Somewhere in Lithuania, the 748th Regiment's temporary camp.
"So you're here to tell me that you don't need to go to Prussia, but go directly to Ukraine, right?"
Leonid almost gritted his teeth when he said this. He was so angry that he spent more than a month on the road. He was first kicked off the ship, then ordered to go to Estonia, and then entered Lithuania.
Later, they received an order to go to Prussia, but within two days of leaving, they were told to brake quickly and change direction to assemble in Ukraine.
These orders that were changed day and night caused his troops to take many wrong paths and wasted so much precious time. Anyway, he could not stop complaining and was very depressed.
Of course, it is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. Leonid will still obey the orders and advance towards Ukraine. He will even complete the deployment as quickly as possible. Because he is a real soldier, even if he is full of complaints and resentments, he will
Do your job well.
However, at this time, he was more worried about his friends. There was no news from Li Xiao. Since he left St. Petersburg, communication has become extremely difficult. It takes a long time to deliver a letter to the other party.
Traveling through thousands of rivers and mountains. Russia’s poor transportation and postal facilities made communication extremely difficult.
Li Xiao's side was doing pretty well, at least there was some news. Alexey's side was completely unresponsive. Considering the arduous mission shouldered by his old friend, Leonid had no plans for his Wallachia mission.
Xing is extremely worried.
For the first time, he wrote a letter to his father, Prince Gorchakov, begging his father's representative to take care of Alexei and convey him the latest situation in Wallachia.
To be honest, when Duke Alexander Gorchakov received this letter, he was very anxious and confused. The situation in Austria was very turbulent and unstable.
Since the revolution broke out in Paris in February, Vienna has also begun to prepare for unrest. All classes of society, from nobles to poor people, from businessmen to students, have begun secret gatherings to discuss politics, philosophy, and freedom.
Then, dissatisfaction with Metternich's cabinet erupted like a volcano. Angry Viennese citizens spontaneously took to the streets and demanded that Metternich step down immediately and get out. After a brief conflict, the Viennese people followed the example of the Paris citizens and built barricades and began to unite.
Austrian government armed confrontation.
Under tremendous pressure, Metternich collapsed, and the old prime minister hurriedly put on women's clothing and fled to England. Ferdinand I, who suffered from frequent epilepsy and was considered to have intellectual problems, had almost no ability to govern. The regency committee was almost composed of Archduke Louis.
Have the final say.
Under the arrangement of the Grand Duke, Ferdinand I pretended to surrender to the people and prepared for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. However, the newly formed cabinet was actually no different from the one during Metternich's period. It was still so conservative and reactionary, almost changing the medicine.
Not only was the situation in Austria unstable, Bohemia and Hungary were also in turmoil. The Young Czech Party rose up in Prague, and Kossuth and Fedofi led the Hungarian independence movement. The huge Austrian Empire was in danger of falling apart.
All this was seen by the old wanderer, and he increasingly felt that Austria's weakening and disintegration were inevitable. This country was like a piece of broken glass that was barely held together by glue. Once the glue aged and failed, it would inevitably fall apart.
So can the Habsburg-Lorraine family be saved? At least in Gorchakov's view, there is no hope. The current emperor and his brother are the products of incest marriages, and are either sick or mentally retarded.
Can such an emperor control the overall situation? Can he turn the tide?
In Gorchakov's view, Austria and the Habsburg family are already yesterday's flowers, and they are the most pitiable political zombies in Europe. At this time, the most advantageous and simplest way is to divide them and eat them. Russia should join forces with Prussia to directly provide
Cut the Austrian into eight large pieces and put them on the table.
He couldn't help but think of the letter he received a month ago. In that letter, Leonid told him Li Xiao's opinions on Austria. At that time, he still felt that the young archduke was a bit reckless. Although Austria was weakened,
After all, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse.
But now it seems that the Archduke's judgment was probably right. If he united with Prussia and France to attack Austria as he imagined, he might actually be able to succeed.
Thinking of this, Gorchakov couldn't help but write to Nicholas I again, clarifying his point of view again, opposing interference in the Austrian revolution, and letting this revolution become the death knell of Austria. A powerful
The fall of the empire will definitely bring huge geopolitical benefits to Russia. At least in the Balkans, no one can control Russia's progress.
Retaking Constantinople will no longer be a distant dream at that time. Russia will truly face the Mediterranean and gain a real outlet to the sea, instead of being stuck in the bathtub of the Black Sea.
Gorchakov wrote a lot eloquently, but when he was about to finish, he stopped writing. He thought of something, and then he sighed, crumpled up what he had just written, and threw it in.
The trash can.
"It's meaningless. With that old Neserrodie here and the background of the Paris Revolution, no one can convince His Majesty. What a pity!"
Gorchakov let out a long sigh and walked to the balcony with a sense of loss. Through the window, he could see groups of citizens building barricades, and opposite them were Austrian soldiers with extremely low morale.
.
After observing for a while, he walked back to the desk, took out another piece of paper and began to reply to Leonid:
"Dear little lion, I am relieved to know that you are well. The situation is very chaotic. The Viennese people took to the streets and started fighting like the Parisians in 1789... The Austrians performed very poorly and could hardly do anything about these brave people.
The Viennese... Metternich fled in panic, and his downfall meant the end of an era..."
"The era that belongs to the past and belongs to 1815 has ended. Everything related to that era will be rewritten - the Holy Alliance, our glory and the cornerstone of stability..."
"An unstable new era has arrived, and you are lucky to be able to catch up with this new era. I believe you will be able to make great achievements... Forget the things in the past, including those victories, those honors, those
It’s meaningless anymore!”
"Cherish your current friends. I have a feeling that you will all shine, especially the Grand Duke. You told me that he managed to sneak into Wallachia. That was a smart and good method. Please give the Grand Duke's contact information.
I, I have some questions to ask him...I will keep an eye on Alexei on my behalf. I believe he will be fine. If nothing else happens, we will be able to meet soon..."