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

Chapter 1444 On the verge of breaking out

Istanbul.

The news that Athens rebelled and Otto I was seriously injured and his life or death was unknown once again plunged the city into an all-night revelry.

The Ottomans had both hatred and fear for their two arch-enemies, Austria and Russia, and only contempt for the Kingdom of Greece.

Even after a series of defeats, the Ottomans still looked down on the Greeks. In their eyes, the Greeks were second-class citizens, descendants of slaves, conquered people, traitors, and people who only knew how to cling to others.
Queen Mother Shefkefza finally breathed a sigh of relief. It would not be easy for the Kingdom of Greece to recover from the civil strife. It would be even better if a war broke out within the Holy Alliance because of the Greek issue.

What made Queen Mother Shefkefza most happy was that the Greek government extended an olive branch to her, hoping that the Ottoman government could guarantee Greece's independence.

Queen Mother Shefkefza would naturally not be fooled. The Ottoman Empire had no interest in the Kingdom of Greece at that time, and guaranteeing its independence was a fantasy.

The Greeks knew this, and they did this out of sheer desperation. Queen Mother Shefkefza was sure that the situation in the Kingdom of Greece was extremely critical, but the more critical the situation in Greece was, the more beneficial it would be for the Ottoman Empire.

In addition, you can also see the jokes of the Holy Alliance
The opinions of the Ottoman Empire's top brass were very divided. The group of eunuchs headed by Grand Vizier Zohaf believed that the border should be closed and the national gate strictly guarded to avoid being affected by the Greeks.

It is true that they were afraid of the Holy Alliance, but the eunuchs were also considering the Ottoman Empire. Put yourself in their shoes: is it impossible for a rebellion to break out in the Ottoman Empire?

The rebellion never stopped over the years, from Spain in the Iberian Peninsula to France, Belgium, Austria, Russia, Greece.
The Ottoman Empire suffered from economic decline, failed reforms, a young sultan, failed wars, ceded territory and paid indemnities, and suffered humiliation. It is hard to say that the Ottoman Empire would not be the next.

The new army led by Ahmet Yilmaz Pasha and the new bureaucrats who emerged after Tanzimat supported taking advantage of the situation.

Of course, what they meant by taking advantage of the fire was not to actually join the war, but to use mercenaries and material aid to support agents to achieve the goal of dividing and disintegrating the Greek Kingdom.

You have to know that the territory of the Kingdom of Greece at that time once belonged to the Ottoman Empire. It is impossible that nothing was left after hundreds of years of rule.

As long as the Ottomans want to find someone, there will be plenty of people willing to be their puppet. Even the Greek government is not a monolithic entity. Now is the best time to win them over.
However, Queen Mother Shefkefza was not a powerful ruler. She only knew how to maintain checks and balances in the harem.

The result was a strategy of closing the border and strengthening defenses, allowing for an increase in troops but without increasing military spending. On the other hand, the Queen Mother Shefkefza established a Balkan Minister in the Ottoman New Army, but she also did not allocate funds, leaving them to raise funds on their own.

The suggestions were adopted, but no financial support was given, and only some useless titles were awarded.

Queen Mother Shefkefza did this out of helplessness, because the Ottoman Empire really had no money. War reparations only accounted for a small part, and the Ottoman Empire's biggest expenditure at this time was to repay the British loan.

Based on the current income of the Ottoman government, it would take at least fifteen to twenty years to repay these debts.

The Ottoman Empire was once one of the most financially advanced countries in the world, but it had long since declined.

The four largest banks in Istanbul were controlled by the four great powers: Britain, France, Russia and Austria. If the Ottoman Empire wanted to issue government bonds in its own country, it had to first ask the banks controlled by the great powers.

Another impact of the defeat was domestic unrest. Some local forces in the Ottoman Empire had begun to waver. They were dissatisfied with the cowardice and incompetence of the Ottoman Empire, and some had even begun to organize in private and prepare to raise the banner of rebellion at the right time.

Viscount Stratford, who was in Istanbul, was still very excited after hearing the news from Greece. After all, the seeds planted many years ago finally broke through the ground. The Kingdom of Greece was not strong to begin with. Although it gained a lot of land in the previous war, it also suffered heavy losses.

If they go through another war, they will probably lose their combat effectiveness completely, and the Greek government's envoys are asking Britain to recognize their new government.

This is a very good excuse for war.
However, London did not think so, and John Russell directly rejected Viscount Stratford's request.

Recognize the new Greek government? What a joke! We have just finally pulled our feet out of the quagmire of war, and now we are putting our feet back in?
What a bullshit promise! It’s not as important as the political future of the party.

The reaction within the German Confederation was very consistent, and the monarchs of each state had a zero-tolerance attitude towards rebellion. Although the Greeks and Germans had nothing to do with each other, Otto I was a real German monarch.

In addition to previous practice, the monarchs of various countries were ready to send troops after Otto I's speech at the Confederation Assembly.

Although William IV was very dissatisfied, he had to admit that he also hoped that if his subjects rebelled one day, the surrounding countries could help.

After being assassinated and injured, it was difficult for William IV to continue to believe that his rule was as stable as a rock. In fact, he had suffered from severe anxiety, and this symptom was getting worse as the Austrian Empire grew stronger.

The Wiltersbach family of the Kingdom of Bavaria is Otto I's relative, so they had to make some moves even for the sake of face.

There was nothing much to say about other states. After experiencing the turmoil of 1848, the monarchs of various countries were seeking ways to continue their rule.

The monarchical alliance advocated by Franz gave them hope, and the rebellion in Greece at this time seemed to them like a token of allegiance.

Although the German Confederation Congress has not yet begun, the armies of various countries have begun to gather in Bohemia, and the royal families and governments of various countries have sent representatives to Vienna to attend the regular meeting of the German Confederation at the end of the month.

The Austrian Imperial Military proposed a plan to attack by both land and sea.

“Your Majesty, our troops will march along the railway to the border between the two countries. The army will launch an attack from the Albanian region and is expected to reach Athens within three weeks.

Our navy will set out in three days and destroy all Greek naval forces and coastal defense facilities within a week, laying the groundwork for the subsequent army offensive.

It is also to prevent the enemy from escaping.
If you need, we can also carry out a landing operation, and we expect to capture Athens within a week."

Minister of War Tural excitedly pointed out the country on the map. The strength of the Austrian Empire's army made him feel proud. The Kingdom of Greece was not weak in the Balkan Peninsula, but it could not hold out for even a month against the Austrian Empire.

However, Wolf Ram, the Minister of Central Intelligence of the Austrian Empire, poured cold water on everyone at this time.

"We have received intelligence that there is a Russian army of nearly 10,000 people on standby at the Greek border. We have reason to suspect that Russia wants to intervene in this war."

Franz was rubbing his brows. The conflict seemed to have become more complicated. But things would soon be reversed again.