Chapter 1115: A Franco-Russian Alliance?
A group of high-ranking Russian officials stared wide-eyed, completely unable to follow the Tsar's train of thought.
Paul I continued, "As long as we return the lands east of Tabriz to the Persians, they will surely be moved to tears of gratitude and sign a truce with us."
Count Ostermann grew anxious. "Your Majesty, but this provides us with no benefit..."
Paul I raised a hand to cut him off. "Of course there is. Compared to a worthless Persia, India is the place truly overflowing with wealth!"
Ostermann and the others felt their minds lagging even further behind.
Arakcheyev spoke cautiously. "Your Majesty, do you mean to ally with Persia and then attack India from the west?"
"Exactly! The Persians must have had their eyes on wealthy India for a long time."
Arakcheyev hurriedly added, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, given the Persians' strength, it would be difficult for them to provide us with any substantive support.
"Furthermore, India is extremely far from our country. Relying solely on our own strength, we would likely fall into a grueling struggle.
Paul replied with full confidence, "You have keenly identified the key issue.
"Therefore, we need another powerful ally: France.
"The French royal family is related to me by marriage, and they are also facing immense pressure from Britain. They will surely be more than willing to dispatch an expeditionary force to weaken British influence by carving up India.
"By then, our massive army, combined with superior French weaponry and a steady stream of logistics flowing through Persian territory, will be unstoppable. Neither the British nor the Indian princely states will be able to halt our advance!"
Indeed, Catherine II had always maintained a policy of seeking balance between Britain and France, though she consistently leaned slightly toward Britain. After all, Russia's trade dependence on Britain was still quite heavy.
Paul, however, had always viewed this "offend no one" balance as a sign of cowardice.
Even though Britain was the most powerful nation in Europe, he was not the least bit afraid.
In his mind, Britain had only become powerful because it possessed the riches of India. If Russia obtained that land, its strength would easily surpass Britain's.
"But... but..." Arakcheyev opened his mouth, only to realize that the Tsar's grand, sweeping plan wasn't entirely impossible.
Count Bezborodko frowned. "Your Majesty, if we concentrate all our military might in the East, it will leave our European front vulnerable. Even the Ottomans might take the opportunity to incite war."
Paul I appeared even more triumphant. "That brings me to my second strategic point.
"Since we are forming a military alliance with France, we won't just cooperate in the Far East.
"My other objective is the Mediterranean.
"As you know, I am the protector of the Knights of Malta, which means our country possesses an unparalleled base in the Mediterranean.
"Our Black Sea Fleet will sail south into the Mediterranean, using Malta as its home port—well, by then they shall be renamed the 'Mediterranean Fleet'—and coordinate with the French fleet to land in Egypt from the southwest.
"Meanwhile, our garrison in Iasi will coordinate an attack from the north. The Ottomans will be defeated in short order.
"By then, the Black Sea will become our inland sea, including the northern coast of Anatolia!
"Tell me, is this not a magnificent plan?"
"This is a strategy that only a great emperor like Peter the Great could conceive!" Arakcheyev flattered him first before continuing, "However, Your Majesty, countries like Britain, Prussia, and Austria will certainly not sit idly by while we defeat the Ottomans. And our country has no surplus troops to defend the western front."
Paul I smiled. "As long as we gain the trust of the Poles, there will be no danger on the western front.
"The ethnic Russians on the west bank of the Dnieper River will help us negotiate with the Polish Sejm. At most, we'll give them a few concessions; the Poles certainly don't want to be dragged into another war.
"You should know that the domestic situation in Poland isn't exactly good."
The Russian ministers began to calculate in their hearts what kind of concessions would be necessary to stabilize the Poles. After all, the reason Poland's situation "wasn't exactly good" was precisely because Russia had declared war on them.
After reflecting for a long while, they realized that only by ceding the lands on the east bank of the Dnieper River would the Poles likely accept Russia's demands.
But handing the east bank of the Dnieper over to Poland would undoubtedly trigger a massive domestic backlash within Russia.
Paul I, however, grew more excited as he spoke. These were brilliant plans he had contemplated for years, and now they could finally be implemented.
"Once we control the Ottoman territories in the Balkans, the Franco-Russian allied forces can strike north from there against Austria.
"Look, this is an opponent France has always wanted to deal with; they definitely won't refuse."
"Then, with France managing Western Europe and us controlling Central and Eastern Europe, what a beautiful map that would be!
"Next would be the great unification of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical..."
He stopped himself abruptly; the idea of establishing an Ecumenical Church wasn't something he could speak of openly just yet.
He cleared his throat, glanced at the sky, and instructed, "We will continue discussing the details tomorrow. Yes, we shall meet here again. I like the feeling of discussing state affairs amidst the sound of soldiers training!"
...
The southern suburbs of Paris.
On the high platform on the west side of the training ground at the Paris Army Officer Academy, Joseph tilted his telescope up at a thirty-degree angle. After searching for a long while, he finally spotted the pale blue hot air balloon in mid-air.
He checked his pocket watch. Only fifty-seven minutes had passed since the balloon carriage arrived at the training ground. He nodded slightly.
After over a year of training, France's High-Altitude Reconnaissance Battalion—the balloon corps—had finally reached combat readiness.
Thanks to the use of new balloon deployment carriages, their launch speed was more than twice as fast as Napoleon's historical forces, and their impact on warfare would far exceed that era.
Soon, the drums of the Red Team, the attackers, sounded. Over four hundred skirmishers covered a flanking line of nearly a thousand infantrymen as they fiercely charged the Blue Team's defensive line.
The Blue Team, with fewer than five hundred soldiers, was immediately forced into a retreat.
Within half an hour, the Blue Team's officers ordered a withdrawal.
The Red Team easily occupied the target village.
At that moment, the balloon in the sky began sending a series of flag signals to the ground.
Just two minutes later, the Blue Team's artillery, which had been lying in ambush behind the southern hills, suddenly unleashed a violent barrage on the village.
Having pre-aimed the target, the shells were incredibly accurate. After a dozen volleys, the Red Team suffered heavy casualties of over two hundred men.
Unwilling to endure further losses, the Red Team's officers left two companies of soldiers in a dispersed defense while the rest quickly retreated out of artillery range.
All of this was seen clearly by the observers in the hot air balloon.
Just as the Red Team's soldiers began their retreat, the Blue Team immediately launched a fierce counterattack.
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