The failure of the Winter Battle made up his mind for Alexander II. If the war was not ended, the Russian Empire would be over.

There were rebels inside and strong enemies outside to peek at them. Alexander II did not forget that the mastermind behind this war was the real enemy of the Russian Empire.

If this war is not ended as soon as possible, except for the Constantinople battlefield, which has Austria to rely on and to purchase strategic supplies nearby, the chances of winning are relatively high, there will be no hope for other regions.

Without the logistical supplies provided by the Moscow region, it is inevitable that the Central Asian region will fall; without the support of the rear, there is no need to expect the Far East battlefield.

Not to mention the Polish region, after the defeat of this battle, Belarus and the Baltic Sea will become battlefields, and it will be a matter of time before it falls.

If Sweden stabs him in the back, St. Petersburg may not be able to be saved. It will take time to mobilize the army. If the Russian Empire is dying, who knows whether the British will continue to take the blame?

There is no need to pay much, as long as the Royal Navy enters the Baltic Sea, the Russian Empire will be really finished.

In this era, the Siberian plains were not developed. The core of the Russian Empire was St. Petersburg and Moscow. Now Moscow is in the hands of the rebels. If you lose St. Petersburg, he will be the tsar, and he will be over.

"Clear the king's side and kill the dirty ministers." The key is to kill the dirty ministers and kill all his confidants. Are the Tsar or Tsar?

Is it difficult to attack the Tsar on the surface? For example, if you fall into the water accidentally, or die suddenly.

Throughout history, there have been so many emperors who died unexpectedly. Are they really accidents?

Then the probability is too high. It is simply a high-risk occupation, and it is still the one in the top few.

Alexander II would not put himself in danger. As long as he survived this disaster, he could get back the future he lost now.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to Austria and invited them to mediate the war."

After making this decision, Alexander II sighed. Now is not the best time to negotiate, but it is the time when negotiations are most needed.

Winter is the last line of defense for the Russian Empire. If the war breaks out again next year, the price they have to pay will only be greater.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov asked with some trepidation: "Your Majesty, do you want to invite British and French to participate?"

There is no way, affairs on the European continent are inseparable from Britain and France. If the Tsarist government does not invite them, they will still appear at the negotiating table.

Alexander II replied helplessly: "Let's invite, we have little choice when we reach this point."

This is giving in to Britain and France. After this war, the weakness of the Russian Empire was exposed and there was no longer the strength to compete with the British to dominate the world.

Next, they should be low-key and reduce their presence as much as possible to avoid suppression from various countries.

It doesn’t matter how much it is, but doing it is better than not doing it. In a period of weakness, it is also a good thing to reduce a little hatred.

...

When Vienna received the report of the PKR winter battle, Franz was confused. He really didn't expect that the Tsarist bureaucrats would have committed suicide to such an extent.

False reporting of losses, deducting military expenses, and raising procurement prices are all small problems, and it is nothing more than a little money from the Ken Tsar government.

Even if you are a little greedy and use inferior products as good as good things, you must at least ensure that you can meet basic needs! This is a war, and a single mistake will kill people.

Now that we are better, we will just cut off the Russian army on the front line. Now Alexander II has no time to find their bad luck, and once the situation stabilizes, there will inevitably be a major purge.

Franz asked concerned: "How much is the Russians' losses?"

Austria also sent military observers to both sides, with first-hand information on the battlefield, and a preliminary judgment on the losses can still be achieved.

Army Secretary Albrecht replied: "It is estimated that the loss of troops exceeds 300,000, and nearly 200,000 prisoners captured by Prussia were all killed, and about 40,000 to 50,000 people were killed. The non-combat reduction is very serious.

Now the Russians' defense line is open. If it weren't for the logistics, the Prussians would have occupied the Belarusian region."

Franz nodded. The Prussians took a big advantage this time, otherwise the war would have to be dragged on.

It can be said that William I won the special prize, and no one in the world expected them to make a comeback in winter. Franz, including him, believed that the Prussian Kingdom would win the battle next year.

The Tsarist bureaucrats' ability to commit suicide directly refreshed everyone's views. It is estimated that European countries did not react in the "scared".

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to all parties to mediate the war. Warn the Prussians not to go too far and remind them that it is time to fulfill their promises."

Allies naturally have to look like allies, and Franz has always done a very good job in this regard. He strictly abides by the covenant, and even the anti-Austrian factions in the Tsarist government have never accused Austria on this.

It doesn't matter if there is a small conflict. You must have a clear position in the general direction and stand firmly on the side of your allies. The Russians lost this war, but saved the Russian-Austrian alliance and allowed the two-country alliance to continue.

For example: Now warning the Kingdom of Prussia is that it can actually play a very small role, and they cannot fight whether Austria interferes or not.

This attitude happens to be what the Tsarist government needs most now. Austria's position can help them stabilize people's hearts and ensure that there is no need to pay too much in negotiations.

Because of geopolitics, the position of the Vienna government can play a decisive role in the two battlefields of Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

The Prussian Kingdom won the war, which does not mean that they are world powers. On the contrary, their own strength has declined instead of increasing.

If you want to become stronger, you can get the spoils of this battle first and digest them.

Not to mention the Ottoman Empire, their strength was limited. Completed reforms did not mean that the country would become stronger and would take time to develop.

In this war, they were forced to go to the battlefield by everyone, and they did not perform too actively in the war. They were considered to have a wave of soy sauce, but they did not have any outstanding results.

Berlin, William I's face was filled with a smile recently, and the pie that broke through the fallen pie made him dizzy, and he has not woken up from joy now.

Because of the victory on the battlefield, the originally whimsical plan became feasible. The road to the Empire of Prussia is about to set sail.

The sudden warning of the Vienna government interrupted his good mood and brought William I back to reality. His family knew his family's affairs, and winning the war was not without a price.

Since the war has been underway, the Prussian army has successively lost 460,000 troops, of which 176,000 were killed in battle and 12,000 were killed in other causes.

Strategically, these losses are worth it. Not only did they solve the threat from the Eastern Front of the Kingdom of Prussia, but they also showed their own majesty, making countries around the world dare not underestimate Prussia.

In addition to military losses, population and economic losses were even more troublesome to William I.

The population losses have exceeded one million, of which the East Prussia region is the most serious, with only one or two remaining local people.

Economically, except for the Rhineland region that can still support it, other regions are considered to be overwhelmed.

This is the credit of the Russian Navy, which has carried out destruction in coastal areas every day, and a large number of refugees poured into the rear, causing the economy to be severely hit.

If it weren't for the support of the financial backers, the Prussian Kingdom would have collapsed long ago. It wouldn't be much better now. The domestic economy would be ruined, and it would be nowhere to be achieved if it wanted to recover.

William I asked: "What do you think of the diplomatic notes of the Vienna government?"

Moltke said without hesitation: "Now we have reached the limit, and it is not worth the loss to continue fighting. It is better to determine the benefits you have obtained at the negotiating table."

After winning the war, the military's political influence went further. As the commander of the war, Moltke was also at its peak.

In the past, he would never have made his position so clearly. Now it is different. As a successful person, Moltke has more say than the Prime Minister.

William I felt relieved. It would be best if the military was willing to give up, otherwise he would have to use the pressure of the great powers to make the military ceasefire.

As for Moltke's attitude, it's all a small problem. William I was not short of this thing in his mind. He could tolerate Bismarck in the original time and space, let alone just Moltke?

In addition to Ron, the three Prussian heroes have flaws in character, and most people can't help it.

Prime Minister Frank frowned and said, "It's not that easy. It's not a big problem to acquire the two principalities and some parts of the Baltic Sea, but it's probably difficult to get it in Poland.

In addition, another problem facing us is 'Silesia'. We made a promise to the Austrians before, and we must also consider whether to fulfill this promise or not."

Schleswig-Holstein's two principalities are the least controversial, and the Tsarist government will not be entangled on this issue, and the Denmark Kingdom does not have the confidence to entangle.

It is relatively easy to obtain the Baltic Sea region. The locals are all firm anti-Russian factions. As long as they can escape from the rule of the Tsarist government, many issues can be discussed.

(Today: Three Baltic Kingdoms, the area should extend part of the area to the inland)

The most important thing is that the British support Prussia to obtain the Baltic region, and France and Austria also acquiesced on this issue.

It is really difficult to acquire Poland. First of all, the current Polish interim government is the first obstacle.

Although Moltke has been taking advantage of the opportunity to fight against the Russians and consuming the strength of the Poles, the provisional government suffered heavy losses in military strength, they still want independence!

It is not as simple as saying that it is to swallow them in one breath. The Polish Provisional Government does not agree to merge, so Prussia cannot directly attack its allies, right?

If these factors can be overcome by force, the reactions of the great powers are desperate. After annexing the Polish region, the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia was the only existence of Russia and Austria, and its population also caught up with France.

Such a giant would never be able to watch France and Austria appear, and the Russians who had just lost their battle would not agree.

As long as the great powers intervene, the Prussian Kingdom will be destined to be unable to annex Poland. If they dare to force themselves, they must be prepared to be beaten to death.

Army and Navy Minister Ron said: "Annexation of Poland is not a matter of overnight. We can make the Polish region independent first and look for opportunities later.

The Silesian region must not be ceded like this. Austria did not remain absolutely neutral in this war. If they were not supporting the Russians, the war would have ended last year."

The Silesia region is a bad debt. The two sides only made an agreement on the verbal basis and did not fall on paper. It is not impossible for the Prussian government to directly pay the debt.

The main issue is not easy to mess with Austria. If you are lying to pay for your debts now, you will be retaliated next.

Perhaps this is not enough to trigger a war between the two countries, but just diplomatic difficulties are enough to make the Prussian Kingdom uncomfortable.

The atmosphere in the conference room became tense, which was a dilemma. No one was willing to cede land, and no one wanted to confront Austria at this time.

Especially with the Prussian negotiations approaching, if the Vienna government fully supports the Russians, can they get everything they want?

No one can answer this question, and no one knows where the bottom line of the Vienna government is!

After pondering for a while, William I said cautiously: "We should just drag the problems in the Silesian region first. We cannot give up every inch of our country until the last resort!"
Chapter completed!