Holy Roman Empire

St. Petersburg, looking at the battle report in his hand, Alexander II's face fluttered with joy, leaving only deep sorrow.

The Russian army has won a great victory on the front line, which has overwhelmed the enemy strategically and is getting closer and closer to the victory of the war.

However, behind these victories, the Russian soldiers were piled up with vast bones.Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Alexander II admitted that he was afraid.

There are not only two countries in the world, including Russia and Russia. There are many enemies in the Russian Empire. In order to win this war, they lost all their net worth. What should they do?

...

Foreign Minister Herado Jeserote: "Your Majesty, the Austrian Minister in St. Petersburg sent a diplomatic note to us this morning, and the Government of Vienna initiated an international conference to mediate this war."

Alexander II nodded: "It's finally here."

It seemed to be a sigh of relief, mixed with a little uneasiness.

After a short pause, Alexander II asked: "What conditions did the Austrians give?"

Foreign Minister Gerardo Jeserote shook his head: "It's just an ordinary diplomatic note, and the Austrian didn't make a stand.

Judging from the current situation, the Government of Vienna may not easily take a stand."

This is a fact, the Vienna government is really difficult to choose.One side is interest and the other is public opinion, no matter how you choose, it is wrong.

Since there is no choice, we will not express our position first and wait for further development of the situation before expressing our position.

At this time in Austria, Austria does not need to rely on the team to live a life. Earlier or later, its own income is indispensable.

After hesitating for a while, Alexander II made the decision: "In reply to Austria, we agree to accept mediation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to negotiate, and then there is a tough battle to fight.The blood of the soldiers must not be in vain, and they must not be allowed to get things on the battlefield and spit them out at the negotiating table."

The diplomatic game, although there is no smoke, the intensity is not inferior to the battlefield.

After the establishment of a new international system by the three countries of Britain, France, Austria, and France, the outcome of the European War has become more than a decision on the battlefield.

A military win is only the beginning; the ultimate attribution must still be determined at the negotiating table.

Of course, Russia is also a big country, and it still has the right to speak.After winning the battle, the negotiating table has the absolute upper hand, the only difference is the size of the gains.

...

The tsarist government agreed, and the Berlin government had no reason to disagree.What they cannot support now is that even the militants in the army know that the general trend is gone, and if there is no negotiation, there will be no capital to negotiate.

Up to now, not only 400,000 people have died in the war in the Kingdom of Prussia alone, but if the number of sick, dead, or seriously injured is added, this number may increase by two to three hundred thousand.

Only six to seven hundred thousand people died, and the natural disability is indispensable. It is not an exaggeration to permanently reduce the number of employees by more than one million.

For Prussia, which has a population of more than 10 million people, everyone is already crying.Except for some cases where the poisoning is too deep, most people's dreams are already awake.

Fortunately, this year's population structure is getting younger and the proportion of young people is higher. If we catch up with an aging society, the casualties will collapse so early.

General headquarters, news of the negotiation came, and Mao Qi seemed to be ten years old overnight. The war hit him so much.

The gap in strength cannot be bridged by individual strength.Winning the war all the way, and finally ended the war with defeat in victory.

After losing the war, Mao Qi ’s halo of generals did not fall, but instead became louder, and it must be said that it was a satire.

Resisting his inner grief, Mao Qi continued to perform his duties: "Order the troops to strengthen their vigilance and prevent the Russians from sneaking in."

Unlike previous war failures, the failure of this war hasn't been accused domestically of being a general commander.

Perhaps it was because everyone was hit hard and hadn't slowed down.No one shouted about changing officers, and no one shouted at him to kill.

"Yes, Marshal."

"Yes, Marshal."

...

The answers in twos and threes made Mao Qi's face even more ugly: "Have you not eaten yet, one by one is powerless, look at yourself, are you still like a soldier?

Did n’t you just lose a war, or did you not lose, the ancestors can survive, and we ca n’t do anything!"

No one answered the phone. Judging from the expressions, most people were ashamed and only a few were indifferent.

th.The more people you know, the less confidence you have in Prussia.

Now that the European landscape has basically stabilized, it is too difficult for Prussia to make a comeback. Many people are already desperate.

Seeing the poor effect, Mao Qi sighed helplessly.A few words may be able to wake up a confused person, but it will not be so effective for those who are already sober.

"Okay, I do n’t care what you think. As long as you wear this uniform, you have to perform your duties.

At this time, I do n’t expect you to be brave and combative, and be able to defeat defeat on the battlefield.

As long as you do your own job well, do n’t give the enemy a chance to keep Prussia ’s last capital, the best reward for your country."

...

In London, the news that Pu Russia accepted Austrian mediation, the British government seemed to be caught in the dark clouds.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "The Austrians are going to convene the Vienna Peace Conference, and all Russia and Russia have accepted the invitation. Britain's hegemony is being provoked. We must take action."

Although the three countries of Britain, France and Austria stand side by side, everyone's default boss is still Britain.This Vienna meeting clearly broke this practice.

The London government failed to mediate the Russian-Russian war, but instead let the Austrians do it, which means that Britain ’s influence on the European continent lags behind.

If it does not matter in other regions, the world hegemony of the British Empire has not penetrated into every region, and it is okay to lose the regional hegemony in one or two places.

But Europe is not good, the center of the world is in Europe this year.There is only a line between European hegemony and world hegemony.

Whether from an economic or military perspective, the European continent surpasses the rest of the world combined.Having obtained the European hegemony, the world hegemony is actually almost settled.

The British government cannot tolerate this kind of thing. Although Austria ’s convening of the Vienna Peace Conference does not amount to European continental hegemony, it has broken Britain ’s hidden hegemony in continental Europe.

Destruction is always easier than construction. Britain ’s position in Europe was established through hundreds of years of hard work. Now it has been hit, and it is almost impossible to restore it.

As the world hegemony, the British took too much interest.It's not just Austria that is greedy for their interests, but they are shocked by the reputation of the British.

Austria started. If the London government does not respond in time to dispel the delusions of other countries, then they will fall into endless temptations and provocations, and there will be no real peace.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "We can't influence the Russians. The Berlin government can't really persevere now. It's impossible for them to reject the Austrian proposal.

The plan to disintegrate Austria directly from the Peace Conference is unrealistic and can only be counterattacked from other aspects.

Perhaps we can increase our investment and establish the North German Empire as soon as possible.Severing the Austrian dream of the Central European Empire should deter European countries."

Prior to this, the London government was also planning the North German Empire, but because of the fear of Austria's reaction, it has always been behind the scenes.Now that my face is torn, I am naturally welcome.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield objected: "It is not easy to establish the North German Empire. Most German states have limited interest. In addition, the Austrians may be destroyed from it. The probability of success is too low.

To stand up and promote it directly, if it succeeds, it will be fine. If the plan fails, it will be a blow to our reputation.

Successive failures will shake our allies. For now, let's save Prussia first, and then consider how to retaliate against Austria."

What is Britain's way of retaliating against Austria?

The answer is: a lot.

Either the influence is too small to achieve the goal; or there is a future problem, and a bad one will bite itself.

For example: engage in things in the colony.

It's just that they can only succeed in the backcountry. Even if they succeed, the impact is very small, and they can't lead to quietness in the European world.

Interception at sea, obstructing shipping is also a way.

Unfortunately, it is not clear that the Royal Navy can pretend to be a pirate, and the Austrian Navy can also learn from it. This is a loss of both sides.

The most effective way is to do things in continental Europe.This is very challenging for the London government. Since the British-French relations were cold, their influence on the European continent has been affected.

If there are still French thugs, Franz will not do things at this time.

The Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head: "Sir, do we have any choice?

Without pushing Austria down, more countries will emerge.By the time we were all overwhelmed, there was still energy to revenge on Austria.

The establishment of North Germany was originally planned by us in advance. With the defeat of the Kingdom of Prussia, the probability of success is already high."

The fiasco of the Kingdom of Prussia has reduced the fear of the North German empire among European countries to a minimum, and many originally opposed countries may also turn to support.

This is determined by interests, and it is not without benefits for the Berlin government to borrow debt everywhere. At least now when creditors consider international issues, they must take into account their own money bags.

For example: France, although not much was borrowed in this war, but a lot of money was released in front, both Prussia and Poland.

Poland is gone, and no one can let the Russians spit it out.These debts all fell on the Berlin government. Under normal circumstances, the Berlin government certainly cannot afford it.

For these debts to be fulfilled, Prussia must also be restored to the economy, which requires investment. The French are definitely not willing to continue to pay.

At this time, the importance of the North German Empire was manifested. As the central government, it must not be able to watch the collapse of the following states. Even if they do not directly pay the debts for Prussia, they will also have to pay to help the Prussian kingdom restore its economy.

A loose alliance of German states can't threaten the interests of France at all, and it can also hinder Austria's reunification with Central Europe. The possibility of Paris government support is very high.

Including the Russian Empire can also be bought, not to mention the bloodshed between the two countries, as long as the benefits are in place, many things can be discussed.

The kingdom of Prussia, which was badly hurt, had lost its strength to threaten Russia after the war, even if it formed the German Empire with the Germans.

The population and territorial area determine the upper limit of this new country, and it can never catch up with the previous Pupo Federation.Not to mention the fact that many states in the country are on their own and cannot integrate forces.

The tsarist government clanked for poverty, and finally won the war, and certainly wanted to blackmail a war compensation.

It is easy for the Berlin government to sign a compensation treaty, but the problem is that the Kingdom of Prussia wants to pay this compensation.

No one renewed Prussia ’s life. Not to mention paying war compensation, the post-war pension could overwhelm the country.

In addition, Russia-Australia relations are also involved behind this.It is impossible to say that the Tsarist government did not fear Austria at all.

It was only because Austria could not be separated that the two sides did not turn their backs.After the war, Russia ’s demand for Austria will gradually decrease, and the relationship between the two sides will also change. It is only a matter of time before allies and competitors.

Without restricting himself, he was able to restrict Austria, and the Tsarist government did not reject it.