London
No matter what, the British Government was an obstacle that could not be bypassed. After the German unification process was jointly halted by the various powers, Prime Minister Felix changed course for London.
In fact, the joint intervention plan of the various countries had been underway for a long time. The only reason it had been delayed until after an agreement was reached with the South German states was because the Russians had helped drag things out.
In this regard, the Tsarist Government had been quite trustworthy. Of course, the Austrian public relations funds thrown around had also played their part.
Otherwise, the joint declaration would probably have appeared as soon as the Kingdom of Saxony had been settled. In that case, Austria would have found it very difficult to carry out the subsequent plans.
Without turning matters into a fait accompli and then settling them at the negotiating table, achieving those objectives would have been virtually impossible.
The joint declaration had been issued for so long, yet the international conference had still not convened. This was time deliberately left for Austria to conduct public relations work.
In other words: Austria had taken the prize, and everyone else was green with envy. If they could not obtain sufficient compensation, they would start making trouble.
That was Franz's view. If the international conference had convened immediately, Austria would not have had time to maneuver. No—it should be said that it would not have had time to maneuver in London.
At Napoleon III's adamant request, this international conference was being held in Paris. The Paris Government, being right at hand, clearly had the chance to conduct its own public relations work.
There was even less need to mention the Russians. Without the Russian Bear's support, Austria would not have dared make