War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

News of Tsar Nicholas I's visit to England soon spread throughout Europe, and as expected, caused an uproar.

This is especially a heavy blow to France, a country that is preparing to encircle Austria. After all, Britain and Russia do not just want Europe when they join forces, but they want to carve up the world.

Louis Philippe couldn't bear this, but when he turned around, he realized that France seemed to have Spain as its only half-dead ally.

Fortunately, the German Confederation responded quickly and disregarded past grudges. The two sides quickly started consultations and reached consensus on some issues.

The small princes of the German Confederation were afraid of France, but they were even more afraid of Russia, because they knew that Louis Philippe just wanted to destroy their country, while the Tsar would do it more thoroughly.

Prussia was the first to bear the brunt of Russia's westward advance, while Austria had its own considerations. After all, being a Russian ally was not an easy thing to accept.

The Tsar's behavior was to blatantly regard Austria as a spare tire. His words such as "Britain and Russia join forces and there will be no obstacles in the world" are completely like a licking dog confessing to a goddess.

As for why these details were leaked, it was naturally the work of the British. In terms of political skills and diplomacy, the Czar was not worthy of being an apprentice.

Austria is not weak in diplomacy. After all, Prime Minister Metternich is a skilled diplomat, and he is not as excited as the people. On the contrary, he is calm and feels normal, not to mention that he has any hurt feelings.

But he understood that he must take action at this time to fight back against Russia's betrayal, and at the same time make early plans for the worst possible scenario (British and Russian forces joining forces).

France is a good ally. After all, the prestige of the Napoleonic era has not dissipated. No country in Europe dares to underestimate France, not even Austria, which defeated it twice.

Franz was accustomed to Russia's sudden diplomatic approach, but he was not worried at all about the possible alliance between Britain and Russia or what impact it would have.

After all, Franz knew very well that "one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers." It is impossible for two countries that both want to compete for world hegemony to achieve real peace. In the subsequent Crimean War, the two countries were the protagonists of their respective camps.

As for the alliance with France, Franz didn't take it seriously. After all, there was a lot of friction between France and Austria at this time, especially the issues of Italy, Germany, West Africa, and North America, which were almost irreconcilable.

However, this does not prevent the two countries from joining forces to protect themselves, but 1848 is approaching, and the Orleans Dynasty may be wiped out in an instant.

After all, France has no less internal conflicts than Austria. The financiers have almost hollowed out the country, and the royal family is like a parasite sucking the last marrow of the country.

The peasants were poor and miserable, the workers were living in dire straits, the social status of the soldiers was extremely low (referring to soldiers and non-commissioned officers), and the colonies were also full of contradictions. The seemingly incomparably powerful giant was tense and would be completely knocked down if it collapsed in one place. .

Of course, Prince Metternich's actions are blameless, but his actions may slightly hurt the self-esteem of Nicholas I, a traditional monarch.

The situation in the Austrian Empire was special. Although the monarch was Ferdinand I, the decision was made by the Regency Council. Therefore, the Tsar should not be jealous of the Habsburg family, but should be jealous of those "thieves" he called.

In fact, after the Tsar's operation, there is still good news for Austria, that is, the Ottomans are even more at a loss.

Sultan Mejid, once a "civilized man" from the East in the eyes of the Western media, was already bowed down by things at home and abroad, and his body was hollowed out by wine and sex.

In order to continue to satisfy his desires, he had to start taking opium to enhance his "vitality". Also in order to continue the Ottoman Empire, he chose to extend an olive branch to Austria, his old enemy.

On the one hand, this situation occurred because Austria had maintained a strong influence and a relatively strong posture in several previous crises, which left a deep impression on Magid.

On the other hand, Osman really has no friends at this time. Persia is too weak, and the Oman Empire cannot quench its thirst from far away.

Historically, the Oman Empire was considered a very powerful existence before the collapse of the Sayyid Dynasty, and even Britain and France did not dare to insult it lightly.

The tragic defeat of the Omani Navy at the hands of the Austrian Navy in the book did not spread too widely. On the contrary, it was Said's large-scale purchase of warships from Europe that made it to the hot search list at the time.

Of course, Said bought this popularity himself, in order to deter those who might underestimate the Oman Empire. After all, the battle with the Austrian Navy shocked him too much.

Said had always believed that except Britain and the Ottomans, no country could defeat its own navy.

The subsequent war with the Austrian Empire, a country he had never heard of, left him with too tragic a memory.

The once arrogant Omani navy took the lead in launching a surprise attack with several times its strength, but was hung up and beaten. This was really terrifying.

However, Said was not heartbroken at that time, and it was not until Friedrich visited Zanzibar for the second time that he truly gave in when he gave his most precious daughter as a gift.

At this time, Said sneered at Meguid's proposal to join forces. He did not want to ruin his country, and the fear of European powers was deeply ingrained in his bones.

After eliminating the two options of Persia and Oman, he was left with only three options: Egypt, France, and Austria.

Egypt had been completely defeated by the last Near East crisis, and France was considered by Magid to be an unreliable ally.

In the end, only Austria was left, which had been at war with the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. The latter had good credibility and strength, and most importantly, it did not want to get involved in the core areas of the Ottoman Empire.

Magid's bottom line is Istanbul and the Anatolian Plateau. He does not care about other pagan territories. At present, Austria does not seem to conflict with the core interests of the Ottomans.

And those pagan territories can be used as bargaining chips to win over Austria. In fact, Magid was eager to give the two Danube principalities to Austria, and then watch them fight to the death with Russia.

It's just that such an obvious alienation plan is difficult to succeed. Fortunately, he does not lack chips.

Between 1840 and 1845, dozens of riots involving more than a thousand people occurred in the Eastern European part of the Ottoman Empire. This greatly consumed Magid's energy and the financial resources of the treasury, and also forced it to rely more on the army.

For Meguid personally, those are not Ottoman Empire territories, but cancers and the bane. Without those territories in Eastern Europe, the Russians might not make plans of their own anymore.

In fact, this was not just Meguid's idea. A group of Ottoman senior officials thought so, and even formed a faction. This idea also deeply influenced the later generations of Turkey's founding father, General Kemal.