War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Although Duke Uvarov's plan was considered crazy, his judgment was actually quite accurate. The two Danube principalities were too important to the Austrian Empire.

Historically, the main reason why Austria stabbed Russia in the back was because it believed in the two Danube Principalities promised by Britain and France. However, Austria's experience card for the Two Danube Principalities was not until the end of the Crimean War.

The so-called fait accompli is nothing in the eyes of the great powers.

According to Duke Uvarov's expectation, that is to use the Balkans as bait to hang Austria, and then engulf the Ottoman Empire.

After the Ottoman Empire is solved and the capital is moved to Constantinople, the two Danube principalities can be recovered. Anyway, the Austrians have no other allies.

Even if the Austrian Empire has other allies, they have no reason to fight for Austria and Russia after the Ottoman Empire, the sick man of West Asia, disappears.

Nicholas I admired Duke Uvarov's courage, but the two Danube principalities were also very important to Russia.

The first is its strategic location. The two principalities guarding the two mountain passes in the Carpathian Mountains are of great strategic significance.

If the mountain pass is blocked, Austria will have no choice but to take a detour or directly cross the Carpathian Mountains if it wants to attack.

No matter which option is chosen, it will be very unfavorable for the Austrian Empire, but once the Austrians are released from the Carpathian Mountains, they will have many attack routes to choose from.

Secondly, the two principalities can be regarded as fertile lands in the entire barren Balkans.

What Nicholas I didn't know was that these two areas would become the most important oil-producing areas in Europe in the future, and super-large gold and silver veins would be discovered there one after another.

In addition to coal, iron, aluminum, manganese, uranium, lead, salt, everything needed in the industrial age is available.

The least valuable among them was the black land that Nicholas I valued most at this time.

There is another point that Nicholas I cannot accept the most. In addition to being the ruler of Russia, the Tsar is also the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church.

The banner of liberating various Slavic brothers and protecting Orthodox Christians from persecution has always been the slogan of Russia's offensive in the Balkans.

If you really gave up Moldavia to the Austrian Empire, wouldn't that be a slap in the face?

However, Duke Uvarov's plan was not to be implemented immediately. He just made a plan that he thought was feasible based on his own judgment of the situation.

The key at this time was still the peace issue, and Duke Uvarov offered to make concessions.

"Your Majesty, as long as the peace conference is not held in Britain and the Ottomans, then it will be the same to us no matter where it is held. After all, the other countries cannot stand on the side of the British and the Ottomans."

Prime Minister Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev obviously could not agree with Prince Uvarov's words.

The 62-year-old head of the civil service was actually a soldier. He participated in the Napoleonic Wars and even attended the Congress of Vienna.

Prime Minister Chernyshev was very dissatisfied that the Austrians were able to control the thunder and lightning at the Congress of Vienna and then used their status as the host to gain a lot of benefits after the war.

"My Lord Duke, you are still young. The Austrians are very despicable. They are not good at fighting, but they are very good at talking.

Metternich seized a land as large as three Frances in North America with just one mouth. It is difficult to say whether the Emperor of Austria will recall his teacher again, and we cannot take that risk. "

Duke Lyubai and Nicholas I both agreed with the Prime Minister's view. After all, this is the stereotype of the Austrian Empire.

Moreover, the Austrian Empire did use several meetings to regain its influence and seize a large amount of land.

"Prime Minister, you have to understand that the Austrians are our allies, not the British. What we need is to end the war quickly, not to continue to delay it.

To put it bluntly, the spoils are in our hands. As long as we don't agree, no agreement can be reached.

On the contrary, what else do you have to worry about? "

"We contributed the most during the war. Shouldn't the peace conference be held in St. Petersburg? We have already made a mistake once after the anti-French war! Are we going to continue to make mistakes?"

Prime Minister Chernyshev couldn't talk to Prince Uvarov, so he changed the subject again and tried to kidnap the latter with morality and the past.

Prince Uvarov couldn't help but sneer in his heart. He felt that the decline of Russia was inseparable from the incompetent ministers around Nicholas I. It was clear that a group of military attaches did not do what civilian officials should do.

"Okay, Prime Minister. Can you inform all countries of the news within a month and allow their representatives to arrive in St. Petersburg?"

Prime Minister Chernyshev was about to agree, but when he thought of the frozen ocean and bad road conditions, he hesitated, but he still nodded calmly.

"How will you know if you don't try? I think it's okay."

Prince Uvarov did not expose his lie, but continued to ask.

"Then can you send them back in the remaining time to complete the agreement?"

This is obviously impossible. At this time, the sea route has been frozen, and the situation in Russia is already a world of ice and snow. Let alone fast travel, it would not be a strange thing to die on the road if there are no locals to lead the way.

Prime Minister Chernyshev did not speak, but others already understood that it was indeed unrealistic to hold a peace conference in St. Petersburg at this time.

Unless you wait until next year, or move to a city that is not frozen and is close to the sea.

Duke Uvarov naturally knew what these people were thinking, and he continued.

"Maybe we can choose a compromise, but apart from St. Petersburg and Moscow, which city is qualified to host the peace conference?"

"Warsaw!"

Prime Minister Chernyshev is not a complete mediocre person who can climb to a high position. He is very familiar with the situation of domestic cities.

Warsaw, the former capital of Poland, is the third largest city in Russia at this time. Compared with St. Petersburg and Moscow, it is closer to Europe and has convenient transportation and sufficient historical heritage.

However, the ubiquitous rebels are a big trouble. After all, the Poles have rebelled several times.

If there is any big news during the peace conference, Russia will lose face. If a few more important figures die

Prime Minister Chernyshev dare not think about it, he can only take one step at a time.

"Warsaw? Prime Minister, although the great plague is over, no one can prove that Warsaw is safe.

If something goes wrong, I wonder if you can take this responsibility?"

Faced with the questioning of Duke Uvarov, Chernyshev asked directly.

"How do you know that something will go wrong?"

The two did not mention the Polish rebellion, but used the plague instead. First of all, Nicholas I hated the word rebellion, and secondly, the plague was indeed one of the problems that Warsaw needed to face.

What the two did not know was that Warsaw had only 110,000 people at that time (137,000 in the same period in history), and had completely withdrawn from the ranks of international metropolises.

In Poland's most glorious period in history, Warsaw had a population of nearly 280,000 and was one of the largest cities in the world. Even before the Warsaw Uprising in 1830, the city had nearly 200,000 people.

But now London, Paris, and Vienna have all entered the million-population mark, and Warsaw, with only 110,000 people, really seems a bit shabby.