The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1235: The picture shows the dagger
At this time, Paskevich only had 50,000 soldiers from Kiev, and the Moscow Corps was still on the way. Even if they arrived, they could not immediately join the war.

At first he thought this would be the same as the previous one, still a siege like the Warsaw Uprising.

However, upon arriving in Poland, Paskevich discovered that he was too naive. The entire Russian Poland was in a state of decay, and attacking Warsaw under such circumstances was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Paskevich immediately began to consider contacting the garrison in Russian Poland, preparing to advance step by step and gradually erode the rebels.

But he soon discovered that all the Russian troops in Russian Poland had become frightened birds and he had no power to command them.

If they had marched towards Warsaw at all costs as originally planned, they might not have received support from the Moscow Corps and the Kiev Corps would have lost most of its troops.

After much consideration, Paskevich decided to disobey the Tsar's order and have the Kiev Army stationed at the border to wait for the arrival of the Moscow Army.

In fact, this situation was somewhat beyond Franz's expectations. He thought that the Russians would crash into the mud of Poland and turn it into a complete mess.

It now seems that Franz underestimated the Russians, but it is still too early to draw conclusions. After all, the person who can ultimately decide the direction of this battle is not Paskevich, but Nicholas I.

On the other hand, the Polish army has grown from tens of thousands at the beginning to more than 100,000 at this time. Although there is a lot of water in it, there is strength in numbers.

Even if it was a mob, as long as they were numerous enough, they could crush the elite. And the uprising was planned by Franz, so he couldn't have left no backup plan.

While Paskevich was defending Poland with all his might, the rebellion in the Baltic Governorate had reached a point where it was out of control.

The Baltic Governor-General was different from Venpetlovsky. He was just a dandy boy who had risen to power with the help of his ancestors.

At the beginning of the rebellion, the governor spent money to cover up his own ugly behavior while mobilizing the troops in his jurisdiction to quell the rebellion.

He thought that he could quickly put down the rebellion with his military advantage, but he soon discovered that the number of rebels was increasing and their scale was growing. Some even wanted to sneak into the Governor's Mansion and assassinate him.

However, the assassin was discovered in time by the guards of the Governor's Palace and killed on the spot.

Although the governor never even saw the assassin, he always lived in the shadow of death and was in constant fear.

The rebellion could never be extinguished, and he could already imagine that the Tsar's rage would burn everything, so the governor finally chose to flee to England by ship.

Without the governor, the Baltic Governorate soon fell into chaos.

The Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians had never been very friendly towards the Russians, and at this time the Russians looked like they were doomed, and coupled with the instigation of the Poles, they naturally became interested and joined the rebellion.

Franz was not so optimistic. All he did was just to increase the stakes.

The Poles are bargaining chips, and the three Baltic peoples are also bargaining chips.

The achievements of the Poles in Russian Poland surprised the British, especially Prime Minister Earl Derby, who felt that this time they might be able to replicate Lord Byron's glorious achievements.

Just as the Earl of Derby was gearing up for something big, Palmerston showed up in his office uninvited.

The Earl of Derby felt a headache when he saw this disrespectful and unruly guy, but he still asked patiently.

"What do you want from me?"

"Prime Minister, now is the time."

Earl Derby frowned, thinking that this guy could also catch butts with the wind, so he raised his head and said.

"I know. I will convince Congress to increase its support for Poland. This time, we must defeat Russia!"

The Earl of Derby seemed very excited. After all, defeating his competitor with such a single blow would make his achievement go down in history forever.

Palmerston looked at the dancing Earl of Derby as if he were a fool.

"Prime Minister, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Lord Derby was totally surprised by Palmerston's action and was speechless.

"Prime Minister, it's time to negotiate terms with the Russians and end this war."

"But will the Russians agree to let Poland become independent now?"

"Lord Derby, you are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. What does it have to do with you whether the Poles are independent or not?"

Palmerston asked in return, and now Earl Derby was even more confused. If Poland could not be made independent, then the weakening of Russia would not be enough. Could it be just to make the Tsar give up the order to convert the Poles?
That result would be of little consequence to the UK, but the cost would be too high. Wouldn't he be impeached again?

Seeing the puzzled look on Earl Derby's face, Palmerston finally confirmed his guess that the prime minister in front of him was an idiot.

Let Poland become independent? Would that mean going to war with the Holy Alliance? Don't forget that Austria and Prussia also had a share in the partition of Poland.

Now Austria and Prussia are standing idly by, and even allowed their own personnel to enter Poland in the early stages of the war, simply because the war has not yet spread to them.

Even the Poles knew that they should try not to cause trouble on the Prussian-Austrian border. Their own prime minister actually wanted Poland to be independent. This was truly the biggest joke of the 19th century.

“My Lord Prime Minister, the Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi has always been a thorny issue for our country.

If left alone, Russia would dominate the Black Sea. If a war broke out, if the Ottoman Empire did not do what the Russians wanted, they would use this as a threat to extort land, ransom, or even directly start a war.

At this moment, the Russians are being troubled by the Poles, and we can take this opportunity to sign a new treaty with Russia.

That’s what we need to do now.”

Earl Derby naturally knew what it meant to abolish the Treaty of Uncar-Iskeleci. If it could be abolished, it would definitely be a great diplomatic victory, and supporting Poland would be worth it.

"But will the Russians agree?"

"As long as we promise to stop supporting Poland, the Russians will definitely consider it."

"What if the Russians still don't agree?"

"We can also provide the Russians with intelligence gathered by the Military Intelligence Service, which I believe is very important to the Russians."

Lord Derby swallowed and spoke with difficulty.

“This is not morally just.”

Palmerston snorted.

"What is morality worth? And as long as they are all dead, who will believe what the Russians say? Prime Minister, I advise you.

There are no eternal friends in this world, only eternal interests. "

Earl Derby was speechless. Although this statement was immoral, it was the absolute truth based on his decades of life experience and political career.

"Okay, go ahead and do it."

The Earl of Derby stared at Palmerston intently, knowing that this was a hot potato that was not only difficult to handle but also would cause endless trouble.

Neither the Russians, the Poles, nor the so-called righteous people in Europe will let him go.

"of course."