On June 18, 1861, the Austrian Ocean Fleet visited Korea. Both sides reached an agreent on friendly exchanges between the two countries, and diplomatic relations were upgraded to the ambassador level.
During this period, Korea, under a feudal system, rejected foreign trade. Previously, Austria had little interest in Korea and did not establish an embassy, only a consulate.
Following this friendly visit, Hml signed a friendly trade agreent with the Korean governnt, granting each other the most favored nation (MFN) status.
This was customary; Austria had already signed comrcial most favored nation treaties with about a dozen countries, including Britain and France.
Incidentally, several military procurent orders were also secured. In addition to army equipnt, Hml also marketed five ironclad ships.
Thailand and Vietnam each ordered one, while the Qing governnt ordered three at once. Clearly, they were alard by Britain and France and sought to strengthen their mariti defense. However expensive ironclad ships may be, they were preferable to being caught off guard.
Austria had no plans for expansion in the Far East, but when business opportunities arose, they naturally pursued them. As for whether this would cause trouble for European colonial empires, it was not within Hmls considerations.
Failing to sway the Korean governnt left Hml sowhat dissatisfied. He could only hope to make so gains with Japan, the last remaining option in East Asia.
With everyone selling military equipnt, profits had already been squeezed due to competition. Selling ironclad ships was unique to Austria, but the profit margin was not particularly high, barely double the production cost.
If soone was willing to pay a high price, even active equipnt like this ocean fleet could be sold off. As long as soone offered over 30 million guilders, Franz wouldnt mind selling them off.
Anyway, the production cost of these warships will not exceed 7 million guilders, and it would only take a little over a year to build such a fleet.
With Austria adopting the gold standard, the international exchange rate between gold and silver has also been impacted, with silver depreciating to 15.3:1 against gold. Now, one guilder is equivalent to 1.5 taels of silver.
Obviously, countries capable of producing 45,002,000 taels of silver at once are extrely rare in this era. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would be willing to play the fool.
In Edo, Hml had just conducted a friendly visit with the Shogunate, adding another most favored nation to Austrias list.
The resident ambassador, Charles, asked with a puzzled expression, Sir, why not take the opportunity to expand our interests in Japan?
Hml smiled slightly and replied, Havent we already expanded them? We have signed a treaty granting each other the most favored nation status. Any expansion of rights by any great power here automatically extends to us the sa privileges.
This was a fact. On the surface, its a completely equal treaty, but because of the difference in national power, the final outco may not be the sa.
The most favored nation treaty signed with Britain and France is a purely equal treaty where each party takes what it needs. After all, in this era, no one has the power to force them to sign an unequal treaty and sacrifice dostic comrcial interests.
But its different with Japan. If the Japanese governnt grants comrcial privileges to any country, then Austria automatically enjoys them as well.
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However, compared to the practices of other countries, Austria is actually relatively moderate. There is no use of force or coercion, no infringent on everyones sovereignty, just limited to comrcial cooperation.
Ambassador Charles shook his head and said, Mr. Hml, thats not enough. We could easily establish concessions, and ports, or even occupy a few islands here.
Hml explained earnestly, Ambassador, indeed we have the capability to do so now. The ocean fleet is currently the strongest ard force in East Asia. Even turning Japan into a protectorate is not a problem.
However, the ocean fleet cannot stay here forever; we will leave sooner or later. At that ti, will England and France watch us occupy so many interests?
Without the use of force, will the local natives accept our rule? With only our strength in the Far East, we cannot handle such large benefits.
In that case, its better to establish good relations with everyone from the beginning. East Asia is not our focus of expansion; doing business here is enough.
Ambassador Charles unwillingly said, But dont we still have Russia as an ally? If our two countries join forces, holding onto these interests shouldnt be a problem.
Not long ago, Charles helped the Russians occupy the island of Tsushima, with this consideration in mind. Bringing Russian influence in was aid at jointly seizing the biggest piece of the pie.
Hml sighed and said, The Russians are too greedy; one Japan wont satisfy their appetite. If we cooperate with them, well be tied to their war chariot in the future.
This place is too far from Austria, its beyond the scope of our power projection. Lets not forget that the ocean fleet was able to reach East Asia without a hitch by using ports in various countries along the way.
The greed of the Russians is an acknowledged fact by everyone. When it cos to territorial expansion, the Russian governnt has never seed satisfied.
The dissolution of the Russo-Austrian alliance has garnered significant support within the Austrian governnt. Many Austrians believe that cooperating with the Russians is more trouble than its worth and that working with the English and French to suppress the Russian Empire would yield greater benefits.
After pondering for a mont, Ambassador Charles remarked, Alright, youve convinced . But if we do nothing, it wont be long before the Russians find themselves in trouble.
Screwing over the Russians? That shouldnt be considered as such. Charles is a seasoned diplomat; he has never made any promises to the Russians.
Out of obligation as an ally, Austria unconditionally helped the Russians occupy Tsushima. Now, the Nagasaki region has fallen under Russian influence, with Austria gaining nothing in return.
Once the Austrian ocean fleet departs, whether the Russians can withstand the pressure and retain control over Nagasaki will be solely their problem.
After the departure of the ocean fleet, the closest Austrian fleets are stationed in the South Pacific. By then, Austrias support will be limited to re verbal assurances.
After taking stock and ensuring that there were no hidden dangers left, Charles couldnt help but let out a sigh of relief.
With a slight smile, Hml stood up and took two steps forward, speaking with his back turned to Charles, Ambassador, dont you think that the recent relations between Britain and Russia are a bit too good?
Charles paused for a mont, then quickly grasped the implication. Stirring up tensions between Britain and Russia was also one of the responsibilities of the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
It wasnt just tensions between Britain and Russia; it included conflicts between Britain and France, Britain and Spain, and France and Russia all part of the Austrian Foreign Ministrys work.
Every countrys foreign ministry was engaged in similar activities. If it werent for the European countries poking each others wounds, where would all these conflicts in the world co from?
However, all these activities were conducted behind the scenes, and on the surface, everyone maintained a gentlemanly deanor. In this era, many still believed that the various European countries were united.
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