War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

The Russian Jews are a good example of what it means to be "unlucky, and your teeth will get clogged even if you drink cold water."

In fact, the Russian Jewish community is very different from their relatives on the European continent. These people mainly make a living by farming and are not bankers and businessmen as people usually imagine.

Among Russians, Jews drink less alcohol. This does not mean that Jews do not drink, but that they drink less alcohol than other Russians.

When facing the cholera disaster, the situation in Russia, Britain and France was similar. Dead bodies could be seen everywhere in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The problem of refugees and homeless people that had plagued the Tsar for many years was greatly alleviated in just a few weeks.

Instead, there are a large number of unclaimed bodies and skyrocketing fuel costs to cremate the bodies.

St. Petersburg Royal Palace.

Nicholas I paced anxiously as he awaited a report from the new governor of the Caucasus, Count Josiah Baria Jones.

In the eyes of Tsar Nicholas I, the plague that killed the poor was not worth mentioning. Victory in the war was the key to reversing the situation.

The crisp footsteps of leather shoes could be heard in the deep corridor, and a young officer wearing a neat uniform was striding toward the meeting hall where the Czar was.

The young officer's face was stern, his eyes were firm, and he had a chilling air unique to soldiers.

If this person appears in any celebrity ball or salon in Europe, he will definitely become the focus of attention. With that kind of temperament, both men and women will respect him.

However, a piece of the sharp-edged ear is obviously missing, there is a shallow scar on the chin, and the badly worn leather boots all tell the story of the cruelty of war.

The door was slowly pushed open, and the Tsar finally stopped and stared at the young man who walked in.

The pressure accumulated by the superiors over the years rushed towards him, coupled with his terrifying height, even soldiers as cold as steel could not help but tremble.

But the young officer had seen big scenes after all, and he quickly regained his composure.

He took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began to report to the Tsar the results and process of the war, as well as what he saw, heard, and felt.

At first the Tsar listened quietly, but soon his brows furrowed.

Until I heard the sentence "Count Josiah Baria Jones has repelled the Chechen attack, and the southern Russian steppe is safe. We can take this opportunity to build a defense line to prevent the enemy from attacking again..."

"Damn coward! I gave him 200,000 troops, ten times that of Imam Shamil! In the end, he was only complacent after repelling the enemy! What I want is victory! To kill them all!"

Tsar Nicholas I roared hysterically that Count Josiah Barea Jones' progress was far below the former's expectations.

However, as a witness to the Caucasus War, young Consquet Lobezov knew how hard-won this victory was.

Although the Imam Khanate has a small number of troops, the Caucasus region where it is located is very vast and has complex terrain. Although the strength of the Russian army is ten times that of the opponent, their unfamiliarity with the terrain and the hostility of the locals put them at a disadvantage on local battlefields.

At the same time, the army of the Imam Khanate was not afraid of death, and Imam Shamir himself was also an excellent strategist. It was not easy for Count Josiah Baria Jones to repel them.

"Marshal Barea Jones and we have done our best"

Konsquite Lobezov was rudely interrupted by Nicholas I before he finished speaking.

"Enough! I don't want to listen to the loser's excuses and tell Josiah Baria-Jones that he can go home and have his baby. Ivan Fedorovich Paskiewicz will take his place."

Ivan Fedorovich Paskiewicz was a close friend of Tsar Nicholas I and one of Russia's most meritorious generals. He participated in the Napoleonic Wars, suppressed the rebellion of the Decembrists, and suppressed Poland. The hero of the uprising was also known as the "Prince of Warsaw" and "The Night".

The young officer was angry and unwilling, but he did not dare to disobey the Tsar.

Nicholas I noticed the young man's expression. He was in a very bad mood. In his plan, the Imam Khanate should have been completely eliminated before 1846.

"Go down and have a good rest." The Tsar's tone was cold. The young Consquette clenched his fists, stood at attention, saluted, and turned to leave.

Although Prime Minister Hilarion Vasilyevich Vasilchikov was the head of Russia's civil servants, because the civil servants themselves were not favored by Nicholas I, his status was not high.

But as Prime Minister Hilarion has something to say.

"Dear His Majesty the Tsar, you have changed three commanders in a row. This may affect the morale of the army."

"What do you know? Have you been on the battlefield? Or went to military school?"

Prime Minister Hilarion was speechless for a moment, and Nicholas I continued to speak with even greater disdain.

"What qualifications does a guy like you who don't know anything have to comment here? Fighting is a matter for soldiers, and civilian officials should do their jobs well!"

Field Marshal Prince Mainekov: "Your Majesty, the war has been going on for too long. We need to end this costly war as soon as possible. I propose to add another hundred thousand troops."

Nicholas I nodded approvingly and looked at Prime Minister Hilarion aside, but the latter obviously did not realize his mistake and said inappropriately.

"Your Majesty, we have no money! If we send another hundred thousand troops, the supplies will crush our country!"

"Go borrow it if you don't have any money! You damn guy, don't you have any brains at all?"

Nicholas I was obviously even more angry. He already looked down on these talkative guys, and the submissive look of Prime Minister Hilarion made him even more unhappy.

"Your Majesty, we have no place to borrow money now." Prime Minister Hilarion said very aggrievedly.

"Idiot! Do you still want me to teach you how to borrow money? First sign a contract and borrow the money, and then expand production. How simple."

In fact, this was what Franz taught Nicholas I. Although it was very primitive, it was very effective. But it is only effective for countries with vast land and rich manpower like Russia.

This method has indeed worked well before. Three large arsenals in Russia were built in this way. These three factories are the Ivresk Arsenal, the Shetroretsk Arsenal and the Tula Arsenal, all located in the heart of Russia.

I have mentioned it before and will not go into details here. The annual output is 100,000 rifles, 15,000 long swords, 1 million rounds of ammunition, and 100 cannons.

However, as cracks appear in Russian-Austrian relations, Franz will no longer be merciful. If the Russian government borrows money again, it cannot directly use futures as collateral. Even if it uses futures as collateral, the price will be suppressed to a very low level.

Of course, they would not say this openly, but they would be skeptical about the future of the Russian economy. After all, the Imam Khanate was active in the Caucasus and near the Black Sea at this time.

At the same time, the merchant ships of the Austrian Empire have been "robbed" once, and Russia has not yet made compensation.

Originally, the trade between Russia and Austria was its largest source of external income. As a result, the former created a rift in the relationship between the two, and the latter began to be picky about trade goods.

Prime Minister Hilarion also tried to find a taker, but Russia's plate was too big and no one could take it, and its credibility was too bad, so no one dared to take it.

"The Austrians said that they have poor turnover and no money, so they have to hand over the money and deliver the goods."

Prime Minister Hilarion said somewhat helplessly that if the Tsar had not suddenly visited Britain, they could still make money while lying down.

Nicholas I was not an idiot. He knew that everything that had happened recently was Austria's revenge, but it was his dream to carve up the world with Britain.

At the same time, to realize the glory and dream of the Romanov dynasty, he could only sacrifice the Austrian Empire as an ally.

"What about Britain and France?"

"Private banks in Britain and France saw that the Austrians had withdrawn their capital, and they lost confidence even more. They all followed suit, and their conditions were even harsher than those of the Austrians."

Although Russia has been blocking news of domestic rebellions, the great powers all have their own informants in St. Petersburg. In addition, Franz can also use newspapers in various countries to spread the news.

Therefore, the situation in Russia at this time makes private businessmen in various countries have no confidence at all, and at the same time, they have no courage to do business with it.

"What about the National Bank?" Nicholas I continued to ask without giving up. In fact, he was very tired of businessmen. In his eyes, those people had neither moral bottom line nor courage.

"The British claimed that they would only consider doing business with us if we abrogated the Treaty of Winkar-Iskelesi with the Ottoman Empire."

Nicholas I was so angry that he almost smashed the table on the spot, but there was no table around him for him to smash.

"Damn British guys! I'm obviously honest with you, but they still want to give me nothing!"

Such an obvious mistake in diplomatic rhetoric cannot be made by the wily British Foreign Office. In fact, its original words are:

"As long as Russia abrogates the Treaty of Vinkar-Iskelesi with the Ottoman Empire, we will lend them money."

Although it is also a trap, Franz is not sure whether Nicholas I and the numerous pro-British factions in Russia will be fooled. After all, historically they believed the British lies and almost killed themselves.

So Franz didn't want to take this risk, so he bribed some Russian officials, replacing "only" with "only".

If the Russians jumped into such an obvious trap, then Franz could only change his strategy, change allies, or let Russia change its master.

In France, whether it is Louis Philippe or Napoleon III in prison, they all have clear goals and it is easier to communicate.

Because they all have different interest groups behind them, personal will will be greatly weakened. Although it also has a strong personal style, it can still be discussed.

However, Russia is completely different. The personal will of the Czar can completely influence the country's policies. People feel very insecure with such allies.

As for changing the czar, Franz did not consider it, because the crown prince Alexander II at this time was still a thorough liberal.

Although Alexander II is known as the "last great tsar" in history, this was the result of long-term groping and growth, coupled with the strong stimulation of Nicholas I's defeat and suicide.

If it is forced onto the stage of history, there is too much uncertainty, and if liberal reforms are carried out recklessly, the whole of Russia may fall apart by then.

Abolition of the "Winkar-Iskelesi Treaty" signed with the Ottoman Empire would be equivalent to ruining the efforts of several generations of tsars. This was very clear to Nicholas I after Franz repeatedly reminded him.

Since the British can't do it, what about the French?

Nicholas I continued to ask: "What are the conditions in France?"

Prime Minister Hilarion actually received money from the French, he cleared his throat and said.

"The French are willing to lend us money, but they need us to use Alaska as collateral."

Nicholas I and Prince Mainkov looked at each other. In fact, although Alaska was a very large place, it was completely useless to Russia at this time.

Although Russia began to colonize Alaska in 1784, the effect was impressive. Until 1846, the colony was still mainly based on fur trade and fishing, with less than 7,000 people on more than 1.7 million square kilometers of land.

(Here also counts the indigenous people who defected to Russia. It is not clear what the ratio of indigenous people to Russians is.)

In fact, even today, Alaska is the least populous state in the United States, with a population of only 740,000.

Although Nicholas I liked land very much, he really didn't have much interest in this huge and useless land.

Moreover, the failure in Oregon proved that it would be difficult for Russia to continue to do anything on the North American continent, so His Majesty the Tsar thought it would be a good idea to sell this piece of bad land for more than ten to two billion rubles.

(The ruble was now nearly twice as expensive as the franc.)

Prince Mainekov also thought it was good. After all, Alaska was too far away and troops had to be sent to defend it. The problem of people was easy to solve, but supply was very difficult. In addition, Russia did not have any good ports, so the cost of maintaining rule was very high. Somewhat high.

As for Alaska's resources, they are not worth mentioning in Russia. Whether it is wild animals, woods, or fish, Russia has them all.

(At that time, gold mines and oil had not yet been discovered in Alaska, and it was also known as the Tsar's "freezer.")

The Tsar saw that Prince Mainkov had the same idea as himself, so he asked.

“How much are the French prepared to bid?”

Prime Minister Hilarion cautiously extended a finger.

"One hundred million rubles?! No, that's too little! Alaska is three times the size of France!"

Prime Minister Hilarion swallowed, then shook his head.

"What do you want to say?" Nicholas I asked.

"It's ten million francs."

Prime Minister Hilarion replied tremblingly.

"What! Ten million? Or francs!"

It is a common practice in the shopping mall to pay the high price on the spot. But usually no one dared to discuss business with the Tsar, and Nicholas I only felt that he had been insulted.

Then a big slap was slapped on Prime Minister Hilarion's face, and the poor old Prime Minister was knocked away.

Nicholas I, who was 206cm tall, delivered a round blow that was so powerful that it almost killed Ilarion.

In fact, the French offer was 50 million francs, with a maximum of no more than 100 million francs. It's just that the people sent by Guizot lowered the price by half in order to save costs and told Hilarion.

"Our budget is 50 million francs. As for how much we can afford, each of us will take half. In addition, I will personally sponsor you 500,000 francs."

If the negotiation for 10 million francs is successful, then Prime Minister Hilarion can earn 20 million francs, which is a figure that he has never dared to imagine in his life.