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

Chapter 1158: Each Has His Own Agenda (Part )
The indignant Greek ambassador Andronikos was shocked by Prince Schwarzenberg's words before he had time to complain.

In fact, this was not the first time that the Austrian Empire had established a similar organization. The previous German Customs Union and Apennine Customs Union had similar natures.

It’s just that the concept of Europe is much larger than Germany or the Apennines.

This peace conference would cost tens of millions of florins, so it was impossible for Franz to do it just for a small country like Albania.

It would be better to just hold a European conference and unify the currency and weights and measures as soon as possible. This will be a great boost to both the future economic and technological development.

Because there is a lack of figures like Qin Shihuang in European history, Franz had to take the limelight at this time.

In fact, if possible, Franz would prefer to make a fortune in silence, but this era, including the location of Austria, does not allow him to keep a low profile.

The information about the formation of the Europa Monetary Union was still very shocking to most of the national representatives present, especially the six countries that had just received the news.

Viscount Stratford subconsciously felt that he should oppose it because the establishment of the European Monetary Union would enhance the influence of the Austrian Empire and at the same time cause some small countries dependent on Austria to further lose their sovereignty and independence.

Austria will use its strong industrial strength to invade neighboring countries, further widening the power gap between countries.

"Your Excellency, your country's proposal to form a Europa Monetary Union does not seem to be related to the security of the Near East."

"No, Viscount Stratford. The purpose of forming the Europa Monetary Union is to strengthen the economic ties between countries. When the interests of all countries are closely linked, war will become expensive and inappropriate."

Prince Schwarzenberg's words immediately won applause, and there were many economists and politicians with similar ideas at this time.

Since the Austrian Empire, as a great power, took the initiative to put forward this view, they had no need to hide it, and the main source of this view was Britain.

"Your Excellency, I do not believe that the formation of a European Monetary Union will prevent war."

Viscount Stratford said this in a decisive tone, while Prince Schwarzenberg's response was very understated.

"How do you know if you don't try? What do you think?"

This is an Austrian venue, and most of the invited guests are pro-Austrian. Naturally, it is impossible for them not to give face to Prince Schwarzenberg at this time.

"agree!"

"Agree!"

“It’s too much trouble to change currency every time I go to a country!”

“Especially for bulk cargo settlement!”

Lord Stratford continued unmoved.

"Who can guarantee that this is not a means for your country to control the economy of other countries?"

"Of course not. The currency union will not deprive countries of their right to mint coins. The union will only determine the gold and silver content of the currency, as well as the exchange rate."

"Don't be so quick to deny it. Words are not enough to prove it."

This time, Viscount Stratford was interrupted by Prince Schwarzenberg before he could finish his words. "If you don't understand, you can find an economist to help you with your reference. If you really can't find one in our country, we can introduce one to you."

Prince Schwarzenberg, who came from a military background, looked down upon Viscount Stratford, a sarcastic guy like him. Add to that the latter's ill intentions, it would be strange if there was no tension between them.

Although Uvarov also disliked the British, he was also very wary of the monetary union that Austria was setting up. After all, economics was not the Russians' forte.

Moreover, whether to support or not involved the issue of national stance, and he could only give feedback to the Tsar.

In fact, the situations of the great powers are similar. Some things are not even two ounces if they are not weighed, but once they are weighed, they weigh more than a thousand pounds.

Tocqueville had some different ideas. After all, France's industrial strength was not weak, and opening up the European market might be a good thing for France.

And in the final analysis, it was the French who first started the monetary union. During the anti-French war, Napoleon's forced implementation of the franc in the French-occupied areas injected a shot in the arm for the French economy.

Even after the war, with the exception of the Netherlands, the occupied countries did not completely abandon the franc system, and Belgium directly linked its currency to the franc.

More importantly, the Austrian Empire stated that it would not deprive other countries of their right to mint coins. That is, under this framework, the country with stronger economic power would see its influence expand accordingly.

Then, with France's strong economic power, it is not impossible for the Austrian Empire to shoot itself in the foot. Not only can it consolidate the original franc zone, but it can even reversely penetrate into the territories of Austria and Spain.

There is no doubt that he was tempted by the Austrian Empire's proposal, but the old problem still existed: if the political achievements were good, they would be credited to Louis Napoleon, but if they were not, the Order Party would have to take the blame. What was even more disgusting was that the first thing Louis Napoleon did after gaining the political capital was to deal with the Order Party.

Tocqueville sighed and his eyes involuntarily glanced at the ambassadors from Alsace Lorraine and Fribourg.

If possible, Tocqueville would prefer to support the Bourbon orthodoxy of Count Chambord, but in his eyes, even if the House of Orleans ruled, it would be much better than the current situation.

At this time, Prussian Foreign Minister Franz Eichmann was an extremely cautious diplomat, and he expressed very complicated feelings about the Austrian Empire's proposal.

The establishment of a monetary union was undoubtedly a good thing for Prussia, but it was not so good. After all, Prussia could not directly benefit from the Apennines and further regions.

As Prussia grows, the Austrian Empire will also grow, and as long as nothing particularly extreme happens, the latter will definitely develop faster than the former.

But is it worth abandoning Prussia's own development in order to limit the development of the Austrian Empire?
"Of course not. Our rival is not just Austria, and the German nation cannot escape competition if it wants to stand out among the nations of the world.

Falling behind does not necessarily mean being beaten, but it will definitely lead to being bullied. In this era, being weak is a sin in itself, and whether the weak are beaten or not is not up to them.

If the Austrians gain the upper hand, we can still survive, but if the French gain the upper hand, we Prussia will at best lose our sovereignty and be humiliated, or at worst be crushed to ashes.

Not to mention that there are British and Russians who are more terrible than the French. "

Bismarck's tone remained as firm as ever, but Franz Eichmann had doubts about these words.

“If it were in the past, the kindness of the Habsburg family would indeed be trustworthy, but the new emperor was very warlike and bloodthirsty, and he even refused to allow the Hungarians in the fortress to surrender.

A civil war killed at least three million people, and it is not impossible that another million will be killed by the time the war is over."

"The Hungarians' war was not a civil war at all. They did not even admit that they were Europeans. It would be strange if the Austrians would be lenient in dealing with the barbarians who invaded Europe.

Look at the civil war between Austria and the National Assembly. It was such a big battle, with a total of one million people on both sides. What was the result?
How many people were killed in the war and executed after the war? At most, they were exiled. What kind of exile is Texas?
A German who wanted to go to Texas had to pay at least 100 thalers, which was enough for an average person to save for several years.