London

The course of the war in the Near East stunned the British. The Russians actually gave up the two principalities of the Danube in exchange for logistical assistance from Austria.

This means that the appetite of the Russians this time is very large, and only greater interests will be able to make the Russians give up the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia.

John Russell said with a gloomy face: "Our previous plan failed, and the Austrians and Russians came to an agreement. If we don't strike now, the Ottomans are definitely no match for them.

Mr. Palmerston, what is there in your Foreign Ministry that will break up the alliance between the Russians and Austria in the shortest possible time?

Together, their two countries are simply invincible in the Near East. Even if we act together with the French, it will be difficult to win. ”

Prime Minister John Russell's words are not untargeted, Russia and the Ottoman border only the Balkans and the Caucasus.

The Caucasus is limited by the terrain, and if a large corps operation is to be conducted, logistics are a big problem.

With the poor transportation situation in Russia and the Caucasus region with complex terrain, it simply cannot support the battle of more than 200,000 troops.

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

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

Even so, the Russians were not capable of fighting all the way to Constantinople. After the occupation of the two principalities, the offensive was basically at its limit, and the strategic materials transported from the country could not keep up with the rate of consumption of the front-line troops.

However, with the addition of Austria, the Danube can quickly transport strategic materials, and there is no problem in supporting hundreds of thousands of troops in the Balkans.

Palmerston replied with an unchanging face: "Your Excellency, it is very easy to break up the alliance between Russia and Austria, and we have proposed it a long time ago.

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

The British Foreign Office did have this plan to counterbalance the Russians, but ceding the two Danube Duchies to Austria was only part of it.

Historically, the British proposed: give the Aland Islands and Finland to Sweden; ceded the Baltic coast to Prussia; to make Poland independent; ceded Moldavia and Wallachia and the mouth of the Danube to Austria in exchange for Austria giving up Lombardy and Venice to be occupied by the Kingdom of Sardinia; The Crimea and the Caucasus belonged to the Ottoman Empire......

Theoretically, once this plan was implemented, the Russians would be greatly weakened and lose the ability to compete with the British for world supremacy.

However, the plan could not keep up with the rapid changes, and died before it could be implemented. It was not only the Russians who did not agree to this plan, but also the Austrians.

Regardless of the size of the two principalities of the Danube basin, the land is also very fertile, but these areas have not yet been developed, and in terms of economic value they are still lower than Lombardy and Venice.

Now that Austria occupies these areas, it has to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in development, not to mention that it has also become the vanguard of anti-Russia and rushed to the front line of resistance against Russia, which is very unfavorable strategically.

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

Franz has always believed in the truth that "a thousand birds in the forest are better than a bird in the hand", but he will not sacrifice his own interests in order to balance the great cause of the Russians.

The butterfly effect was still useful, because the performance of the Austrian army in the Austro-Saxon War proved to the outside world the strength of the great powers. In Palmerston's new strategic plan, there was no mention of Lombardy and Venice being given to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Watching people serve food is the strength of the British, and Austria is stronger than in history, and the treatment is naturally stronger than in history.

In order to fool Austria into turning against the Russians, they did not hesitate to make heavy profits. It's a pity that their plans had not yet convinced the Ottomans, and the war had already broken out.

"But the stupid Ottoman government did not see this, they only saw that the cession of the two principalities of the Danube would cost them so much, and they did not see the benefit of doing so.

I believe that after this Russian-Turkish war, reality will make the Ottomans more sober and make the right choice. John Russell chattered back

Obviously, the affairs of the Ottoman Empire have bored him, the British Prime Minister.

Palmerston sneered and said: "Your Excellency, the Ottoman government is now sober and believes that they will make the right choice," Palmerston sneered.

But this is a matter for the future, and the most important thing now is to convince Congress to send troops to the Balkans as soon as possible, if it is too late, the Ottomans may not be able to hold on. ”

This is the national policy of the British, who give priority to the most threatening enemy, and they will not change their target until the Russians have fallen.

In terms of threat, Austria at this time was not as good as France, and the poor geographical location already showed that Austria could not threaten the core interests of the British.

John Russell thought for a moment and said, "There is not much of a problem on the part of Congress, and in order to protect our interests in the Mediterranean, the Russians must be kept in cages." ”

Interests are the eternal theme, and the annexation of the Ottoman Empire by the Russians seriously harmed the interests of the British. Interest groups naturally want to support the government's intervention in the war in the Near East for the sake of Bian's investment.

……

Constantinople

Abdul Mejid I regretted that if he had known that the Russians and Austrians would compromise so quickly, he would have accepted the advice of the British.

There is no regret medicine in politics, and by this time the Russian army and the Ottoman army had already started fighting in the Bulgarian region. What's even more tragic is that as a side 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 Mejid I asked with concern

"Your Majesty, there are too many partisans in the Bulgarian region, and it will take three more days for our reinforcements to arrive." The War Secretary replied in a low voice

In this war, the speed of the Ottoman army was even slower than they expected, and the Minister of War naturally had no confidence to speak.

Abdul Mejid I snorted coldly: "Hmph! ”

He also said: "I don't care what you think, anyway, the Bulgarian region can't be lost." You all know what it means! ”

Everyone bowed their heads and did not dare to speak. The Ottoman Empire's national policy, in modern times, was actually very enlightened.

Unfortunately, no matter how good a policy is, someone needs to implement it, and the rotten Ottoman government undoubtedly lacks the ability to implement it efficiently, and in the end, it is natural that public resentment boils.

The aftermath is now coming out, not to mention that the local battle has not been supported by the people, and it has also been attacked by guerrillas, which has slowed down the march of reinforcements.

Fortunately, the Russians were also slow to react, otherwise now that Armageddon had broken out on the front, the Ottoman government would really have to cry.

……

Greece – Athens

The war broke out in the Near East, the Greeks rejoiced, and their chance to achieve their goals came.

But Otto I had a headache, and in the face of the pull of the four great powers at the same time, he did not know how to stand on this team.

Since the outbreak of the conflict with the British in 1850, nationalism in Greece has been on the rise. Otto I supported this idea when he first believed that nationalism was beneficial to his rule.

Otto I, believing that he had grasped the key to gaining popular support, placed himself at the forefront of the patriotic movement.

How not to cool down the patriotic fervor of the people became a problem for Otto I.

In the aftermath of the explosion of nationalism, the Reconquest became a common goal of the Greeks and the "great ideal" of Otto I and Queen Amania.

The demands of the Greeks to reclaim their territories were almost endless. The rationale for this claim comes from the Byzantine Empire, where the Greeks wanted to recreate the territory of the Byzantine Empire.

When the imbalance between power and ideals has passed, the day of tragedy is not far off. At this time, the territory of the Greek kingdom was only more than 50,000 square kilometers, and the population was less than one million, which could not support their "ideals" at all.

"Guys, which side should we be on now?" Otto I asked with a wry brow

As a small country, the most sensible thing to do is to be on the side of the winners; Countries with strong nationalism tend to be less rational and choose the side with the greatest interests.

Little did Otto I know at this time that a new crisis was about to emerge from his reign. Neither side will satisfy the appetite of the people to regain lost territory.

In Greece, where idealism is rife, the people don't care so much, they only make demands on the government according to their own ideals.

Historically, for more than 100 years, starting with Otto I, none of the kings of Greece had a comfortable life, because none of them could fulfill the ideals of the Greek people.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied with a complicated expression: "Your Majesty, the British and French navies have already controlled the waters of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, and for the sake of the security of the country, we can only stand with them." ”

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

The War Minister retorted: "What do we gain by standing with the Ottoman Empire?" Do we expect them to be able to return their land to us with their alms?

Now the Russians have made a promise that they will support us in obtaining Thessaly and Epirus after the war as long as we declare war on the Ottoman Empire.

The Austrians even promised that they would support us in gaining as much territory as we conquered.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, should we give it up? ”

There is no way, the Russians and Austrians are generous to others, and naturally do not mind making promises to the Greeks. Britain and France were now allies of the Ottoman Empire, how could they choose to sacrifice Ottoman interests to satisfy the demands of the Greeks?

Even if you want to win over allies, the Kingdom of Greece is not qualified?

Britain and France are also arrogant, not cats and dogs, they can be on an equal footing with them.

The prime minister chimed in: "That's right, if we give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the people outside will not accept it."

For the revival of the great Greek kingdom, it was worth taking a little risk! ”

It's not that he wants to side with the Russians, it's not that he doesn't see the risks of doing so, it's that the Greek people outside have made a choice for them.

Nationalism is a double-edged sword, it can kill the enemy as well as hurt itself, and now the government of Otto I has been kidnapped by the will of our people.

Otto I thought for a moment and said: "Since the people have made their choice, then our government must respect their choice."

However, considering the position of Britain and France, we cannot directly declare war on the Ottoman Empire, what good way do you have? ”

There is no good way, there is a bad idea.

The Minister of War proposed: "Your Majesty, we can form a civilian army to attack the Ottoman Empire, which will give an account to the Russians and Austria and save the face of Britain and France." ”

In his view, the support of Britain and France for the Ottoman Empire was only to fight the Russians, not that the two countries really supported the Ottomans.

As long as the Greek kingdom grasped the degree of it, and at the same time attacked the Ottoman Empire, without hurting the face of Britain and France, they would not interfere.

A bad idea is better than no idea, there is no better way, and a bad idea can only be taken out and used improvised.

Seeing the applause of the crowd, Otto I finally decided: "Then let's reply to the representatives of Austria and Russia, we will support them in this war!" ”