Chapter 674 The “goodwill” of the British (Part 1)
January 1, 1846.
Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Prince Metternich looked extremely excited after seeing off the British envoy, as if he had returned to decades ago.
Metternich was a little worried when he learned that the British Foreign Secretary had just been replaced by Palmerston, but the former sent a special envoy to express "goodwill" to the Austrian Empire as soon as he took office, which greatly moved the latter.
However, this so-called "goodwill" was too "dry" in Franz's eyes. The British wedge in Albania was not removed, and the Mediterranean fleet even expanded.
Others, such as the withdrawal of troops from southern Brazil, were entirely the result of the rebellion on the Indian subcontinent that caused the British forces to be dispersed and had to consider a comprehensive contraction.
Then came the formal British recognition of the Austrian Empire's occupation of western Bosnia and Montenegro. That’s right! It is a mere recognition of the occupation, and what is even more egregious is that this does not include Belgrade.
In fact, from 1839 to today, after Franz's manual selection, the West Bosnians no longer regard themselves as subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
In fact, the brainwashed Western Bosnians felt that they were never Ottomans, but Austrian subjects trapped in the Ottoman Empire.
Moreover, Western Bosnia and Belgrade were both connected to the Great Illyrian Line in 1845. Now even if some people are inspired to rebel, the Austrian army can arrive within a day to suppress it. .
Therefore, the British's admission was completely indifferent, and then they wrote about it in the newspapers and gave it to Metternich as a meeting gift.
In addition, if the troops are not withdrawn from southern Brazil, I am afraid that there will also be problems in Uruguay and the Viceroyalty of La Plata.
After all, both Rosas and La Higuera, who was supported by the British, were typical "virtuous kings and benevolent masters".
Under their governance, public dissatisfaction was already boiling, and coupled with the continuous wars, a large number of people died. If the fight continues, I'm afraid it will turn into a mess.
The reason why the British Three-Nation Alliance suffered such huge losses was partly due to the Brazilian resistance and Umbrella's mercenaries, but the more important reason was the harsh local climate.
Southern Brazil today is not considered a dangerous place, but at that time it was home to uncivilized forests, rivers, swamps, mountains, poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, and various tropical diseases.
More than 80% of the casualties among soldiers on both sides were caused by the natural environment, and a considerable number of the remaining people died from the "Law of the Dark Forest".
Whether it is within the three-nation coalition, between the Brazilian militia and government forces, or the employees of Umbrella Company, they are all used to this kind of melee.
This kind of war of attrition is simply a disaster for a powerful country. If such casualties were recorded in later generations, Robert Peel's cabinet would have collapsed long ago.
However, the so-called human rights in this era are still just words, not to mention that the control of information at this time is in the hands of the government.
People can only know what Robert Peel wants them to know. As for the casualty figures of this special military operation, only the top brass can know.
But no matter what, at this time when the war in India is tense, it is not wise to waste troops in the jungles and swamps of southern Brazil.
This is not good news for the Austrian Empire. After all, if the war continues, it will not only weaken Britain, but Franz can also make some extra money, and by the way, he can cultivate a group of soldiers who are skilled in guerrilla warfare.
Pedro II was also very dissatisfied with Britain's approach. After all, it would fight if it said it would fight, and it would embargo if it said it would impose an embargo. Now that he doesn't want to fight, he wants to be friends again and wants most-favored-nation treatment.
But dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. At this time, the Brazilian Empire was not qualified to negotiate with the British at all, so it almost fully accepted the latter's requirements.
In the end, Pedro II had to take a photo with the British Ambassador with great reluctance. As an avid photographer, this photo was the only work that was torn up by him.
Historically, Pedro II loved photography very much and collected 21,742 photos in his lifetime. He was the largest photography art collector in South America at that time.
In 1839, the French invented the first camera. In 1840, the French ambassador brought a daguerreotype camera, and Pedro II, who was only 14 years old at the time, fell in love with this new technology.
Then he spent a lot of money to buy a complete set of equipment and became the first monarch in the world to use a camera.
After that, those Brazilian officials followed suit and searched for photographic equipment and experts from all over the world for Pedro II.
Until Franz gave Pedro II a camera modified by the Austrian Empire, the latter threw away all the garbage he had collected.
After all, the difference between French products and Austrian products is huge. Even a fool can see the difference, let alone a senior photography fan like Pedro II.
This is also an important reason why Pedro II fell to the Austrian Empire. After all, hobbies can affect a person's judgment to a considerable extent.
At the same time, it is also a foil for their peers. After all, Britain and France are quite immoral in terms of being immoral. Not only do they run out of tricks in the trade between the two sides, but they also cultivate forces close to them.
Although it may not necessarily replace him, he must have thought about turning Brazil into his puppet.
However, both Pedro II and the Brazilian Empire had a dream of becoming a great power. This dream of becoming a great nation still affects Brazilians to this day.
Brazil has a vast territory, the largest population in South America, rich resources, and no enemies around it.
No matter how he looked at it, Pedro II would never be willing to be a puppet, so what Britain and France did made him very disgusted.
But because of his limited strength, he can only choose to be vain and conciliatory.
When Austria, a country that obviously had no intentions towards Brazil and could not have any intentions, appeared, Pedro II immediately changed his stance.
Brazil needs markets to convert resources into wealth, thereby promoting domestic industrialization reforms and successfully becoming one of the world's great powers.
At first Franz was also moved by this rhetoric. He wanted to see the future of the Brazilian Empire. After all, the Austrian and Brazilian empires are far apart, and the biggest headache for the rise of the latter is Britain and the United States.
However, people are not as good as God. Brazilians not only like to fight among themselves, but also like fighting among themselves. The continuous wars, coupled with bureaucratic corruption and resistance from local forces, have led to extremely slow progress in industrialization.
Franz, the conscience of heaven and earth, has never sold the monkey version of the equipment to the Brazilian Empire. Although the update speed is not as fast as that of continental Europe, the materials and craftsmanship used are absolutely no different from those in his country.
Unfortunately, when these machines arrived in Brazil, they were just like people who were not acclimated to the local environment. The machines often had problems for no apparent reason, and parts even disappeared out of thin air.
The parts produced in Brazil cannot match the size or strength of the Austrian machines. The result is repeated "explosion" on the spot, that's right! Steam engines will explode!
I had a heat stroke yesterday, and my mind may not be very clear now. Book friends can help me read it if I find mistakes or things that don’t make sense.