Chapter 294 Counterattack

Franz knew that blindly compromising and giving in was useless, especially for powers like Britain and France that aimed to dominate the world. Of course, it would be unwise for Austria to rashly provoke a war or use counter-sanctions in the current situation.

Parliament, London, England.

Whig members strongly advocated Serbian nationalism at the meeting. They hoped that Parliament would pass a bill supporting Serbian national independence.

Although this would sacrifice the interests of the ally Ottoman Empire, it played an extremely important role in maintaining the balance of power in Europe.

The Tories, led by Robert Peel, immediately launched a counterattack. They believed that the Whigs were playing with fire, especially supporting Russia to send troops to Austria, which was a bad move among bad moves.

"For many years, we in Britain have been working hard for peace in Europe. To this end, we must stop the Slavs from expanding westward, and now you have destroyed it all with your own hands!"

Robert Peel believed that the Whigs' behavior was completely self-destructive. Once the Austrians made concessions to Tsarist Russia, the latter's influence would be unprecedentedly strong.

At this time, the Tsarist Russia was not the old empire that was ridiculed later, but the arrogant European gendarme.

"Impossible, Belgrade is too important to the Austrian Empire. It is the key to the Balkans, a region that has been contested with the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. They will not give it up easily unless they shed their last drop of blood.

And we will not let the Russians dominate alone. The Prussians and the French are all pawns that can be used. If necessary, Britain can save Europe again!"

Palmerston's confidence comes from Britain's powerful military force, because even the former Napoleonic Empire, which united the whole of Europe with a fragile alliance, still could not defeat the powerful Britain.

(Referring to Napoleon's Continental Blockade Policy.)

"You actually want to involve the entire empire in a meaningless dispute again? You are a British subject, not a master, Mr. Palmerston, why do you let our soldiers die for you?"

Previously, Palmerston had lost his reputation due to a certain war. Although he won, he did not get the results that the British wanted. Naturally, all these crimes were attributed to Palmerston personally.

Now he actually proposed again that Britain go to war with the powers, and the entire parliament hall was booed.

"Austria and the Ottoman Empire are both traditional allies of our Britain. What you did is a complete betrayal!" A member of the parliament stood up and shouted, and his words resonated with everyone.

After that, there were constant condemnations of Palmerston in the parliament hall, but Palmerston seemed to not care about these things at all.

"So what?" A very disdainful roar made the parliament quiet again. He ignored the surprised and angry parliamentarians and cleared his throat and said.

"There are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. You old antiques should be buried in the ground!"

Palmerston glanced at the whole audience, but no one dared to look him in the eye.

"All the victories in the previous wars belong to Britain, and so will they be in the future!"

The whole audience burst into warm applause, and Palmerston suppressed it with his hand and continued.

"The Austrian Empire has opened up many colonies in Africa that we used to think were impossible to colonize or worthless. They even found gold and diamonds in Namibia."

"Gold!"

"Diamonds!"

"Oh my God! Such a good colony, why didn't we find it!"

"This is the negligence of the Colonial Department!"

When they heard about gold and diamonds, all the MPs' eyes lit up. This is much more profitable than any open trade. Gold and diamonds are what they really want, and Palmerston naturally knows this.

"The Austrian Empire's naval power is simply unable to maintain these colonies, and taking them away is as easy as snatching candy from a child for the British Royal Navy!"

"Support!"

"Agree!"

"Long live Great Britain!"

"The Serbian independence cause is just!"

"Justice will prevail!"

The whole audience burst into thunderous applause.

Russia, St. Petersburg.

Nesserlov came to the Tsar excitedly. At this time, Nicholas I was having dinner with Alexander and his new wife, Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmine August Sophie Marie.

Dinner is very important for the Orthodox Church, and Nicholas I is a very devout believer. He frowned at the excited foreign minister in front of him.

Alexander saw this and immediately said, "Do I need to leave?"

In fact, he had wanted to run away a long time ago. It was a very painful thing to eat with his father, and even the eating movements were required.

Nicholas I felt that his son was unreliable. He was fooling around with prostitutes the day before the wedding night. Now that he had just got married, he didn't want any conflicts between the two.

In fact, Nicholas I looked down on his son's promiscuity, because he was a very loyal man. He only had one mistress in his life, and it was introduced by his wife.

Of course, there are rumors that the queen had to let her bestie replace herself because of her physical discomfort. Nicholas I was 205 cm tall, while Queen Alexandra was only 160 cm tall.

"Sit down. As the crown prince, you should listen to state affairs."

Alexander had to sit back in his seat, then turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Princess Mary, who immediately lowered her head in shame.

In fact, Alexander was flirting with his new wife's maid. The European aristocratic circle at that time was very chaotic, and this was just a microcosm.

"Karl, you can talk, there is no need to avoid the Crown Prince's family."

As soon as Nicholas I spoke, all the waiters in the room immediately withdrew, leaving only Alexander and his wife, and two of Nicholas I's personal guards.

"Your Majesty, the great Tsar, the British are willing to support us, the great Slavic liberation movement. Our western neighbors, the Austrians, have been enslaving our compatriots, and now is the time to show your power."

Nesserlov told the causes and consequences of the Serbian independence movement, and told the Tsar that the British were willing to support Russia in obtaining the territory of Austrian Poland.

Before Nicholas I spoke, Alexander played with chicken bones in one hand and supported his chin with the other hand.

"Isn't this using us as a gun? Sacrificing our allies, and then giving us the land we conquered?"

As soon as these words came out, Nesherlov's face immediately turned red. He was a thorough pro-British faction. In essence, he felt that the recognition of the British was more important than anything else, so he naturally would not pursue those "details".

But Alexander's words were like a basin of cold water, which immediately calmed Nicholas I a lot. Although Russia needed to ease the conflict with Britain, it seemed that sacrificing allies in exchange for it was not worth the loss.

But soon everything was solved, because the news that the Serbs were still willing to be a vassal of the Ottoman Empire reached London and St. Petersburg.

The Whigs had to announce their collective resignation due to this scandal, and the Tsar began to reconsider the question of who was a friend. Milos withheld the British aid and did not intend to return it.

And the missing British diplomat Baron Mills was ignored, and his body was eventually found in Istanbul, which is a later story.