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

Chapter 1435: Treaty of Constanta

It has to be said that the Russians' negotiation skills are really low. Every time they come up with a deal, they will expose their bottom line first, which is a low-level mistake that is completely unimaginable in the Austrian Empire.

If Franz were alive, he would definitely agree to the British armistice, the longer the better, so that Franz would have enough time to resolve internal problems.

However, the British had long discovered that Franz was difficult to deal with, so they bypassed the Austrian Empire and talked directly with Russia.

In addition, on the one hand, Russia was the initiator of the war and the apparent leader of the Holy Alliance. On the other hand, it also wanted to divide and disintegrate the Holy Alliance and make Russia, Austria and Greece suspicious of each other.

This time Nicholas I gave up holding a peace conference in St. Petersburg because the previous failed peace conference and the repeated inconsistencies of the Anglo-Turkish alliance made him feel that he had been fooled.

This time he decided to hold the peace conference in Constanta, Dobruja, and Russia could use the same methods as the British.

Nicholas I took advantage of the opportunity of the negotiations between the two sides to urgently send reinforcements to Bulgaria. On the one hand, he was afraid that the British would repeat the same trick, and on the other hand, he wanted to try his luck in case the Anglo-Turkish alliance was careless.

In addition, Russia's power in Bulgaria was indeed too weak, and some senior Russian officials reported the Austrians' actions to the Tsar.

Training militias to help patrol and defend local areas seems reasonable, but some of the actions of the Austrian army inevitably make people feel that they are trying to win people's hearts or compete for influence with Russia.

It was difficult for any party to refuse the conference venue chosen by the Tsar. Britain and Turkey were defeated countries, the influence of the Austrian Empire was already too great, and Greece simply did not have the strength to do so.

So diplomats from all sides gathered in Constanta, and this small city on the Black Sea coast instantly became the focus of attention of the whole of Europe and even the whole world.

However, how could a small town with a population of only 5,000 a year ago still catch the attention of diplomats from various countries after experiencing nearly a year of war?

The muddy roads and dirty hotels, but what is most memorable is the ruined pier that was bombarded by the British.

In addition, this place was once the main gathering place for the wounded Russian soldiers, and the lingering atmosphere of dilapidatedness makes people feel disgusted.

Due to the poor infrastructure, the diplomatic corps members could only stay in the simple hotels that were temporarily vacated. Although the place was simple, the things were not cheap.

Due to the poor resources and the impact of war, all materials had to be shipped from overseas, which was very costly and there were also unscrupulous businessmen involved.

At this time, the prices in Constanta were even higher than those in St. Petersburg, which made the envoys of various countries generally dissatisfied. In particular, the British envoy felt that this was extortion.

But the most unfortunate person was the Austrian Empire's Foreign Minister Count Pillersdorff. He was old and had lived in the inland for a long time. As a result, after arriving in Constanza, he suffered from acclimatization and vomiting and diarrhea and was infected with typhoid fever. He barely managed to survive until the end of the conference but died.

Count Pilesdorf wrote in his diary.

“The greatest suffering I have ever endured in my life was participating in the peace conferences in St. Petersburg and Constanta.”

Although the old man just sighed, the impact was not small. After all, it is usually said that a dying man's words are good. Many people have no impression of Earl Pilesdorf's autobiography, but they still remember this sentence.

Because for many years afterwards, Count Pilesdorff's words were repeatedly used by various forces to attack Russia.

Although there were many twists and turns, the conference itself was still very successful. After all, no country wanted to fight anymore, and the Holy Alliance had already occupied Bulgaria. This was not entirely a bad thing for the Ottoman Empire, after all, the mountains of Eastern Rumelia were easier to defend than the plains of Bulgaria.

At this time, no one among the Ottoman high-ranking officials cared about Bulgaria's tax revenue. They wished they could use mountains to separate themselves from the Russians.

In fact, after abandoning Bulgaria and Western Thrace, the European part of the Ottoman Empire was backed by mountains on two sides, and the remaining two sides faced the sea. With sea control, it was absolutely impregnable.

For the British, although the goal of keeping the Ottoman Empire intact as much as possible was not achievable, by preserving the Black Sea Strait, they at least preserved their bottom line.

And for George Villiers, or for the entire Whig Party, ending the war was the most important thing.

The domestic political and economic situation no longer allowed them to continue the war. No one in the royal family, the people, or the parliamentarians supported continuing the war.

At this time, politics in the eyes of British politicians is nothing more than a special business. What they want is power and support.

Without domestic support and immediate interests, it is impossible for them to insist on the option of war.

As for the Holy Alliance, the Russians had already signed a secret agreement with the British. In addition, with the chaos in the country, Nicholas I also wanted to pocket the spoils as soon as possible.

As for the Austrian Empire, no one from top to bottom wanted to work for the Russians. If Franz had not insisted on joining the war, the Austrian Empire would probably not have sent a single soldier to the Balkans.

However, Franz was a staunch pacifist at this time, and the Austrian Empire even hoped to extend the armistice.

On the Greek side, Otto I himself might be the only monarch who still wanted to continue the war at this time. He wanted to wait until the Holy Alliance and the Anglo-Turkish Alliance were both defeated and then launch a surprise attack on Constantinople.

It was just that Otto I was able to hold on, but the Kingdom of Greece could not. The Kingdom of Greece was so poor that people could not even pay the war tax.

No matter how glorious and great the dream of the Greater Greek Empire is, people still need to eat, and purchasing weapons and supplies requires money.

The war had only been going on for a few months, and the treasury of the Kingdom of Greece became an empty shell, and even owed a debt of tens of millions of florins.

Finally, on June 1850, 6, the Treaty of Constanza was signed.

1. The Ottoman Empire gave up its sovereignty over the two Danube principalities, Wallachia and Moldavia, and the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I became the legitimate monarch of the two principalities.

2. The Ottoman Empire recognized Russia's annexation of Eastern Bosnia, Southern Serbia, Bulgaria, Dobruja, and the area east of the Vardar River.

(The Vardar River is the eastern and western boundary of Macedonia.)
3. The Kingdom of Greece acquired Western Thrace and the land west of the Vardar River in Macedonia.

4、奥斯曼帝国需向神圣同盟赔偿总计十亿卢布（大概是鸦片战争赔偿的4.6倍），其中俄国5亿、奥地利帝国4.5亿、希腊0.5亿。

The compensation will be implemented after the end of the armistice agreement. If the Holy Alliance countries violate the armistice agreement during this period, the compensation agreement will be invalidated.

5. The Anglo-Turkish Alliance and the Holy Alliance entered into a five-year truce from June 1850, 6.