Chapter 411: Sixty-Six Treaty

The European arms race has kicked off, and the negotiations between France and Austria are drawing to a close. Napoleon III wanted to build Great France, and Franz wanted to build the Great Shinra Empire. Both sides had their own calculations.

There is no doubt that a strategic conflict between France and Austria is almost doomed. But the time for the conflict to break out is definitely not now.

Before the establishment of the empire, France and Austria were still allies and needed to work together to share international pressure. This was a cooperation with tigers seeking skin.

On June 6, 1866, Weisenberg, the foreign minister of the new Holy Roman Empire, and Abraham, the French foreign minister, signed the Covenant "Treaty of Six Six".

The contents of the treaty include: 1. The official alliance between France and the New Holy Roman Empire is valid for ten years;

2. The two countries recognize each other's respective spheres of influence, with the areas under actual control as the main ones;

3. Austria sold the suzerainty of Italian states such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States, and Tuscany to France at a price of 20 million Aegis (250 million francs);

4. France sold the French Balkans to Austria at a price of 200 million francs (8 million Aegis), and sold the colonies at the intersection of West Africa and the New Holy Roman Empire at a price of 50 million francs;

5. Austria acquiesced to France's annexation of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States, Tuscany and other regions, in exchange for France not interfering with Austria's unification of Germany; (the disputed areas will be put on hold)

6. The two countries' division of the sphere of influence on the African continent:

The French gained most of North Africa and parts of West Africa;

(Remarks: mainly present-day Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Zade and parts of Sudan...)

The New Holy Roman Empire gained most of West and Central Africa, North Africa, and parts of South Africa;

(mainly today: Libya, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Central Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Jade and parts of Sudan...)

Remarks: Most of East Africa and South Africa that have not yet been included in the sphere of influence of the two countries, whoever grabs it first, will recognize each other's sphere of influence on the African continent.

...

There is no doubt that the 66th Treaty is full of compromises and uncertainties. The alliance only lasts for ten years, and both sides are ready to turn their faces in the future.

The core contradiction, the Rhineland region, has not been clearly stipulated in the treaty, which has laid a hidden danger for the future of the two countries.

Of course, there is no verbal agreement in the treaty, and whoever owns it belongs to whom. In other words, whose fist belongs to whom.

How to determine specifically, when the great French empire is built, or the German region is unified first, it is time to solve the problem.

In Franz's view, apart from sharing diplomatic pressure with the French, this treaty only divides the interests of the African continent. France and Austria each occupy a third of the African continent.

If it is not for the lack of strength between the two countries in East Africa and South Africa, it may end up being two-one-two-one-five-two, and directly carve up the African continent.

The enclosure is just an agreement. The African continent is not small, even one third of it is more than 10 million square kilometers.

Franz sent so many immigrants, the actual control area on the African continent is less than 5 million square kilometers, and the rest is only nominal rule.

Not to mention the French, even if Napoleon III emigrated from the Balkans, the number of immigrants in the French African colonies would be in the millions.

Austria's colonization is not bad, even if there are colonial strongholds of various countries, it is not a climate, and it is not difficult to remove it.

The French are busy, for example: in Egypt, have the British agreed? Another example: Morocco, but also ask Spain and John Bull to agree.

East Africa and South Africa are not divided for the time being, and it makes sense. The French really can't swallow it. It's easy to sign a contract, but it's a joke if they don't have the strength to make it a reality.

Two points of the African continent is just the two countries of France and Austria shutting their doors to express themselves. In fact, this plan cannot be realized without kicking out the British, Portuguese, Spaniards and Dutch.

For Franz, the Dutch can be ignored, and the Spaniards can also be ignored. These two countries have a small sphere of influence on the African continent, and they do not have much to do with the New Holy Roman Empire.

In the treaty, Austria for a while, and the New Holy Roman Empire for a while. This is a European tradition. There is no way, otherwise, there will be no legal effect.

The suzerainty of the Italian state is in Austria, although this is only the default, but since the French now recognize it, it can only be purchased from Austria.

Similarly, Franz is going to merge the French Balkans into Austria, which can only be paid by Austria itself, otherwise other states will have an opinion.

The colonies were owned by the New Holy Roman Empire and were naturally purchased by the central government. Although for Franz, this is a left-handed and right-handed problem, what should be done is to follow the legal process.

All the states in the empire benefited from the colony, and the cost of colonization was naturally shared by everyone.

After the localization of African colonies, there will be more problems, and now these systems must be clarified.

Franz is still very satisfied with this treaty. Austria to

The Italian state had long since lost control, or never really had it.

If it really annexes the Italian region, within ten years, Austria will become a replica of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which should be called the "Austrian-Italian Empire".

To know that the Italian region has a population of more than 25 million, and it is still a nation with unified cultural traditions, how difficult it is to assimilate, Franz has already realized.

After so many years, Lombardy-Venice still has a strong Italian flavor, while other parts of Austria have basically changed under the influence of Germanic culture.

No way, it is easy for them to learn German and German, just send the children to school, but it takes a lot of time to wash away the local customs and culture.

In any case, every generation of Italy's imprint will fade a bit. According to the current progress, it will take two or three generations for the Austrian Italian region to basically complete the national integration.

Many other ethnic groups in Austria have become Germans.

For example: Czechs have long been assimilated in culture. Except for the difference in language and writing, there is no difference between the local life and customs influenced by the nobles and the Germans. Now that the language is unified, the last problem does not exist.

Franz couldn't do anything with more than 20 million Italians, so he could only send them to harm the French. No matter how powerful the French Empire can become in the short term, as long as France and Italy are combined, sooner or later, they will follow in the footsteps of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Don't look at the fact that the total population of France is now more than 44 million. This is the result of the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which has brought more than 6 million people. The main ethnic groups in France now include: French, Corsicans, Bretons, and Italians.

It's just that the French, Corsicans, and Bretons have completed their national integration, and the new Italians are incompatible with them.

After annexing several Italian states, the largest nation in Napoleon III's Grand French Empire became Italians.

It is estimated that he will not care about this issue. Under the circumstance that the emperor himself is an Italian, is it still a problem that the Italians have become the largest nation?

It is too early to talk about this issue. Now for Napoleon III, the biggest problem is how to annex these Italian states, not to consider the troubles that will come after annexation.

It is impossible to swallow it raw, and European countries will not let this happen. France is also not the Shinra Empire, and can add several state seats.

In legal terms, the Kingdom of Sardinia is still an independent country, and they are co-monarchy with the French, not part of France.

Although the Paris government took control of the internal affairs and foreign affairs of the Sardinian kingdom, it still could not change this. The French have a long way to go if they want to merge the kingdom of Sardinia.

Franz didn't know what Napoleon III thought, but Franz had already helped to complete the plan for annexing the Italian state.

When the conditions are ripe, it will appear in the hands of Napoleon III. The solution is very simple: first form the Italian Federation, let the Italian states join it, and then let the Italian Federation and France form a new federal empire.

Does it look very familiar? That's right, this is Franz's reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, specially designed for Napoleon III.

Anyway, no one has experienced it, and no one knows how pitted the duality empire will be. Just like the original time and space, the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also considered to be the great revival of the Habsburg dynasty.

In addition, Napoleon III had no legal system in the Italian region at all, and there were very few civilian supporters. Now he can only rely on force to ascend, and this hidden danger is even greater.

Prime Minister Felix said worriedly: "Your Majesty, we have obtained the French Balkans, and there are still a series of problems to be dealt with, and one bad one will lead to even more trouble.

There was a clear agreement in the Russian-Austrian Secret Pact that the current French Balkans were allocated to the Russians at that time. Even though we bought it from the French, the express provisions in the treaty were no small trouble.

Especially in the Dardanelles, the Russians have always been eyeing them. Now they are busy with the Prussian-Russian war, and they may not say anything. In the future, these are the hidden dangers of Russia-Austria relations. "

The annexation of the French Balkans is certainly a good thing for Austria. Not only did it pull out a nail in the back, but it also extended its power to the Aegean Sea region.

However, the future troubles are not small. Austria acts as the door god of Europe, blocking the Russians in the Black Sea, and the Russian-Austrian alliance is bound to be divided.

With the ambitious French and the scumbag John Bull in the west, and the Russians in the east, the future for Austria will not be easy.

Franz said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, this is a deal between us and the French. If the Russians are interested in these areas, they can pay for them and multiply the price by 10.

We can also accept a land exchange, and if the tsarist government is bent on entering the Mediterranean, let them pay the price they deserve!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can have contact with the Russians. Except for Poland, which we do not want, other areas bordering our mainland are acceptable. "

This is nonsense. If the tsarist government was so rich, it would have conquered the entire Balkan Peninsula in one go. The Russian-Prussian War ended last year.

At that time, the Polish area had not been lost, and most of the military rations could be solved locally. There was a waterway connecting Austria, and logistics was not a problem. As long as they are willing to spend money, the army of one million will be pressed all the way, and the Prussians will already kneel.

If you don’t have money, you can only replace the territory. Don’t look at the great business of the Russians, but the territory bordering Austria, except for Russian Poland, is only Western Ukraine.

Area. This is almost to tell the Russians that they are interested in Western Ukraine.

How to change the land, whether the tsarist government agrees or not is not the point. In any case, for twenty years, the Russians are unlikely to make a comeback.

Twenty years is enough to change a lot of things. By that time, Austria's African strategy will almost be completed. If there is no accident, the French will also jump into the pit.

With any luck, the French might just crash themselves. Napoleon III is almost 60 years old, his health is not very good. The original time and space died in 1873. How long he can live now is unknown.

He has many illegitimate children, but only one legitimate son. Born in 1856, if Napoleon III lived a few more years, his son would not have the ability to control the empire.

The duality empire is not something that ordinary people can play around with. If there is not enough prestige and means to suppress the opposition, it means that there is a problem when you say it.

And in Paris, the Holy Land of the Revolution, where any trouble could trigger a revolution, a young monarch would be a disaster.

Even if there is no disaster, it can be artificially created, for example: support for Italian independence, or the sudden outbreak of the Franco-Austrian War.

As long as they get down to France and get rid of the crisis of two-front warfare, Russia and Austria can really get along well.