Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Napoleon III and Prime Minister Olivier also cast their gaze northward in Paris.

Napoleon III: "Find a way to stop them, otherwise the French Empire will encounter the most powerful enemy on the European continent."

Olivier: "Your Majesty, the Russian Empire has had the same idea as us, and the two countries are opening channels of communication, but"

Napoleon III glanced at Olivier with dissatisfaction and said: "But what? Just tell me what you have, don't hide it."

Olivier said carefully: "The Russian ambassador to France has made a request to our French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking the French Empire to help negotiate peace talks with the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire."

at the same time.

Tsarist Russia, St. Petersburg.

Alexander II asked Gorchakov: "Why do we need to call France to mediate our relations with Britain in the Balkans?"

Minister of War Mikhailovich and Minister of Navy Grand Duke Nikolayevich also looked at Gorchakov, Prime Minister of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Gorchakov said: "Because France used to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers, but now it can no longer sustain it. France, which used to be arrogant, is at risk of being crushed in front of the Germanic countries. Tsarist Russia's proactive overtures , to give the face-saving Napoleon III a step down, the Russian Empire will be the best partner under the current situation."

Grand Duke Nikolayevich frowned and said: "But in this case, the Russian Empire will probably need to rely more on France for a period of time in the future."

Gorchakov wisely said: "Since the Crimean War, the Tsarist Empire's diplomacy has been facing embarrassment from all sides. In fact, the German fever summit has become an opportunity for us."

"What opportunity?" Alexander II couldn't help but ask.

French Empire, Paris.

Napoleon III asked: "You mean the Russian Empire has many benefits. What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, the Russian Empire may have really taken advantage of this situation and gained huge benefits, and it may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this summit," Olivier sighed.

Napoleon III's dissatisfaction showed on his face.

Prime Minister Olivier explained to Napoleon III: "The Russian Empire was almost isolated in Europe because of the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856. Even its original ally, Joseph I of the Austrian Empire, claimed to be a neutral country and had no help. The Russian Empire instead sent troops to the border between the two countries, causing Nicholas I to commit suicide due to defeat.

As a result, the two countries have deteriorated to a freezing point, which has left Tsarist Russia alone.

For more than ten years, Alexander II, who succeeded to the throne in 1856, has been carrying out domestic reforms, contacting the liberated labor force from serfdom, and promoting the industrial development of Tsarist Russia. At the same time, he also tried to improve the relationship between the Tsarist Russian Empire and other countries in Europe and the world. , but because the United Kingdom blocked its efforts and ultimately failed, the Netherlands was surprised. Because the Netherlands had invested in Tsarist Russia for hundreds of years, Tsarist Russia became a competition place for Dutch capital and markets.

Coupled with the many marriages between Prussia and Tsarist Russia, people of Prussian origin became many official advisors in the Tsarist Russian government. In the 1950s, many important positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were even occupied by Prussians. However, with Gore After Chakov was summoned back by Alexander II to accept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he began the policy of depopularization and finally completed the Slavification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After becoming prime minister, it further accelerated the renovation of the Slavic-dominated government in Tsarist Russia.

This united Tsarist Russia even more. Just like the Balkan Peninsula War, without the concerns of Prussian officials, the Tsarist Russian Empire, which was twisted into a rope by Gorchakov, actually resisted the British-Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire. challenge, which surprised many people.

Your Majesty, the Tsarist Empire did win the early stage of the Balkan War, but it also offended Berlin and made it even more isolated.

Therefore, the Lincoln administration, which has been working hard some time ago, obviously wants to establish alliances outside Europe.

With such a small group of Germans, Tsarist Russia and France had the same interests. Haha, I estimate that the Russian Empire has not only made a request for mediation to us, but other countries such as Italy and Spain may have also become targets of the Russian Empire. Tsarist Russia wants to use this to directly improve relations with Southern Europe. "

Not only the Russian Empire and the French Empire are paying close attention to the Germanic Heads of State Summit that is about to start in Sweden, but even the countries in the Americas have stopped and set their sights on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe.

Countries in southern Europe are even more complicated looking north.

If this meeting is successfully held and the result is to ease the tension between various Germanic countries, it will be an invisible disaster for all countries, because these countries are too powerful and are like the hanging ceiling in ancient Greek legends. Like the Sword of Damocles, a force from Northern Europe showed its huge strength to all parts of the world. If they disagree with each other, it will be like the end of the world to other countries in the world.

Among them, Louis I of Portugal felt completely uncomfortable about this, because just before, Portugal and the Netherlands had a stalemate that led to a war. Although the relationship between the two countries has eased now, it was just a formality. The hatred between the two countries was because of Africa. The colonial war worsened the relationship between the two countries to the point of almost hating the local people. Therefore, in South America, Brazil and Argentina now dominate South America. The two countries also hold their own positions and continue to compete.

Prime Minister Barreto is also very dignified.

“The most proud nation in Europe today must be the Germans. Judging from their physical appearance, the Germans have sharp blue eyes, golden hair, a burly figure, and long hair.

This is different from us Latins in southern Europe. The Germans are almost a head taller than us Latins, and every time they negotiate, they tie their long hair on top of their heads, which makes us look even shorter. Perhaps it is their usual strategy of attacking people's hearts, as is the case with Britain and other countries. "

Seeing that Louis I was not impressed, Barreto continued:

"And compared to other ethnic groups, the Germanic people have a formidable habit, that is, from ancient times to the present day, the Germanic people have almost inherited long beards and long hair that they never cut off."

A nearby minister, a Brazilian immigrant, asked, "Why don't they cut it off?"

Louis I also showed curiosity.

Barreto: "Because they have a terrible custom, that is, they need to wait until they kill an enemy with their own hands, then they will shave off their beards, then stand on the enemy's corpse, reveal their faces for the first time, and show their Started adult life”

Hearing this, Louis I trembled all over. Is this the case?