Chapter 44, Strategic Contraction

Watching the bustling diplomatic activities of the French, Franz merely smiled. Clearly, Napoleon III had acted suddenly this time without sufficient preparation in advance.

Otherwise, several years earlier, he would have prepared the bargaining chips in advance, ready to use them for an exchange of interests by now.

In international politics, there are no issues that cannot be solved with interests, unless the interests offered are not big enough.

The benefits the French brought to the table this time were really insignificant, like promising Austria the annexation of the Ottoman Empire; it was hardly enough to tempt Franz.

It's not that the offer wasn't tempting, but that it would be hard to digest once consumed. The Ottoman Empire, after all, had over ten million people; it was not something that could be easily dealt with.