Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 109: Anglo-Austrian Negotiations

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Under what circumstances will the conflict between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia disappear

It depends on the specific situation. Anyway, Palmerston would not be naive to think that Austria would mobilize its troops to kill the Kingdom of Sardinia, and for the so-called world peace, it would easily let the Kingdom of Sardinia go.

Then only if one party falls, a slap fails, the enemy falls, and the contradiction naturally ceases to exist.

There is no doubt that it is the Sardinian kingdom that is falling now, and Palmerston does not believe that the Sardinians can come back.

Even if the remaining Sardinian soldiers were transformed into Spartan warriors, it would not change the outcome of the defeat of the war.

Palmerston thought for a while and said, "Mr. Metternich, for the sake of world peace and stability, the British government recommends that your country end the Ossa War as soon as possible and return to its pre-war state."

The relationship between the British and Austria is very complicated. They oppose Austria's expansion in the Italian region, and because of their European strategic needs, they do not want to turn against Austria. This is the reason for Palmerston's Vienna trip. means to resolve the dispute between the two countries of Osa.

You must know that after the Anti-French War, Europe entered the era of Great Britain and Russia. The Austrian-dominated Vienna system, while isolating the British Empire from continental Europe, also contained Russian expansion.

For the British, isolation is isolation, as long as the European continent maintains a balance, their hegemony will not be shaken, and the Vienna system also defends their core interests.

Now that the Vienna system has collapsed, and the situation on the European continent is about to undergo earth-shaking changes, curbing the expansion of the Russians has become the first priority of the British.

As Austria, which stands in the way of the Russians' westward expansion, is the ally that the London government most needs to win, and the Anglo-Austrian relationship cannot be shattered unless necessary.

The complex diplomatic strategy of the British could not be concealed from Metternich, and Austria also needed to cooperate with the British.

Don't look at Russia and Austria as an alliance, Austria does not need to contain Russia's continued expansion of power. In fact, the last thing that wants Russia to expand is the Austrian government.

Of course, Franz is not included here.

In fact, the road for the Russians to expand westward has run out. Prussia and Austria are not soft persimmons. It is impossible for the tsarist government to set its sights on this.

Sweden in the Nordic region is also hard-boned, and the Russians will not touch the nails. The only place in Europe where the Russians can expand is the Balkans.

People in this era felt that after Russia entered the Balkans and occupied Constantinople, it was out of control when it rushed into the Mediterranean.

Franz's judgment is just the opposite. The Russians who stay in the country of ice and snow are the most terrifying. After entering the Mediterranean, the British will teach the bears to be human again.

Great on land, and equal to greatness on the sea. It's not that Franz despised the Russians, the army can rely on human sea tactics, and the navy is really a rookie.

In terms of developing the navy, Austria has an advantage over the Russians. At least Venice was once a naval power, and there are still enough sailors.

If there is no sea, the navy must be awesome. Russia's sea area is indeed large, but it is not very suitable for the development of the navy.

Even now, the Russians are still a group of landlubbers, and the pocket version of the navy will not develop at all within a few decades.

Even while the Russians were expanding in the Balkans, Austria was still getting a piece of the pie, maybe not the most delicious part.

But Franz's attitude is: a thousand birds in the forest, it is better to have a bird in hand.

As long as the strength of Austria can be strengthened, as for the issue of containing the expansion of the Russians, whoever likes to do it can do it, anyway, he does not have this spirit of internationalism.

If the Russians are led astray, run to develop the navy vigorously. He doesn't mind giving full support to the Russians and letting them go further down the road to death.

Franz's attitude has also affected Austria's diplomacy to a certain extent. For many international affairs, he is not as active as the Metternich era.

Metternich shook his head and said, "Mr. Palmerston, there is always a price to be paid for wrongdoing. The Sardinian kingdom will naturally bear the corresponding price if it dares to invade Austria.

The dignity of the Austrian Empire cannot be desecrated, and the evil Sardinian Kingdom dares to violate the Vienna system to launch a war of aggression, and it must pay for it. "

Palmerston breathed a sigh of relief. Austria did not insist on annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia, so there was still room for easing, and it was nothing more than a matter of interests.

Instigating the kingdom of Sardinia to wage war and providing loans to the kingdom of Sardinia also has his credit behind it. If the kingdom of Sardinia really came to an end, the loans would become bad debts, and the British bankers would not spare him.

Palmerston thought for a while and said, "Of course, the Sardinian kingdom launched this war of aggression, and naturally it should pay the price.

For the sake of world peace, the British Empire is ready to mediate this war, and we hope that your country can temporarily suspend military operations. "

Metternich smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Palmerston, you're too late.

At this time, the Kingdom of Sardinia has been occupied by the Austrian army, and the Sardinian King Charles Albert has been in exile, and it may not be long before he arrives in London.

If your country can restrain the Sardinian guerrillas from continuing to disrupt, we can stop the next military operation. "

Has the Austrian army occupied the kingdom of Sardinia

If it only refers to the main cities, Austria has indeed occupied the Kingdom of Sardinia; if it refers to the whole country, Austria has only occupied half of the territory of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

This does not prevent Metternich from bragging B, the military occupation of this era, most of the time refers to the main cities, the vast rural areas are often ignored.

At this point, Palmerston was too lazy to continue fighting, and all the chips in the hands of the Kingdom of Sardinia were lost, and it was impossible to think about bleeding.

Palmerston quickly entered the role and asked: "Mr. Metternich, to end this war, what conditions does your government have, we can convey it on your behalf."

Metternich did not answer, but handed over a prepared armistice treaty.

Glancing at the content above, Palmerston's face changed. If it was done according to Austria's requirements, the Kingdom of Sardinia would not be far from becoming history.

"Mr. Metternich, these terms are too harsh, aren't they?" Palmerston said with a frown.

More than harsh, it is clearly very harsh. This is to put all the political, military, financial, and territory of the Sardinian Kingdom under the control of Austria, which is not much different from annexing the Sardinian Kingdom.

For example: the appointment of government ministers and above must be approved by the Austrian government;

Another example: the Sardinian kingdom is not allowed to retain an army, but only a police force of no more than 10,000 people, and employs 50% of the fiscal revenue to employ the Austrian army to protect their territorial security;

The right to issue currency in the Kingdom of Sardinia, managed by the Austrian government;

The various taxes of the Kingdom of Sardinia shall be determined by the Austrian government;

The Kingdom of Sardinia is not allowed to produce weapons and equipment, all weapons must be imported from Austria;

All diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Sardinia and any country or region shall be exercised by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

There is no claim for indemnity for ceding land, but compared with the requirements above, it is estimated that the Sardinians would rather cede land and pay indemnity than become an Austrian colony.

Metternich said very kindly: "This is just a draft negotiation. This invasion of Sardinia has brought very heavy losses to Austria, and Lombardy and Venice were almost beaten to nothing.

It also caused hundreds of thousands of Austrian casualties, and millions of Austrians were made homeless. How can such a serious loss be counted

If the Sardinians cannot accept our terms, it is not impossible, as long as they can fully compensate us for all our losses at once. "