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

Chapter 1695 Less than one kilometer from Topkapi Palace
The barricades of Shturkobey were quickly completed; they were a makeshift wall made of furniture, wagons, crates, doors, and corpses.

At this moment, Russian troops also rushed out from the other side of the street, driving the retreating Ottoman soldiers toward the makeshift barricades erected by Shturkobey.

Shturkobai was prepared for this and immediately gave the order.

"Fire freely! Don't let a single coward escape!"

The Ottoman soldiers quickly fell victim to their own guns, but the Russians had achieved their desired effect; they were close to the barricades and only a few dozen more steps away from charging them.

At that point, the Ottomans would lose their advantage of fortifications, and the battle would become a contest of who could withstand more casualties. Judging from previous battles, it was clear that the Ottomans' ability to withstand such losses was far inferior to that of the Russian army.

So Stepan Khrulev thought this was another victory that was within his grasp, but he soon discovered that things were not as simple as he had imagined.

The streets were too narrow, and the corpses and blood on the ground became obstacles. The Russian army's mass charge was like a target that was constantly approaching, and the Ottoman New Army's gun barrels could not be turned far astray.

Russian soldiers fell one after another, while their counterattacks did little to harm the Ottoman troops behind the barricades; it was a completely unequal battle.

The Russian army sacrificed countless soldiers to reach the barricades, only to discover something even more terrifying: the dark muzzles of cannons were pointed directly at them.

A single solid shot blast immediately created a bloody line in the Russian ranks, and none of the Russian soldiers along the way were unharmed.

The sound of cannons rang out one after another, and each solid shot carved a bloody path through the crowd.

Russian soldiers are indeed thick-skinned, and these elite Russian troops are indeed fearless, but fearlessness is ultimately just an adjective.

This time it was the Russian army's turn to collapse. After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, Russian soldiers screamed and retreated to the other end of the street.

The Russian army also has artillery, but engaging in a firefight without cover is not a wise move. Fortunately, there was plenty of material nearby.
Stepan Khrulev immediately gave the order.

"Build barricades on the spot! Push the cannons up!"

Russian troops immediately rushed into the houses on both sides of the street and used furniture, doors, and other items to block the road. However, the artillery was still very powerful at a distance of less than 100 meters, and Russian soldiers were frequently hit by the shelling.

Heavy iron balls emerged from the smoke, piercing through wooden wagons and doors as easily as paper, instantly shattering them into countless fragments. Soldiers stacking barricades were pierced through the chest, screaming as they fell to the ground, their chests gaping open.

The cargo of spices also broke apart, and the pungent smell of spices and gunpowder instantly filled the entire street, causing people to sneeze uncontrollably.

The Ottomans on the other side shouted excitedly upon seeing this.

"Keep firing! The Russians are finished!"

However, as the barricades gradually thickened, the Ottomans' light field artillery began to become ineffective, and at the same time, the Russian counterattack began.

Ottoman barricades were effective against Russian soldiers' rifles, but equally ineffective against artillery.

The power and effect of each shot fired at close range were astonishing. The executions resumed, only this time the weapons had changed from rifles to cannons.

However, this time the Russian army consisted of elite troops, and in such a fierce and bloody battle, the Russian army, having experienced life and death, had a greater advantage.

Shturkobai also realized this, and he immediately ordered the barricades to be reinforced, otherwise the artillery would collapse sooner or later.

Ottoman soldiers drove nearby residents to reinforce the barricades, a process that would result in the deaths of many civilians, but they didn't care, as the corpses would become building materials. The two sides thus engaged in a war of attrition in the narrow streets, which was exactly what Shturkobai wanted, since time was of the essence.

However, in the palace behind the palace, a group of important figures could not be happy at all.

"Imamolupasha's forces have been routed?"

"Have the Russians already entered the city?"

"The Russians are now less than a kilometer from the palace?"

Every piece of news made the Ottoman Empire's high command uneasy.

Chief Ulimadiram said with grief and indignation.

"This is the evil consequence of blindly imitating heretics! Only a fool would practice lining up for execution! The most urgent thing we should do is have our soldiers take off their suits and put on robes so that they can avoid being punished by Allah!"

Otherwise, Imamorupasha is the best example!

Grand Vizier Olma never expected that even at the critical moment of life and death, the other side would still not forget to attack the military reforms. As the leader of the reformists, he naturally could not let the other side talk nonsense.

"Your Majesty! Imamolpasha's failure was entirely due to the incompleteness of our reforms! If we could fully embrace the advanced ideas of the West..."

The navy and army were also passing the buck, with the army saying the navy was incompetent and the navy saying the army's support was inadequate.

"That's enough! Shut up, everyone!"

Murad V roared angrily, not expecting that the Russians were already less than a kilometer from the palace, yet his trusted ministers were still making a ruckus.

Even more distraught than Murad V was Viscount Stratford. He never imagined the Russians would dare attack Istanbul, and even more unexpectedly, the Ottomans were driven to the gates of the palace.

There are so many bad things going on that he can't even tell which is the worst. Have the Russians already reached the gates of Topkapi Palace, or are the Ottomans still unable to come up with a solution?
Or perhaps the news can't get out from here?

With the port destroyed, British intelligence personnel were unable to leave by sea and had to flee by land. Who knows if all the ports along the coast had already been captured by the Russian army?
Reaching Greece via the border was not easy. Not to mention whether the Ottomans would allow passage at this particular time, it was also uncertain whether Greece, which was too close to the Austrian Empire, would stab Britain in the back again.

The message couldn't reach London, nor the Mediterranean Fleet headquarters in Cyprus, so a rescue was out of the question.

London is now completely unaware that Russia has declared war.

Compared to these, the destruction of the British Embassy in last night's fire, the burning to death of dozens of embassy staff, and the leaving of hundreds homeless are not such a big problem.

Furthermore, his own life was now under real threat, and Viscount Stratford had absolutely no trust in the character of the Russians.

If he fell into the hands of the Russians, he felt that it might be better to die quickly; he did not want to be tortured.

Although leaving now would seem shameless, living is the most important thing, and most importantly, this corrupt country is not worth his death.

However, the Viscount Stratford still decided to do something for the British Empire.

"Your Excellency Sultan, you should now go to a safer place. This will make it easier for you to command the overall situation."