War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

\u003c/ins\u003e

Chapter 1406: Enough is Enough? (Part 1)

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

Franz never expected that the Ottoman Empire would be so vulnerable, and he never expected that its ability to withstand attacks would be so poor.

This book was first published on the Internet by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

But Franz carefully reviewed the situation and found that Austria, Russia and Greece had deployed 800,000 to 900,000 troops in the Balkans at one time.

This seems really scary.

John Russell also did not expect the situation to deteriorate so quickly. The first batch of three divisions of the British Expeditionary Force, totaling 20,000 troops, had already boarded the ship.

But he was still worried because the Holy Alliance had too many troops and the Ottomans were too cowardly. In any case, the Black Sea Strait must not be lost.

This is not only about Britain's face, but also the key to maintaining Britain's hegemony and continental balance of power policy.

Prince Albert personally inquired about it yesterday. Although the prince had to step behind the scenes due to some previous political events, it does not mean that he does not care about national politics.

Moreover, John Russell really couldn't figure out whether it was the prince or the queen who was concerned. He only knew that if this matter was not handled well, then his political career would be over, and not only him, but the entire Whig cabinet would be implicated.

John Russell could only attribute the bad situation at this time to the fact that Viscount Stratford did not stop the war in the first place, which led to the Ottoman Empire exposing its weak nature and causing the situation to deteriorate to such an extent.

However, this kind of rhetoric may not be effective. Viscount Stratford cannot bear such a heavy responsibility alone. He still needs to find a way to make the Tsar accept peace talks.

In fact, John Russell had sent someone to secretly contact the Kingdom of Sweden, but Sweden did not agree to intervene in the war. Now it seems that there is no other way.

However, news soon came that Austria seemed to have received the Ottoman envoy. Although John Russell did not know what the content of the meeting was, as a politician he had keenly sensed some kind of signal.

From the beginning, the British did not believe that the Russo-Austrian alliance could last. After all, in their view, Austria and Russia were rivals in the Balkans.

Under this premise, all cooperation and alliances are illusions, and their purpose is only to gain more benefits.

Unlike the two Danube principalities, Western Bosnia and Southern Serbia were both negative tax areas, while Bulgaria's farmers could tolerate more than 70% of in-kind rent, and there was a population of nearly four million.

In addition, Bulgaria is the last barrier in the Thrace region. After taking Bulgaria, Istanbul can be directly threatened.

The British have already imagined a bloody plot in which the spoils are not divided equally between the two sides. The best solution at this time is naturally to expand the conflict between Russia and Austria and cause it to be consumed by internal friction.

However, having learned so many tragic lessons before, John Russell decided to play it safe and negotiate first. Other things can be put off until later. After all, the land will not disappear.

Dobruja, Constanta city.

This small town with only 5,000 people was suddenly flooded with hundreds of thousands of Russian troops, and the land's carrying capacity was obviously insufficient.

Some people advised Nicholas I to go to Silistra, where at least there was a decent palace, but the Tsar insisted on living in the place closest to the battlefield.

Originally, the military top brass planned to expel the citizens from the city, but this was not carried out due to the strong opposition of Nicholas I.

After all, the Romanians in the city had no need to work for the Ottomans. After the Ottomans fled, almost all the cities in Dobruja surrendered to Russia without resistance.

Nicholas I knew that these people would be his subjects in the future, so they should be familiar with himself and the existence of the Russian army.

Of course, this was just Nicholas I's wishful thinking. In fact, the Russian army had looted almost all the wealth in the city, and every woman had been violated.

However, these were not what the Tsar really cared about. He needed to take Bulgaria quickly, at least before the Austrians. He did not want Constantinople to fall into the hands of Greece.

\u003c/ins\u003e

Even though it was impossible for the Greeks to capture Constantinople, he was furious at the thought that the Greeks might enter that magnificent city before him. The holy place in his heart would never be desecrated.

However, things often go against one's wishes. The Ottomans' resistance in Bulgaria was surprisingly tenacious, and the Russian army's many attacks were unsuccessful.

Even more serious than this was the new logistics problem in the rear. A major accident occurred in the Nistru River because the river had not been cleaned for many years, and tens of thousands of tons of supplies shipped from the Austrian Empire were wasted.

What's worse is that the sunken ship has blocked the river even more severely, and it will take at least one or two months to dredge it.

This long period of time was enough to starve more than 300,000 Russian soldiers to death in Dobruja.

In fact, there was another very bad thing, that is, although the supplies in the rear of Russia could not be transported, the troops were continuously sent. This made Nicholas I the first Tsar to worry about too many troops.

Nicholas I was not surprised by the arrival of George Villiers. After all, the Holy Alliance had already defeated the Ottomans at a rapid pace, and it seemed that they were only one step away from driving the Ottomans out of Europe.

"Your Majesty, the war between your country and the Ottoman Empire has shocked the whole of Europe. Both sides have suffered heavy casualties."

“I said that this is my condition as long as the Ottomans leave Europe.”

Nicholas I ruthlessly interrupted George Villiers's speech, which came as no surprise to the latter.

"The Holy Alliance now occupies the two Danube principalities, Dobruja, Southern Serbia, Eastern Bosnia and Macedonia.

There is an old British saying that a wise businessman knows when to stop.

"You've got the wrong guy. I'm not a businessman. I'm a soldier!"

Nicholas I said proudly, much to George Villiers' embarrassment.

"Well, Your Majesty. You have got enough now. The Ottoman Empire is willing to cede land in exchange for peace.

This will avoid further bloodshed and sacrifice, which is good for both sides.”

"Oh no! The Ottoman Empire is about to end. The Russian flag will be planted on the bell tower of Hagia Sophia and sing the song of victory for me!"

Nicholas I had thought about this for a long time, and he decided to use the "Tsar's March" that Franz gave him.

"Your Majesty, you may have underestimated the Ottoman Empire's determination to resist. At this time, on the other side of the mountain, Orma Pasha is leading an army of 500,000 and is ready to fight. Countless brave Ottomans are joining his army.

This is bound to be an unprecedentedly brutal battle, and I hope you will consider the warriors of the Holy Alliance and the entire alliance more."

\u003c/ins\u003e