Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1209: Chapter 1114: France–Russia Alliance?

A group of Russian high officials all widened their eyes, completely unable to follow the Tsar’s thought process.

Paul I continued, “As long as we return the land east of Tabriz to the Persians, they will be so grateful that they will sign a ceasefire agreement with us.”

Count Osterman became anxious, “Your Majesty, but this offers us no benefits…”

Paul I raised his hand to interrupt him, “Of course, it does. Compared to the worthless Persia, India is truly the place filled with wealth!”

Osterman and the others felt even more confused.

Arakcheev cautiously said, “Your Majesty, do you mean to ally with Persia and then attack India from the West?”

“Exactly! The Persians have long set their sights on wealthy India too.”

Arakcheev quickly replied, “Your Majesty, forgive my frankness, but with the Persians’ strength, it would be difficult for them to provide us with substantial support.

“And India is extremely far from our country, relying solely on our strength will likely lead to a tough battle.

“Moreover, once we start attacking India, it will provoke a fierce retaliation from England…”

Paul, full of confidence, said, “You’ve sharply identified the key issue.

“Therefore, we need another powerful ally, and that is France.

“The French Royal Family and I are related by marriage, and the French people are also under tremendous pressure from the British, they would be very willing to send an expeditionary force to divide India and weaken the British power.

“By then, with our massive army, combined with France’s advanced weaponry, and the constant stream of supplies from Persia to India, neither the British nor the Indian Princely States will be able to stop our advance!”

Indeed, Catherine II had always adhered to a policy of balancing between England and France, and she had always slightly favored the British, after all, Russia’s trade reliance on England was quite severe.

However, Paul had always viewed this neutral balancing as a sign of cowardice.

Even though Britain was the strongest country in Europe, he remained fearless.

Yes, it was because England possessed the rich resources of India that they became powerful. If Russia acquired it, we would be even stronger than Britain.

“But, but…” Arakcheev opened his mouth, but soon realized that the Tsar’s grand plan was not without a possibility of success.

Count Bezbediko frowned and said, “Your Majesty, if we concentrate all our military force in the east, it will lead to a power vacuum in the European front. Even the Ottoman People might seize the opportunity to start a war.”

Paul I appeared even more pleased, “This is precisely the second strategy I want to talk about.

“Since we want to form a military alliance with France, our cooperation won’t just be in the Far East.

“My other goal is the Mediterranean Sea.

“You know, I am the protector of Malta, which means our country has a uniquely advantageous base in the Mediterranean Sea.

“Our Black Sea Fleet will move south to the Mediterranean, using Malta as the home port—well, by then it will be renamed the ’Mediterranean Fleet’—and then cooperate with the French Fleet to land in Egypt from the southwest direction.

“At the same time, our troops stationed in Iasi will coordinate from the north to jointly attack, and the Ottoman will soon be defeated.

“By then, the Black Sea will become our country’s inland sea, including the northern coast of Anatolia!

“Tell me, isn’t this a great plan?”

“It’s a strategy that only a great emperor like Peter the Great could conceive!” Arakcheev first flattered him before continuing, “However, Your Majesty, countries like England, Prussia, and Austria will certainly not stand by and watch us strategically seize the Ottoman. And our country also doesn’t have extra force to defend the Western front.”

Paul I smiled and said, “As long as we can gain the trust of the Poles, there will be no danger on the Western front.

“The Russian population on the west bank of the Dnieper River will help us negotiate with the Polish Parliament. At most, we’ll give them some benefits, the Poles surely wouldn’t want to fall into another war.

“You should know, the domestic situation in Poland isn’t very good.”

The Russian high officials had already started calculating in their minds what kind of benefits would stabilize the Poles. After all, the current poor situation in Poland was caused by our own war against them.

After pondering for a long time, they all realized that only by ceding the land on the east bank of the Dnieper River might the Poles accept Russia’s demands.

But to cede the land on the east bank of the Dnieper River would infuriate all the Russians.

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Paul I replaced the simple, comfortable, and combat-friendly clothing designed by Potemkin and Suvorov with the cumbersome and tedious Prussian military uniforms, implementing a series of absurd “reforms” that severely compromised the combat effectiveness of the Russian Army. Suvorov said, “The Prussian Army has repeatedly been defeated by the Russian Army, what are we learning from them?” “Braids cannot serve as spears, curls cannot be shot as cannons, and powder cannot be fired as guns, and I am not a German, I was born a Russian.” Thus, Paul I ordered him to retire. Due to his considerable influence, to prevent a mutiny, Paul I simply had him taken to the remote woods in the Novgorod Province in Kangchansky Town for house arrest.

In 1798, General Napoleon’s army was stranded in Egypt. Russia, along with England, Austria, Turkey, Naples, and Portugal, formed the Second Coalition against France. The Austrian Army was defeated by the French Army in Italy, and the Austrian Army commander was killed in action. The allies unanimously believed that only Suvorov could take on the French Army.

On February 6, 1799, Suvorov received a letter from Paul I in his place of confinement: “The Roman Emperor has requested you to command his troops and entrust the fate of Austria and Italy to you… Come quickly! I will be very pleased to see you.” The Holy Roman Emperor was also the Austrian Emperor, at the time the Holy Roman Empire included what is now Northern Italy.

At nearly 70 years old, Suvorov arrived in Saint Petersburg. Paul I stated, “Utilize your strengths and command the war according to your own will.” He also voluntarily awarded him a Saint John of Jerusalem Grand Cross of Order.

On the evening of March 14, he arrived in Vienna, and the next day the Austrian Emperor awarded him the title of Austrian Marshal.

On April 3, he arrived in Verona City in Northern Italy, and on April 10, he led the Russo-Austrian Allied Forces to capture one of the largest cities in the Lombardy province of Italy, Brescia. On April 14, he attacked General Schérer’s main forces, the commander of the French Army stationed in Italy. The French Army of 50,000 retreated to Kole City, leaving only 28,000 men, while the Russo-Austrian Allied Forces had 48,000 men. After 12 hours of intense battle, the Allied Forces captured Kole City.

On April 15, France sent the 36-year-old General Moreau, second only to Napoleon in the French Army, to take over as commander. Suvorov was pleased to hear the news and said, “I take this as God’s will: defeating an impostor expert is not very glorious, but the laurels we seize from Moreau will shine brightly!” Not allowing Moreau to change the deployment, Suvorov quickly crossed the Ad River and opened the road to Milan. Moreau brought in the Victor Division which, during the battles on the 15th, 16th, and 17th, resulted in French Army casualties of 2,500 and the capture of 5,000. Paul I sent a diamond ring set with his own portrait to Suvorov, along with a letter: “Please accept it as a testament to your great achievements, and wear it on the hand that secured victory…”