Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Franz had never imagined that the Ottoman Empire would prove so unable to take a beating, much less that its capacity to endure would be so poor.
But after carefully reviewing the situation, Franz realized that Austria, Russia, and Greece had thrown eight or nine hundred thousand troops into the Balkans in one go.
That did seem rather frightening.
Yet the Ottomans' plan to move their capital still made Franz roll his eyes in fury. Well, now he could only activate Plan B ahead of schedule.
Britain, London.
John Russell likewise had not expected the situation to deteriorate so rapidly. The first contingent of the British Expeditionary Force—three divisions totaling twenty thousand men—had already boarded their ships.
But he still could not rest easy. The Holy Alliance had too many troops, while the Ottomans were simply too cowardly. No matter what, the Black Sea Straits absolutely could not be lost.
This was not merely a matter of Britain's face; it was also the key to preserving British hegemony and the Balance of Power Policy.
Prince Albert had personally inquired about the matter yesterday. Although the prince had been forced to retreat behind the scenes due to certain previous political incidents, that did not mean he had stopped caring about national affairs.
And whether it was truly the prince making inquiries or the Queen herself, John Russell could not tell. He only knew that if he mishandled this matter, his political career would be finished. Not only he, but the entire Whig Party cabinet would be implicated.
John Russell could only attribute the present disastrous situation to Viscount Stratford's failure to stop the war at the very beginning, which had exposed the Ottoman Empire's fundamentally weak nature and allowed the situation to worsen to this extent.
But that