Winter 1829, St. Petersburg, Hermitage.

It was already dark, but the palace of the Rakshasa Empire was still brightly lit, and Tsar Nicholas I was a workaholic, working from morning till night for this vast and backward empire...... While most of his work was actually ineffective, he at least worked hard enough.

At this time, the Tsar was summoning a meeting of his ministers in a conference room inside the Winter Palace - the Tsar had few civilian appointments, and all the officials under him wore military uniforms. So his state council and military council are almost the same thing, and the meeting is attended by a group of generals in military uniforms. However, even with his JG-ism to such an extent, his Rakshasa army completely lost its edge after the Battle of Adrianople.

Even though the Ming Empire blocked the Persian Gulf and the Dajin Kingdom entered the Persian State, Ali Pasha sent troops to the Arabian Peninsula in the name of the War of the Gods, and invited an old man of the Hashemite family to be established as caliph. Nicholas I's Rakshasa army could not afford to take Constantinople any further...... Of course, it was not entirely Mahmud I's struggle that caused this situation, but the betrayal of the British Empire!

"Betrayal! Treachery! This is a despicable and shameless betrayal...... How can they openly betray their allies? It's hateful. The Tsar's roar echoed throughout the room, while his generals all grimaced, and the situation was clearly very unfavorable for the Rakshasa Empire.

"Your Majesty the Tsar," said the Polish Governor-General, Archduke Constantine, who was also present at today's meeting, also frowned, "we cannot ignore the threat of the British...... Once Napoleon's empire is restored and allied with Britain, we will be dragged into a very brutal European war, and it will be completely unnecessary. ”

"But what about the Bourbons? What about the Habsburgs? What about Metternich? Won't they get rid of Napoleon II and suppress the Bonapartians? If they can't, I can do it for them! "The Tsar's anger has not yet subsided. He was angry not only with England, but also with the Bourbons in France and the Habsburgs in Austria.

These two goods relied entirely on the bayonets of the rakshasa to sit on the throne, but at the critical moment they were frightened by a Napoleon II - it was not Napoleon I, but only Napoleon II, a young man less than twenty years old.

And he is still under the control of the Habsburgs!

"Nikolai. Pavrovich," Grand Duke Konstantin shook his head, "things are not as simple as you think...... Now Western Europe, Central Europe, and even our Kingdom of Poland are very unstable. The Bonapartist and all sorts of disorders are ready to stir up a great upheaval. At this time, if Napoleon II had died in no apparent terms, the situation would not have eased, but would have become even more agitated. ”

The great upheaval in Europe was actually a by-product of the economic crisis caused by the rapid development of productive forces and the relative lack of demand after the Second Industrial Revolution. Of course, there are also contradictions between the bourgeoisie and feudal monarchs in various countries, as well as national contradictions within countries ruled by foreigners, such as Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia, where the contradictions that have always existed have accumulated to a critical point.

In fact, the imminent outbreak of the East-West war was also largely due to the fact that the second industrial revolution brought to the Ming Dynasty and the United Kingdom, the two pioneer countries, had nowhere to vent their powerful productive forces...... With the gold and silver standard currencies still prevalent around the world, this lack of demand seems inevitable.

And the two advanced capitalist countries of the Ming Dynasty and Great Britain are precisely in the imperialist stage, and of course they will think of "grabbing" when the demand is insufficient and the resources are insufficient (the gold and silver coined are also resources)!

For France, Prussia, and Austria, which were weaker and had no colonies, the crisis of surplus was even more difficult. If the Bonapartist wanted to make trouble under the pretext of the murder of Napoleon II, the probability of success was not small.

After all, many Bonapartist elements were originally members of the regular armies of various countries!

Even within the Rakshasa Country, didn't there be a December D-man uprising a few years ago?

"Are we going to accept a humiliating victory like this?" The Tsar gritted his teeth and asked, "We are about to take Constantinople...... As a result, they will spit out the lands of Rumelia and Wallachia. This is even more shameful than defeat, it is a loss of power and humiliation of the country! ”

"Nikolai. Pavrovich," said Grand Duke Mikhail, the tsar's younger brother, "we still have a little to gain...... We can keep Moldavia and Crete, and we can keep Transcaucasia.

In addition, we have been granted the right to free access to and from the Danube and free passage through the Turkic Straits. ”

The British finally didn't let the bears' blood go in vain, and allowed them to keep some of the loot.

"That's too little!" Nikolai gritted his teeth, "Nothing should be added to Wallachia!" ”

Grand Duke Mikhail, who was in charge of the negotiations in Vienna, shook his head, "It's difficult...... Both the British and the Austrians were opposed. France and Prussia also did not support us. ”

"A bunch of ungrateful villains!" Nikolai clenched his fists, his face was clouded, and he looked extremely unwilling.

"Your Majesty," one of the generals reminded in a whisper, "we would not have been able to monetize Baku's oil without the support of France...... In this way, we will not be able to pay for the purchase of arms from Daming. And our own arms production is simply not enough to support the consumption of a major war. ”

Before the Battle of Adrianople, the army of the Rakshasa had never imagined such a long and high-attrition positional battle. If it weren't for the large amount of artillery and ammunition provided by the Ming Dynasty, they would not have been able to win the Battle of Adrianople at all.

However, the artillery and ammunition provided by the Ming Dynasty were not free of charge, and they needed to be paid for with Baku oil. Baku's oil has to be cashed in France again......

"Wartime transport is also a big problem." Grand Duke Constantine reminded, "Once war breaks out between the Ming and the British, the sea shipping between the East and the West will be interrupted." And the railway between us and Daming is ......"

"Maybe Da Ming will end the war soon!" The Tsar still refused to give up.

"Then ask Zhuge for the Tao's opinion." Grand Duke Mihayel said, "Because Daoguang controlled Persia." So we can now contact Zhuge in Muscat via cable telegraph...... And it's very safe. ”

"Okay." The Tsar nodded, "Prepare a telegram to Archduchess Natalie?" ”

……

Muscat, Black King's House.

By the time Nicholas I's telegram arrived at Zhuge Weidao, he and Natalie had already packed their bags and were about to return to Daming through Persia and Jin.

His mission in the Persian Gulf was successfully completed, and Rear Admiral Lee Seung-hui took over as Admiral. And Zhuge Weidao will serve as the acting admiral of naval aviation with the rank of rear admiral.

In addition, on the way back to Beijing, Zhuge Weidao would also meet with Emperor Daoguang in Tehran and agree with him on a secret agreement to implement a policy of "neutrality and friendship" in wartime.

And on the eve of Zhuge Weidao and Natalie's departure from Muscat, a telegram from Nicholas I arrived.

"Do you still need to ask for my opinion?" After reading the telegram that Natalie had translated with a codebook, Zhuge Weidao was almost a little crying and laughing.

"But the Rakshasa country paid a great price for this war against the Ottoman Empire, but it did not achieve its goal." Natalie frowned, looking very worried.

"But they played a neutral position in a world war." Zhuge Weidao handed the telegram back to Natalie, thinking and saying, "This is something I didn't expect, and it's also very beneficial for Nikolai...... He could at least use this neutral time to prepare a little better.

At the same time, he can also wait for a more favorable moment to deal a fatal blow to the British Empire! ”

"A fatal blow to the British Empire?" Natalie's eyes lit up.

Zhuge nodded for the Tao and said in a surging voice: "Perhaps, the French also have the same opportunity...... Can they join forces? ”

82 Chinese Net