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The Frenchmen's little maneuvers had not gone beyond Franz's expectations. As Austria continued to grow stronger, it was only a matter of time before the French felt threatened.

There were not many nations on the European Continent qualified to be France's allies. Compared with wooing the United Kingdom, the French Government naturally preferred to draw Russia closer.

This was dictated by geography. The spheres of influence of France and Russia did not border one another. Even if there were conflicts between them, they were historical leftovers, and their interests did not clash much.

By contrast, the contradictions between the United Kingdom and France were not merely historical leftovers; there were also extensive direct conflicts of interest.

From the colonies to their homelands, Britain and France had serious strategic conflicts. In this era, Anglo-French tensions remained the primary international contradiction—even Franco-Austrian tensions had to step aside.

Besides the French Government feeling threatened, the French people were still immersed in the glory of the Napoleonic era. They did not take Austria, a defeated foe beneath their feet, seriously at all.

The broader environment could influence people as well. Otherwise, the French Government would have moved long ago to court the Russians instead of waiting until now.

Before profit, no ally could be relied upon. So long as the French offered a high enough price, a rapprochement between France and Russia was inevitable.

It was simply that, without suffering defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, asking Napoleon IV to sell the pot and break the iron to court Russia was rather too much.

In the original timeline, the Franco-Russian alliance had been bought with huge loans. As the price, the French Navy fell directly behind, being overtaken in succession by Germany and the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century.

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