The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1400 The Tsar’s Conditions

Viscount Stratford was not actually surprised by the Tsar's answer, as it was consistent with his stereotype of Russians: ignorant, greedy, and barbaric.

"Would you please reconsider this? The land of Wallachia is quite rich, and more importantly, this land will not belong to the Austrian Empire."

Viscount Stratford glanced at Archduke Albrecht after he finished speaking, which meant that it would be more advantageous to obtain Wallachia than Moldavia.

The Russian top leaders, who had a deep understanding of geopolitics, had now turned their attention to the Austrian Empire. After all, as long as the Austrian Empire withdrew from the competition for the Balkans, Russia would be able to dominate the world.

According to this logic, even if Russia suffers some losses, as long as the Austrian Empire cannot make a profit, or makes less profit, it is an advantage for Russia.

Although harming one's neighbors is considered a short-sighted behavior, it has in fact been the choice of the vast majority of countries for thousands of years.

After all, in many cases, spreading rumors, suppressing, and smearing competitors are far more effective and faster than improving yourself.

At this moment, the Russian top leaders were also keeping an eye on Albrecht, hoping to see from him the Austrian Empire's attitude towards Russia.

Albrecht just smiled contemptuously. He was not interested in this kind of low-level strategy of sowing discord. However, if he had not been trained in the War Department for some time, he would probably not be able to suppress his anger and be caught by others and then deliberately interpreted.

But at this time Albrecht just watched all this as if nothing had happened. Franz had already told him that if Russia went back on its word, they would retreat to Wallachia and focus on defense, and leave the aftermath to Franz.

There was nothing wrong with maintaining the status quo in the Near East for the Austrian Empire, but Franz would not let Britain achieve a diplomatic victory easily; they would have to bleed a little.

The British were very skilled at using the land of a third country to stir up conflicts among their allies, but Nicholas I had been warned by Franz, and at this time the only thing on his mind was Constantinople.

"Don't you understand me? The war was started by the Ottomans, and we must defend the dignity of the Holy Alliance.

Get the Ottomans out of Europe, that's our price."

(The "you" here is actually a noble speaking habit and has nothing to do with status.)
Viscount Stratford was so angry after hearing this that he rolled his eyes. He looked at Nicholas I and then at Archduke Albrecht standing beside him.

"Has the Austrian Empire also acquiesced?"

Albrecht still looked indifferent, but did not give a direct answer, yes or no.

This made Viscount Stratford feel very uncomfortable, because no matter what Albrecht said, as long as he opened his mouth, he could interpret it in countless ways and even test the intentions of the Austrian Empire.

However, the opponent did not take his move, and Viscount Stratford could only sigh that he was unlucky.

This time, with the Austrians present, it was impossible to further persuade Nicholas I. He could only take a step back and blame himself for being too confident and thinking he could get everything in one fell swoop.

"Good-bye, then, Your Majesty."

After Viscount Stratford left, Nicholas I was very proud.

"Albrecht, do you see that the Holy Alliance is unbreakable? I will definitely protect the interests of the Austrian Empire, and I also believe that His Majesty Franz Joseph I wants to help me win this war."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Our country sincerely wants to form an eternal alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire, to support each other and advance and retreat together."

These words made Nicholas I feel warm in the heart. He was very interested in the Eternal Alliance mentioned by Franz in his previous letter, and he firmly believed that he would soon become the Eastern Roman Emperor.

"Okay! Bring the wine! Cheers to the great future of the Holy Alliance!" Soon a waiter brought wine glasses filled with wine and distributed them to everyone present.

"cheers!"

Albrecht immediately sent the news to Wallachia, and then sent a telegram from Wallachia to Vienna.

“The British are starting to make their move.”

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

I have to say that the British acted really quickly. Knowing they couldn't win, they chose to surrender without even trying.

He is decisive enough and doesn't want to suffer any loss.

Franz carefully read the latest news from the front. He didn't believe that the British would give up, but just wanted to wait for a better time.

But Franz felt that the British's chances would only get smaller and smaller, and that the Austrian Empire's plan to attack southern Serbia was almost impossible to fail.

The Serbs had long been in disarray after the Ottomans executed Milos Obrenović.

But it was also thanks to the Ottomans who executed Milos Obrenovich, otherwise Franz would have been really afraid that this tyrant would take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

Whether Serbia sides with Russia or Turkey, it will be troublesome for the Austrian Empire.

The terrain in southern Serbia is complex and transportation is inconvenient. As long as the Serbs are determined to cause trouble, the Austrian Empire will not be able to solve the problem in the short term no matter how great its equipment and military advantages are.

If it sides with Russia, it will affect the Austrian Empire's future strategic deployment and greatly reduce Austria's room for maneuver.

Franz was very relieved about the war on land. The Mediterranean was calm. According to the latest intelligence, the British fleet did not stay in Malta and other places for long, but docked directly in Istanbul.

It seemed that Britain intended to keep its promise and live in peace with the Austrian Navy, but Franz would not take it lightly.

On the one hand, the British may change their strategy after diplomatic means fail, and on the other hand, it is out of respect for their opponents.

In history, there are many people who have ruined good situations due to negligence. Moreover, as the maritime hegemon at that time, the British Royal Navy was definitely worthy of the Austrian Navy's full vigilance.

In addition, Franz did not trust the British because in his eyes a group of pirates were not trustworthy at all.

Pirates are trustworthy, love freedom, are not afraid of power, have a chivalrous spirit, and are staunch supporters of the democratic system. These are basically beautifications of later generations.

The people who admire pirate culture the most in the world are the British, Vikings, and Japanese pirates, because they actually were pirates and made a lot of money from it.

Americans used to be pirates, and even associated piracy with patriotism for a while, but due to economic development, they soon became one of the countries most opposed to piracy.

The purpose of pirates is nothing more than two, ONE PIECE and ALL BLUE are wrong, the purpose is to survive and make money. After understanding the purpose of pirates, it is much easier to understand the so-called credit of pirates.

Most of the time, pirates' credit is just a means to protect their own interests, not a principle or rule.

In other words, as long as there is an opportunity, the British Royal Navy will launch an attack on the Austrian Imperial Navy at any time.
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