Franz's conditions made the British feel as if they had not woken up yet, otherwise they should never have seen such an outrageous peace agreement.

But in fact this is the Austrian peace agreement, and why the Austrian government allowed such an outrageous peace agreement to come to the negotiating table.

This was, of course, the credit of Franz, and at this time the top officials of the Austrian Imperial Government changed one stubble after another.

Franz is a large scapegoat at the slightest grab, and he will not get his hands dirty in this very provocative peace agreement, and he will also leave a way out for Austria and himself.

After all, in case of a macho man falling from the sky in Bright, or an accident such as a meteorite smashing a ship, Franz still needs a backbiter.

In addition to demanding the return of Crete and the confiscation of all facilities on the island, Franz also demanded the number of British troops stationed in Albania.

It can't be more than 3,000, but this is just a trick, in fact, Franz would like the British to send more people in Albania, preferably a few hundred thousand, so that they can get a feel for what the Balkans are.

But the last one, which Franz really wanted to say, was to restrict the entry of British warships into the Adriatic Sea.

Ships of more than 1,000 tons, as well as all that may threaten the security of the sea area, are not allowed to enter.

Franz did this to tell the British whose territory the Adriatic Sea was. In fact, if there was another way to go, Franz did not want to do so.

But the reality of the Austrian Empire, as the first bird of the European continent, was impossible for the British to let go. No matter how low-key Franz is, no matter how much he doesn't provoke the British, no matter how much he finds something to do for the British.

They will still keep an eye on Austria, which is the inevitable fate of the hegemon and challenger.

Since he couldn't dodge, Franz had no choice but to rise to the challenge.

London, United Kingdom.

The old men in Whitehall thought for a long time, and they finally came to a conclusion.

That is, the Austrian side was asking for a sky-high price, and they were bluffing, after all, it was the French who had won the British fleet at this time, and they had only taken the opportunity to seize Crete.

But Britain's own front was stretched too long, and there were enemies everywhere from Asia to Europe to the Americas, and almost every one of them was a regional hegemon, with France and Austria in the Mediterranean alone.

"Your Excellency, now the German Confederation is pulling Prussia inexplicably to fight Schleswig, and I think this is a conspiracy of the Austrians!

They were obviously heading for the Kiel military port, and the Austrians, knowing that they could not break out of the Mediterranean, wanted to move to the North Sea, so that they could attack our mainland directly! ”

Canning's mind is open, and he has always had a hand in Black Austria. But Admiral George Aiden scoffed at such a statement, he said.

"The Austrians are just trying to distract us!"

At this time, John Russell's head was about to explode, there were contradictions everywhere in the world, and everything could cause a huge disaster.

"So what do you say?"

Admiral George Aiden was really just trying to emphasize his presence, and he didn't have much to do with the mess at this time.

Usually John Russell doesn't listen to people's persuasion, but this time he actually asked him by name, and George Aiden couldn't refute the other party's face so he had to say.

"The Mediterranean is not a blessed land for our British Empire, and two of our three fiascos over the years have occurred in the Mediterranean.

Maybe we shouldn't go too deep, because there are too many great powers at stake. If it weren't for France and Austria joining forces this time, I don't believe that our Mediterranean fleet would have been wiped out! ”

George Eden just said what he had in mind, but this sentence made the hearts of other British executives tighten like a bolt from the blue.

The last thing they wanted to hear was this speculation, and although they had thought it that way themselves, there was nothing worse than that.

However, this speculation is very reasonable, because it is the only way to explain why the Austrian side is so arrogant and demanding.

Then the strategy they envisioned before will probably fail again, because this is a trap at all.

Withdrawing troops and accepting peace is probably the most advantageous and stable option for Britain at this time, but the question comes back, who will bear this black pot.

Suddenly, everyone looked at the Earl of Auckland, who still owed a day's, but his name and reputation were already stinking on the street, so it was better to leave him alone.

John Russell grabbed the Admiralty's hand and shook it violently.

"Auckland, my friend. You're a genius! I want to support you. ”

Seeing this scene, the surrounding cabinet members didn't know that the prime minister had finally found the man who had taken the blame, and everyone stepped forward to congratulate him.

"Earl of Auckland, we have your back."

"Your suggestion is so useful!"

"I think Her Majesty will approve your genius proposal."

"Merciful Earl of Oakland, I thank you for the soldiers who should have gone to war! What a humanitarian you are! ”

The Earl of Auckland gradually lost himself in this praise.

Britain sent two letters of diametrically opposed wording to Austria and Prussia, condemning Prussia's aggression.

At the same time, Britain declared that it would send troops to protect Danish interests if necessary, and that it would take all means, including military strikes and economic blockades, against Prussia if necessary.

The British, as serious as they said, were actually not ready to send an army to help Denmark, and they did not even intend to go deep into the Baltic.

At this time, the British did not know whether this was a conspiracy of other countries, so they would only use sea power in the North Sea to counterbalance the Prussians, and if necessary, they could destroy the Danish military port again.

(Previously, during the Napoleonic Wars, the British directly set fire to the Danish capital and the Danish navy in order to prevent the Danish navy from being used by the French.) ）

The British, on the other hand, accepted almost all of Franz's harsh terms, but they also brought some additional terms.

These were already expected by Franz, after all, are they still British without bargaining?

The conditions of the British were also very simple, first of all, Austria could not ally with France.

Secondly, the Great Crete Island belonged to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and Britain had no right to transfer it, but British rights and interests in Crete could be transferred.

However, this transfer was not gratuitous, and the Austrian side had to pay five million pounds to redeem the rights, and then it did not matter whether the Austrian side wanted to give it to the Greeks or transferred it to the Greeks, and the British did not bother with it.

Third, Britain would transfer the Mediterranean Fleet to Cyprus, so Austria would be responsible for the safety of British merchant ships in the Western Mediterranean.

Finally, Austria was not allowed to annex the Papal States.

The first three were all used by the British to disgust Austria, and they also had the meaning of sowing discord. After all, the British liked to treat others as their own, and they felt that Austria could not be monolithic with France and Greece.

In fact, their idea is quite accurate, because there is no so-called secret agreement between France and Austria.

If there was a secret agreement, it was a gentleman's agreement between Franz and the Count of Chambord.

It is simply impossible for the British to find any substantial evidence of this so-called gentleman's agreement. Even the French marshal who knew about it was dead, and it was even less likely that anyone would know what was going on.

As for the Kingdom of Greece, Franz will definitely be responsible to the end.

After all, in the future, Greece will be a trump card for Franz to dominate the Mediterranean and the Balkans. And don't look at the face of the monk and look at the face of the Buddha, everyone is a family, Franz must give some care.

The so-called rights and interests of Crete were nothing more than a big hole dug by the British for Austria. Any country around the Mediterranean understands the importance of the island of Crete, but this cake is not so tasty.

Just like Jingzhou during the Three Kingdoms period, everyone wants it, but whoever takes it is worried, because it will be jointly targeted by other countries, even the martial saint Guan Yu can't keep it.

However, Franz was neither Tao Qian nor Sun Quan, and he would help the Greek kingdom defend it, thus serving as a springboard for Austria to dominate the Mediterranean.

The last rule not to annex the Papal States was the British killer move, and at the same time they feared the most.

Although the war between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia has little reference value, it can be seen that the so-called Italian army was a rabble at all.

As for the Hungarians and Bohèmes, although they assured Palmerston that they were not at all afraid of the Austrian army, they could not produce any evidence of this.

The British would not pin their fate on other peoples, so Palmerston was only going to sit on the sidelines.

Not to annex the Papal States was the bottom line for the British, and at the same time for the other powers, and the reason why the British brought it up at this time was to remind the other powers that Austria had ambitions for Italy.

At this time, if other powers also planned to get involved in Italy, or wanted to take advantage of the fire, then Austria would have a fire in its backyard.

It was also a double insurance policy, as only then could they ensure that Austria could not annex the Papal States. In this way, even if the Austrians won the war, they would not be able to gain any substantial benefits.

The British did not know that Franz had already connected the monarchs of Central Italy, and Pius IX himself was already on his way to Venice.

But it would be a few days before the news reached Franz, who was still on his way to Venice.

"Grand Duke Franz, someone wants to see you."

Franz was a little puzzled, because he didn't like to be disturbed, and neither Bordeaux nor Colonel Monta should be so reckless.

And what surprised him even more was that the convoy was resting in the field at this time, you must know that Franz's route of action was not informed to others in advance, and who was so powerful to find here.

Franz asked, sitting up straight.

"Who is it?"

Colonel Monta's expression was a little strange.

"Say."

"It's a lady."

Before Colonel Monta could finish his sentence, a woman of pride and charm came over.

Franz's first impression was that he was beautiful, very aggressive. However, he didn't remember knowing such a woman, not even in the Royal Women's College or the underground institutions that secretly trained agents.

But what Franz cared about most at this time was not the origin of this beauty, but why she appeared here in a grand manner.

"Why is she here?"

Franz blurted out, but the tone was not inquiring but reprimanding. Colonel Monta immediately realized that something was wrong, he knew that Franz would not be untargeted, and he knew that his behavior was inappropriate at this time, and he immediately wanted to explain.

But before Colonel Monta could speak, the woman spoke first.

"I've been searched, I'm not an assassin."

As she spoke, she untied her sling and swaggered into Franz's carriage. Then she took off her clothes one by one, completely ignoring the katana around her neck and the muzzle of the gun on her temple.

"Do you see clearly? Do you want to search again? Let them, or do you come in person? ”

The woman's teasing words and eyes were still fierce, and Franz was a little helpless, so he had to signal for Colonel Monta to close the car door.

Franz didn't answer the boring questions of women, he didn't like to be led by the other party, so he chose the soul three questions.

"Who are you? Where did it come from? What do you want to do? ”

"Who I am, where I come from, does it matter?"

The woman asked rhetorically, she was using her natural advantage to rebel against the client, but Franz was not the kind of adventurer who liked excitement, and he had more important things to do.

Fortunately, this woman of unknown origin has a strong ability to observe words and feelings, and when she saw Franz's impatience, she immediately changed her routine.

"I can help you, I guess that's all that matters."

"Oh? What can you do? ”

"What do you want to do? I've got you covered."

The woman started playing the trick again, and Franz interrupted her performance.

"Enough! Give you thirty seconds to explain things clearly, and if you can't say clearly. ”

Franz looked at the new guard, who was wielding a sword.

"Miss Zoche, please cut off her head."

This Miss Sache was actually one of Kagura's students selected from the "tribute" sent by the shogunate nobles, and it was not because Franz had any special abilities that she had brought her with her.

It's just that Franz simply thinks that her image and personality are a bit like the heroine of an anime, and as for the knife, it is actually a reverse blade.

Franz asked her to use the knife because it was to test her mind and ability, but in fact it was more for safety reasons.

After all, Franz didn't want to play with fire at all.

"I am Laura Montes, the witch of your country. Are you satisfied? ”

Franz was indeed a little surprised when he heard the name Laura Montes, but said nevertheless.

"Ten seconds left."

"I can find you, that's what I'm capable of! I can nominate myself to be your pillow person, and I can also be your eyes in the dark.

Trust me, I have what it takes! I'm sure you can't live without me. ”

Laura Montes shouted a little broken in the back of her voice, but Franz still looked at her coldly and said only one word.

(End of chapter)