Vienna International Hotel
Palmerston fought for it: "Mr. Metternich, your asking price is too high, which has exceeded the ability of the Sardinian Kingdom!"
Metternich said calmly: "Mr. Palmerston, we can count a battle. In this Australian war, Austria spent 100 million guilders and 12,000 casualties of officers and soldiers, even if No one paid a pension of 1,000 rupiah, which was also 12 million rupiah.
The death toll of civilians was as high as 586,000, the death of nobles was 26,000, and the highest title was Marquis, and millions of people were homeless.
If each civilian pays 500 guilders for casualties, and each noble pays 3,000 guilders, the total is 371 million guilders. The homeless people should pay less, at least 150 million guilders, right
Nearly half of the cities in the Lombardy and Venice regions were destroyed by the war, the local economy completely collapsed, and the post-war reconstruction would cost no less than 300 million guilders.
There is also the Sardinian army who acted recklessly and plundered a lot of wealth from the people, at least 180 million guilders, which must be returned.
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According to the Austrian calculation, the Kingdom of Sardinia is estimated to be unclear by the next century. Before Metternich could finish speaking, Palmerston said:
"Mr. Metternich, the account cannot be calculated like this. Most of the casualties and economic losses were caused by the revolutionaries, and the losses caused by the Sardinian army to your country are only a small part of it."
Yes, these losses are the result of the joint action of the rebels, the Austrian army, and the Sardinian army, but all the losses will be borne by the Sardinian kingdom.
Metternich said without changing his face: "Mr. Palmerston, we have enough evidence to show that the rebellions in Lombardy and Venice were all planned by the Sardinian government.
The losses caused by the rebels naturally also need to be borne by the Kingdom of Sardinia. We are only asking for compensation of 1.66 billion rupiah, which is actually very little. "
Palmerston naturally would not buy it, one by one grinding down with Metternich.
For example, civilian casualties: the Sardinian army did not engage in massacres, how could it be possible to kill so many civilians in such a short period of time
Natural disasters, man-made disasters, and natural deaths were all recorded in the Sardinian government's head.
But the war has caused population exodus. If this person is still alive, compensation should be made according to the dead population. Isn't it too nonsense
What kind of rebel casualties also need compensation pensions? Isn't this bullshit? They are all sinners and the Austrian government needs to pay pensions to their families
No, this has to be discounted.
Another example: the Sardinian army looted places, they are all in prisoner of war camps, and the goods are all your spoils, okay? At most a little loss fee, how can there be so much
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After half a month of wrangling, Palmerston finally reached an agreement with Metternich, and the Kingdom of Sardinia paid Austria 338 million guilders in war compensation and 62 million guilders of war ransom to end the war. (about 93.52 million taels of silver)
This is already the limit. The Kingdom of Sardinia has not undergone the reform of Cavour, and now their financial income is converted to only more than 10 million taels of silver.
In the face of this huge indemnity, they will definitely not be able to come up with it. The existence of the Fao secret agreement has cut off their possibility of turning to the French financial community for help. They have no choice but to borrow from the British.
With John Bull's feces and urine, why can't he not take advantage of the fire at this time
It can be said that after this huge debt is borrowed, the politics and economy of the Sardinian Kingdom in the future must be fully dependent on the British.
As for the opinion of the Sardinian government in exile, it is no longer important, they have lost the right to speak, and only accept the arrangement of fate.
It is enough to change the government if they are not obedient. The British have spent a lot of money to keep them. They hope to support an obedient pawn in Italy and enhance their right to speak in Italy.
Of course, there is another reason that the British bank consortium is locked up with loans. The Sardinian government still owes the British a whole lot of debt, and if they don't want to keep them, all these loans will be lost.
This huge indemnity is not so much the limit that the Sardinian Kingdom can bear, but the limit that the British are willing to continue to invest.
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On July 7, 1848, the Austrian ambassador in London signed an armistice with the Sardinian government in exile in Britain.
The British bank consortium provided a loan to the Sardinian government, paying a one-time payment of 200 million rupiah in Austrian war reparations, and the rest was paid in 20 years at an annual interest of 5%.
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The decision to ask for money and not land was made by Franz. If there is no problem with the pig teammates in France, then everyone will join forces to carve up the Kingdom of Sardinia, and Austria will get the rich Genoa and Turin regions, which is indeed worth a shot.
But now the French are overwhelmed, and Austria is left alone. It is a pity that Austria has a bad appetite and cannot swallow the Kingdom of Sardinia in one bite.
If the Kingdom of Sardinia cannot be destroyed and only part of their territory is occupied, then they will face the threat of national uprisings for a long time, and it will be difficult to convert these areas into national strength.
Moreover, there are already enough Italian nationalities in Austria, and Franz does not want to continue to increase, which is not conducive to his national integration policy.
Austria made concessions on the issue of the Kingdom of Sardinia and was naturally compensated.
For example: the British will support Austria's expansion in the Balkans and acquiesce Austria to join overseas colonial expansion.
Compared with the complicated Italian region, after gaining the support of the British, Austria expanded in the Balkans and only needed to communicate with the Russians.
Overseas colonial expansion is even simpler. As long as Austria opens up the direction of colonies, it does not conflict with the core interests of Britain and France, and the rest are small problems.
I have to say that Palmerston's judgment is very accurate, and Austria's strategic focus has long been outside the Italian region.
What now dominates is the German faction, headed by Prime Minister Felix, who advocates expansion of power in the German region.
It was followed by the Near East faction, headed by Prince Wendischgritz, Minister of War, who advocated expansion into the Balkans.
And the colonial faction headed by Grand Duke Louis advocated the opening of overseas colonies.
The impact of the butterfly effect is huge. At this time in history, the Austrian government was busy suppressing rebellions, and there were absolutely not so many people who wanted to expand.
Behind these strategies there is one, or multiple interest groups driving it. On the surface, everyone's reasons are very good, but in practice, there are a series of problems.
Franz was not in a hurry to express his position. Politics often cannot only consider right and wrong, but also depends on the interest groups involved and the changes that may be caused.
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Palmerston's visit this time is not only for the Italian issue, but also for mediating the Pudan war. Austria also has a strong voice on this issue.
"Mr Metternich, I think it is necessary for our two countries to have more in-depth communication on the issue of the Purdue War.
The act of the Kingdom of Prussia provoking war without authorization should be condemned by the international community. As a peace-loving country, it is necessary for us to take more active measures. ' said Palmerston
"Certainly, Mr. Palmerston. The Austrian government has long stated its position:
The duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were traditional German states, and Austria wanted them back into the federation.
However, they had to return as independent states, not part of the Kingdom of Prussia. ' Metternich replied tentatively.
Palmerston said solemnly: "Mr Metternich, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein already belong to the Kingdom of Denmark, this is a matter of history.
The German region is just a place name, not a country. The German Confederation is just an alliance, and there is no so-called sovereignty! "
There is no doubt that the British were against the unification of the German region. Once a unified empire emerges in Central Europe, the hegemony of the British Empire will be impacted again.
Palmerston directly stated his position in order to break the illusion that Austria might have a unified German region.
Metternich was against the establishment of Greater Germany. He believed that it was impossible to unify the German region. After testing the attitude of the British, he would naturally not have any overreaction.
"Mr. Palmerston, this question is not what we think, but the public opinion guided by the Prussians, and now the Austrian government is kidnapped by public opinion.
Having just experienced a domestic rebellion, we had to take into account the feelings of the people, and in this war we had to support the Prussians diplomatically. "
Metternich took the word diplomacy very seriously, and Palmerston naturally understood the implication. Austria did not want Prussia to continue to grow, and its support for them was limited to diplomacy and would not take practical actions.
This answer did not satisfy him, but it was not unacceptable. It was nothing more than that in this Pudan war, Austria was ready to make soy sauce.
Seeking the Austrian government's participation in a joint pressure on Prussia failed, Palmerston did not stay in Vienna any longer and went straight to Berlin.