Vorontsov sent the French's new terms back to Saint Petersburg overnight.
A few days later, Alexander I received the report and immediately summoned his ministers for discussion. Just as Vorontsov had expected, the majority supported continuing the ceasefire negotiations.
After the meeting, Prince Bagrationi, who had always been pro-British, immediately passed the news to the British Minister of Foreign Affairs.
When Lord Hawkesbury learned that the French were making an all-or-nothing effort to win Russia over, he grew frantic. On one hand, he urgently requested an audience with the Tsar; on the other, he sent word to London requesting more bargaining chips.
Winter Palace.
Alexander I narrowed his eyes at the Englishman. "You mean a low-interest loan of 900,000 Pound Sterling, along with three months' worth of ammunition and supplies for the Kutuzov Corps?"
Lord Hawkesbury nodded. "That includes ten thousand Percussion Cap Guns of the latest model."
The Tsar leaned back in his chair and smiled. "You know that the War against France has left our finances extremely strained. Well, to a great extent, we entered the war at your country's request."
He raised a hand to cut off the British Minister of Foreign Affairs before he could defend himself. "Therefore, if we are to continue fighting, I hope that one-third of this money can be converted into a grant."
By now, he had realized that the Englishmen desperately did not want Russia and France to reconcile. Naturally, he had to seize this opportunity and squeeze out the greatest possible benefit. Lord Hawkesbury's face darkened as he cursed the greedy Russians in his heart.
But then he thought of the dire consequences of being unable to obtain supplies from Russia. Leaving aside the Navy's current large-scale shipbuilding program, which relied on Russia for as much as 35 percent of