Chapter 408: Chapter 95, Article 66
 

The European arms race had begun, and negotiations between France and Austria were drawing to a close. Napoleon III wished to establish a Greater French Empire, while Franz aimed to construct a Great Roman Empire. Each party had its own calculations.

Without a doubt, a strategic clash between France and Austria seemed almost inevitable. However, the time for conflict was definitely not now.

Before their empires were established, France and Austria remained allies, needing to join forces to share the international pressure. This was a cooperative endeavor akin to conspiring with a tiger for its skin.

On June 6, 1866, the Foreign Minister Weisenberg of the New Holy Roman Empire and the French Foreign Minister Abraham signed the alliance treaty known as the “66 Treaty”.

The content of the treaty included: 1. France and the New Holy Roman Empire officially formed an alliance with a ten-year term;

2. The two countries mutually recognized each other’s spheres of influence, based primarily on the areas they actually controlled;

3. Austria agreed to sell its overlordship of the Italian States such as the Two Sicilies, the Papal State, Tuscany, etc., to France for 20 million Divine Shields (250 million Francs);

4. France agreed to sell the French Balkans to Austria for 200 million Francs (16 million Divine Shields) and to sell the colony in the cross-section of the two countries in West Africa to the New Holy Roman Empire for 50 million Francs;

5. Austria consented to France’s annexation of areas such as Belgium, the Two Sicilies, the Papal State, Tuscany, etc., and as a consequence, France agreed not to interfere in Austria’s unification of the Germany Region; (Controversial territories were temporarily set aside)

6. The two countries divided spheres of influence across the African Continent:

The French acquired most areas of North Africa and parts of West Africa;

(Note: Mainly parts of the current Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Chad, and some territories of Sudan…)

The New Holy Roman Empire acquired most of West Africa and Central Africa, as well as parts of North Africa and South Africa;

(Mainly parts of the current: Libya, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Central Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Chad, and some territories of Sudan…)

Note: Regarding the portions of East Africa and most parts of South Africa not yet included within the spheres of influence of either country, the land would belong to whichever country claimed it first and both would mutually recognize each other’s expansion of their spheres of influence in the African Continent.

…

Without a doubt, the “66 Treaty” was full of compromises and uncertainties, the alliance was only set for ten years, and both parties were mentally prepared to part ways in the future.

The core contention, the Rhineland region, was not explicitly agreed upon in the treaty, laying the ground for potential future disputes between the two countries.

Of course, there were no verbal agreements in the treaty either. It was basically a matter of ‘to the victor belong the spoils.’ In other words, whoever had the strongest fist would take ownership.

To determine specifics would have to wait until either the French Empire was built or the Germany Region was firstly unified—that would be the time to resolve the issue.

For Franz, this treaty meant more than just sharing diplomatic pressures with the French—it was also about the division of interests in the African Continent. France and Austria each staked their claims to a third of the continent.

Had it not been for the lack of strength of both countries in East Africa and the South African region, they might well have split the African Continent directly, adding a five to two and one.

Claiming the land was just an agreement as the African Continent was no small place, even if one-third amounted to more than ten million square kilometers.

Franz had sent so many settlers there, yet the actual controlled area in the African Continent did not exceed five million square kilometers—the rest was just nominal rule.

As for the French, it was even less said—despite Napoleon III’s massive relocation of people from the Balkan Peninsula, the immigrants in the French African colonies barely exceeded a million. Controlling the coastal areas was feasible, but any further advance was improbable.

Austria’s colonization was somewhat better, and even though there were colonial outposts from various countries, they did not pose a significant challenge and could be cleared out without much difficulty.

The French had their work cut out for them. For instance, in the Egypt Area, had the British consented? And in regards to the Moroccan Area, they had to ask if both the Spaniards and John Bull agreed.

The decision not to partition East Africa and the South African region for the time being was somewhat justifiable. It was easy for the French to sign a treaty, but without the power to make it a reality, the treaty would be a mockery.

The partition of the African Continent between France and Austria was just a mutual fantasy behind closed doors. In reality, without kicking the British, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch out, this plan was impossible to achieve.

For Franz, the Dutch could be ignored, and the Spaniards, too, as their sphere of influence in the African Continent was limited and irrelevant to the New Holy Roman Empire.

The treaty alternated between naming Austria and the New Holy Roman Empire because of European tradition; otherwise, there would be no legal effect.

The overlordship of the Italian States was under Austria, despite this being a general consensus. However, now that the French had acknowledged it, purchase from Austria was necessary.

Similarly, Franz was preparing to incorporate the French Balkans into Austria, so Austria itself would need to pay, or other Sub-States would take issue with it.

And if the colonies were to belong to the New Holy Roman Empire, it would naturally be the Central Government that would allocate funds to purchase them. Even though for Franz, it was a matter of transferring funds from one hand to another, the proper legal procedures still had to be followed.

All the Sub-States within the empire were benefiting from the colonies, so the cost of colonization naturally had to be shared by everyone.

After localization of the African Colony, there would be even more problems to encounter, and it was necessary to clarify these systems now.

For this treaty, Franz was quite satisfied. Austria had long lost control over the Italian States, or rather, it had never genuinely been in control.

If he were to annex the Italian Area, within ten years, Austria would turn into a version of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, appropriately called ‘the Austria-Italy Empire’.

Understand that the Italian Area had a population of over twenty-five million people, united by culture and tradition, which highlighted the enormous difficulty of assimilation, as Franz had already experienced.

Years have passed, and Lombardy-Venetia still retains a strong Italian flavor, in contrast to other regions of Austria, which have mostly changed under the influence of German culture.

There is no helping it; teaching them German and German writing is easy—just send the children to school. But erasing the local customs and culture requires a lot of time.

No matter how you look at it, with each generation, the Italian imprint fades a bit. Based on the current pace, it would take another two or three generations for the Austrian Italian Region to essentially complete ethnic integration.

And many of the other ethnic groups within Austria have already become Teutons.

For example, Czech culture was assimilated long ago; apart from the language and script being different, influenced by the nobility, local life and customs are no different from the Teutons. Now that language and script are unified, the last issue no longer exists.

Since Franz is unable to do anything about the more than twenty million Italians, he can only send them to plague the French. Regardless of how much stronger the French Empire becomes in the short term, as long as France and Italy are united, they will inevitably follow in the footsteps of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Don’t look now, but the total population of France has already reached over forty-four million as a result of annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia, bringing in over six million people. France’s main ethnic groups now include the French, Corsicans, people of Breton, and Italians.

Only the French, Corsican, and Breton people have already completed ethnic integration, while the newly joined Italians stand out as incompatible.

If a few more Italian States are annexed, then the primary ethnic group in Napoleon III’s Greater French Empire will become the Italians.

This issue probably doesn’t concern him. With the Emperor himself being of Italian descent, would it really be a problem if Italians become the predominant ethnic group?

Talking about this problem is premature; for Napoleon III, the biggest issue right now is how to annex these Italian States, not the troubles that will follow the annexation.

Direct absorption is impossible; the nations of Europe will not stand by and let such a thing happen. France isn’t the Shinra Empire, capable of adding a few sub-state seats.

Legally speaking, the Kingdom of Sardinia is still an independent country; they are a co-kingdom with the French, not a part of France.

Even though the Paris Government controls the Kingdom of Sardinia’s internal affairs and foreign relations, this fact cannot be changed. It is a long and arduous task for the French to seek the merger with the Kingdom of Sardinia.

What Napoleon III is thinking, Franz still doesn’t know. However, the plan for the annexation of the Italian states has already been prepared by Franz.

When the conditions are ripe, it will appear in the hands of Napoleon III. The method is very simple: first, establish an Italian federation, let the Italian States join it, and then form a new Federal Empire with France.

Does this sound very familiar? Yes, it’s specially designed by Franz, taking the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a reference for Napoleon III.

After all, without experience, nobody knows how problematic a Dual Empire can be. Just like in the original timeline, the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was considered the great revival of the Habsburg dynasty.

Moreover, Napoleon III has no legal inheritance of the Italian regions, very few civilian supporters, and now he can only ascend by force, which poses an even greater hidden danger.

Prime Minister Felix said anxiously, “Your Majesty, we have acquired the French Balkans, but there are a series of problems to deal with next. If not handled properly, it may even bring bigger troubles.

The Russian-Austrian secret treaty has clear stipulations, and back then, the current French Balkans were designated for the Russians. Even though we bought it from the French, the explicit terms of the treaty are also troublesome.

Especially the Dardanelles Strait, which the Russians have long coveted. Right now, they are preoccupied with the Prusso-Russian War, so perhaps they won’t say anything, but in the future, these are hidden issues in Russian-Austrian relations.”

Annexing the French Balkans is certainly a good thing for Austria. Not only has a thorn in the side been removed, but influence has also extended to the Aegean Sea region.

However, the consequent troubles are not small. Austria acts as the gatekeeper of Europe, blocking Russians in the Black Sea. The Russian-Austrian Alliance is bound to be undermined.

With ambitious France and troublemaker John Bull to the west, and opposing the Russians to the east, Austria’s future days are not going to be easy.

Franz said nonchalantly, “No matter, this is our transaction with the French. If the Russians are interested in these regions, they can pay for them—the price is ten times as much.

We can also accept a land exchange if the Tsarist Government is so keen on entering the Mediterranean. Let them pay the appropriate price! The Foreign Ministry can make contact with the Russians, and apart from the Polish Region, we are open to other regions that border our territory.”

That’s absurd. If the Tsarist Government were that affluent, they would have taken the entire Balkan Peninsula in one go after the Prussian war ended last year.

At that time, the Polish region was not lost, and most of the military supplies could be locally sourced, with waterways connecting to Austria, so logistics were not a problem. As long as they were willing to spend the money, a million-strong army could have steamrolled Prussia early on.

Without money, land swaps are the only option. It may look like the Russians have a large empire, but apart from Russia Poland, they only border Western Ukraine. This is almost a blatant signal to the Russians that they are eyeing the West Ukrainian Region.

The specifics of how the land swap will take place and whether the Tsarist Government agrees are not the point. Anyway, for the past twenty years, the Russians have not been likely to make a comeback.

Twenty years is enough to change many things. By then, Austria’s Africa Strategy will be nearly complete, and if no accidents occur, the French will have fallen into the trap.

With some luck, the French might even collapse on their own. Napoleon III, nearing sixty, is already in poor health, and in the original timeline, he died in 1873. How much longer he could live is a question mark.

He has many illegitimate children, but only one legitimate son. Born in 1856, if Napoleon III doesn’t live a few more years, his son will not have the ability to control the empire.

A Dual Empire is not something ordinary people can handle. Without sufficient prestige and skill to suppress opposition, problems will arise as soon as they are spoken.

Located in the Revolutionary Paris, an area where any slight movement could trigger revolution, a young monarch would be a disaster.

Even without a disaster, one could be artificially created, for example by supporting Italian independence or if an unexpected France-Austria war suddenly breaks out.

If France is brought down and the threat of fighting on two fronts is removed, then Russia and Austria could truly get along…