Eight hundred and fortieth eight chapters on the bar again
For Napoleon III, he urgently needed Russia to remain neutral so that he could concentrate on dealing with Austria. Palmerston was obviously unable to support his ambition, and even Palmerston hoped to simply close Russia to the Balkans.
and the gateway to expansion in the Black Sea region, hoping to force Russia to cede Wallachia and Moldavia in the form of a treaty.
Palmerston's request was very much in line with Austria's taste. They had already coveted Wallachia and Moldavia. In 1848, they would not give up these two principalities to Russia unless they had no choice.
Now they have the opportunity to regain their sphere of influence and knock out Russia, which has been competing with them for territory in this region. If they can succeed, the Austrians will laugh out of their dreams.
It's just that the Austrians are just troublemakers now. They can influence the overall situation but cannot control it. Once the French strongly oppose it, they will have no choice but to retreat.
It's just that although the French want something from Russia, it doesn't mean that they will condone and let Russia go. After all, the old and new grudges still have to be settled. At most, the French will only give Russia a slightly more decent treatment.
It’s just the result.
For example, according to Count Walewski's original idea, Russia needs to cede Moldavia and western Wallachia to Austria, and must also promise to withdraw its troops from Wallachia and Moldavia within a specified time.
Ensure the demilitarization of the Danube Delta.
To be honest, this condition is quite harsh, and it also illustrates the true thoughts of the French.
However, as the situation developed, the French gradually found that such conditions were a bit unrealistic. After all, although the coalition had an advantage on the battlefield, it was in Crimea, and the coalition in Wallachia was not cheap at all.
It can't even cross the Danube River.
In this way, it would be a joke for Russia to completely abandon Wallachia and Moldavia. What's more, with Baryatinsky's efforts in the Caucasus and Turkey over there still being defeated, this account will be even worse.
Smoothed out.
So after some consultations, Napoleon III and Count Walewski reached an agreement that Russia would cede a small portion of Wallachia and Moldavia to "compensate" Austria, which was a small favor to silence the Austrians.
Then Russia promised to withdraw its troops from Wallachia and Moldavia within the specified time. In addition, it must immediately stop its aggression in the Caucasus and return to the pre-war status. Finally, the Black Sea Fleet will be strictly restricted, both in terms of tonnage and
The number of battleships must meet the British requirements.
However, when Count Walewski excitedly informed Clarendon of the latest new conditions that everyone could accept, the British once again quit because Palmerston insisted that in addition to the above conditions, Russia
The southern Caucasus, including Circassians, Georgia, Yerevan and Nakhichevan, must also be completely abandoned.
This is almost to take away from the Russians the fruits of their expansion in the Caucasus over the past two decades, which is not unkind.
Of course, this is understandable, because Britain is very concerned about the Persian issue and is always wary of Russian expansion from Iran to India via Afghanistan. India is their taboo, and they cannot accept even the mere possibility of it.
Naturally, when the British added these conditions to the conditions, the Russians immediately quit, causing the negotiations to immediately reach a deadlock.
This somewhat distressed Napoleon III. On the one hand, he felt that the British were a bit too much. If he were Alexander II, he would not accept such conditions. On the other hand, he must maintain a certain degree of friendship with the British. After all,
France does not yet have the strength to go it alone without the British. If it falls out with the British, there may be no way to end the matter.
As a result, he could only try his best to do the British work, but what is the old saying? When a person is unlucky, his teeth will get clogged when he drinks water. This sentence is really suitable for Napoleon III.
Before he could complete the work of getting through to Britain, something happened again in Turkey. The reason was ethnic and religious issues. In this regard, both Britain, France and Austria had great opinions on Turkey. For example, in January representatives of the British and French allies
In Istanbul, he met with Turkish Prime Minister Ali Pasha and Tanzimat reformist representative Fuad Pasha, who were representatives sent by the Sudan to Paris to attend the peace conference.
During this meeting, representatives of the Allies demanded that the Sultan must make a gesture to show that he was granting full religious and civil equality to the non-Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire, including Jews, and emphasized that the Allies were serious about this.
In his report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after participating in the talks, the then British Ambassador to Turkey, Stratford Canning, directly admitted that they were not optimistic about Turkey's determination to reform, believing that the Turks had a vague attitude and were putting pressure on foreign countries.
Very dissatisfied.
He said that the Turks felt that such Western-imposed reforms would weaken the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, and that they had always regarded Christians as inferior to them, and that to put them on an equal footing with Christians was simply humiliating and blasphemous.
Even Canning bluntly said: "The Turks believe that no matter what laws the Sudan passes, it will not change the fact that Christians are more humble."
Therefore, Canning directly warned that if Turkey continues to be forced to reform, it is likely to intensify conflicts and plunge Turkey's domestic political situation into turmoil.
However, Canning's warning was not taken seriously by Palmerston, so Britain and France continued to exert pressure on Turkey through diplomatic channels. Finally, before the Paris Peace Conference, Sudan was forced to issue the "Reform Edict", promising to give Africans
Full religious and legal equality of subjects allowed non-Muslims the right to own property and join the Ottoman army and officials based on ability.
For Sudan, his wishful thinking is to prevent European countries from further interfering in his internal affairs by promising to carry out these reforms. In particular, promulgating the "Reform Edict" before the Paris Peace Conference also announced to the outside world that the Paris Peace Conference cannot involve Turkey's internal affairs.
However, this trick was of no use, because Count Orlov strongly insisted that the peace conference must discuss the issue of Turkish reform. If Turkey could not have these clearly written and signed in black and white at the peace conference, then who can guarantee that in the future?
Can the so-called "Reform Edict" really be implemented?
So he insisted that this point must be discussed on the negotiating table. Otherwise, once Russia makes concessions, who can guarantee the interests of Christians in Turkey?
It is conceivable that as a result, Russia and Turkey are at odds again, making the already troubled peace talks even more difficult...