War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz looked at the terms of sanctions against Egypt, and there seemed to be nothing wrong. The British goal had been achieved, and the "British-Turkish Commercial Treaty" would officially take effect in Egypt. At the same time, France's privileges in Egypt were also taken back by the Ottomans.

As for the British's spring and autumn brushwork, they played tricks. Franz felt that Metternich could handle it. If not, then he could consider replacing him.

Egypt returned Crete and Syria, but at least retained the mainland and Sudan. A weak Egypt could not stop Austria's expansion of Tripoli.

Franz felt that the first day's meeting was quite successful. As long as the Ottomans were not allowed to regain Egypt, it was a victory. Although the treaty severely limited Egypt's power, the British in the original world line tried to enter Egypt several times without success. In the end, they had to bribe Ali to get their wish.

Historically, in 1843, the British government gave Muhammad Ali a steam battleship. (The displacement is about 800 tons, so it is not considered a battleship.)

The Queen of England also gave him personal gifts, and the first British multinational corporations such as the East India Company also gave gifts to Ali in order to seek the right to establish a foothold in Egypt.

Later, he was awarded the Peace Medal and even invited his eldest son to visit the UK.

The topic on the second day was the Strait issue. The British proposed the condominium proposal as in history. The difference was that the person who proposed it was changed from Palmerston to Canning.

Britain and France have the same attitude on this issue. They feel that for the sake of peace, it is necessary for the great powers to reach a consensus in the form of a joint declaration or treaty.

Historically, it was due to the insistence of Britain and Austria, the change of France's attitude, and Neserlov's suicidal operation that the Straits Convention was reached.

However, Austria had an ambiguous attitude at this time. Neserlov was somewhat confused, and he had to write a letter to the Tsar.

"The price we pay for the Channel is too high! In fact, it ties our hands."

Telegraph was not yet popular in this era, and the most effective way to transmit information over long distances was pigeon mail.

In fact, due to Franz's influence, Tsar Nicholas I at this time was not prepared to give up his privileges in the Strait.

In his reply he wrote:

"We have to protect Russia's security, the Ottoman Empire's security, so the Black Sea straits should not be open to any country."

Of course, the participating countries did not wait for the Tsar's reply, so they moved directly to the next topic.

Canning proposed the idea of ​​a Jewish state. His idea was that although Jews were not welcome in Europe, they should have the right to establish their own state. It just so happened that Muhammad Ali gave up Syria, and perhaps it could be established here. A Jewish state.

Hearing this, Phil Chuck, who was very happy just now, immediately turned ugly.

He thought he could take back the land taken away by Ali, but he didn't expect that the British would actually give the sacred territory of the Ottoman Empire to those filthy Jews.

Jews were also not well received in the Ottoman Empire. As for the reason, everyone knows it.

Neserlov couldn't sit still when he heard that the Holy Land was allocated to the Jews. He immediately stood up and glared at Canning.

"I will fight you, sir!"

In fact, Guizot had reservations about the British proposal, because the Catholic power in France was strong. If the Holy Land was given to the Jews, it would undoubtedly arouse strong dissatisfaction among the people, and then he, the foreign minister, had done his best.

Sewell, who couldn't help but yawn, obviously didn't take the negotiations to heart, and he had no interest in topics related to religion.

The situation in Austria is similar to that in France, except that the church will at most express some dissatisfaction and will not do anything to Metternich, the prime minister.

If Neserlov had not come forward, Metternich might have expressed his dissatisfaction, but it seemed that there was no need now.

Soon this turned into an all-out conflict between Britain and Russia.

Canning naturally would not accept Neserlov's proposal for a duel. After all, he did not want to fight a veteran. If he lost, he would definitely become a laughing stock in the diplomatic community.

But even if Canning wins the duel, with the Russian thinking, he will probably send a duel master to regain the situation next time, which will not be beneficial to the progress of the negotiations.

"I reject!"

"You coward! You insulted my beliefs and I demand an apology from you!"

"We are negotiating to solve the problem, not create it!"

The two sides argued for a long time with no result, and Canning finally had to ask for a show of hands.

However, he soon discovered that no one among the great powers at the meeting agreed with his proposal, and Russia fiercely expressed its opposition. Canning had no choice but to give up the proposal.

He took it for granted that Austria, France, and the Ottomans were all traitors and had betrayed his plans.

At the dance after the negotiations on the second day, Neserlov took a wine glass and showed off how he faithfully performed his duties, protected Jerusalem, and thwarted the conspiracy of the heretics.

Metternich was an expert at holding balls, and the Viennese aristocrats also had rich experience in this. The atmosphere was very warm, and of course the Vienna Atmosphere Team was responsible for this.

In order to entertain distinguished guests from all over the world, Metternich hired all the popular girls from the top brothels in Vienna, as well as some actresses and ballet dancers.

Of course, in addition to the atmosphere group, there are also many well-known artists and leaders in various industries.

At that time, if you wanted to meet big people, this kind of dance was the best place. At the same time, Metternich was also showing Austria's soft power to other countries.

Compared with the worried missions from various countries, Sevier was having a great time. But he also sincerely lamented that Austria’s entertainment service industry is so powerful that Berlin is like a slum in comparison.

Of course, the other members of the Prussian mission were busy. Some of them were here to discuss business, and some were here to spy out more useful intelligence.

Although some people in Prussia have begun to propose colonizing Africa, they have not attracted the government's attention.

There was a special young man among the mission. He was a farmer from Pomerania. When he joined the mission, he used the identity of a private in the Potsdam Infantry Regiment.

A private soldier did not attract the special attention of Austrian officials, but the inconspicuous young man in front of him would become the famous iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck in the future.

At this time, he should have been at home helping his father take care of the farm. However, due to the change in the timeline, the influence of the Austrian Empire was unprecedentedly powerful, which made this young man who had won twenty-five duels feel a little itchy.

Historically, Bismarck has participated twenty-five times in college and only injured his arm once.

Bismarck wanted to meet his biggest enemy in the future and the prime minister who had been the leader of Europe for more than thirty years.

Metternich, who returned to his home court at this time, was naturally at ease. Ambassadors from surrounding countries all toasted to him. The Austrian Empire can be said to be the country that benefited the most from this Near East crisis.

At the same time, Austria's influence was also growing. The failure of the London Conference was in sharp contrast to the successful convening of the two Vienna Conferences. People even called Vienna the "conference capital" and "the center of European politics."

During the ball, transactions between Austria and other countries were still going on, and countless dignitaries, wealthy businessmen, and fair ladies were surrounding Metternich like stars holding the moon.

At this time, a young man said something that made everyone laugh, "He can take his place." The Prussian officials who were traveling with him regarded this as a joke.