Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 249: Chapter 136, Vienna Peace Conference

Time flew, and the much-anticipated Vienna Peace Conference began. The main actors were, naturally, England, France, and Russia, the three principal nations involved, while there was an abundance of supporting roles—the representatives from various European nations had all arrived.

It was unclear when it started, but whenever a major event occurred on the European Continent, regardless of its relevance to their interests, everyone loved to flock to the scene.

Under the guise of “concern for international politics,” Franz believed this was merely a way to maintain presence and gain the attention of the great powers.

One should not assume that these smaller countries, with little say, had unimportant stances. On the contrary, when the great powers reached a stalemate, the positions of these nations could determine the final outcome.

There were no superpowers in Europe; the disparity in strength among the major powers was not vast, and no nation could truly take on two others, let alone overpower all.

It’s not that the stronger could do what they wanted to the weaker; in reality, the outbreak of war would most likely result in mutual destruction.

The Crimean War taught everyone that modern warfare came with high costs and that the end gain often did not justify the expense.

In the face of harsh reality, attitudes had shifted, and governments strove to avoid conflict with the great powers as much as possible.

Within this context, all parties attended the Vienna conference with sincerity.

The British wanted to quickly extricate themselves from the Near Eastern conflict to re-engage in colonial expansion, as the war had delayed their pace of colonization.

The French were no exception; influenced by the British colonial movement, Napoleon III was very interested in establishing overseas colonies.

The Near Eastern conflict, aside from curtailing Russian expansion, inherently brought no benefits to France. At this point, the struggle for world supremacy was between Britain and Russia; there was no need for France to continue the confrontation.

The Russians were the most eager to end the war; having obtained Constantinople, albeit through underhand deals, Nicholas I didn’t care.

With both political and religious gains secured, the continuation of the war would only further deteriorate the Russian Empire’s finances without any additional benefits.

The current state of the Russian Empire was powerful in appearance but weak internally, rife with contradictions, and the Tsarist Government was in dire need of recuperation.

Not to mention the Ottoman Empire, whose Sultan Government was teetering on the brink; continuation of the war only exacerbated the domestic national uprisings they were facing.

The Montenegro Duchy had no say; even though they fought valiantly and caused significant casualties for the British, that did not grant them any speaking rights.

 

Inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, the conference moderator Metternich spoke solemnly, “Welcome to Vienna. Today’s meeting is convened for the sake of world peace.

Looking at human history, too many wars have erupted, often leading to disaster. In fact, many of these wars were preventable, if only there was more communication and understanding to eliminate many misunderstandings.

 

Metternich was a pacifist, a fact recognized throughout Europe, and advocating for peace was a habit of the “European Chancellor.”

Politicians knew how to put on a show; representatives of various nations began to postulate, and at this moment, it seemed as if everyone was a pacifist.

Once the posturing had been completed and the reporters were asked to leave, the real negotiations began, and the harmonious atmosphere vanished without a trace.

Representing the Ottoman Empire, Fuad took the lead in condemning Russian atrocities:

“This war was wholly instigated by the Russian Empire, and they should bear full responsibility for this conflict…”

Carl-Wassell, Russian Foreign Minister, interrupted Fuad mid-sentence, countering fiercely, “Sir, please mind your words; we are merely reclaiming what was lost.

Constantinople is a sacred site in Christendom; just because you have invaded it for hundreds of years does not entitle you to ownership.

From start to finish, you have been the invaders. We have simply completed the mission the Crusades failed to achieve; do not tarnish this holy and just war.”

By invoking religion, the Ottoman Empire was at a disadvantage. On this issue, England and France did not dare deny that Constantinople was a sacred site in Christendom, nor could they admit to its belonging to the Ottoman Empire.

Even though it had long been recognized by all, during formal negotiations with written records, no one dared to speak it aloud.

Seeing the Ottoman representative trapped from the start, Thomas quickly diverted the topic, “Duke Carl, these historical issues are not something we can clarify with a few words.

 

“There’s no need now to accuse anyone for the war; what’s imperative is to discuss how to end it!”

“No problem,” Foreign Minister Carl-Wassell of Russia replied coldly.

Thomas spoke earnestly, “For world peace and for the stability of the European Continent, I propose that all warring parties revert to the pre-war status and end this needless war!”

With his own interests at stake, Carl-Wassell immediately objected, “Impossible, we absolutely cannot tolerate Constantinople falling into the hands of infidels.”

Unflinchingly, Thomas said, “Please rest assured, Duke Carl, we too will not let Constantinople fall into the hands of infidels.

As a holy site of Christendom, Constantinople should be shared by all Christians. I suggest an international joint administration of Constantinople.”

 

Clearly, this was something the Russians could not accept. How could they easily give up Constantinople after paying such a heavy price to capture it?

Representatives from Britain and Russia began to argue vehemently, and after more than an hour of debate, they still had no results. Surprisingly, the French were merely spectating.

Thomas, who had already sensed something was amiss, acted nonchalant. It wasn’t that he was thick-skinned and feigning ignorance; in reality, he was testing just how far the French-Russian relationship had evolved.

Metternich said with a chuckle, “Gentlemen, it’s time for lunch. How about we continue in the afternoon?”

The negotiations were not going to be so easily resolved. The current dispute was only between Britain and Russia. There were still the conflicts of interest between France and Russia, Britain and France, Austria and the Ottoman Empire…

In addition to mediating the current Near East war, the Vienna Conference had the purpose of establishing a new international order, and many issues were still at hand.

Since the collapse of the Vienna System, the European Continent had experienced a series of upheavals in just a few short years: the Ausa War, the Prussia-Denmark War, the German Unification War, the Near East War.

England, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia were all drawn in, along with the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Bavaria, Montenegro Duchy, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Greek; most of Europe was embroiled in war.

If matters continued as they were, a new European continental war would soon erupt, something nobody wanted.

Fighting each other to death on the European Continent would yield very limited benefits. With nations restraining each other, no one could easily consume the spoils of war.

At this moment, everyone realized the significance of the Vienna System. The call to rebuild it naturally grew louder.

Especially for the many small states in Europe that felt even less secure, they urgently needed a stable order to protect their interests.

Under a common interest in security, Metternich, who had led the establishment of the first Vienna System, was once again pushed to the forefront.

Could the Vienna System be rebuilt? No one could answer that question, but for now, everyone needed a stable international system.

Russia needed to conduct internal social reforms, the United Kingdom, France, and Austria needed to expand their overseas colonies, and the many small states of Europe needed an international order to secure their safety; all required a stable European Continent.

In the evening, the results from the first day of negotiations reached Franz. Unsurprisingly, the British were at a disadvantage in these talks.

What could not be obtained on the battlefield, how could it be simply regained at the negotiating table?

Mao Xiong was not one to be easily bullied, and the French beginning to sidestep facilitated little of the British’s threatening tactics.

Their biggest bargaining chip was now their naval superiority. Should negotiations fail, the Russians’ foreign trade, especially grain exports, would be incapable of proceeding normally.

Grain exports were Russia’s largest source of foreign exchange. Due to the Near East war, grain export trade was disrupted.

To buy strategic materials, the Tsarist Government had to produce large amounts of gold and silver for trade, greatly accelerating the outflow of precious metals and putting severe pressure on their finances.

Although the Russian Empire had long been in a trade deficit, an annual trade deficit of several million rubles was completely different from one of hundreds of millions of rubles.

Russia had mineral wealth; gold and silver were in no short supply, and a deficit of several million rubles was not as much as they mined in a year.

But hundreds of millions of rubles were different. Such an outflow of gold and silver affected the Russian financial market. Mining gold and silver takes time, and it was impossible to cover the loss in the short term.

However, now that the war was over and there was no need to import arms and ammunition from abroad, this kind of trade deficit would quickly decrease. The British threat was not enough to make the Russians yield.