Chapter 848 Another Fight

For his part, Napoleon III urgently needed Russia to remain neutral so that he could concentrate solely on dealing with Austria. It is obviously impossible for Palmerston to support his ambition. Palmerston even hopes to simply close the door to Russia's expansion into the Balkans and the Black Sea, and hopes to use a treaty to force Russia to cede Wallachia and Molda. Via.

Palmerston's requirements were very much in line with Austria's taste. They had already coveted Wallachia and Moldavia. In 1848, they would not give up these two principalities to Russia if they were not forced to do so.

Now they have the opportunity to regain their sphere of influence, and they can also knock out Russia, which has been competing with them for territory in this region. If they can succeed, the Austrians will laugh out of their dreams.

It's just that the Austrians are just troublemakers now. They can influence the overall situation but cannot control it. Once the French strongly oppose it, they will have no choice but to retreat.

It's just that although the French want something from Russia, it doesn't mean that they will condone and let Russia go. After all, the old and new grudges still have to be settled. At most, the French will only give Russia a slightly more decent result.

For example, according to Count Walewski's original idea, Russia needs to cede Moldavia and western Wallachia to Austria, and must also promise to withdraw its troops from Wallachia and Moldavia within a specified time. Ensure the demilitarization of the Danube Delta.

To be honest, this condition is quite harsh, and it also illustrates the true thoughts of the French.

However, as the situation developed, the French gradually discovered that such conditions were a bit unrealistic. After all, although the coalition had an advantage on the battlefield, it was in Crimea, and the coalition in Wallachia was not cheap at all. It can't even cross the Danube River.

In this way, it would be a joke for Russia to completely abandon Wallachia and Moldavia. What's more, with Baryatinsky's efforts in the Caucasus and Turkey over there still being defeated, this account will be even worse. Smoothed.

So after some consultations, Napoleon III and Count Walewski reached an agreement that Russia would cede a small portion of Wallachia and Moldavia to "compensate" Austria, which was a small favor to silence the Austrians.

Then Russia promised to withdraw its troops from Wallachia and Moldavia within the specified time. In addition, it must immediately stop its aggression in the Caucasus and return to the pre-war status. Finally, the Black Sea Fleet will be strictly limited, both in terms of tonnage and The number of battleships must meet the British requirements.

However, when Count Walewski excitedly informed Clarendon of the latest new conditions that everyone could accept, the British once again quit because Palmerston insisted that in addition to the above conditions, Russia The southern Caucasus, including Circassians, Georgia, Yerevan and Nakhichevan, must also be completely abandoned.

This is almost to take away from the Russians the gains of their expansion in the Caucasus over the past two decades, which is not unkind.

Of course, this is understandable, because Britain is very concerned about the Persian issue and is always wary of Russia's expansion from Iran to India via Afghanistan. India is a taboo for them, and they cannot accept even the mere possibility of it.

Naturally, when the British added these conditions to the conditions, the Russians immediately quit, causing the negotiations to immediately reach a deadlock.

This somewhat distressed Napoleon III. On the one hand, he felt that the British were a bit too much. If he were Alexander II, he would not accept such conditions. On the other hand, he must maintain a certain degree of friendship with the British. After all, France does not yet have the strength to leave the British alone. If it falls out with the British, there may be no way to end the matter.

As a result, he can only find ways to do British work, but what is the old saying? When people are unlucky, their teeth will get clogged when they drink water. This sentence is really suitable for Napoleon III.

Before he could get through to the UK, something happened again in Turkey. The reason was ethnic and religious issues. In this regard, both Britain, France and Austria have great opinions on Turkey. For example, in January, representatives of the British and French allies met with Turkish Prime Minister Ali Pasha and Tanzimat reformist representative Fuad Pasha in Istanbul. These two were representatives sent by the Sudan to the peace conference in Paris.

During this meeting, the Allied representatives demanded that the Sultan must make a gesture to show that full religious and civil equality was being granted to the non-Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire, including Jews, and emphasized that the Allies were serious on this point.

In his report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after participating in the talks, the then British Ambassador to Turkey, Stratford Canning, directly admitted that they were not optimistic about Turkey's determination to reform, believing that the Turks had a vague attitude and were putting pressure on foreign countries. Very dissatisfied.

He said that the Turks felt that such Western-imposed reforms would weaken the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, and that they had always regarded Christians as inferior to them, and that to put them on an equal footing with Christians was simply humiliating and sacrilegious.

Even Canning bluntly said: "The Turks believe that no matter what laws the Sultan passes, it will not change the fact that Christians are more humble."

Therefore, Canning directly warned that if Turkey continues to be forced to reform, it is likely to intensify conflicts and plunge Turkey's domestic political situation into turmoil.

However, Palmerston did not take Canning's warning particularly seriously, so Britain and France continued to exert pressure on Turkey through diplomatic channels. In the end, before the Paris Peace Conference, Sudan was forced to issue the "Reform Edict", promising to non-Muslims. Full religious and legal equality of subjects gave non-Muslims the right to own property and join the Ottoman army and officials on merit.

For Sudan, his wishful thinking is to prevent European countries from further interfering in his internal affairs by committing to these reforms. In particular, the "Reform Edict" was promulgated before the Paris Peace Conference, which also announced to the outside world that the Paris Peace Conference could not involve Turkey's internal affairs.

However, this trick was of no use, because Count Orlov strongly insisted that the peace conference must discuss the issue of Turkish reform. If Turkey could not have these clearly written and signed in black and white at the peace conference, then who can guarantee that in the future? Can the so-called "Reform Edict" really be implemented?

So he insisted that this point must be discussed on the negotiating table. Otherwise, once Russia makes concessions, who can guarantee the interests of Christians in Turkey?

It is conceivable that as a result, Russia and Turkey are at odds again, making the already troubled peace talks even more difficult...