"Ah! The descendants of the House of Napoleon truly cause trouble for me... Be it nephew or uncle!"
Nicholas I spoke leisurely, his tone showing no fluctuation, nor any sign of vitality. It seemed the Tsar had tacitly agreed to Jerome Bonaparte's proposal.
"Your Majesty, they have simultaneously created opportunities for us! If France has no intention of annexing the Rhine Land, then our Russian Empire would become the target of many. Since the Great Powers of Europe are unwilling to restore Constantinople under the Empire with your leadership, we can only manufacture a greater threat to compel tacit acceptance from Britain and other powers."
Carl Nesselrode took pride in his diplomatic strategy, using one threat to offset another to achieve mutual compromise, a technique he had learned from Prince Metternich.
To "repay" Prince Metternich's tutelage, Carl Nesselrode intentionally withheld certain unfavorable information regarding Austria from coming from France.
