Constantinople, Caesar's Palace. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

The public statements of France and the Roman Empire had been sent to His Majesty's desk by radio waves for the first time. The tense nerves in Caesar's palace also relaxed at once, and Crown Prince Nicholas, who was sick and couldn't die, obviously felt a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. The ministers and officers who came and went had victors' smiles on their faces.

Because of the conflict between China and Britain in Hawaii some time ago, Russia and Austria postponed their military operations to invade Serbia and Greece. Alexander II and Franz. Joseph almost unanimously believed that a world war was about to break out. However, the conflict between China and Britain came to an abrupt end, and each took a step back. The Tsar and the HRE Emperor, who were relieved, looked back and saw that France and Germany had actually leveled Spain! That is, they could send troops to support Serbia and Greece at any time. But it was really reluctant to ask Russia and Austria to give up the war that was almost on the line, and finally Alexander and Franz. Joseph almost gritted his teeth and gave the order to invade - although there was a temporary détente between China and Britain, everyone knew that the two countries were actually on the brink of war. Under these circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for Britain to provoke France again. So, as soon as France united Germany with an ultimatum to Russia and Austria, Alexander II and Franz . Joseph could only die with a smiling face.

But the French flinched in front of the two paper tigers, Russia and Austria!

"God bless Eastern Rome = one = Ben = Read = Novel = and Russia." Alexander II triumphantly said to his son, "Some people always think that Mathilde is grown. of Napoleon, in fact, she was too far behind. Don't say anything else. The two Napoleonic Emperors were never afraid of war. Mathilde, on the other hand, flinched in the face of a conflict that was sure to be won. ”

The Tsar shook his glass. There were many people in Caesar's Palace who opened champagne to celebrate. The Tsar was no exception. "Mighty France is ruled by weak women, this is the luck of the Russian nation, and it deserves a toast for it."

But this weak woman claimed to defend Poland, Crown Prince Nikolai thought to himself...... Poland is simply a source of epidemic that has been placed around Russia, and if this country is not destroyed, sooner or later the hearts and minds of Russia will be messed up! During this decade, benefited from the dividends of the reform of the abolition of serfdom. Industrialization in Russia accelerated markedly, both along the Baltic coast and around Constantinople. Countless machine factories have appeared. But this was followed by a relaxation of the tsarist government's grip on the people, and a chaotic society - an inevitable phenomenon that arose when the serfs became peasants and ceased to be dependent on the aristocratic landlords.

The centuries-old habits of Europeans have also caused them to prefer contracts to various unspoken rules. After the serfs were redeemed for freedom, the noble landowners lost the means to control them. The rural communes, which the Russian government pushed, were significantly less able to control the peasants than the aristocratic landlords...... The latter were the masters of the serfs, and now the peasants were the masters of the rural communes! Before serfdom was abolished, aristocratic landowners could use the state apparatus to capture fugitive serfs because they were the owners of the serfs. And now, how can the "public servants" who were elected by the peasants to lead the rural communes have the audacity to arrest the masters who have quit the commune?

So over the years, more and more Russian civilians have left the Commune and wandered in the big cities. These people, in turn, became supporters and exploiters of the Rodnarodnaya Narodna, based in Poland. Demonstrations, protests, and attacks of all kinds became extremely frequent in Russia's major cities. The activities of the Narodniks now seriously threatened the stability of the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire. And to eradicate the Narodnaya Volyam in Russia, it is necessary to occupy Poland!

"Father. Isn't it Poland's turn to be the next target? The future Nicholas II asked in a low voice.

“…… Poland. It needs to be looked at again, the woman has already sworn to defend Germany and Poland. The Tsar's face had sunk, "We must be cautious, and perhaps the Polish question can be resolved through negotiations." Nikolai, what do you think about letting Germany annex Poland? ”

"Use Poland to win over Germany?" Crown Prince Nikolai frowned and asked, "Isn't it too generous?" ”

"Generous?" The Tsar sneered, "I don't think so! Nikolai, what do you think of the German Empire? ”

"Follow the little friends behind France." Crown Prince Nikolai replied with some contempt.

"A small partner with a population of more than 40 million and 7.8 million tons of steel?" The tsar smiled bitterly, "How much steel and how much iron do we have in Russia?" ”

"Father, are you worried...... Germany? ”

"And Austria!" "After we carved up the Balkans with Austria, I can't imagine what other common interests there are between Russia and Austria?" ”

"Isn't it Germany?"

"It's up to Franz. The stupidity of Joseph and the wisdom of William I. Alexander snorted, "Franz. How stupid would Joseph have to be to believe that he had a chance to unite with us to carve up Germany? ”

Probably not so stupid people. Crown Prince Nikolai thought to himself that France would not sit idly by. In fact, Mathilde's statement had completely blocked the possibility of a genuine restoration of the Holy Roman Empire to a united Greater Germany in Austria. At the same time, Mathilde was telling Germany that France did not support their seizure of Austria and Bohemia!

"Is it possible for Germany and Austria to form an alliance?"

"And maybe the UK!" Alexander II pondered, "There are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies in the world, only eternal interests!" Prussia and Austria will not necessarily become friends, and we and France will not necessarily be enemies forever. ”

If a German-Austrian alliance really emerges, then a great threat will immediately arise on the eastern borders of France. And in order to balance such a threat, it is necessary to co-opt Russia. In the same way, the German-Austrian alliance is a great threat to the western territories of Russia! If Germany and Austria want to expand abroad, it can be either westward or eastward. And the latter has significantly more room for expansion than the former.

"We're going to ...... with France," Crown Prince Nikolai muttered, "and an alliance with China?" ”

An alliance with France is a bit incredible, but an alliance with China is a bit incredible. Although with the visit of Zhu Guoxiong and Zhu Yisha to Russia 10 years ago, the hostile relationship between China and Russia has ended. But that doesn't mean the two countries are friends now. In fact, in Russia. The atmosphere was quite strong, and the people, especially the aristocratic officers, were haunted by the defeat of 20 years ago. If we rashly propose to unite with China, we are afraid that we will provoke opposition and make another "December Revolution" happen.

"No, that's not what I meant." "It's too early to talk about war," the Tsar mused, "for Russia has limited strength and cannot easily get involved in a world war." ”

"Not involved? Father, what do you mean...... Do we want to be outside the neutral? ”

Alexander II smiled wryly and nodded, "It's better to be so, if the situation allows...... I'd rather be neutral until the world wins and loses, and then chooses which side to fight on. This is the most beneficial for us in Russia. ”

He looked at his sick but very warlike son, and thought to himself that the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire was in fact a sick man, and like Nikolai, he looked very energetic in spite of his beautiful military uniform and beard. But as soon as you take off your clothes, you can see a skinny body. But he didn't realize his weakness, and thought that he had just dressed up Napoleon I.

For the Eastern Roman-Russian Empire, the most needed treatment was now, not to go out and beat people. However, it is not easy to cure a country's stubborn diseases, and it cannot be too radical or too conservative. Not only is it necessary to prescribe the right medicine, but also to have a very high prestige. The Chinese were very lucky in this regard, because they had an empire founder who personally carried out the reforms. No conservative forces and conspirators are worth mentioning in the face of a founding emperor. However, he is reforming on the basis of inheriting the mess of his predecessors, and he must find ways to improve his prestige at the same time. This was the purpose of the invasion of Greece, and an alliance with France against Anglo-German-Austrian, or an alliance with Anglo-German-Austrian against China and France, was an adventure that could bring ruin to this ailing empire. (To be continued......)