Holy Roman Empire

Due to the butterfly effect of Franz, although the Russians suffered heavy losses in the Near East War, they got the dream of Constantinople. In the face of victory, the domestic crisis was suppressed.

After two years of cultivation, the tsarist government became restless again.Only this time when the Vienna system was rebuilt, there was no chance for them to expand on the European continent, and the tsarist government had to turn its attention to the Asian region.

In October 1856, under the encouragement of the Russians, the Persian dynasty captured Herat, and the stimulated British immediately declared war on the Persian dynasty, and the British-Polish war broke out.

Herat borders the Persian Gulf in the west, the Caspian Sea in the north, the Axalt River in the north, and the Indus River in the east. The special geographical location determines the strategic position and has become an important part of the Anglo-Russian hegemony in the Asian continent.

During the Near East War, the Russians planned to send troops to India, forcing the British to withdraw from the war, and Herat was an inescapable hurdle.

At that time, the Herat government feared that it would offend the British and rejected the Russians' request for a way of borrowing, and the relationship between the two countries deteriorated.

In order to remove this nail, the tsarist government turned to support the Persian dynasty, and now even supports the Persian invasion of Herat.

Affected by the outbreak of the Central Asian War, the negotiations in the Gulf of Guinea also turned around. In order to gain the support of international public opinion, the British government had to make concessions.

Without the British crap stick, subsequent negotiations are much easier.Because the entrance time was too late, the French had little local interest. The Paris government did not vigorously compete, and the remaining countries did not compete for strength.

On November 1, 1856, the seven countries of Britain, France, Occidental, Portugal and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of the Gulf of Guinea in Vienna, also known as: The Treaty of the Seven Countries.

The treaty stipulates that the coastal area of ​​the Gulf of Guinea shall be demarcated by the actual occupied areas of various countries. The colonial strongholds of various countries shall not attack each other.

On the surface, no one has suffered. In fact, this has confirmed Austria's local hegemony. Austria, which has a human advantage, has an absolute advantage.

The United States, Spain and France jointly occupy Liberia, Austria, Britain and Portugal jointly occupy Sierra Leone. Austria, Portugal, France and the Netherlands jointly occupy Côte d’ Ivoire. Austria, Britain and the Netherlands jointly occupy Ghana. Brother, Austria monopolizes Guinea.

The forces of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea have intertwined, directly making this the most chaotic region in the world. The Treaty of the Seven Nations has only temporarily suppressed the contradictions among countries and cannot eliminate them.

Seeing the power distribution maps of various countries, Franz has nothing to say, it is completely intertwined. For example: the British in the Togo area have only a stronghold of hundreds of people, but they just refuse to leave.

There is no way that the British Empire was so good at sea in this era. Even if Austria had a local advantage, they could not be expelled.

Franz did not feel unbalanced in his heart. Diplomacy was within the range of the artillery. On the bright side, the British colony could not be moved. Could it not be secretly secreted?

Do n’t look at the fact that the powers of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea are criss-crossing, and they think that the competition for the countries is very fierce. In fact, it is only the United Kingdom that has played the role of a crap stick. .

If there are not so many countries in their power, their local strength alone is very likely to be squeezed out of the Gulf of Guinea. After all, their advantages are all at sea, and they will not work on land.

Unless it shrinks in the colonial stronghold, it is possible to encounter danger once it goes out for colonial activities.This is the African continent, and it would be normal for something to happen.

In order to avoid this situation, the London government has drawn all countries to share the Gulf of Guinea.Anyway, I got the biggest benefit, and Franz wouldn't do anything.

Don't look at the strength of the countries here, but this also represents everyone's face, and they are expelled directly, and Austria does not need to be mixed internationally.

...

Metternich said: "Your Majesty, the British-Polish war broke out, and the Russians hope we can support their actions."

Support, it must be supported!At least verbally, no matter how restless the Russians are, as long as they do n’t engage in continent, Franz does n’t care.

The West African negotiations had always been deadlocked, and the British with naval advantages could not easily concede defeat. As a result, the Russians immediately gave in when they started.

Now is the critical time for the British to settle the Indian colonies. The Russians beat the Persians to occupy Herat. Is the motive still in doubt?

Without the French as thugs, the Russians may face off on land. Even if they have a first-hand advantage, the London government will not dare to take it lightly.

Franz thought for a while and said, "The Czarist government wants to find the guts of the British, just to facilitate our expansion overseas. What kind of support do they want?"

Metternich calmly replied: "In addition to diplomatic support, they also want to get a loan."

Another "loan", Franz understands why the German-Russian alliance collapsed in history.This is not the stupidity of William II's government, it is really that they cannot afford the Russians.

Do not look at the development of the Second German Empire at that time. It seemed to be very rich. In fact, as a new empire, they simply did not have much money to accumulate.

No matter how fast the economy develops, it cannot change the fact that they lack money.In the era of the gold standard, the rival British controlled most of the world's gold, and the German government must be cautious if it wants to issue additional currencies.

The scale of the economy in the market is here, but unfortunately the government reserves are insufficient, and the currency issued can meet its own needs. It is not good. There is not much money for the Russians.

In order to contain the British, Franz decided to recognize it and thought about it: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russians have negotiated. If the loan amount is small, they can be promised, but they must have collateral."

Huge loans are impossible, and the Vienna government is not rich, even if it is restricted to the use of loans.

For the blind issue of currency, Franz did not dare to do brute force, even if there is enough gold reserves, a large amount of currency influx into the market will cause inflation.Even if economics is not good, he still knows this.

Metternich explained: "Your Majesty, the Czarist government in this war should not be in person, so their funding gap will not be too large.

The victory of the Near East War made many people in the tsarist government float away.But there are also many people of insight who understand their own strength, they want to promote the reform of serfdom, and have the support of Nicolas I.

After the end of the war, Nicholas I was ready to give all soldiers the status of a freeman. As a result, the nobles used the excuse of insufficient compensation as a pretext to join back.

Now that the reformists and the conservatives are in turmoil, the tsarist government can hardly concentrate on external expansion in a short time."

Franz asked with concern: "Is it possible for the tsarist government to use the opportunity of war to divert domestic attention and carry out serfdom reform?"

After contemplating for a moment, Metternich replied: "Your Majesty, this is almost impossible. The tsarist government's finances are now very difficult, and they cannot raise so much war money.

India is the most important colony of the British. The London government cannot easily give up. Once this war breaks out, it will be protracted.

The Tsarist government could not know this, and now their approach is nothing more than to block the British and delay the British annexation of India."

Obviously the Tsarist government also knows the strength of the British. As the biggest competitor, if it does not pull back, is it still an enemy?

Waging an agent war is a good choice. Although it succeeds, it makes a lot of money. It does n’t matter if you fail. The Czar government is also very experienced in selling teammates.