Having gotten to the bottom of the matter, Franz settled down to watch the show. Deep down, he had already observed a moment of silence for the Bulgarian Revolutionary Party. They had launched the wrong uprising at the wrong time.
Had they chosen another time, perhaps the Tsarist Government would have compromised. For example, if they had risen during the Prusso-Russian War a few years ago and then thrown in their lot with the victors, they would have achieved independence long ago.
Unfortunately, the Russian Empire had been too powerful then, and the people at home had been stable in their loyalties. No one believed they could overthrow Russian rule.
It was only after Poland successfully gained independence that the national independence movements in Russia were spurred to develop. Bulgarian nationalism, too, had only spread in recent years, while the agricultural crisis had magnified the contradictions.
The foundations for revolution were in place, but now was still no good time. Taking on the Russian Empire alone with a tiny corner of land was clearly not a wise choice.
Even waiting for the Near East War to erupt would have been better than acting now. At the very least, they would have had one more ally.
The British who secretly supported the Bulgarian revolution never showed their faces. The capital of France and Austria was motivated purely by profit; once they had lit the flames of war, their purpose had been achieved.
Never mind whether this excuse was far-fetched—there were plenty of fools who believed it. Watching a group of speculators decide grain prices were about to rise and frantically join the frenzy of driving them up, Franz quietly remarked, "Those who bring calamity upon themselves cannot be saved!"
If they could not find someone to take the bait in time