Heaven knows, Franz truly hadn't done anything.
As for the Church's infiltration, all sides had been infiltrating Albania for centuries. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many Muslims there.
The Russians, however, would never believe that. They saw it as an Austrian conspiracy, with the Austrians tricking people who should have been subjects of the Byzantine Empire into leaving.
In the eyes of Russia and the Ottoman Empire, conversion was an extremely serious provocation. But the Ottomans, who kept their heads down and got on with life, naturally didn't dare voice their anger.
The Russian leadership, however, had long decided that Austria should be made to pay for it. Their alliance prevented them from letting the matter escalate too far.
Inside the great hall, someone suggested:
"Perhaps we could delay Princess Olga's wedding a little longer. That would warn Austria without damaging relations between our countries too much."
Anyone capable of coming up with such a rotten idea was unlikely to possess much political wisdom. Yet it fit the Russians' most basic values perfectly: "An eye for an eye, blood for blood."
Worst of all, the proposal passed while Duke Uvarov had been sent away. It was worth noting the consequences of Nicholas I's excessive reliance on military officers. But with victories in one war after another, and the economy and diplomacy improving, he believed he had made the right choice.
As a result, Nicholas I relied on military officers even more, leaving the civil service in decline. His undisguised contempt for civil officials also earned him their resentment.
That was how such an outrageous measure passed.
But Russia was, after all, the Gendarme of Europe and the world's largest power. Being overbearing usually didn't cause any problems.
Austria, however, was now punching Britain and France in the face, kicking