Holy Roman Empire

A dead friend is not a poor man. In order to survive the possible political storm, the interests of the Ottoman Empire can only be sacrificed.

……

Facts have proved that Napoleon III was completely overwhelmed. The plague was not sent by God, because it was an indiscriminate attack, and the Russians were not spared.

It may be because of the strong physique of Mao Xiong, the casualties caused by the plague were not as serious as those of the coalition forces, and the acclimatization of the environment is also an important reason.

Accompanied by the plague, there was actually dysentery, but the symptoms looked similar, and the coalition forces had not yet discovered the difference between the two diseases.

The Russian Army Command in the Balkan Peninsula and the high-level expeditionary forces gathered together, and everyone was pale.

Menshikov asked with great concern, "Are you sure it's the plague?"

A middle-aged military doctor replied seriously: "Your Excellency, the news has been confirmed. So far, more than [-] of our soldiers have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, which is beyond the range of normal influenza."

"Your Excellency, Commander, according to the captives we captured, a large number of French soldiers in the city fell ill." Before Menshikov could speak, a middle-aged officer added

Without hesitating for a long time, Menshikov made a decision: "Order the troops to do a good job of epidemic prevention, and the attack cannot be stopped. Our situation is bad, and the French army in the city will only get worse.

For the plague problem, I will ask St. Petersburg for help and send a lot of medical staff from the country.This plague is also an opportunity, I don't believe the French can hold on! "

Menshikov, who was nervous on the face, was relieved deep in his heart.Now that the plague has broken out, the good days of the French are over.

The reason is very simple, the greater the population density, the more conducive the spread of the plague.In this case, the losses inside the city must be greater than those outside the city.

How many people have died in Constantinople, 20 or 30?Or 40, [-], or even more?

Are these corpses disposed of in time?Perhaps the French dealt with most of them, but even if the remaining [-]% slipped through the net, they were all thousands of corpses. Didn’t the rats in Constantinople get fat?

The rotting corpses and the breeding of insects and ants are simply the best assistants for the spread of the virus.It doesn't even need a foreign virus, Constantinople itself has the possibility of a plague outbreak.

……

Vienna

After receiving the news of the plague outbreak in Constantinople, Franz immediately held a meeting and asked the Ministry of Health to take charge of the epidemic prevention work.

Although the plague in history did not spread widely, it mainly broke out in the Crimea Peninsula, and Austria was only slightly affected.

The current situation is obviously different. Since the plague broke out in Constantinople, will the Balkans be spared?The Balkans have suffered, so won't Austria be affected?

After the deployment of the epidemic prevention work was completed, Franz continued to consider the impact of the plague.

"The plague broke out, and the French can't hold Constantinople anymore. What's your opinion on how the international situation will develop next?"

Metternich reminded: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the death rate of this plague is not too high. If the epidemic is brought under control, the French are still capable of defending Constantinople."

Franz laughed, and then asked, "Marshal, how long has it been since the Russians cut off Constantinople's water supply?"

Marshal Radesky replied: "Your Majesty, it's been almost sixteen months. However, Constantinople is connected to the port, and they still have enough fresh water to replenish it. There is no shortage of water in the city now."

Constantinople has no groundwater due to geological reasons. Although there are water storage facilities in the city, it cannot supply so many people for consumption.

Franz shook his head and said: "With so many people in Constantinople, the daily water consumption is not a small number.

After being cut off by the Russians for such a long time, we can boldly judge that the water reserves in the city have been exhausted.

Now they rely entirely on ships to transport fresh water to meet the water needs of the city's 10 people.

With so many people, the fresh water consumed every day is not a small number, which requires a large number of ships to transport.

How many transport ships are active in Constantinople?After completing the transportation of various materials, how much fresh water can be supplied?

The British and French bureaucrats will at most guarantee the basic living water for these people, and the supply of domestic water may be limited.

If the supply of fresh water is insufficient in normal times, you can also insist on it. The big deal is not to bathe, face or wash your hands for a period of time.

The situation is different now. Without enough fresh water supply, how can the French army carry out epidemic prevention?How can the spread of the virus be curbed if the basic sanitation conditions cannot be improved? "

Because of the epidemic prevention meeting, everyone made up for a while of epidemic prevention knowledge.Some were proposed by officials of the Austrian Ministry of Health, and some were added by Franz from memory.

Now everyone knows the importance of hygiene. At the critical moment of the outbreak of the plague, the French army in the city did not have enough fresh water. If the virus did not find them, who would they look for?

Even if the Russians outside don't pay attention to hygiene, they don't lack water, so there is always a bath once in a while, right?

The French soldiers in the city don't know how long it will take to have such an opportunity, or they have no chance at all.

Whether the French noticed it or not, there was nothing they could do about it.

Because this gap is not just a star and a half, but to meet the needs of survival, a small basin of water a day is enough, if the sanitation conditions are improved, this consumption will increase many times.

Where can they find so many water tankers in such a short period of time?

Tens of thousands of tons of fresh water are consumed every day. It is estimated that all British and French ships in the Mediterranean will be transferred to meet their logistical supplies.

Felix thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if the French cannot solve the plague problem, we can prepare to mediate the war.

Once the Russians took Constantinople, the war could not go on.

The Russians' finances are already in crisis. If it weren't for the special political status of Constantinople, they would have compromised long ago.

Now that the Russians have occupied Bulgaria, let them occupy Constantinople, the future will be more difficult to control, and it is best to contain it. "

Metternich objected: "Prime Minister, it is too late to contain the Russians at this time, unless we can tear up the Russian-Ombian secret treaty, otherwise we must support them in future negotiations.

With our support in diplomacy, as long as Constantinople is occupied by the Russians, I don't think Britain and France have the ability to force the Tsarist government to spit it out.

Don't forget that for us, maintaining the Russia-Austria alliance at this time is more important than containing the Russians. It is impossible for us to oppose the Russians annexing Constantinople.

Since you can't stop it, why bother to be this villain?

It is better to simply push it again, let the Russians continue to attract the firepower of Britain and France in front, and deepen the contradiction between them. "

"Push", Franz was very interested in this proposal.To control the Black Sea Straits, not just one Constantinople is enough, which requires simultaneous control of the Balkan Peninsula and the Asia Minor Peninsula.

Do the Russians still have the ability to fight?Obviously it does not exist, even if the tsarist government is desperate to explode, it will stop in Constantinople.

In case Britain and France are pushed into a hurry, there may be a wave of pushback. The transportation of the Russian Empire restricts their power projection.

In the Balkan Peninsula, even with the support of Austria, the Russians can only exert seven or eight percent of their national strength at most. What can they use to fight against Britain and France?

Now the Russians have the upper hand, but Britain and France have not reacted, pitting each other on the battlefield.

Once the Russians put too much pressure on them and let the two countries put down their contradictions and cooperate sincerely, it will be another situation on the battlefield.

It doesn't matter if the Russians can't fight, and Franz doesn't want the Tsarist government to really control the Black Sea Strait.

The Mediterranean Sea is too small, and the four countries of Britain, France, and Western Europe are not enough, and there is absolutely no extra benefit for the Russians.

But it does not prevent the Russians from becoming ambitious. After all, Constantinople has been taken down, and the Mediterranean is one step closer.

As long as the Russians have ambitions, they cannot compromise with Britain and France.Britain, France and Russia confront each other, and Austria is safe.

This is how Bismarck designed it in history. As a result, William II's diplomacy collapsed, and France and Russia formed an alliance. As a sandwich biscuit, it was a natural tragedy.

"The Russia-Austria alliance cannot be broken. The matter of containing the Russians can be left to Britain and France. As allies, we must not break our promises!"

Franz directly expressed his attitude.He doesn't want to send out wrong political signals, making the top government officials mistakenly believe that Austria has obtained the benefits it wants, so they can abandon the Russians.

From the perspective of national interests, this kind of betrayal is very normal. Now it is beneficial to Austria's overseas colonization to be close to Britain and France, and it seems to be more in line with the national interests.

But considering the strategic security, the situation is different.Compared with the unstable French government and the ambitious Kingdom of Prussia that wants to counterattack, Franz feels that it is more reliable to form an alliance with the Russians.

Chapter 133 Take What You Need

"One died here!"

"Get the corpse away quickly and arrange cremation as soon as possible!"

……

The yelling also reveals numbness and despair. A large number of people die every day, and if there are too many deaths, everyone will become numb.

Unlike the previous deaths of the wounded, this time it was the plague, which even the medical staff were not immune to, and even a major general in the French army walked into the crematorium because of this.

Security?It's a pity that the protective measures in this era are very primitive, and basic disinfection cannot be done.

In the corner of the isolation area, the wails of sick patients could be heard from time to time.This place is already a Jedi that everyone fears. The medical staff come here every day, and they just distribute the medicine in a hurry, and then leave quickly.

Check the condition?This does not exist, how many doctors are there in the French army?

Moreover, there is no specific medicine for the plague at all. The medicines used now have a greater psychological comfort effect on patients than actual treatment.

The soldiers in charge of distributing supplies avoided this place even more, put the food at the door, yelled, and then left quickly.

"Adolf, are you still holding on?"

"No problem, thank you Alfonso, I feel much better, I should get through this time."

"Take a good rest, and you'll be fine once you get through it."

Alfonso talks about this kind of conversation many times a day.As the earliest plague infected person, Alfonso was lucky to survive.

According to the usual practice, after evading a wave of plague, God will not call him again in a short time, and then he has to stay as a caregiver.

According to the doctor, he still needs to stay in the hospital for observation and treatment to make sure everything is safe before he can be discharged.

In fact, it is to let him stay and do hard work, such as tending to the sick, distributing food to them, or disposing of corpses.These jobs that everyone dreaded fell on him.

For the sake of the extra salary, Alfonso gladly took over the dreaded job.

Alfonso is a veteran, the first French army to enter the Balkan Peninsula, and half of the people who came with him have already fallen.

The dead, for veterans on the battlefield, have long been fearless.There are so many people who die every day on the battlefield, and blood and flesh are common.

In his opinion, coming here to help is much easier than going to the battlefield.Just need to take care of more than 30 patients every day, and then you are free.

After staying for a long time, Alfonso found that this place was far less scary than what the outside world imagined. He stayed here for more than a month, and a total of five died and seven recovered.

……

The French headquarters in Constantinople, Ambroise, brought bad news.

"Your Excellency, the Russian attack has failed our epidemic prevention work, and the spread of the plague is inevitable!"

This news did not exceed the expectations of the French commander-in-chief Pellisier.The plague broke out, and the Russians certainly would not give up this opportunity.

In addition to the French army in Constantinople, there are still citizens left behind.The Ottoman Empire was their ally, and it was impossible for Pelissier to drive all the people of Constantinople out of the city.

The denser the population, the more difficult it is to prevent and control the plague.Coupled with the Russian attack, it is even worse.

Pelissier asked calmly, "Tell me about the plague situation in the city?"

Ambroise said sadly: "This plague may have come from the cholera in London not long ago, and the plague also broke out on the Crimea Peninsula, and the symptoms are similar to ours.

It's just strange that the plague that broke out in Constantinople was very contagious, much stronger than in other areas. Our preliminary judgment is that it was transmitted through mosquitoes, flies, and other insects.

The death rate can only be regarded as average in the plague, the young and the strong can resist the past, the death rate will not exceed 15%, and the death rate of the old and weak is much higher.

The most serious ones are the wounded. Once infected with the plague, they are basically dead. "

Pelissier could only greet the British in his heart. The cholera outbreak in London was not serious, and the epidemic was quickly brought under control. Instead of spreading across the board, they were the ones who suffered.

……

London

Foreign Minister Thomas said seriously: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, just got the news that the French army in Constantinople failed to control the plague, and it has now begun to spread.

Last night, the Austrian ambassador to France received by Napoleon III at the Palace of Versailles had a secret conversation for more than two hours.

According to the analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this secret talk may be related to the Near East War.The changes in Constantinople made the French lose confidence in this war.

The Paris government may unilaterally end the war with the Russians, and now they are sending a signal of peace talks to the Russians through the Austrians.

According to the information we have collected, the Austrian envoy in London has also been very active recently, frequently contacting the leaders of the peace faction in the country. The Vienna government seems to be interested in mediating this war. "

After contemplating for a moment, George Hamilton Gordon asked: "It is not surprising that the French intend to end this war.

On what basis did the Foreign Office judge that the Austrians wanted to mediate the war?From the perspective of interests, the longer this war lasts, the better it will be for Austria. "

International political interests are always the decisive factor. The continuation of the Near East War will not only consume the strength of Britain, France and Russia, but also Austria can make a lot of war money.

From the perspective of interests, the Vienna government has no reason to let the three countries end the war early.

Thomas replied confidently: "The Austrians don't want us to really decide the winner. Although the Vienna system has collapsed, the Austrian government has not given up on the European balance strategy.

Whether the Russians win or we win, Austria's transcendent status will no longer exist, and a new round of international struggle will inevitably break out.

The continuation of the Near East War is in the interests of Austria, but the final result is uncontrollable.

In this Near East War, Austria has already gained too many benefits, and now it urgently needs to digest it.Metternich's style has always been to seek stability, and now it is normal to accept it when it is good. "

Prime Minister George nodded. Compared with the national strategy, some economic benefits are not worth mentioning.Sandwiched between France and Russia, the Austrian government can't do without implementing the European Continental Balance Policy.

"What are your plans?" asked Prime Minister Henry