Holy Roman Empire

London

The direction of the Near East War stunned the British.The Russians actually gave up the two principalities of the Danube basin in exchange for logistics assistance from Austria.

This means that the Russians have a big appetite this time, and only with greater interests can the Russians give up the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia.

John Russell said sullenly: "Our previous plan failed and Austria and the Russians reached an agreement. If we do not take action now, the Ottoman Empire is definitely not their opponent.

Mr. Palmerston, is there any way for your Ministry of Foreign Affairs to break up the alliance between the Russians and Austria in the shortest possible time?

Together, the two countries have an invincible presence in the Near East.Even if we act jointly with the French, it will be difficult to win."

The words of Prime Minister John Russell are not unreasonable. The area bordering Russia and Ottoman is the Balkan Peninsula and the Caucasus.

The Caucasus region is limited by terrain, and logistics are a big issue if large-scale combat is carried out.

Due to the poor traffic conditions in Russia, and then encountering the Caucasus region with complex terrain, it can't support the battle of more than 200,000 troops.

Of course, if the Black Sea ’s sea power is not lost, they can also fight along the coastline, and logistics supply is not a problem.

Now the route of Russian troops on the land left the Balkans.The two principalities of the Danube Basin are both major grain producers. The grain problem can basically be solved on the spot, and the logistics pressure of the Russian army is reduced by half.

Even so, the Russians were not able to hit Constantinople all the way.After occupying the two principalities, they basically reached the offensive limit, and the strategic materials transported from the country could not keep up with the consumption rate of the front-line troops.

However, adding an Austria is different. The Danube can quickly transport strategic materials and support hundreds of thousands of troops in the Balkans without any problems.

Palmerston replied without changing his face: "Your Excellency, it is very simple to break up the alliance between Russia and Austria. We have already mentioned this earlier.

As long as the Ottoman Empire agreed to cede the two principalities of the two Danube basins to Austria, it would be enough to feed the Austrians.With Austria separating them from the Russians, the situation will not be so bad now."

In order to check and balance the Russians, the British Foreign Office did have this plan, but ceding the two principalities of the Danube to Austria was only part of it.

The British have historically proposed: ceding the Aran Islands and Finland to Sweden; ceding the Baltic Sea coast to Prussia; letting Poland become independent; ceding Moldavia and Wallachia and the Danube Estuary to Austria at the cost of Austria Abandon Lombardy and Venice to be occupied by the Kingdom of Sardinia; Crimea and Caucasus belong to the Ottoman Empire ...

In theory, once this plan is implemented, the strength of the Russians will be greatly weakened, and the ability to compete with the British for world hegemony will be lost.

However, the plan can't keep up with the changes, and it has died before it has been implemented.Not only did the Russians disagree with this plan, Austria also could not agree to this plan.

Don't look at the two Principalities of the Danube River Basin. The area is not small and the land is very fertile, but these areas have not yet been developed, and are economically lower than Lombardy and Venice.

Now occupying these areas, Austria has to invest a lot of manpower and material resources, not to mention, it has also become a vanguard of anti-Russia, and rushing to the front line of anti-Russia is very strategically disadvantageous.

Rather than doing so, it is better to join forces with the Russians, Austria can also get these sites, but at the expense of the interests of the Ottoman Empire.

Franz always believed in the truth that "a thousand birds are in the forest, it is better to have a bird in the hand", but he would not sacrifice his own interests in order to check and balance the great cause of the Russians.

The butterfly effect is still useful, because the performance of the Austrian army during the Osage War proved the power of the great powers to the outside world.Palmerston's new strategic plan did not propose to give Lombardy and Venice to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Seeing people serving food is the strength of the British. Austrian strength is stronger than in history, and treatment is naturally stronger than in history.

In order to fool Austria and the Russians, they did not hesitate to take advantage.It's a pity that their plans haven't convinced the Ottomans that the war has broken out.

"But the stupid Ottoman government can't see this. They only saw that ceding the two principalities of the Danube Basin would cost them a lot, and they simply couldn't see the benefits of doing so.

I believe that after the Russo-Turkish War, the reality will make the Ottomans more awake and make the right choice."John Russell whispered complaint

Obviously, the matter of the Ottoman Empire has bored him, the British prime minister.

Palmerston sneered and said, "His Excellency, the Ottoman government is now sober and I believe they will make the right choice.

However, this is the future. The most important thing now is to persuade Congress to send troops to the Balkans as soon as possible. If it is late, the Ottomans may not be able to sustain it."

This is the national policy of the British, giving priority to the most threatened enemies. They will not change their targets until the Russians fall.

Speaking of threats, Austria at this time is not as good as France. The poor geographical position has shown that Austria cannot threaten the core interests of the British.

John Russell thought for a while and said: "The problem on the side of Congress is not big. In order to protect our interests in the Mediterranean region, the Russians must be kept in cages."

Interest is an eternal theme. The Russians annexed the Ottoman Empire and seriously damaged the interests of the British.In order to maintain overseas investment, interest groups naturally have to support government intervention in the Near East War.

...

Constantinople

Abdul Meguid I regretted it. If he knew that the Russians and Austria would compromise so quickly, he would accept the British proposal.

There is no medicine for regret in politics. At this time, the Russian and Ottoman forces have started fighting in the Bulgarian region.What is more tragic is that as a party with more troops, they are actually at a disadvantage on the battlefield.

"How long will it take for our reinforcements to reach the front?" Abdul Meguid I asked with concern.

"Your Majesty, there are too many guerrillas in the Bulgarian region, and our reinforcements will take three days to arrive." The Minister of War replied with a low volume.

In this war, the speed of the Ottoman army was slower than they expected, and the war minister naturally spoke without confidence.

Abdul Mejid I sneered: "Humph!"

He also said: "I don't care what you think, anyway, the Bulgarian region can't be lost. What you mean here is clear to you!"

Everyone dared not speak with their heads down.The national policy of the Ottoman Empire was actually very open in modern times.

Unfortunately, no matter how good the policy is, somebody needs to implement it. The decaying Ottoman government is undoubtedly lacking in efficient implementation capabilities, and in the end, it will naturally become popular.

The sequelae are now coming out. The local operations did not get the support of the people. Not to mention, they were also attacked by the guerrillas, slowing the pace of reinforcements.

Fortunately, the Russians also responded slowly, otherwise a decisive battle broke out on the front line, and the Ottoman government really could only cry.

...

Athens, Greece

When the Near East War broke out, the Greeks were happy, and their chance to achieve their goals came.

However, Otto I had a headache, and at the same time, facing the pull of four big powers, he did not know how to stand this team.

Since the conflict with the British broke out in 1850, Greek nationalism began to rise.At the beginning, Otto I believed that nationalism was conducive to his rule, and he supported this idea.

Otto I thought that he had seized the key to gaining popular support and placed himself at the forefront of the patriotic movement.

How not to let the patriotic enthusiasm of the people cool down has become a problem for Otto I.

After the outbreak of nationalism, regaining lost ground became the common goal of the Greeks, and it was also the "great ideal" of Otto I and Queen Armania.

The Greeks' demand for resumption of territory was almost endless.The theoretical basis for this requirement comes from the Byzantine Empire. The Greeks wanted to reproduce the territory of the Byzantine Empire.

When the imbalance between power and ideal is over, the days of tragedy are not far away.The territory of the Greek Kingdom in this era was only more than 50,000 square kilometers, with a population of less than one million, which simply could not support their "ideal."

"Everyone, where should we stand now?" Otto I asked frowningly.

As a small country, the most sensible approach is to stand on the side of the victor; while a country with prosperous nationalism is often not so rational, but will choose the side with the most benefits.

At this time, Otto I did not know that his rule was about to usher in a new crisis.No matter on which side, it is impossible to satisfy the people's appetite for recovering the lost ground.

In Greece, where idealism is prevalent, the people will not control that much, they will only ask the government according to their ideals.

Historically, in the more than a hundred years since the beginning of Otto I, the successive kings of Greece have not had a comfortable life, because none of them can fulfill the ideals of the Greek people.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer complexly replied: "Your Majesty, the British and French navies have controlled the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea. For national security, we can only stand with them."

This is the most sensible approach. No matter who wins or loses, Greece surrounded by Anglo-French Ottomans has no choice at all.

The Minister of War retorted: "With the Ottoman Empire, what can we gain? Can we hope to rely on them to give us our homeland?

Now that the Russians have made a commitment, as long as we declare war on the Ottoman Empire, we will support us to obtain Thessaly and Epirus after the war.

The Austrians even promised that as many territories we have laid, they will support as many territories as we have acquired.

Such a rare opportunity, do we give up?"

There is no way, the Russians and Austria are generous, and naturally do not mind promises to the Greeks.Britain and France are allies with the Ottoman Empire. How could they choose to sacrifice the interests of Ottoman to meet the requirements of the Greeks?

Even if you want to win allies, the Greek kingdom is not qualified?

Britain and France are also arrogant, not any cats or dogs, they can sit on par with them.

The Prime Minister agreed: "Yes, if we give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the people outside will not agree.

For the restoration of the great Greek kingdom, it is worth taking a little risk!"

It was not that he wanted to stand with the Russians, nor that he did not see the risk of doing so, but that the Greek people outside had already made a choice for them.

Nationalism is a double-edged sword, capable of killing enemies and hurting ourselves. Now the Otto I government has been kidnapped by our public opinion.

Otto I thought about it and said, "Since the people have made choices, then our government must respect their choices.

However, considering the positions of Britain and France, we cannot directly declare war on the Ottoman Empire. Is there any good way?"

There is no good way. There is one bad idea.

The Minister of War proposed: "Your Majesty, we can form a civilian armed force to attack the Ottoman Empire, which can give the Russians and Austria an account while taking care of the British and French faces.

In his view, the support of the British and French for the Ottoman Empire was only to attack the Russians, not that the two countries were really supporting the Ottomans.

As long as the Kingdom of Greece grasps the degree and strikes the Ottoman Empire without harming the faces of Britain and France, they will not interfere.

A bad idea is also better than no idea. There is no better way, and the bad idea can only be used to make up for it.

Seeing the crowd applauding, Otto I finally made the decision: "Then speak to the representatives of Austria and Russia, we will support them in this war!"