War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Friedrich never relaxed his vigilance against the British. Although the naval base on Malta Island was almost an empty shell, who knew whether the British would make a counterattack? After all, there were no satellites at that time.

Frederick could only set up a large number of outposts in the Mediterranean for early warning. In fact, he personally hoped to have a battle with the British Navy.

The previous victories had given the Austrian Navy enough confidence. At the same time, with the application of more advanced weapons, Frederick was confident of defeating the British Royal Navy at sea.

However, it is not very realistic to completely annihilate the enemy. There are too many factors that can influence the outcome of a naval battle, such as weather, reefs, and coastal artillery. Unless the British choose to actively enter Austrian waters, it will be difficult to achieve.

The reason why Franz set such harsh conditions was that the Austrian Imperial Navy was not strong enough.

The British could make a comeback again and again, but the Austrian Navy would go from first-rate to second-rate in an instant if it failed just once.

And there is almost no possibility of a turnaround. It will take at least five years for Franz to build the fleet back to its current size.

Five years basically marked the end of the Austrian Empire's naval dream, and even breaking out of the Mediterranean or the Adriatic Sea would become a luxury.

But this time the protagonist is not Austria

Queen Mother Shefkefza and the Ottoman high-ranking officials were dumbfounded after learning of the Russians' conditions. They could neither win the war nor reach an agreement through negotiation. This was simply the most desperate situation they could imagine.

"Please allow our Mediterranean fleet to enter the Black Sea."

Viscount Stratford decided to follow Colin Campbell's advice and use the navy to interfere with Russia's next move.

However, the former was not as naive as the latter. He did not want the British Navy to act as a shield between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, but to gain control of the Black Sea and prevent Russia from being supplied by sea.

This was the advice given by William Simmons, the commander of the Royal Navy. After all, no one wants to be cannon fodder. Moreover, the double blockade of economy and materials has always been a common routine used by the United Kingdom.

Russia may not be afraid of economic blockade in the short term, but the supply of hundreds of thousands of troops is not a small number. If they want to supply them by land without railway support, they will need nearly one million workers.

At that time, the British did not have a deep understanding of the role of railways. In fact, they made their judgment based on their experience during the anti-French war.

However, this experience was just right for the Russians. British officials responsible for handling Near Eastern affairs agreed that the Russian army would learn to speak calmly after losing supplies.

Soon the joint statement of Britain and the Ottoman Empire was sent to the Tsar. Nicholas I showed an expression of disbelief, which made the British envoy feel very honored.

But what shocked Nicholas I was not Britain's entry into the war, but the Ottomans' blatant violation of the Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi again.

However, just as Nicholas I was about to explode, an official next to him quietly reminded him that the Treaty of Unkar-Iskeleci, which was the condition for Britain to stop supporting Poland during the Polish rebellion, had been abolished.

This made Nicholas I suspicious, and he even suspected that this was planned by the British. In fact, there is no doubt that from the British point of view, it is impossible to allow the Russians to monopolize the Black Sea.

If Franz had not repeatedly interfered, the Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi would have been replaced by the London Straits Convention long ago.

Although Nicholas I was filled with shock and anger, his attitude was still very tough, but he seemed a little lacking in confidence when threatening Britain and the Ottoman Empire.

The biggest sign is that this time the British envoy was not driven out but was invited out.

Prime Minister Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev said immediately.

“Your Majesty, if the British impose a complete blockade on the sea, then our supplies will have to be supplied by land.

Our national strength cannot withstand such long-term consumption."

Nicholas I looked at Finance Minister Vronchenko, who knew that if he could not come up with an idea that would satisfy the Tsar, he would be in trouble.

Fortunately, Vronchenko had an idea.

"In previous wars, the Austrians provided us with supplies through the Danube. We can spend money to buy war supplies from the Austrian Empire."

This idea was very popular. After all, they never seemed to lose money when doing business with the Austrian Empire, and they could even get certain kickbacks.

Then there was a chorus of approval in the tent, and Nicholas I breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the Russian army soon received not-so-good news. The river conditions in the lower reaches of the Danube were very bad, with siltation, shallow and narrow river channels, and backward infrastructure such as supporting docks. The traffic and carrying capacity were far inferior to those in the middle and upper reaches.

In addition, a large part of the reason why Belgrade is called the "Key to the Balkans" is due to the existence of the Iron Gate Canyon, which greatly increases transportation costs.

If only the Russian army's supplies were maintained, there would not be much of a problem, but this time the Austrian Empire also dispatched 350,000 troops.

In fact, the biggest problem was that in order to stabilize the situation in Wallachia and Moldavia, Franz needed to export a stable and large amount of manpower and materials to the two places.

While Nicholas I was struggling, he received another piece of news which was not very good but not very bad either.

Ludwig von Ammann, ambassador of the Kingdom of Greece, has arrived.

Ludwig von Ammann was a Bavarian who had previously served as a personal advisor to Otto I.

But at the suggestion of Franz, Otto I appointed Ludwig von Ammann as Foreign Minister, because Otto I deeply felt that local Greek officials were not trustworthy, while German officials were much more loyal.

"Your Majesty, the great King of Greece salutes you"

After the polite opening remarks, Ludwig von Ammann went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, the Ottomans are our common enemy as Europeans. We are willing to do our part in this great war."

Greece's involvement in the war between the Holy Alliance and the Anglo-Turkish Alliance made Nicholas I feel inexplicably ridiculous, and he even felt humiliated.

These are all true, but pale in comparison to the longing for Constantinople.