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

Chapter 1799 A Little Revenge
"How could such a good thing possibly happen?"

Nicholas I was not entirely skeptical of this, and he asked with some doubt.

"Frantz, you have money, men, and soldiers. Can't you just grab land at will?"

"It's not that simple; land isn't unlimited."

Nicholas I was even more puzzled by Franz's answer.

"So you want me to get a share of the profits?"

"Yes. Father-in-law, you've actually guessed one thing wrong. The expansion of the Austrian Empire is nearing its limit."

Even now, the Austrian Empire is unable to effectively develop all the colonies it has occupied so far; more land, on the contrary, brings heavy defensive pressure.

Franz was telling the truth. The Austrian Empire now had too many colonies. Even with the labor force he brought in from various countries, and even with the colonies secretly doing things that were explicitly prohibited, the colonies still faced a severe labor shortage.

Ironically, the better the Austrian Empire developed domestically, the fewer people were willing to go to its colonies.

However, if the Austrian Empire wanted to continue this rapid development, it had to develop colonies, and the faster it developed, the stronger its need for colonies became.

For the Austrian Empire, colonies not only represented the upper limit of national development, but were also crucial to preventing the supply of strategic materials from being cut off.

What Franz didn't say was that this defensive pressure would increase as the colonies developed. At this time, the Austrian Empire's tortoise-shell tactics were based on low levels of development, small-scale urbanization, and low strategic value.

"Thank you very much. However, Russia currently lacks maritime experience, and as you said, colonies cannot be seized so easily."

Nicholas I paused for a moment before continuing.

"Russia will try to acquire more land, but since the Austrian Empire is short of manpower, I have an idea."

The Romanov family could contribute their labor as capital to newly developed lands inland by the Austrian Empire, thus allowing our two countries to share the profits.

Franz hesitated for a moment, then readily agreed.

"no problem."

Nicholas I was also very happy.

May the friendship between the Romanov and Habsburg families last forever.

This was exactly what Franz wanted; it was much easier for Nicholas I to come up with it himself than for Franz to propose it.

After years of practice, the Austrian Empire discovered that the Russians and Poles, two peoples who were considered extremely difficult to assimilate by later generations, were not so difficult to assimilate in the Austrian Empire at that time.

In Galicia, there were even instances of Austrian Poles and Russians crossing the border to steal people from Prussian Poland and Russian Poland.

Ultimately, this forced Prussia to build the Polish Wall on the border, and Russia also built a fence to prevent serfs from escaping.

In reality, both Poles and Russians are more receptive to the concept of a universal empire. Russians have an innate adoration for powerful monarchs, while Poles worship heroes and saviors and are superstitious about prophecy and the church.

Around 2000, a survey was conducted in Poland asking what kind of leader they wanted. 90% of the Poles said they wanted someone who could beat up Turks, be devout, and be a hero.

However, in any case, Franz needed a large number of people to expand his territory; having many colonies would be a waste if they couldn't be developed.

Especially with the development of the African interior, a huge price was foreseeable and inevitable, and the Austrian Empire did not have that many people to sacrifice.

As for allowing the Romanov family, rather than Russia, to invest, it served two purposes: firstly, to help the Tsar establish a slush fund and strengthen the personal relationship between the two families; and secondly, to avoid Russian government intervention.

In fact, Nicholas I and the Romanov family had absolutely no reason to refuse, since the returns far outweighed the costs, and there was no reason to refuse such a highly profitable business.

Franz suddenly spoke seriously.

"I have made some progress regarding Olga, but there are some people who are the Emperor of the Austrian Empire that I cannot deal with."

Nicholas I understood that he didn't believe any of the absurd reasons for starting the war, such as the Ottomans assassinating Olga and leaving behind a tattered copy of the Quran.

In fact, the Russian side was also conducting an investigation, and under the intense questioning of the Third Special Division, the matter gradually came to light.

But even the Special Third Division's stronghold was attacked, and an important intelligence officer was killed. Nicholas I realized that beneath the ice was already boiling magma.

"Give me the list."

This statement surprised Franz.

"I have evidence of crimes collected by our intelligence agencies, but some of the individuals have special identities, and our intelligence personnel do not have the ability to continue the investigation."

Therefore, please verify the information carefully before deciding whether to stop here or pursue the matter to the end.

Besides the Ottomans, the other three countries were involved in Olga's attack.

Franz has survived countless assassination attempts over the years, but he has never resented anyone; on the contrary, he finds it quite normal.

If I die, it can only prove that I was not careful enough, lacked ability, or that it was fate.

But Franz felt that Olga's assassination was a bit too much.

Even most gangsters in this era adhere to the principle of not harming family members, not because they are of high moral character or ethical standards, but because they know how terrifying revenge killings can become once the bottom line is crossed.

Several salons in Vienna caught fire one after another, and each time there were almost no survivors; even those who suffered severe burns did not live long.

Detective Hertz found the whole thing too suspicious. How could such a high-class salon be unguarded? And how could they always leave accelerants everywhere?

Once or twice could be a coincidence, but it's happened several times already. And each time, the escape exit is blocked by a heavy object or the door bolt is jammed.

If there are too many coincidences, then it can't be a coincidence. What's even more frightening is that he discovered no one jumped out of the window to escape. Theoretically speaking, even if it's very high, there would be one or two people who would jump down to try their luck.

Hertz reviewed nearly a decade's worth of files and found that even in high-rise fires, people would choose to jump from the building, and the survival rate was not low.

Why didn't anyone jump in one salon that was only on the second floor? Dozens of young and middle-aged men and women, including soldiers, chose to stay put and be burned alive.

Furthermore, fires are rare in Vienna now, and even when they do occur, the fire department responds quickly. However, these past few times, the fire department has either been in a very far-off location or has been delayed by some other issue.

What's most terrifying is that all the dead were important figures. They might have been insignificant in Vienna, but they held considerable power in their respective regions and departments.

Besides these people, there have been quite a few unexpected events in Vienna and even Venice recently.

He was hit by a horse-drawn carriage, crushed to death by a flowerpot, strangled by his own tie, accidentally fell into the water, or into a septic tank.

A colleague of Hertz said that a major accident had occurred in Venice: a yacht carrying fourteen professors, three military officers, and two government officials had been unexpectedly crushed into a pile of pies by two cargo ships. Normally, such a serious accident would be announced nationwide, but it was quickly suppressed.

While local officials certainly didn't want to lose face, there aren't many people who can suppress such matters.

Hertz had also inexplicably received a transfer order, instructing him to investigate other cases and handing this case over to someone else.

Fortunately, Hertz had a number of merits, including a First Class Commendation and a First Class Order of Loyal Service.

Even so, he risked his entire career and personal honor to prevent the court from classifying it as an accident.

But that's probably all there is to it, because the more he investigated, the more outrageous it seemed. He discovered that the killer might have even used some props that were completely beyond conventional understanding.

For example, it contains potent accelerants and hypnotic gases, has the ability to transform an entire building overnight, and uses military-grade bulletproof glass.
There are even gunmen who can hit a rope from hundreds of meters away.

Everything seemed so unbelievable that even his family thought he had gone mad.

Before Hertzer was sent to a mental hospital, all the files and evidence he had collected were sealed and transferred.
Nicholas I would naturally not let go of those involved in the assassination of Olga, but he knew it was not the right time yet. Once the negotiations in Constantinople were settled, those people would face their demise.

During the banquet, a waiter quietly told Nicholas I.

"General Makarov requested an audience, saying he had something very important to discuss."

Nicholas I was naturally very displeased; he really didn't know what there was to talk about.

"These diplomats are completely inefficient!"

Nicholas I angrily retorted that he felt private diplomacy between monarchs was more useful, as a meeting and a talk could resolve many major issues.

Despite his displeasure, he still wanted to find out what major event it was.

Makarov was quite straightforward, stating the British conditions right away and including the speculations and suggestions of the civil service.

Nicholas I was uninterested in the benefits touted by the British and civil servants, and especially found the idea of ​​international co-government unacceptable.

“Makarov, I should have told you this before. Constantinople is Russia’s bottom line. Are you deaf?”

Nicholas I spoke harshly because leaving a banquet early is considered extremely impolite for a member of the royal family.

"No. But if we were to occupy Constantinople, the cost of rebuilding it would be far too exorbitant."

Moreover, we simply don't have the resources to manage it; Constantinople is a burden for Russia.

Nicholas I smiled.

"I won't lack the energy. I will move the capital to Constantinople, and we will rebuild it as our own capital, which I will govern personally!"

Since Nicholas I had said so, Makarov knew what to do.

No matter how eloquently the British and their civil servants described international co-governance, he would no longer consider it.

In reality, the reason why those civil servants thought the idea of ​​international co-governance was good was mainly due to their own considerations.

After all, people either become officials to get promoted and make money, or to live a leisurely life.

But taking Constantinople was a heavy burden for the civil servants, in addition to the astronomical costs of governing and rebuilding mentioned earlier.

The administrative costs would be staggering, but given Nicholas I's personality, it's unlikely he would allocate additional funding to the Russian government.

In other words, they must use their already strained administrative resources to cope with nearly double the workload of the past.

Religious and ethnic conflicts can also turn it into a huge administrative quagmire.
Furthermore, more rebellions and more wars also mean more soldiers and more war expenses.

This is undoubtedly another significant boost to the already powerful military officer group, and the civil officer group does not want to continue to see the military officers dominating the scene.

At this time, Emperor Nicholas I had a special preference for military officers, which is why he used military officers to replace diplomats and some civil service positions.

However, the civil service group did not believe that future tsars would all be like this. What they had to do was wait and try their best to prevent the power and status of military officers from expanding further.

As for whether it is advantageous or disadvantageous for Russia, it could certainly be disadvantageous, since Russia's exclusive control of Constantinople is indeed debatable.

However, for Nicholas I, Constantinople was his obsession, and there was no room for negotiation.

Inside the luxurious palace, envoys from various countries, nobles, and scholars who came to witness history enjoyed sumptuous food, beautiful music, wonderful performances, and the joy of victory.

But the killings continued into the night. The flower of evil bloomed even more brilliantly under the cover of darkness.

The bodies in the port area were already piled up like mountains. Many people wanted to escape to the other side by waterway, but how could the army entering the city not know this?
The soldiers searched the corpses for anything that could be sold, and some even broke off their teeth as souvenirs.

The soldiers didn't care why the Ottomans were trying to sneak across; all they knew was that they couldn't let a single person cross to the other side.

This was both a military order and their way of making money, since the Holy Alliance had only given them three days to plunder, and there were too many places where plundering was not allowed.

Catholics cannot plunder, Orthodox Christians cannot plunder, Greeks cannot plunder, and even Armenians cannot plunder.

If they forbid looting this and that, what are we risking our lives to attack the city for?
In order to generate revenue, the Jews were the ones who suffered the most.

The Batra district, being a Jewish enclave, naturally became a disaster area, with Russian troops rushing into the narrow streets.

The homes and churches of wealthy merchants were the first to be attacked, and ancient scrolls were sold cheaply to merchants accompanying the army.

Jewish men were gathered together and had their distinctive sideburns and beards shaved off as a form of humiliation, but this was only the beginning. They were then conscripted as laborers and subsequently executed in unison.

The Austrian army was slightly more respectable than the Russian army; they mostly engaged in looting, since Austria did have a considerable number of Jewish soldiers and officers.

However, these Jewish soldiers and officers did not go to rescue their compatriots. Instead, they were the most active in looting the synagogue and buying up the scriptures.

These Jews would also use their special status to lure local Jewish women and then threaten them to convert to Islam or they would kill their families.

Jews would send women who converted to the church to receive a reward; according to the Austrian Imperial Church, a reward of 50 florins would be given for each lost sheep they converted.

As for why women? Because Constantinople is too chaotic now, and in order to survive, it's not impossible to change religions or even races.

The Austrian Empire's accompanying priests couldn't distinguish whether the other party was Jewish or someone else.

Before the Hebrew revival movement began, Jews did not have a unified language and most spoke the language of the place they lived in.