When both sides were willing, results always came easily. Sure enough, the Tsarist Government quickly persuaded Austria, and the two sides unanimously decided to give the Ottoman Empire a thorough beating.
Now, only some minor details remained to be discussed. For example: when to attack? Where to begin the attack? How to divide the spoils after the war...
Having reached a preliminary agreement, Alexander II did not feel any more at ease. The Russian Empire was not in good shape at the moment. In theory, it was not suitable to start a war at this point in time.
The Ottoman Empire had not been the Tsarist Government's first choice either. If possible, Alexander II would much rather beat up the Kingdom of Prussia right now.
Unfortunately, the Vienna Government would not cooperate. No matter what terms they offered, even supporting Austria in unifying the German territories, they failed to move the Vienna Government.
This was within Alexander II's expectations. Such promises between nations were highly unreliable, and the Vienna Government naturally could not be expected to believe them so easily.
If Austria truly unified the German territories, Russia and Austria would probably turn against each other as well. Before interests, allies were not worth mentioning at all.
That left them with no choice. The Far East was beyond the reach of their whip, and its value was too low to help with the domestic agricultural crisis.
The several khanates of Central Asia were decent targets, but if war broke out in Central Asia, all the pressure would fall upon the Tsarist Government.
The Tsarist Government was still waiting for British loans to serve as military funds. If they went and attacked Britain's little brothers, wouldn't that be asking for a beating?
That left only the unfortunate Ottoman Empire. This enemy