Chapter 383: Chapter 70, Alexander II
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Franz soon experienced the shrewdness of Alexander II. The news of the secret negotiations between Russia and Austria inadvertently leaked out; however, a slight change in the content occurred.

This minor change forced Franz to grind his teeth and approve the loan, increasing the amount from 30 million Divine Shields to a bargained 50 million Divine Shields, and it was an interest-free loan at that.

Of course, the Russians had offered up new collateral—the tariff revenue from the Ukraine region—to avoid a total loss.

If after the war the Tsarist Government acquired Prussian Saxony, the debt would be written off, with the Tsarist Government using the Prussian Saxon area as collateral for the debt.

There was no helping it; the Russians had praised it so highly. The Russian Envoy, with his big mouth, trumpeted all over the place the efforts the Vienna Government made to reclaim the Prussian Saxon region.

He even bluffed, saying, “Franz has communicated with Alexander II via telegraph multiple times, and both sides have preliminarily reached an agreement. After the war, the Tsarist Government will sell Silesia and the Prussian Saxon area to the New Holy Roman Empire.”

Without a doubt, this must have received Alexander II’s tacit consent. The Russian Envoy flew the banner of Russian-Austrian friendship high and emphasized Franz’s contributions, which to the average citizen, appeared as efforts for the Empire’s unification.

After all, the Paris Conference had partitioned the Germany Region, making reunification extremely difficult. Now the only choice was to adopt a roundabout approach, gradually pushing for national unification.

Reclaiming one’s territory is always good; the nationalists were pleased and started singing praises.

The domestic public opinion was agitated, and Franz was put on the hot seat. Stepping down would inevitably lead to a loss of prestige; he had no choice but to take the blame.

Now it was clear to him; the Tsarist Government’s promise to gift Silesia to Austria was a bait from the start.

What would be the consequences if, after the war, Austria reclaimed Silesia while watching the Russians annex the Prussian Saxon area?

Franz was the Austrian Emperor, but he was also the Emperor of the Saxon people. Once this balance was upset, the loyalty of his subjects would wane.

Not only would the Saxon People be dissatisfied, other Sub-States would similarly harbor discontent towards the Central Government. Then, the painstakingly united New Holy Roman Empire could once again return to a state of fragmentation.

Franz no longer dared to gamble on the Russians losing the war; this was a loss he had to swallow.

After all, this Prusso-Russian war was entirely the result of his butterfly effect. The Russians now had the upper hand and possessed substantial strength; under normal circumstances, they would be the ones to win the war.

If it were just a matter of money, this deal could be considered mutually beneficial. The Tsarist Government did not overprice their offer, it was even somewhat low.

Considering that the Russians had not yet secured the Prussian Saxon area, this price was still acceptable.

But Franz was aware that in pursuit of Silesia, the Vienna Government had already guaranteed for the Russians, borrowing a vast amount of strategic materials domestically, and now here was another loan of 50 million Divine Shields.

If they didn’t want to suffer a total loss, the best choice for the Vienna Government now was to support the Tsarist Government in winning the war.

Otherwise, there was no telling when they would be able to recover these debts.

In consideration of the alliance, the Tsarist Government probably wouldn’t directly default on their payments, but even if they were short on funds, could the Vienna Government really enforce debt collection?

Should the Russians be defeated, not just the current debts but also the old debts could potentially become bad debts. At least until the Tsarist Government’s finances improved, they wouldn’t be able to pay them off.

Not only had they economically hijacked Austria, but they had also completely shattered the Prussia-Austria relationship. The Vienna Government was now almost openly supporting the Tsarist Government, naturally placing itself on the opposite side of Prussia.

As a side effect, the British-Austrian Alliance was also undermined, positioning the two countries against each other once more.

Since the establishment of the first Vienna System, England and Austria maintained similar policies in preserving the balance of Europe. They were indirect allies from the start, with nothing but a formal treaty between them.

After the outbreak of the Near East war, the relationship between the two countries plummeted to an all-time low. But because of their shared interests, the relationship quickly warmed up again, and both countries jointly promoted the establishment of the second Vienna System.

Having stirred up the Prussia-Austria relationship and the Anglo-Austria relationship, the Russians weren’t done; the Austria-France and England-France relationships were equally within the Russians’ calculative reach.

If the French bit on the bait offered by the Russians, the England-France relationship would break, and the Austria-France relationship would be directly ruined. No matter what, Franz could not stand idly by as France annexed the Rhineland region.

Even if he could endure it, the domestic nationalists would still push Austria onto the battlefield.

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Franz wasn’t afraid of going to war with the French; the alliance for mutual defense against the French was still in place. If it came to it, a new Anti-French Alliance could be organized, and the Vienna Government had experience in that area.

However, the problem was that once this happened, Austria’s situation, with allies throughout Europe since the Metternich Era, would change, and it would no longer be able to conduct its diplomacy as leisurely as before.

Indeed, France and Austria both currently had a quasi-ally relationship. Otherwise, Franz would not have remained indifferent to Napoleon III’s annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

A verbal promise alone wasn’t reliable; in the end, interests spoke the loudest. Since the Orleans Dynasty, France and Austria maintained a quasi-ally relationship, always ready to form an alliance if needed.

There was a disruption during the Great Revolution, but with the emergence of the France-Austrian Secret Treaty, considering common interests, the relationship between the two countries warmed up once again.

Especially after the French annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the relationship between the two nations reached a new height.

In the French government, the Pro-British Faction was powerful, but the Pro-Austrian Faction was actually not weak at all. It wasn’t strange for one to be both Pro-British and Pro-Austrian, as politicians often changed their stances based on practical needs.

Napoleon III was no simple character either. As a master of political struggle, how could he not value the balance of power?

A dominant Pro-British Faction did not serve the interests of him as an Emperor. What if one day he clashed with the British, and all those under him were from the Pro-British Faction? Then who would he send to lead the charge?

Even though Napoleon III emerged as a member of the Pro-British Faction, in reality, most of those he promoted were not from the Pro-British Faction, but were, in fact, Anti-British People.

This applied equally to Austria; with the Russian-Austrian Alliance in place, Vienna Government had always had a strong Anti-Russian Faction.

Many politicians didn’t truly wish to oppose Russia; they were politically required to do so. This was taking a side, or rather, political speculation.

Having unraveled the Russians’ calculations, Franz could only sigh: how could figures who left a formidable legacy in history be ordinary?

Since ascending the throne, Alexander II had focused on internal affairs, appearing very mediocre in foreign diplomacy.

This aligned with everyone’s perception of the Tsarist Government, as historically, most Tsars preferred to use force over wit.

As time passed, Franz relaxed his vigilance against him. Diplomacy requires talent, something that has always been a weakness in the Tsarist family, and no one in later generations would speak of Alexander II’s strong diplomatic skills.

Yet, when he did make a move, it was earth-shattering. He took into account England, France, Austria, Prussia, and a bunch of small European countries.

If the plan succeeded, the result would be: the break of Prussia-Austria relations, Prussia-France relations, Austria-France relations, Anglo-Austria relations, England-France relations…

By causing every country’s diplomatic relations to break down, the isolated Russian Empire would then see its opportunity.

The ambitions of the Tsarist Government were never small. Without taking a bite out of the Kingdom of Prussia, how could they possibly be content?

Under these circumstances, it was very necessary to divide the European countries. This time, starting with France and Austria, it was to sever any chance of the countries interfering in the Prusso-Russian war.

Aside from the deep-rooted England-Russia contradictions, which touched core interests and left no room for compromise,

with Russia and Austria as allies and French-Russian relations not irreparable, if only these two countries were taken care of, the European Continent would no longer be able to organize an interfering Allied Forces.

The British indeed had formidable strength, but unfortunately, it was all in their navy. With the pitiful strength of the British Army, no country would be foolish enough to form an allied force with them and go fight the Russians.

This determined that on issues concerning the European Continent, John Bull had to have an ally to attain a level of influence that matched their strength.

After the Near East war, the British tried to minimize their intervention in European disputes, and this was part of the reason.

Against the backdrop of colonization struggles, even when civilian organizations from England, France, and Austria encountered each other in armed conflict, the Anglo-Austrian and Anglo-French relationships could still be maintained.

This time round, having missed the mark, Franz was neither angry nor seeking immediate revenge. Years on the throne had long tempered his temperament.

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