The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1135 Two options
For Franz, the expansion of the Austrian Empire in the Balkans was reaching its limit.

Although such a map is a bit ugly, it does include all the important strategic nodes.

With these strategic nodes, the Austrian Empire can complete the defense of the Balkans at the lowest cost, while also preventing the naval fleet from being blocked in the Adriatic Sea.

The primary purpose of not choosing to continue expansion is to ensure the Russo-Austrian alliance. Only under this alliance can Austria avoid the dilemma of fighting alone.

Russia's expansion is bound to share more firepower with Austria, and only when the two alliances are close in strength can the world be in relative peace.

What Austria needs most at this time is still peaceful development. If Franz is given another ten years, Austria's national strength will be raised to a higher level.

Secondly, it has to be said that the Balkans are full of tough problems, and the infrastructure is too poor. Many areas lack even the most basic roads.

If Austria wants to digest these achievements, it must open up mountains and build roads without connecting them to its territory, so these lands still do not belong to Austria.

Third, as a melting pot of nations, it takes time to integrate new nations. History has proven that letting things go their own way or tolerating evil is a way to death.

As for advancing the front line, the Austrian Empire did not need to do it itself. Greece and Egypt were willing to do it, and their attack was deadly enough for the Ottoman Empire.

In addition, the Karamanli family in Tripoli also wants to get a piece of the pie. The current head of the family, Hamed Karamanli, has been influenced by European culture for a long time. He has completely regarded himself as a European, and he is also clear about his mission.

From Hamed Karamanli's perspective, this was the best time to attack Tunisia.

Although the Tunisian King Ahmed Bey had a Western-style new army with a total number of more than 20,000 people and 20 warships.

But its government was extremely corrupt, the new army had long been complaining about the withholding of their salaries, and the people were already overwhelmed.

In addition, in the early years, Ahmed Bey burned the Tunisian chieftain to death in order to carry out reforms in Tunisia, and the relationship between the government and the religious group was also extremely tense.

After 1839, Ahmed Bey became reclusive and suspicious, and his former confidants became strangers to him.

Although Tripoli had less than 5,000 troops and 20 armed merchant ships, Hamed Karamanli felt that all problems could be solved as long as Austria sent troops.
The occupation of Tunisia was indeed in Franz's plan, but not now. Although Ahmed Bey was a little crazy, he had signed alliances with too many countries, so it was not easy to move him.

In a cafe in Berlin, Bismarck looked at the latest intelligence sent to him and his mouth twitched.

"The British are such greedy fools. If they were smart, they would start with the Russian-Austrian alliance instead of exposing their intentions."

Prince Shotgun on the side did not like this kind of place where common people came. Although this was a famous aristocratic social place in Berlin, he did not like this kind of place with a strong common people's flavor at all.

"The British were defeated just like that?"

"In the Balkans, no country can accomplish a thing if both Russia and Austria oppose it at the same time."

Bismarck's words discouraged Prince Shotgun. If Prussia wanted to rise, it had to dismantle the Russo-Austrian alliance and get Russia or Austria to support it. Of course, there was no second option in history. However, after the continuous struggle of German nationalists, any monarch with eyes open saw the power contained in it.

At this time, Prussia not only owned West Prussia (the Polish Corridor), but also had East Prussia connected to the three Baltic countries (at this time it was the Russian Baltic Governorate).

Although the German nationalists were severely sanctioned by the Austrian Empire internally, their external outflows never stopped, as evidenced by the fact that the Boers as far away as South Africa could come to Frankfurt to seek help.

Nationalism also entered Russia's Baltic Governorate. The stereotype is that Russia did not begin to abolish serfdom until Alexander II came to power, but in fact, Alexander I had already begun to abolish serfdom in the Baltic Governorate in 1804.

The Livian Peasant Law promulgated by Alexander I allowed serfs to inherit the land they cultivated, and established a judicial institution specifically to control peasants, weakening the landlords' personal control over serfs.

Alexander I's reforms were met with strong opposition, but were enforced for more than ten years with the Tsar's iron-fisted policy, and finally the serfs in Estland, Courland and Livland were liberated.

Only the serfs in the Latgale region were not liberated. However, with the sudden death of Alexander I and the rise of Nicholas I, the nobles fought back, and the serfs in the Latgale region were eventually not liberated until the reign of Alexander II in 1861.

People are not worried about the lack of wealth but the inequality of it, so Latgale has become extremely unstable. Then will the areas where the serfs have been liberated be grateful to the Tsar and be content to be Russians?

Of course not! Although these liberated serfs gained personal freedom, they were burdened with heavy debts.

Although some people have successfully changed their fate, the vast majority of people do not live a good life.

Coupled with the spread of nationalism, local national consciousness began to awaken. However, it was not local nationalism that really took root in the Baltic Governorate, but German nationalism that came from Prussia.

The worst thing is that this group of people are all Greater German nationalists. After all, the examples of Luxembourg, Alsace Lorraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Transvaal and Denmark are right in front of us.

However, the landlords and nobles did not want to change their current lives, especially Franz's policy of asking landlords to pay to liberate serfs was simply terrifying.

Thus, a very magical scene emerged. The German immigrants who were nobles and landlords frantically advocated Slavization. A group of indigenous people and descendants of Finland who were considered to be Western Slavs by Russia began to speak German and called themselves real Germans.

When the Baltic Governorate joined the German Confederation, the only country they could rely on was Prussia. Even if someone interfered, the Baltic Governorate that joined the German Confederation would naturally lean towards Prussia, which was closer to them.

But it is not an easy task to snatch food from Russia's mouth; the support of the Austrian Empire is necessary.

Bismarck did not tell the whole truth, he had a way to deal with the so-called Russo-Austrian alliance. The Ottoman government could break this situation by directly appointing the British ambassador as an Ottoman diplomat.

He had done this in history, but Franz had already developed a way to deal with it.

Shotgun William did not remain depressed for too long. After all, he had long known how powerful opponents Russia and Austria were.

"Mr. Bismarck, as you said, the British will need us as an ally."

"Yes, Your Highness. The help of the British will be our chance to rise. We only need to wait for the moment when Russia and Austria break up, and then make the most favorable choice for us according to the situation."