Chapter 97, England and Russia's Reaction

Despite the fact that the Six Articles Treaty merely exposed the tip of the iceberg, the London Government was already losing sleep. Now, Prime Minister John Russell developed a headache just by looking at the map of the Mediterranean, where French troops had landed on Sicily, under the pretense of helping to suppress a rebellion.

With Austria suddenly letting go, was there anyone left who could limit French expansion in the Italian Area?

The answer was brutally simple: no.

The Italian Area had always been a focal point of competition between France and Austria; however, now that they had chosen to compromise, the natural conflict between them ceased to exist.

"Cooperative win-win" might be useful in resolving international disputes, but for the Great Britain Empire's balance of power policy in Europe, it was utterly toxic.