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To prevent Austria and Prussia from aligning their interests, one must first stop the partition of Poland from happening.
Therefore, for Joseph, the only choice was to make Sweden suffer a bit first.
If King Gustav III of Sweden knew his thoughts, he would probably give him a thumbs-up and exclaim, "Impressive, you are truly noble!"
Of course, Joseph did not intend to allow Russia to expand unchecked; on the contrary, he was very vigilant about Russia's insatiable territorial ambitions.
The title of "European Gendarmerie" was not a joke. Once the massive Russia found its war footing, its forces would sweep through the heartland of the European continent. Historically, just twenty years later in 1814, the Russian Army would accompany Tsar Alexander I into Paris.
