Chapter 180： Choices (1/2)

London

The direction of the Near East War stunned the British. The Russians actually gave up the duchy of the Danube River in exchange for Austria's logistical assistance.

This means that the Russians have a very big appetite this time. Only with greater interests can the Russians give up the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia.

John Russell said grimly, ”Our previous plan failed, and the Austrians and the Russians reached an agreement. If we don't take the shot now, the Ottoman Empire is definitely not their opponent.

Mr. Palmerston, what is your approach to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to break up the Russian-Austrian alliance in the shortest possible time?

Together, the two countries are invincible in the Near East. Even if we act together with the French, it will be difficult to win. ”

The words of Prime Minister John Russell are not targeted. Russia's border with Ottoman is only the Balkans and the Caucasus.

The Caucasus is limited by terrain, and logistical issues are a major issue if large group operations are conducted.

Due to the poor traffic conditions in Russia and the Caucasus with complicated terrain, it cannot support more than 200,000 troops.

Of course, if the sea power of the Black Sea is not lost, they can also hit along the coastline, logistics supply is not a problem.

Now that the Russians have sent troops on the land, the Balkan Peninsula is left. The two principalities of the Danube River are both major grain producing countries. The food problem can basically be solved locally, and the logistical pressure of the Russian army has been reduced by half.

Even so, the Russians were not capable of hitting Constantinople all the way. After the occupation of the two principalities, the offensive limit was basically reached, and the strategic materials shipped from the country could not keep up with the speed of the frontline troops.

However, it is different with the addition of Austria. The Danube can quickly transport strategic supplies and support hundreds of thousands of troops in the Balkan Peninsula without any problems.

Palmerston replied without change: ”The Prime Minister, it is easy to break up the alliance between Russia and Austria. We proposed it long ago.

As long as the Ottomans agreed to cede the two duchyes of the Danube Basin to Austria, it would be enough to feed the Austrians. With Austria separating them from the Russians, the situation will not be so bad now. ”

In order to balance the Russians, the British Foreign Office did have such a plan, but the cessation of the Duchy of the Danube to Austria was only part of the plan.

In history, the British proposed: Aland Islands and Finland to Sweden; the Baltic Sea coast to Prussia; Poland to independence; Moldavia and Wallachia and the Danube Estuary to Austria, at the cost of Austria Abandon Lombardy and Venice, occupied by the Kingdom of Sardinia; Crimea and Caucasus belong to the Ottoman Empire ...

Theoretically, once this plan is implemented, the strength of the Russians will be greatly weakened, and the ability to compete with the British for world supremacy will be lost.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes, and it had already died before it was implemented. It is not just the Russians who disagree with the plan, nor can Austria agree with it.

Don't look at the two duchyes of the Danube Basin and the land is very fertile, but these areas have not been developed yet, and are economically lower than Lombardy and Venice.

Occupying these areas now, Austria has to invest a lot of manpower and material resources, and has also become an anti-Russian vanguard, rushing to the front line of anti-Russia, which is very disadvantageous strategically.

Rather than joining forces with the Russians, Austria can also get these sites, at the expense of the interests of the Ottoman Empire.

Franz has always believed in the truth that ”thousands of birds are in the forest, and one bird is worse than one hand”, but he will not sacrifice his own interests in order to balance the great cause of the Russians.

The butterfly effect is still useful, because the performance of the Austrian army during the Osa war proved the power of the powers to the outside world. Palmerston's new strategic plan did not propose to give Lombardy and Venice to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

It is the strength of the British to see people serving dishes. Austria is stronger than in history, and treatment is naturally stronger than in history.

In order to flicker Austria and the Russians, they did not hesitate to take advantage. Unfortunately, before their plans convinced the Ottomans, war broke out.

”But the stupid Ottoman government did not see this. They only saw that the cessation of the duchy of the Danube Valley would cost them a lot of money, and they simply did not see the benefits of doing so.

I believe that after the Russian-Turkish war, the reality will make the Ottomans more awake and make the right choice. ”John Russell chattered.

Obviously, the affairs of the Ottoman Empire have bored him as the British Prime Minister.

Palmerston sneered and said, ”The Prime Minister, the Ottoman government is now sober, and I believe they will make the right choice.

However, this is the future. The most important thing now is to convince the parliament to send troops to the Balkans as soon as possible. If it is too late, the Ottomans will probably be unable to support it. ”

This is the national policy of the British, giving priority to the most threatening enemies. They will not change their targets until the Russians fall.

When it comes to threats, Austria is not as good as France at this time. Its poor geographical location has shown that Austria cannot threaten the core interests of the British.

John Russell thought about it and said, ”There is not much of a problem on the side of Congress. To keep our interests in the Mediterranean, we must keep the Russians in cages.”

Interest is an eternal theme. The annexation of the Ottoman Empire by the Russians seriously damaged the interests of the British. In order to preserve overseas investment, interest groups naturally support the government's intervention in the Near East War.

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Constantinople

Abdul Majed I regretted it. If he had known that the Russians and Austria would compromise so quickly, he would accept the British suggestion.

There is no regret in politics, at this time the Russian and Ottoman forces have already started fighting in Bulgaria. Even more tragic is that, as a party with more troops, they are actually in a disadvantage on the battlefield.

”How long will it take for our reinforcements to reach the front?” Abdul Mejd I asked with concern.

”Your Majesty, there are too many guerrillas in Bulgaria, and our reinforcements will not be able to arrive for another three days.” The Minister of War replied, turning down the volume.

In this war, the Ottoman army was slower than they expected, and the war minister naturally spoke with no confidence.

Abdul Mejd I gave a cold drink: ”Huh!”