Chapter 218: Each With Their Own Calculations
Saint Petersburg
The Tsarist Government was in a difficult position. Austria was expanding too quickly; something had to be done to rein it in.
Yet the Russo-Austrian Alliance could not be allowed to collapse. Austria was the Tsarist Government's only ally of any weight on the European Continent, and absolutely could not be lost.
Austria's expansion had not exceeded the bounds of the treaty, so they could not even find an excuse to intervene.
This had nothing to do with credibility. So long as the benefits were sufficient, the Tsarist Government would not hesitate to sell out an ally.
Clearly, the current benefits were not enough to make the Tsar sell out Austria. Even if the United Kingdom and France abandoned the Ottoman Empire, the Tsarist Government would not tear up the Russo-Austrian treaty.
The reason was very simple. The Near East War had awakened the Tsarist Government, making them realize that they were not as powerful as they had imagined. Since they were not strong enough, they needed allies.
Looking across the entire world, there were only a handful of countries qualified to be Russia's allies. After counting them over and over, Austria, their traditional ally, was still the most reliable.
Spain was internally unstable, and Isabella II was still busy fighting domestic battles, with no strength to meddle in affairs on the European Continent. Nicholas I would not want an ally like that even if it were handed to him on a platter.
The United Kingdom and France had strength, but they were at war with Russia. They were enemies in plain sight, beyond all doubt—how could they possibly become allies?
That left only the Kingdom of Prussia, a prospective great power. Setting aside the conflicts between them, an alliance with