Chapter 357 The First St. Petersburg Conference

Chapter 357 The First St. Petersburg Conference

Russia, St. Petersburg.

Neserlov's voice shocked the Prussian ambassador Heinrich von Bülow to the point where he almost choked.

Fortunately, the personnel of the Prussian mission were experienced. After all, the two foreign ministers did not often speak at international meetings before, so eating and drinking became another kind of entertainment.

On the other side, what new ideas did Prince Metternich think the Russians would have? I didn't expect that it was just jealousy and envy. The ocean powers were carving up the land everywhere, and the furry bears on the land could only look at each other across the sea, so they would naturally feel resentful.

Although the Russian proposal was also beneficial to Austria on the surface, Metternich did not believe that there would be any free lunch, and he decided to wait and see.

Ever since, the Austrian mission also started a fishing trip like the Prussian mission. After all, it is impossible to let people eat something without paying a price.

On the other hand, the Austrian Empire currently does not have enough strength and funds to continue developing new colonies. Metternich admitted that the resources of the Aplati colony were very rich, but compared with the cost of maintaining a colony at the southernmost tip of South America, it seemed that the gains were not worth the loss.

Franz is also not very optimistic about South America. Whether it is Brazil or Argentina, population and population quality are big problems. The situation in South America is different from that in Africa. Although black Africans have low educational levels, their population is sufficient and there is no shortage of labor force.

But the situation in South America is different. Although whites and mixed-race whites are the majority, their educational level is not much better than that of Africans, and they lack sufficient labor force. They also inherited the white people's tendency to make trouble and rebel at every turn.

In short, it means that there are too few people and poor quality.

But Russia doesn't care about that much, as long as it's land, they like it.

The Russian approach was immediately rejected by Palmerston.

"Mr. Neserlov, I think you could put it more tactfully."

"Please tell me." Neserlov himself was a soldier. He didn't know much about diplomatic etiquette, let alone Palmerston's seemingly harmless words.

"You should say this, we in Russia want it there, Argentina should give us a share!"

Palmerston was as pungent and merciless as ever, but this time his self-righteous "British humor" did not amuse everyone.

Prussia and Austria were just here to watch the fun, and they both sought help from Russia, so naturally they could not agree with Britain. Sweden, the northern lion, is actually a helper invited by the Russians, so it is impossible to laugh at the Russians.

Although François Guizot was in power in France, in order to prevent him from betraying the country, Bonapartists and radicals opposed allowing Guizot and his cronies to participate in the negotiations.

Finally, the French elected a young man named Pierre Erre, who was both an aristocrat and a royalist, but at the same time opposed Guizot's governing philosophy.

Such a maverick young man would naturally not give Palmerston face. On the contrary, as a colonialist, he felt that it was more in the interest of France to have good relations with Russia.

After all, Russia and France have no direct conflict of interest, and Britain is their common enemy. At this time, they can completely use the power of the Russians to gain a first-mover advantage in this crisis.

"Mr. Palmerston, this is a naked slander!

Lord Neserlov proposed international condominium, not monopoly or partition. This also means that His Majesty the Tsar of Russia wants to resolve this crisis in a peaceful way, but you are trying to judge a gentleman with a villain's heart, and are afraid that the world will not be in chaos. "

Pierre Eyre gave Palmerston a big hat as soon as he came up, and put the international condominium plan in the name of the Tsar.

Moreover, the so-called international condominium was originally proposed by the Russians themselves, and this time it was added in the name of the Tsar, so they were even less able to veto the proposal.

Palmerston did not get angry and argue with Pierre El as expected. Instead, he chose to ignore the French ambassador's words and continued to ask Neserlov.

“How does Russia plan to govern internationally?”

"His Majesty's proposal is that the three countries of the Holy Alliance, plus Britain, France, the Kingdom of Sweden, and Spain, should jointly govern the Viceroyalty of La Plata to ensure its freedom, security and prosperity."

Neserlov's speech was written by someone else, and it was very inconsistent with his language style. However, it was personally requested by His Majesty the Tsar, and he did not dare to complain.

In fact, the core of Russia is that the Viceroyalty of La Plata cannot belong to any one country. Its income requires the above-mentioned six countries. This is also the necessary fund to ensure its security and freedom.

To put it simply, the Russians want to have nothing to lose. This approach can be said to be very hairy.

Pu and Austria neither opposed nor agreed, and continued to eat melon. In fact, everyone wanted to take advantage of it, but Palmerston was too strong and unyielding. Neither Metternich nor Heinrich von Bülow wanted to make themselves embarrassed.

Of course, they will not give up their free income easily. Once they see an opportunity, they will swarm it like wolves.

After France formed an alliance and marriage with Spain, they all felt that they were just getting back what belonged to them. Both the British and the Russians were just obstacles to them.

But Count Pierre Er felt that now that he was on the negotiating table, he should seek a more favorable condition for France.

Palmerston, on the other hand, was still unyielding. He was used to driving his opponents into corners and finally had to agree to his conditions.

"Why does Russia? Just rely on the 600,000 infantrymen on the southern Russian steppes? Do you know how long the voyage is from Sevastopol to Buenos Aires? How much does it cost? Do you understand?"

Neserlov actually knew nothing about the situation in Argentina. He only knew that apart from the United Kingdom, Russia had no rivals in Europe. At this time, he was actually speechless when asked.

Metternich couldn't stand it anymore. How could the Russian Foreign Minister be such a waste? In fact, this was all the fault of Tsar Nicholas I. Due to the rebellion in the Senate when he ascended the throne, he extremely distrusted civilian officials.

As a result, almost all the ministers in the Russian Central Committee were military officers. They may be very loyal to the Tsar personally, but they are really a mess in the affairs they are responsible for, and the corruption style is no less than that of France.

At this time, Count Pierre El suddenly spoke.

"A mere La Plata needs 600,000 troops? Could it be that the tyrant Rosas is backed by you, the British?"

Palmerston was not afraid of the threat of war, but he could not let France gain the upper hand in public opinion and immediately retorted.

"Sir Rosas is a decent gentleman. You French sent troops to invade a peace-loving country. Who is the tyrant?"

At that time, Europeans did not know much about Argentina and Rosas, so after Palmerston said a few words casually, the entire public opinion situation began to reverse again, and everyone condemned the French invasion.

After all, France did many such things during the Napoleonic Wars.

"Rosas is a beast and a gentleman. Shouldn't you, the British, know better? We in France support the international condominium proposed by Russia."

In fact, Count Pierre El was already prepared. Although the outcome of this negotiation will not depend on whether Rosas is a tyrant, proving his brutal nature is still beneficial to France.

Count Pierre El's support for international condominium actually had his own plan, which was to first find a way to get rid of the dog Rosas raised by the British, and then find a way to support a dog of his own.

Rosas's nonsense was soon made public. Although he was not a heinous tyrant in South America, he was still unique in Europe, which had been at peace for several years. He was almost as good as Nero and Cyprus. The ancient tyrants such as Ryugu II were compared.

In fact, the French had already done a good job in public opinion work when they sent troops for expeditions, but these efforts were selectively ignored by various countries, because the French only carried out propaganda in their own one-third of an acre. If Franz had not been I'm afraid that if he helps in secret, he will be fooled by Palmerston.

(The French were very proud at this time. They felt that Paris was the center of the world.)

At this time, the British's intelligence work was also very poor. Even at the negotiating table, Palmerston felt that Rosas was a good person.

Of course, whether Rosas is a good person or not, Britain's position will not change. This is not important at all. What is important is that it allows the French to take the upper hand.

The status of the French was suddenly elevated from invader to savior. Britain's only support at this time was the debt problem. This role was not glorious.

Palmerston was angry at Count Pierre El's teasing, but the best choice for Britain at this time was to privately carve up Argentina with France rather than engage in international condominium.

But first he had to push the Russians out of the way before he could sit down and talk slowly with the French.

“Since the Viceroyalty of La Plata can adopt the method of international condominium, why can’t the Strait issue be solved in this way?”

The straits refer to the Bosporus Strait and the Dardanelles Strait, which are related to the survival of the Black Sea Fleet.

Palmerston's retelling of the old story was to make the Russians get into trouble, because the Straits issue was indeed a major matter related to the rise and fall of the country and the world's political situation, and Neserlov couldn't make up his mind at all.

In fact, as far as Neserlov personally is concerned, as well as many pro-British factions in Russia, they feel that the Strait issue should give up the convenient conditions brought by the "Winkar-Iskelesi Treaty" and accept the British proposal. Put the Black Sea Straits under international condominium management.

However, due to Franz's influence, Tsar Nicholas I became a staunch opponent, so the strait issue between Britain and Russia has been shelved.

The British tried several times to cancel the Russians' privileges in the Black Sea Straits, but Nicholas I vetoed them.

At this time, the British once again raised the issue of the Straits, precisely because they wanted to use their own spears to attack their own shields and make the Russians contradict themselves, or choose to give up the convenient conditions brought by the "Winkar-Iskelesi Treaty" and move the Black Sea Strait Hand it over to international condominium, or withdraw from the fight for Argentina and let Britain and France continue to carve up the world.

Whatever happens, Palmerston is very happy to see it.

But he overlooked something. Metternich, the old fox, was still there.

"Sorry, did you mean the English Channel?"

The diplomats present were not stupid and naturally understood the meaning, so they all laughed in cooperation.

"Mr. Metternich, you know where I mean it," said Palmerston, frowning.

"Where?" Metternich continued to pretend to be confused.

"Of course it's the Black Sea Strait!" Palmerston snorted coldly.

"Then why can't it be the English Channel?" Metternich continued to ask like a stubborn old man.

"The English Channel is the door to our UK. Who would hand over their own door to someone else's jurisdiction?" Palmerston replied impatiently.

"Then the Black Sea is not Russia's gateway to the ocean?" Metternich asked rhetorically.

"But the Black Sea Strait belongs to the Ottoman Empire!" Palmerston immediately retorted.

"Are there not France, Belgium, and the Netherlands across the English Channel?" Metternich asked again.

Although Neserlov was not good at talking, he still had the ability to praise and cheer. Metternich took the lead in applauding as soon as he finished speaking, completely giving Palmerston no chance to continue to refute.

At this time, Count Pierre El stood up again and reiterated that France was willing to accept the transfer of the La Plata colony to international condominium management.

Although Palmerston knew that France would never easily give up the opportunity to monopolize Argentina, he did not dare to gamble because once it became an international condominium, not to mention that Britain would not be able to collect its debts, and the economic colonization strategy would be declared bankrupt. .

The final outcome was a word of "drag". Palmerston refused to sign the agreement, and the issue of ownership of the La Plata colony naturally could not be resolved.

In fact, except for Britain and France, other countries are not anxious about this matter at all. After all, the benefits of pie-in-the-sky are the best, and it doesn't matter if they don't.

Count Pierre El approached Neserlov after the meeting and told the latter that if the condominium agreement came into effect, France could help manage the La Plata colony for Russia.

Afterwards, representatives of Prussia, Austria and Sweden were naturally found. Of course, these countries knew what the French were planning, which was to exchange money for political power.

There is no loss for all countries, so there will naturally be no objections.

Palmerston also found representatives from various countries after Count Pierre el, but he had no actual expression. He was just playing his own tricks, accusing the French of being invaders and wanting to relive the Napoleonic era. Old dream, promoting the French threat theory.

Then he began to threaten various countries, saying that the British navy was invincible. What would happen if the Black Sea was blocked, what would happen if the Strait of Gibraltar (the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea) was blocked, and what would happen if the North Sea was blocked.

In the end, they tried to win over each other, saying that Britain must be the final winner and it was still too late to get on board. Of course, Palmerston is a master among them and can easily find the pain points of various countries.

For example, he promised to Metternich that he would give several French West African colonies, including Guinea, to the Austrian Empire, so that they could be connected with Austria's original Ivory Coast colony to form a larger colony that would be easier to develop and manage. .

Austria really needs this colony. If this can be realized, an Austrian West Africa can be created, which will undoubtedly be a boost for the future development of the empire.

But after rational analysis, you will find that Palmerston is completely generous to others.

Those lands originally belonged to the French. If the Austrian Empire really participated in the war and took these lands as its own, then it would be Austria who paid the price for taking the lands, and it would be Austria that would bear the wrath of France in the future.

This seems to be no different from going to war with the French and directly grabbing their territory.

It happened again and again, this "cold" was really a bit endless.

This is the current state for the time being, and I will update it in a few days when things get better.

That’s it, all book friends please take care of yourself.