After listening to the opinions of the two sides, His Majesty Tsar Nicholas I of the Russian Empire finally hesitated to decide to hold peace talks with the French, he did not trust the sincerity of the French in proposing peace talks, but he hoped to end the war as soon as possible, so he could only carry out peace talks with a skeptical mentality. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

At the same time, as the Tsar of the Russian Empire, it was difficult for him to muster the courage to accept the reality of his country's defeat in the war, after all, it would become one of the biggest stains on the Romanov dynasty for more than 200 years.

So, no matter how bad the situation was, there was still a secret hope in his heart that God would bless him once and for all, that the French and the English would suddenly stop the war because of some sudden state of affairs, just as Russia had suddenly ended the Seven Years' War after Peter III came to power, and Prussia, which had been exhausted, finally succeeded in turning the tables on its face.

It was precisely under the impetus of these two mentalities that the tsar was more hesitant about peace talks, unwilling to make too many concessions at the negotiating table, preferring to wait and see for a while and wait for the situation to improve.

And this mentality of His Majesty the Tsar undoubtedly worried his chosen special envoy for negotiations, Mr. Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov, because in his opinion the situation at home and abroad in the empire was already in danger, and the empire had already expended too much strength in this war, and it could even be said to be on the verge of exhaustion. Nowadays, there are crises lurking everywhere, both at home and abroad, facing a sinister situation, and the situation at home is even more dire in comparison.

The fact that the Empire has already expended too much strength in the war, and the reality of repeated defeats that has made the Imperial government increasingly disappointing, will inevitably make it all the more dangerous for those who are already disgruntled with the Empire, because they already have a base of public opinion that would be enough to shake the Empire's rule if it continues.

After all, Charles de Treville was right when he said that a foreigner could not destroy the Romanov dynasty, only a rebellion at home - the tsars who died were killed by the rebels at home, and not a single one died at the hands of foreigners.

And the Romanov dynasty has never lacked hardcore opponents, and these opponents even have a large group of nobles who are supposed to be the pillars of the empire, these nobles enjoy the privileges and glory provided to them by the imperial government, but on the other hand, they think that the imperial government is hopelessly degenerate, and should end the tyranny of the tsar as soon as possible and give freedom to every Russian.

These nobles were dangerous because they were rich, powerful, and charismatic, and their privileges made it easier for them to do so. The Decembrist rebellion of 1825 is the most favorable proof of this.

Although the Decembrists were suppressed at the time, both the Tsar and Gorchakov himself knew that among the nobility of the Empire, there were many sympathizers of this group, and it was only because of the strong repression of the Empire that they temporarily retreated into the background, and their dormancy made them more and more dangerous, because they were gathering strength and learning their lessons, and the next rebellion would definitely be more violent.

In comparison, it can even be said that the hidden opponents in the country are more dangerous than the Anglo-French forces fought by the Crimean open fire, because the Anglo-French forces only want to force the empire to compromise, and they are willing to continue to recognize the existence of the empire; The opposition aristocrats, on the other hand, wanted the empire to be destroyed in its entirety in order to realize their political ideals.

It is precisely because of this that Gorchakov judged the situation and believed that the situation could not be further deteriorated, otherwise the empire would face a heavier domestic crisis, and it was necessary to negotiate peace with Britain and France as soon as possible, so that the bleeding wounds could be stopped quickly, and the empire could face those domestic opponents lurking in the shadows more calmly, and even suppress them in a bloody way if necessary.

Therefore, he was very dissatisfied with His Majesty's current hesitation, and even more opposed to his policy of delaying the negotiations for the time being, but as His Majesty's minister, he had to negotiate according to His Majesty's instructions, and could not go beyond the thunder pool.

In this way, with a feeling of apprehension and helplessness, he and his attaché set out on a journey to the southern battlefield, hoping in his heart that everything was still in time and that the Imperial Government would be able to make peace with Britain and France before the terrible events broke out.

Compared with the worries in his heart, the Crimean Peninsula, thousands of miles away, seems calm at the moment. The originally violent wind and snow had calmed down a lot, and the two armies that had been fighting fiercely had been temporarily silenced by the truce agreement that had recently come into effect, and the roar of guns and artillery had suddenly stopped.

It was a time of peace for both officers and men, but it was also destined to be short-lived, and beneath the calm surface, there was also a terrifying storm.

The heart of the storm was under the fortress of Sevastopol.

The roar of the guns ended, replaced by the roar of the train whistle, and since the construction of the railway, there have been trains passing back and forth on the road every day, a strange thing that even many Russian soldiers who have never seen a train before are curiously watching.

However, even the most ignorant defenders of the fortress could see that this new gadget was strengthening the French front-line army at a terrible rate, whether it was supplies or weapons.

In fact, their eyes did not yet have a way to see the full picture of the rear of the enemy army. After months of hard work, along the port of Balaclava, the main maritime supply base of the coalition forces, and even beneath the fortress of Sevastopol, there was a busy situation everywhere, and thanks to the efforts of engineers and workers, despite the bad weather, they were able to build a simple railway line, which also boosted the morale of the otherwise beleaguered French troops under the fortress.

A large number of wintering supplies were sent by the roaring trains, and the supply situation suddenly improved, and what made them even more excited was that a new heavy artillery was also transported to the front line by ships, becoming the most powerful supplement to the front-line army.

The short truce also gave the Allied forces the opportunity to redeploy their troops and replenish their weapons by the way, and after the Imperial Chancellor came to the front to supervise the battle, the engineers and workers worked harder to finally build the railway, which was already close to completion, and this railway, which was only more than 30 kilometers long, also made Charles and Marshal Tréville more confident that their victory was irreversible.

At this time, Charles and his entourage inspect the railway terminal, watching groups of soldiers and workers unload goods from the train.

The weather was still cold, but he was in a good mood, and looked at everything in front of him with great interest, and even walked over to the unloaded goods, carefully examining these hard-won items.

What caught his eye the most were the barrels of the guns hidden in the long boxes.

In order to facilitate transportation, the heavy guns were disassembled and shipped, and the barrels and carriages and shells were loaded in different boxes, and the barrels were naturally the soul of the cannons, and were kept in the best possible way, filled with hay as filling, while the thick barrels were hidden in them, and the copper-containing material gave them a blue-black light, like a giant beast lurking in the grass.

Charles couldn't help but reach out and touch the top of a cannon, the body of the cannon was very smooth, only after touching the bottom did it become a little rough because of the inscriptions that marked the model and origin, the climate at this time was cold, and the metal cannon body greedily absorbed the heat of the human body, making Charles feel a terrifying chill.

However, in addition to the chill, he also felt a sincere pride, because these heavy guns, in addition to the original state-run military factory, many of them were made in the Giverny factory, and they were also among the most powerful weapons in the arsenal's products now.

After several years of cultivation and careful support, his arsenals have expanded year by year, and the variety and technical content of their products have become more and more advanced, and they can now make cannons that represent the top of firepower.

He raised his head and looked at the mountains of supplies and weapons in the field, and looked at the busy soldiers and workers, and couldn't help but feel a sense of complacency. He knew that it would not be long before a storm of bullets would sweep through the fortress, and that it would be an unprecedented catastrophe for the fortress of Sevastopol, and that the French army, which had suffered many setbacks here, would have the best chance of taking the honor.

"I think you've seen the power of England and France together, right?" When he was complacent, he couldn't help but have a little desire to show off, so he turned his head to look at the people around him.

Then, he raised his hand and pointed to the mountain of supplies, "No force can stop us from achieving our goals. ”

In the bleak cold wind, Richard von Metternich couldn't help but shrink his neck. Of course, he could hear the threat implicit in Charles' words that he had "no power".

And what makes him even more unhappy is that this threat is not much different from reality.

Indeed, what he saw before him was terrible enough, Britain and France had joined together to seize complete supremacy of the sea thousands of miles away, and used their incomparable wealth and strength to supply huge armies, telegraphs, railways, steamships, and all kinds of wisdom developed by modern science, so that they could fight with such an empire as Russia with ease, and they could now even muster such a powerful firepower.

He came with several military attachés, and at this moment, they were all convinced, and he really had nothing to say in the face of absolute strength.

In the Crimea the Anglo-French army had the advantage, what if the Anglo-French army landed in Venice and Trieste? It's only easier for them, because the distance is shortened and the climate is more adaptable. And if such a huge national and military power is used against Austria, will Austria be able to stop it?

Although he loves his country, Richard is able to admit the reality, and he does think that his country cannot be matched.

In other words, reality is stronger than people, and now it is necessary to establish good relations with the Western European powers, and it is okay to offend Russia, because such a disastrous defeat will definitely make Russia unable to retaliate.

There is no doubt that Russia was kind to Austria back then, but if it did not side with France, it would be isolated in the face of France's anger, so even if it was ungrateful, some things had to be done.

He had reported what he had seen to the Imperial Government in Vienna, and he trusted His Majesty Franz-Joseph and the officials of the Reich to make an accurate judgment.

He believed that even at the risk of breaking with the Russians, it was necessary to take the ship of England and France, and only in this way could the empire be extricated from the future crisis, and it would be best if the ambitions of the Sardinians could be extinguished in this way.

"Indeed, you have the upper hand." Driven by this mentality, he couldn't help but compliment Charles, "We will make a reasonable judgment based on the friendship between the two countries, Charles." ”

"Good, we're friends." Charles laughed, and then, he raised his hand, pointing at the vague fortress in the distance, "If the weather permits, after the truce is over, we will launch a major offensive to end the resistance of the entire fortress with extremely heavy artillery fire, and then the whole of Russia will tremble!" ”

"What about peace talks?" Richard asked rhetorically, "It is said that the Tsar has sent an envoy to negotiate peace. ”

"His Majesty the Tsar has been very slow in his movements, and this in itself proves that he is not sincere enough for the peace talks, and in that case, we have nothing else to say but to use swords and guns to make him make wise judgments." Charles shrugged his shoulders, "I believe that the fall of the fortress will be a complete proof that he and his ministers will understand that the war will never end with a Russian victory, and that it is time for them to make enough concessions in the face of internal and external crises, otherwise they will only regret it even more." ”

"That is, you are convinced that there will be civil strife among the Russians?" Richard shrewdly grasped Charles's words, "Is there any evidence for this?" ”

"I've never said that." "I'm just judging by common sense, your Majesty the Tsar has never lacked opponents, and now that they are in such a crisis, it would be strange if they didn't take advantage of the situation," said Charles, who continued to smile with that inscrutableness. ”

"It makes sense." Richard thought for a moment and nodded.

Just then, an officer made his way through the crowd, walked up to Charles, and whispered a report.

"It's a coincidence." After listening to this, Charles turned his head to look at Richard, "The Tsar's envoy has arrived and is agreeing to negotiate with us!" ”

They were trembling, and they had to let themselves fall into the iron claws of the monsters. Looking at the high-spirited young man, Richard thought to himself.