Holy Roman Empire

With the hostages in his hands, Mao Xiong is full of confidence. As a land power country, if he offends the British, he will also offend the British.

The French government hesitated first. It was not that Napoleon III was afraid of fighting the British. In fact, because of this, it was impossible for the two sides to break out of war.

If there is a fight, the French navy is not without the power to fight. Maybe they can't beat the Royal Navy, but it is still possible to seriously damage the Royal Navy.

It is impossible for the London government to bet on such a high-risk gamble.In the era of sailing warships, it is too easy to explode the navy. There will be no winners in the result of shopping between two big countries.

The main thing is profit. Anyone who is a neighbor of Mao Xiong will be afraid of three points. Napoleon III wants to get the benefits, but he doesn't want to take the risks.

France's monopoly on Macedonia, Albania, Thrace, Epirus and other regions seems to have made huge profits. In fact, after this war, the economy of the Balkan Peninsula has long since collapsed.

The destruction of the war, the wave of refugees, the plague, and so many things added together, the population of the Balkan Peninsula has directly decreased by one-third, and the young and strong labor force is even rarer.

The Balkan Peninsula, which was once a piece of fat, is now degreased.To restore social order, it is bound to invest a lot of resources.

Simply put, this benefit is no longer enough for the French to take risks.If it were not for political needs, Napoleon III would have no interest in the territories on the Balkan Peninsula.

"Everyone, it's not an option to keep arguing like this. It's better to divide the spheres of influence and then discuss it!" Metternich suggested

After speaking, he first marked the Austrian control area on the map with a pen, and then handed the map to the Russian representative Karl Vosser.

There was nothing to hesitate. Karl Wurser circled his expected target on the map. Russia and Austria had agreed, and the spheres of influence of the two sides did not meet.

The French followed suit and drew out their own sphere of influence. When it was the turn of the British, Thomas was dumbfounded.

Good guy, once the Three Kingdoms are divided against the map, the Balkan Peninsula will be divided up.Even if there are islands that slip through the net, they are still in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and it is impossible to bully their allies, the British.

With an idea, Thomas felt that he still had to do something, and he couldn't let the enemy get what he wanted so easily.

As for the ally of the Ottoman Empire, it is a pity that it can only be sacrificed. It is only the wishes of all European people, including the British people. Thomas cannot go against the current.

"Three, the people on the Balkan Peninsula have been enslaved by the Ottoman Empire for so many years, and now they have returned to the embrace of the civilized world. We should help them to establish an independent country. How can we continue to enslave them?

If such an inhumane thing happens, what will the countries of the world think of us?What will the international community think? "

Metternich rolled his eyes, the four of them can represent the international community.If only one country is out of line, it may be condemned by European countries, and the four families will go to the custody together to make everyone shut up obediently.

In this era, there is no one in the world who dares to be enemies of the four countries of Britain, France, Russia and Austria at the same time. Even if the remaining countries are tied together, they are not opponents of these four countries.

"Mr. Thomas is too worried, how could we enslave the people in the Balkan Peninsula?

We must know that the people of the Balkan Peninsula have been under the bloody rule of the Ottoman Empire for a long time, and many people have been poisoned by the barbaric world. We are helping them return to the civilized world.

According to the information we have collected, the cultural heritage on the Balkan Peninsula has been severely damaged, and the people on the island are now either accomplices of the Ottoman Empire's suppression of the people.

Either a group of illiterates, or traitors from the civilized world, isn't it a joke to let them establish an independent country?

It is still the best choice for our countries to supervise and guide the local people back to the civilized world to avoid tragedies from happening again. "

The Black Ottoman Empire is also politically correct. For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire, even the barbaric endorsement, has been deeply infused into the hearts of every European.

Of course, the notoriety of the Ottoman Empire is well-deserved. In history, they really did a lot of outrageous things. Metternich can find a lot of evidence to prove their barbarism.

If these things are not revealed, then nothing will happen. Once they are revealed, no matter what happened 100 years ago or 200 years ago, it will be proof of crime.

In any case, it can't be cleaned up. The integrity of the experts in this era has not been lost, and they can't do anything to help the Ottoman Empire clean up.

As a politician, Thomas was even more afraid to defend the Ottomans on this issue, otherwise the British people would not be able to spare him.

People who have inherited culture and knowledge in the Balkans are basically attached to the Ottoman Empire. Even if they did not become traitors, their ancestors also became traitors.

From this perspective, it is barely reasonable to classify these people as the remnants of the Ottoman Empire.

Thomas didn't get entangled here, and directly suggested: "Mr. Metternich is right. If this is the case, then how about the international co-management of the Balkans, let us help them return to the civilized world.

After pulling them back to the civilized world, they are looking for a suitable time to allow the people on the Balkan Peninsula to establish their own country and contribute to the civilized world. "

After hearing Thomas's proposal, the French representative Auvergne was obviously moved, but the Russians reacted more violently.

Karl Vossell slapped the table and said angrily: "This is impossible! The people of the Balkan Peninsula have been poisoned by the Ottomans' tea and must be supervised by us before they can return to the civilized world."

Looking at the enraged Karl Worser, Metternich rubbed his forehead. Obviously, this foreign minister who was born in the military has not yet adapted to the role of a diplomat, and he is ready to strike if he disagrees.

Beating up people during negotiations seems like the Russians really did it.

In order to prevent the negotiations from deteriorating, Metternich had to open his mouth to make a siege, and immediately asked Thomas: "There are many ethnic groups in the Balkans, and no unified country has been established since the Byzantine Empire. Don't tell me, Mr. Thomas, do you want to rebuild the Byzantine Empire? "

Rebuilding the Byzantine Empire, what kind of international joke?The nationalists in Greece can just shout slogans stupidly. Who can tolerate the reconstruction of the Byzantine Empire?

When questioned, Thomas explained without changing his face: "Mr. Metternich misunderstood that allowing the people of the Balkans to establish an independent country is only to help the local people return to the civilized world.

The Byzantine Empire has long since perished, why would we think about rebuilding it? "

Metternich sneered and said: "There is no best, otherwise the world will not be peaceful again. I don't think there is any need to discuss the issue of independent statehood for the people of the Balkan Peninsula.

People in Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other regions have become Austrian citizens, and they all have their own motherland! "

Inspired, Russian Foreign Minister Karl Vosser immediately said: "We have already granted citizenship to people in Bulgaria and Constantinople, so don't worry about Mr. Thomas."

Regardless of whether there is a matter of nationality or not, Karl Wurser used this excuse first, and it would be a big deal to make it up later.

Anyway, no matter how Thomas uses his means, it is impossible for the Austrians and Russians to come out and establish an independent country, which means that the two sides will tear their skins apart.

Continue to attack the French territory?This thought disappeared in a flash. Thomas didn't want to let Russia and France join forces. Once this combination appeared, they couldn't stand it even if they recruited the whole world to be their allies.

Do you want to carve up a piece of land in the Balkans?After looking at the map, Thomas decided not to border on these land power countries.

Auvergne, who had been paddling, suddenly changed the subject: "The most important part of the Balkan Peninsula is the Black Sea Strait, and most of the international disputes revolve around it.

For the sake of world peace and stability, I propose international co-management of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, and all coastal port cities become free ports, and countries are not allowed to deploy any weapons.

Regardless of the period, the governments of all countries guarantee the free navigation of the straits, and shall not set any restrictions and shall not charge navigation taxes. "

After thinking about it, everyone agreed, but Karl Worsell was a little bit pained, but considering the actual situation, even if they wanted to collect the navigation fee, he still agreed.

They can collect taxes in the Bosphorus, and Britain and France can also collect taxes at the entrance of the Dardanelles. At that time, merchant ships are afraid to pass, and this golden waterway will be abandoned.

To solve the problem of the waterway, Thomas is too lazy to continue entangled in the issue of the Balkan Peninsula.Russia, France and Austria share the Balkan Peninsula, isn't it a kind of balance?

Once the Russians rushed out of the Black Sea, the French would bear the brunt, and Austria also could not tolerate the continued expansion of the Russians.

In the Near East War, although they did not get actual benefits, they still succeeded strategically, using the new international order to block the Russians in the Black Sea.

After solving the problem of the Near East War, the four countries of Britain, France, Russia and Austria signed the "Four Powers Pact", which redefined the spheres of influence of each country in the form of treaties.

After the signing of the treaty, the governments of the four countries jointly issued a statement: the four will jointly maintain peace and stability on the European continent and crack down on any violation of the rules.

With the end of the Vienna Peace Conference, a new international order was established again. Except for the free navigation of the Black Sea Strait, all countries regard the actual control area as the area of ​​interest.

The Ottoman Empire became the biggest loser. Since it did not have the strength to maintain its rule on the Balkan Peninsula, it had to sell Macedonia, Thrace, Albania, Gallipoli Peninsula and other regions to the French for 2 million francs .

The French and the Ottoman Empire are allies and must pay attention to eating, and have to spend a fortune to buy them.Austria and Russia are not welcome. As Ottoman's old enemies, they naturally swallowed the territory they occupied.

The Principality of Montenegro probably didn't even know whether it was a loss or a profit this time.Although they were driven back to their hometown by the British in the end, with the support of Russia and Austria, their territory doubled and they successfully won the estuary.

The doubled territory is actually more than 1 square kilometers, which is not as large as the Principality of Montenegro in later generations.There is no way, who made them small locally?

For the newly added 5000 square kilometers, half of the young and old people in the Principality of Montenegro have been lost, and the total local population has dropped by 20.00%.

The biggest winner on the bright side, the Russian Empire, is silently licking its wounds at this time.Although it took Constantinople, it was only superficial.

Both the Bulgarian region and the Constantinople region were devastated by the war, and the local economy directly collapsed.

In particular, the city of Constantinople was directly turned into ruins, and more than two-thirds of the buildings in the city were damaged to varying degrees.

Of course, it may also be a good thing, just to demolish and rebuild, remove the traces left by the Ottoman Empire, and shape the glory of the Russian Empire.That's how it should be if you don't take financial considerations into account.

Take a look at the casualties, then the Russians will not be able to laugh. The Russians in the Balkans alone paid the price of 60 deaths. Adding the Crimean Peninsula battlefield and the Caucasus battlefield, the total number of Russian troops killed and disabled is approaching. 90.

Had it not been for the capture of Constantinople and the political gains that would have wiped out all of this, Nicholas I really didn't know how it would end.

Britain and France, who also participated in the battle, did not find it cheap. The French army killed 21 people and disabled 4.5 people, while the British army killed 7.8 people and disabled 1.1 people.

This data is the loss caused by plague and disease, otherwise this data can be reduced by one-third.In any case, non-combat losses did not exceed combat losses.

As for the Ottoman Empire, their losses are a mystery. The Sudanese government themselves don't know how to count them. Anyway, the millions of troops they formed before and after were crippled.

The Balkans are all lost. Many soldiers are captured young men. If they break up, they will really break up. Don't expect these people to come back to the team.

The broken cans are broken, and the Sudanese government probably won't care.The capital is lost, the core area of ​​​​rule is lost, so why bother with mere casualties?

Chapter 138 Economic Transformation

After the Vienna Conference, the European continent once again returned to tranquility.

The signing of the "Four Nations Pact" was a joy for some and a worry for others. It is naturally a good thing for most countries. The re-establishment of the international order allows everyone to sleep peacefully.

Order means stability. Now that the European continent is stable, for the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Sardinia, this means that the road to expansion on the European continent is broken.

Breaking the international situation will inevitably suffer the backlash of the international order, and this price is not something they can bear.

In Turin, looking at the "Quadruple Pact" in his hands, Prime Minister Cavour has mixed feelings.A stable international situation is conducive to their economic recovery, but it is also more difficult to unify the Italian region.

After the Ossa War, the unified route of the Kingdom of Sardinia changed. Most people believed that it was too difficult to regain Lombardy and Venetia from Austria. It was better to start with Tuscany, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples.

Cavour is also a supporter of this line. The unified line of first easy and then difficult is in line with the actual situation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Don't look at the heavy losses they suffered after the Osa War, and they have not recovered until now, but among the several states in the Italian region, their strength is still among the best.

Now that the "Four Nations Pact" came out, their plan went bankrupt, and even the British who supported them would not let them break the situation on the European continent at this time.

Since Britain and France lost in the Near East War, the Kingdom of Sardinia, as one of the investors, would naturally also suffer losses, costing thousands of lives in vain, and gaining no profit at all.

If they don't have the strength to give them benefits, they dare not take them.The French can share a piece of interest in the Balkan Peninsula, which is based on their strong strength.

In the Near East War, the combat effectiveness of the French Army was widely recognized by all countries, and there was no problem in keeping one-third of the Balkan Peninsula. Neither Russia nor Austria could fight the French for such a small benefit.

The high cost of modern warfare has already told everyone that it is best not to go to war with a big country unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Prime Minister, you said you want to make peace with the Austrians?" Vittorio Emmanuel II asked in disbelief

You know, in order to muster everyone's courage, the Sardinian government did not make less use of the hatred between the two countries. Now it suddenly wants to change its policy, which seriously stimulated Vittorio Emmanuel II's fragile nerves.

Cavour explained: "Your Majesty, the international situation has changed. After the reconstruction of the Vienna system, there will be no war between major powers for a long time in the future.

It is very difficult to defeat Austria based on our strength alone. Continuing to be hostile to the Austrians has no real benefit except to make them more vigilant.

Because of the political confrontation between the two countries, they were also blocked by the enemy economically, which brought us huge losses. "

As a qualified politician, Cavour can calmly weigh the pros and cons without being blinded by hatred.

Right now, the Kingdom of Sardinia is in disarray, and it has only been five years since the Orsa War, and they have yet to emerge from the shadow of the war.If you want to restore the economy as soon as possible, it is obviously not a wise move to continue to confront Austria.

Historically, the unification of Italian regions was full of coincidences.Now the Kingdom of Sardinia wants to unify the Italian region, but in fact this is just thinking about it, and everyone still has no idea.

In particular, the unification war launched in the German region ended in failure, which hit the confidence of the Italians.

Which other power besides the British would like to see the Italian regions united?The answer is: one does not.

Even the support of the British is only verbal. It is probably a dream to want the British to contribute to the unification war in Italy.

After hesitating for a moment, Vittorio Emmanuel II asked: "How do you explain to the people? You must know that in order to inspire everyone's fighting spirit, the hatred of Osa we provoked has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people."

While speaking, Vittorio Emmanuel II still had a few traces of worry on his brows, obviously he was not optimistic about Prime Minister Cavour's proposal.

Cavour replied calmly: "Your Majesty, there is no need to do anything, just downplay it. The Austrian-phobic faction in China will explain it for us. After all, the enemy is strong and we are weak now, so we must endure it."

He dared to propose easing the relationship between the two countries because there were many Austrian-phobic factions in the Kingdom of Sardinia. These people had lost their courage and feared that war would break out again between the two countries.

Don't look at the earth-shattering slogan of unifying Italy. In fact, not many people are interested in it. Most people don't believe that the Kingdom of Sardinia can unify Italy.

Especially after experiencing a war, most of the people in Sardinia are peacemakers, every family wears mourning, everyone weeps and weeps once, and no one wants to come again.

The more frustrated the more courageous?nonexistent!

Because of the war, the Kingdom of Sardinia went bankrupt financially. In order to pay off the debts, even the army only exists in name, so what is there to take for revenge?

……

Franz was ignorant of the foreign policy changes of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and these were not his focus.

The war in the Near East was over, and so was Austria's chance for war fortunes.The military industrial enterprises have just made a fortune and gained huge profits in the war, so naturally there is no so-called crisis.

In this war, Austria exported a total of 120 million rifles, more than [-] artillery pieces, more than [-] tons of various weapons and ammunition to the Russians, and a number of miscellaneous weapons and equipment.

The total transaction price of weapons and ammunition was as high as 2.5 million rubles, setting a record for the highest arms transaction in human history and exceeding the total amount of arms transactions in the international market in the past 100 years.

This data is inconspicuous in the future, but it is a huge sum of money now, enough to enable Austrian military enterprises to carry out comprehensive technological upgrades.

There is no need to worry about the military industry, it is a profiteering industry that does not open for three years and will eat three years after opening.

Other industries will not work, because after the war, the relationship between product supply and demand has changed, and the production line must be adjusted.

Originally, post-war reconstruction was a big deal, but unfortunately the tsarist government was too poor to carry out post-war reconstruction.

The client has no money, and Franz can't do anything about it.Given the current international political situation, it is still very difficult for the Tsarist government to seek loans from abroad.