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

Chapter 1229 Mixed joys and sorrows
When the bell rang, ambassadors from various countries immediately returned to their original positions. Except for a few "seriously injured", the worst hit was Prussian Foreign Minister Franz Eichmann. At such an old age, someone stuffed a live fish into the old man's mouth, and his eyes rolled back.

The injured were immediately carried away for treatment. The doctors on standby at the Confederate headquarters were no longer surprised by these strange injuries.

"The French don't count. Diplomacy requires negotiation. We can talk about anything except issues of principle. Louis Napoleon wants to protect the immigrants' people and property, so he needs to give us some compensation.

If the French can’t afford it, that’s their problem, not ours. And those Texans should be free to be French citizens of the Second Republic or something else.”

Franz's words simply kicked the ball back and turned the passive situation into the active one. What he didn't say clearly was that Texans could be from the Second French Republic, Alsace-Lorraine, or Fribourg.

Louis Napoleon wanted to disgust Franz, and Franz could also disgust Louis Napoleon.

Prince Metternich was very good at negotiation and immediately summoned the French ambassador after receiving a response from his country.

"Your country wants to extradite the Texas survivors and return them to their country. We can understand that and are willing to provide humanitarian support."

French Foreign Minister Alexis de Tocqueville immediately exclaimed in delight.

“So when can our country carry out extradition?”

Prince Metternich smiled.

"Don't worry. We are willing to provide humanitarian assistance, but we still have to settle the accounts. There are nearly 200,000 French people in Texas, and the property they hold should have originally belonged here.

However, we are willing to negotiate with your country. As long as your country pays the compensation and takes the people and goods away, we will not stop it."

Tocqueville felt like banging his head against the wall at this point. The Second French Republic was basically an empty shell, so there was no money to deal with these overseas remnants.

And that's not compensation, it's clearly a ransom!
Although Tocqueville kept complaining in his heart, he really didn't dare to lose his temper.

Not to mention the actual situation faced by both sides, the theories of the French Revolution simply do not work in a monarchy. In the eyes of the other side, he is the unreasonable one.

As a member of the Party of Order, Tocqueville was not liked by Louis Napoleon, and the former did not want to be the latter's accomplice in destroying the Party of Order.

"I have received your request and I will pass it on to the President for his decision."

Metternich also smiled. The "young man" in front of him was very smart.

"Then I wish you a safe journey."

Tocqueville bowed and left. Metternich looked at the scenery outside the window and still felt a sense of unreality.

In a storm like that of 1848, no one knew the view at the center of the storm better than Metternich, and even a seasoned diplomat like him was ruthlessly thrown to the ground.

It is hard to imagine how that emperor survived, with all the internal and external troubles erupting at the same time, and even the original allies wanted to stab him in the back.
Will there be sunshine after the storm? But why are the dark clouds in the sky still there? What is coming?
Metternich shook his head, dispelling his confused thoughts. He once thought that everything was over after he was exiled to North America.

Unexpectedly, this was just a kind of protection from His Majesty the Emperor. Here he could still continue to be his prime minister and give full play to his light and heat. The situation in America was also very complicated, but the opponents were more than one level lower than those in Europe. The diplomats from Mexico and the United States could not be called diplomats at all. It would be more appropriate to call them small traders.

At this time, the Austrian Empire occupied all of California and Nevada, and there were also a large number of farms, mines, and fisheries in Mexico, with hundreds of thousands of Mexicans serving the empire.

The development speed of the Central American colonies is also very encouraging, with the population growth rate and return on investment increasing year by year.

Texas is even more of a treasure land. The agriculture here will greatly alleviate the cotton shortage problem in Austria and even the whole of Germany.

The vast pastures and countless bison ensure that there is no shortage of meat here. If it can be transported back to the mainland, it will greatly improve the local living standards.

However, behind this prosperity were hidden dangers. Tassan Anna's rule in Mexico was not stable, and the Austrian Empire was, after all, just a tenant.

If the Mexicans one day want to take back their land, will hundreds of thousands of Austrians seek asylum in Texas?
And Tasan Anna was undoubtedly a fool. Although he relied on the Austrian Empire, he always wanted to weaken Austria's influence in Mexico.

In addition, some of Franz's decisions offended the Americans. Instead of satisfying their ambitions, the Americans became even more insatiable because of jealousy.

In the past, when France was a powerful enemy, the three parties might have been able to unite. But now that this powerful enemy is gone, can the two outsiders, Austria and the German Confederation, really gain a foothold?

Will the United States and Mexico join forces to deal with me like they did with the French?
Metternich didn't know. He was just a politician and didn't know much about war. He only knew that fighting one against two was more likely to win than fighting one against two.

Of the two countries, Mexico is poor and weak, so it is naturally easier to win over, but he did not choose to overly stimulate the United States. After all, businessmen will be more rational during negotiations.

The problem with the Central American colonies was that the population was too mixed and there were too few Austrians. Although the natives were driven into the mountains, with the support and tip-offs of the local whites, it was not easy to exterminate them or drive them out of the country.

Franz had previously tried to send the natives to Mexico as laborers, but the Mexicans were unwilling to accept them, and the natives were unwilling to go. The cost of forcibly sending the natives to Mexico was too high, so the plan was ultimately abandoned.

Texas is indeed a Feng Shui treasure land with a vast territory, rich resources, developed agriculture and a high degree of development.

The French have indeed put a lot of effort into this land. Judging from the logs left in the French Governor's Office, every governor except Guizot was a man of action.

Their policies were so effective that even the indigenous problems that plagued the entire American continent were solved by the French. They really wanted to turn this place into a new France.

The problem with the indigenous peoples of the Americas is not how strong the Indians are, but that the land of North America is too vast, and the time and energy required for security battles will increase exponentially.

To give an inappropriate example, Franz mobilized more than half of the country's troops to eliminate the Hungarian horse bandits, which took nearly a year.

The area of ​​Texas is 7.5 times that of Hungary, so one can imagine the energy and money the French spent on this.

At this point, Metternich had to mention the hidden danger facing Texas, that is, how could France, having paid such a huge price, easily give up this place.

At this time, the hundreds of thousands of French in Texas were the biggest hidden danger. It would not be a bad thing if the French could really take them away.

Thanks to book friend Zhan Wuliang for the reward.