Marquess Wellesley nodded slowly, "You are right. As long as Prussia and Austria are unable to expand eastwards, they will have no choice but to vie for control over the German region."
In this era, a nation had to continually strengthen itself to survive in the world's vast jungle—it was a universal understanding. Failure to grow stronger meant being swallowed by the mighty.
And expansion was undoubtedly the most effective way to enhance power.
Lord Grenville continued, "As long as Prussia and Austria continue their conflict, no nation on the European Continent possesses the strength to threaten France.
"Therefore, if we want to re-establish a balance of power in Europe, we must first end the hostile state between Prussia and Austria."
Marquess Wellesley furrowed his brow, "That is easier said than done. They were still slaughtering each other over Silesia just a few months ago, and their soldiers, tens of thousands from each side, are still confronting each other near Breslau."
"Indeed, it's not easy," Grenville nodded, "but it's not impossible.
"After a year of intense warfare last year, the domestic financial situations in both Prussia and Austria have already become quite dire. You know, the recent years of drought have devastated the economies of almost all countries. From what I know, both Prussia and Austria actually want to end their stalemate in Silesia as soon as possible.
"So, at this time, we need to divert their attention to other targets—a target more appealing and easier to acquire than Silesia."
"It is always easy to discuss matters with you," Grenville smiled, "Prussia and Austria have been fighting in Silesia for so long, suffering immense casualties, yet they have gained little.
"If their respective armies, tens of thousands strong, were deployed to Poland, they could easily acquire land several times larger than that of Silesia without much effort.
"If the timing is right, I believe they will not be able to resist this temptation."
"No, no, Prussia and Poland are still allies, that should..."
"Please trust me, Prussia's desire for Gdansk Port will make them tear up any alliance without hesitation."
Gdansk is what later becomes Danze. It is situated at the outlet of the Vistula River, which flows through Warsaw to the vast fertile plains of Eastern Europe in Hungary, and north to the Baltic Sea, making it a crucial knot for Eastern Europe's participation in the Atlantic maritime trade.
Moreover, it is also the closest seaport to Prussia, which lacks good ports, giving it an unmatched appeal.
Later in World War II, the core reason for Germany's blitzkrieg against Poland was their desire to seize Danze Port. And the Allied fleets' maritime blockade against Germany was mainly targeted here, showing how critical its strategic location was.
Marquess Wellesley swirled his wine glass and said, "Then we're back to our initial problem. Firstly, we need to get Prussia and Austria to cease hostilities."
"That means we need to take some actions, even, pay some necessary price," Grenville, who had clearly planned this for a long time, said confidently, "fortunately, we can still use Russia's power.
"You know, Russia wants Minsk and Podolia more than anyone else. Those are the 'advance camps' that would make it easier for them to reach the core areas of Europe.
"I believe Russia would be willing to make some concessions for this purpose, and make the necessary threats.
"With this mediation, both sides would surely sign a ceasefire agreement."
Wellesley's eyes lit up as well. Letting the Russians exert efforts for British strategic objectives, his successor was indeed a genius in strategic planning.
Where others might take the time to commend the Foreign Minister thoroughly, Wellesley, however, pondered for a moment and cautiously asked again, "One last question.
"Even if we successfully use the division of Poland and other means to get Prussia and Austria to give up their hostility, and even form some sort of military alliance, how can you ensure that they will become enemies of France?
"Especially since Austria is currently allied with France."
"To be honest, I don't have a secure plan for that," the Foreign Minister spread his hands, "at least we've already built a power outside of France that is strong enough to confront it.
"Oh, one thing that might be useful. I've heard that the Holy Roman Empress Maria Ludovica holds a grudge against the French, she should be willing to help us."
"Oh? I've really been away from Europe for too long, to not know this."
"It seems like her dear cousin's beloved was stolen by the Crown Prince of France," Grenville said with a meaningful smile, "later, the French, probably still uneasy, sent an assassin to kill Baron Walter. Fortunately, he was lucky and escaped, though he lost his left hand in the process."
Ah, yes, after Walter's hand was cut off at three fingers, following a well-known British doctor's advice, it was soaked in a concoction brewed from mallow leaves, violet, beetroot, cinnamon, cardamom... and several other items. The result was the heavily seasoned left hand getting infected, and it had to be amputated entirely.
He was sturdy enough to survive a high fever for five days and miraculously pulled through, barely clinging to life.
However, this brush with death made him hate the Crown Prince of France, who had sent the assassin even more.
Thus, he began incessantly speaking ill of the French in Ludovica's ear. Actually, the Holy Roman Empress had already harbored resentment against the French Royal Family due to the humiliation of her daughter being jilted—at least she was convinced of it—and with the new resentment for her cousin, she had become a central figure in Vienna's anti-France faction.
Marquess Wellesley shook his head slightly, "Relying solely on these is far from enough, considering Vienna's pro-France forces are also strong.
"We must find and possibly widen the rift in the interests between France and Austria to possibly make Vienna reconsider its stance overall."
Grenville shrugged helplessly, "But for now, there isn't any conflict of interests between France and Austria, though they do share some common interests, like the Southern Netherlands..."
He had not finished speaking when Wellesley suddenly thought of something, exclaimed excitedly, "You are a strategic genius! Yes, the Southern Netherlands, that's the place!"
The sound of music from the ball echoed through the hall, and soon, two of Britain's finest young statesmen were smiling and nodding to each other in conversation.
In fact, many major decisions that affected countless countries and led to millions of deaths did not originate from serious discussions in meeting rooms, but were born in settings like these balls and salons.
In the office at Ten Downing Street, William Pitt Junior surveyed the seated Cabinet Ministers and nodded, "I believe Lord Grenville's diplomatic plan is excellent. This will provide us with a reliable military alliance on the European Continent that can effectively check France."