financial revenue of the Austrian Empire was 200.16 million florins, compared to 140.61 million florins in the same period in history.

Prince Metternich hoped to use the crisis to expand his influence in the Near East, but he did not want to compete with Russia for hegemony, but he wanted to maintain relations with Russia.

Because he knew that the tsar would not sympathize with the weak, but only respect the strong, that Russia's treaties with the weak were as pale as paper, and that in order to become an ally of Russia, it must be strong enough.

And for centuries, Serbia had been stuck in the throat of Austria like a fishbone, leaving the Austrian Empire unable to advance or retreat in the Balkan direction.

The key to the Balkans, which is also the gateway to Central Europe, from Serbia out of the Vrushka Mountains to cross the Danube is the Great Plain of Vojvodina, which in turn connects Croatia and the Great Hungarian Plain.

The Ottomans besieged Vienna twice, both of which took this path, which made the Austrians haunt the region for a long time.

But in general, Metternich felt that it would be more advantageous for Austria to maintain the status quo between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, or that the great powers would divide the Ottomans together, and Austria would take the opportunity to solve the worries of the Balkans.

Rather than the Balkans and Germany, Prince Metternich wanted to continue the Emperor's last wish to let the Austrian Empire reign over the Apennine Peninsula.

Count Korollav hoped that it would be the best choice to join forces with Britain and defeat France completely.

Of course, he did not want to open trade with Egypt, and as a Croat, he did not want to rescue his fellow Slavs trapped in the Balkans.

For the Italian wrecks, Count Korolav was even more scornful. What he wanted was to completely exclude French influence from South Germany, to take advantage of the opportunity to bring it into Austria's sphere of influence, and to annex it when the time was ripe.

In fact, there was a third faction, that is, the military top leaders led by the Count of Latour, who felt that the Ottoman Empire was in decline and should take the opportunity to launch the Turkish-Austrian War, as the Russians did, to expand the territory of Austria and march into the Balkans.

It would be better to take the two Danube principalities, so that the Russian road to the Balkans would be completely cut off, and the Austrian Empire would be able to dominate the Balkans. To this end, they devised a variety of combat schemes.

Franz called the third type the death-seeking, not to mention that Wallachia and Moldavia were Russian protectorates, and Austria sent troops to the Danube Duchy, would Britain and France agree?

At this time, the five major European powers, with the exception of Prussia, all had ambitions for the Ottoman Empire, and it was absolutely impossible for them to sit idly by and watch Austria monopolize the Balkans.

As a result of the disagreement between Metternich and Count Korolav, the Regency Council was in turmoil, and the Austrian military "secretly" dispatched troops and distributed supplies.

As a result, Russia and the Ottoman Empire reacted quickly, and the three countries amassed hundreds of thousands of troops near the Carpathians, resulting in a serious shortage of troops on the Ottoman Empire's southern front.

Palmerston looked at the situation in front of him and was very annoyed, how could things have turned out like this, the Anglo-Turkish Commercial Treaty did not benefit Britain much.

Britain wanted to obtain not the Ottoman market, but the cotton production area of Egypt through the Anglo-Turkish Treaty.

Of course, it is not that the market of the Ottoman Empire is not large enough, but after Britain, European countries have signed commercial treaties with the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire, in line with the principle of "no worries if there are more lice", signed new commercial treaties with European countries very easily.

As a result, the frantic influx of goods from European countries into the Ottoman Empire dealt a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire's own industry and commerce, but due to the increase in import and export taxes, the Ottomans had the illusion of prosperity.

For Britain, this is not what they want, Britain's industrial level is the first in the world, but it can't stand the shamelessness of other European countries, the crazy trade war, so that British businessmen don't want to come to Ottoman to do business anymore.

In fact, it was not only Palmerston who was upset at this time, but also Mahmoud II, who was supposed to be Egypt and the Ottomans at the protagonists of the Near Eastern crisis, but it was not known why the Austrian Empire and Russia suddenly gathered heavy troops in the north.

The Ottoman Empire could not resist the joint attack of Austria and Russia in any case, and all he could do was to send troops to the north to garrison, saying that he would never give in easily, and hoped that the other side would retreat in the face of difficulties.

Palmerston and Mahmoud II let out a long sigh in unison, and Mahmoud II spoke first.

"Mr. Palmerston, why did Russia and Austria gather so much force near the Carpathians?"

"The replies from both countries are normal movements, and there is no intention of attacking your country." Palmerston replied calmly, though he did not believe it himself.

"Can you, then, guarantee the security of our territory in the event of a joint attack by Austria and Russia?" Mahmud II continued to ask.

To be honest, Austria and Russia would not have met in the Balkans if they joined forces, but Palmerston still laughed.

"Great Sultan, rest assured, we in England are the most powerful country in the world, and no one can defeat us."

"And what about Russia, France, and Austria joining forces?" Mahmud II continued to ask.

"What do you mean? Don't you trust us Britain? Palmerston asked rhetorically.

"I beg your pardon, I just want to make sure my country is safe. I do not intend to go to war with Egypt until Austria and Russia withdraw their troops. ”

Mahmud II made it clear that he did not want to take risks. Palmerston also wanted to know what Russia and Austria were going to do, and he decided to go there.

(End of chapter)