Chapter 894 “Peace Agreement”
Franz's conditions made the British feel as if they had not yet woken up, otherwise they would never have seen such an outrageous peace agreement.
But in fact, this is Austria’s peace agreement. As for why the Austrian government allowed such an outrageous peace agreement to appear on the negotiating table.
This is of course due to Franz. At this time, the top officials of the Austrian Imperial Government were replaced one after another like a horse.
Franz can easily grab a lot of scapegoats. He will still not dirty his hands with this extremely provocative peace agreement, and he will also leave a way out for Austria and himself.
After all, Franz would still need someone to take the blame if a tough guy from England fell from the sky or there was an accident like a meteorite hitting the ship.
In addition to demanding that the British return Crete and confiscate all facilities on the island, Franz also made demands on the number of British troops stationed in Albania.
It cannot exceed three thousand, but this is just a cover-up. In fact, Franz hopes that the British will send more people to Albania, preferably hundreds of thousands, so that they can experience what the Balkans are.
But the most important thing is the last one, which is what Franz really wants to say, which is to restrict British warships from entering the Adriatic Sea.
Vessels weighing more than 1,000 tons and that may threaten the safety of the sea are not allowed to enter.
The reason why Franz did this was to tell the British whose territory the Adriatic Sea belonged to. In fact, if there was another way to go, Franz didn't want to do it.
But in reality, the Austrian Empire was the leading bird on the European continent, and it was impossible for the British to let it go. No matter how low-key Franz is, no matter how much he avoids provoking the British, no matter how much he finds things for the British to do.
They will still keep their eyes on Austria. This is the inevitable fate of overlords and challengers.
Since he couldn't escape, Franz had no choice but to face the difficulty.
London, England.
The gentlemen in Whitehall thought for a long time, and they finally came to a conclusion.
That was because the Austrian side was asking for a price, and they were bluffing. After all, it was the French who defeated the British fleet at this time, and they just took the opportunity to seize Crete.
But Britain's own front is stretched too long. There are enemies everywhere from Asia to Europe to the Americas, and almost every one of them is a regional hegemon. In the Mediterranean alone, there are France and Austria.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister, now the German Confederation is pulling Prussia to fight Schleswig for no apparent reason. I think this is an Austrian conspiracy!
They were obviously heading for the Kiel military port. Knowing that they could not break out of the Mediterranean, the Austrians wanted to move to the North Sea so that they could directly attack our homeland! "
Canning's mind is wide open, and he has always been good at black Austria. But Lord Admiralty George Eden scoffed at the idea, saying.
"The Austrians are just trying to distract us!"
At this time, John Russell's head was about to explode. There were conflicts everywhere in the world, and everything could cause huge disasters. He, who was already a middle-aged man, couldn't bear it anymore.
"Then what do you think we should do?"
Lord Admiral George Eden actually just wanted to emphasize his presence, and he had no good solution to the messy situation at this time.
John Russell usually refused to listen to others' advice, but this time he was asked by name. George Eden could not refute the other person's face and had to say.
“The Mediterranean has not been a blessed place for our British Empire, and two of our three disastrous defeats over the years have occurred in the Mediterranean.
Perhaps we shouldn't go too deep, because there are too many interests of the great powers involved here. If France and Austria hadn't joined forces this time, I don't believe that our Mediterranean fleet would have been completely wiped out! "
George Eden only expressed his guess, but these words made other British senior officials feel nervous like a bolt from the blue.
The last thing they wanted to hear was this speculation. Although they had thought about it themselves, there was nothing worse than this.
However, this guess is extremely reasonable, because only in this way can we explain why the Austrian side is so arrogant and makes such harsh demands.
Then the strategy they had envisioned before, of pulling one to fight one another, may fail again, because it is simply a trap.
Withdrawing troops and accepting peace is probably the most beneficial and stable option for Britain at this time, but the question comes back again, who will take the blame.
Suddenly everyone looked at the Earl of Auckland who still owed a day's worth of shit. On the contrary, his name and reputation were already ruined on the street, so let's just leave him alone.
John Russell seized the Lord of the Admiralty's hand and shook it violently.
"Oakland, my friend. You are a genius! I want to support you."
When the surrounding cabinet members saw this scene, they didn't know that the Prime Minister had finally found the scapegoat, and everyone stepped forward to congratulate him.
"Earl of Oakland, we support you."
“Your advice is so helpful!”
"I think Her Majesty the Queen will definitely approve of your genius suggestion."
"Merciful Earl of Auckland, I thank you on behalf of those soldiers who should have gone to the battlefield! You are truly a humanitarian!"
Earl Auckland gradually lost himself in the praises.
Britain submitted two letters of credence to Austria and Prussia respectively with completely opposite tone and wording, accusing Prussia of aggression.
At the same time, Britain stated that it would send troops to protect Denmark's interests when necessary, and that Prussia would use all means, including military strikes and economic blockades, when necessary.
Although the British said it was serious, in fact they were not prepared to send an army to help Denmark, or even go deep into the Baltic Sea.
At this time, the British were not sure whether this was a conspiracy by other countries, so they would only use maritime power in the North Sea to check the Prussians, and if necessary, they could destroy the Danish military port again.
(During the Napoleonic Wars, the British directly set fire to the Danish capital and the Danish Navy in order to prevent the Danish Navy from being used by the French.)
On the other hand, the British almost accepted all the harsh conditions proposed by Franz, but they also brought some additional terms.
Franz had expected this. After all, would he still be British if he didn't bargain?
The British conditions were also very simple. The first was that Austria could not ally with France.
Secondly, the island of Crete belongs to the territory of the Ottoman Empire and the UK has no right to transfer it, but its interests in Crete can be transferred.
However, this transfer is not free. The Austrian side needs to pay five million pounds to redeem these rights. Afterwards, it does not matter whether the Austrian side wants to enjoy them exclusively or transfer them to the Greeks. The UK will not interfere in this matter.
Third, Britain will move the Mediterranean Fleet to Cyprus, so Austria should be responsible for the navigation safety of British merchant ships in the Western Mediterranean.
Finally, Austria was not allowed to annex the Papal States.
The first three items were all used by the British to disgust Austria, and some of them also meant to sow discord. After all, the British like to judge others by themselves, and they feel that Austria, France and Greece cannot be monolithic.
In fact, their ideas are quite accurate, because there is no so-called secret agreement between Fa and Austria.
If there was a secret agreement, it was a gentleman's agreement between Franz and Count Chambord.
It is impossible for the British to find any substantive evidence of this so-called gentleman's agreement. Even the French naval marshal who knew about it has passed away, so it is even less likely that anyone will know the inside story.
As for the Kingdom of Greece, Franz must be responsible to the end.
After all, Greece will be Franz's trump card in his fight for hegemony in the Mediterranean and the Balkans in the future. And if you don’t look at the monk’s face or the Buddha’s face, everyone is a family and Franz must take care of them.
The so-called rights and interests in Crete are just a big hole dug by the British for Austria. Any country around the Mediterranean understands the importance of the large island of Crete, but the cake is not that delicious.
Just like Jingzhou during the Three Kingdoms period, everyone wanted it, but whoever took it would be worried because it would be jointly targeted by other countries, and even the martial sage Guan Yu could not hold it.
However, Franz is neither Tao Qian nor Sun Quan. He will help the Kingdom of Greece defend it, thus serving as a springboard for Austria to dominate the Mediterranean.
The last one, not to annex the Papal States, is the British's killer move, and it is also what they are most worried about.
Although the war between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia does not have much reference value, it can be seen that the so-called Italian army is simply a ragtag group of people.
As for the Hungarians and Bohemians, although they assured Palmerston that they were not afraid of the Austrian army, they could not provide any evidence to prove this.
The British would not pin their fate on other nations, so Palmerston only planned to watch indifferently.
Not annexing the Papal States is the bottom line of the British, and it is also the bottom line of other powers. The reason why the British raised it at this time is to remind other powers that Austria has ambitions for Italy.
At this time, if other powers also plan to get involved in Italy, or want to take advantage of the situation, then Austria will have another backyard fire.
At the same time, this is also a double insurance. Only in this way can they ensure that Austria cannot annex the Papal States. In this way, even if the Austrians won the war, they would not get any substantial benefits.
The British did not know that Franz had already connected the monarchs of China and Italy, and that Pius IX himself was already on his way to Venice.
However, it would take several days for the news to reach Franz, who was still on his way to Venice.
"Archduke Franz, someone wants to see you."
Franz was a little confused, because he didn't like to be disturbed. Neither Bordeaux nor Colonel Monta should be so rash.
What surprised him even more was that the convoy was resting in the wild at this time. You must know that Franz's route of action was not notified to others in advance, and who was so powerful to find this place.
Franz sat up straight and asked.
"who is it?"
Colonel Monta's expression was a little strange.
"explain."
"It's a lady."
Before Colonel Monta finished speaking, a proud and charming woman walked over.
Franz's first impression was that he was very beautiful, very beautiful and aggressive. However, he did not remember that he knew such a woman. There was no such person even in the Royal Women's College and the underground institutions that secretly trained agents.
But what Franz cares about most at this time is not the origin of this beauty, but why she can appear here openly.
"Why is she here?"
Franz blurted out, but his tone was not a question but a rebuke. Colonel Monta immediately realized that something was wrong. He knew that Franz would not be unintentional and knew that his behavior was inappropriate at this time and immediately wanted to explain.
But before Colonel Monta could speak, the woman spoke first.
"I've been searched. I'm not an assassin."
As she spoke, she took off her suspenders and strutted into Franz's carriage. Then she took off her clothes one by one, completely ignoring the katana around her neck and the muzzle on her temple.
"Did you see it clearly? Do you want to search it again? Let them do it, or do you do it yourself?"
The woman's provocative words and eyes were still fierce, and Franz was a little helpless. He had no choice but to signal Colonel Monta to close the car door.
Franz didn't answer the woman's boring questions. He didn't like being led around by the other party, so he chose the three questions of the soul.
"Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you want to do?"
“Who am I, where do I come from, does it matter?”
The woman asked back. She was using her natural advantage to try to turn against the guests, but Franz was not the kind of adventurer who liked excitement. He had more important things to do.
Fortunately, this woman of unknown origin has a strong ability to observe people's emotions, and she immediately changed her tactics when she saw Franz.
"I can help you, and I think that's the most important thing."
"Oh? What can you do?"
"What do you want to do? I can meet your every need."
The woman started up her routine again, but Franz interrupted her performance.
"That's enough! Give you thirty seconds to explain the matter clearly, if you can't explain it clearly."
Franz looked at the new guard holding a sword.
"Miss Zuoche, please chop off her head."
This Miss Sachi was actually one of the foreign students selected by Kagura from the "tributes" sent by the shogunate nobles. Franz brought her with him not because of her special abilities.
It's just that Franz simply thought that her image and personality were a bit like the heroine in an anime. As for the knife, it was actually a reverse blade knife.
The reason why Franz asked her to use the knife was to test her character and ability, but in fact it was more for safety reasons.
After all, Franz had no intention of playing with fire and burning himself.
"I am Lola Montes, the witch you call a disaster for the country. Are you satisfied?"
Franz was indeed a little surprised when he heard the name Laura Montes, but he still said.
"Ten seconds left."
"I can find you, that's my ability! I can recommend myself as your pillow, and I can also be your eyes in the dark.
Believe me, I have the ability! I will definitely make you unable to live without me. "
Laura Montes's voice broke slightly after she shouted, but Franz still looked at her coldly and said only one word.