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

Chapter 1439: Eastern Rome belongs to Eastern Rome, Western Rome belongs to Western Rome

The Russian civil service had long been prepared for Duke Uvarov's opposition. After all, the differences between the two sides on serfdom were not new.

Prince Uvarov was a versatile man who could both lead troops in battle and govern a country, but when it came to quarreling, he was no match for these civil servants.

Rather than debate serfdom itself with Prince Uvarov, Prime Minister Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev asked a question instead.

"Prince Uvarov, can you solve the financial crisis our country is facing now? Or do you have a way to raise the land rent of state serfs to the same level as free citizens?"

The land rent of state serfs was something that Duke Uvarov would never dare to touch, as the group of state serfs was too large, numbering tens of millions.

Once taxes are raised, it will affect all aspects of the country. In addition, Russia is too large and has too many problems. Even the tsars of all dynasties would be very cautious when considering raising taxes on state serfs. This is why the land rents for state serfs are much lower than those for private serfs.

If things like this were not handled with the slightest care, they could lead to a major rebellion across the country, the most recent of which was the Potato Riot of 1840.

One day in 1839, Nicholas I suddenly realized that potatoes were a high-yield crop, and with the assurance of a group of botanists, he felt that it was the best crop to defend against famine.

So Nicholas I ordered the planting of potatoes and added a potato tax, which required state serfs to hand over a certain amount of potatoes as a tax in kind.

In fact, the potato tax imposed by Nicholas I was not high, but violent acts of tax resistance still spread to the entire region west of the Urals.

Hundreds of thousands of state serfs were involved, and Nicholas I had no choice but to abolish the potato tax.

In fact, Nicholas I only abolished the potato tax in the areas west of the Urals, and his dream of potato freedom continued in Siberia.

Prince Uvarov had read many Western economics books, and he was aware of the drawbacks of serfdom, but he also knew that serfdom was the foundation of this country.

Prince Uvarov knew all this, but he couldn't explain it clearly. With the theories and knowledge he knew, he couldn't refute the other party.

On the other hand, facing the Prime Minister's questioning, Prince Uvarov could not come up with a way to increase income steadily. He instinctively wanted to propose a tax increase based on the economic theories he had learned, but he knew that no one could afford the responsibility of raising taxes.

So Prince Uvarov had no choice but to speak.

"Now our country's economy has been developing healthily and upwardly. The debt of tens of millions is not worth mentioning. We only need a smooth transition for a few years and we can slowly pay it back."

"How many years, then?"

Prime Minister Chernyshev sneered.

"How can His Majesty the Tsar and Russia wait so long? The armistice agreement between us and the Anglo-Turkish alliance is only for five years.

If the two countries continue to go to war, what should we do? Who will pay for the military? The state serfs who will revolt if the tax is raised?"

Duke Uvarov was at a loss for words. He knew that the Tsar would not give up on regaining Constantinople, and regaining Constantinople was also his long-cherished wish. This required a lot of money, both for the war and after the victory.

Seeing that Prince Uvarov was speechless, Prime Minister Chernyshev immediately took advantage of the situation and pursued the victory.

"Who will we borrow money from then? The British? Or the French?"

"We can borrow money from the Austrians."

Prince Uvarov certainly knew that the British and French would not lend money to Russia. After all, one was a mortal enemy and the other was a lifelong feud.

But the Austrian Empire was an ally of Russia, and its economic strength was very strong, just like the loans Russia was getting from the Austrian Empire at that time. So he naturally thought he could seek loans from Austria. But this was exactly what Prime Minister Chernyshev wanted.

"My dear Duke, are you too naive?"

"Prime Minister, what do you mean?"

"Your Excellency the Duke, do you really think the Austrians will lend us money? Look at the map of the Balkans!"

After saying this, Prime Minister Chernyshev walked to the large map and pointed at the Eastern Bosnia region.

“Look here, Eastern Bosnia is like a sword pointing at the throat of the Austrian Empire. Will the Austrians still regard us as allies in the future?

Moreover, our territory in the Balkans is not complete, and our compatriots in Wallachia and Moldavia are still waiting for us to rescue them.

You won’t forget our mission, will you? "

This time, Duke Uvarov really had nothing to say. He also felt that the Russian-Austrian alliance could not last long. After all, there could only be one overlord in the Balkans, Europe, or even the entire world.

"What kind of bullshit mission is this? The Austrian Empire is our ally. Do you want to alienate the relationship between us, the father-in-law and the son-in-law?!"

At this time, Nicholas I could no longer sit still. He no longer liked Pan-Slavism at all.

It is because of this Pan-Slavism that things are so difficult at this time. In addition, Nicholas I had encountered several assassination attempts before, all of which came from the so-called Slavs.

Previously, a Russian official had declared in the court that the Great Slavic elite was stronger than the German rubbish.

In fact, what they didn't know was that the Romanov family also came from the German region. This mapping made Tsar Nicholas I very unhappy, so the official and his family were soon sent to Siberia to improve potato planting technology because of a very small matter.

Nicholas I's intervention left Russian officials confused.

"Your Majesty, the Austrians took away the two Danube principalities in a despicable way, and they are ravaging the Slavs in Western Bosnia and Northern Serbia. They will never spit out the land they have swallowed easily."

"That's right, Your Majesty. The Kingdom of Greece is also a potential competitor of ours in the Balkans. If we continue to allow them to develop, they will sooner or later become a threat to our existence.

And behind the Greeks are the Austrians."

"Your Majesty, there can only be one overlord in Eastern Europe and the Balkans."

Russian officials came forward to advise, but Nicholas I did not want to listen.

"You ungrateful people! Our allies just helped us win the war, and you want to divide up the land they legally obtained?

I'm so ashamed of you!
The Romanov family had only one mission, which was to recover Constantinople.

Listen to me now! Whether it is Western Bosnia, Northern Serbia, or the two Danube principalities.

None of these lands belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire!

The East Roman Empire belongs to the East Roman Empire, and the West Roman Empire belongs to the West Roman Empire! This is the covenant of the Sword of Kings! Whoever dares to spread rumors and confuse the people again, I will throw him into the Volga River! "