Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 385

The Russian navy suddenly broke out and occupied the Baltic region. The entire European world was stunned by the news. Many people thought that the Kingdom of Prussia was about to end.

Open the map to know that the coastline of the Kingdom of Prussia is in the Baltic Sea, here is the sphere of influence of the Russian Navy.

Since the outbreak of the war, the Danish navy has blocked the Prussian maritime transportation channel, and strategic materials supported by Britain and France can only be transferred from land.

The previous tsarist government ignored the role of the navy, did not attack the coastal areas of Prussia, and simply confronted on land. The Kingdom of Prussia still had the power of a battle.

It is different now. The land has been unable to break through. The Russians turned their eyes to the sea and used the naval superiority to attack the Kingdom of Prussia.

This is an unsolvable problem. The Russians can launch landing operations at any point, but Prussia cannot fully defend.

...

At the Vienna Palace, the Foreign Minister Weisenberg said: "Yesterday afternoon, the Russian Minister asked us for a new loan application. They were preparing to use the Saxon region as a mortgage for 30 million Aegis.

The enemy ’s territory was used as a collateral loan, which was also done by the tsarist government.No, this may not be a mortgage, it may be a sale.

Based on the financial situation of the Tsarist government, the possibility of repayment on time is very small, and the possibility of selling the collateral to pay the debt is very high.

The prerequisite is that the Russians won the battle and tore this piece of meat from the Kingdom of Prussia.

Franz asked with concern: "What is the opinion of the Saxony government? Are they interested in paying for the land?"

The Prussian Saxony region was allocated to Prussia at the 1815 Vienna Conference.Now the Kingdom of Saxony is part of the New Holy Roman Empire. If this part of the land returns, it will naturally be returned to the Kingdom of Saxony.

The common Saxony region occupies 40% of the territory of the Kingdom of Saxony. The Kingdom of Saxony always wanted to take it back.When they joined the new Shinra Empire that year, Prime Minister Felix made a promise.

Now that the opportunity is here, can the Saxony government bear it?

Franz was very skeptical.

If the Saxony government can't bear it, then the Vienna government has no way to stop this issue. After all, Franz also has to consider popular support.

The price of 30 million Aegis is not unaffordable for the economically developed Kingdom of Saxony.As long as they are willing to find a way, they can raise money.

Prime Minister Felix replied: "The Saxony government should be inclined to fund the purchase of the general Saxony region. Prime Minister Fressel will arrive in Vienna this afternoon."

Franz thought for a while and said, "First appease them. Now that these lands are still in the hands of Prussia, the Russians' promises cannot be made at all.

We must have other collateral to reduce the risk of loans.

A promise can be made to the Saxony government that the precondition for approving the Russian-Austrian loan is that the Russians agree to sell the common Saxony area and the price must be agreed in advance."

This matter is very troublesome. It can be said that the Russians chose a good time.

Most people now think that the Russians will win the war. At this time, using the common Saxony as a bait, the Vienna government must not refuse.

Loan mortgages are fake, and the real purpose of the Tsarist government is to raise funds to continue this war.

As soon as the news spread, the people of Saxony would ask to buy back the land, the Saxony government could not refuse, and Vienna had to cooperate.

Franz is not willing to be the head of this injustice.If the Russians have won the war, then let alone 30 million Aegis, even 50 million Aegis will come out.

But now it is just an unknown.In case the Tsarist government is defeated, or if the land is not ceded from Prussia, then the loan is likely to be floated.

Moreover, mortgage and sale are two concepts.Now that the tsar is short of money, in order to raise military expenses, he naturally dares not open the lion's mouth, so as not to scare away the gold master, the future is not necessarily.

When the time comes for the primary and secondary translocation, using the people's eagerness to take back the hearts of the Prussian Saxony regions, do not sell a sky-high price?

Foreign Minister Weissenberg said worriedly: "Your Majesty, since the Russians threw out the Saxon region, I worry that they might promise the Rhineland region to the French in exchange for loans."

Franz's face changed, this is not possible, but very possible.

Without money, what can the Tsarist government not do?

Moreover, it is still generous to others.Once the French are tempted, will the Paris government continue to support the Kingdom of Prussia with all its heart and soul?

The same conditions can be promised by the Berlin government. Not everyone is Bismarck and dare to write a blank check to the French.

Diplomacy cannot be promised indiscriminately. If Bismarck's wrist was strong enough and his luck was good enough, the Rhineland region would have fallen into the hands of the French.

As a part of the German region, Rhineland has long been regarded as something in the hands of the Vienna government. How can it be easily obtained by the French?

Destruction must destroy French-Russian trade!

This was Franz ’s first reaction, and as he got a headache again, how to destroy the possible French-Russian trade.

"Poke the news to the British. Although the development of the Rhineland region has slowed down in recent years, the local rich resources and industrial foundation are still there. Once it falls into the hands of the French, it will soon cause qualitative changes.

France is already very strong, and if it continues to grow, the London government will not be able to sleep."

This is a disaster.The Russian-Austrian League is still there. Many things against the Russians are not done by the Vienna government.

Prime Minister Felix suggested: "Your Majesty, shall we push a hand and let the Russians lose this war?"

It is simple to want the Russians to lose the war, as long as Austria suddenly embarks on a material embargo.At present, most of the strategic materials of the Russian front are produced by Austria.

Even if the Tsarist government wanted to buy elsewhere, it was too late for the time, not to mention that they could not find a buyer.

Only Europe, France and Austria have this production capacity.If the Russians can be pulled from the position of overlords, how could Britain and France refuse?

The compromise between France and Russia is also based on the victory of the Tsarist government.Napoleon III would not help the Russians win the war and consolidate the enemy's hegemony.

This is also the reason why countries are afraid of the Russian-Austrian alliance. The two countries have formed an alliance to complement each other's resources, and the strength that can be exploded is 1 + 1> 2.

Franz shook his head and said, "No, we can't shoot at this time.

The Prussians still have the power to fight. As long as Britain and France are more generous, so that the Prussians can arm the young and strong nationwide, the Russians may not be able to win.

Have you found that the reform of Alexander II has been suspended, and after the war, will the tsarist government still have the ability to continue the reform?"

In order to support this war, Alexander II had to compromise with domestic conservatives to ensure domestic stability.

This compromise will make it difficult to reform in the future.At least when faced with the same problem, the difficulty of reform has increased significantly.

From the perspective of long-term development, this time the Russian-Russian war has completed its strategic goals.An imperfectly reformed Russian empire is what Austria needs.

Now that the strategic objectives have been achieved, there is naturally no need to continue to target the Russians.When the Russian-Austrian League is not over yet, the act of pulling hatred can only be done by others.

...

The plan will never catch up with the rapid changes. When the tsarist government negotiated with Austria, it also started negotiations with the French.

At the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon III hesitated about the olive branch thrown by the tsarist government.

There can only be one European hegemon. On this issue, the Russian Empire is France's biggest competitor.

Now the loan to the Tsarist government is undoubtedly a capital enemy.

In Napoleon III's view, the biggest problem in obtaining the Rhineland is not military, but political.

Enough to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, the European countries have created a joint defensive circle against them. If they annex the Rhineland by force, it is bound to trigger the intervention of various countries.

At this time, the French need allies.Unlike mortgage loans in the common Saxony region, the Tsarist government promised to support the French annexation of the Rhineland region.

This is determined by geopolitics. No matter how powerful the czar is, it is impossible to cross the German federal occupation of the Rhineland region, and the mortgage will naturally be impossible to talk about.

With the support of the Tsarist government, France will not be politically isolated.After some interest exchanges with countries, the success rate of annexation of the Rhineland region is very high.

Foreign Minister Abraham suggested: "Your Majesty, whether or not to grant a loan to the Tsarist government, I think the key is to look at the final result of this war.

Now the Russians have a great chance of winning, and I can't think of how the Prussians can make a comeback.Even without our loans, the tsarist government can raise funds from elsewhere.

In this case, it is better to simply divide the Prussian kingdom with the Russians and maximize our interests."

Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen objected: "No, the Russians have too little credibility, and they cannot afford to repay this loan because of their financial ability.

Our money is not caused by strong winds and cannot be wasted in vain.It is also possible to divide the Kingdom of Prussia without providing loans to the Russians.

Once the Kingdom of Prussia is defeated, we can use the debt as an excuse to temporarily host the Rhineland region and create established facts.

Then slowly PR, exchange interests with countries, let them recognize our occupation of the Rhineland region.

Russian support is irrelevant at all. Whether they support us or not, we have to deal with countries. Even if the tsarist government opposes it, they will not be able to intervene.

Why spend this injustice money?"

Foreign Minister Abraham retorted: "Count Allen, this is not a waste of money. With the support of the Russians, it is much easier for us to obtain the acquiescence of various countries.

If there is no Russian support, then all European countries will oppose, and even if we eat the Rhineland region, we still spit it out."

The support of European countries may not be important, but the support of major powers must be.

The top five European powers, except Spain, which is in the midst of civil strife, can ignore it, and at least one of the remaining companies must obtain support.

The lessons of history have told the French that it is impossible to do it alone, even more so if it is reckless.

...