"Archduke Franz, you are worrying too much. The current pope is a special case, and when he ascends to heaven, the new pope will surely see the great potential of the Apennine Customs Union, and as for the kingdoms of Sardinia and the Two Sicilies, they will either accept the fate of Italy, or someone will accept the fate of Italy in their place. ”

Metternich thought that the plan was perfect, but as long as no one interfered and the Austrian Empire remained strong, it was possible.

It's just that the plan is good, but it can't stand the test of reality, and Britain and France will definitely not sit idly by and let the strength of one of the five major powers and potential competitors grow.

In fact, with the current strength of Austria, it can indeed beat the Italian region, and if you add the railway, maybe you can really strangle everything in the cradle.

It's just that it's too risky, and Franz doesn't want to try it. Because once it can't be suppressed, the railroad is used by the rebels, then it's another story. And it's a horror story.

"Prime Minister, if the French and Luxembourg reach a tariff agreement, will you send troops to stop it?"

"No, that's too much to lose."

"What if the French were to annex Luxembourg?"

"That can't be, not only us, but the Prussians won't let them go" Metternich suddenly realized something.

"Yes, even if Luxembourg is such a small piece, we and Prussia will not let the French take it away, because they have touched our bottom line." Franz said.

"But if we are like this, will the British think that we have betrayed them?" Metternich said.

"Your Excellency, I do think that the British will betray us first. Especially when they learned that the Jewish state could not be established. Franz replied.

At the mention of the Jewish state, Metternich burst out laughing.

"The Jewish State? It was simply the funniest joke I've ever heard, even the Jews didn't believe it could succeed, the British must be crazy to do it. ”

"Actually, not all Jews, you are dealing with Jews with status and status, and the middle class is very eager for such a country. Their desire for power is something you can't imagine, and at the bottom, they won't act until they can't survive, or are guaranteed enough. ”

Franz knew that the Jewish state would not succeed at this time, but he felt that some Jews would be ecstatic about it.

"Archduke Franz, do you know? The British made this move to solve the Ottoman economic crisis, and they wanted to use Jewish money to maintain the high profits of trade. How could those Jews, who were not stupid, hand over their money so easily? ”

"There are many ways to get Jews to pay"

"I know what you mean, but that doesn't work, Jews usually keep their money in a bank in another country. If the Ottomans really wanted to forcibly take away the wealth of those Jews, then there is a high probability that they would be cheaper for a third country.

It's like the Jews in our country usually keep their money in Prussian or French banks. In this way, we will avoid breaking the law in our country or being deported penniless. Metternich said.

"Well, they are indeed cunning. But at least we don't have to worry about the unfavorable situation of the Jews and the Ottomans uniting. But the British are not ideal allies, and they now pursue only eternal interests."

Franz still wanted to persuade Metternich to abandon his illusions about the British, and all the countries that had historically tried to be with them had declined.

"Archduke Franz, you are still young, you don't understand, it is precisely because of common interests that our country and Britain have come together. As for the issue of negotiations with France, I will consider it carefully. Archduke Friedrich suggested to me that Tripoli become independent from the Ottoman Empire and turn from a viceroyalty into a vassal state. Metternich said.

It seems that Prince Metternich will not change his attitude, after all, the hatred between France and Austria is too deep, and Austria, as the biggest victim of the entire Napoleonic Wars, does have reason to hate France.

Franz can now only hope that Egypt will not be weakened too hard and that France will still be able to maintain its influence.

"But whether Tripoli, a vassal state, will fall to us or to England or France, we have no way of knowing now. I don't think it's a condition worth exchanging. ”

With only a few thousand Ottoman troops in Tripoli and the deep roots of the Karamanli family, Franz felt that with a single batch of weapons he could effectively overthrow the governor of Tripoli.

At this time, after the cessation of the slave trade, Tripoli had become a completely rotten land, agriculture was very backward and there was almost no arable land, food was mainly imported, and nomadic herders accounted for about one-third of the country's population.

Taxes are all incurred by foreign merchant ships in the past, and almost half of the population is concentrated in the port of Tripoli.

"I think the Grand Guild of Friedrich will have a way, this genius admiral, but it directly saves ten years of development time for the Austrian Navy."

Metternich spoke highly of Friedrich's surprise attack on Egyptian ports, but what he didn't know was that the plan for the operation was drawn up by Franz.

"Yes, but the gap between our country and the British Navy is at least fifty years. At present, our coastline is extremely short, and we are not afraid of threats from the sea, but with the integration of the Italian region, the situation will be reversed. ”

After the integration of Austria into Italy, the length of the coastline would increase several times at once, and the Austrian army would have to fight for its life in the face of threats from the sea.

As for attacking overseas colonies, it was a choice that outweighed the losses, and naval warfare was the most taboo division of troops, and at that time maritime communications were extremely unfavorable, and as long as they were unlucky, it was common to lose contact for several months.

At this time, except for the British Navy, no country in the world dared to choose to divide its forces to fight at sea.

Metternich obviously did not know much about military affairs, and after all, he was old.

"Although there is a gap of fifty years, I believe that when you ascend the throne, you will lead our country beyond Britain. Now that Austria's economy is growing faster than that of Great Britain, don't worry, God has everything his own"

After that, he talked a lot with Metternich, but the conflict between the two concepts was relatively large, Metternich was not interested in overseas colonies, and Franz, who knew the history of later generations, certainly knew how important colonies were.

Metternich's reasoning was that there were still large areas of land in Europe that could be developed, and that overseas colonization was completely unnecessary. And as can be seen from the collapse of the Spanish Empire, the colonies will seriously drag down the development of the country.

At the same time, he also said that he was most worried about one thing, that is, the hidden danger in the country, the doctrine of Mazzini and others, spread wildly in Austria, and then evolved a series of troublesome organizations.

For example, the recently suppressed youth Vienna was originally a sorority of artists and university students, but it was soon invaded by some extremists and evolved a Viennese idea of superiority.

Guided by this thinking, they even intended to deport the three regions of Dalmatia, Tyrol and Galicia on the grounds that they were too poor.

As the Austrian Empire joined the German Customs Union, followed by the formation of the Apennine Customs Union, nationalist ideas in the country collided violently, and the number of people affected by it far exceeded the number of people in the same period of history.

(End of chapter)