The Tsar's New Agreement

Saint Petersburg, Winter Palace.

The secret agreement for the Austrian Empire to annex the Free City of Kraków had been reaffirmed by the Tsar. Nicholas I had also learned that Russian refugees were fleeing to Galicia.

After the Austrian Empire's envoy left, the Tsar, adhering to the principle that "if I can't have it, no one else can," ordered the Russian-Austrian border sealed.

In truth, the former governor of Poland, Paskevich, understood the Tsar very well. Everything he had done had aligned with the Tsar's wishes.

But as soon as the former governor left, his policies were tossed aside like toilet paper. By the time the news made its way from Saint Petersburg back to Warsaw, it would probably be summer.

During this time, something happened that made Nicholas I very happy: he finally mortgaged his own "icebox" (Alaska) to the French and obtained a loan of two hundred million francs.

This was far beyond the Tsar's own expectations. After all, the two hundred million francs and all that had been nothing more than a bluff.

But the Russian officials hadn't thought it was a bluff. They only knew that if they couldn't get the job done, they'd be the ones getting done in.

Under the Russians' threats and enticements, Pierre Giscard knew full well that if he didn't sign, he might not make it out of Saint Petersburg alive.

He was a French official, but also a businessman. He understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.

So Pierre Giscard chose to protect himself. As for what came next, he would leave it to the wisdom of future generations.

In the end, Russia and France signed a new agreement:

Russia would mortgage Alaska to France in exchange for a loan of two hundred million francs. France would