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

Chapter 1236 Nicholas I's Journey to the Great
Palmerston was not afraid at all and agreed immediately. He had no intention of using anyone else's help, after all, he only trusted himself.

To the Earl of Derby this might be a risky move, but to Palmerston it was just reaching his comfort zone.

Moreover, in the latter's view, how could he reverse the current situation without taking risks? Without extraordinary achievements, how could he return to the pinnacle of power?
Although Prince Albert claimed that he would no longer interfere in government affairs, it was still easy to squeeze a diplomat out of the center of power.

Unless that person's contribution is so great that others cannot ignore it, the opportunity has already come to him.

However, when Palmerston arrived in St. Petersburg by ship as British ambassador, he was not summoned directly.

The Russian officials took Palmerston to a hotel and prepared to check him in. The British officials accompanying him were very dissatisfied and were indignant at the old house and dirty ground.

You have to know that ambassadors are diplomatic personnel of the highest rank and should enjoy the highest level of treatment no matter which country they are in. The Russians' actions are clearly not in line with the rules.

However, Palmerston was not angry at all and said with a smile.

"Is this the best hotel in Russia? But its design and decoration are not as good as those in the Irish countryside."

He deliberately wiped the dust off the armrest with his white-gloved fingertips.

“Is this the accumulation of years?”

At that time, in the eyes of the British, Ireland was synonymous with remote and poor areas, and the countryside was a kind of arrogance that city people had towards the countryside.

The accompanying British officials were immediately amused and burst into laughter. The Russian officials nearby didn't know what the British were laughing at and immediately asked the translator.

The translator's face looked unhappy, and after translating Palmerston's words to the Russian official, the official's face looked even uglier.

His original intention was to humiliate the British, but if this led to Russia being laughed at by the British, then his life and official position would be in danger.

"Change!"

the Russian official shouted in frustration.

Although he changed his living environment, Nicholas I still did not summon Palmerston.

This continued for the next few days, but the British delegation seemed to have gotten used to it. After all, Franz had done something even more extreme in the past.

This time the Tsar did not put the delegation under house arrest, and Palmerston was not idle either. He took his people to wander the streets all day and went to the pub to get drunk at night, which made the agents of the Special Section 3 who were responsible for surveillance very embarrassed.

Recently, Nicholas I was in a very bad mood, but the reason was not that the situation in Russian Poland had become so deteriorating, but that his old friend Paskevich did not carry out his orders.

The Tsar still held on to a glimmer of hope that Paskevich would be able to turn the tide just like he had done 18 years ago. However, this close friend had no intention of attacking at all. He even chose to stay where he was and began to build fortifications.

This made Nicholas I feel extremely embarrassed, and the escape of the Baltic Governor made him feel even more humiliated.

The uprising in Russian Poland had already expanded at this time. If it was allowed to spread, would it spread to the whole of Russia?
Nicholas I didn't know it, but he couldn't help but think of the Pugachev Rebellion, the terrible peasant uprising that burned across the Volga River and through the Ural Mountains.

The rebel who opposed the Tsar in the name of the Tsar swept across Russia with an army of a million (actually about 100,000). If he had not met an emperor like Catherine II, he might have succeeded.

At this time, Nicholas I finally began to take his opponent seriously. Landre Prometheus was the former leader of the Polish Restoration Army. He had ascended the throne in Krakow and was later wanted by the Austrian Empire with a reward of 1848 florins. In , he had cheated kilograms of gold from Pope Pius IX in Rome, and his whereabouts were unknown.
Some say Landry Prome went to the United States, others say he went to Brazil, but now it seems he has been hiding in plain sight.

But Nicholas I couldn't understand why such a formidable opponent was beaten like a clown by Franz in Galicia.

"Sure enough, people can learn and improve."

Thinking of this, Nicholas I couldn't help but feel his blood boiling. What he was facing now was no longer an ordinary rebellion, but a powerful enemy on the road to becoming emperor.

So far, Russia has only had fifteen tsars, and only two of them have become great emperors. If Nicholas I wants to become emperor, he must defeat powerful enemies and achieve hegemony.
However, he soon began to have a headache again. The letter from the British was very strange. They actually wanted to discuss business with him.

In fact, Nicholas I was very disdainful of these diplomats. He preferred to believe the promises made by the monarch himself.

Palmerston is just a viscount, and the British obviously don't take him seriously enough. Let's just leave them alone for a few days.

No matter how hard countless historians in later generations studied this period of history, they could not figure out that there was a problem with the British ambassador's title.

The Russian top leaders were very satisfied with the conditions proposed by the British.

In fact, there has always been a view within Russia that the Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi is useless.

After all, the Black Sea Strait is actually in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. As long as the Ottomans do not fulfill the treaty, then this treaty will be a piece of waste paper.

As in 1848, the British fleet could still cut off Russia's sea routes through the Black Sea Straits.

Given the situation in the Middle East, as long as a war broke out, the Ottoman Empire would most likely stand against Russia, so they felt that this treaty was just a piece of worthless paper, or even a burden.

It would be a great blessing if they could buy the support of the British with a piece of waste paper. They had completely forgotten who supported Poland in the first place.

Nicholas I did not forget the hatred, and it would be worth it if he could get the British to counterattack and end the rebellion in Poland as soon as possible.

He was not too obsessed with sea power. Although Franz had popularized it countless times, Nicholas I was still not clear about the significance of the Black Sea Straits.

Duke Uvarov knew the significance of Black Sea maritime power to Russia, but Russia had never been a very stable country.

At the same time as Poland was rebelling, the Cossacks in southern Russia were also trying to raise the price, and there were even rumors that the Chechens in the Caucasus were also waiting for an opportunity to move.

Nicholas I was unwilling to use the power of the Holy Alliance. He wanted to rely on Russia's own strength to defeat the enemy.

Of course, the intelligence obtained from Britain does not count as external forces. At least it was the Russian army that fought on the battlefield.

Reaching an agreement with the British and cutting off the Polish supplies might really be the best option at this time.

Duke Liubai was also very embarrassed. In fact, there were some things he had not made public, that is, the Prussians were actually reselling Russian grain to help the British overcome difficulties.

However, if Britain and Russia can resolve their differences, then this matter will not be important.