The north wind blew, and the cruiser Emperor came from the direction of the Black Sea and sailed into the Bosphorus. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info!!

Count Andráhi came to Franz, who was standing in the bow of the ship. Joseph's side. Looming in front of it is the spire of Hagia Sophia, on which flutters the double-headed eagle flag of the Eastern Roman Empire on a gold background, which is now the flag of the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire and a sign of Russian ambition. The Eastern Roman Empire was once the master of the Balkans, Asia Minor, the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt.

"Our Holy Roman Empire is under siege on all sides." Franz. Joseph heard footsteps, glanced back at his Foreign Secretary, and said with a wry smile, "To the north is the growing German Empire...... To the west and south are the glorious French and Roman Empires, and to the east are the Russian Tsars, who are bent on wrestling the Balkans from us. And we have to dance on these three eggs at the same time, and if we are not careful, the empire of the Habsburgs will end in my hands. ”

"Your Majesty, God bless the Habsburgs, Napoleon III is dead." Count Andráhi comforted his master. But in his heart, he thought that if God really blessed the Habsburgs, he should let Franz . Emperor Joseph ascended to heaven as soon as possible.

Franz. Joseph nodded, he also considered himself lucky that the early death of Napoleon III was an opportunity. The empire of the Bonapartes was not consolidated, the country was expanding too fast and its foundations were shaky to compare with the thousand-year-old empire of the Habsburgs. If the Emperor is still alive, of course there is no problem. But now...... By Mathilde's woman in vain. There's no way to sustain it!

He said the same thing to his confidants at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, who urged him to attend Napoleon III's funeral in Paris, and to associate himself with Mathilde and Eugénielara. Even Count Andráhi was of the same opinion. At that time, the foreign minister of the Holy Roman Empire said this to Franz. Joseph said, "Now." The Bonapartes had gone from being a destroyer of the world order to a defender, so the empire of the Bonapartes was no threat to the empire of the Habsburgs. I am sure that I will convince Mathilde to hand over Serbia to us. ”

Franz. Joseph reminded his ministers that France would never allow the Habsburgs to establish a truly powerful state in the Balkans, because that would cause France to lose its European hegemony. Count Andrahi reminded him: "The situation in the Balkans is very complicated, and the Slavs there prefer to accept the rule of the Russians. ”

The Minister of War, Archduke Albrecht, also told him that "Russia and Germany are more dangerous than France!" The former wants to get the whole of the Balkans. The latter are coveting Austria and Bohemia! Therefore, the safest way is to form an alliance with France, guard Russia for France and contain Germany. ”

This is to let the Habsburgs, who once led Europe, go to work as watchdogs for nouveau riche like the Bonapartes! Just think about it to evoke Franz. The anger in Joseph's heart. But all these foolish ministers under him are all in the same language......

"The situation in France is still unclear, and it is difficult to say whether Mathilde and Eugénie will be able to control Napoleon III's legacy." The king of the Habsburgs told his foolish ministers, "So I will go to Constantinople first to meet the Tsar, and then to Paris to meet the two women." If Mathilde and Eugenie could give him a price that would satisfy him. The Holy Roman Empire might as well side with France. ”

But everybody knows. It was impossible for France to give much benefit to the Holy Roman Empire, because France had to maintain a balance between Germany and the HRE, and relations between the German Empire and France were much closer. After consulting foreign policy with his ministers, Franz . . . Joseph couldn't wait to get on the latest launch of the HRE Navy, the 3,500-ton sailless cruiser the Emperor, heading for Constantinople.

Two 2,300-horsepower reciprocating steam engines drove the Emperor into the Golden Horn, which the Russians used as a military port, and the main ships of the Russian Mediterranean Fleet lined up in the harbor, stretching to the limit of sight, with masts and chimneys lined up like spears. Most of them were ships with a hybrid of steam and sail. There were also several battleships powered by pure steam. After the acquisition of Constantinople, the direction of Russia's naval development changed from the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

The Russians built a large naval yard in Sevaspotor. With the help of British engineers, already had the ability to build large warships of the 10,000-ton class. And the British also very generously sold two 10,000-ton capital ships, the Warrior and the Black Prince, to Russia - of course, the British already had more powerful ironclads, and the sailless and fully steam-powered capital ship Ravage, which was commissioned in 1870, had an unladen displacement of more than 11,000 tons, becoming a new generation of maritime hegemons.

Now the two mountain-like ships sold to Russia are docked at the docks of the Golden Horn and fly the Russian naval flag, and they now have two Russian ships, "Peter the Great" and "Catherine the Great".

The Russian sailors, dressed in crisp white uniforms, lined up on the decks of their ships to greet them, and these men looked a hundred times more energetic. It is clear that the Russian Navy has regained its feet and has become a formidable maritime power comparable to the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.

Both sides of the Golden Horn were cheering citizens. After a decade of Russian occupation, the population of Constantinople had recovered to more than 500,000 people, and along with Moscow and Petersburg, it became the three largest cities of the Eastern Roman Empire. On both sides of the Bosphorus, there are now many towns, all of which are inhabited by immigrants from Russia. In the past 10 years, in order to attract immigrants from the north, the Tsarist government has spared no effort and offered three big red envelopes of free land, housing and tax reduction. It quickly turned the area around Constantinople into a new home for the Russians, and at the same time served as a major stronghold for the expansion of the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire into the Balkans and Asia Minor.

When the "little" Emperor docked next to the "big" Peter the Great, Franz. Joseph saw at a glance the Russian Tsar, who was already waiting on the docks. "The Tsar is coming." Franz. Joseph ordered, "Put the gangway down, I'm going ashore." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Follow the captain of the Emperor behind him to take the order. The emperor frowned and asked Count Andráhi beside him, "The tsar should agree to our occupation of Serbia, right?" ”

"Yes, if we support the Tsar's occupation of Greece!" Count Andráhi replied in a low voice, "But both Serbia and Greece are allies of France, and if we invade without French consent......"

"It doesn't matter, Napoleon III is dead!" Franz. Joseph laughed, "Those two women don't dare to go to war against us!" ”

"Your Majesty, we want," the German Empire's industry developed rapidly, and the output of steel was already comparable to that of France. ”

"William I is old." Franz. Joseph laughed, "And once we go to war with Germany, Britain and Russia will be on our side!" The tsar was very keen to take back Poland. ”

By this time the gangway had been lowered, and Franz. Joseph straightened his military uniform and strode down. Tsar Alexander II took a few steps forward and took the initiative to meet him. The ruler of the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire was beaming with joy, and it seemed that the death of Napoleon III was also a happy event for him.

"Franz, my brother, welcome to Constantinople!" Tsar and Franz. Joseph hugged and kissed (well, not to say it), then laughed and said, "There's good news to say." ”

And the good news? Who died this time? Franz. Joseph thought to himself that it would be good if Zhu Jishi died, so that the French would be completely isolated.

"There was a revolution in Spain! Isabella II's fat woman was finally overthrown, and now Mathilde and Eugénie had a lot of headaches! (To be continued.) )u