Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 407 The Austro-Hungarian Empire is nervous

As for the Ottoman Empire, as long as it does not deviate from the British Empire's Middle East strategy of preventing the Russian Empire from moving south, and getting too close to the Russian Empire on the issue of Russia, the British Empire can only be open to the Ottoman Empire. Who made the Ottoman Empire the most important thing in the British Empire? Where are the anti-Russian pawns?

Speaking of this, William IV couldn't help but think of the Kingdom of Italy, which was interspersed between Britain and France in the previous period. It was a manifestation of the independence of a great power. The Ottoman Empire may have seen this, and therefore also seized Britain's control over the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The strategic pain point is strangling the lifeblood of the British Empire - since the Ottoman Empire is used to oppose the overflow of influence of the Tsarist Empire in Southeast Europe and the Middle East, the Tsarist Empire's position on the Ottoman Empire is to be liberal.

The Ottoman Empire's diplomatic confidence also lies in its stranglehold on the lifeblood of the West, especially the British Empire, which regards the Ottoman Empire as a weapon to check and balance the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkan Peninsula.The British strategy during the Victorian era of the British Empire was very clear.

Not only William IV knew this, but also all countries saw it. The British Empire wanted to control the entrances and exits of each ocean, so as to complete the wandering of its warships in various oceans, and at the same time, it wanted to prevent other countries from following their footsteps. Take the road to naval superpower.

The superpower of the Tsarist Russian Empire has become an object of fear for the British, and the size of the Fourth Navy is enough to worry the British. Not to mention that the Tsarist Russian Empire spans the central and northern parts of the Eurasian continent. If the Tsarist Russian Empire has a presence in the Indian Ocean, The entrance to an enclave would be the most detrimental to Britain, even if there is another seaport base in the Mediterranean that connects to mainland Europe.

At present, although the Ottoman Empire belongs to the Turks and does not belong to the same ethnic group as the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom regards the Tsarist Empire as its most important opponent.

Therefore, the British Empire’s strategy in the Middle East designed two geopolitical frameworks for the Tsarist Russian Empire.One is the Ottoman Empire, and the other is the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

The latter maintains the Mediterranean Sea, while the former maintains the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire was more important to the British Empire than Italy, not to mention the Ottoman Empire's role in helping Britain strictly guard the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.

As a major consumer country that collects energy resources around the world, the UK supports the Ottoman Empire based on security and diversification considerations. This is a fact that cannot be changed in the short to medium term.

Based on the same considerations of security diversification, the Ottoman Empire also saw Britain's dependence on itself, and the Ottoman Empire could not completely rely on Britain to provide its own security.

It is said that many senior officials in Istanbul are very envious of the Netherlands' international position. They have always been arrogant, and when they see the Netherlands' rapid rise in status and strength, they are naturally unwilling to lag behind, so they have to break the previous uniqueness. Relying on the idea that Britain wanted a balanced diplomacy.

One lie requires another hundred lies to make up for it, and often the implementation of a country's foreign policy also requires different auxiliary diplomatic measures to support its implementation.

Since the Ottoman Empire signed the armistice and peace agreement with the Tsarist Empire, it has been traveling non-stop among European countries. Faced with Constantinople's overtures, various countries naturally refused to come.

This round of diplomacy did not stop until July 1868, 7, when the Ottoman Empire announced that it had applied to join the International Court of Justice in The Hague, led by the Netherlands.This is the first time in history that a big country has taken the initiative to apply to join the organization of small and medium-sized countries. This news instantly caused a sensation in Europe and the United States.

People seem to realize at this time that the International Hague Tribunal, which was originally thought to be just a club for small and medium-sized countries, seems to have new vitality at this moment, and it seems that its influence has just begun.

Reporters from newspapers from various countries gathered in The Hague. It is said that because of the existence of the headquarters of these international organizations, The Hague has become one of the top 10 most exposed cities in the world in recent years, second only to London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, and Amsterdam. , St. Petersburg, Washington, and Constantinople, surpassing the capitals of many other countries.

Ross, President of the International Tribunal in The Hague and Minister of Justice of the Netherlands, confirmed to newspapers from various countries that the head of the Ottoman Embassy in the Netherlands has indeed submitted an application and is currently being re-evaluated.

He also said that in one month, a vote of all member states will be held. As long as the Ottoman Empire can pass two-thirds of the members to vote in favor, the Ottoman Empire will become a new member of the organization.

He hinted that the Ottoman Empire is currently conducting diplomatic contacts within each member state.

When asked about the Netherlands' attitude towards the Ottoman Empire joining the organization, as the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands, he should be very sensitive to information. Ross said that the Netherlands is an open-minded country and will not prevent other countries from joining the Dutch establishment. organizations, we will not exclude them because of this. We welcome any country to join.

"The Netherlands has clearly stated that it has no objection to the Ottoman Empire joining the organization. What should we do?"

Austria-Hungary, Vienna.

"The Ottoman Empire has applied to join, so naturally we will not lag behind other countries. Therefore, we in the Austro-Hungarian Empire are preparing our materials and preparing to apply to join the organization at the same time. Of course, according to what Dutch Minister of Justice Ross said, everything They are all decided according to the order of queuing up. Therefore, we are waiting to see the details of the process of the Ottoman Empire joining the organization. After all, we are very optimistic about the significance that any organization can bring to everyone. After all, it is necessary to exist."

Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Reichberg made the above statement when asked by the newspaper after consulting the foreign policy meeting of the Austro-Hungarian Parliament in Vienna. From this statement, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has obviously relented. Obviously, Southeast The addition of its neighboring Ottoman Empire brought certain pressure to it.

Relations with Italy in the south were not good, Prussia in the west was a powerful opponent that could ignore the eyeing Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire in the east had a very low opinion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire because of the death of Nicholas I, his successor King Alexander II. Under such circumstances, maintaining relations with the United Kingdom seems to have been inspired by the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom.

Therefore, this made the Austro-Hungarian Empire choose to make a move. It wanted to go back to the policy of cooperation at the time of Metternich. Among them, this time Rechberg wanted to use joining the International Court of Justice in The Hague as an opportunity. , to open up relations with other countries. This can be seen from his recent frequent contacts with Constantinople. It seems that the Austro-Hungarian Empire wants to further ease relations with the Ottoman Empire and intends to focus its energy on northern Italy.

(End of this chapter)