Watching the Frenchmen's frantic diplomatic maneuvers, Franz merely smiled and let it pass. Clearly, Napoleon III had not made sufficient preparations before launching this sudden move.
Otherwise, he should have prepared his bargaining chips years ago and brought them out now for an exchange of interests.
In international politics, no problem could not be solved by interests. If there was one, then the benefits offered were simply not great enough.
The benefits the French had put forward this time were truly too insignificant. For example, promising Austria the annexation of the Ottoman Empire was hardly enough to move Franz.
It was not that the meat was unappetizing; the key was that once swallowed, it would not be easy to digest. The Ottoman Empire had, after all, more than ten million people. How could they be dealt with so easily?
Even if they could be driven into Central Asia, the political repercussions of destroying the Ottoman Empire would once again push Austria into the eye of the storm.
Franz could set aside even the nearby German Federal Empire for the time being, let alone the Ottoman Empire.
Having finally made the French take the lightning strike, why would he now jump out to share their pressure? How could Franz possibly make such a losing deal?
As long as the flag of the Greater French Empire continued to fly over the European Continent, Austria could develop in peace without worrying about becoming the target of all.
Unless the French could truly assimilate Italy, this empire would not be a threat. No amount of winning hearts and minds would help. There were simply too many Italians—more than any single ethnic group within France itself.
They also possessed a long cultural heritage, no weaker than that of the French. Other than Greece, no European