Struggle in Russia

The main reason why Alexander II was so tough was that he still had hope for Baryatinsky. In addition, the harsh conditions of Britain and France also made him very embarrassed. He would rather risk waiting to see what happens in the Caucasus than hang his head in shame.

So all the pressure suddenly rushed to Baryatinsky. As the commander of the Caucasus Theater, plus the reinforcements of more than 10,000 people recently sent to him by Alexander II, he commanded about 60,000 people. of troops.

This number of men is indeed not that many, even tens of thousands less than the enemy Turks opposite him. However, the Turkish army without coalition support is indeed no match for the Russian army. To put it bluntly, the Russian army can still do it with one against two.

Baryatinsky had been actively making preparations since receiving the order from Alexander II. In mid-December, after accumulating strength for a month, he suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Turkish army, which instantly defeated the Turkish army. The armor is broken into an army.

By the end of December, nearly 20,000 Turkish troops had been annihilated. The Russian army was heading straight towards Trabzon. The Turkish army was about to collapse in the Caucasus!

In this way, both Napoleon III and Palmerston felt like they had eaten a fly. Finally, the Russian army was forced into a desperate situation in Sevastopol, and Alexander II could be forced to sign an alliance under the city. But suddenly the weakness was stabbed. Save the Turks. It feels a bit unworthy. Don't save them. Once they collapse on the Western Front, it will affect the pattern of the entire Central Asia region.

To be honest, both Napoleon III and Palmerston were a little frustrated because they were temporarily unable to devote more troops to help Turkey. After all, domestic anti-war voices were getting louder day by day, and they continued to increase troops and expand the scale of the war. It will really blow up the pot.

After some emergency consultations, Palmerston and Napoleon III reached an agreement to continue negotiations and see how the Russians react.

Alexander II certainly reacted to this. Baryatinsky's victory gave him a shot in the arm and swept away the decline of the past few months, making him feel that he had cards to play again. Almost on the day he received the news of the victory, he immediately wrote to Duke Alexander, telling him to explore the attitude of the French and see what favorable conditions this victory could win for Russia.

To be honest, this has created a lot of trouble for Duke Alexander. He prefers to solve the problem quickly and can sacrifice some Balkan and Black Sea interests in exchange for peace. Originally, he had almost reached an agreement with the French and Austrians. The Russian army would return to Wallachia and cede Moldavia and part of western Wallachia to Austria.

In addition, Russia would recognize Turkish sovereignty over Bulgaria and abandon its military presence in Wallachia and Moldavia.

Generally speaking, except for the loss of a little territory in Wallachia and Moldavia, the price Russia paid was not heavy.

However, with Baryatinsky's victory, Alexander II's psychological expectations will naturally be higher, and he is likely to refuse to cede land to Austria and refuse to withdraw his troops from Wallachia and Moldavia.

But if these two conditions are not agreed to, neither the Austrians nor Britain and France will be satisfied. After all, the Austrians have been coveting Wallachia and Moldavia for a long time, just to squeeze the Russian army out of the above-mentioned areas.

As for Britain and France, if the Russian army does not withdraw from Wallachia and Moldavia, they will not believe that Russia has really given up its aggression against Turkey. What if they turn around and go home and the Russian army comes back to kill them?

And the Turks will not rest assured about this. After all, Wallachia is too close to Bulgaria, and the Russian army stationed there is equivalent to putting a gun to their foreheads.

But the order of Alexander II was there, and he had no choice but to continue to negotiate with France and Austria. However, the negotiations were not smooth. Both France and Austria strongly opposed the continued presence of Russian troops, and even explicitly said they would not agree. There was no need to talk about this, so the negotiations fell into a stalemate again.

Just as Alexander II was waiting for Britain, France and Austria to make concessions, on January 10, the Austrian ambassador to Russia suddenly sent a note to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telling the Russians that they would issue an ultimatum. If you agree to the previous peace negotiation conditions, Austria will join the coalition forces and declare war on Russia!

This situation gave Alexander II a blow. After all, he just felt that he had another trump card, but he had better conditions to win. Who knew that his former allies would betray him in the blink of an eye, and Austria's ultimatum almost completely destroyed all the Russians' hopes for Austria. Good impression.

Alexander II bluntly told the queen that night: "From today on, Austria is no longer a friend, but an enemy. Sooner or later, I must let them know the consequences of betraying us!"

However, such cruel words could not solve any practical problems. Then Alexander II was forced to convene a royal meeting to discuss how to deal with Austria's ultimatum.

"Your Majesty, Austria's betrayal is indeed shameless and infuriating, but anger cannot solve the actual problem," Neserrode made his attitude clear at the beginning. "Once Austria really declares war on our country, it means that we will be attacked from both sides. , Duke Mikhail’s army in Wallachia will fall into an extremely passive situation and be in danger of being completely annihilated!”

Alexander II looked at Neserrode but said nothing. Obviously, this level of warning could not make him change his mind.

Neserrodie couldn't help but feel his heart sink, and he became more and more disappointed with Russia. The death of Nicholas I once gave him a little hope. He hoped that Alexander II would be more sensible and listen to advice than his father, but His observations during the recent period made him very frustrated. It was obvious that Alexander II was not an easy-to-serve and easy-to-talk master.

Just when the old prime minister was frustrated and ready to hang up his crown and go back, Finance Minister Kiselev said: "Your Majesty, I have no doubt about your love for the country and your determination to fight to the end. If you decide to fight to the end, I will follow you to the death!" But I must remind you that finances are already extremely tight, even more difficult than in 1812, and we have almost no money left to continue this war."

He looked at Alexander II affectionately and said: "The serfs are already showing signs of instability, and there are signs of riots in many areas. If Austria and Prussia also join the coalition, it means that we will go to war with almost all Western countries. This will be devastating!"