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

Chapter 1658 Appeasement
The concert was still going on, and Johann Strauss Jr.'s slightly melancholic melody perfectly matched Nicholas I's mood. In fact, he had many options, but he ultimately chose what he considered a shortcut.

In fact, Nicholas I would never give up Constantinople, which was right before his eyes, so he hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

What does the Austrian Empire want?

Franz shook his head, but he was already certain of one thing: Nicholas I would never give up the idea of ​​going to war.

"The Austrian Empire needs time; going to war now cannot guarantee victory. For the Austrian Empire at this time, failure is defeat."

Nicholas I was well aware of this, since it was unlikely that British retaliation would directly impact the two countries' homelands; therefore, the Austrian Empire's overseas territories would bear the brunt of the impact.

Moreover, according to Nicholas I's thinking, Russia still couldn't offer enough incentives to tempt Austria.

"Then what would it take for you to join the war?"

Why did the Austrian Empire directly intervene in the war?

Franz countered with a question.

Silence fell in the private room.
No one knows what the two talked about in the end, only that Franz did not give a speech after the Vienna New Year's Concert.

This task was ultimately undertaken by Queen Olga, and Franz ultimately missed the grand event.

Nicholas I, on the other hand, returned to St. Petersburg quietly.
In fact, apart from Nicholas I, no other monarch at that time would have been willing to make such a direct overseas trip.

The arrival of Nicholas I brought Franz more shock than joy; everything was too rushed.

However, Franz was relieved of a major worry, as Nicholas I agreed to allow the Austrian Empire to remain in a state of appeasement for the time being.

The so-called appeasement policy meant that as long as the Ottomans and Britain did not attack Russian territory, the Austrian Empire could remain neutral for the time being.

In other words, as long as the Ottomans and the British dared to set foot on Russian soil, the Austrian Empire should fulfill its obligations as an ally.

In other words, only Russia was allowed to attack, and the Ottomans were not allowed to counterattack.

Although this was how things should have been, it was already a huge concession for Nicholas I.

Of course, other countries were unaware of all this. It was essentially a secret agreement between the two countries, but it remained only in the words of the two monarchs and was not even recorded in writing.

On June 17, 1855, the five-year armistice attached to the Treaty of Constanta officially expired.

George Hamilton Gordon and Sheffield Queen Mother Sheffield V, the mother of Muhammad Murad V, were both on tenterhooks, fearing that the Russians might attack that very day.

Fortunately, the Russian army merely stationed troops on the border and did not take any further action.

Even if Russia were extremely aggressive, it still needed a reason; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to directly attack the Ottoman Empire.

Russia's inaction only heightened tensions between the Ottomans and Britain. The Ottoman army was already deployed, and Britain was secretly sending troops to the Ottomans.

However, since no direct declaration of war was made, George Hamilton Gordon was unable to mobilize too many troops.

Fortunately, after expansion, the British army's strength has more than doubled to 4.5 men.

In fact, Austria was also quite nervous, as Franz didn't know who would strike first, let alone whether the British would launch a preemptive strike. Fortunately, the Austrian Empire had developed a very sophisticated maritime early warning system over the years. While the British were developing their transatlantic telegraph system, Austria had also developed a Mediterranean telegraph early warning system.

The entire early warning system extends outwards to the islands in the southern part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and can provide intelligence as early as 8-12 days, which will give the Austrian Imperial Navy enough time to prepare.

Even though the British cleverly bypassed the earlier warning system, they could not evade the monitoring at the mouth of the Gulf of Adriatic.

However, if the British fleet is only discovered when it reaches this point, then the Austrian Empire will not have much time to react.

In three days at most, and one day at the shortest, the British navy would approach the coastline of the Austrian Empire.

Dolmabahçe Palace.

Muhammad Murad V stared at the sand table for a long time, then kicked it hard.

However, the sand table did not collapse as he had imagined. The Sultan kicked it a few more times, and the sand table only shook slightly.

The sand table in front of us may not look big, but it actually weighs 300-500 kilograms and requires several strong men to move it. It would be a miracle if Murad V could actually kick it over with one kick.

Murad V roared.

"The Russians' deployment of troops on the border is outrageous! What is this? This is a trampling on the dignity of our Ottoman Empire!"
At this critical juncture for the empire, tell me! Will you surrender, or fight to the bitter end?

Murad V spoke with great passion, but the Ottoman officials in the palace reacted rather coldly, and even Queen Mother Shefkefza looked on with surprise.

At this time, the factions within the Ottoman Empire were extremely complex, including the Empress Dowager's faction, the Imperial faction, the pro-war faction, the pro-peace faction, the pro-British faction, the pro-Austrian faction, and the pro-Russian faction. The old bureaucrats, the old nobles, and the new nobles were also fighting their own battles, but they were also intertwined with each other, truly a situation where each had elements of the other.

Under such a chaotic system, people clearly preferred fighting amongst themselves to fighting against external enemies, especially since the Russians hadn't invaded yet.
But there are exceptions. Ahmed Yilmaz took a deep breath and stepped forward to say.

"Your Majesty, the Russians' wolfish ambitions are now obvious. If we back down today, they will take a step forward tomorrow."

If things continue like this, my great Ottoman Empire may cease to exist!

Ahmed Yilmaz was a close associate of the post-war party, but as a newcomer, he was a staunch advocate of war.

Murad V nodded with satisfaction. He actually needed the support of these soldiers the most right now, but his supporters were mostly religious figures and old ministers left behind by Megid I.

Deftdale, an old man from the time of Magid I, who was in charge of finances and a member of the Imperial Party, said this at the moment.

"Ilmazpasha, I want to know if our new army, which we have spent a lot of money training, can fight the Russians?"
Why did the new equipment that our country purchased end up on the black market and in the homes of princes and nobles?

As far as I know, the performance of your newly trained army in several military exercises has been a complete disaster. British instructors have even called you the "Scarecrow Army." Can you really compare to the battle-hardened Russians?

Moreover, our national treasury is currently empty. If we rashly start a war, it will likely be unsustainable, and we will repeat the same mistakes. Not only will we fail to stop the Russians, but we will also lose more territory.

Yilmaz Pasha, what are your intentions in instigating the Sultan to go to war?

The veins on Ahmed Yilmaz's forehead bulged. He really wanted to chop the old embezzler in front of him with a knife. If it weren't for this old guy's embezzlement of military funds, how could the new army have become so corrupt?

Now look what's happened, they've turned the tables on us first.