Chapter 12 Limits

Nesselrode felt despair instantly, yes, it was no longer a great pressure but complete despair. Because forcing Turkey to grant Bulgaria autonomy is still a possible task, but forcing Turkey to completely let go of Bulgaria is an impossible task.

Anyway, no matter how hard Nesselrode tried to find a way, he couldn't find a means or a way to achieve this goal through peaceful means.

Therefore, the old prime minister was sitting on wax, and there was nothing he could do. He could only sit there blankly, watching Nicholas I talking to other courtiers about the abomination of pagans and how much suffering the Christian brothers in Bulgaria and other places had suffered. He called on the courtiers to join him Start a new crusade and take back the Holy City by destroying the damned heretics in one fell swoop.

To be honest, this is really a cliche, and it is no longer the Middle Ages of the Crusades. In fact, neither the common people nor the nobles are particularly concerned about jihad or beliefs.

If you have the time to engage in these things, why not think about how to earn more money and have more children! Anyway, these things have no inspiring magic anymore, except for extreme religious fanatics like Nicholas I, who will take it seriously, most people just listen to it.

What made Nesselrode feel depressed was that although he knew that these things were meaningless to people other than Nicholas I, he just couldn't make Nicholas I understand this. If he had the courage to speak out and persuade him, the result would be that he was directly dismissed by Nicholas I and asked him to go back to his hometown to farm immediately.

Between going back to his hometown to farm and staying in St. Petersburg, Nesselrode will definitely choose the latter, even if staying in St. Petersburg is like letting him eat a piece of meat, he will eat it with tears in his eyes !

"Your Majesty, can you give me a little more time, um..." Nesselrode said to Nicholas I bravely after deliberating over and over again: "In this way, I can try my best to persuade the Turks and let them understand you Our will cannot be violated... After all, resorting to force at this time is likely to cause an uproar, and although our military strength is second to none in Europe, it is still risky to start a war rashly."

Nesselrode has spoken as tactfully as possible, but Nicholas I still doesn't like to hear it. What does it mean to start a war rashly? What is risky? He thinks that the armies of other European countries are scumbags. When the revolution broke out four years ago, look at those so-called great powers. Their armies couldn't even handle a group of mobs. If it wasn't for his great Nicholas I, these guys Has been dismembered by the mob! How can they still sit in the palace with rich clothes and fine food? Just because of this, they have to carefully weigh the consequences of provoking him!

Besides, the guys from the last revolutionary movement still owed him a lot of favors! It is only right and proper to use Türkiye to repay the debt now!

Nesselrode was speechless for Nicholas I's arrogance, because it is true that the European powers did not perform particularly well in the last revolutionary movement, but they were not scumbags. Except that Austria has to ask you for help because of ethnic, religious, and geographical issues,

Although the other powers were in a hurry, they still basically controlled the situation.

As for how your army performs in counterinsurgency, is it really that good? It took more than a year for an army of 500,000 to get it done with the full cooperation of Austria. It really can't be said how good it is, can it? Why did you give birth to the feeling that Lao Tzu is number one in the world?

At this time Nesselrode really wanted to go up and wake up Nicholas I, telling him to stop living in his own fantasy and open his eyes to see the real world!

It's just that Nesselrode still didn't dare. To him, it didn't matter whether Nicholas I was daydreaming or not, as long as he continued to be prime minister. So he persuaded patiently: "Your Majesty, even though that's the case, it is more troublesome to really anger them. It is better to solve the problem without bloodshed! After all, our finances are very tight!"

Money is probably the only obstacle that can prevent Nicholas I from going crazy. As he gets more and more happy, he spends money more and more. Likes building palaces and renovating the Hermitage.

Anyway, spending money like running water, thinking that at least five or six hundred thousand troops will be used to fight Turkey, which will be an astronomical expense, Nicholas I restrained the idea of ​​​​immediately destroying Turkey, and was a little interested Decliningly ordered:

"Then do as you say, but it's best to move quickly, my patience is limited!"

The result of this State Council meeting made Nesselrode really want to cry, but he had to accept the praise wholeheartedly, but he had to take on a more difficult task. If he could not satisfy Nicholas I as soon as possible, his this The prime minister is really over.

"Send a letter to Vladimir Titov, telling him to start negotiations with Turkey again, um, raise the demand, and ask Turkey to give Bulgaria a higher degree of autonomy!"

When Nesselrode announced this decision in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, almost all the diplomats stared at him with wide eyes, because everyone thought their prime minister was crazy. Because the previous conditions were already very harsh on Turkey, and now they want to ask for more, this is completely hysterical, talking in your sleep!

Nesselrode naturally knew what his subordinates thought of him, but he couldn't help it! Because it is still easy for him to say, because Nicholas I's request is to ensure that Bulgaria is completely independent. If you tell these guys this request, they will not go to heaven!

"Don't be in a daze, take action immediately! Our time is running out, and His Majesty's patience is very limited!"

Nesselrode felt irritable when he said that. He tugged at his collar, but he still felt out of breath. It was as if an invisible noose had wrapped around his neck.

The feeling of suffocation upset Nesselrode. He danced helplessly for a while before he remembered that there were still many people watching, and then he sat up straight and pretended nothing happened.

It's just that this pretense was meaningless, because everyone saw his helplessness, and soon all kinds of rumors spread from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and almost the entire St. Petersburg knew that their prime minister had gone crazy overnight.

Count Rostovtsev was very satisfied with this: "It seems that Nesselrode's limit has almost been reached, and we can start the next step!"