Franz, however, could not think that way. He knew where everything he had done and achieved along the way had come from. Even though he had transmigrated, he could not place complete faith in something like destiny. Compared to that, he believed in himself more.
"Austria is different from Russia. Our country has many interests overseas as well. Once war breaks out, I must prepare for the possibility of losing those lands.
"At present, our naval strength is still insufficient to protect our overseas interests from Britain."
Nicholas I naturally knew that Franz was not lying. It was simply that, in his eyes, Russia had no bargaining chip of equal value to offer.
Moreover, Nicholas I truly could not produce any more valuable bargaining chips at this time. The Eastern Aegean Sea was already Russia's bottom line; even giving up that much would mean enduring enormous pressure.
The so-called bargaining chips were something the Ottoman Empire did not possess in the first place.
"Franz, I promised you that I would support you in becoming Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Russia can first support you in recovering the old lands of the Western Roman Empire, and then have you fulfill your promise."
Franz suddenly felt that Nicholas I was still quite cunning. The pie in the sky had been drawn from the Ottoman Empire all the way to Italy. If Franz continued refusing, it would probably be drawn all the way to Germany next.
In truth, the main reason Franz did not unify them was that, for the time being, he believed leaving Italy and Germany ununified offered more advantages than forcing them into unification.
Still, with Nicholas I having said so much, it was not easy to refuse outright. After all, Russia had displayed more than enough sincerity on