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

Chapter 1160: Talk after the first day

The first day of the meeting passed in noise, and as usual, no agreement was reached.

In fact, Viscount Stratford originally wanted to make a final conclusion, but Austria’s announcement of the establishment of a monetary union directly disrupted his rhythm.

The peace conference at this time did not transition to the British era, and international law was in name only. The Austrian Empire was the one that trampled on it the most.

Every foreign war Franz waged was a violation of Britain's so-called continental balance of power policy, and of course the so-called Vienna system was on the verge of collapse.

All forms of diplomacy returned to the most traditional court diplomacy. Compared with the upper class's ability to connect, even if the four major powers were tied together, they would not be a match for Austria.

In addition, this is Austria's home ground, and Viscount Stratford knows for the first time in his life what it means to be struggling.

In fact, other countries except Austria are more or less in the dark, especially after the Europa Monetary Union was proposed, the whole situation became increasingly chaotic.

Ambassadors from various countries have asked their countries for help. The development of current events has clearly exceeded the expectations of all parties.

Hofburg Palace, Small Ballroom.

Otto I was a little depressed. He also saw today's peace conference. It was really uncomfortable to be ignored! Even if it was a fait accompli, it was still so ridiculous in the eyes of the great powers.

"Franz, what should I do? They don't take me seriously at all!"

"Cousin, there's no need for you to be angry. This meeting is actually more like a business negotiation. As long as the cost of recovery is higher than the income from the land, the other party will seriously consider your opinion."

"So."

Franz interrupted Otto I before he finished speaking.

"No, I can support you secretly, but I can't negotiate with the powers on your behalf.

Otherwise they will definitely label all of these as belonging to the Austrian Empire, and then the resistance will be even greater than it is now.

It will also affect our country’s strategic layout in the Balkans.”

Franz did not hide the fact that Austria did not want to go too deep into the Balkans at this time.

Otto I was inevitably a little disappointed, but as a monarch he also understood Franz's approach, so he just asked in the end.

"Franz, how much of the spoils can our country keep this time?"

“Not much. Neither Britain, the Ottomans, nor Russia want Greece to become bigger.

And I can assure you that after the war the Ottomans will carry out a massacre of the Greeks in their territory.

I suggest you move as many Greeks from the occupied territories back to Greece and Thessaly as possible. I will do my best to keep Thessaly for you."

"Only Thessaly?"

Franz nodded.

In fact, with Greece's current strength, it would be good enough if it could avoid being annexed, let alone expand its territory.

Without Austria's support, it would be a question whether the Greek army's firearms equipment rate could exceed 50%.

The biggest gain for Greece from this war should be that it now borders the Austrian Empire. From then on, Greece's development speed will far exceed that of the same period in history.

Franz walked over and patted Otto I on the shoulder. "Don't worry, these lands will belong to Greece sooner or later. What you need to do now is to bide your time, strengthen your own strength, and prepare for future changes in the situation.

But I must remind you that the situation in Greece is very special and you must make plans for your successors as early as possible."

At this point, Otto I couldn't help but get angry.

“I know this without you telling me, but no one in my family is willing to come to this remote place like Greece.

That bitch Amalie flirts with those Greeks all day and can't have a child. I really want to kill her!"

Amalie was the wife of King Otto I. It was rumored that she had affairs with several high-ranking Greek officials, and the two sides colluded with each other to gain benefits.

However, Alto I's private life was also very chaotic. Not only did he have many mistresses, he was also a frequent visitor to high-end brothels.

There were even rumors that he had an affair with his father's mistress, Jane Digby, and volunteered to become King of Greece in order to escape his father's control.

When they were young, the male members of the Wittelsbach family were generally more interested in slightly older women.
But the worst thing is that both parties have no children, which is definitely a big problem in a monarchy.

Although Autto I was ousted in history, the situation would have been very different if he had his own heir.

Even if Otto I could live to a ripe old age with the help of Austria, if he had no heir, the Austrian Empire would have to compete with the great powers for influence over Greece after his death.

This game is likely to become an opportunity for the great powers to suppress Austria. Even if it succeeds, it will result in huge losses and may cause panic among neighboring countries.

In addition, Queen Amalie is very incompetent and often interferes in politics for petty gains, which makes the image of the Greek royal family very bad.

What's even worse is that she also stands on the side of the liberals, advocating the abolition of the death penalty and the implementation of liberal politics, and often does things that trample on the law.

In short, on the one hand, they enjoy the convenience brought by privileges, and on the other hand, they like to talk about freedom and equality, and even use them to build their own personalities and interest groups.

But when the Greek uprising occurred, Amalie herself was swept out like garbage.

Having such a queen can only mean that Otto I is unlucky. As for the issue of succession, either Amalia can give birth to children, or Otto I can only consider changing his wife.

"Cousin, you'd better have your own children."

Franz's words were just a brief reminder, and I believe Otto I understood what he meant.

Franz's Europa Monetary Union was recognized by most countries. The benefits of a unified currency were obvious, and the fact that each country still retained the right to mint coins eliminated the worries of economically weak countries.

However, there was a new controversy about what kind of currency system to implement. At this time, some countries adopted the gold standard, such as Britain and Portugal, some countries adopted the silver standard, such as the United States, Spain, and Saxony, while Austria, France, Prussia, etc. adopted the dual standard of gold and silver.

Anyone familiar with history knows that the gold standard is the future, but at this time only the adoption of a dual gold and silver standard can bridge the differences and achieve an alliance in the short term.

The disadvantages of the gold and silver dual standard are also very obvious. The first is the arbitrage problem caused by price fluctuations.

Since it itself is a product that violates the law of value, according to "Gresham's Law", bad money will drive out good money.

Secondly, in order to deal with this mechanism, or to reduce losses, supervision must be strengthened in order to quickly adjust prices and delay the occurrence of the phenomenon of bad money driving out good money.

But this will also increase the cost of operation and management in disguise, so this model will not last long.

Historically, the French tried their best but only managed to maintain this erroneous system for eight years. Franz had no interest in repeating the mistakes made by the French.