The impending war in Europe had nothing to do with St. Petersburg, so Tsar Alexander III was more than happy to watch several of Europe's main rivals descend into civil strife so that Russia could climb to the position of the ultimate victor. After all, Russia is not as powerful as other countries, but he can pull the other side to the same level, and then crush them with piles and piles of Slavic gray cattle.

In fact, without considering other factors such as firearms, I am afraid that if they fight alone, they are really not the opponent of the Slavs who are physically in the giant bear.

However, now Tsar Alexander III was also very distressed, and at first he was very much looking forward to the Russians being able to intervene in the trilateral talks, because the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Joseph I also stepped up his intervention in the Balkans, which made Russia very angry. So at a certain banquet, when the Austrian ambassador mentioned that the Balkans were not in the same form as Russia expected, and that Austria might still deploy three legions there, the angry Alexander III directly bent the fork and threw it at the Austrian ambassador's head, and threatened him viciously.

"If I see that there are three legions in the Balkans that you are talking about, then this is what I will do to your legions in the future."

Konstantin Bepodonostsev was from 1865 onwards the personal teacher and dowager of Tsar Alexander III, and although the Tsar sometimes adopted the opinions of others, his policies overwhelmingly reflected the ideas of Bepodonostsev. For example, he proposed that the Tsar must be the supreme leader of the Orthodox Church, and that the Church was in his eyes the best instrument for ruling Russia and the glue that kept the empire running. This is why the awakening of consciousness was so slow during the reign of Alexander III. This is because of the presence of Bepodonostsev, which maintained the stability of the reign.

"My teacher, it seems that we are completely excluded from the situation of the Triple Conference, and that the British have finally rejected the French proposal, and are ready to actively declare war, and that they do not need an ally, and that we are surprised, do they want to challenge two countries alone?"

Perhaps Gladstone thought that there would be a conflict between France and Germany, and that there could only be one hegemon on the continent, as had been the rule for centuries. Although France temporarily ceded some of its interests and made Germany its ally, this relationship of interests would not last long, and sooner or later the two sides would turn against each other because of their interests. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Britain declared war on France? My Majesty, now is not the time to be in a hurry. Anyway, Russia has time to play with them. Now we just have to wait and see what happens, and wait for both sides to show their feet. ”

"The Germans and the French will work together to make a ghost, unless the French voluntarily give up the idea of becoming the hegemon of Europe. Replace others I believe, but the ruler of Paris was Napoleon, the former lord of Europe. How could this opportunity be easily passed away, think about it, this is the only chance for France to become the hegemon. After the end of this war, it is very likely that the French will come to the door to seek cooperation, and the goal will naturally be against their former allies. ”

Tsar Alexander III was a little incredulous about the idea of the teacher Konstantin, but in the end he respected the teacher's opinion.

"We're not actively seeking British cooperation?" 、

Konstantin replied affirmatively, "No, the war has only just begun." Otherwise, the whole of Europe will be in the midst of war. ”

However, his hunch was correct, and the Tuileries Palace had already begun to make second-hand preparations. If the situation is not right, they will drag Russia into the water, but for France at that time, it will be a doom and lose control of the Mediterranean. Even if they had defeated the Germans, they would no longer be able to prevent Russia's free access to the Mediterranean.

Napoleon needed to get the French ambassador to Russia to give a briefing to the Winter Palace and tell the other side that France's position was on Russia's side on the Balkan Peninsula.

Of course, everything was done only in secret. The Tuileries Palace simply asked the French ambassador to Russia to test the attitude of Tsar Alexander III. See if the other side is ready for an alliance with Paris.

Tsar Alexander III did not expect all this to come so quickly, and when his teacher Constantine came to the conclusion that France would definitely try to contact Russia, the French ambassador came to inquire about his views on the Balkan question.

And they also expressed very implicitly the view of Paris that Napoleon supported Russia on the Balkan question.

And Russia's support for Austria-Hungary in the Balkans would mean a betrayal of the Franco-German alliance. At this point, it was not necessary for Konstantin to mention the fate of Tsar Alexander III to realize that the alliance between the two European powers was not as monolithic as it had been imagined.

Before meeting with the French ambassador, Tsar Alexander III consulted his teacher. After all, he wasn't sure which step he was going to take?

"Are you saying that the French are ready to talk to you and also emphasize their pro-Russian views on the Balkan issue?"

Konstantin, the advisor to the tsar, had a bright eye, and a golden opportunity was in front of him. Now France, Germany and England are each on guard against each other, and it is their own opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Russia is well placed to gain its own political interests in this troubled waters.

"Yes, but it's not very clear where we can go now. The French are purely helpless, but if we go too far, the other side will also tear their faces. ”

Konstantin signaled that the Tsar did not need to worry, and he smiled and said, "Don't worry, my majesty, everything has been taken care of for you." On the question of cooperation, Russia only needs to get a couple of positive answers from the lips of France, and it will be enough. And these few affirmative answers will change the territory and territory of the entire empire. Russia will then turn into a new Russia. I hope that after this war, the glory of the empire on which the sun never sets will become a thing of the past, and the rising Germany will die halfway! Not to mention France, who want to return to the position of king of Europa, they will all be in the past, ridiculous in the past. Those who mock Russia's backwardness will also be crushed. ”

"And we, in the cold east of Europe, the sun is rising, and that is a powerful empire that truly fulfills the wishes of Peter the Great."