Holy Roman Empire

Even if the tsarist government wanted to do this, their domestic interest groups would not agree to it. With the tsarist government's execution power, it would be impossible to carry it out.

This point can be seen from the current situation. Because of the war, the Russians cut off trade with Britain and France, but in fact, Ukraine and the central part of Russia were really cut off.

The main reason for the severance was not the blockade of the tsarist government, but because the war blocked the Black Sea transportation routes, and these areas were robbed of the market by our goods.

The entry of Russian, British and French goods from the Baltic Sea has never been cut off. The main reason for not entering the central and southern regions is that the transportation costs are too high and they have lost their competitiveness.

As for the industry, these are only preliminary assumptions, and the final choice is in the hands of capitalists, whose sensitivity to the market is definitely higher than ours.

The government only formulates corresponding policies and will not directly invest in these light industries. I believe that capitalists will do better. "

Franz nodded. He never had illusions about the ability of the Tsarist government to execute, and the possibility of being blocked was indeed very low.

Historically, after the breakdown of Russia-Austria relations, the Russians did not block the Danube. Obviously, the tsarist government would not be so reckless in such an approach that might provoke a war.

Not to mention industrial problems, since the cabinet government is not going to invest in it themselves, let the capitalists do it themselves, and the consequences of profits and losses are at their own risk, and he, the emperor, doesn't need to worry about it.

From the perspective of development, Russia and Austria may become economic competitors in the future. The pillar industry of the Russians is grain export, which is also a pillar industry of Austria.

It's just that Austria exports refined agricultural products, while Russia directly exports raw ecological agricultural products, but competition between the two sides also exists.

If this situation is not resolved, it is almost inevitable that the competition of interests will affect the relationship between the two countries.

From this point of view, Franz had to be thankful that the tsarist government was a dictatorship, and such conflicts would not erupt in the short term.

Chapter 119 A Helpless Choice

After more than two months of bitter fighting, the coalition forces finally defeated the Greek "civilian armed forces" and achieved the British army's first major victory since the outbreak of the Near East War.

Major General Oliver's hanging heart also fell to the ground, he finally had a good record.With less than 5000 casualties on our own side, 1.8 enemy troops were killed and 1.4 enemy troops were captured. No matter how you look at it, the results are brilliant.

The enemy army is a matter of mobs, and he has decisively ignored it. As long as he continues to defeat the army of the Principality of Montenegro, he will complete all combat tasks.

A young military officer reported: "General, a military order came from the country: ordering us to continue to pursue the enemy troops. If the Kingdom of Greece takes in these enemy troops, the country authorizes us to take necessary measures."

Necessary means?In fact, it is to find an excuse to enter the Kingdom of Greece and teach the Greek government a lesson.Obviously, the London government is very dissatisfied with the government of Otto I, and wants to show them some color.

"Understood." Major General Oliver replied calmly

He didn't like the Greeks. If it wasn't for the sneak attack of the Greeks, which forced the Ottomans to mobilize their front-line troops, the Sofia battle would not have been lost.

Although he pushed all the responsibilities to others, Major General Oliver still knew in his heart that he could hardly shirk his responsibility for that battle, and it would become an indelible stain along with his life.

Now that he has the opportunity to settle accounts with the Greeks, he will naturally not let go of this opportunity.

There will always be excuses, even if Otto I pretended to be cowardly, this time the London government wants to beat this restless little brother, it will still do it.

It is obviously impossible to muddle through.It's just that the Greek government doesn't recognize this dispatch of troops, so on the bright side, the British can't use this as an excuse to do anything to them.

The European countries are still watching. Once it goes too far, everyone will still intervene. John Bull still can't cover the sky with one hand.

Even in the United Kingdom, they don't think there is any major problem with Greece attacking the Ottomans, but they chose the wrong time.

The Greek government found its way back at the last moment and did not join the Russian camp, so there was room for maneuver. Obviously, Otto I's political judgment was still passable.

……

Constantinople Foreign Russian Army General Command, General Menshikov once again received a letter of reprimand from Nicholas I.

After attacking for so long and costing 10,000+ casualties, Constantinople is still in the hands of the enemy, and there is no sign of it being conquered at all. The Tsarist government is naturally anxious.

The pressure on Menshikov has increased greatly. If there is no way out, the government of St. Petersburg will be replaced. When the time comes to conquer the glory of Constantinople, he will say goodbye to him forever. This is absolutely intolerable to Menshikov .

A middle-aged general suggested: "Your Excellency, Commander, you can consider the suggestion of the Austrians. As long as Constantinople can be conquered, the rest will be easy to handle."

Menshikov shook his head and said: "The Austrian's proposal is too costly! They didn't conquer Constantinople, but bombarded Constantinople with cannons.

The heavy artillery they recommended, in addition to being used to attack the city, can only be used as shore artillery later.If they followed their proposal and brought in hundreds of cannons, the ammunition consumption would be thousands of tons per day.

Don't say that we can't afford to consume it. It is estimated that even if the Austrians are fully producing, they may not be able to meet our needs.

Millions of rubles worth of ammunition are destroyed every day. To conquer Constantinople, at least hundreds of millions of rubles, or even more than a billion rubles, are needed. Do you think we can afford it? "

This is not the most deceitful thing, what is even more deceitful is that the money is spent, and Constantinople may not be able to be defeated.

The cannon recommended by Austria is very inconvenient to move on the battlefield. If the artillery position is destroyed by the enemy, it will be even worse.

The middle-aged officer reminded: "But Your Excellency, Commander, this is the only way that seems to be able to break through Constantinople.

The enemy army on the opposite side is very stubborn, and they rely on fortifications for defense.The six-pound guns in our hands are simply tickling them. Even the twelve-pound guns can only deal with some ordinary fortifications.

Unable to destroy these fortresses, how can we take Constantinople?If this opportunity is missed, we are Russia's sinners. "

This is the most frustrating thing. No matter whether this method is reliable or not, it is the only one that is likely to succeed.

The tsarist government would not care about so much, and the people in the country would not be careless. They have all reached the foot of Constantinople. If the city is not taken, will they be worthy of their ancestors?

……

After inspecting the camp, seeing the declining morale and hearing the screams, even the hard-hearted Menshikov couldn't help being shaken.

He knew he couldn't go on like this. If the fight continued like this, the Russian army would mutiny before Constantinople was captured.

Gray cattle are also human beings, and when the casualties reached a certain level, they would also collapse, a consequence that Menshikov could never afford.

……

In one corner of the camp, several soldiers were plotting.

A disheartened young soldier said in a low tone: "Joy, have you figured out the route? If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be long before we all fall on the battlefield.

You know, just yesterday that guy at Los Pikey got his left leg blown up and had to amputate it to avoid infection.Unable to bear the blow, he committed suicide that night. "

A middle-aged soldier next to him reminded: "Fox, don't be like this. The exit route must be planned well, otherwise if something goes wrong, we will be hung up at the gate of the camp!"

In order to make an example to others and deter deserters, the Russian army adopted a very cruel method: hanging people on a pole, drying them to death, dying of thirst, and starving to death...

Looking at the expecting crowd, Joey sighed, took out a sketch and pointed to explain: "The route has been found, but this road is difficult to walk.

Leaving from here, there are people guarding along the way. You must avoid these people and enter the Balkan Mountains to be temporarily safe.

This is only the first stage of fleeing. Later, you will have to cross the Balkan Mountains to enter the Austrian occupied area.

During this period, you cannot get any supplies from the outside world, and you can only look for food in the mountains and forests. In addition to being careful of poisonous insects and beasts, you also have to worry about getting lost.

Arriving in the Austrian occupied area does not mean that it is safe.They are our allies, even if you enter by mistake, you will not be disarmed, and most of you will still be sent back.

If you want to get through, you can only pretend to be war refugees. Language is a big problem.Russian and Bulgarian are very similar, but there are still differences, and no one knows what will happen if it is discovered. "

The middle-aged man said solemnly: "We have no choice. You may not know it in the logistics force. The casualties on the front line are too heavy these days. You can see familiar people leaving here every day.

Half of the people in our battalion are replenished one after another. If we continue to stay here, everyone will die here in a short time.

Joey, thank you whether we can get out or not.

You can rest assured that we have already figured out the situation, we will look for opportunities to pretend to be dead when attacking, and leave secretly after dark.

Even if it is discovered, we can also say that we were stunned by the bomb and our minds were confused. "

A premeditated escape started, they are not the first batch, nor will they be the last batch, the brutal casualties have made them nervous.

Everyone would rather run away at risk and fight for an unknown life than stay here any longer.

Anyway, their family is all serfs, and they all belong to the property of the nobles. Even if they are discovered, they don't have to worry about implicating the family.

……

The middle-aged man asked in a low voice: "Go quickly, where is Wallace, why didn't you see this kid?"

Fox replied: "Uncle Marney, I didn't see him following up, maybe there was an accident, why don't we go back and look for it?"

The middle-aged man thought for a while and said: "Don't worry about him, life and death are life and death on the battlefield, where can I find this black light?

Let's go now, it's not safe here, if we can't quickly shuttle through here, none of us can escape at dawn. "

They were lucky, someone provided a route map, they didn't go in the wrong direction, and passed the first day of escape safely.

But not everyone was so lucky. Not long after they left, another wave of deserters encountered a patrol team, and they were naturally caught.

The military judge asked: "Your Excellency Commander, seven deserters were caught last night. Is it the same as usual?"

"Ok!"

Menshikov seemed to have just said a word casually, but in fact his heart was not at peace.

The number of deserters was increasing. As a high-ranking officer who was not considered an idiot, he knew that this meant that the force was approaching the limit of its endurance.

In the face of reality, Menshikov quickly made a compromise. He didn't want to become a national traitor, so this battle must be fought.

The problem of money is a headache for the Tsarist government. Anyway, no one can back down now.

Menshikov said: "Come here, and use the Austrian telegraph network to forward this telegram to the St. Petersburg government!"

Since Austria took over the two duchies of the Danube, cable telegraphs have also been laid quickly, and the domestic telegraph network was connected at the end of 1853.

At this time, the Russians often borrowed the Austrian telegraph network to transmit news that did not particularly need to be kept secret, and it could be done in two or three days.

If you use the Russians' own communication network, you have to go to a big city in Poland or Ukraine before you can send a telegram.It is impossible to get the news back to St. Petersburg without ten days and half a month.

Obviously Menshikov doesn't think that this battle plan needs to be kept secret from the Austrians, even if he wants to keep it secret, he can't do it, and the artillery has to be purchased from the Austrians.

Menshikov is not prepared to let domestic military enterprises supply the cannons. Who knows if it will be a year or two after they produce the cannons and ship them to the front?

On the issue of attacking Constantinople, Nicholas I fully supported his work. Whoever dares to do things here is against the great Tsar Majesty.

Without the support of the Tsar, it would be impossible for Menshikov to change the logistics and transportation system of the Russian army in the Balkans. If it did not change, the life of the Russian army on the front line would not be so easy.

The ball was kicked to St. Petersburg. Menshikov explained all the situations in detail, and it was up to Tsar Nicholas I to decide how to choose.

Chapter 1 Constantinople Demolition Team

St petersburg

After receiving the urgent telegram from Menshikov, Nicholas I had a headache, especially after seeing the estimated ammunition consumption in the notes below, his heart was bleeding, it was all money!

For this war, the Tsarist government has spent three to four billion rubles. If the economic losses caused by the war are added, this figure can be doubled.

Where is the victory?No one can answer this question. Judging from the situation on the battlefield, it is still far away from the outcome of the two sides.

If he had known in advance that the war would end in its current state, Nicholas I can guarantee that he would never provoke this war.

Regardless of casualties, the Russian family can afford it, but the cost of the war has completely exceeded his expectations.

Before Britain and France entered the war, the tsarist government prepared to attack Constantinople in multiple ways, conquer Constantinople within three months, and kill the Ottoman Empire within one year.

After Britain and France joined the war, the Tsarist government believed that after the Bulgarian battle, it would be easy to attack Constantinople. After Constantinople was captured, everyone negotiated to resolve the issue.

Unexpectedly, when we arrived at the gate of Constantinople, we ran into a Frenchman blocking the way again.

20 French troops guarding a fortress city, this result is enough to make anyone desperate, but there is no way, due to domestic pressure, they can only bite the bullet.

Even if it is a Russian head iron, it is also dizzy when touched, and after exhausting all means, the final conclusion is that it still needs to be bombarded.

Nicholas I asked: "What do you think of General Menshikov's proposal?"

The Minister of War Ivanovich replied: "Your Majesty, from a military point of view, there is no problem with General Menshikov's proposal.

Constantinople is one of the best fortresses in the world, and the enemy has deployed heavy guards. There is no shortcut to conquer here, and they can only pull out one fortress after another.

Fortunately, the Ottoman Empire has decayed and neglected the construction of city defense fortifications. Only by using cannons can we advance all the way. "

This answer makes people very speechless. If the Ottomans hadn't ignored the upgrade of city defense fortifications, even using cannons may not be able to do it now.

This is a fact, the Russians can get heavy artillery, will the enemy on the opposite side be short of it?If the war requires, even if there are thousands of artillery pieces, Britain and France can easily take them out.

According to General Menshikov's proposal, build artillery positions a few kilometers away and bombard Constantinople. Anyway, the target is so big that people can hide, and there is no place to hide in buildings.

The 20 French troops are scattered in the city, and there are absolutely not enough holes for blasting. As long as the random bombing can cause heavy losses to the French, the prerequisite is that there are enough cannons and enough ammunition.

Civilian casualties have never been considered by the tsarist government.Knowing that war is coming, but not knowing how to run, is to seek death. Guns have no eyes.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Aristotle Rhodes frowned and said: "Your Majesty, the number of artillery pieces and ammunition consumption requested by General Menshikov are too terrifying, can't they save some money?

You must know that these heavy artillery and ammunition are not cheap, even if the Austrians do not take advantage of the fire, this is an astronomical sum! "

He wasn't opposed to the plan, he simply cared about the money.Constantinople must be captured, otherwise it will not be able to explain to the country. This is the consensus reached by everyone.

Aristan Lerod still has this overall concept.The problem is that the tsarist government really has financial problems, and it is too embarrassing for him to spend hundreds of millions of rubles at once.

Austria did not take advantage of the fire, which is one of the reasons why the Tsarist government supported Austria in the Paris Conference and was not fooled by Britain and France.

Nicholas I was a man of credibility, as long as he did not exceed his bottom line, he would basically fulfill his promises.

Of course, it goes without saying that he is also a tsar. Just refer to the practices of his ancestors and you will know that this is a talent inherited from the family.