Paris
August 28, 1853. The long-awaited negotiations began. Representatives from every nation gathered in one place, including the many small German states and free cities, which had also sent delegates to the conference.
The conference room was instantly flooded with more than a hundred people, turning it into something like a marketplace. Amid all the noise and clamor, several days passed without even the slightest agreement being reached.
On September 2, Russian Foreign Minister Karl-Wersel proposed to the assembly, "Gentlemen, if we keep arguing like this, we probably still won't reach an agreement by this time next year. Why don't we reduce the number of participants?"
Clearly, the public-relations money had done its work. Karl-Wersel was a man of credit; true to the principle of taking money and getting things done, this proposal had been bought for five hundred thousand rubles.
As the negotiations remained deadlocked, Metternich watched with anxiety gnawing at his heart. If this dragged on, trouble would arise sooner or later, and that would be extremely unfavorable to Austria.
At this time, it was clearly inappropriate for Austria to step forward and disqualify the representatives of other nations. The only ones qualified to raise such a proposal were the representatives of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
There was no need to mention the British—they would be delighted to watch Austria make a spectacle of itself. The French were difficult to buy off as well; under Napoleon III's very nose, even petty tricks were hard to pull.
That left only Karl-Wersel to be bought. In any case, with the Russo-Austrian Alliance in place, the Tsarist Government had long since decided to support Austria at the conference.
How far that support would go, however, was up to Karl-Wersel. To prevent a long night from breeding dreams, Metternich naturally