Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 221

Chapter 221: Chapter 108, The Diplomatic Tactics of John Bull

Translator: 549690339

Palace of Versailles

British Foreign Minister Thomas said to Napoleon III, “Your Majesty, the Russian-Austrian Alliance poses too great a threat to us. Since the outbreak of the Near East War, if it were not for Austria’s support, the Russians would have collapsed early on.

Now the opportunity has come. The Austrians want to unify the Germany Region, and the Russians will certainly oppose it.

Looking at the current situation, the Vienna Government has made concessions, agreeing to support the Russians in obtaining Constantinople, in exchange for Russian support of their annexation of the South German Region.

This seemingly mutually beneficial deal has encountered problems in implementation. The Russians were unable to take Constantinople, yet Austria has swallowed the South German Region whole.

There will definitely be many within the Tsarist Government who do not wish to see Austria’s plans realized, so their support for Austria will inevitably be limited.

Facing the diplomatic pressure united by the European countries, the Austrian Government naturally cannot withstand the pressure. They were already at a loss in this trade, and if they find out now that the Russians are dragging their feet, the Vienna Government will certainly be dissatisfied.

At this time, if we lure Austria to abandon the Russian-Austrian Alliance on the condition that we recognize their annexation of the South German Region, the likelihood of success is very high.”

The existence of the Russian-Austrian Alliance has already seriously threatened the core interests of England and France, involving the struggle for dominance over the European Continent.

Since the end of the anti-France war, the reason Russia, which has gained supremacy in Europe, has not been able to expand externally is not only due to the restraint of the Vienna System but more importantly, because of the inadequate diplomatic techniques of the Tsarist Government, which have been met with united opposition by everyone.

The situation is different now. Austria and Russia have come together, England and France might despise Russian diplomacy, but cannot ignore Austria’s diplomatic ability.

Metternich has even been acclaimed as the “European Chancellor” of this era, and the British have personally experienced his diplomatic prowess.

With the power ranking last among the four great powers, Austria has actually dominated European Continental politics for thirty years, relying on diplomatic means.

“Suppress France, drive out England, obstruct Russia,” this is the greatest achievement of the Vienna System, by exploiting the contradictions between nations, Metternich achieved strategic goals through the policy of the weaker controlling the strong.

If Russia and Austria continue to deepen their cooperation, once they achieve strategic complementarity, it will have a fatal impact on the core interests of both England and France.

Napoleon III shook his head and said, “Mr. Thomas, we are all aware of the threat of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, and I am very willing to dismantle this combination.

But everything you’ve said has too low a probability of success; that old fox Metternich is not easy to deceive, and I’m afraid he won’t be so easily tricked!”

Setting aside the France-Austria deal, if we want to dismantle the Russian-Austrian Alliance, the plan must also be reliable, right?

We can’t just speculate that the Russians will reduce their support for Austria out of envy and then rashly trip up Austria diplomatically.

We are all politicians here, and international relations must be treated in terms of interests. As long as the interests are right, suppressing personal sentiments isn’t difficult.

Thomas calmly said, “Your Majesty, the Russian-Austria Alliance is built on the basis of interests. Austria is unwilling to give up their alliance with the Russians simply because the benefits aren’t enough.

As long as Austria is willing to abandon their alliance with Russia, not only can we support their annexation of the South German Region, but we can also give them the Central German Region, and even the land they now occupy in Ottoman territory.”

If the Austrian Empire is unwilling to give up the Russian-Austrian Alliance, then we must prepare for the worst and take direct action to restrict Austria’s power.

We will deploy one hundred thousand troops, your country will deploy two hundred thousand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Sardinia, and Spain will each deploy fifty thousand, and, in addition, the Kingdom of Prussia will deploy three hundred thousand to form an intervention force to pressure the Austrians to abandon this expansion.”

It must be said that the British are ruthless. The benefits that could be gained from the Russian-Austrian Alliance can be obtained by tearing it up, and even more so.

Napoleon III fell into deep thought. Strategically speaking, the threat of the Russian-Austrian Alliance was too great, not at all less than that of Austria uniting the Germany Region.

The British, for the sake of world hegemony, want to strike at their biggest competitor, and at this time, they are naturally willing to give anything.

After offending Russia anyway, Austria’s rear will be unstable, with the French holding them in check at the front, they simply don’t have the strength to dominate the European Continent.

But for the French, it’s different. Breaking up the Russian-Austrian Alliance is certainly very important, but suppressing the emergence of new opponents is equally important.

If, after a great effort, the Russians were suppressed only to let Austria rise to power, their efforts would have been in vain.

The British seek to balance in Europe, and as long as that balance can be maintained, it doesn’t matter who is strong and who is weak. In any case, Austria’s geographical position ensures that it cannot challenge naval power; the threat to them is the smallest among the great powers.

For France, it’s a different story. Napoleon III is also an emperor with aspirations to dominate the European Continent and naturally cannot tolerate the emergence of a behemoth in Southern Europe.

The gap in strength between Austria-France is not that large, and even now in the Austrian Empire, Napoleon III is not confident of being able to suppress them, let alone a strengthened Austria.

At this time, Napoleon III had pushed aside the France-Austria Secret Treaty; all he could think about was that Austria must not be allowed to grow stronger, and that effective measures must be taken to restrict their development.

After a long pause, Napoleon III shook his head and said, “Mr. Thomas, your plan is too unreliable. What if we recognize Austria’s expansion and then they turn their backs on us later?

The Russian-Austrian Alliance can be torn up, and likewise, it can be re-established. In the end, it all comes down to—interests.

Your country’s European balance plan has in fact already constrained the future development of Austria. In order to go even further, they will sooner or later join hands with the Russians again.

If I were Nicholas I, as long as I could annex the Ottoman Empire, even if it meant indulging Austria in unifying the Germany Region, I would accept it.

When Austria has unified the Germany Region, the first to be hit will be France; the Russians can completely provoke a Austria-France war and then sit back and reap the benefits as a fisherman.

Your country can also stand by coolly, waiting for the situation to change. Mr. Thomas, do you think I am easy to fool?”

Sensing the murderous intent in Napoleon III’s eyes, Thomas hastily remedied, “Your Majesty, you worry too much. Nicholas I is not as wise as you.

Moreover, we will not watch Austria grow stronger. None of the European countries want to see a behemoth emerge in Central Europe.

Austria has no chance of unifying the Germany Region, at least the Kingdom of Prussia will not be able to digest it.

Don’t be fooled by Austria’s current appearance of military strength—once war breaks out, as long as it’s not on their own territory, the logistics required for a million-strong army will be more than enough to drag them down.”

Napoleon III said with great certainty, “Mr. Thomas, no matter what you say, France can never allow the Austrian Empire to grow unchecked simply to dismantle the Russian-Austria Alliance!”

After he finished speaking, Napoleon III immediately realized something. The British weren’t trying to allow Austria to grow; they rather intended to contain Austrian development and had come to provoke him.

With this realization, the look Napoleon III gave Thomas was full of disgust.

Seeing the change in Napoleon III’s demeanor, Thomas spoke as if it were nothing, “Your Majesty, since Your country intends to restrict Austrian development, as allies, we naturally ought to support Your country’s actions.

The Austrians’ ambitious wars of aggression, aimed at annexing all sub-states in the German Region, are intolerable to all just individuals.

I suggest that our two countries join forces immediately to stop Austrian actions and to permanently divide the German Region outside of Prussia and Austria, forming an independent country to eradicate the source of war in Europe.”

Having seen through the intent, Napoleon III understood that this was the true objective of the British, but he now had trouble believing it.

John Bull was too impressive at diplomatic maneuvering. In the past, his uncle, Emperor Napoleon, was invincible across Europe, yet he still fell under the scheming of the British.

Austria’s leading role in establishing the Vienna System was only because the British were expanding their overseas colonies and didn’t have the resources to interfere with the European affairs, which is why they had propped up Austria to help maintain European stability.

But the moment they were free, they immediately came back to stir up trouble. The current wars in the Near East and interference in the unification process of the German Region were all initiated under British leadership.

Even now, although it was clearly the British who wanted to contain Austria’s growth, it had been made to look as if France wanted to contain Austrian development, successfully passing the unpopular task onto him.

Reject? Napoleon III deeply wanted to refuse, but he had no choice.

His reason told him that if France didn’t step in to limit Austrian development, the British would indeed allow Austria to grow for the sake of dismantling the Russian-Austria Alliance.

It was an overt scheme, and Napoleon III could not help but fall into the trap. Now, by France breaking the treaty and blocking Austria’s expansion, what would Austria do when it was their turn to expand? Need that even be said?

This one maneuver not only contained Austrian development but also caused both France and Austria to be mutually restrained, cutting off the alliance between the two countries while also forcing France to continue relying on them in international politics.

Napoleon III said with sarcasm, “Mr. Thomas, this must be your true goal, right?

But do you think Austria is some weakling you can easily push around? Where are the intervening Allied Forces?

Before the arrival of the Allied Forces, I do not believe that suggestive threats alone will make the Austrians yield to France.

However, since Mr. Thomas is so eloquent, why don’t you represent France yourself and go ensure Metternich bows down!”

Does he think it’s easy to organize the Allied Forces? Before the plan is exposed, fooling Prussia into participating is no problem, and pertaining to Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, they always look up to the British, so convincing them to send troops is not difficult.

Why would Switzerland, a neutral nation, burden themselves and offend Austria right on their doorstep? The growth of Austria has nothing to do with Spain’s interests; why would they muddy the waters for nothing?

Napoleon III didn’t want France to end up as the sucker left holding the bag in the end. What if the Austrians don’t submit and war breaks out? Where will he go then to cry?

Fighting a war means people would die. Normally, Napoleon III wasn’t timid, but to wage war against Austria while already at war with Russia was madness.

Thomas confidently said, “Your Majesty, rest assured, we have already resolved the issue of the intervening Allied Forces.

Switzerland, Netherlands, and Belgium can receive parts of the German Region as rewards; Spain and Portugal can be compensated in their colonial enterprises.

So long as our two countries are united, they won’t dare refuse our benevolent offer.

Once Austria chooses war, the Royal Navy will blockade the Adriatic Sea, cutting off their overseas trade.

Considering the practical situation, I believe there’s a very high likelihood that the Austrian Government will capitulate as soon as we indicate any intent to form the Allied Forces.

Besides, we’re not talking about completely wiping them out; for instance, the Kingdom of Bavaria that the Austrians have already occupied could be allowed for their annexation.

The London Government only wishes to dismantle the Russian-Austria Alliance and does not desire a closer Russian-Austrian relationship. Therefore, military intervention is only the worst-case scenario.

If we demonstrate our readiness for military intervention, Your Majesty, what do you think the Russians will do?

Will they risk sending troops to join Austria in an attack on the Kingdom of Prussia, or will they confront us in the Near East and verbally support Austria?”

After hearing Thomas’s explanation, Napoleon III felt stunned; the British had too many schemes up their sleeves.

Nearly all European countries were caught in their net, except for Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe, which were too close to Russia to be courted. The other countries were coerced into taking sides.

Even if the Russian-Austrian Alliance persisted, most European countries stood against them. That’s the power of naval supremacy.

When the world’s first and second naval powers unite, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, with their colonial dependencies, really have no choice.

Belgium’s geography determined that they must align with France and Britain; the Kingdom of Sardinia sought revenge against Austria; Switzerland, with a longstanding grudge against the Habsburg dynasty, couldn’t afford to offend France and Britain either.

Napoleon III said coldly, “If so, then let’s propose this plan together.

As for Russia, Mr. Thomas, you can go yourself. As long as the Russians’ stance is not firm, this plan will succeed.”

Thomas impassively said, “Your Majesty, do not forget that it was the Russians who proposed the division of the German Region in the first place. I’m sure the Austrians will be very ‘delighted’ to learn of this plan.”

Napoleon III, unwilling to show weakness, said, “The prerequisite is that the Prussians do not find out about our subsequent plans; otherwise, they might choose to join Austria in partitioning the German Region.

If that happens, all these plans will come to nothing. Both Prussia and Austria will grow stronger, Your country’s interests in the German Region will not be safeguarded, and you’ll have an additional competitor in the future.”