Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 166: France Enters the Scene (BONUS)

Chapter 166: France Enters the Scene (BONUS)

On March 21, 1851, the Russian government appointed Prince Alexander Menshikov as envoy to Constantinople to negotiate with the Ottoman government.

After hearing this news, the diplomatic community was in an uproar. Prince Alexander Menshikov had served as the Governor-General of Finland, commanded wars against Persia and the Ottomans, served as the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, and Minister of the Navy.

As a core figure of the Russian government, Prince Alexander Menshikov being appointed as envoy shows how much importance the Russians placed on this negotiation.

This kind of importance seems to be sending a signal to the outside world that Russia wants to resolve the issue through negotiation.

However, considering that Prince Menshikov was part of the war faction, and had commanded the previous Russo-Turkish war, this also seems like a show of force to the Ottomans.

Before going to Constantinople, Prince Menshikov first went to Bessarabia to inspect the troops stationed there, then went to Sevastopol to inspect the Black Sea Fleet.

Russia even conducted a landing exercise, targeting Constantinople. It was only on March 12 after the exercise was completed that Menshikov boarded the warship “Thor” to Constantinople.

Menshikov was not a qualified diplomat. He despised diplomacy and etiquette himself. As a stalwart member of the war faction, he opposed all compromises and concessions to the Ottoman Empire.

Franz was not optimistic about this Constantinople negotiation. Could the Ottomans compromise given the Russians’ great appetite?

While the Russians negotiated with the Ottoman government, the Austrian Foreign Ministry was also not idle. Diplomatic negotiations with the Ottoman Empire also began, only Franz did not value these talks and directly authorized Minister Bartholomäus Freiherr von Stürmer in Constantinople to be in charge.

Schönbrunn Palace

It was a sunny afternoon. Franz was fishing. It seemed he had bad luck today, as the fishes just wouldn’t bite.

In contrast, his father Archduke Franz Karl next to him had caught three, the biggest about 3 pounds. If nothing unexpected happened, this unlucky fish would probably appear on the dinner table tonight.

The maid’s crisp voice rang out: “Your Majesty, Mr. Metternich seeks an audience.”

“Take him to the pavilion. I’ll be right over,” Franz said lightly.

After that, Franz put down his fishing rod and said to his father and brothers not far away, “Carry on, I have work to do.”

Archduke Franz Karl blurted out without thinking: “Go on, unlucky child. May God bless you with good luck!”

Franz was rendered speechless. He had wanted to say “fish eat unlucky food”. But there was no such idiom in Austria, so saying it would just confuse everyone.

Good upbringing made him filter out his father’s words completely. He just glared fiercely at his giggling brothers.

Seeming to recall the days dominated by terrifying homework, the kids cleverly restrained their smiles. Franz left satisfied.

Unable to deal with his old man Karl was a given, yet also can’t handle a few brats? Based on the principle of sharing happiness, Franz directly projected the pain he had just personally experienced to his brothers.

It was nothing really, just one person monitored by over 30 tutors, with endless lessons and homework forever incomplete.

Franz was a good elder brother. He directly paid for this education. European aristocrats placed great importance on educating their children. No one would speak for them on this matter.

Then the three kids became good boys. They weren’t academically stellar. For the sake of a good life under the blue sky, they decisively surrendered to their evil elder brother.

Otherwise they would still be miserable gnawing on books, and have no chance to cultivate their aristocratic temperament here (fishing and playing).

Perhaps in Archduke Karl’s eyes, Franz really was a truly unlucky guy. What was good about being Emperor? Every day there was endless official business, and even during holidays there would be things to handle.

Franz never commented on his father’s perspective.

If he had any ambition, the one sitting on the throne now would be him.

In Archduke Karl’s view, it was more comfortable to eat, drink and play than to work hard as Emperor.

Under this mentality, Archduke Karl often looked at Franz with pity.

Franz was helpless about this. He could hardly say: without my efforts, you parasite of the Habsburgs, the family would have no more rice to feed on before long.

……

“Your Majesty, news just came in that the French have intervened in Jerusalem. The Catholic Church hopes to get our support.”

The news Metternich brought made Franz only lament the powerful force of historical revisionism. But on careful analysis, this was also an inevitable result.

To restore the monarchy, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had to win popular support. The current Holy Land crisis was a hassle in others’ eyes, but an opportunity in his.

Not only could he take the chance to increase France’s international influence, he could also gain the support of Catholics. How could he refuse such a win-win situation?

As for the consequences of doing so, it would only offend the Russians and Ottomans. Others feared the Russian Bear, but he did not. With the German Confederation blocking the way, how would the Russians invade them?

The Ottomans’ attitude could be ignored. The current Ottomans were no longer the former Ottomans. Any European power could trample them now.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “It seems the French have entered the fray. It looks like trouble for the Russians. This Russo-Turkish war will probably not be easy to fight.

But this has nothing to do with us. Since the French have already taken action in Jerusalem, with their formidable strength, I’m sure they won’t need our help. Verbally supporting them will suffice.”

Help? The French government would never let Austria get involved. This was Napoleon III’s time to gain prestige. How could he let Austria have a share in his “achievements”?

Metternich frowned and said, “Your Majesty, it is not that simple. Not only are the Russians in trouble, we are in trouble too.”

Franz was taken aback. He didn’t see what this had to do with Austria.

Metternich explained, “Your Majesty, the French intervention means that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte has prepared to seize power. We will hear of their restoration before long.

At that time, a staunchly pro-British French government will appear. In international affairs, Britain and France will cooperate more deeply.

A two-side world will emerge, with the Russia-Austria alliance and the Britain-France alliance. With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war, the contradictions between the two alliances will intensify, possibly even leading to war.

Britain and Russia have geographical advantages, so the possibility of full-scale war between them is small, at most local conflicts.

But it is different for us and France. Under the contradictions between the two alliances, war between Austria and France is very likely in the future.”

Franz was stunned. Metternich’s analysis made him wonder who the real transmigrator was.

He had also considered the possibility of an Austro-French war, but he had always thought it would be over the Italian issue. Now it seemed the contradictions between the two alliances would be the fuse for future Austro-French conflict.

In this context, Austria only had two paths. One was to ally with Russia and severely damage the French in the upcoming war. Without this pawn, the British would also cower.

The other was to do nothing and wait for the Prussian-French conflict to escalate. The French coveted the Rhineland region, and this had been going on for a while. As industrialization deepened, the Prussian government also increasingly valued this land, leaving almost no room for concessions.

The contribution of the Rhineland region to Germany’s industrial might in the future was enormous. The mineral resources here were indispensable and irreplaceable for the Kingdom of Prussia.

Could the two countries compromise? Franz could decisively answer—impossible. Don’t look at how Bismarck promised to cede the Rhineland to the French multiple times in history.

In the end, Prussia would rather take military risks and have a decisive final battle with France, rather than really cede this region.

This was Prussia’s future. From the start of industrialization, the Prussian government was already aware of the importance of this place. If Prussia gave up this region, then the Ruhr industrial zone would be done for.

Franz frowned and said, “It seems we can do nothing now. French intervention in the Russo-Turkish war is very beneficial to our planned western campaign.

Once the western campaign is completed and Southern Germany unified, the balance of power between France and Austria will change. Even if war breaks out in the future, our chances of winning will be great.”

This was not Franz being confident, but the truth. Austria with unified Southern Germany would see an increase in strength far beyond the surface level.

Many people in this era overestimated France. That was the psychological shadow Napoleon left after sweeping across the European continent, ignoring that the France of today was no longer the France of those years.

Whether in comprehensive national strength or military combat effectiveness, they were no longer that first power that made the world tremble.

Metternich had Francophobia. Whenever talking about a war with France, he would be pessimistic, as if Napoleon had returned.

Franz was also helpless about this. Metternich was a politician who came from that era, having personally participated in the Napoleonic Wars and was traumatized by Napoleon. It was inherently unresolvable.

Fortunately, Austria’s performance back then was not too bad. The fighting went back and forth, and they were not routed by the French in one go. The generals who came from those years were not cowards.

Led by Marshal Radetzky, the military generals were very dissatisfied with the defeat back then, and still wanted to find a chance to make a comeback.

If the military was not tough enough, Franz would actually cower too. The performance of the Austro-Hungarian military in the future had left him with an impression of incompetence!

Having personally understood the Austrian military, Franz was very clear that imperial Austria was definitely not equal to Austro-Hungary. Whether in troop morale or soldier training, it was much stronger than the Austro-Hungarian period.

Metternich shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, a France embroiled in infighting is indeed negligible. But once Louis Napoleon Bonaparte restored the monarchy, France’s internal struggles will be suppressed.

At that time, we must consider the situation of a Prussian-French alliance. If we exert enough pressure on them, Prussia and France may reach a compromise.”

Franz was shocked. If Austria annexed Southern Germany, its power would undergo an earth-shaking change.

Then both Prussia and France would feel threatened. To resolve this threat, as long as one side made concessions and jointly dealt Austria a heavy blow, it did not seem impossible.

But then Franz shook his head again. It was too early to consider this issue. The prideful French, without experiencing failure first, would hardly make concessions to the Kingdom of Prussia.

It was obvious that even if they defeated Austria, the French would not allow Prussia to unify the German states. So why would Prussia take risks for this?

If it was an Austro-French war, or Prussian-Austrian war, the Russians might watch the show and use their power to weaken Austria a little. But if it was a Prussian-French alliance, as long as Russia did not want to be isolated, intervention would be inevitable.

France was far away and did not feel the Russian threat, but the closer Prussia did. In the end, Austria might be crippled by a Prussian-French alliance, and the Kingdom of Prussia wiped out first by a Russo-Austrian alliance.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “It seems we have to rein it in a bit from now on. If it arouses suspicion from all countries, then there will be big trouble.”

No matter the alliance, interests came first. Once there is a conflict of interests, a falling out could happen faster than a book could be flipped.

To avoid the worst case scenario, Franz chose to feign cowardice first.