Iron Dynasty Chapter 1158

“Really… really…”

Franz could not believe his ears. What Austria needed most right now was military aid. If it could get the Empire’s assistance, thwarting France’s and Prussia’s conspiracy to partition Austria would no longer be a problem.

In his excitement, Franz was about to agree, but he immediately thought that there were no free lunches, so he said, “Is the Empire helping Austria so much just out of good intentions?”

“Of course not.” Tang Wenjie’s expression was still very calm. He said, “In addition to the military defense treaty, the Empire hopes that the Vienna Convention Organization countries can have free trade and cancel tariffs and trade barriers with each other.”

Franz was stunned for a moment. Tang Wenjie’s words seemed very fair, but they were actually very unfair. This was because even a fool knew that the Empire now had powerful industrial and commercial capabilities. Once tariffs were canceled, a large number of cheap and high-quality Imperial goods would flood Austria. What Austria could sell to the Empire would only be some agricultural products. This move was almost equivalent to having Austria unilaterally cancel tariffs.

Tang Wenjie watched Franz’s expression. The Empire would naturally not help Austria out of good intentions. His goal this time in Europe was to establish another way of colonization, economic colonization. Under the Empire’s powerful industrial capabilities, any seemingly equal economic treaty was actually unequal, because these countries were powerless to compete with the Empire.

Franz paced back and forth in front of Tang Wenjie, deep in thought. If he did not agree to the Empire’s terms, Austria would face the situation of being partitioned. If he agreed to the Empire’s terms, Austria would be plundered in terms of trade, but even so, the interests of the Austrian royal family would not be harmed. If he even directly participated in the trade with the Empire, the members of the royal family would become even richer. In that case, signing the treaty was a very good deal.

Thinking of this, he said, “I’ll sign!”

Tang Wenjie stood up and said, “Congratulations, Your Majesty. From now on, the Empire and Austria are member states of the Vienna Convention Organization, and there will surely be more countries joining in the future.”

“There are 10,000 soldiers of the Empire in Suez, two thousand kilometers away from Venice. They can reach Venice in three days by steamship.” Tang Wenjie’s words were very powerful.

Franz smiled. Tang Wenjie’s words were very direct. If France and Prussia did not retreat, the Empire would fulfill the treaty and militarily intervene in this war.

“If that’s the case, I will first announce the signing of the agreement with the Empire. If they don’t listen to my advice, I hope the Empire will help us repel these invaders.” Franz said.

“Of course.” Tang Wenjie said with a smile.

The two then further discussed the agreement and finalized some details, such as the country on whose land the war was fought would provide the supplies. After successfully establishing the Vienna Convention Organization, Tang Wenjie returned to Suez. Franz, on the other hand, was eager to publicly announce the military defense treaty of the Vienna Convention Organization.

Paris. Henry threw the Austrian newspaper on the ground and stomped on it several times. After ending the French civil war, Henry successfully took over France and achieved his goal of becoming the Emperor of France. But he did not expect that the first war after his official coronation would be faced with the Empire’s obstruction.

“Your Majesty, the Chinese Empire is going too far. During the French civil war, they seized all of France’s colonies, which caused France to suffer heavy losses. We must lodge a serious protest about this.”

Henry nodded. He had not told anyone about his shady dealings with the Empire. Now all the French people thought that the Empire had taken the opportunity to kick them while they were down. This was also why the Empire, after being highly praised in France, was quickly scorned.

“Any force that stands in the way of the French people’s progress will be destroyed. It was the British people before, and now it is Prussia and Austria. If the Empire tries to interfere in this just war against Austria, our soldiers will make them pay with their blood.” Henry shouted loudly.

The Louvre was filled with new nobles who had benefited from the civil war. They were now very passionate about the war, because it was the war that brought them generous profits. In Europe, Austria had the largest territory, but being backward in firearms, Austria was obviously unable to defend its territory. In the eyes of the nobles, this was naturally a piece of easy meat.

The victory in the civil war, coupled with the victory in the war against Prussia and Austria, made Henry a little arrogant. To him, there was no enemy that France could not defeat now. So, after occupying Bellegarde, Henry immediately ordered his soldiers to take Paris before Prussia and Austria intervened.

…

Königsberg.

Frederick II also received news from Austria.

“Vienna Convention Organization?” Frederick II showed a disdainful smile. “Does Austria think it can scare us with a newspaper?”

“Perhaps this is just a lie.” A general said, “Will the Empire fight us just for an Austria? If France and we fully conscript, the two countries can send at least 800,000 troops to attack Austria. Can their 10,000 people in the Mediterranean stop us?”

“Impossible!” Frederick II was very confident. This war with France had fully proven the advantage of their firing rifles on the battlefield. Although they had suffered 30,000 casualties, Henry had sacrificed more soldiers. So he was convinced that Prussia’s current military strength was enough to be fearless of any country on the main European battlefield. As for the warships dominating the seas, he did not care. Prussia was a land power to begin with and did not need to fight the Empire on the sea.

After pondering for a long time, he decided to ignore the so-called agreement signed between the Empire and Austria. He even had some desire to test the Empire’s strength on the battlefield.

…

Vienna.

Shortly after the newspaper published the news of the convention organization, Franz received news that Prussia was marching south and France was continuing to advance east. The actions of the two countries had already proven their choice. Now, Franz was a little glad that he had signed the treaty, because the two countries were very determined to annex Prussia.

Giving up on his fantasies, Franz began to ask for help from Suez City. Now, only the Empire could stop France’s and Prussia’s expansion in Europe. After the plea for help was sent out, Franz fell into a state of nervous waiting. But just ten days later, warships loaded with Imperial soldiers appeared at the port of Venice.

Upon hearing this news, Franz was ecstatic. The facts proved that the Vienna Convention Organization was not just a piece of paper from the Empire. The Empire was using its actions to prove its respect for this agreement.