Following Emperor Franz Joseph's establishment of Austria's diplomatic red line at Mei Quan Palace, the entire Austrian Empire's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and military began their operations.

On the diplomatic front, the team led by Count Baur and adviser Metternich successively presented formal documents to the French Empire and the Russian Empire through their respective diplomatic envoys.

In the document submitted to the French Empire, Austria protested against France for drawing the Kingdom of Sardinia into the war, claiming that this move by France would cause chaos throughout the Apennine Peninsula, thereby affecting peace in Southern Europe. (In reality, there was another informal document, personally written by Prince Metternich and handed over to his servant, who then forwarded it to Richard Metternich. The content of this document could be said to directly overturn the formal document submitted by Austria to France.)

However, in the document submitted to the Russian Empire, Austria took a completely different stance, subtly pleading for Russia to withdraw from the Two Danube Principalities. Only if Russia exited these regions would Austria have the opportunity to assist Russia in negotiations with England and France.

On the other hand, military representatives led by Minister Hess went north to the Kingdom of Prussia to discuss strategies with Regent King William I (Frederick William IV has yet to awaken, and William I as regent is holding the reins of Prussia's internal and external affairs. Of course, there is also a conspiracy theory that says Frederick William IV was assassinated by the Junker Nobility of Prussia due to his liberal thoughts, allowing the Shotgun Prince who pleases the Junkers to take the stage.)

During this period, Austria's various actions indeed gave it a prominent presence on the international stage, as if rekindling the spirit of the Vienna Congress.

After all, neither Britain, France, nor Russia and Prussia could ignore a first-rate power armed with over 400,000 standing troops.

Even if the Russian Empire was gnashing its teeth in anger at Austria's betrayal, it still had to dispatch a special envoy (Count Orlov, head of the Third Department) to Austria in hopes of persuading them to cease opposing the Russian Empire. Meanwhile, it announced loudly that the alliance between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia was an attempt to reignite the revolutionary flames of the Apennine Peninsula. Napoleon III/IV (Jerome Bonaparte), like his uncle, is a demon intent on overthrowing the monarchy. The Russian Empire hopes certain countries (the Kingdom of Britain) will soon see the true nature of the French Empire and rejoin the family of legitimate monarchy. The Russian Empire would still abide by the previous agreements on the partition of the Ottoman Empire, giving certain countries corresponding treatment.

On the French Empire's side, since Austria openly submitted a protest document to France, Lord Cowley, the British envoy to France, immediately took action.

Lord Cowley first went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express to Minister De Luyss the Kingdom of Britain's protest against France's action of drawing the Kingdom of Sardinia into the war against Russia.

Lord Cowley claimed that France's unilateral decision to involve the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Near East region war without informing the Kingdom of Britain was first and foremost a sign of distrust towards its ally. Since France and Britain have formed a military alliance, there should be close, seamless communication between them, and they should not establish a smaller military alliance under the main one. Moreover, Lord Cowley believes that involving the Kingdom of Sardinia in the war might once again plunge the already peaceful Apennine Peninsula into conflict.

Hence, Lord Cowley hopes that France and the Kingdom of Sardinia should promptly cease their actions.

Meanwhile, the British envoy in the Kingdom of Sardinia similarly issued a warning to Victor Emmanuel II, urging him to restore peace to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

However, neither the French Empire nor the Kingdom of Sardinia paid much heed to the British envoy's warning.

Minister De Luyss stated that if the Kingdom of Britain could fill the gap left by the Kingdom of Sardinia's soldiers, then the French Empire would agree to the request of the British monarch.

After all, the French Empire currently has only about 80,000 troops in the Varna region (First Division, Second Division, Third Division), while the Russian Empire has as many as 180,000 troops in the Danube region (an exaggeration). The French Empire must transport as many troops as possible to Varna to ensure it can confidently wage war against the Russian Empire.

Lord Cowley did not believe Minister De Luyss's evasive remarks one bit, so he decided to explain the severity of the issue to Jerome Bonaparte to make him realize the consequences his actions could have for the alliance.

When Lord Cowley arrived at the Tuileries Palace, he happened to run into the Wurttemberg envoy.

The two men greeted each other with smiles, then went their separate ways.

Nevertheless, the presence of the Wurttemberg envoy at the Tuileries Palace did arouse Lord Cowley's curiosity.

Why would the Wurttemberg envoy be here? Could it be that there are upcoming changes in the German Region?

With these perplexing questions, Lord Cowley, under Mokar's guidance, came before Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte first inquired about what matter was so urgent that Lord Cowley wanted to meet with him.

Lord Cowley immediately replied to Jerome Bonaparte that he was eager to meet because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Minister De Luyss, was unwilling to give a definitive answer regarding the issue of the Sardinian Kingdom.

"So that's the reason!" Jerome Bonaparte chuckled lightly and said, "Allowing Sardinia to join the war against the Russian Empire was my own decision. Minister De Luyss was merely executing my order!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive my candor! Your actions could plunge all of Europe into greater turmoil! The Austrian Empire is very likely to oppose us because of the Sardinian issue! At that time, the entire German Region could become our enemy!" Lord Cowley said to Jerome Bonaparte with a tone of agitation.

"If the whole German Region allies with the Russian Empire to fight against the French Empire, will the Kingdom of Britain still be willing to stand with France?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Lord Cowley with a smile.

Madman! This is a madman!

Lord Cowley's expression changed drastically. He felt that he was no longer facing a rational monarch, but a madman ready to launch a war across Europe at any moment.

The last person who had the same idea was thirteen years ago.

[PS: Thiers, during his tenure as Prime Minister, attempted to challenge the entire German Confederation and the Kingdom of Britain with the power of the Orleans Kingdom alone.]

"If things really get to an uncontrollable state, the Kingdom of Britain will still stand with the French Empire!" Lord Cowley responded seriously.

Since the Kingdom of Britain lost its territory in Europe, the balance of Europe has become the Kingdom of Britain's diplomatic philosophy.

If the German Region forms an alliance with the Russian Empire, then Britain will inevitably rally France to act together.

"I am very pleased to hear Ambassador Cowley's sincere answer! I also genuinely hope that the friendship between the Kingdom of Britain and the French Empire will not fade with the passing of time!" Jerome Bonaparte assured Lord Cowley, "Rest assured, I will not place the French Empire in such a situation! The era when France could take on all of Europe alone is long gone, and now the most important thing is to maintain the balance of power on the European Continent. Only with balanced power can the entire Europe attain peace and stability! The actions of the Russian Empire are clearly disrupting the balance of power in Europe and are a typical example of undermining the nations of Europe!"

"Your Majesty, I am glad that you recognize the importance of balance!" Lord Cowley showed a relieved smile, then pointed out to Jerome Bonaparte that the Sardinian Kingdom is the unfavorable factor that will disrupt the balance between England, France, and the German Region.

"The addition of the Sardinian Kingdom will not be the trigger for Germany to lean toward the Russian Empire, but rather it will prompt the Austrian Empire to join our side swiftly!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Lord Cowley.

Lord Cowley asked Jerome Bonaparte in confusion why he said that.

Jerome Bonaparte simply made it clear. He called over the Wurttemberg Envoy to split the consensus within the German Confederation.

"I have assured the South German States that the French Empire will maintain a good-neighborly and friendly cooperative relationship with Southern Germany as always! As long as they do not attack France, the French Empire will ensure the safety of their territories!" Jerome Bonaparte confidently told Lord Cowley. "Currently, the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Württemberg have agreed not to declare war on the French Empire because of the issue of the Apennine. We hope the Kingdom of Britain will also exert pressure on the Kingdom of Hanover, preventing the German Region from uniting in solidarity! A loose German Confederation will not initiate an offensive voluntarily. In that case, a disunited German Confederation would force the Austrian Empire to lean to our side."

After hearing Jerome Bonaparte's response, Lord Cowley couldn't help but admire Jerome Bonaparte's diplomatic strategy of aligning and forming alliances, and he wasn't surprised by the German Princes' indecisive behavior either.

Since ancient times, the German Princes, led by Bavaria, have been dedicated to resisting the dominance of major powers within Germany.

From the Holy Roman Empire era, it has been a regular practice to bring France into the German Region.

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