Struggle in Russia - v3 Chapter 845 Group to persuade (Part 1)

The main reason why Alexander II was so tough was that he still had hope for Bariatinsky. In addition, the harsh conditions of Britain and France also made him very embarrassed. He would rather risk waiting a little longer to see the progress of the Caucasus than bowing his head in shame.

All of a sudden the pressure went to Baryatinsky. As the commander of the Caucasus theater, and with the reinforcements of more than 10,000 newly sent to him by Alexander II, he commanded about 60,000 people. 's troops.

This is really not a lot of people, even less than the enemy Turks opposite him. However, the Turkish army without the support of the coalition forces is indeed not an opponent of the Russian army. It is blunt to say that the Russian army can still do it with one enemy and two.

Bariatinsky has been actively preparing since he received the order of Alexander II. In mid-December, after accumulating strength for a month, he suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Turkish army, and the Turkish army was beaten to the ground. A collapsed army.

By the end of December, the Turkish army had annihilated nearly 20,000 people. The Russian army's front was directed at Trabzon, and the Turkish army was about to collapse in the Caucasus!

So whether it was Napoleon III or Palmerston felt like eating flies. With great difficulty, the Russian army was pushed into a corner in Sevastopol, and Alexander II could be forced to sign an alliance under the city. But suddenly the weak spot was stabbed, save the Turks, it feels a little worthless, don't save them, once they collapse on the western front, it will affect the pattern of the entire Central Asia region.

To be honest, both Napoleon III and Palmerston are a little frustrated because they are not able to invest more troops to help Turkey. After all, the domestic anti-war voice is getting louder every day, and they continue to increase the scale of the war in that country. Really can fry the pan.

After some urgent negotiations, Palmerston and Napoleon III reached an agreement to continue negotiations to see how the Russians responded.

Alexander II of course reacted to this, and Baryatinsky's victory gave him a boost, and it also swept away the decline of the past few months, making him feel that he had another card to play. Almost on the day of receiving the news of the victory, he immediately wrote to Duke Alexander, telling him to check the attitude of the French and see what advantages this victory would bring to Russia.

To be honest, this caused a lot of trouble for Duke Alexander. He prefers a quick solution to the problem, which can sacrifice some of the interests of the Balkans and the Black Sea in exchange for peace. Originally, he also talked about the same with the French and Austrians. The Russian army will return to Wallachia and cede Moldavia and part of the western part of Wallachia to Austria.

In addition, Russia will recognize Turkey's sovereignty over Bulgaria and renounce the continued presence of troops in Wallachia and Moldavia.

On the whole, the price paid by Russia is not heavy, except for the loss of a bit of Wallachia and Moldavia.

But with Bariatinsky's victory, Alexander II's psychological expectations will naturally be higher, and it is likely that he will refuse to cede land to Austria and also refuse to withdraw the garrison from Wallachia and Moldavia.

But if these two conditions are not agreed, neither the Austrians nor Britain and France will be satisfied. After all, the Austrians have been tossing around for a long time to covet Wallachia and Moldavia, just to squeeze the Russian army out of the above-mentioned areas.

As for Britain and France, if the Russian army did not withdraw from Wallachia and Moldavia, they would not believe that Russia really gave up its aggression against Turkey. What if they turned around and went home to the Russian army and shot a carbine again?

And the Turks will not be relieved about this. After all, Wallachia is too close to Bulgaria, and the Russian army stationed there is equivalent to holding a gun to their forehead.

But Alexander II's order was there again. In desperation, he could only continue to negotiate with France and Austria, but the negotiations were not smooth. Both France and Austria strongly opposed the continued presence of the Russian army, and even stated that they would not agree. There is no need to talk about this, so the negotiation has fallen into a stalemate again.

Just as Alexander II was waiting for Britain, France and Austria to make concessions, on January 10, the Austrian ambassador to Russia suddenly sent a note to the Russian Foreign Ministry, telling the Russians that they would issue an ultimatum if Alexander II could not make it before January 15. Agree to the terms of the previous peace talks, then Austria will join the coalition to declare war on Russia!

This situation gave Alexander II a blow to the head. After all, he just felt that he had a trump card, but he won better conditions. Who knew that his former ally would betray in the blink of an eye, and the Austrian ultimatum almost completely destroyed everything the Russians had against Austria. good feeling.

Alexander II bluntly said to the queen that night: "From today~www.novelbuddy.com~ Austria is no longer a friend, but an enemy. Sooner or later, I must let them know what the result of betraying us is!"

It's just that this kind of cruel words can't solve any practical problems. In the end, Alexander II was forced to convene a meeting of the imperial court to discuss how to deal with Austria's ultimatum.

"Your Majesty, Austria's betrayal is indeed shameless and irritating, but anger can't solve real problems," Nescher Roddy stated at the beginning, "Once Austria really declares war on our country, it means that we will suffer the enemy from both sides. , Duke Mikhail's army in Wallachia will fall into an extremely passive situation, in danger of being completely wiped out!"

Alexander II looked at Nescher Roddy but didn't say anything. Obviously, this level of warning could not make him change his mind.

Nescher Roddy couldn't help his heart sinking, and became more and more disappointed with Russia. Once upon a time, Nicholas I's death gave him some hope. He hoped that Alexander II would be more rational and persuaded than his father, but His recent observations made him very depressed, and it was obvious that Alexander II was not a good servant and a talker.

Just when the old prime minister was getting frustrated and ready to go home, Minister of Finance Kiselev said: "Your Majesty, I have no doubts about your love for the country and your determination to fight to the end. If you decide to fight to the end, I will follow you to the death! But I must remind you that finances are already extremely tight, even more difficult than in 1812, and we have almost no money left to continue the war."

He looked at Alexander II affectionately and said: "The serfs have shown signs of instability, and there have been signs of riots in many areas. If Austria and Prussia also join the coalition, it means that we will go to war with almost all Western countries. It would be devastating!"