Daming 1805

Chapter 132 The Loose and Flexible Small Alliance

When the four countries of Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal joined forces, the representatives of the other countries were not idle.

Among the representatives of all countries, the most anxious is undoubtedly Austria.

After the Ming Dynasty invaded the Mediterranean Sea, Austria had to face the direct threat of the Ming Navy.

Austria's narrow mouth in the Adriatic Sea is in danger of being directly blocked by the Ming Navy at any time.

Later, Osman and Lucia reconciled with Ming successively and signed a permanent peace treaty, in which Ming promised to support the naval construction of the two countries.

This made Austria feel an unprecedented crisis.

Daming can block the door on the outside, Ottoman can press close in the middle, Lucia can threaten from the rear, and there is an old enemy Prussia in the north.

It's a really frustrating environment.

Archduke Karl, the representative of the Austrian royal family, and the representative of the imperial court, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Philip Stadion, met every day to discuss countermeasures.

When news came that Britain, France, Spain and Portugal had decided to cooperate, the two got together again.

Stadion first explained to Archduke Karl the content of the message he had received:
"Spain and Portugal have decided to sign a 20-year peace treaty, and they will form a new alliance with Britain and France.

"Britain and France hope that we, Prussia, Italy, and even Lucia will join us and continue to fight against Ming.

"So, now there are two options before Austria.

"One is to reconcile with Daming at any cost, and ask Daming to mediate our relationship with Ottoman and Lucia, so as to avoid being surrounded by the two countries.

"The second is to join the alliance of Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. Relying on this new alliance, we will jointly fight against Ming Dynasty and the enemies who stand on Ming Dynasty's side."

Archduke Karl frowned and said with a sad face:
"Reconcile with Daming? Since Daming has already reconciled with Lucia and Ottoman, why should he reconcile with us in Austria?

"Supporting Ottoman and Lucia, plus a Prussian, to carve up our Austria, isn't it good?
"As for this new alliance, it's basically impossible for the Ottomans to join, and the Lucians probably won't join, it's weaker than the current anti-Ming alliance.

"This is actually a colonial war alliance, which was formed because the Ming Dynasty could not occupy their homeland.

"The threats we have to deal with are Lucia and the Ottomans on land, and there is little point in joining this alliance."

Stadion opened his mouth:

"You can go and find out if Daming can continue to support us as promised before the negotiations started."

Grand Duke Karl nodded slightly.

Stadion looked at his deputy, Clemens Metternich, and motioned him to contact him, asking when Shen Fu Shaoqing of Daming would be free.

As a result, the 32-year-old diplomat, Metternich expressed his views on the previous discussion:
"Your Highness, Minister, I think we have a third option."

Archduke Karl and Stadion looked at Metternich at the same time.

This young diplomat has always been quite thoughtful, so he can serve as Stadion's deputy.

Now that he heard the other party speak, he didn't stop him, but wanted to hear his suggestion.

Metternich didn't play tricks with his boss, and directly confessed his thoughts:

"We can refer to the colonial alliance of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, contact the countries threatened by Ottoman, Lucia, and Ming on the mainland of Europa, and form an alliance of native countries of Europa."

When Archduke Karl heard this, he subconsciously asked:

"There are only us, Prussia, and Italy in this kind of country. Do you think our three countries can form an alliance?"

The main ethnic group in the Kingdom of Prussia is the Germans, and in the Stitched Monster Empire of Austria, a quarter of the population is Germans.

The two countries can be regarded as old enemies in the central part of the Western continent.

Prussia's goal is to seize the German area in Austria, incorporate it into Prussia's mainland, and establish a complete German Empire.

At the same time, the areas where other ethnic groups in Austria lived were turned into colonies of the nascent Greater German Empire.

Prussia believed that Austria could not integrate the rest of Austria because the proportion of Germans in Austria was too low.

Most of the native Prussians are Germans, with a larger total population than other ethnic groups in Austria, and they can completely suppress and integrate other ethnic groups in Austria.

This idea of ​​Prussia is almost public, and it is a well-known plan in Prussia and Austria.

To achieve this goal, Prussia must directly destroy the Austrian royal family, and the contradictions between the two countries are theoretically irreconcilable.

As for Sardinia, the northeast territory is bordered by Osli, and the two sides have a long history of territorial disputes.

Metternich knew that his family, Grand Duke Karl, was not good at diplomatic affairs and spoke directly, so he immediately explained to him:

"Your Highness, this is not a big alliance, nor an alliance with a fixed strategy, nor even a stable alliance.

"What we want to establish is a small alliance with a loose structure, changeable strategies, and flexible positions."

Archduke Karl frowned and asked:
"This kind of alliance? Can it be an alliance? Will it work?"

Metternich nodded slightly and said:

"It works because we may have a common threat, Daming, Lucia, Osman.

"We also have a common goal, we all need to choose between Daming and the Anglo-French-Spanish-Portuguese alliance.

"Our alliance can be regarded as born for choices. After we all make choices, we can 'die'.

"But this choice itself, we don't have to rush to make it, and we don't need to make it right away.

"We should maintain an inseparable position for a long time between the Ming-led order and the Anglo-French-Spanish-Portuguese alliance order.

"To put it bluntly, it's the Ming people's strategy of 'both right and left', but none of our three kingdoms has enough confidence to have both sides.

"If our three countries stand together, then we have certain qualifications, so we need to have a loose and small alliance with flexible positions."

Archduke Karl was not stupid, otherwise he would not have become the most famous general in Austria, and gradually understood Metternich's strategy.

This is actually the group buying strategy of later generations. The loose and flexible small alliance is a temporary group, and retail investors group together to increase their bargaining power.

When everyone finished the group, the temporary group will be disbanded.

Grand Duke Karl nodded slightly and said:
"So, we should first contact Prussia and Italy to form this loose and flexible alliance, and then ask Daming about his position."

Metternich nodded with a smile and said:

"So I should go to the Prussians and Italians now?"

Stadion also nodded slowly and said:

"Yes, let's contact them first, let's have an internal meeting first..."

Prussia is now equally anxious.

At the beginning of the peace talks, the state of Prussia's representatives was not easy.

But that's just a state of bitterness and deep hatred that they think their country's environment is too harsh for a long time.

When facing Ming, Prussia is actually the easiest, because it is absolutely impossible for Ming to occupy the mainland of Prussia.

Between Ming Dynasty and Prussia, the Atlantic Ocean and the mainland of Britain and France are separated by sea, and a huge Lucia is separated by land.

There is very little contact between the two parties, and it is difficult to form a deep conflict.

But after Lucia broke up and reconciled with Ming, the pressure on the Prussian representatives rose sharply.

Lucia may go west with all her strength in the future, and Prussia will become the former Lucia in the future, and she will stand against Lucia in the front.

What's more, Prussia also has an old enemy, Austria.

Now Austria proposed to establish a loose "choice" alliance, and Prussia accepted it after two days of consideration.

Because this alliance is really loose enough and flexible enough to withdraw at any time.

As for the Sardinian Italians, they are the one with the least pressure among the three countries, but the pressure also exists, and they are also hesitant to join there.

The ideal choice for the Italians is to reconcile with Ming Dynasty first, obtain a permanent peace treaty, and then see whether to join the alliance of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.

Austria's suggestion does not prevent you from making choices, and it can also increase your own weight, so you joined without much hesitation.

There are indeed contradictions among the three countries, but in the face of other common deadly threats, these contradictions can also be temporarily shelved.

After the establishment of the loose small alliance, Metternich became the representative of this small alliance and contacted Ming Dynasty.

After Shen Fu figured out the other party's intentions, he was a little surprised and helpless, and then reported to Zhu Jingyuan.

After Zhu Jingyuan understood it, he muttered in surprise:

"That is to say, the meaning of the three countries, if we want to reconcile, we will reconcile with the three countries.

"At the same time we cannot support Lucia, Ottomans attacking their country.

"Finally, I hope Daming can provide them with technical support."

Shen Fu seemed a little dumbfounded and said:

"This group of Xiyi is too timid, and they still want to support each other to increase their weight..."

Zhu Jingyuan shook his head with a smile and sighed:
"We were planning to sign a permanent peace treaty with the three countries.

"They are all in the western mainland, and we promised not to occupy the western mainland.

"Although our Ming Dynasty is also strong compared to the entire Taixi, maintaining the internal balance of power in the Taixi continent is also a natural choice.

"After we remove the threat of Lucia, we will not support them to dismember Austria.

"Our future enemies are the four colonial countries of Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal that are being connected in series, and they are their colonies.

"So you can promise them Austria, Prussia, and Italy, lest they go to the British."

Zhu Jingyuan did not know the content of the secret talks between Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.

But the fact that they are connecting with each other and communicating intensively cannot be concealed.

After all, Cape Xiyang is Daming's Huangzhuang, and the representatives from the Western countries live in houses arranged by Daming.

Although their internal guards and servants were all brought by themselves, the external guards were all Ming's.

If several countries want to communicate in private, it is impossible for them to escape Daming's sight.

Shen Fu nodded slightly, and then reminded:
"Even if we are willing to reconcile with them, it should not be given unconditionally, and the other party should also pay an appropriate price.

"They have no more colonies to show, and we can demand compensation, open markets, patent protection and other conditions."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly after listening:
"Well, that's right, let the accounting personnel do the calculations and evaluate how much is appropriate.

"It won't put too much burden on the other party, and at the same time, it won't underestimate these costs."

A few days later.

On June 34th, the 25th year of Taiping in the Ming Dynasty, representatives from all parties gathered again at the Wenhua Palace in Huangzhuang, Western Cape.

After Zhu Jingyuan announced the start of the talks, he looked directly at the representatives of Britain and France, and asked meaningfully:
"So the three of us still have to discuss the terms of permanent peace?"

British Prime Minister Pete and French Foreign Minister Talleyrand also understood Zhu Jingyuan's meaning. After looking at each other, Pete said:

"Let's talk about it, but before that, I actually want to know how to solve the Tianzhu issue between Britain and Daming?"

Zhu Jingyuan was obviously taken aback when he heard this question, he sighed in surprise and asked back:

"Is it possible that Prime Minister Pete doesn't understand this question?"

In fact, Pete has fully understood that no matter what terms Britain offers in exchange, Daming will not accept it.

Ming Dynasty will definitely not sign a permanent peace treaty with Britain, and will definitely wait until 20 years later to seize South Tianzhu by force again.

But Pete deliberately pretended to be stupid and asked, just to let Daming show his domineering and unreasonable behavior again before the formal negotiation started.

Strengthen the memory of the representatives of other countries, and improve their understanding of the actual threat of Ming Dynasty, so that they can win the alliance again.

So Pete shook his head directly at this time and said:
"I really don't understand, so please speak clearly, Your Highness."

Zhu Jingyuan said somewhat dispiritedly:
"Prime Minister Pete is a master at pretending to be confused.

"The complete withdrawal of the British forces from the entire Little Western Ocean, including South Tianzhu, is the condition for Ming and Britain to truly enjoy peace forever!

"My king knew that Britain would definitely not accept it, so he didn't raise it.

"Why does Prime Minister Pete insist on my king speaking out now?"

There has always been only one real permanent peace condition between Ming Dynasty and the British, or in other words, the real permanent peace condition for all Taixi people.

That is, all Taixi people completely return to Taixi and Mozhou.

But this kind of condition is meaningless to say, this is a goal that may not be achieved in the next war.

So Zhu Jingyuan deliberately lowered the conditions verbally.

Anyway, even if it is the condition of handing over South Tianzhu, it is impossible for the British to accept it.

Pete was a little stunned when he heard this, and soon understood Zhu Jingyuan's intentions, and then he was really helpless, and the British really couldn't accept it.

It is really impossible for Britain to hand over South Tianzhu for no reason.

It's not that Nan Tianzhu cannot be traded, but Daming must pay a sufficient price.

For example, Nanmozhou, for example, Xintianfu.

So Pete laughed dryly and shook his head:

"Your Highness is the master at pretending to be confused. If that's the case, let's talk about the conditions of the 20-year peace clause. What is Daming's request?"

Zhu Jingyuan has long considered:

"I have three options here for the UK to choose from.

"First, cede the land from the Florida area to the banks of the Honey River.

"Second, give up the development and claim of all the land on the west bank of the Mihe River in Northern Yinzhou.

"Third, compensation of 2000 million Daming gold notes, that is, one thousand tons of gold, can be paid in ten years."

Pete frowned, and quickly assessed the difference between the three options in his heart.

Ceding Florida is tantamount to opening the North Atlantic coastline to Ming Dynasty, which is absolutely unacceptable.

It is also impossible to directly abandon the development of the west bank of the Mihe River.

The final compensation of 2000 million Daming gold notes is almost 4000 million when converted into British pounds.

Basically, it is the fiscal revenue of the UK for one year now.

Da Ming obviously chose this number on purpose.

Compensation is possible, but it cannot be paid directly according to Daming's request.

However, Zhu Jingyuan seemed to have seen through Pete's mind, and after a pause, he directly added:
"Since you are all ready to sign a 20-year contract, I will not have room to bargain with you.

"You either accept it or continue the war, don't waste your words in vain."

After Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, he did not wait for Pete to respond, and looked directly at Talleyrand of France:
"France's permanent peace condition is to hand over the entire Yinzhou colony, which is obviously impossible for you to accept.

"As for the 20-year peace conditions, either sell Xinfa Island (Newfoundland), or pay compensation of 1000 million Daming gold notes.

"Again, don't haggle with me..."

Daming had no expectations for the permanent peace between Britain and France.

The land of the two countries is strong, and Ming is unable to occupy the other's land for the time being, so it has nothing to fear.

It is absolutely impossible for Britain to give up South India, and it is impossible for France to give up the colony of Northern Yinzhou. There is no need to discuss permanent peace.

But on the other hand, Daming became more confident towards them, and of course he didn't give them any good looks.

In the worst case, we will continue to fight in the air, and the colonies will continue to maintain a state of war. What should the mainland do?

(End of this chapter)