1874 was destined to be an extraordinary year. Besides the Near East War and the Russo-Polish War, the Asia-Pacific region was also far from stable.
First, the French and the Annam Government signed the Franco-Annam Peace and Alliance Treaty. Then the Japanese Invasion of Taiwan War broke out.
There was no need to say more about the latter; it naturally ended in failure. The Franco-Annam Peace and Alliance Treaty sounded harmonious, but that was merely a pleasant name. In essence, it still served colonial invasion.
After strategically retrenching for so long, some within France had grown unwilling to remain quiet. The world had already been carved up almost completely, with only a few scraps left. If they moved any slower, they would get nothing at all.
The Paris Government was embroiled in internal power struggles and had no mind to stir up trouble abroad, yet it still could not suppress the nation's enthusiasm for colonial expansion.
Colonial expansion did not necessarily have to rely entirely on war. Take this treaty with the Annamese: it had been secured through diplomatic deceit, with the Annam Government cajoled and tricked into signing it.
The treaty appeared ordinary, but in reality, it provided France with a legal basis to interfere in Annam's internal affairs. It did not matter what the Annamese thought; so long as the French had an explanation the European powers could accept, that was enough.
The United Kingdom, France, and Austria had already formed an alliance. The relaxed international situation had created an opportunity for French expansion across the Indochinese Peninsula.
The Indochinese Peninsula did not fall within Austria's colonial plans and did not involve its own interests, so the Vienna Government naturally would not step forward to play the champion of justice.
At Vienna Palace, Franz's attention had shifted