I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1125 The Empire's Counterattack

Fox, standing to the side, hesitated for a moment and said, "But what if Russia chooses to withdraw its troops after occupying Poland?"
"Furthermore, Austria probably doesn't want an overly powerful Russia to exist beside it..."

Upon hearing this, Glenville and Pete exchanged a knowing smile.

These two strategic masters are discussing the "third level" of issues, while their mediocre foreign minister is still struggling with the "first level."

Little Pete had to patiently explain to him: "What Russia wants is not only Polish territory, but also access to Central and Western Europe."

"So, for over a hundred years they've been doing everything in their power to expand into the Balkans. Hmm, how many battles have they fought against the Ottomans for this?"

“Six times,” Fox said.

“Oh yes, six times. From over a hundred years ago until now.” Little Piece nodded. “But despite winning many wars, the Russians have only gained Crimea and Iasi, and have yet to reach the south bank of the Danube.”

"This is not because the Ottomans were so powerful, but because Austria, France, and even our country did not want to see Russian influence penetrate deeper into Europe, and thus implemented a system of checks and balances."

"So Russia certainly won't miss this opportunity to 'persuade' us and Austria through military force to let them control the Balkans. Oh, and defeating France is also an important step in that."

Glenville added: "The Russians have been secretly supporting Greek independence in order to weaken the Ottomans' power in the Balkans."

“This time, we can help Greece accelerate its break away from the Ottoman Empire, giving the Russians hope and making them even more unable to resist the urge to participate in Central and Western European affairs.”

Fox nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "But how do we convince Austria? They are the last to want to see Russia become too powerful, since they will be the first to be threatened by Russia."

Little Pete smiled and said, "For Franz II, his greatest wish at present is to regain control of Italy, and secondly to bring the Rhineland back into his Holy Roman Empire."

"It is clearly impossible for Austria to accomplish all this on its own."

"Then he would have to make concessions to Russia in the Balkans in exchange for Russian intervention in the war in Western Europe."

Fox looked worried: "But this could very well make Russia too powerful and out of control."

Little Pete said nonchalantly, "Given Russia's current financial situation, it will probably have to rely on loans from our country to finish the war against Poland."

"After that, we can cut off funding at any time to limit their military operations."

“Even if things really get out of control, we can still unite with France and Austria to expel the ‘invasion of Orthodox heresy’.”

Yes, historically, what Fox feared did indeed come to pass. Subsequently, Britain, along with France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia, declared war on Russia.

The British and French fleets entered the Black Sea, and hundreds of thousands of expeditionary troops landed in Crimea, completely defeating Russia in three years.

Ultimately, Russia was forced to declare the Black Sea neutrality and completely relinquish control over Serbia, Wallachia, and Moldavia, reverting to its strategic position 50 years earlier and never recovering.

Fox finally smiled: "Looks like I need to go to St. Petersburg as soon as possible. Oh, and Vienna too."

Grenville raised his hand and said, "You just focus on dealing with the Russians. I'll take care of Austria personally."

Convincing Austria would undoubtedly involve numerous deals and secret agreements, and he wasn't comfortable letting Fox handle that.

Peter Jr. thought for a moment, then added, "We also need to find a way to influence the situation in Italy, where there is a growing discontent with France. Creating some trouble for France on the Apennine Peninsula would help us implement our diplomatic plans for Germany and Eastern Europe without interference."

Grenville nodded. “Your suggestion is excellent. Let Sir Norris take charge, with Sir Paget assisting him. Have them submit an action plan as soon as possible.”

Sir John Chuck-Norris was the British trade representative in the Papal States, effectively performing the duties of a consul.

Sir Arthur Paget was the British Minister to Naples.

These two were among the British officials most familiar with affairs on the Apennine Peninsula.

Fox then brought up the matter of having a member of the royal family attend the founding ceremony of the United Kingdom of Portugal-Brazil-Algarve next month.

Yes, the Portuguese royal family has arrived in Rio de Janeiro.

In order to strengthen the integration of the Brazilian colony, João decided to formally "upgrade" it to Portuguese territory and form a Portuguese-Brazilian United Kingdom.

"The Duke of York will cross the Atlantic to attend the ceremony."

After speaking, Glenville frowned again: "After we withdraw a large number of expeditionary troops from Portugal, the Spanish will likely move their forces to Gibraltar. We need to prepare supplies in advance and transport them there."

He wasn't worried about Gibraltar falling. After Spain's invasion of Portugal, Britain had sent 2,000 more soldiers to Gibraltar. Now, the defending force there had reached 3500 men, and with sufficient ammunition, they could easily withstand an attack by tens of thousands.

Peter Jr. pondered, “I think it’s better to divert the Spanish attention elsewhere than to invest resources in defense.”

"Oh? Do you have any suggestions?"

“The Spanish have been eyeing Morocco,” Pete Jr. said. “It’s clearly more attractive than the impregnable Gibraltar. We need to help them create some reason why they have to go there…”

North Africa.

Northern Morocco.

Lord Elliott glanced at the mountains outside the car window, then turned to the diplomat beside him and asked, "Mr. Esther, is this the Atlas Mountains?"

The latter said somewhat awkwardly, "Ahem, this is actually Mount Buhailar, Your Excellency."

“Oh, it looks really high,” Sir Elliott said with continued enthusiasm. “No wonder their sultan has never been able to effectively rule the mountain people here.”

Esther wanted to say, "It's only 700 feet tall," but he managed to hold back. He was just a minor official who had been sent to Africa and couldn't afford to offend any bigwigs from London.

He cleared his throat and got down to business: "Your Excellency, if the Wozan tribe chooses to refuse us out of fear of their Sultan's wrath..."

Lord Elliott smiled and waved his hand: "The reason you think that is because you don't yet know what I have brought to them."

He lowered his voice mysteriously: "A full 3 flintlock muskets, and £12 in funds."

Esther's eyes widened immediately: "This...so much! But if it's just for looting, it doesn't seem necessary..."

(End of this chapter)