Vienna
Affected by the defeat at the Battle of Sofia, negotiations between the Austrian Government and the Ottoman Empire had already yielded preliminary results. Only a few details remained under discussion.
Franz did not care much about the outcome of the negotiations. Even if the two countries signed an agreement, the chances of it being honored in the future were less than one in three.
The international situation changed by the moment. The outcome of the Near East War would directly affect Austria's gains. From the standpoint of interests, a costly Russian victory was naturally the best outcome.
It would let them charge ahead and draw the hatred, sharing Austria's pressure; yet it would not let the Russians truly soar into the heavens and slip beyond restraint.
Army Minister Prince Windisch-Grätz said with an odd expression, "Your Majesty, a dispatch has arrived from the Serbian front. A group of British soldiers wandered in by mistake and has been disarmed by us."
Franz asked in puzzlement, "The Near East War cannot have spread that far, can it? Isn't the Kosovo Region in between?"
This "wandering in by mistake" was far too far off course. Even after the defeat at the Battle of Sofia, the Kosovo Region was still under Ottoman control. They could easily have asked the local government to provide guides.
Prince Windisch-Grätz handed over the dispatch. Franz gave it a quick read and finally understood why the prince's expression had been so strange.
After thinking it over, Franz said, "This counts as a good thing too. We have another small bargaining chip in hand. Have the Foreign Ministry notify the British and tell them to send someone to discuss extraditing these men back home."
Without question, these men would be detained until after the war. Notifying the British now