Franz's flattery greatly pleased Nicholas I, and the latter especially appreciated that the former had finally acknowledged his idea of dividing rule between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires.
Nicholas I himself also approved highly of Franz's proposal. Exchanging the independence of the Danubian Principalities and Greece for Constantinople suited his wishes perfectly.
Nicholas I even personally traced the boundary line between Eastern and Western Rome over and over on the map. After finishing all this, he sat back in his armchair and let out a long breath.
The dream of the House of Romanov seemed about to be realized in his hands. Yet this was the only good news Nicholas I had received recently.
Russia was vast, yet it was full of things that made his head ache.
It had been almost a month since Nicholas I announced that he would personally lead the campaign, yet the army and supplies still were not ready.
Logically speaking, a camel starved to death was still bigger than a horse. Could Russia really not even have three hundred thousand troops and the materials to supply them?
That was obviously impossible, but having them did not mean they could be used.
Russia was too large. Troops and materials all had to be transported from every direction, which was already a long journey in itself, and with it being wartime, the time required naturally became even longer.
Yet Nicholas I did not understand, and he wanted even less to understand. In the Tsar's eyes, everyone who obstructed his personally led campaign to recover Constantinople was a traitor and deserved sentencing!
And so another batch of Russian officials appeared on the wastelands of Siberia.
Aside from this, Russian-controlled Poland, under Paskevich's oppressive strategy, finally began to be unable to hold on. Some cities started choosing