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

Chapter 1538 Alaska First Army

Americans have done this in history, but because the Tsarist government only focused on the fur trade and ignored other things, coupled with its excessive conservatism, the Americans ultimately only dared to steal.

However, all the efforts of the French were wasted in the war of 1848. The Second French Republic refused to continue paying loans to Russia, and Tsar Nicholas I took the opportunity to tear up the treaty.

All French people who were unwilling to be loyal to the Tsar were expelled, and in the end the only population increase in Alaska was 600 French people.

If it weren't for the French's efforts, even for most Russians, their knowledge of Alaska would be limited to its abundance of mink furs.

"Yes, that is the farthest place from St. Petersburg in all of Russia."

Alexander said, looking up.

"I'm going to take up my new post after this. Don't miss me."

Although Alexander pretended to be free and easy, he still couldn't help showing a hint of sadness.

In Alexander's mind, Nicholas I probably gave up on him completely. After all, when dealing with political prisoners, Nicholas I would at most exile them to Siberia, but he himself was exiled to Alaska.

Olga and Franz knew very well that this was just a quarrel between father and son.

"Brother, father just wants you to calm down. Just go and admit your mistake honestly."

Olga was right, Nicholas I was just speaking in anger. No matter how angry a person with orthodoxy is, he will never change the crown prince, because in his view, everything is arranged by God.

If Nicholas I really wanted to let Alexander go to Alaska, he would not send him to Vienna to deliver gifts first.

"Let me admit my mistake? Why? Humph! I will never bow to that tyrant!"

Franz and Olga looked at each other, and both saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. Some people will not admit their mistakes even if they know they are wrong.

This situation is difficult to deal with, but the most difficult thing is that both parties are this kind of people.

However, since Olga was seeking help, Franz as a husband could not do nothing, so he had to bite the bullet and speak.

"Grand Duke Alexander, you will inherit the throne sooner or later, so you should consider your father's perspective more."

"Dear Emperor Joseph I, if we were in the same place, you would be very suitable for my current position, and I would also turn the Austrian Empire into a real country.

You may not know this, but your father and I have always been drinking buddies. "

Alexander said with pride.

Olga wanted to bury her face in the quilt. Archduke Franz Karl was well-known among royal families of various countries for his great stupidity.

The so-called "great foolishness appears wise" means that when a person is stupid to a certain extent, he will inexplicably make people think he is very wise. He can even pull others to the same level and then defeat you with his rich experience.

The story of a wise archduke defeating an arrogant doctor has always been circulated among the people of the Austrian Empire. The protagonist of this story is Franz's father, Archduke Franz Karl.

But everyone in the entire European royal family knew that Archduke Franz Karl was a bit of a screw loose. At least riding an ostrich to hunt and killing a wolf with the butt of a gun was something that would be hard to happen to anyone else.

"Brother, please return to St. Petersburg as soon as possible."

Olga just felt ashamed.

Franz asked out of curiosity, "Since you are going to Alaska, what are you going to do? You must have some mission, right?"

Alexander patted Franz on the shoulder.

"Good question! His Majesty the great Emperor Nicholas I appointed me as the Governor of Alaska and the Commander of the First Alaska Army, ready to support your country's actions at any time."

"Alaska's First Army?"

It’s no wonder Franz was curious. In 1851, there were only 5.8 people in the entire Alaska.

(This data is based on the Swedish Donkey database and RAC archives. RAC's history of Russian-American companies.)
According to intelligence from the Austrian Empire, there were definitely no more than two thousand Europeans in Alaska, and the rest were all indigenous people. It was difficult for Russia's policies to gain the support of the indigenous people.

Although Nicholas I once announced loudly that he would send 20,000 more troops to Alaska, Franz never took it seriously. After all, it was not an easy task to transport 20,000 people from mainland Russia to Alaska.

The reality is that the Russian officials in charge of this matter are desperate in the face of the Tsar's orders. Although no one cares about the life and death of those gray animals, Russia's maritime capacity is really limited.

Reality is not an RTS game. It is impossible to pull 20,000 people to Alaska in just one frame in Russia. Finally, after coordination and efforts from many parties, the Russian War Ministry decided to first transfer 2,000 people from the mainland and then 800 people from the Far East.

In this way, the total Russian military strength in Alaska exceeded 3,000 people, but the Tsar's order was absolute. If the mission was not completed, they would be dismissed and investigated, and might even be exiled to Siberia.

So the Russian bureaucrats started to think about it and forcibly conscripted the natives into the army. They also sent people to coordinate with the Austrian Empire to recruit workers from Hawaii and California to make up the 20,000 people.

The Austrian Empire was very willing to accept the Russian proposal. After all, there were still many natives in Hawaii who were boycotting the Austrian Empire, and there were also many Japanese and Irish workers in California who were always causing trouble.

So the two sides hit it off, and the Governor of Alaska thought he had finally gathered 20,000 people, but who would have thought that in the end he only gathered 5,000.

Because of this, the unfortunate governor was dismissed, so Alexander became the new governor of Alaska.

Although the entire Alaska belongs to Russia, in fact the main sphere of influence of the Russians at that time was in the southeastern part of Alaska: the Aleutian Islands, Baranof Island, Kodiak Island, Pribilof Islands, and Kenai Peninsula.

These places are not prepared for so many people.
The rest of Alaska, most of which had only small trading posts and missionary stations, had little influence and were unlikely to be garrisoned.

The Russians' solution was as simple and crude as ever: if they had nothing, they would just steal from the indigenous people.

There are more than twenty indigenous ethnic groups in Alaska. The Tlingit alone were massacred from 13,000 people to less than 4,000 in twenty years.

The remaining tribal members could only live in villages. They controlled the largest copper mine on Baranov Island and survived by regularly handing over copper and furs.

However, this time they were completely reduced to the dust of history. After receiving reinforcements, the first thing the Russian army did was to completely eliminate this last threat.

However, these 20,000 people are unemployed people after all, and the barren land of Alaska cannot support so many unemployed people.

As a result, Russia had no choice but to purchase food and necessities from California. In fact, Franz had known that this would happen, so the two sides had discussed countermeasures in advance.

The only two countries that believed in the Russians were Britain and the United States. The British actually sent two regiments into the icy and snowy land, but after only six months, the number of troops was reduced to 600.

The British government discovered that the Russians were not as powerful as they said, and it was too expensive to maintain two regiments in the ice and snow.

This brings us to the issue of transportation costs, which are more expensive the farther from the ocean or river the land is. The cost of maintaining these 600 people by the British may be higher than the cost of maintaining 6,000 people by the Russians in the Aleutian Islands.

The situation for Americans is not so bad, as the climate in Oregon is not that extreme. And Americans are very ambitious, so they are willing to spend money.