On January 20, the Franco-Prussian battlefield, which was extremely stable, suddenly showed a slight twist and turn.

This twist and turn did not come from the two warring sides, but from Spain, which had been watching the play from the sidelines.

Prime's Eastern Route Army had as many as 110,000 men, up from 200,000 two weeks earlier, but after the North-South War really began, Prim was unwilling to continue the attack on Paris, and 90,000 of them were transferred to other battlefields.

The 110,000 troops, composed entirely of Spaniards, had only one task left, and that was to take care of the republican government's eastern defenses.

And Prussia was also very interesting, and never tried to attack here.

They suddenly broke out and hurt people and took Strasbourg, which no one expected.

…… It's not everyone, since it was an action under the behest of Austria-Hungary, France and Austria must have passed in advance, at least Gan Bida knew the purpose, but he didn't say it to the outside world for fear of leaking the news.

The whole of France, knowing in advance that Spain would capture Strasbourg, was no more than 3 people.

Strict secrecy paid off, and in less than two days the Spanish were able to take the place and drive the city's 40,000 defenders elsewhere.

For this, Spain paid nearly 7,000 casualties, and it can only be said that the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army is indeed much stronger than that of Spain.

Strasbourg, the transport hub linking the surrounding areas and the capital of Alsace, fell into Spanish hands, making the whole of Prussia nervous.

Although Prim did not seem to have any intention of continuing northward, Prussia, which had suffered losses, would no longer believe in this set and continued to transfer troops to Alsace to prevent Spain from cutting off its own rear routes.

If the Franco-Prussian border is cut off, Prussia will almost be able to declare its surrender, and it will not be able to invade Belgium or Switzerland, two neutral countries.

On the other hand, the republican government thought that Spain had changed its strategic approach, but it did not expect Prim to shrink back after taking Strasbourg, and if it were not for Gan Bida's persuasion, there would definitely be many people who wanted to take over Strasbourg's defense.

However, even without the cooperation of the eastern route, the situation in France was much better than before, because Prussia was already stretched thin.

With more than 700 kilometers of the French front and more than 1,000 kilometers of the Austro-Prussian border, how many people does Prussia need to maintain such a long line of defense?

The 50,000 troops newly transferred to Alsace were the straw that broke the camel's back.

The reality of the situation was in front of Prussia, they would either reduce the border garrison with Austria-Hungary, or carry out a new round of mobilization.

Bismarck's choice was a two-pronged approach.

Most of the young men in Prussia had served in the military and were ready to mobilize if necessary.

Of course, if we continue to mobilize now, it will have an impact on the domestic economy, but the impact of losing the war is obviously much greater than that, so I don't care.

In addition, Prussia sent emissaries to the Tsar to support Russia's claims to the Balkans in order to deter Austria-Hungary.

Berlin to St. Petersburg was much faster than Istanbul to St. Petersburg, and Alexander II received a message from Prussia almost the next day through the Baltic Sea.

"Your Majesty, a cavalry battalion has been prepared in Sevastopol, and as soon as you give the order, you can leave for Istanbul immediately!" Gorchakov was already living happily during this time, and when Prussia's support came, he was filled with joy all around.

The Winter Palace had already received a secret letter from Aziz four days ago, inviting them to camp in Istanbul, but this matter may involve the bottom line of the United Kingdom, so the tsar is still hesitating.

In fact, in terms of the current international situation, they can calmly recover South Bessarabia, and if they are bolder, they can even get Romania and Serbia, and they can do it directly, regardless of Aziz's life or death.

However, it is human nature to have Longwang Shu, and it is very difficult for Russia to encounter such an excellent diplomatic environment, and if it does not take this opportunity to occupy the Ottomans and turn the Black Sea into an inland sea, it will always feel like a blood loss.

"No, no." Alexander II was not so optimistic, now that Russia has only liberated the serfs for ten years, and bourgeois reforms are underway, they will definitely not be able to fight Britain in terms of strength, and even they are a little frightened to watch the Franco-Prussian war.

Once bitten by a snake for ten years afraid of the well rope, the former Tsar Nicholas I died on the eve of the end of the Crimean War, it is difficult to say whether there is a reason for the rush in it, Alexander is really afraid to follow the old path of his father.

"The British are not going to sit idly by." Alexander groaned:

"Once they are stationed in Constantinople, they definitely don't mind slapping themselves in the face.

Britain plus Theocracy would be enough for another Crimean War, and Russia, although not afraid, did not need to take this risk.

What's more, it's hard to say who the Ottomans will help at that time.

Spain should not care about this, the main thing is the attitude of Austria-Hungary, did they really abandon the Balkans? Default alone is not enough......"

"In that case, let's go and sign a short-term non-aggression pact with Austria-Hungary." Gorchakov said: "Let Prussia make one more statement in support of our protection of the Balkan Slavs." ”

Alexander frowned, feeling that this was not very safe, and if he was replaced by Franz, he would not have too many scruples about tearing up the peace treaty.

But this was the only way, and Gorchakov's plan was agreed to immediately.

Bismarck was so vigorous that the envoy to Vienna was still on his way, and he directly declared his support for Russia in accordance with the Tsar's wishes.

Although it was difficult for Prussia to provide practical help to Russia, after all, it was the country that had surrendered Napoleon, and now that Prussia and France were regarded internationally as the same level of powers, his statement was still very effective.

Britain was one of the first countries to receive the news, and Prime Minister Gladstone immediately summoned the Foreign Minister, the Earl of Granville, and he always felt that something was wrong.

It just so happened that Granville had the same idea, and after a conversation the two men agreed: "Russia must be seeking more benefits than South Bessarabia and the Treaty of Paris." ”

"If nothing else, Russia must have sent an emissary to Austria-Hungary." Granville speculated: "Rousse and Roselle? ”

"Probably more than that." Gladstone's face was ugly, and they had come under considerable pressure at home in order to support Russia in overturning the Treaty of Paris.

Now that Russia has to move an inch, it is naturally extremely disgusted in my heart.

"If it were only the two countries, we would have acquiesced in our statement, and at most they would have asked Austria-Hungary for their opinions, so there was no need to be so cautious." Gladstone thought for a moment:

"Maybe also Bulgaria and the Caucasus."

After guessing for a while, the two couldn't come to a conclusion, so they could only put aside the question of what Russia wanted, and they wouldn't allow it anyway.

"Go and contact the Sultan and Zaid [an Ottoman ghazi] separately so that they understand what we mean, and arrange a Royal Navy exercise in these two days, not too large, mainly to warn the Russians."

Gladstone instructed that the only hope now was that a tough stance would lead Russia to retract its undeserved ambitions.

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