At the end of September, several shocking pieces of important news came one after another.

First of all, just as Duke Saltykov was preparing to join Marshal Daun outside Prague, Marshal Daun secretly attacked Berlin, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, with only a cavalry force of 4,000 men, and successfully plundered a large amount of wealth and returned to Prague safely, disrupting Peter's plan to send Saltykov to rob Berlin.

Immediately after the meeting of the Russian and Austrian armies, Saltykov seemed to have a dispute with Marshal Daun, so he led the Russian army on the southern front to leave Prague in a hurry and instead attack the city of Brno, which was an important communication point between Silesia and Vienna in eastern Bohemia and Moravia. For this reason, Marshal Daun even bypassed the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Austria, Archduchess Theresa, sent a letter of protest to Russia, and demanded the removal of Saltykov, the commander of the Russian army on the southern front.

Just when Peter was worried about how to mediate this dispute, Frederick the Great quietly left the Vienna front and led an army of 45,000 men to kill Prague without the Austrian army noticing. As a result, Marshal Dawn was defeated and was forced to abandon the attack on Prague and hastily retreat to Bujejovitzel in the south, while his original 55,000 HRE army was killed, captured and escaped more than 20,000, and suddenly lost the ability to counterattack. But sadly, Marshal Daun blamed Saltykov for this defeat unilaterally, so he also tried to pull Archduchess Theresa to put pressure on St. Petersburg.

On the other hand, on the Western Front, in Hanover, the British and Prussian armies gathered nearly 54,000 troops and forcibly crossed the Weser River at night, and fought a fierce battle with the 65,000 French troops led by the Duke of Richeleux in Minden, a small town west of Hanover. As a result, the Duke of Richeleu was defeated, and 12,000 French soldiers were killed in battle or disappeared in the Bastau Marshes during their Jedi escape. After this battle, the French army was forced to abandon the attack on Hanover, and retreated into the territory of the diocese of Cologne. But at the same time, the youngest son of King George II, the Duke of Cumberland, who was the commander of the expeditionary force, fought valiantly, and successfully repelled four French counterattacks at the cost of more than two-thirds of the casualties, not only won the praise of the Prussian army, but also surpassed the prestige of the Prince of Wales as the heir to the throne, that is, his nephew.

Compared with the Seven Years' War in history, the war that took place in mid-to-late September 1756 was completely distorted, not only the defeat of Field Marshal Daun, who was known as a master of defense, but also the Duke of Cumberland, the butcher of Hanover, who should have suffered a crushing defeat and was forced to sign the humiliating "Zeven Agreement", and finally led to the spurning of his father George II, won the victory, and the direction of history has been full of uncertainties from then on.

"So, guys, what do we do now?"

The Empress is not yet awake, and Peter is still the regent, the regent who is full of bad luck.

On the last day of September 1756, Peter convened the most important emergency meeting since becoming regent.

"Your Highness, I suggest that the Southern Front should return to Vienna again and cooperate with the Austrian army in its defense, and it is clear that it is no longer possible to storm Prussia and gain enough benefits, so I think that surviving this winter is a priority."

Deputy Prime Minister Volyntsov said.

"Hehe, the Austrians are playing tricks on their own and want to put the blame on us and help them? Why? Let's discuss it when the money is in place. Besides, when Saltykov captures Brno, it is just right to block the supply of Saxony and Silesia, how can such an important strategic position be withdrawn? ”

"Oh, Your Highness's vision is amazing and far-sighted, blame me for not checking for a while..."

Volyntsov's cheeks were hot, and he quickly slapped them.

"Do you have any good ideas, Count Bestuzhev?"

Peter turned to the Prime Minister who was sitting on the other side.

"That's right, Your Highness, in view of the disagreement between the Duke of Saltykov and Marshal Daun, the Austrians will not necessarily cooperate with Saltykov in the capture of Brno and the whole of Moravia, and if Saltykov has only one army, I fear that Prussia will have another surprise attack, or even send reinforcements from Saxony or Silesia, so that the situation of the army on the southern front led by Saltykov will be extremely dangerous."

Bestuzhev calmly analyzed.

"Well, I'm worried about that, so I hope you can come up with some really enforceable solutions."

Peter held his chin in thought.

"By the way, I want to confirm one thing with His Highness first"

"Oh? What did the Count want to be sure? ”

"That's right, I remember that His Highness said at a combat meeting that he hoped to drag the main force of the Prussian army through another winter, has this idea changed His Highness?"

Besturzhev asked calmly.

"Oh, it's this... Well, nothing has changed, and the basis for the battle plan is still to drag the main armies of Prussia and Austria through Vienna."

Peter thought for a moment, then replied.