Holy Roman Empire

After the news of the outbreak of Constantinople was confirmed, Perissier did not dare to neglect and immediately reported to the Paris government.

Palace of Versailles

Napoleon III was in a very bad mood. The news of the outbreak of the plague in the Crimean peninsula had just come back. Constantineburg also followed the outbreak of the plague.

Where did the virus come from? Napoleon III was not interested in knowing what he had to do now.

Fortunately, the Crimean peninsula said that there is such a large site, and the epidemic area can be dispersed and isolated to control the spread of the epidemic.

Constantinople now has a big slap, with a population density that is so high, and street fighting with the Russians. How can this epidemic be controlled?

Army Secretary Arnold said: "Your Majesty, the plague broke out in Constantinople, and the situation on the front line is probably worse.

At this time the increase of troops is to push the boys into the fire pit.The heroic French soldiers can defeat the Russians, but only God can solve the plague."

Since the outbreak of the battle of Constantinople, the French army has increased its troops almost every month, and it cannot be considered as an increase of troops. It is mainly to supplement the front-line troop consumption and replace some of the disabled troops.

In this regard, Napoleon III did a very good job, and did not use an army to death.Even if it is to eliminate dissidents, most of them find excuses to resign from their posts, and there is no killing.

Now that the war has hit, the Paris government has long wanted to stop, but because of political factors, Napoleon III could not compromise.

Now Arnaud reminded Napoleon III vaguely that he would either find an excuse to give up Constantinople, or organize more troops to fight the Russians. In short, he could not continue to use fueling tactics.

Napoleon III, who was highly politically sensitive, immediately woke up and even thought of more, eagerly saying:

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately negotiated with the Ottoman Empire to let them give up Constantinople, and we will protect their interests in other regions in return.

The British can be put under pressure together. At this time, I believe that the London government will make a wise choice.

When we released the news of the negotiations, we said that we would take back this holy city for the Christian world and contact the Catholic Church to help build momentum.

Perisier, who ordered the front, no matter what method he used, I must also infect the Russians with the plague!"

Science has not penetrated into the hearts of the people in this era. If no action is taken, the Russians will seize the opportunity and launch a political offensive, and the consequences will be difficult to control.

If the plague only broke out in the coalition forces, but the Russians were safe, the subsequent wars did not need to be fought, and the British and French governments could be finished by political means alone.

The sentence "God wants to punish traitors who help pagans", it is estimated that the morale of the frontline army collapsed instantly.Whether they are Protestants or Catholics, they believe in God.

Constantinople is a sacred place in the world of Christ, which gives the city a strong religious color.From a religious perspective, no one likes to help the Ottoman Empire.

If the people in the country know that the government has been punished by God for helping infidels, should the consequences be considered?

Napoleon III did not dare to test the religious piety of the French people. Compared with this terrible consequence, the importance of this ally of the Ottoman Empire is not worth mentioning.

Dead friends do not die poorly. In order to weather the possible political storm, the interests of the Ottoman Empire can only be sacrificed.

...

Facts have proved that Napoleon III was completely worried, and the plague was really not released by God, because this was an indiscriminate attack, and the Russians were not spared.

It may be because the bears are strong, and the plagues have caused them less casualties than the coalition forces, and disobedience is also an important reason.

Along with the plague, there are actually dysentery, but the symptoms seem similar, and the coalition forces have not yet found the difference between the two diseases.

At the headquarters of the Russian Army in the Balkans, the high ranks of the expeditionary forces gathered, and everyone looked pale.

Myshkov was very concerned and asked: "Are you sure it is a plague?"

A middle-aged military doctor replied seriously: "His Commander, the news has been confirmed. Up to now, we have more than 5,000 soldiers with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, which exceeds the scope of the normal influenza."

"His Commander, according to the prisoners we caught, a large number of soldiers in the French army in the city fell ill." Waiting for Myshkov to speak, a middle-aged officer added

Without hesitation for long, Myshkov made a decision: "Order troops to do epidemic prevention work, the offensive cannot stop, our situation is bad, the French army in the city will only be more serious.

For the problem of plague, I will turn to St. Petersburg for help and send many medical staff from China.This plague is also an opportunity, I do not believe that the French can still hold up!"

The nervous Menshkov was relieved in his heart.Since the outbreak of the plague, the good days of the French are over.

This principle is very simple. The greater the population density, the more conducive to the spread of the plague.In this case, the loss inside the city must be greater than outside the city.

Now that the war has hit, how many people have died in Constantinople, one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand?Or is it 300,000, 400,000, or even more?

Have these bodies been processed in time?Perhaps the French deal with the vast majority of them, but even if the rest is one percent, they are thousands of corpses. Have you seen that the mice in Constantinople are fat?

The decay of the body and the breeding of insects and ants are simply the best assistants for the spread of the virus.Even without foreign viruses, Constantinople itself has the possibility of a plague outbreak.

...

Vienna

After receiving the news of the outbreak of Constantineburg, Franz held a meeting for the first time and let the Ministry of Health preside over the epidemic prevention work.

Although the plague in history was not widespread, mainly in the Crimean peninsula, Austria only slightly affected it.

The situation is clearly different now. Since the plague broke out in Constantinople, can the Balkan Peninsula be spared?The Balkans have suffered, will Austria not be affected?

After the epidemic prevention work was completed, Franz continued to consider the impact of the plague.

"The French can't hold Constantinople because of the outbreak of the plague. How will the international situation develop next? What is your opinion?"

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the mortality rate of this plague is not too high. If the epidemic is controlled, the French can still hold Constantinople."

Franz laughed, then asked: "Marshal, how long have the Russians cut off Constantinople's water?"

Marshal Radsky replied: "Your Majesty, it's almost sixteen months. But Constantinople is connected to the port. They still have enough fresh water to supplement. Now there is no shortage of water in the city."

Constantinople has no groundwater due to geological reasons. Although there are water storage facilities in the city, it cannot supply so many people to consume.

Franz shook his head and said: "There are so many people in Constantinople, the daily water consumption is not a small number.

After being cut off by the Russians for so long, we can boldly judge that the water reserves in the city have been exhausted.

Now they all rely on ships to transport fresh water to meet the water needs of hundreds of thousands of people in the city.

For so many people, the daily fresh water consumption is not a small number, which requires a large number of ships to transport.

How many transport ships are active in Constantinople?After completing the transportation of various materials, how much fresh water can be supplied?

The British and French bureaucrats will guarantee at most these people's basic living water, which may be limited supply.

If the supply of fresh water is insufficient during the normal period, you can stick to it. The big deal is that you do n’t take a shower, wash your face, or wash your hands for a while.

The situation is different now. Without sufficient fresh water supply, how does the French army conduct epidemic prevention?Basic health conditions cannot be improved. How can the spread of the virus be contained?"

Because of the epidemic prevention meeting, everyone had a rash of epidemic prevention knowledge.Some were proposed by officials of the Austrian Ministry of Health, and some were supplemented by Franz based on memory.

Now everyone knows the importance of hygiene. At this critical moment of the outbreak of the plague, the French army in the city did not have enough fresh water.

Even if the Russians outside are equally unsanitary, there is no shortage of water, so there are always occasional baths?

French soldiers in the city do not know how long it takes to have such an opportunity, or that there is no chance at all.

No matter whether the French have noticed this problem, they are powerless.

Because this gap is not a fraction of a star, it just meets the need for survival. A small pot of water is enough every day. If the sanitary conditions are improved, the consumption will increase many times.

Where can they find so many water carriers in a short time?

Every day, tens of thousands of tons of fresh water are consumed. It is estimated that all the British and French ships in the Mediterranean can be transferred to meet their logistical supply.

Felix thought about it and said, "Your Majesty, if the French cannot solve the plague problem, we can prepare to mediate this war.

Once the Russians won Constantinople, the war could not be fought.

The Russians' finances are already in crisis. If it wasn't because Constantinople's political status was too special, I'm afraid they would have compromised.

Now that the Russians have occupied the Bulgarian region, and then let them occupy Constantinople, the future will be more difficult to control. It is better to contain it."

Metternich objected: "Prime Minister, it is too late to contain the Russians at this time. Unless we can tear up the Russian-Arabic covenant, we must support them in future negotiations.

We have diplomatic support, as long as Constantinople is occupied by the Russians, I do n’t think that Britain and France have the ability to force the tsarist government to spit it out.

Do n’t forget that for us, maintaining the Russian-Austrian alliance at this time is more important than containing the Russians. We cannot oppose the Russians ’annexation of Constantinople.

Since there is no way to stop it, why do we have to be this wicked person?

It would be better to simply push the other one and let the Russians continue to attract British and French firepower in front, deepening the contradiction between them."

"Push", Franz is very interested in this proposal.To control the Black Sea Fleet, not just one Constantinople is enough, it needs to control both the Balkans and Asia Minor.

Does the Russian still have the ability to fight?Obviously it does not exist, even if the tsarist government desperately explodes the liver, it must stop at Constantinople.

In the unlikely event that Britain and France are in a hurry, they may be pushed back. The traffic of the Russian Empire has restricted their strength.

On the Balkans, even with the support of Austria, the Russians can only exert up to seven or eight points of national strength. What can they fight against Britain and France?

Now the Russians have the upper hand, but the British and French have not responded, pitting their teammates on the battlefield.

Once the Russians put too much pressure on them and let the two countries put down their conflicts and cooperate sincerely, the battlefield is another situation.

It doesn't matter if the Russians can't fight, and Franz doesn't want the Tsarist government to really control the Black Sea Fleet.

The Mediterranean is too small, and the four countries of Anglo-French are not divided enough, and there is no extra benefit for the Russians.

But it does not prevent the Russians from being ambitious, after all Constantinople took it, and the Mediterranean is one step closer.

As long as the Russians still have ambitions, they cannot compromise with Britain and France.Britain, France, Russia and Russia confront each other, and Austria will be safe.

Bismarck designed this way in history. As a result, the diplomatic play of William II collapsed, and France and Russia allied with each other. As a sandwich biscuit, it was a natural tragedy.

"The Russian-Austrian alliance cannot be destroyed, and the suppression of the Russians can be done by Britain and France. As allies, we must not betray our faith!"

Franz directly expressed his attitude.He did not want to let out the wrong political signal, so that the top government officials mistakenly thought that Austria had already obtained the desired benefits and could abandon the Russians.

From the national interest point of view, this betrayal is very normal. It is in the interest of the country to be closer to Britain and France in favor of Austria ’s overseas colonization.

However, considering the strategic security, the situation is different.Compared to the unstable French government and the ambitious Kingdom of Prussia, Franz felt that it would be more reliable to form an alliance with the Russians.