Snowflakes drifted through the air; another winter had arrived. Vienna, wrapped in a layer of silver, was especially charming this winter.
Schönbrunn Palace
Metternich reported, "Your Majesty, the British and French ambassadors have forwarded the Ottomans' armistice proposal to the Foreign Ministry. It seems the Sultan's Government is preparing to deal with the aftermath."
This did not surprise Franz. At this point in the war, the Ottomans had suffered the heaviest losses, followed by the Russians. Britain and France, meanwhile, had suffered mere scratches—not worth mentioning.
Without strength, everything was empty talk. It was inevitable that the Ottomans would shrink their sphere of influence in the future. With British and French support still behind them, ending the war with Austria early and pulling their troops back to beat up the Greeks better served their interests.
After giving it some thought, Franz said, "Proceed according to our original plan. Negotiate with the Ottomans slowly. First, find out where their bottom line lies."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Metternich replied.
By now, both sides in the Second Battle of Bulgaria were utterly exhausted. After days of intense fighting, the soldiers' war-weariness grew by the day, and the morale of both armies inevitably declined.
Apart from the Greeks, who had only just entered the war, and the Montenegrins, whose heads had been turned by victory, everyone else was barely holding on.
On the surface, the Russians had gained the upper hand, but Franz knew very well that this was only an illusion. This was a battle in which both sides had been badly mauled.
One only had to look at Russian casualties. After more than four months of bitter fighting, Russian losses had already surpassed 170,000 men.
Fewer than 60,000 of them had been killed outright. Of the remaining hundred thousand-plus wounded, fewer than eighty