Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Our Home Is Robbed

The English and French joint fleet entered the Black Sea, and Russia declared the severance of diplomatic relations with both countries.

The British Minister of Foreign Affairs, Palmerston, met with Tsar Nicholas I, expressing a desire to do everything possible to maintain peace and avoid war between England and Russia.

Nicholas I was so angry, he wanted to spit at him.

During this time, Russia tried to figure out why England suddenly sided with France and the two countries joined forces to pressure Russia.

It was discovered that the main instigator of this war was British Foreign Secretary Palmerston, without whom the war might not have even started.

Initially, most politicians in England were in favor of peace and did not want direct conflict with Russia. They hoped to pressure Russia through non-violent means and focused more attention on France instead.

Palmerston changed the telegrams between Russia and Osman, making Russia look very fierce like a crazy bear, while paying the media to portray France as weak. He riled up the public against Russia and then resigned, blaming England’s weak government for not daring to stand up to Russia.

With public pressure, Palmerston was quickly reinstated as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. England shifted from wanting peace to wanting war, all because of him.

Palmerston, a top diplomat, could influence England and even world events. Anna learned from his tactics, and his impact on her was significant.

Palmerston, a shameless diplomat, stirred up war with Russia in Parliament but then spoke of peace when meeting the Tsar. Nicholas I wanted to punish him but couldn’t.

Tsar Nicholas I knew who was causing trouble but couldn’t do anything about it.

England offered peace if Russia sold half its Black Sea Fleet to Osman. If Russia agreed, England would stop fighting with France.

Nicholas I didn’t want to agree. He didn’t want to give up his ships or see them go to Osman.

Palmerston said war was inevitable because England’s lawmakers wanted it.

Nicholas I was scared to fight England and France but didn’t want to lose face or give up his interests.

He said to British Foreign Secretary Palmerston, "Don’t threaten me with war. I can rely on Berlin and Vienna."

The Tsar warned England that if England and France went to war with Russia, the allies of the Holy Alliance, Prussia and Austria, would stand firm with Russia. Did England want to start a big war in Europe?

Palmerston shook his head repeatedly and said fearfully, "No, no, no, of course we don’t want that. War is terrible."

The meeting made no progress, but both participants were happy afterwards.

Nicholas I believed that the English didn’t truly want to start a big war in Europe. They were afraid of the Holy Alliance, as the strength of Prussia, Austria, and Russia combined was formidable.

Nicholas I thought that since Prussia was close to both England and Russia, they might choose to stay neutral. Austria, on the other hand, would likely want to maintain the strong friendship in the Holy Alliance. He thought that by using the alliance between Russia and Austria, they could pressure England into making concessions.

The Tsar then studied the decisions made by his brother-in-law during the Silesian Crisis.

Russia sent a final warning to England and France, stating that if their navies weren’t withdrawn from the Black Sea within three days, Russia would automatically declare war on them.

Russia declared a nationwide mobilization, and its army marched towards the front lines.

Nicholas I wanted to scare off England and France by intimidating them, but three days passed and the deadline was missed, so Russia declared war on England and France.

England and France said, "Let’s fight, what are we waiting for?"

Nicholas I was confused.

Russia didn’t want to fight with England and France, but now had to, as the intimidation didn’t work and they found themselves in a difficult situation and had to proceed reluctantly.

The Tsar approached the Prince Regent of Prussia, "Dear nephew, let’s join forces with England and fight against the enemy."

Leader One replied, "Don’t forget England is like a father to me. I can only stay neutral at most, I can’t fight against them, sorry brother-in-law."

The Tsar approached the Osman emperor, "Dear nephew, let’s form an alliance and confront England and France together."

The Osman emperor replied, "I’m quite busy with domestic matters at the moment, uncle. Maybe you can ask me another time."

The situation was challenging as Russia had to face Osman, England, France, the Kingdom of Sardinia, along with uprisings in Finland, Poland, and Sweden.

During this time, the only two good news for the Tsar were that his brother-in-law Leader One was willing to help smuggle goods and send troops to help suppress the uprising in Poland controlled by Russia, which relieved some pressure.

However, apart from that, it was all bad news. Whether on sea or land, Russia couldn’t defeat the European coalition forces. By this time, the war plans were in disarray, and they could only defend their positions and wait for the coalition forces to attack.

High Emotional Intelligence: Defend positions.

Low Emotional Intelligence: Wait for death.

At this point, the diplomatic operations of various countries regarding the Crimean War could be concluded. French Emperor Napoleon, British Foreign Secretary Palmerston, and Prussian Foreign Minister Anna had been busy together for over three months. Now, they could go home and rest.

Ms. Anna took a train back to Berlin. She planned to rest for two weeks before diving back into her daily work routines and starting to plan for the next war. She was quite satisfied with how smoothly she had orchestrated the start of the Crimean War and was in a very joyful mood.

Soon, her joyful mood disappeared.

"The queen is pregnant? How can this be, when I was here first!" Anna returned to the Prime Minister Palace like thunderstruck, feeling a mix of confusion, surprise, and anger.

Timid maid Aini reported, "The queen and Your Highness the Regent spent five nights together, and she got pregnant… Your Highness finally has an heir."

Anna was startled, "How is she pregnant for the fifth time already?"

Sophia, "It is indeed surprising, some people haven’t gotten pregnant even after more than ten times."

Anna thought the maid was hinting at her, but the maid was actually hinting at herself.

But no matter what, Ms. Anna was very angry. She had been working hard outside for several months, and when she came home, she found that she was being cuckolded… She was very angry.

Ms Anna’s anger was such that she wouldn’t calm down unless she was given the position of the Prime Minister.

Just as the busy diplomatic activities came to an end, Anna could fully immerse herself in the palace intrigue. She was determined to deal with Elizabeth, the thief in her house.

Sophia looked at Mrs Bismarck’s furious face and quietly took a few steps back. If her affair with the prince was exposed at this moment, she has no doubt that someone would end her life here.