Holy Roman Empire

Is it really that simple?Today, the international situation has long been changed beyond recognition, and the advantage of Franz's foresight no longer exists.

After sorting out his thoughts, Franz quickly figured it out.

Austria is no longer Austria in history. It has accumulated enough advantages in the early stage. Even without the advantage of foresight, it is still in a favorable position in international competition.

Too much worry about the changes in the Russian Empire is actually the reason for Franz's lack of confidence.After all, the concept of the previous life was so influential that he ignored the changes in his own strength.

Compared with any competitor, Austria has advantages in one or more fields, and it is enough to give full play to these advantages.

First of all, in terms of population quality, it is the first step to start compulsory education, and now Austria is already enjoying this dividend.

Once the second industrial revolution starts, the first-mover advantage is doomed.By the time the competitors reacted, Austria had already reached the forefront.

It seems that Austria is not far behind. Following in the footsteps of the British, certain industries can go ahead.

On the contrary, the usury empire has begun to take shape.Insufficient local coal production capacity has already raised the cost of many industries in France, and capitalists are increasingly fond of making financial profits.

The short-term rivals, Britain and France, are constrained by their population size and local area, and their development ceiling has been locked.

Constraints on local area and resources can also be made up by colonies. Everyone knows that colonial empires do not lack these resources, but there is no way to solve the shortage of population.

No, the French are already thinking of a solution, which is to expand abroad.Napoleon III had just eaten the Kingdom of Sardinia, making up for the lack of domestic labor.

The British really have no choice but to go to the mainland if they want to expand surrounded by the sea.It's a pity that John Bull didn't dare. Once he set foot on the European continent, he would be taught to be a man immediately.

The mid-term competitor, the Russian Empire, is still reforming, and has fallen behind in industry for at least 20 years. This cannot be made up for in a while.

Even if it is open, it will take more than ten years to catch up.In this era of rapid technological change, adversaries cannot wait for them to catch up.

As long as it is still under the rule of the tsarist government, this kind of open-ended development is impossible to happen, and it is God's blessing that can guarantee the normal level of development.

The long-term competitor of the Americans, after the toss of the civil war, it is estimated that the development time will be delayed by 30 to [-] years.At least they have to wait until they complete the national reunification before they have the ability to compete for world hegemony.

These advantages can only be regarded as superficial. The real advantage is that the competitors have not realized their own weaknesses and have not taken corresponding measures to solve these problems.

Chapter 39 Diplomatic Changes

In St. Petersburg, the tsarist government, belatedly, has now reacted.There is no doubt that someone is going to fuck them.

The Russian Empire, which won the Near East War and captured Constantinople, seemed to have unlimited glory, but in fact it also pulled the hatred to its full value.

As losers, Britain and France are unwilling to fail, and always want to take revenge; European countries, as melon-eaters, are also worried that Russia's power will threaten their own security.

This has resulted in the current situation due to everyone's intentional or unintentional promotion.Every family leaked out from under the fingernails, and the Polish independence organization became bigger.

In the Winter Palace

Alexander II roared: "These bastards, when is it the turn of the great Russian Empire to dictate!"

The diplomatic interference of various countries has aroused the anger of His Majesty the Tsar.They have always interfered in other people's internal affairs. When did someone dare to interfere in their internal affairs?

As for whether the Polish issue is Russia's internal affair, is there any need to consider this issue?As long as it is occupied by the Tsarist government, it is Russia's territory, and it doesn't matter whether the outside world admits it or not.

No one dared to provoke the angry tsar, and everyone watched Alexander II vent his anger in tacit understanding.

……

"Is the counter-insurgency army starting? I'm going to hang all these traitors!" Alexander II gritted his teeth.

After hearing Alexander II's inquiry, everyone knew that His Majesty the Tsar had recovered.

The Minister of War Matthias replied: "A [-] anti-rebellion army has set out from the Baltic Sea, and will enter the Polish region to suppress the rebellion the day after tomorrow."

The Polish independents were not taken seriously by everyone.If the Russian Empire was so fragile, it would have been torn to pieces long ago.

Alexander II continued to ask: "What did the Austrians say, did they give a reasonable explanation?"

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov replied: "The Vienna government said it was not aware of these issues, and they believed that this was the handiwork of Britain and France, intending to provoke relations between the two countries.

They provided information on some of the rebels, many of whom were not permanent residents of Austria, but had entered Austria in recent years, and had records of serving in the British and French armies. "

There is no doubt that most of these materials are forged.In order to get rid of responsibility, the Vienna government does not mind letting Britain and France take the blame. Anyway, it is difficult to find out in this era.

This answer is undoubtedly difficult for the tsarist government to accept, but they have to accept it.Among the great powers, Austria is the only one who supports them. You can't turn your allies into enemies because of this problem, right?

Alexander II asked angrily: "What about Prussia, are Britain and France trying to provoke the relationship between Prussia and Russia?"

Don't look at him as a pro-Publicist. In the face of national interests, this position can change at any time.

Foreign Secretary Clarence replied: "No, the Berlin government said it was all spontaneous and had nothing to do with them.

In order to prevent this from happening in the future, the Berlin government announced that these people would be denationalized and left to us. "

This explanation is even more nonsense than the Vienna government's statement.The Berlin government also has no choice. They provide more support to Polish independent organizations, and they can't even cover it up.

The relationship between Russia and Austria has been very good in recent decades. The Vienna government has a thicker skin and puts the shit bowl on Britain and France, but not Prussia.Originally, the relationship between the two countries was not good, so there was no need to provoke them.

Moreover, Prussia is planning to attack Denmark next, even if the tsarist government is repaired now, it will be useless.

After pondering for a while, Alexander II connected things together. It was nothing more than that European countries did not want to see Russia complete its reforms and become stronger.

Knowing the truth, Alexander II calmed down.

"Regardless of any reaction from the outside world, the Polish rebellion must be suppressed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to work harder. The European continent has become Russia's enemy. Where are our allies?

It is impossible to depend on Austria for everything.When there is a conflict of interest between the two countries one day, or the Vienna government feels that this alliance cannot bring them benefits, it will be too late to think of a solution by then! "

The Russian Empire needs new allies and a change of diplomatic passivity.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Foreign Secretary Clarence replied with a wry smile.

It's not that they don't work hard, but that Russia really can't find a suitable ally now.Geopolitics has determined that the countries on the European continent are naturally on the opposite side of them.

Unless the Tsarist government abandons its European strategy, it will never expand in Europe.Otherwise, such conflicts are inevitable.

No European country wants to see the Russian Empire continue to grow. A strong Russia threatens everyone's survival.

The deterioration of Prussia-Russia relations is not only due to the Danish issue, but also because the Tsarist government wants to expand in Europe. Franz just pierced this layer of window paper.

Feeling that its own security was threatened, the Kingdom of Prussia had to move closer to Britain and France.The growth of the anti-Russian faction is because the sword of Damocles that Russia and Austria carve up the Kingdom of Prussia hangs in the air.

……

The inability to break the situation on the European continent has provided favorable conditions for the United States and Russia to move closer. In the autumn of 1864, the Tsarist government sent a naval fleet to visit the United States of America.

This is not the best choice, but it is the only choice for the tsarist government and the United States.It is normal for two isolated people to choose to hug each other for warmth.

Franz's butterfly effect only delayed the closeness of the United States and Russia for two years.

The tsarist government tried to use the federal government to disperse the energy of European countries and ease their diplomatic pressure on the European continent; while the federal government hoped to gain support from Russia to offset the pressure brought by some powers.

At the end of 1864, at the critical moment when the American Civil War was about to be decided, the Russians stood on the side of the northern government and gave a boost to the federal government that moved its capital to New York.

……

The west coast of the United States is still in the development stage in this era.Even the famous "California" in later generations is only just starting now, far behind the states on the east coast.

After the outbreak of the American Civil War, the main naval forces of the federal government were concentrated on the east coast.This is not the partiality of the Lincoln government, it is entirely caused by the actual situation.

In this era, the shipbuilding industry in the United States was concentrated on the east coast, while the shipbuilding industry on the west coast was backward and did not have the ability to build warships.

After the Civil War broke out, the Union Navy never had enough warships.The warring areas between the north and the south were on the east coast. Because of the intervention of the great powers, the federal navy failed to gain an advantage. Naturally, the federal government was unable to send warships to reinforce the west coast.

Of course, the navy of the southern government did not appear on the west coast. The enemies facing the western coastal states were privateer fleets, in other words, legal pirates.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, both the North and the South issued privateering licenses in order to combat each other's maritime transportation.

Because there are fewer islands on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean and pirates lack supply points, relatively speaking, the west coast of the United States is relatively peaceful.

Except for the occasional attack by pirates who make a temporary visit, most of the time they stay away from the threat of war.Until a few months ago, the situation changed, and there were suddenly more pirates on the west coast.

Rampant pirates once captured the Channel Islands dozens of miles away from California, and often attacked coastal ports, making the states on the west coast miserable.

Everyone knows that the pirates' stronghold is in the Mexican Empire.The two countries have long had a deep hatred, and the Mexican government has nothing wrong with causing them trouble at this time.

Don't even think about eradicating pirates. The federal government has suffered a lot in the civil war. If foreign wars are provoked, then the custody will be too expensive.

No matter how weak Mexico is, it cannot be eaten by a few states on the west coast.There is little the federal government can do beyond diplomatic protest.

In this context, the Russian Far East Fleet visited San Francisco and killed a pirate ship.The Russian fleet was immediately warmly welcomed by the people of California who were threatened by pirates.

Major General Popov, who was originally trying to build a relationship, after a few drinks, was boasted that he didn't know the north, south, east, west, and north, and made a promise to fight pirates in a daze.

He does not mean that.

It wasn't just Americans who attended the banquet. Ministers from various countries stationed in California also appeared at the banquet.Although everyone is suspected of pulling sideways during the civil war, Americans still have to abide by diplomatic etiquette.

After the banquet, British representatives appeared at the Austrian embassy in California.

"Carter, don't you think the Russians are too arrogant? With just a few broken ships, they still want to fight against pirates. I think it's almost as good as fighting against pirates!" Rhodes, the British representative, tentatively asked.

The Russian Far East Fleet didn't have a few ships, not to mention it was only a part of it. It's not surprising that they couldn't beat the pirates, after all, they were not ordinary pirates.

If someone is interested in investigating, they will find that these pirates come from the South Seas and Indian Oceans.Appearing on the west coast, someone must have manipulated it.

The main reason for this to happen is because of interests.Pirates also need to sell stolen goods, and there are naturally interests in it.

Perhaps many people think that pirates who get something for nothing are a profiteering industry, but in fact, mastering the sales base is the real profiteering.

For the same commodity, the price of the stolen goods is at most three or four tiers, and it is never the pirates who earn the most profit, but the behind-the-scenes channels for selling stolen goods.

It is obviously not that simple to open up such a channel in Mexico.If there is no group of protective umbrellas, it is estimated that they will have been wiped out by the navies of various countries.

There is no doubt that Rhodes was dragged into the water.If the Russians want to fight pirates, they are cutting off his money.

Testing Austria's attitude is nothing more than worrying that the Austrian fleet in Central America will stand up for the Russians.Can't just kill the Russians on the front foot, and then lead to even bigger troubles later.

Austrian representative Carter said very cooperatively: "There is no way, maybe the Russians have always been so arrogant. Maybe they still want to make a fortune by fighting pirates.

You must know that the pirates have looted tens of millions of dollars in recent months, and even if only one tenth of it is left, it is still a huge sum of money. "

Let's just say that money is easy to do.As long as the benefits are in place, it doesn't matter even if the entire Russian fleet is wiped out.

It is true that Russia and Austria are allies, but it does not mean that there is no conflict in the interests of Russia and Austria.For example, now: Austria supports the southern government, and the Russians support the northern government, and the two sides stand on opposite sides.

When this happens, in order to avoid affecting the relationship between the two countries, everyone naturally has to avoid each other.Carter and the Russian representative had no contact other than a courtesy greeting.

In fact, this also shows its position. It is impossible for Russia to get help from Austria on the American issue.

The British's attack on the Russian fleet was not just as simple as it appeared on the surface.In private, it was because of the loss of personal interests; in business, it was to get rid of the arrogance of the Russians.

When the visiting fleet was fighting against pirates, they were killed by pirates instead.Once this kind of thing happens, the tsarist government will be ridiculed for at least 20 years.

The diplomatic support brought to the northern government by the Russians standing in line will also be lost overnight.

Chapter 40 Forced palace

In the Berlin Palace, the Junker nobles had a showdown with the government.They still have brains. They know that they should notify the government to cooperate before attacking Denmark, and they will fight before they have anything to do.

Prime Minister Frank's face was livid with anger. He was also from a Junker aristocrat, and he had to be notified before the sword reached the string. This clearly did not treat him as one of his own.

This is very serious. During this period, the power of the Kingdom of Prussia has fallen into the hands of the Junker nobles, and the political parties and parliaments controlled by the bourgeoisie have all been reduced to supporting roles.

If it is divided by the shareholding system, the Junker nobles already hold 60.00% of the shares of the Prussian company and belong to the absolute major shareholder.

The occurrence of this kind of thing means that Frank's position among the Junkers has been shaken.It was a political signal that the Junkers had less support for him.

William I's face was also very ugly, and he, the king, was also kept in the dark.Looking at the military representative with a murderous look, he would be rude if he didn't give a reasonable explanation.

The fact that there is nothing he can do about the Junker noble class does not mean that he cannot touch a few high-level military officials.Besides, are the current Junker nobles still monolithic?

The birth of the Oceanic School and the Continental School is also due to the credit of William I.As a monarch, no one likes his subordinates to be monolithic, and it is only an instinct to divide his subordinates.

Ron, who was also the Minister of Army and Navy, quickly explained: "Your Majesty, look at this map of Europe, this is the location of our Kingdom of Prussia.

Our homeland was divided into two by the German Federal Empire, the Rhineland region in the west was threatened by the French, the Prussian Poland in the east was threatened by the Russians, and the Silesia region in the south was threatened by the Austrian military. .

There is no country in the world that is as bad as us strategically and is threatened by the three major powers at the same time.

In this case, we have few options to break the game.If you want to annex the German Federal Empire, you will inevitably encounter opposition from European countries.

The French covet the Rhineland and don’t want us to join together; the Austrians want to unify the German region, so it’s impossible for us to reach out to the German Federation; the British don’t want to give up this nail on the European continent, and they won’t support us to annex Germany federal.

Not to mention the Russians, they are well aware of their ambitions for the territory of Poland, and as soon as we show a flaw, they will immediately pounce on us.

If we want to strengthen ourselves, our only option now is to recover the Schleswig-Holstein Principalities from the Danes, and if we are lucky, we can bite the Danes hard.

The recovery of the two principalities is of great significance to the German nation.Under the influence of national justice, Austria will not stand against us, and they will even support our actions diplomatically.

The Kingdom of Denmark is politically pro-Russian, and Britain and France will not mind us attacking the Russians, and they will even push us to stand on the opposite side of the Russians.

Now is the weakest time for the Russians. Alexander II's reforms have not yet ended, and there is a Polish uprising again, and the conservatives are bound to counterattack.

The Russian Empire, which has internal and external troubles, even if it wants to intervene in this war, given the financial situation of the tsarist government, the power they can use is very limited.