"There's a dead one here!"

"Get the body away and arrange cremation as soon as possible!"

……

In the shouting, numbness and despair were also revealed, a large number of people died every day, and when they died, everyone became numb.

Unlike the previous deaths of the wounded, this time it was a plague, and even the medical staff were not spared, and even a major general in the French army went to the crematorium because of this.

Security? Unfortunately, the protective measures in this era are very primitive, and basic disinfection cannot be done.

In the corner of the quarantine area, the wails of sick people were heard from time to time. This is already a Jedi that everyone fears, and the medical staff come every day, and they only hurriedly distribute the medicine, and then leave quickly.

Check the condition? This does not exist, how many doctors are there in the French army?

Moreover, there is no specific medicine for the plague at all, and the drugs used now have a greater psychological comfort effect on patients than the actual treatment.

The soldiers in charge of distributing the supplies avoided the place, left the food at the door, shouted for it, and then quickly left.

"Adolf, are you still holding on?"

"No problem, thank you Alfonso, I feel a lot better, I should have survived this time."

"Rest well, and you'll be fine if you get through it."

It's a conversation that Alfonso says many times a day. As one of the earliest plague infected, Alfonso was lucky to survive.

As is customary, having escaped a wave of plague, God will not call him again for a short time, and then he will have to stay and serve as a caretaker.

According to the doctor, he still needs to stay in the hospital for observation and treatment to ensure that nothing goes wrong before he can be discharged.

In fact, it was to let him stay and do coolies, such as caring for the sick, distributing food to them, or disposing of corpses. And these works that everyone feared fell on his head.

For the sake of the extra salary, Alfonso happily took on the job that everyone feared.

Alfonso was a veteran, the first French army to enter the Balkans, and half of those who came with him had already fallen.

Dead people, for veterans on the battlefield, have long been fearless. There are so many people who die every day on the battlefield that it is common for flesh and blood to fly.

In his opinion, it is much easier to help here than to go to war. There are only about 30 patients to take care of every day, and then there are free people.

After staying for a long time, Alfonso found that this place was far less terrifying than the outside world imagined, and he stayed here for more than a month, and a total of five died and seven recovered.

……

The command of the French army in Constantinople, Ambroise brought bad news.

"Your Excellency, the Russian attack has made our epidemic prevention work fail, and the spread of the plague is inevitable!"

This news did not surprise the French commander-in-chief Pellisier. The plague broke out, and the Russians were certainly not going to give up this opportunity.

In addition to the French army, there were also citizens who remained in Constantinople. The Ottomans were their allies, and it was impossible for Pelissier to drive all the people of Constantinople out of the city.

The denser the population, the more difficult it is to control the plague. Coupled with the attack of the Russians, it was even worse.

Pelissier asked calmly, "Tell me about the plague in the city?" ”

Ambroise said with some sadness: "This plague may have come from the cholera in London not long ago, and there was also an outbreak of plague on the Crimean peninsula, and the symptoms are similar to ours.

It's just strange that the plague that broke out in Constantinople was very transmissible, much stronger than in other regions, and we initially judged that it was spread by mosquitoes, flies, and such insects.

The mortality rate can only be regarded as average in the plague, and the young and strong can resist it, and the mortality rate will not exceed 15%, and the mortality rate of the old and weak is much higher.

The most serious are the wounded, once infected with the plague, basically all of them are dead and lifeless. ”

Pelisier could only greet the British once in his heart, the cholera outbreak in London was not serious, the epidemic was quickly controlled, and instead of spreading in full swing, they suffered.

……

London

Foreign Secretary Thomas said solemnly: "Your Excellency, you have just received news that the French army in Constantinople has not been able to control the plague, and now it has begun to spread.

Last evening, the Austrian ambassador to France, whom Napoleon III received at the Palace of Versailles, had a secret conversation for more than two hours.

According to the analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this secret meeting may be related to the war in the Near East. The events in Constantinople caused the French to lose confidence in the war.

It is possible that the government of Paris will unilaterally end this war with the Russians, and now they are sending a signal to the Russians through the Austrians for peace talks.

According to the information we have gathered, the Austrian Minister in London has been active lately, and has been in frequent contact with the leaders of the Lords and Peacers in the country, and it seems that the Viennese government is interested in mediating the war. ”

After a moment of contemplation, George Hamilton Gordon asked, "It is not surprising that the French intended to end this war.

What was the reason for the Foreign Office to judge that the Austrians wanted to mediate the war? From the point of view of interests, the longer this war lasted, the more beneficial it was for Austria. ”

International political interests are always the decisive factor, and the continuation of the war in the near East will not only deplete the strength of Britain, France, and Russia, but also allow Austria to make a lot of war profits.

From the point of view of interests, the Viennese government did not make sense to let the three countries end this war early.

Thomas replied confidently: "The Austrians do not want us to really divide the winners, and although the Vienna system has collapsed, the Austrian government has not abandoned the strategy of balancing Europe."

Whether the Russians win or we win, Austria's supremacy ceases to exist, and a new round of international struggle is bound to break out.

The war in the Near East continued, and although it was in Austria's interest, the final outcome was uncontrollable.

In this war in the Near East, Austria has already gained too many benefits, and now it needs to be digested urgently. Metternich's style is to always seek stability, and now it is normal to accept it when it is good. ”

Prime Minister Henry nodded, and some economic benefits were not worth mentioning compared to the national strategy. Sandwiched between France and Russia, the Austrian government could not afford not to implement a policy of balancing the European continent.

"What are your plans?" Prime Minister Henry asked

Thomas replied: "Your Excellency, the war in the Near East has now been fought, and our plan to contain the Russians has failed.

Continuing will have no practical meaning other than increasing casualties.

Our advantage is at sea, running to land and fighting the Russians, only the idiots of our predecessors can come out.

In the future, our strategy is to provoke contradictions between Russia and France, Russia and Austria, and Russia and Prussia, on the grounds that the forces of European countries will contain the Russians, and we will only encircle the Russians at sea. ”

War always teaches lessons, and the war in the Near East led the London government to conclude that it was idiotic to go to land and fight the Russians.

Take your own shortcomings, attack the enemy's strengths.

It is enough for something like this to happen once, and they will not make the same mistake a second time.

……

Vienna

Looking at the map of the Balkans, Franz was in a daze.

It seems that this time the game is big, if the Russians are allowed to annex these regions, not only Britain and France will have a headache in the future, but Austria will also be in trouble.

Don't look at the government meeting, Franz repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Russian-Austrian alliance, it was only a political need, and he did not do anything less.

Right now, for example, Franz is thinking about how to restrain the Russians. Attracting the attention of Britain and France, the Russians who occupied Constantinople were enough to do the job.

The Istanbul region was also very wealthy, with the exception of Constantinople, which was home to most of the Ottoman Empire's industry.

Even if it is because of the heavy losses in the war, as long as the foundation is there, it will not take long to recover.

If it all fell into the hands of the Russians, then by the time Alexander II completed the reform of serfdom, the strength of the hairy bear would be too strong.

The maid whispered, "Your Majesty, Mr. Metternich is here." ”

Franz said lightly, "Please let him in." ”

……

"Your Majesty, the Ottoman Empire is not capable of stopping the expansion of the Russians, and according to the current situation, it will not be long after the war for the Russians to annex the Balkans," Metternich reminded.

In this case, there is no need for us to stand up to the Russians. The larger the territory they annex, the more they will arouse the vigilance of European countries, and if they are not good, they will become the public enemies of Europe.

If the tsarist government can't handle all this, Napoleon the Great is a lesson for them, and there is no need to worry too much. ”

Franz pointed to the map of the Balkan Peninsula and said: "You see that this is the current control area of various countries, and according to the Russian-Austrian secret treaty, all the territories that belong to us have been obtained.

In the rest of the region, except for Bulgaria, which was controlled by the Russians, the Duchy of Montenegro was also driven back to its homeland by the coalition forces, and the rest of the regions were in the hands of the coalition forces.

If nothing else, these areas will be handed over to the Ottoman Empire after the war, but we all know that once Constantinople falls, the Sultan government will not have the strength to control these areas.

The Russians wanted to annex these regions with little difficulty. Because of the covenant, we can't get involved.

Once the Russians have taken control of these areas, the pressure on us in the Balkans will be great. Would it have been better if these areas had been given a different owner and let them hold back the Russians? ”

Metternich was surprised and asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to give these territories to the French?" ”

Franz explained: "It's not that I'm going to give these territories to the French, it's that Napoleon III needs to take them and give an account to the people at home."

After two or three years of fighting, more than 100,000 people died, a lot of military spending was spent, and in the end nothing was gained, can the arrogant French people stand it?

Now Constantinople is still in the hands of the French, and as long as they don't let go, the Russians won't take it so easily.

The tsarist government didn't want to fight either, they just needed to occupy Constantinople and give an account to the people at home.

Would it be more in our interest if we had made secret contacts and let France and Russia take what they wanted? ”

After pondering for a moment, Metternich spoke, "Your Majesty, I cannot answer this question to you. If we push it, there is a real possibility that France and Russia will secretly reach this deal.

But where are our interests? After this battle, the Russians will not provoke war in the Balkans for at least ten years.

The introduction of the French as a counterweight to the Russians is only ideal, and it is more likely that France and Russia will ease relations or even further form an alliance. ”

Franz nodded and said: "That's right, theoretically, France and Russia have no core conflict of interests, as long as there is a common enemy, the possibility of an alliance between the two countries is very high."

But in the current international situation, who qualifies to be the common enemy of France and Russia?

The answer was clear to all, there was no choice but the British, and the London government was not going to watch this happen.

In case the London government makes a mistake, it's a big deal that we join this coalition. ”

……

。