Both Britain and Russia intended to kick the ball to Austria in order to test its attitude towards the Near East. However, Franz did not intend to do what they wanted, so he paid a special visit to Metternich.

A busy person like His Excellency the Prince is difficult for ordinary subjects and low-level officials of the empire, even if the rich businessmen and magnates are powerful in the local area, as long as they do not reach the level of Rothschild and want to meet the prime minister, they basically have to start in the year, after all, the appointment of the prime minister has been scheduled for two years.

But it's not a problem for the Grand Duke. After a brief pleasantries, Franz gets straight to the point.

"Your Excellency, I think it is time for you to convene an international conference to discuss the current situation with the Great Powers."

His response to the Anglo-French kick was to kick it back and, by the way, increase the influence of the Empire.

For being the convener and host of such an international conference is very beneficial to a country's international prestige and influence.

By analogy, if a country calls on other countries to discuss important matters together, but is released in the middle of the process, its prestige will also decline greatly.

For example, at the previous London Conference, the four sides of Austria, France, Prussia and Russia were all absent for their own reasons, and in the end, the isolated British could only force a bunch of small countries to laugh at themselves there, and they had to slap their faces and become fat.

But this time, Vienna was not afraid of threats and retaliation from London, after all, Britain and Russia were both asking for it at this time, and Prussia, which had suffered in two crises in succession, did not dare to confront it head-on.

So instead of waiting for someone to sit and wait to be killed, it is better to take the initiative and at least seize the immediate benefits first.

Fame is illusory, dispensable for some countries, but it is a vital link for the ancient empire of Austria, which is one of the bonds that bind the country together.

Metternich was also a man of great importance for national prestige, but after a series of previous encounters with other powers (mainly the British), he felt that practical interests should come first, so he asked with questions at this time.

"Your Highness, it must be clear to you that at this time Britain and Russia, and even Fapu are waiting for our reply or preparing to see our jokes.

Wouldn't it be a bit out of place to take the initiative to take over the Near East issue now?

Moreover, the Mexican-American war on the other side of the ocean has jeopardized the vital interests of our country, and you should know that the Austro-Mexican United Development Company is able to hand over more than 50 million florins of profits to the treasury every year."

At this time, Mexico's total annual revenue was only 40 million pesos (about 88 million florins).

Fifty million florins amounted to 10% of Austria's fiscal revenues at this time, which was almost twice that of the Kingdom of Hungary, equivalent to the income of Lombardy, and slightly less than that of Venexia, which was about one-half of Bohemia.

It is clear that the Prime Minister's actual thoughts are not at odds with what he usually advocates in front of the stage, and he attaches great importance to the benefits of this "overseas enclave".

In addition, I would like to say why the Austro-Mexican Joint Development Company was able to pay another 50 million florins to Vienna after paying 70% of the net income to the Mexican government.

Because at this time, Mexico actually owes hundreds of millions of florins to Austria, and this number is rising.

Otherwise, what would the Mexicans do with the civil war, where did the luxurious life of Tasan Anna and his cronies come from, and how did the largest opera house in the world be built?

Although the empire sacrificed a lot of interests, it actually made some money, not to mention the gold mines in the California area.

But for Austria at this time, the transoceanic war was still too far away, and doing so in the absence of the attitude of the great powers was no different from seeking death, even if it was endorsed by the great powers, the risk and cost were too uneconomical.

Mexico, as important as it is to the development of today's empire, can only be put aside for now. If you are greedy and chew too much, once you get involved in the affairs of North America, it is equivalent to handing over your own handle to the enemy.

"Your Excellency, we must not expose our weaknesses to the enemy, we must believe that justice will prevail."

Metternich was a little confused by Franz's rhetoric, for although the United States was the aggressor, they claimed that they were the righteous party, and Tasan Anna was the evil tyrant, and that it was the Mexicans who asked the Americans to "liberate" them.

In Europe, however, the opposite is true, with Tasan Anna being a "civilized man" and the United States being the representative of barbarism and backwardness.

"This is a war of barbaric trampling on civilization." - Good Night, Vienna

But as the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, a true insider, Metternich knew that neither side was essentially as "civilized" as they advertised, so he asked, "But who is the righteous side?" ”

"Of course, it's the one with more money and a bigger caliber." Franz replied without thinking.

Metternich was speechless, this is what the archbishop said about "born saints"? How do you feel darker than the conscience of those black-hearted businessmen? But he pondered it carefully, and it seemed to make sense.

The Austrian anti-guest dominance soon paid off, and although the troublemaker Palmerston was keen to get things done, he voted in favour of Britain's participation in the Vienna Conference.

Tsar Nicholas I was also interested in testing the tone of this Western ally, after all, the Balkans represented Austria's traditional strategic direction, and although the Austrians seemed to have little interest in it at this time, everything remained superficial and did not touch on the fundamentals.

Prussia's reaction was not unexpected, as their poor performance in the previous two crises had plummeted their position within the German Confederation.

At this time, he naturally did not dare to disagree with his powerful neighbor in the south, so he readily agreed.

Louis Philippe himself was not very interested in the crisis in the Near East, but the Church and any French official with a modicum of strategic vision strongly expressed to him a desire to attend the conference.

After all, the Ottoman legacy will affect the pattern of world power, at least in the Near East.

In fact, Algeria, which France now occupies, is itself Ottoman territory, and the strength of Russia is a threat to the whole of Europe.

Therefore, representatives of the major European powers will rush to Vienna to participate in this upcoming international conference, the purpose of which is, naturally, to deal with the problem of the second crisis in the Near East.

While the Great Powers were setting their sights on Vienna, a conspiracy was brewing in the mountains of Switzerland.

Located in the southernmost part of Switzerland and bordering Sardinia and Austrian northern Italy, Ticeno was the only channel of communication between the Orthodox Confederation and the rest of the Confederation.

Historically, it was not for nothing that the Protestant League (the liberal wing at this time) in Switzerland was able to defeat the Catholic League (Orthodox), at least in terms of talent.

The leader of the liberals, Joseph Loy, paid only 130,000 francs to buy off the governor of Ticeno, and persuaded him to appoint the liberal general Marlo Condor as the commander of the Ticeno garrison.

(End of chapter)