Chapter 1501: The Diplomatic Master
Chapter 1501: The Diplomatic Master
"Yes, Your Highness," Baron Breteuil said, bowing slightly. "Although the Hungarians have not yet formed a government, it is, in essence, already inevitable."
To be honest, Joseph had not expected the situation in Austria to develop so rapidly.
He had originally thought he would have to spend seven or eight years using trade maneuvers in Hungary before he could proceed to the next stage.
However, he quickly understood why.
After all, historically, Austria had always received aid from Britain, which allowed it to barely survive the most difficult post-defeat period.
In this timeline, Austria had been defeated by the Anti-French Coalition even faster than in history. Meanwhile, Britain had suffered devastating losses from France's recent financial offensives. How could they possibly spare the massive funds needed to keep Austria on life support?
Therefore, it was hardly surprising that Austria's internal crisis had erupted ahead of schedule.
Joseph smiled and nodded. "In that case, the problem on the eastern front can be resolved. We won't even have to send a single soldier."
Talleyrand was slightly startled and asked, "Your Highness, if we are not sending troops, what am I going to do there?
"
Joseph swept his gaze across the crowded Senate Chamber, then turned to ask Baron Breteuil, "Are there any other items on the agenda?"
The latter quickly laid several documents before him. "Everything else has been resolved, Your Highness. These are the resolutions."
"Then let's adjourn," Joseph said with a nod.
In diplomatic maneuvers concerning the future of all Europe, the fewer people who knew, the better.
Finance Minister Gaudin hesitated for a moment before carefully rising to ask, "Your Highness, will we still need to prepare funds for this?"
Joseph waved his hand dismissively. "No, we won't spend even a single franc on these matters."
Everyone in the Senate Chamber looked at him in surprise.
From Austria to Russia, half of Europe was in turmoil, yet the Prince Regent claimed he could resolve everything without deploying an army, and without spending a single coin!
If anyone else had said this, they would have mocked them mercilessly. But the Prince Regent's previous, seemingly miraculous maneuvers made them certain that His Royal Highness could indeed pull it off.
Once the senators had departed and the heavy doors of the chamber closed, Talleyrand eagerly asked, "Your Highness, how do you plan to make the Russians abandon their invasion of Poland? Oh, and stabilize the situation in Austria?"
Joseph first had Eman bring him a cup of tea, and then said unhurriedly, "As you likely know, while the Russian offensive appears ferocious, what Russia wants most in reality is to end this war as quickly as possible."
"Indeed, Your Highness," Talleyrand agreed, nodding.
Tsar Alexander I had previously staked everything, going so far as to sacrifice numerous domestic towns and villages to wipe out the main strength of the Polish army.
But under the Prince Regent's masterful strategic deployment, the core strength of the Polish army had been preserved, and they were still fiercely engaged with the Russian forces along the border.
Since the Tsar could not conquer Poland to offset his domestic losses, his financial situation must be in absolute tatters.
Furthermore, Russian tradition dictated that the Tsar could not agree to a peace without securing some minimal gains from the war—otherwise, the furious Russian aristocracy would likely plot a coup d'état to overthrow him.
Russia did not know how much longer Poland could hold out either. Continuing to pour resources into the invasion was a massive gamble, and they might very well collapse before Poland did.
Joseph continued, "If Russia could recoup its war expenses right now and end this war with dignity, what choice do you think the Tsar would make?"
"I believe he would highly likely accept," Talleyrand replied, but then a look of confusion crossed his face. "But what you call 'recouping war expenses'... aside from seizing Polish territory, there doesn't seem to be any other way—"
"Originally, there wasn't," Joseph said, picking up his teacup with a smile. "But now that Hungary has decided to break away from the rule of the House of Habsburg, His Majesty Franz II will foot the bill for the Tsar.
"Furthermore, Russia can seize this opportunity to expand its influence in Central Europe, which would also yield massive political benefits for them.
"Taken together, while this might not fully cover their losses from the war with Poland, it will be more than enough to silence the grumbling nobility."
Talleyrand immediately raised a new concern. "But if the Russian army wants to head to Austria, they must pass through Moldavia. If the Poles attack them—"
Moldavia was situated south of Poland, and the main transit route through Iasi was barely a hundred kilometers from Kamieniec in Poland. If the Polish army were to cut off the Russian retreat after they entered Austria, the Russian forces could very well face total annihilation.
Seeing the Prince Regent merely smiling without a word, Talleyrand immediately realized why the first stop of his diplomatic mission was Warsaw.
The Prince Regent was sending him to persuade Poland not to interfere with the Russian army's passage to Austria to suppress the rebellion.
He nodded slowly.
In truth, Poland's situation was far worse than Russia's. They were a poor nation to begin with, and with most of their territory occupied by the Russians in previous years, their national economic system had long since collapsed.
If France had not provided loans and advanced payments for goods like grain and timber purchased through the Long-Term Agreement Price, Poland would not have been able to afford this Patriotic War at all.
With the Polish army's reckless advance and subsequent heavy losses inside Russian territory, Poland's national strength was now on the very brink of exhaustion.
He believed that as long as he employed his seasoned negotiation skills, the Poles would not refuse an armistice with Russia.
Thus, simply by employing diplomatic maneuvers, France could defuse the Polish crisis and prevent the complete fragmentation of Austria.
Completely won over, Talleyrand rose to accept his orders, but suddenly thought of another issue. "Your Highness, there is one more scenario. Although the probability is low, we must still prepare a contingency plan."
"Please, go on."
"If the Russians insist on fighting Poland—for instance, if the young Tsar arrogantly believes he can swiftly crush Poland—then everything will go back to square one."
Joseph held up two fingers. "First, you can tell the Russians that if they continue to attack Poland, our country will provide full assistance to Warsaw to protect our interests in Poland.
"Second, we can have the British persuade the Tsar."
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