July 5, 1848.
Britain and Austria began the first round of peace talks at the Palace of Westminster.
As the heavy wooden doors were pushed open one after another, the British and Austrian negotiators took their seats.
Yet the atmosphere was indescribably strange. The Austrian Empire had been the first to propose peace, but its representatives showed no intention of speaking.
Instead, each of them brought out a stack of documents and wore an air of confidence, occasionally making a few marks on the pages.
Seeing the Austrian representatives sitting there as if none of this concerned them, John Russell cursed inwardly.
Are we fucking negotiating or not? Who the hell wanted these talks in the first place!
For now, though, he could only suppress his anger. It would be ideal if the Austrians were willing to compete for the German crown, give up their hegemony in the Mediterranean, and voluntarily reduce their armaments.
Palmerston was also deeply frustrated. He was known for his hard line, and under normal circumstances, he would have tossed out a parting threat and walked away long ago.
But today, he dared not do that. The Prime Minister was present, and Britain's domestic situation was bleak as well. If the war continued, even victory would come at a terrible cost—and by then, Russia would be beyond anyone's control.
Viscount Stratford had been driven out of the Cabinet over the scandal in Vienna. He now served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, tasked with persuading the Ottomans to attack Austria.
The Ottomans' entry into the war would disperse Austrian forces, but the conflict would still drag on for years, and the price would remain enormous.
Besides, although the Austrian delegation had few politicians, every one of its members was a formidable figure, at the top of