Chapter 754 The Situation Is Not Good

Nicholas I knew when to do something. Normally, he would not care about such small things and would be happy to see the results, but now he needs to be taught a lesson.

Soon Count Uvarov's few capable horsemen were unlucky. They were caught and beaten to pieces by the third part. According to Duke Ordov's wishes, these poor bastards were soon sentenced and directly exiled to Siberia. Go and repair the earth.

This was not the end. At the subsequent imperial meeting, Nicholas I focused on praising Count Rostovtsev, praising him as a model of Russian nobility and calling on all Russian nobility to learn from him.

As for Count Uvarov, Nicholas I did not criticize him directly. After all, he is a man who wants to save face, so he bought Alaska voluntarily, and he is not one to be forced to buy or sell.

However, Count Uvarov soon discovered that the so-called no forced buying and selling was really a lie. Soon various nobles close to him sent messages telling him that he still had to buy some land in Alaska. , If you can’t buy less, you have to buy at least 250,000 rubles.

Well, Count Uvarov spat out a mouthful of old blood, what the hell are you talking about, asking him to spend 250,000 to buy a bunch of barren land, does this mean he is being treated as a fool?

However, he was pushed back before his anger could emerge. Those people told him that this was Nicholas I's fun, and also told him that Nicholas I was very unhappy.

Count Uvarov was instantly intimidated. He didn’t dare to challenge Nicholas I, even if he had to spend 250,000 yuan to buy barren land. Even if it was doubled, he would still be in trouble. admit.

As Count Uvarov relented, the controversy over the purchase of Alaska quickly came to an end. The conservative nobles headed by Count Uvarov have suffered a huge loss. They have spent money and have no benefits, not to mention that their reputation is still very bad. Tell me what is this!

Nicholas I was very happy. Although he sold Alaska in name, he did not have to bear the infamy of selling his ancestral property. Moreover, the small amount of money earned instantly depleted the already depleted national treasury.

With money, he would naturally have the confidence to continue to challenge Britain, France and Turkey. He might as well have issued a decree to recruit more troops to prepare for a showdown with Turkey, Britain and France!

It's just that he was happy a little too early. The little money he managed to collect with great difficulty was simply incomparable to that of Britain and France. To put it mildly, it is like a beggar competing with the Dragon King for treasures.

The state machinery of Britain and France has just begun to fully mobilize, and they haven't really taken any serious action with you yet!

As expected, Nicholas I was only happy for less than half a month before he was given a slap on the head!

On August 15, 1853, the British and French fleets, with the help of the Turkish fleet and civilian ships at all costs, finally broke through the mine blockade and headed straight for Sevastopol, annihilating a Russian transport ship off the coast of Sevastopol. After the fleet, they began to violently bombard the Russian forts in Sevastopol.

This news was like a bolt from the blue. Although Kornilov and Nakhimov had expected this, they had already withdrawn the main force of the Black Sea Fleet into the Sea of ​​Azov to escape. The loss was not huge, but it had a great impact on the morale of the Russian top brass. The blow was huge.

"In view of the fact that control of the sea has changed hands, Kornilov believes that maritime transportation will be completely suspended and the ports along the Black Sea coast will be required to prepare for enemy attacks. It is best to evacuate the docks. If necessary, ships can be scuttled to block the Danube estuary and prevent The enemy navy moved up the river to attack our hinterland..."

Nicholas I's face was dark, and his lips moved for a long time, but he finally said nothing. He also knew that the strength gap between the Black Sea Fleet and the British-French Combined Fleet was too great. If they were to go ahead regardless, it wouldn't be enough to break their teeth.

Kornilov and Nakhimov's choice to preserve their strength was undoubtedly a wise one, but Nicholas I felt uncomfortable and unhappy!

For a moment, he really wanted to ignore the underground order and let the Black Sea Fleet go out to fight with Britain and France, but in the end, his reason stopped him from doing anything wrong, and he swallowed this bitter pill angrily.

"Gentlemen, as the control of the Black Sea changes hands, our enemies will be able to choose to launch attacks at any time and anywhere. In particular, Constanta, Sevastopol and even the first-line coastal cities of Odessa will become enemies to attack. The goal."

"We have limited troops and can only focus on fortifying key cities. I personally think that Constanta is the most likely to be attacked!"

This was Chernyshov's statement. He believed that Britain and France were very likely to land at Constanta and use this to break through the Danube defense line from the flank.

This speculation cannot be said to be unreasonable, at least if Britain and France do this according to normal thinking, the possibility is not small. If it were Nicholas I who commanded the army, he might have done this.

It's just that Nicholas I's military ability was not terrible, at least very mediocre. Moreover, he and Chernyshev did not fully understand the thoughts of Britain and France.

Was the real purpose of these two bandits to seize Wallachia?

Obviously not!

Because this is not good for them. After all, Wallachia is deep in the Balkan hinterland, and all follow-ups and exits have to pass through the Bosporus controlled by Turkey, and Austria is watching eagerly around it.

Even if Britain and France could drive away the Russians, this land would not be in their hands, and the Austrian advantage might be in vain.

Moreover, there are millions of troops on the Danube front line. If they fight Russia decisively here, even if they win in the end, the losses will be extremely heavy. What's more, if too many of Russia's effective forces are eliminated, the balance among the parties in the Balkans will be broken again, and Austria may take advantage.

What's more, if you do this, the Russians will really go crazy. When the time comes, the Russians will fight to the end regardless, how will it end? Could it be that he came to Moscow like Napoleon?

Naturally, Britain and France would not do such a stupid thing, not to mention that their purpose of repairing Russia was, first of all, to interrupt Russia's aggressive offensive and continue to contain the Russians on the Black Sea coast. The second is to deal a heavy blow to Russia's international reputation. It is best to dismantle the Holy Alliance.

The best way to achieve this goal is to defeat Russia in the most humiliating way, causing Russia's international reputation to plummet.

So how to do it?

Naturally, the only way is to attack Russia's homeland and capture Russia's most important fortress in the Black Sea region. Only in this way can Russia's reputation since 1814 be successfully destroyed.

So, after Britain and France broke through the mine blockade, their only target was Sevastopol. They believe that capturing this place is very symbolic and will not cause them too much loss. Maybe the fall of Sevastopol will be the day when Russia begs for surrender!