Chapter 409: Chapter 403 Russian Empire’s Coercion
When Paskievich returned to the headquarters stationed in the Two Danube Principalities from Tsarskoye Selo just outside St. Petersburg, it was quietly approaching around June 24th.
Although it was the time of early summer, the temperature of the Two Danube Principalities showed no change, still presenting relatively large temperature differences between day and night, with the highest temperature at noon reaching around 24°C, while the lowest temperature at night dropped down to about 12°C.
Under such temperature differences, the crude and chaotic military camp became a high incidence area for colds, with hundreds of soldiers contracting colds and fevers daily, yet the Russian officers of all levels, being the soul of this army, showed no concern about this. In their eyes, the lives of those serf soldiers were not worth a single ruble, and their existence was merely to help these officers add a few more insignias on their shoulders.
In several previous battles, the officers ignored the actual condition of the Russian Army to satisfy strategic objectives, resulting in the meaningless sacrifice of numerous Russian Imperial soldiers.
The disconnect between the higher and lower levels of the Russian Imperial Army was worse than it had been before the reforms of the French Empire.
Even a few officers who genuinely wanted to care about the living conditions of the grassroots Russian Imperial soldiers were forced to abandon their ideas due to various issues.
Because besides the evident hierarchical disconnect within the Russian Imperial Army, the logistical support system, field hospital’s basic medical equipment, and so on, were all equally unqualified.
Much of the medical equipment existing on paper hadn’t reached the warehouse before being completely appropriated by the officers at all levels, turning the entire field hospital into nothing more than a mere façade.
Most of the doctors within the field hospital were also unqualified, with many of them having worked as rural doctors or veterinarians before, with no standard doctor system whatsoever.
The treatment of soldiers was typically one set of plans by Doctor A in the morning, another plan by Doctor B in the afternoon, and a different plan came again from Doctor D the next day.
Under three sets of plans, soldiers might not die, but they’d lose a layer of skin.
Within the Russian Imperial Army, some soldiers died on the battlefield, some died on the sickbed, and some died under the torture of doctors.
Even though the field hospital’s doctors often disregarded human life, many soldiers could not enjoy this "benefit," which was reserved solely for the officers.
The unqualified state of logistics, medical care, and army hygiene altogether turned the entire military camp into a huge slaughterhouse and virus incubator.
All it needed was a tiny spark for the entire Russian Imperial Army to become a walking pathogen.
While colds and fevers ravaged the Russian Imperial Army camp, Paskievich, as the top commander of the Two Danube Principalities, along with Deputy Commander General Mikhail Gorchakov, was hosting a banquet at a castle built halfway through in Wallachia Duchy.
The guests they were inviting were none other than the Grand Dukes of Moldova Duchy and Wallachia Duchy, who, upon hearing Paskievich’s invitation, came to the castle without any hesitation.
The present Moldova and Wallachia were completely under Russian Imperial Army’s control, and naturally, Paskievich, who controlled the Russian Imperial Army, became the "Supreme Emperor" over the two Grand Dukes.
Fortunately, this "Supreme Emperor" was somewhat reasonable, and aside from occasional acts of looting, his army hasn’t committed other outrageous acts.
The two Grand Dukes of Moldova and Wallachia breathed a sigh of relief as their rule remained relatively stable without large-scale public resentment caused by the Russian Imperial Army.
Currently, they only needed to obey the Russian Imperial Army on one hand, and pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire on the other hand, to continue balancing without offending either side.
Of course, these two Grand Dukes were aware that Paskievich’s purpose in inviting them was to convey Tsar Nicholas I’s command to prevent the continued fence-sitting of the Two Danube Principalities.
"It’s quite hard for you two Grand Dukes to come such a long way!" Paskievich smiled, raised his drink, and said to the Grand Dukes of the two Principalities from his seat at the head of the dining table. "On behalf of His Majesty Tsar Nicholas I, I express my gratitude to you! Thank you for the assistance you provided to our Russian Imperial Army over so many days. Our Majesty is a Monarch who appreciates favors, and he told me before departing that Moldova and Wallachia, being Russia’s most important allies, obligate us to protect the completeness of their territory and sovereignty..."
Paskievich gushed a great deal of diplomatic words, with the core idea being the hope for Moldova and Wallachia to completely detach from the Ottoman Empire and become Russia’s most loyal allies.
Later, Paskievich assured the monarchs of Moldova and Wallachia that once they disengaged from Ottoman Empire’s control, Russia would definitely act as their steadfast supporter.
The two monarchs were unwilling to believe Paskievich’s words about "maintaining the sovereignty and integrity of the two principalities."
Compared to the Russian Empire’s earnest efforts to guarantee the sovereignty of Moldova and Wallachia, they were more inclined to believe it was a necessary expedient of the Russian Empire.
As long as they dared to break away from the Ottoman Empire, they would not escape the watchful eyes of Nicholas I.
After all, their strategic position was too crucial.
So crucial that the Russian Empire used the Two Danube Principalities as a pretext every time it acted against the Ottomans.
If the Russian Empire truly had the chance, it would not let this "fat meat" go unattended.
The Russian Empire’s greed was as inherent as that of their masters—the Tatars of old.
The Romanov Dynasty could be said to have perfectly inherited these two traits of the Golden Horde: barbarism and greed.
As the saying goes, man is the knife, I am the meat.
The Grand Dukes of Moldova and Wallachia could only accompany Paskievich with a wry smile, while tactfully expressing their difficulties, as they did not wish to break with the Ottoman Empire just yet.
Faced with the Two Danube Principalities’ monarchs wanting to continue straddling the fence, Paskievich, who had once served as Governor of Poland, could indeed understand the woes of small nations.
However, understanding was one thing; Paskievich had no choice but to firmly carry out the task given to him by Tsar Nicholas I.
"Your Highnesses, do you not wish to stand with the Russian Empire?" Paskievich asked in a displeased tone.
Sitting beside him, General Mikhail Gorchakov also cast a hostile glance and said, "Does Your Highness think we cannot achieve victory against the Ottoman Empire?"
Paskievich and Mikhail Gorchakov’s questioning made the two Grand Dukes clearly feel what it meant when clouds of war gather on the horizon.
The dining room had transformed from a place of dining into a battlefield.
An invisible battle was being waged in the dining room, with the offensive side of Paskievich and Gorchakov leveraging the Russian Empire’s substantial military power to "attack" the duchies of Moldova and Wallachia. The Grand Dukes of these duchies, originally at a disadvantage, could only submissively "engage" in this battle, fearing that a single mistake could result in the wrath of their formidable host.
"It’s not that we lack confidence in the Russian Empire! The very reason we remain in the Ottoman Empire and pay tribute to it is because we are confident in the Russian Empire. We believe the Russian Empire will surely rescue Moldova and Wallachia from the clutches of the Ottoman Empire!" the Grand Duke of Wallachia humbly said to Paskievich.
"If you have confidence, then why continue paying tribute?" Paskievich asked the Grand Duke of Wallachia.
"If we stop paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire and start paying tribute to the Russian Empire, it would mean Moldova and Wallachia completely sever ties with the Ottoman Empire! The Ottoman army in the Bulgarian region would surely react aggressively. We hope the Russian Empire can engage the Ottoman Empire in a fully prepared state!" The Grand Duke of Wallachia thought hard for this unconvincing excuse, as absurd as Paskievich’s Pan-Slavic "alliance."
However, Paskievich faced the Nicholas I, whose mind was full of Constantinople and Slavs, while the Grand Duke of Wallachia faced Paskievich.
"Your Highness, let me be frank with you! This time you’re here to receive orders to stop paying tribute, not to negotiate!" Paskievich commanded the Grand Dukes sternly: "For trivial matters, I would discuss and resolve them with you! But for this issue, there’s no room for negotiation! Before I left Tsarskoye Selo, His Majesty Nicholas I gave me a strict order to urge Wallachia and Moldova to stop paying tribute.
If you have grievances, then go to St. Petersburg and talk to His Majesty Nicholas I! If His Majesty permits you to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire, I will no longer order you to stop."
At this stage, the Grand Dukes of Moldova and Wallachia understood that from the moment they stepped into the banquet, their fate was entirely decided; everything they did was in vain.
The banquet fell into a deathly silence for a long while before the Grand Dukes of Moldova and Wallachia finally spoke in unison, "I understand!"