Holy Roman Empire

On April 22, 1867, the London Peace Conference was held.Representatives from more than 20 countries around the world gathered in London to discuss this special war.

This is the largest war in the world since the Anti-French War, which has affected the most countries, the most extensive areas of engagement.

There is no doubt that this is also the war with the worst casualties and the largest economic losses. The total military losses of the two warring parties exceeded two million, and the total economic losses of all countries exceeded two billion Aegis.

(Approximately 1 billion pounds, equivalent to 7,322.28 tons of gold)

If nothing else, just looking at the casualties and economic losses, all countries in the world will be collectively misfired.It is important to know that many countries have a population of less than 2 million, and the entire country is not worth 2 billion Aegis.

The biggest loss is naturally the Russians, not only the military suffered heavy losses, the domestic economy was hit hard, but also lost the city and the ground, and lost the hard-won world hegemony.

If it were done again, the Russians would definitely not go straight forward.

At the Paris conference, the principalities of Schleswig and Holstein were assigned to Denmark. The war of Prussia's invasion of Denmark was opposed by European countries, and they could solve the problem in a roundabout way.

Of course, the Russians are not good at roundabout diplomacy, and they do n’t seem to be powerful enough to show their European dominance.

Unexpectedly, the war that was originally used to establish power finally buried the hegemony of the Russian Empire, and a great empire was dying.

At the beginning of the negotiations, they fell into a nonsense mode. The Russian delegation was in a state of war. In addition to the help of the Danish representative, they were directly caught in a state of siege.

This is the disadvantage of many enemies. If Poland is also a country, then the Russians will face the Eight-Power Allied Forces.(Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, Poland, Empire)

The war between the belligerent countries, the representatives of other countries naturally looked lively.If everyone participates, the Russians will be even more tragic.

The diplomatic activities of the Prussians still played a role, gaining the understanding of most European countries, they provided a lot of evidence against the Russians, apparently well prepared.

After the meeting on the first day, Russian Foreign Minister Clarence-Ivanov knew that things were broken, and met with Austrian Representative Wesenberg overnight.

Clarence-Ivanov did not go around the corner and said straight away: "Lord, now we need the help of your country!"

After a moment of silence, the Austrian Foreign Minister Weisenberg began to say: "We are allies, we should help each other, what kind of help does the Lord Marquis need."

His purpose was clear to the Russians, but now he has to be confused to achieve a more favorable position and re-establish the dominance in the Russian-Austrian alliance.

Clarence Ivanov didn't think so much, the change of the European hegemony became a foregone conclusion, no matter whether it fell into the hands of the French or Austria.

The dominance of the Russian-Austrian alliance is now less important to the Russians who have lost their hegemony in the European Union.

"The current diplomatic situation is very unfavorable to us, and I hope your country can exert its influence and reverse this situation!"

The one-sided situation is completely beyond the expectations of the tsarist government. In their plan, most European countries should adopt a neutral attitude, rather than directly standing on the opposite side of Russia.

This is because the Russians did not have time to change their mindset and still brought themselves into the role of European hegemony.

Even if the Russian Empire in the era of European hegemony was very dissatisfied, few countries dared to show it. Neutrality is the position of a small country.

It is different now. The Russian Empire not only suffered a great deal of damage during the war, but also fell into a civil war. Its status in the world has been greatly reduced, and it will not scare the European countries.

I was angry in the past, and this time it broke out.Prior to this, the tsarist government also carried out diplomatic relations, seeing the results, they knew that they helped.Instead of reaching allies, they pushed some countries to the opposite.

In this case, they had to seek Austrian support.Since the Vienna Conference in 1815, Austria has occupied an important position in European political diplomacy.

The establishment of the Vienna system twice was the pinnacle of Metternich's diplomacy.Until now, Austria's influence in European politics and diplomacy is one of the best.

This political and diplomatic influence is also one of the reasons why Franz has always paid attention to eating.

It seems to ordinary people that this kind of political and diplomatic influence is useless. In fact, this guarantees that Austria will not fall into isolation and avoid a crisis that is universal.

Now the Russians know the consequences of being isolated, and they are targeted by various countries at the same time, which means that they will fall into a passive state in the negotiations and need to pay a greater price to end this war.

Weissenberg shook his head and said, "My Excellency Marquis, you have overestimated our influence. Now the situation is indispensable to the promoters of Britain and France. You would not think that Austria can resist the combined influence of Britain and France?"

This kind of help can't help, if you help, you will endlessly suffer.There is a price to be paid for countries to change their diplomatic positions.Without sufficient benefits, why should Austria pay this price?

Clarence-Ivanov's face was heavy, he knew it was not that simple.If Austria is willing to take action, these small countries will now be neutral again.

Nothing compares to the influence of the Anglo-French alliance.In fact, without involving their own interests, these small countries are all scratches.

In the era of the Vienna system, Austria could expel the British from Europe, suppress France on one occasion, and restrict the Russians to Eastern Europe, relying on diplomatic union.

The annexation of the South German region caused panic among European countries. Didn't it quickly overcome the difficulty?

"Your Excellency, we will not let you help."

After that, Clarence-Ivanov sent a check from the Royal Bank. The number above was blank and let Weisenberg fill it in directly.

After receiving the check, Weissenberg couldn't help crying.Is he this kind of person?It is not popular to ask for bribes in Austria. If this thing is collected today, he will go home to care for the elderly tomorrow.

The Austrian ministers have no poor ghosts this year, and Franz ’s shots are still very generous. The colony has their own industry, and at least thousands of hectares of land started.

These lands need their own management, and many rich people can dismiss them, but this land is accompanied by the title of noble noble, and its value instantly doubled.

No one would have too many noble titles, especially with fiefdoms.It doesn't matter if you are in a colony, anyway, it will be localized sooner or later.

In order to save a few more business for future generations, Weisenberg pushed the check back and said: "Sorry, Your Excellency, I dare not collect this money.

If we want countries to change their positions, we must pay a price, which can definitely not be solved by a few words.

If you want to get rid of the current predicament, you can start from Sweden-Norway, the Nordic Federation is being formed, this time they must take into account the feelings of the Danes.

Then draw the German Confederation and exaggerate the Prussian threat theory.The Kingdom of Prussia wants to become a real power, and annexing them is the only option.

It is not difficult to persuade Belgium, the French threaten them too much, they will need your help, at least they can be neutral.

Spain, Portugal and your country have no conflicts of interest, and I believe that your Excellency has the ability to persuade them to remain neutral."

Weissenberg gave a solution. Whether it can be done depends on the ability of the tsarist government.No country without conflicts of interest can keep people neutral, so what kind of diplomacy do they have?

This is the confidence of the powers. No matter how the Russians decline, they are still one of the four major powers in Europe, and their comprehensive national strength far exceeds Prussia and Spain.

After hearing this idea, Clarence Ivanov was a little embarrassed.These should be regarded as routine operations, but they actually messed up before, and now they need to remediate.

Undoubtedly, in addition to the "mindset" of diplomats, "mistakes" also make mistakes in the starting point of lobbying an important factor.

This is not the responsibility of a single person. The Russians can solve the problem by diplomatic means, and they have to wait until the time of Alexander III. Before that, they are used to using force to get everything done.

Against this background, it is normal for diplomats to fail in their ability.Able to reach the pass level, even an elite diplomat.

After a pause, Clarence-Ivanov handed over the cheque and said very politely: "Thank you, Your Excellency! You have gained the friendship of the Russian Empire."

Nothing to do, but the other party gave an idea, the money is still to be given.

This set of money game rules is common within the czarist government bureaucracy, and Clarence-Ivanov is used to it.

In fact, the foreign ministries of various countries are also the hardest hit areas of corruption in this era, and it is not too simple to make money abroad.

Weissenberg also received gifts when he took office, but with the rise of his position, he gradually became more cherished with feathers, afraid of being caught by competitors.

Now that there is no need to do anything, the money will not be so hot.

In the face of money, Weissenberg added: "My Excellency, the difficulty of this negotiation is in Eastern Europe. This is the core of your country. I personally suggest that you first solve the troubles in the Far East, Near East and Central Asia. .

The Ottoman Empire battlefields in the Near East have not achieved results, and they do not cost much to kill them; I do n’t know much about the Far East, but they are too far away and should not have much value.

The Central Asian region has almost been lost, so simply give up.As long as the core interests are protected, other side stories are not worth mentioning.

From the perspective of long-term development, I think the issue of Eastern Europe is not a big deal.With the strength of your country, you can get it back sooner or later.

The small movements of Britain and France are constant. If the negotiation is dragged on for too long, it will be easy to get out of the way.As far as I know, the Kingdom of Prussia is still expanding and preparing for war, and it is very likely that the war will be ignited again."

It is really good intention for the Russians to quickly complete the negotiations and end the war. After all, it is not surprising that the war will break out again.

According to European practice, if there is no benefit at the negotiating table, then go to the battlefield.In the current situation, as long as the Russian Empire dares to fight, the frontline troops dare to lose.

At least on the battlefield in Eastern Europe, there is no hope at all.Logistical supplies cannot be guaranteed, and war cannot be fought at all.

Digging a hole, and encouraging the Russians to fight back in the future, it is fulfilling the duties of the Austrian Foreign Minister.

After hearing Weisenberg's explanation, Clarence-Ivanov was feeling a lot heavier.

The loss of other regions is not a problem. The loss of the Russians is the core of the Russian Empire.

The land that is lost now must be fought back in the future.The bears are very vengeful, and the Kingdom of Prussia has replaced the Ottoman Empire as their number one enemy.

Once the tsarist government slows down, it is necessary to look for their anger.Wherever you fall, you have to get up wherever you go. The Russians never lack resilience.

Wesenberg's kind reminder only deepened his impressions and made the Russians always remember this hatred.