Palmerston was not a military man. He had no idea how long the war in North America would continue, but he knew perfectly well that what Britain needed most right now was time and money.
If the war truly dragged on for three to five years, then nothing he did would matter. After all, when the profits were great enough, treaties were no more than scraps of paper—and the conflict of interests between the Austrian Empire and Britain was hardly small to begin with.
On the Russian question, the two sides still shared common interests, so they could cooperate.
But on the question of North America, they had no common interests to speak of. In fact, they had long been competitors.
As for the United States attacking Mexico, Palmerston did not see that as a problem at all. Mexico was merely a partner of the Austrian Empire; as long as the price was high enough, there was nothing that could not be sold out.
Although the Americans were being generous with someone else's money, they had clearly stated that they could provide logistical supplies, even troops.
Never mind the Austrians—any nation with sufficient strength would be tempted.
Then Britain's offer had to be higher now. Otherwise, it might gain another formidable enemy.
A hundred million Pound Sterling was naturally out of the question, but Britain had quite a few things worth the equivalent of a hundred million pounds.
Palmerston immediately thought of that hot potato. They could simply cede part of India to Austria.
That would both satisfy the Austrian Empire's ambitions and give the Austrians something to occupy themselves with. After all, even Palmerston had no idea what would happen once they arrived in India.
But whether things turned out well or badly, the Austrian Empire's main energies would