Franz looked at the letter in his hand, then at the intelligence report. He did not believe Nicholas I would resort to the trick of openly repairing a plank road while secretly crossing at Chencang.
There was no doubt that Nicholas I did not know the movements of the Russian army at the front. He was still thinking of dividing the Balkans with Franz; according to their previous agreement, Greece would retain its independence.
Moreover, Nicholas I was complaining that the newly conquered lands were difficult to govern. This was not Versailles, but the real predicament Russia currently faced.
That left only one possibility—the Greater Slavists in Russia were trying to bypass the Tsar and create a so-called fait accompli.
Their target might be Greece, or it might be the Austrian Empire. But no matter what, now that Franz had discovered them, he would not let them have an easy time.
Franz did not even need to embellish anything. It was enough to truthfully tell him what he knew. So long as Nicholas I was not a fool, he certainly would not let these people off.
Whatever their purpose, they were in effect attempting to hollow out the Tsar's authority. No monarch who held real power could tolerate that.
Franz let out a long breath. All his efforts over these years had not been in vain after all. In truth, it was utterly absurd that Greece's local elites had dared to move against Otto I. Franz had once believed that the truth that victors should not be condemned held good everywhere under heaven.
But he had forgotten that this was the Balkans.
The two hundred thousand Austrian troops still advanced on Greece by land and sea according to the original plan. It was not that Franz was hungry for glory,