Chapter 231

"We don't want to go to war, but for God's sake, if we go to war,

We have warships, we have people, and we have money.

We've fought this bear before, and as long as Britain survives, the Russians won't own Constantinople."

It was the audible singing in a London street concert hall in 1865.

10 years later, the Russian Empire filled the Balkans again. This time, Alexander II was much smarter and no longer went it alone.

In addition to just winning the Bessarabia region in early July, Alexander II was secretly ready to support local opposition figures and teams dissatisfied with the rule of the Ottiman Empire, so before July 15, 1865, Bosnia, Herzegovina Three Ottoman provinces, including Bulgaria, broke out at the same time.

When the Ottoman Empire was caught off guard, it ignored the invasion of Tsarist Russia in the north, and could only send a large army to suppress the third party near the Mediterranean Sea one after another.

This provided an opportunity for the Tsarist Empire to intervene.

Therefore, after the complete occupation of Bessarabia on July 20, the Tsarist Russian Empire was dissatisfied with the methods used by the Ottoman Empire to suppress these three places. The Empire officially announced the dispatch of troops to Moldavia to prevent the possible repression of the Moldavian people by the Ottiman Empire.

When the Ottoman Empire had just finished suppressing Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was about to advance to Bulgaria in the north, the Bulgarian region had mutinied under the arms of the Russian Empire.

The Ottoman Empire was then only able to fight against the Bulgarian armed forces again, and just like watching its own enemies cut flesh on itself, the Ottoman Empire's army was stopped in the south of Bulgaria, while the north was the army of the Russian Empire. Advance in Romania. That felt so painful.

The Ottoman army in Bosnia in the west and my Ottoman army could not form effective support for Romania in the north because it was separated from Hungary, so when the last day at the end of July came, the Russian Empire almost occupied nearly half of Romania's territory.

At this time, the faces of European countries began to change color, especially the British and Austrian Empires. The daily progress of the Tsarist Russian army was a needle in the heart of the two countries.

Both countries are afraid of Tsarist Russia's growth in the Balkans.

So when Tsarist Russia began to arm Serbia and Montenegro, preparing to stage what Bulgaria did in these two principalities, the Austrian Empire hurriedly intervened.

Britain also drove its fleet in the ground to the Black Sea for cruising.

Trying to create a tense atmosphere for the Austrian mediation, let the Tsarist Empire understand that enough is enough, and the patience of Britain and Austria is limited to the limit.

Ready for war anytime.

But Alexander II was not one to give up easily.

On August 3, 1865, the Tsarist Empire stated that it would not repeat the same mistakes of the 1856 Tsarist Empire's fiasco, and hoped that the people would support the Tsarist Empire's current policy of resource arming in the Balkans.

At the same time, he also called on European countries to support the Ottoman Empire's claim of suppressing the Balkans, and support the war action launched by Tsarist Russia for justice.

However, the United Kingdom refuted this statement. They stated that it was just a ridiculous excuse made by Tsarist Russia for its own invasion.

"A robber who stole other people's food and said that he was only trying to prevent the original owner of the food from being afraid of dying from eating too much food is very ridiculous.

I called on the rulers of St. Petersburg in London to immediately stop the invasion of the Ottoman Empire, and then peacefully negotiate to resolve the disputes between the two countries. This is the current attitude of the British Empire.

Our Mediterranean Fleet is already patrolling the Black Sea and can join any challenging combat mode at the command of London. I hope that all countries will respect the British Empire and not leave our ideas behind. "

But while the British Foreign Office spokesman had just finished saying that Europe was looking at his metaphor and finding it interesting, the situation in the Balkans was not going their way.

On August 10, 1865, the Russian Empire completely occupied Romania, and with the support of the local opposition, announced its annexation as the territory of the Russian Empire, and together with Moldavia and Bessarabia became the three principalities of the Russian Empire.

A provisional government was formed by opposition figures who had previously opposed the Ottoman Empire.

Along with this, 136 Turkish officers stationed in Bulgaria were brutally killed on the day of August 11, which provoked brutal retaliation from the Ottoman Empire.

The situation turned sharply, so on August 15, 1865, more than 20,000 Bulgarians were slaughtered in the notorious "Bulgarian Terror" in retaliation by the Ottoman Empire.

The incident was widely reported in European newspapers, and European countries were dumbfounded.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander II took the opportunity to condemn the Ottoman Empire and appealed to the great powers such as Britain and Austria, asking these countries not to support the violent Ottoman regime, but to stand on the side of the just Tsarist Russia.

The Prussian Empire also stood up at this time, saying that it could not believe it was true, and stated that it would impose sanctions on the Ottoman Empire. Berlin did not make it clear.

But Berlin's attitude played a role in following the trend.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark all announced sanctions on the Ottoman Empire. After that, Spain and Italy and Portugal also joined the team.

Seeing so many countries forming the condemnation team, London finally changed its attitude and joined helplessly.

In London, Foreign Secretary Russell scolded: "There is only one way for the Ottomans to wash away their scolding, and that is to wash themselves away and call on Constantinople not to do harm to civilians."

Lift it up high and put it down gently.

"That's the British attitude.

Many countries understand the intentions of the United Kingdom, and this is also the reason why the Ottoman Empire has no fear, because the United Kingdom needs the Ottoman Empire to help the United Kingdom defend the Black Sea and the Mediterranean passage, as well as the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, to prevent the Russian Empire from breaking through from here. The Suez Canal was maintained only when the Ottoman Empire did not oppose and supported British rule.

So seriously, the relationship between the UK and the Ottoman Empire needs more of the Ottoman Empire than European countries. The strategic position of the Ottoman Empire in Britain was even more important.

Therefore, the British condemned the fact on the surface. They may be doing the opposite, and they are continuously supporting the Ottoman Empire to prevent the further southward invasion of the Russian Empire. "

William IV released his views in a January plenary lecture for teachers and students at the latest Foreign Service College.

He continued: "Britain needs the Ottoman Empire, and it is more reassuring to use it, because compared with European countries, the Ottoman Empire is a country of different nationalities and beliefs. For the United Kingdom, it may lack moral restraints. Expedient cooperation.

And even if the Ottomans are supported and strengthened, as long as the British foreign policy changes, they can unite European countries to declare war on the Ottoman Empire based on differences in race and belief. This is the balanced policy of the United Kingdom. "

In fact, and indeed to William IV, the Ottoman Empire was a country that was kept in captivity by the United Kingdom to defend southeastern Europe.

The gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire was in line with Britain's need to control a great power, something that was difficult to do on the European continent. Controlling the Ottoman Empire, so that the United Kingdom can use the transit goods in the Middle East to continuously transport raw materials from the Indian Ocean back to the British Isles through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

Therefore, once the Russian Empire seized a large area of ​​the Ottoman Empire, according to the imperialist temperament of the Russian Empire, Britain would not be allowed to meddle in the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea, and the United Kingdom would lose its control over the Far East India and further oppression by naval force. The Qing Dynasty, a well-known power in the Far East, further opened up the country's market opportunities.

This will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the capital of the United Kingdom.

In the city, while condemning the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire also repeatedly warned the Russian Empire, either explicitly or implicitly, demanding that the country stop its southern invasion, but the Russian Empire not only ignored it, but even warned against Varna in eastern Bulgaria. ,

The shameless behavior of the Tsarist Russia completely angered the British Empire.

At this time, the Austrian Emperor Joseph I was worried about his own situation because of the hatred of the Austrian Empire within the German Confederation, so he chose to show affection to Britain at this time.

The performance of the Austrian Empire in the Balkans was satisfactory to the British, and the British seemed to have Austrian military power, especially the army, available.

Prussia, which was originally supported by the United Kingdom, has been out of the control of the United Kingdom like a wild horse in recent years. Many times the policies made are not in line with the interests of the United Kingdom. Therefore, the olive branch extended by Austria, UU read www. uukanshu.com is a surprise to the UK.

Moreover, the weakness of Austria makes it easier for the British to control. His land of four battles (surrounded by Tsarist Russia, Prussia, France, and Ottoman) fits the best model for Britain's need for balanced diplomacy.

In particular, the expansion of the Russian Empire in the Near East has made Britain very dissatisfied. If Tsarist Russia occupied the two straits of Ottoman Turkey, Britain's power in the Mediterranean would be severely damaged, so Britain could not give up the two straits.

Supporting the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire will help to end the Tsarist Russia Empire. Therefore, the United Kingdom is determined to support the Ottoman Empire and at the same time begin to tilt its diplomatic support and military resources to Austria.

On August 20, 1865, Austria and Britain, in view of their dissatisfaction with the Tsarist Russia's invasion of the Ottoman Empire, made peace and reached a decision to assist the Ottoman Empire in Vienna.

At the same time, the relationship between the Austrian Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire will also be more tense.

To this end, under the threat of the Austrian Empire, the Tsarist Russian Empire announced that the Austrian Empire was included in the list of hostile countries of the country, and the other country on the list was the Ottoman Empire.