Chapter 893 Franz’s conditions
The Oman Empire's tough stance was unexpected by the British, because in their impression the Austrians seemed to have been at odds with the Arabs for hundreds of years.
Moreover, according to Indian intelligence, there was a fierce conflict between Austria and the Oman Empire in the Zanzibar region.
The most important thing is that from the British point of view, it was Austria that took away Bagamoyo and occupied a large area of the Oman Empire's territory in East Africa. Therefore, the two sides should not be said to be in the same situation but also superficially inseparable.
But Said's harsh reply made the British begin to doubt the intelligence work of the Indians. After all, Asan was not very reliable in their stereotype.
However, the attitude of the Oman Empire did disrupt the British deployment. It would not be difficult for the British to deal with Oman and Austria alone, but it would be difficult for the two to come together.
At least the British cannot just call a nearby squadron to ensure victory. However, once troops are mobilized from other regions, a vacuum will be formed, which will greatly affect Britain's global dominance.
In fact, Britain's diplomacy has been in a passive position since I don't know when. It seems that all countries are targeting Britain.
The era when one could stir up troubles with just one word seems to have passed. The cost of diplomatic actions is getting higher and higher. The great powers, even those little-known small countries, are beginning to doubt the "good intentions" of the British Empire.
The licking dogs that were willing to act as puppets were gone, replaced by a group of hunters who were either hostile or very vigilant.
The British themselves realized this and worked hard to reverse this unfavorable situation, but somehow there always seemed to be an invisible hand pushing them back to the starting point.
And as time goes by, the situation continues to worsen.
In the past, the British government only had to raise its voice a little and the Guizot government in France would agree to all conditions, even if it required the French to cut out their hearts and lungs.
No matter how Britain tried to regulate Austria and weaken its influence, Metternich would always stand firmly on the side of Britain as its most loyal ally.
No matter what nonsense the British government said, Neserlov was willing to believe it and did his best to lobby the tsarist government for Britain.
The Netherlands, Portugal and the like had to sell their overseas interests in order to be qualified to lick Britain's toes, while Prussia was not even qualified to be a dog licker.
What is Brazil and the Viceroyalty of La Plata? Do Indians dare to rebel? Shouldn’t Nanyang be Britain’s food basket?
But everything changed at this time, and France dared to strike hard at Britain even if it was in deep internal crisis.
The Austrians even chose to attack Britain amid the outflanking of Italians, Hungarians, Bohemians (Czechs, the concept of the Czech nation had not yet been widely accepted at that time.) and German nationalists.
The battle with the Austrian Navy completely exceeded British expectations. In fact, no one in the British leadership thought that the Austrian Navy would rush out of the Adriatic Sea.
Not to mention that Britain had already set up checkpoints in Albania. From a strategic perspective alone, the Austrian Navy should also support the Venetian battlefield or directly attack the Papal States to steal the Italians' retreat.
As for the Russians, their previous poor signal turned into complete indifference. In other words, Britain had lost its influence on Russia at this time.
Britain's influence over other small countries was also declining. At this time, Prussia intended to get involved in Schleswig, and their king even announced that Prussia would be annexed to Germany.
Although the Germans found it strange to hear William IV's words, the British had their own understanding, and their understanding made them feel that this matter was no small matter.
John Russell even had the feeling that everything was in danger, and he felt that this might also be a trap. The other party's goal is the British North Sea Fleet, but who is planning it, Denmark? Is it Sweden? Is it Russia? Or all of them?
A nervous and uneasy mood spread among the British senior officials. At this time, the news of the destruction of the Mediterranean Fleet was still a piece of gossip that was regarded as an April Fool's Day joke.
If this news is made public, then the cabinet will definitely resign collectively at this time to apologize.
Because there has been no precedent for the British main fleet to be completely wiped out in a century, this shameful record is enough to nail them to the pillar of shame.
Previously in the Turkish-Egyptian War and Southeast Asia, they had created history in which squadrons and mixed fleets were annihilated.
Now the entire Mediterranean Fleet is missing. Because no silent news from the Mediterranean Fleet has been received, the British official tentatively assumes that it was defeated and missing.
Palmerston was also very depressed, because he had tried his best to drive away tigers and devour wolves, and since when did the Arabs become so trustworthy?
Just as the top British officials were confused, the intelligence agency found a message sent a few years ago. Intelligence revealed that a Habsburg archduke was married to an Omani princess.
"The evil lower body castle!"
This is the unified thinking in the minds of the British top brass at this time, but it seems to make sense that the Oman Empire reacted violently.
In fact, Said was frightened when he saw the letter asking him to attack the Austrian colonies. Emperor Said even thought it was a British conspiracy.
Not just Said, but everyone in the entire Omani court felt that the British were either crazy or planning to push them into a pit of fire.
Others may not know it clearly, but the Oman Empire is only separated from the Austrian East African colonies by a sea.
The Omanis feel that no one in the world knows Austria better than they do, and they have personally experienced the power of the Austrian navy and army.
In the eyes of the Omanis, the Austrian army is simply invincible, and there is almost no unified enemy in front of them.
Whether it was the powerful Weijin Kingdom, those indigenous kingdoms, or the East Bantu people, they were wiped out almost as soon as they appeared on the scene.
There was also the navy that the Oman Empire was once proud of, but the entire army was annihilated but could not be exchanged for the sinking of an Austrian warship.
In addition, Austria's attitude towards its enemies also frightens them. The Austrians rarely take prisoners, and most of the time they deal with them by burying them on the spot or burning them on the spot.
In fact, most of the time it was Austria's servants who were responsible for fighting. Those Dalits from India were much more brutal than their masters.
That kind of cruelty seemed to come entirely from the malice between the two species. For a relatively primitive dynasty like the Oman Empire, they were completely unable to understand the significance of doing so.
Although the British Empire claimed to be the most powerful country in the world at this time, in the eyes of the Omanis, it was an "honest person" who paid lease fees regularly.
The Austrian Empire was a powerful and ferocious conqueror. Naturally, they would not choose to be enemies with such a terrible opponent.
——
In fact, according to the information sent back by Princess Sneka and the businessmen who went to Austria for business, Austria's power was completely beyond their imagination.
The steel behemoth prowls the port, and there are as many soldiers as ants. The grain and steel at the dock can be piled up into hills, and countless workers loading and unloading day and night cannot finish moving them.
In particular, the amount of steel shocked the Omanis, because there were not many iron mines in the entire Oman Empire, and the method of producing steel was very primitive.
Iron itself was considered a luxury item in the Oman Empire, so I was particularly shocked when I saw the Austrian ironclads and those reinforced concrete buildings.
Princess Sneka even used her special status to visit several Austrian steel plants. She concluded at that time that the steel output of the entire Oman Empire could not match that of an Austrian steel plant.
And such a huge steel plant is not ranked at all in the Austrian Empire. Friedrich even said personally that Franz has two special steel plants, and the output of these two steel plants is equal to that of other steel plants in the Austrian Empire. Total steel production.
In addition, Princess Sneka also sent back some statistical reports on the industrial data of the Austrian Empire. The figures above were something that Said could not even dream of.
However, these so-called confidential information were deliberately leaked by Franz to Princess Sneka. In fact, this woman was also very smart. She discovered some clues after succeeding several times, but she did not say anything clearly.
It was just a casual mention at the banquet that the Oman Empire would be Austria's eternal friend, or at least she was trying to do so.
Princess Sneka's strange words made Archduke Friedrich confused, but Franz knew the meaning of these words very well.
After all, this kind of intelligence work is very dangerous, and it is very easy to arouse suspicion. Even if she pretends to be stupid and pretends not to know, once she is discovered one day, she may be dismissed by Franz as a dangerous factor.
Princess Sneka is well aware of Franz's energy, while her husband Friedrich is just a fool who likes military affairs.
There were too many opportunities and too many reasons for Franz to take action, and Friedrich couldn't protect her at all, and he didn't even know what was happening.
And if things become clear one day, then maybe Franz won’t do anything at all, and Friedrich will cut her into pieces.
For long-term considerations, Princess Sneka decided to show off. She didn't mind being a double agent, and as an Arab woman, when she married in Austria, she was actually considered a member of the Habsburg family or a personal property of Friedrich. .
Therefore, she felt no guilt at all for betraying her motherland and original family. On the contrary, revealing Austrian intelligence to the Oman Empire put her under great pressure, and even made her conscience uneasy.
The attitude of the Oman Empire declared the British plan in the Western Indian Ocean completely bankrupt, returning to the European issue at this time.
The Austrian side has proposed peace talks, while the attitude of the French provisional government is relatively ambiguous. In fact, the latter has no backbone at all, and there are many internal factions and a mixed bag of good and bad.
However, Palmerston's previous plan to support a pro-British government also went bankrupt. On the one hand, it was the disastrous defeat of the British Mediterranean Fleet. On the other hand, there was no soil for pro-British factions at this time when French nationalism was rising.
Both France and Austria should be able to accept the British peace agreement, which gives the British room for maneuver. They can fight one by one.
The question now shifts to whether to make an armistice with France and continue to deal with Austria, or to make an armistice with Austria and continue to deal with France.
France and Austria both have a large number of colonies overseas, and they are relatively wealthy. Both the French Texas colony and the Austrian California colony were areas with great potential.
Of course it would be best to win them all, but not now. All this was due to the destruction of the Mediterranean fleet.
The French navy was the main force fighting the British navy, so it must have suffered heavy losses. Although the Austrian side does not seem to participate in large-scale battles, the Austrian navy is not worth mentioning.
However, the Austrians occupied the large island of Crete and had a geographical advantage. If the Austrians turned the naval battle into a land battle, the British losses would be great.
The Lord of the Admiralty was the first to oppose landing operations on the island, because first of all, the Mediterranean is the territory of the Austrians. If the Austrian side does not fight naval battles and focuses on troop transports, then the British Navy's escort fleet will have no way at all.
It is impossible for all Marines to sit on battleships. After all, these warships do not have that much space to transport soldiers.
Secondly, Crete is huge. It would take at least a month to send troops from the British mainland to the Mediterranean island of Crete. (Not just sailing time but also assembly and preparation time)
In this month, the Austrians can send at least tens of thousands of troops to the island and enough supplies to supply them for several months or even years.
It is simply unrealistic for the navy to encircle it and force it to surrender. And how many troops are needed to land on the island? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Or fifty thousand, one hundred thousand?
As for attacking Venice? A quarter of the artillery of the entire Austrian Empire is there, and it is easy to enter a narrow area like the Adriatic Sea, but it is difficult to get out.
After all, no one can guarantee that the French will not stab someone in the back.
In addition, the German Confederation is attacking Schleswig at this time. Could this be another Austrian Empire conspiracy?
Now no one in the entire British government dares to bet, because the cost is too high and no one can afford it.
But the French are also very difficult to deal with, because it is not clear how the French won and how much they lost.
The most important thing is that no one knows whether the French will create another miracle, and if they start a war with France, they must also be wary of another sneak attack by the Austrians.
Of course, there is also the safest way, which is to stop losses in time and stop the war with the two countries, so that Britain can continue to maintain its position as the world's strongest navy.
The loss of the Mediterranean Fleet is indeed a big blow to Britain, but it is still within an acceptable range, and Britain has the ability to build another Mediterranean Fleet within one to two years.
John Russell looked at the other members of his cabinet. Everyone looked at each other. After all, no one wanted to be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
Then Palmerston suggested.
"Perhaps we could first listen to the Austrians' terms."
John Russell felt that it made sense. After all, you had to shop around, and the conditions offered by the Austrians to the British in the Metternich era had always been very generous. Maybe they could get something out of them to save face.
"Well, that's a good idea."
John Russell confirmed Palmerston's ideas.
But the conditions on the Austrian side soon surprised the British.
Franz's conditions are:
First, Austria will release all British prisoners of war, but in exchange all British ships, buildings, and supplies on Crete will be used as war reparations.
Second, Britain must return Crete to the Kingdom of Greece.