War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Distribution of the Royal Navy and the number of main ships

The North Sea Fleet has 35 battleships, including 10 first-class battleships, 10 second-class battleships, and 15 third-class battleships.

The Mediterranean Fleet has 31 battleships, including 1 first-class battleship, 4 second-class battleships, and 26 third-class battleships.

The West African Fleet has 17 battleships, including 1 second-class battleship and 16 third-class battleships.

The Indian Ocean Fleet has 25 battleships, including 1 first-class battleship, 2 second-class battleships, and 22 third-class battleships.

The South American Fleet has 8 battleships, all of which are third-tier battleships.

The West Indies has 5 battleships, including one second-tier battleship and four third-tier battleships.

The Atlantic Fleet has 10 battleships, including 1 second-tier battleship and 9 third-tier battleships.

The Pacific Fleet has 6 battleships, all of which are third-class battleships.

The Cape Fleet has 5 battleships, including 1 second-tier battleship and 4 third-tier battleships.

When the full picture of the British Royal Navy emerged, whether it was the Grand Eastern Fleet (25 ships) that the French were proud of, or the Russian Black Sea Fleet (40 ships), they were all eclipsed.

Austrian Adriatic Fleet (21 battleships, including captured Egyptian ships).

The British Royal Navy will be permanently stationed on Crete, which will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Austria, France and Russia, which are spying on Mediterranean hegemony.

The treaty signed between the British and the Ottomans was also clearly written, and its overwhelming naval power made people dare not refute it. At this time, Helmut's fiasco was forgotten like an insignificant episode, replaced by awe of British maritime supremacy.

Everything that Britain lost before was regained today. Of course, this will not satisfy these Anglo-Saxons. The British Royal Navy will hand over all ten captured Egyptian warships to the Ottoman Empire.

Ever since, the finger was pointed at the Austrian Empire again.

"Your Excellency, I think your country should return the captured warships and prisoners of war. What do you think?"

As soon as these words came out, the temperature in the venue dropped sharply.

Everyone felt that a catastrophe was imminent for Austria. Britain had both a strength advantage and a moral advantage. If it surrendered its fleet, the Ottoman Empire would have 29 battleships, which could completely compete with the French Grand Eastern Fleet and the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Compete with each other.

Then everything is back to where it started. There is no substantial loss for other powers. Perhaps it is enough to sacrifice Austria's interests. Obviously the Austrian Empire has been isolated.

Going your own way will inevitably arouse the resentment of the great powers, but if you give up the Austrian Navy, you may never get ahead.

Metternich now began to regret that he had placed all his treasure on the British. He always thought that as long as he obeyed the British in everything, he could gain their trust.

Historically, Metternich desperately followed the footsteps of Britain during the Turkish-Egyptian War. As a result, he lost both his people and money, and Vienna changed from a conference capital to a club capital.

For a gambler, it is common to make wrong bets. The key to becoming a master lies in being able to stop losses in time.

Obviously Metternich was such a master. When Napoleon's empire was at its peak, he chose to let Francis II marry his daughter to seek peace.

After Napoleon defeated Russia, Metternich immediately cut his losses and beat the sinking dog, and successfully established the Vienna System after the war, maintaining the dignity of the Austrian Empire for nearly thirty years.

"I think there is a problem with your wording. Those are the spoils of our country. It was the Austrian Empire that rescued those craftsmen, not captured them. If any of them are willing to return to Egypt, we will not force them to stay."

There is no doubt that Metternich did not intend to hand over the fleet, because after being betrayed repeatedly by the British, he finally decided to completely change his original expectations and instead used stop loss as a new strategy for the Austrian side to continue the talks, "Maybe Archduke Franz is right." He thought in his heart.

"The British cannot be an ally. They can only be business partners at most. If this partner does not abide by the rules, the best thing to do is to fight back." Franz said this about Britain.

"Your Excellency, I think you should consider peace in the Near East. Those fleets do not belong to Austria in the first place. They are the property of the Ottoman Empire. If the Ottoman Empire can regain the warships captured by our country and your country, then the power of the Mediterranean region will Restore balance.”

Faced with Metternich's tough attitude, Canning softened first, because what the British Parliament asked for was to rebalance the power in the Mediterranean region, not to let him provoke another war.

Although the language was still strong, from the subtle changes in tone, body movements, etc., Metternich had noticed that the other party was not completely sure, so he answered even more forcefully.

"Then it would be better to hand over all General Helmut's fleet and General Simond's fleet to the Ottoman Empire, and at the same time limit the number of warships in each country, so that the maritime power in the Mediterranean can truly be balanced."

Canning was immediately rendered speechless.

If the British really handed over the two fleets to the Ottoman Empire, there is no doubt that Russia would lose its Black Sea hegemony. Restricting the number of warships was undoubtedly a fatal blow to France, which was prospering on the colonial road at this time.

The Ottomans would be very happy, at least they could extend the life of their empire for another few decades.

Although Metternich did not say it explicitly, he evoked the deepest fears in Russia and France.

Although Neserlov and Guizot were both pro-British, they also knew the consequences if British power continued to expand in the Near East.

The Ottomans were Britain's little brother at this time. The stronger the former, the harder it would be for the great powers to benefit from it. However, the British are an exception because they have the strongest industry and the closest relationship with the Ottomans.

The Austrians' possession of the "Egyptian heritage" will not cause damage to the stability of the region. On the contrary, if the Ottomans obtain the "Egyptian heritage" and with the support of the British, it will be easy to break the balance in the Near East and even the Mediterranean region. matter.

The great powers began to discuss countermeasures one after another. Upon seeing this, Canning quickly changed his strategy, avoiding Metternich's sharp edge and throwing another sweet date.

"If the Austrian Empire is willing to hand over its fleet, the Ottoman Empire is willing to exchange the province of Tripoli."

Of course, if he were replaced by Palmerston, he would definitely use his own advantages to threaten Austria with war, and Metternich might not be able to deal with it easily.

But Canning does not have Palmerston's courage. At the same time, he is also a person with a bottom line, unlike the latter who can use all his strength to achieve his goals without any scruples.

Tripoli has been introduced before. After the slave trade was banned, it was considered a bad land at this time, and it was close to Egypt. It was actually not controlled by the Ottoman Sultan for a long time.

The sent sultan became the emperor of the country, and only paid a symbolic tax every year, which had become a big problem.

Franz knew the value of Tripoli, but people at the time did not know it, including Prince Metternich.

"Exchanging a desert for a fleet? Unless the yellow sand there turns into gold." Metternich had a tough attitude.

"But your country agreed to exchange prisoners of war..." Canning said.

"Our country agreed to return prisoners of war, but it did not say that it would return weapons. Will your country also return weapons to prisoners when they release them?"

As soon as Metternich said this, he was unanimously approved by the ambassadors of various countries. This was not because what he said made sense, but because it was in their interests for Austria to win.

The title is wrong. If you can't change it, let's make do with it. It should be "British Hegemony in the Mediterranean"