CHAPTER 517: CHAPTER 509 WEAK COUNTRIES HAVE NO HUMAN RIGHTS

Prince Paskevich, who was leading the troops stationed at the fortress on the north bank of the Danube River, received an urgent order from St. Petersburg on April 30th. The order instructed Prince Paskevich to step down immediately upon receipt, to be succeeded by General Mikhail Gorchakov, who was serving as the deputy commander of the Danube Alliance Army. Prince Paskevich himself was required to proceed to the Finnish Region as soon as possible to assume the position of Commander-in-Chief from Grand Duke Constantine.

Neither Prince Paskevich nor any of the generals within the fortress had any objections to the orders from St. Petersburg.

The reason being, Prince Paskevich’s half a year of warfare had indeed caused those generals to feel extremely frustrated. Despite the Silistra Fortress being right before them, they were unable to capture it, causing significant losses among their comrades.

Of course, Prince Paskevich himself was also unwilling to remain in the Danube River Region any longer.

The current military situation in the Danube River Region had turned into a stalemate between the Russian Empire and the three nations of England, France, and Turkey, with no side daring to take a step forward.

Moreover, the frequent mobilizations by the Austrian Empire in the Transylvania Region further convinced Paskevich that the Russian Empire wouldn’t be able to stay in the Danube River Region much longer.

Since St. Petersburg had already issued orders for his reassignment, Paskevich saw no reason not to go along with the flow and leave the Danube River Region.

However, Paskevich’s departure would indeed leave Gorchakov in a difficult situation.

Thinking of this, Prince Paskevich glanced at Gorchakov.

At this moment, Gorchakov was solemnly watching the envoy in front of him. From Gorchakov’s expression and actions, Paskevich could roughly guess that Gorchakov’s inner turmoil wasn’t as calm as his face suggested.

Prince Paskevich felt it was his duty to help Gorchakov ascertain Nicholas I’s next move before departing.

"Mr. Envoy, do you know what His Majesty the Tsar plans to do next? Will the Imperial Army continue to fight in the Danube River Region, or..." Prince Paskevich bluntly asked the question that all the generals present wanted to know.

"This question..." The envoy hesitated for a moment, uncertain if he should disclose the Tsar’s thoughts to them. This question was supposed to be conveyed by the next envoy.

"Mr. Envoy, I know your protocols!" Prince Paskevich interjected to pardon the envoy, then continued, "I only wish to inquire if His Majesty the Tsar intends to keep fighting!"

The envoy shook his head and responded tactfully, "His Majesty Nicholas I is more inclined to continue the fight, while the Ministry of War and the Crown Prince prefer to stand down and wait for the right opportunity before making the next move!"

"Alright! I understand now!" Prince Paskevich expressed his gratitude to the envoy and then requested him to wait outside for a moment.

"Be quick!" the envoy reminded, then turned and left the room.

After the envoy left, Paskevich addressed those present, "The situation is quite clear. His Majesty the Tsar is likely to order a withdrawal from the Danube, so you must be prepared before the next envoy arrives. I do not wish for an orderly retreat to turn into a chaotic rout."

"But didn’t the envoy just say that the Tsar prefers us to continue fighting?" a puzzled general asked.

"I understand His Majesty the Tsar; he will surely agree with the Ministry of War and the Crown Prince’s opinion! After all, his health..." Paskevich hesitated as he spoke to the general.

Every general present was aware that Nicholas I was fifty-eight years old and had health issues. He needed to establish enough authority for Crown Prince Alexander, and in this matter, the opinion of Crown Prince Alexander was correct, so Nicholas I was unlikely to oppose Crown Prince Alexander’s opinion.

"After I leave, you must follow General Gorchakov’s orders! Ensure the troops can withdraw in an orderly manner!" Prince Paskevich advised again.

...

Under the farewell of Commander Gorchakov and the Russian Imperial leaders, Prince Paskevich and the envoy departed from the fire of the Danube.

Five days after Prince Paskevich left the Danube Duchy, the second envoy arrived at Commander Gorchakov’s camp.

"Commander of the Danube Alliance Army, Mikhail Gorchakov, is to withdraw from the Danube Duchy immediately upon receiving this order!" The second envoy solemnly informed Commander Gorchakov of Nicholas I’s second command.

Commander Gorchakov immediately assured the envoy that he would soon withdraw from the Danube Region.

"Commander Gorchakov, His Majesty the Tsar means immediately!" the envoy reminded Commander Gorchakov.

"Rest assured! I guarantee departure tonight!" Gorchakov responded to the envoy.

After five days of preparation, Gorchakov had long been ready with a retreat plan.

On the late night of May 5, 1854, the Danube Alliance Army withdrew from the north bank of the Danube River.

More than a hundred thousand troops, holding torches, formed a long line gradually moving towards Bessarabia.

The Turkish army stationed at the Silestra Fortress on the south bank of the Danube discovered the movements of the Russian army on the north bank through their telescopes and immediately went to the main city of the Silestra Fortress to report the situation on the north bank to Omar Pasha.

At this moment, Omar Pasha was discussing the next moves after the fall of the Sevastopol Fortress with Major General Canrobert, the commander of the First French Division.

"Report to Omar Pasha! It seems there are signs of retreat by the Russian Empire on the north bank! Should our army pursue them?"

Omar Pasha turned his gaze to Major General Canrobert and said, "Major General Canrobert, do you think our army should pursue the Russian Empire?"

Canrobert, who could roughly guess the reasons behind the Russian Imperial Army’s actions, certainly did not want Omar to disrupt the plan. He shook his head and said to Omar Pasha, "My suggestion is not to pursue!"

"Alright then! We won’t pursue!" Omar Pasha listened to Canrobert’s advice and chose not to pursue.

On the morning of May 6, stationed in Transylvania, Admiral Albrecht, the commander of the Austrian Empire and Governor of Hungary, upon receiving the news of the Russian Empire’s retreat transmitted by the Dragoon forces in the border area, immediately ordered a force of two hundred thousand troops to maintain order in the Danube Duchy. (To put it bluntly, to occupy the Danube Duchy)

"Commander Albrecht, I think we should wait a little longer!" Benedek, Lieutenant General of the First Army (yes, the general who missed an opportunity in the Austro-Prussian War due to hesitation), expressed his opposing opinion to Albrecht: "In case there are still small numbers of Russian Imperial troops that haven’t withdrawn, we are likely to clash with them! This is the last thing Vienna wants, so I suggest it’s better to wait for a few days before entering!"

Regarding Benedek’s seemingly prudent plan, Commander Albrecht decisively chose to refuse.

To Albrecht, the sooner the Austrian Empire entered the Danube Duchy, the sooner potential risks could be eliminated.

After all, Omar Pasha of the Ottoman Empire was still a wanted person by the Austrian Empire, and Albrecht feared he might enter the Danube Duchy during the Russian Empire’s withdrawal gap. At that time, the Austrian Empire might find itself in an awkward situation.

Because according to the contents of the "Four-point Proposal" treaty, the Danube Duchy was jointly managed by the European Great Powers and Turkey. England and France might not have much interest in the Danube Duchy’s territory, but the Ottoman Empire was very interested in recovering their territory. Turkey could fully use this reason to occupy the Danube.

Albrecht had to occupy it as soon as possible, so under Albrecht’s strong demand, the Austrian Empire’s Cuirassiers and Dragoon forces took the lead in entering the Danube Duchy and arrived at the fortress on the north bank of the Danube River on the same night, symbolized by the rise of the Austrian Empire’s flag over the fortress.

In the early morning of May 7, soldiers on the walls of the Silestra Fortress discovered the change in the flags above the fortress and hurriedly reported the situation to Omar Pasha.

When Omar Pasha heard the soldiers’ report about the flag flying over the north bank fortress, he muttered in a gloomy expression: "Damn Austrian Empire! When did they enter the fortress?"

Having said that, Omar Pasha got up and went to the Allied Forces’ camp to inform Major General Canrobert about the rise of the Austrian Empire’s flag in the north bank fortress.

"The Austrian Empire is very likely to have reached a compromise with the Russian Empire! I suggest we immediately head north to eliminate this force!" Driven by his hatred for the Austrian Empire, Omar Pasha suggested to Canrobert.

"Omar Pasha, we cannot attack our ally!" Canrobert responded to Omar Pasha.

"Ally?" Omar Pasha looked at Canrobert with a puzzled face. "When did we become allies with the Austrian Empire?"

"Just a few days ago!" Canrobert replied to Omar Pasha.

"But that is the territory of the Ottoman Empire, no matter if the Austrian Empire is an ally of the Ottoman Empire, they have no right to occupy Ottoman Empire territory!" Omar Pasha protested to Canrobert.

"Omar Pasha, the Austrian Empire is merely helping your country with management!" Canrobert replied to Omar Pasha in a calm tone.

Seeing how Canrobert so casually divided a nation’s territory to another, Omar Pasha suddenly felt a cold shiver across his body.

This is what they call the European Great Powers! This is what they call civilization!

Unwilling to accept, Omar Pasha informed Canrobert that he would personally lead the troops northward.

"If you, Omar Pasha, insist on your way, then I will consider letting Musa Pasha take over your duties!" Canrobert bluntly said to Omar Pasha, dropping the facade.