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

Chapter 1256 Russia is always a step behind
Russia, St. Petersburg.

When Nicholas I looked at the news coming back from Europe, he felt that he was reading false intelligence.

Why did the Austrian Empire suddenly declare war on Spain? Didn't the Austrian royal family just get engaged to the Spanish royal family not long ago?

Why are we suddenly going to war?
Liberate Spain?
Nicholas I didn't believe it at all. After all, the Spanish Civil War had been going on for many years. Why didn't they save it earlier?
The Austrian Empire dared to kidnap people right under the noses of the British, how was it possible that it didn't take any action before?

The reason why Nicholas I had so many questions was mainly because Russia's intelligence agencies had even poorer ability to collect information outside of Russia.

It was not until a week later that Nicholas I received an official notice from the Austrian Empire and understood the whole story.

Although the whole incident was still very unreasonable, the Tsar felt that he understood Franz's approach.

After all, he is a man, how can he tolerate being humiliated by a woman, twice!

If it were him, it wouldn't be considered revenge unless he skinned and gutted those two despicable Spanish bitches.

It’s a pity that due to the domestic situation, Russia cannot participate in this war of revenge.

Russian officials were very fortunate. After all, this would prevent the Austrians from taking the opportunity to expand into the Balkans. If Russia could even solve its internal problems first, it could even advance into the Balkans.

However, more people were confused and puzzled. The war between Austria and Spain seemed too abrupt, and the relationship between the two sides was not at all to the point where it could only be resolved by war.

In the eyes of Russian officials, the actions of the Austrian Empire could only be interpreted as an attempt to restore the former territories of the Habsburg dynasty.

This caused panic among Russian officials, but Nicholas I could understand this approach, after all, he was also working hard to restore Constantinople.

However, Nicholas I still wanted to hear different opinions, so he decided to summon Prince Uvarov.

Prince Uvarov did see it differently.

“Your Majesty, Austria has signed an armistice agreement with Britain and France at this time. It is not impossible for the Austrians to take advantage of this opportunity to retake Spain.

But I don’t think the Austrian emperor would do that.”

Nicholas I nodded.

"Tell me your reasons."

"Because Britain and France are not trustworthy. The Austrian emperor also knows this, and based on past experience he is a very cautious emperor.

Although he would occasionally go to the front lines, in reality he would only appear when victory was certain.

It is unlikely that the Austrians will bet on the character of the British and French this time around.”

Nicholas I nodded, saying that neither the French nor the Napoleon family were trustworthy.

"What is the purpose of the Austrian Empire? The cost of this war is not small."

"It's not clear yet."

Prince Uvarov was also helpless because he could not figure out why the Austrian Empire launched this costly war.

With the intelligence currently available to Russia, it was impossible to know the deal between the Carlos faction and the Austrian Empire, but they knew that the Austrian Empire had always maintained a considerable size of regular army.

The Austrian Empire claimed that these troops were used to eliminate bandits in Transylvania, but no one believed this statement.

Because banditry exists in every country and has a long history. Countless sages and heroes have made bold statements, but banditry has always existed.

In fact, it is not surprising that people at that time were pessimistic. After all, the bandit problem in Eastern Europe has not been solved until the 21st century. Prince Uvarov could only assume that Franz had planned it in advance, but he did not know what he was planning.

After hearing Prince Uvarov's answer, the Tsar was somewhat disappointed. Without knowing the Austrian Empire's purpose, he had no way of inferring Franz's next move.

But as for Nicholas I personally, he liked this challenge of the unknown, especially when the unknown came from allies rather than enemies.

"Prince Uvarov, you did a great job. You were able to analyze the Austrian Empire's possible conspiracy when there was insufficient intelligence. This is better than most people."

Nicholas I turned and looked at Prince Liubai.

"There have been many lapses in the work of the Special Section 3. I hope this is the last one."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Duke Liubai knew that it was useless to say more, but he was also very sad. It was a long way from the European interior to St. Petersburg, and it was not easy to transmit information in time.

The so-called intelligence war is fought with money and the economy. Throughout history, intelligence wars have always been fought with money. After all, money moves people's hearts, and gold and silver are hard currency everywhere.

But the problem is that Russia's Special Section 3 has no money. The funds allocated by the Tsar are not enough for Duke Liubai to spend himself, let alone train spies and bribe informants.

Duke Liubai has indeed made a lot of money over the years by using his power, but it is barely enough to maintain a spy network in major cities in the country.

In recent years, internal conflicts in Russia have continued to intensify, and more and more areas and people need to be monitored. In addition, the Tsar also asked the Special Third Section to cooperate with the army's actions and infiltrate the border and war zones.

The result is that the cost of Special Section 3's operations is increasing, and the number of casualties is increasing.

However, Nicholas I was still not satisfied, he wanted the Third Special Section to extend its tentacles to Europe. Such a huge intelligence network has exceeded the limit that the Third Special Section can bear.

But Prince Liubai could not tell the Tsar that he could not do it, as if he did so he would be immediately abandoned by Nicholas I.

As a spy chief, Duke Liubai certainly knew the consequences of being abandoned.

So even if it is impossible, he must stick to it.

Fortunately, Nicholas I also realized the problem.

"The target is the whole of Europe, and the required expenditure will inevitably increase. I have decided to add an additional 3 million rubles per year to the budget of the Special Section 3."

To be honest, three million rubles is not a small amount, but it is a drop in the bucket for the huge Russia.

Duke Liubai had no choice but to accept it with gratitude.

On the other hand, Prince Uvarov was still very depressed because he could not figure out the Austrian Empire's intention to take the initiative to attack Spain.

Spain is a famous quagmire. If the Austrian Empire really falls into the quagmire, the beneficiaries will undoubtedly be the British.

It not only eliminated a rival in the Mediterranean, but also weakened the Holy Alliance.

The Austrian Empire itself would undoubtedly suffer the greatest loss, as the war would cause massive deaths and economic stagnation.

If the Austrian Empire declined, should Russia make overtures to Prussia? After all, Russia lacked sufficient naval power, and only the Holy Alliance could consolidate its hegemony in the Near East.

"Damn it! Why are there so many rebellions happening at this time!"

(End of this chapter)