Chapter 410: Chapter 404: Paskievich in Contradiction
The surrender of Moldova and Wallachia brought a smile to Paskievich’s face as he once again raised his glass to toast with the Grand Duke of Moldova and Wallachia.
The same wine tastes different in the mouths of tasters with different mindsets.
For the Grand Duke of the Danube Duchy, this glass of wine was the most bitter and hard-to-swallow wine in the world.
For Paskievich, however, this glass of wine was filled with sweetness.
After one glass of wine, the "inebriated" Grand Duke of Moldova and Wallachia left the castle.
Standing by the window on the second floor of the castle, watching the Grand Duke of Moldova and Wallachia being helped into the carriage, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Paskievich’s mouth.
Standing behind Paskievich, Gorchakov took this moment to ask if he should send someone to monitor the two Grand Dukes to prevent them from acting unwisely.
Faced with Gorchakov’s request for surveillance, Paskievich immediately refused, saying, "No need!"
He then added, "If they don’t choose to communicate, the next act won’t be worth staging!"
"Commander, what do you mean by this?" Gorchakov asked Paskievich with a puzzled face.
Paskievich did not answer Gorchakov’s question but instead asked, "Gorchakov, what do you think of the current state of the Imperial Army?"
"Barely capable of fighting!" After careful thought, Gorchakov replied.
"What if this army were to confront the French Army?" Paskievich said softly.
"Commander, in terms of equipment and logistics, the Imperial Army lags far behind France. Our only advantage is that we have more people than they do!" Gorchakov replied to Paskievich.
Although Gorchakov was unwilling to admit his army was inferior to France, he could not deny that the Russian Imperial Army’s quality was indeed far behind that of France.
"More people? Are more people useful?" Paskievich retorted, "Do we have enough guns and ammunition? Are the military expenses sufficient? Do the subordinate officers and soldiers truly wish to fight the French Empire? If we cannot ensure or know these things, we simply cannot defeat the French Empire. Moreover, there is also the Kingdom of Britain beside the French Empire."
"Commander, I heard the Empire is negotiating with the Kingdom of Britain! It is highly likely that the Kingdom of Britain will not join in!" Gorchakov still held certain illusions about the diplomatic policy of the Kingdom of Britain.
Not only Gorchakov, even Nicholas I was full of confidence in winning over the Kingdom of Britain.
No matter how Ambassador Canning opposed the Russian Empire, as long as the Royal Family did not show hostility toward the Russian Empire, as long as Lord Aberdeen continued to maintain a friendly attitude towards the Russian Empire, the Russian Empire still had a chance to win over the Kingdom of Britain.
It had to be admitted that, as a Pro-Russian Prime Minister, Lord Aberdeen was indeed doing his utmost to maintain friendliness towards Russia.
To show friendliness to Russia, he even replaced the war faction Lord Russell and Palmerston with the peace faction personnel.
Although the coalition government became shaky with the loss of the war faction, it also made Nicholas I, who was not familiar with Britain’s internal political structure, believe that Britain was sincerely seeking to maintain peace.
Except for a few far-sighted ministers and ambassadors, the vast majority of ministers had been fooled by the Kingdom of Britain’s maneuvering.
However, these ministers did not know that the Kingdom of Britain had already begun limited war preparations, ready to act as soon as the time was ripe.
"Do you really think Britain will stand on the Empire’s side?" Paskievich spoke again, this time with a tone tinged with dejection.
"At the very least, they should not stand alongside France!" Gorchakov continued to say to Paskievich.
"Deputy Commander Mikhail Gorchakov!" Paskievich solemnly called out Gorchakov’s full name and title.
"Yes!" Gorchakov quickly responded to Paskievich.
"As part of the army, we must consider all possible situations! Never place hope on others, do you understand?" Paskievich raised his voice and said sternly to Gorchakov.
"Understood!" Gorchakov quickly responded to Paskievich.
"I have a premonition! The French Empire and the Kingdom of Britain are likely to act together! At that time, we may face a dilemma!" Paskievich said worriedly to Gorchakov.
Paskievich was now in an unusually conflicted state. On one hand, he hoped the Imperial Army could act quickly and work with the local Eastern Orthodox to reach Constantinople. On the other hand, he kept telling himself internally that as soon as the Russian Empire took action, France and Britain would surely intervene, potentially putting the entire Empire in grave danger.
Under such highly contradictory psychology, Paskievich made some arrangements that seemed absurd to outsiders.
"Your Excellency Commander, should we recall our liaison personnel responsible for Serbia and Bulgaria..." Gorchakov inquired if Paskievich thought they should be withdrawn.
"No need! Just let them maintain contact!" Paskievich prevented Gorchakov from recalling the liaison officers.
In his heart, he hoped to incite a grand uprising in the Balkans through these liaisons.
In this way, the Russian Empire could leverage the uprising’s strength to peer into Constantinople.
On June 26, the Grand Duke of Moldova and Wallachia simultaneously dispatched personnel to their "suzerain" the Ottoman Empire, declaring their secession.
The declaration emphasized that Moldova and the Duchy of Wallachia would no longer tribute to the Ottoman Empire from this year, turning to pay tribute to the Russian Empire instead.
After crossing the border areas, the messengers from Moldova and Wallachia were immediately captured by patrolling Turks in the border region.
Following some interrogation, the ambassadors of Moldova and the Duchy of Wallachia were brought before the Pasha stationed at the border camp.
Subsequently, the envoys explained their purpose to the Pasha.
Upon learning that Moldova and Wallachia would no longer pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire, the Pasha’s expression changed dramatically. He sternly reprimanded the two envoys for their "betrayal" and claimed, "Allah will surely punish those who disrespect His Majesty the Sultan!"
Of course, He would also punish Nicholas I of St. Petersburg and his two "accomplices."
Regarding the Pasha’s position, the envoys could only smile obsequiously, stating that Moldova and Wallachia were compelled by the disparity in strength to obey the Russian Empire’s orders. They hoped His Majesty the Sultan would understand their plight and pardon their "crimes."
"You need to personally go to Constantinople to meet His Majesty the Sultan!" The Pasha responded to the envoys stationed at the border area.
"You are right! We are already preparing to personally go to Constantinople to apologize to His Majesty the Sultan!" The two envoys replied humbly.
Subsequently, the Pasha escorted the two envoys out of the camp and instructed an officer under his command to prepare a carriage for their journey to Constantinople.
The two envoys thanked the Pasha and took the carriage to Constantinople.
After a long journey of two days and nights, the envoys finally arrived at the outskirts of Constantinople.
As the carriage reached the outskirts of Constantinople, the scene before them astonished the two envoys.
Just outside Constantinople, there was an abundance of tents and soldiers of various ethnicities, including but not limited to Arabs, Kurds, Tatars, Egyptians,
Tunisians, Albanians, Greeks, Armenians, and more.
The envoys immediately stopped their horse to inquire about the situation from the chaotic soldiers. After some inquiries, they learned that most of these people had been drawn from Ottoman territories by the Ottoman Empire government under the guise of a "holy war" to defend Constantinople.
Due to the differing economic strength of each ethnic group, their costumes and equipment varied greatly from one another.
Among these people, the soldiers from Tunisia and the Egyptian territories had the best equipment. Especially the Egyptian army, having previously been the top rebel within the Ottoman Empire, their equipment was better than the Ottoman troops stationed at the Bulgarian border, and their personnel quality and combat effectiveness naturally far surpassed that of the Ottomans, looking like a mini Prussia of the Middle East.
When the two envoys entered the city of Constantinople, they were approached by twenty or thirty black cavalrymen from the Bashbozuk. These black cavalrymen were wearing headscarves and long robes, adorned with pistols, Turkish scimitars, swords, and other strange decorations, some even holding lances with flags.
The twenty or thirty black cavalrymen were divided into three small teams, each with its own color and drum, seemingly the same ones their ancestors used during the siege of Vienna.
In the eyes of the two envoys, the entire Constantinople had transformed into a huge military camp.
Every resident living here could potentially become one of the soldiers defending Constantinople.
If the residents here could unite as one and the soldiers could cooperate, the Russian Empire would find it very difficult to conquer this historic city.
However, could the residents of Constantinople truly unite as one? Could the soldiers really cooperate seamlessly?
These seem difficult to achieve.
The two envoys followed the bustling streets of Constantinople, quickly reaching the very center of the city, the palace of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire.
Fuad Effendi, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, first received the two envoys and then introduced them to Abdulmejid I.
"I understand the difficulties faced by Moldova and the Duchy of Wallachia, so I pardon your crimes!"