As Jero Bonaparte was secretly eting with tternich, a eting concerning the survival of the entire Balkan region was secretly being held at Catherine Palace in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, thousands of miles away.
The attendees of the eting included Tsar Nicholas I, Count Orlov, head of the Third Departnt, Prince nshikov, and Prince Paskevich, who had hurriedly returned from the Two Danube Principalities.
The subject they needed to discuss was the asures and punishnts that the Russian Empire should impose on the Ottoman Empire.
Ever since the 25th of last month, when the Great Ottoman Council harshly rejected all the proposals put forward by nshikov, the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire plumted to a freezing point.
Simultaneously, Britain’s Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Canning, also approached nshikov, warning him that during negotiations, the Russian Empire should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire and should not impose any unequal treaties on the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, he would dispatch the British diterranean Fleet to the vicinity of the Bosphorus Strait to ensure the Ottoman Empire’s security.
Facing Canning’s blatant threat of war, the usually composed nshikov was montarily flustered. He could only repeatedly assure Canning that the Russian Empire sought solely to safeguard the interests of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with absolutely no intention of annexing Ottoman territory.
Canning refused to believe nshikov’s assurances under any circumstances. Due to his need to buy ti, he could only pretend to believe nshikov’s assurances while simultaneously advising him to appropriately relax the conditions before negotiating with the Ottoman Empire.
It turned out that the Russian Empire was equally lacking in confidence, unwilling to simultaneously provoke Britain and France, these two powerful European nations, and engage in conflict with them.
Canning’s strategic deception succeeded, as nshikov began to cautiously step back slightly from his original terms and subsequently granted the Great Ottoman Council nearly two weeks to deliberate.
On June 10, the Great Ottoman Council reconvened. This ti, hardliners led by Rechid beca more assertive under Canning’s hint, and so mbers of the appeasent faction also began to gravitate towards the hardliners with Muhammad Canning’s consent.
The entire Great Ottoman Council had turned into a domain dominated by hardliners, ultimately leaving the hardliners of the Ottoman Empire with an overwhelming advantage to "defeat" the appeasent faction and seize control of the empire’s diplomatic strategy.
To demonstrate support for the "hardliners," the leader of the "appeasent faction," Muhammad Ali, was dismissed by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and replaced by Rechid. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rifat Pasha, was also replaced by the more France-friendly Fuad Effendi, under the insistence of Valvesky.
The forr Pri Minister of the Ottoman Empire, Muhammad Ali, was once again appointed by the Sultan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, transforming into a mber of the "War Faction."
When the Ottoman Empire presented the docunt of deliberation from the Great Council to nshikov, he finally realized that he was like a clown being toyed with in the hands of others.
This humiliation led nshikov to curse the officials of the Ottoman Empire, Ambassador Canning, and Envoy Valvesky, accusing them of collusion and denouncing Britain and France for desecrating religion.
After the rant, nshikov had no choice but to issue an "ultimatum" to the Ottoman Empire.
If the Ottoman Empire did not revise its diplomatic strategy by June 14, the Russian Empire would withdraw its embassy stationed in Constantinople.
After two hurried days passed, the Ottoman Empire showed no signs of wavering; on the contrary, the anti-Russian activities within Constantinople intensified under the provocation of the Peace Sect religious leader and with official condonation.
The outside of the Russian Embassy in the Ottoman Empire was littered with reeking, sticky egg yolks, and the walls of the embassy were covered with slogans like "Russian invaders get out" and "Allah will destroy the heretics."
If not for official intervention, the incited townspeople would have stord into the Russian Embassy and smashed rotten eggs on nshikov’s face.
The current Ottoman Empire was hijacked by fervent nationalism and religious zealotry, and no one dared to speak a word in favor of the Russian Empire at this ti.
Those citizens who once welcod nshikov as he arrived in a rainy Constantinople were similarly investigated by certain individuals who discovered their addresses, and the ancient vigilante justice resurfaced in this semi-modernized city.
Overnight, shops owned by ethnic minorities and Eastern Orthodox believers were looted completely, and the shopkeepers were brutally murdered.
The barbaric acts of racial and religious vendettas played out once again.
On June 15, having completely lost patience with the Ottoman Empire, nshikov left amidst chaos, accompanied by the Russian Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the embassy staff, and others.
The Russian national emblem, once hung at the Russian Embassy in Constantinople, was also removed, signifying that the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire had utterly beco two countries without any diplomatic relations, leaving war as the only path ahead.
nschikov, aboard the steam warship "Thunderbolt," departed from Constantinople and arrived at the Odessa Naval Base that night.
Upon arriving at the Odessa Naval Base, nschikov did not stay long but traveled by night carriage back to the Saint Petersburg Imperial Village to personally report the news to Nicholas I.
Considering Prince nschikov’s safety, Admiral Kornilov urgently dispatched a group of Cossack cavalry to ensure his security overnight.
After two days and nights of non-stop journeying, the carriage finally reached the Imperial Village on the outskirts of St. Petersburg in the afternoon of the 17th.
When nschikov reported the news to the Tsar, he first faced Nicholas I’s scolding. After a mont, Nicholas I stopped the reprimand and contemplated whether the Russian Empire should initiate military action.
In this state of indecision, Nicholas I called in Paskievich and others on June 18th.
"Go ahead, what are your views!" After Nicholas I narrated nschikov’s experiences to all present, he subconsciously glanced at Paskievich, who was in charge of the Danube Command, and then looked around to inquire further.
"Your Majesty, the Ottoman Empire undoubtedly responded this way out of provocation towards the Empire! I suggest declaring war on the Ottoman Empire imdiately. Only by fiercely chastising those fanatic heretics can we make them understand their place! Ensuring they dare not provoke the Russian Empire again!" Count Orlov of the "Third Departnt" was the first to speak out, imdiately conveying his advice to Nicholas I, adept at interpreting the monarch’s intentions.
Nicholas I looked at Count Orlov and nodded slightly, seemingly affirming Orlov’s words.
Subsequently, Nicholas I turned his gaze towards Paskievich, the commander of the Danube Duchy.
Seeing this, Paskievich had no choice but to speak: "I believe that at this stage the Empire should proceed with more caution. Behind the Ottoman Empire stand the two nations of Britain and France! A slight misstep could result in facing their combined assault."
As soon as Paskievich finished speaking, he noticed Nicholas I staring at him with displeasure, as if he was observing an enemy.
Nonetheless, Nicholas I did not refute Paskievich but asked nschikov, the person involved, to offer his opinion.
Unwilling to overly offend Paskievich, Prince nschikov first agreed with Paskievich’s cautious thinking and then turned the subject to harshly criticize the Ottoman Empire.
In his narrative, the struggling nation had turned into a thoroughly reprehensible country, and the Russian Empire was supposed to represent justice and eradicate them.
In nschikov’s view, as long as the Russian Empire’s fleet at the Sevastopol Naval Base destroyed the Ottoman Empire’s fleet, the fleets of Britain and France would cease to entangle with the Russian Empire, allowing Russia to calmly seize Constantinople.
Regarding nschikov’s almost speculative military plan, Nicholas I also felt it was sowhat unreliable.
Consequently, he once again turned his gaze to Prince Paskievich: "Paskievich, what is your reasoning?"
"Your Majesty, if the Russian Empire crosses the border to act against the Ottoman Empire, it is highly likely to lead to a war that could blow over the whole of Europe! The Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia may be compelled by the pressures from Britain and France to act against the Russian Empire!" Paskievich presented his concerns.
"Impossible! The Austrian Empire could never act against the Empire! Paskievich, you are overthinking!" Nicholas I imdiately said to Paskievich.
Nicholas I was extrely confident in his personal relationship with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and since he had intervened to resolve Hungary’s issue for Austria in 1849, he believed Franz Joseph would join him on the military threat against Turkey, and if necessary, participate in the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. He believed that if Austria sided with him, a European war would not break out, and the Turks would be forced to concede.
Additionally, Regent King William of the Kingdom of Prussia would follow the Austrian Empire in aligning with the Russian Empire.
However, he was unaware that his cherished "brother" Austria had already sent envoys to the French Empire to discuss betraying the Russian Empire.
In the face of the overconfident Nicholas I Tsar, Paskievich could only switch his strategy, reporting to Nicholas I his efforts to dispatch personnel to the Ottoman Empire to promote Slavism, hoping to use the fantasy of Pan-Slavism to sway Nicholas I Tsar and delay any action against the Ottoman Empire.
In Paskievich’s vivid descriptions, Nicholas I seed to envision thousands of Slavs charging and capturing Constantinople under the Tsar’s banner, ultimately agreeing to Paskievich’s indefinite proposal.
Nicholas I ordered Paskievich to delay the offensive against the Ottoman Empire while also instructing the Two Danube Principalities to halt tributes to the Ottoman Empire.
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