With the success of the December Uprising, the Tsarist government faced a real crisis. Internal enemies were far more terrifying than external enemies. Since the revolutionaries had raised the banner of "purging the Tsar", many people chose to remain neutral.
It was not that they had betrayed Tsar, but that everyone was dissatisfied with the current situation. The radical reformists were dissatisfied with Tsar's suspension of the reforms, while the conservatives wanted to remove the provisions of the reforms that were unfavorable to them.
Most of these people had families and businesses, so they naturally could not participate in a high-risk activity like rebellion.
St. Peter's Castle. The sudden bad news caused the Tsarist government to fall into a panic. The Russian Empire, which was plagued by internal and external troubles, was drifting in the wind and rain.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mikhail, suggested, "Your Majesty, we can't go on like this. We must first suppress the internal rebellion!"
The suggestion was not wrong. The external enemies would at most tear off a piece of meat from the Russian Empire. It would not threaten their survival. The real enemies that could kill them were internal enemies.
The banner of "purging the Tsar" was enough to tell that it was destined to be a bloody storm. Once the rebels gained power, those with vested interests would be the targets to be purged.
How could they explain to the people if they did not execute a few corrupt officials? The current top officials of the Tsarist government were all so-called "corrupt officials" and would be executed.
Alexander Ii Of Russia was expressionless, as if he did not care at all. In fact, he was already vomiting blood in his heart. He never dreamed that the revolutionaries would cause trouble at this time.
Alexander Ii Of Russia was very much in favor of the Minister of Internal Affairs' proposal to suppress the internal rebellion first. However, he could not bring up the matter of peace talks.
If the war were to stop now, the Russian Empire would inevitably pay a heavy price. Tsar could not take the blame.
The Minister of War, Heramet, echoed, "The rebels have occupied Moscow, and they are a great threat to us. Whether it is the battlefield in Poland or the battlefield in Central Asia, they are inseparable from the material support of the Moscow region.
Based on the current situation, these two battlefields can only last for half a year at most. If we cannot suppress the rebellion and restore the material supply in half a year, the situation will be completely out of control. "
Suppressing the rebellion in half a year and restoring the material supply seemed like a joke. Destruction was always faster than construction. After being ravaged by the rebel army, could the local production immediately recover?
Moreover, it was winter now. Fighting in this season required even more logistics.
The Tsarist government did not have that many counterinsurgency troops and supplies. Other than transferring troops from the frontlines, they had no other choice in the short term.
This would definitely affect the situation at the frontline. If too many troops were to be mobilized, the enemy would have a chance, and the frontline would suffer a great defeat. The consequences would be even more severe.
Finance Minister Kristanval said, "The price of goods has been rising sharply recently, and the cost of the war is increasing. If we don't end the war soon, we will go bankrupt in a year at most."
Alexander Ii Of Russia asked in disbelief, "How is this possible? Did we just make a fortune?"
The Tsarist government had gained a lot from the anti-Semitism movement. Alexander Alexander II Of Russia did not believe that they had spent all the money so quickly.
"Your Majesty, we do have a lot of assets in our hands, but we won't be able to change them anytime soon.
Now that the civil war had broken out, many of these immovable properties had fallen to the bottom. Even if they were sold, it would be a huge loss.
The only things the government could use were the confiscated cash and some valuable bonds. This money also has to be used to pay off the previous debts and support the war.
Now the price of strategic goods has almost doubled, and the Moscow region is in chaos. We have to increase overseas purchases, which has increased our expenses. "
The confiscated immovable properties by the Tsarist government could actually be converted into cash. However, there were too many powerful people in the country. Once these people intervened, the prices would become very low.
The Ministry of Finance could not afford to sell so many assets at a low price. Even if it was embezzlement of state assets, they had to at least settle the accounts! For the sake of safety, they could only take it slow.
Otherwise, even if they used these assets as collateral for loans, they could still get a few hundred million rubles. They would not have to worry about starvation.
Alexander Ii Of Russia frowned and said hesitantly, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is negotiating with the Austrians to find a way to suppress the prices."
There was nothing they could do about the domestic prices. The change in supply and demand had caused the prices to rise, so they could only pin their hopes on the overseas market.
Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov said with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that will be difficult. Now the trade tariff between Russia and Austria has increased by 80%. The Austrians' excuse for raising the price is the tariff increase.
We are raising the tariff on one hand and asking them not to raise the price on the other. I'm afraid this is too much. "
Clarence Ivanov had blindly raised the tariff price, causing the relationship between the two countries to deteriorate. This had brought a lot of trouble to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Although the relationship between Russia and Austria was cold, in fact, it was still the most important diplomatic relationship between Russia and Austria in the Tsarist government. If other departments couldn't cause trouble, then let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deal with the aftermath!
The Tsarist government also had factional power struggles. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the only department with real power after the Ministry of Finance. The struggle between the two sides had never been less.
Alexander Ii Of Russia's face was very ugly. He was not a fool, and he instantly imagined what had happened.
Finance Minister Kristanval hurriedly explained, "The tariff increase is mainly to increase revenue and protect national industries. You must know that the tariff between us and Austria is very low. Even if it increased by 80%, it would only be the same as other countries. "
Kristanval was not a fool, and he still had this sense of propriety. Before raising the tariff between the two countries, he had done his homework.
The Russo-Austrian Alliance had not broken yet. If he raised the tariff to other countries, then he would not be able to escape the crime of breaking the alliance.
Choosing to be the same as other countries meant that this was a normal tax adjustment, and it was not specifically targeted at Austria.
Alexander Ii Of Russia glared at him fiercely. He was very angry in his heart. He secretly cursed the Ministry of Finance for being useless. Even if they wanted to adjust the tariff, they had to do it at the right time!
Currently, the Russo-Austrian trade had almost monopolized the foreign trade of the Russian Empire. The Tsarist government was also one of the main customers. Wasn't raising the tariff looking for trouble?
Now that the other party had come to take revenge, the tariff increase also increased the price, and the increase was even more excessive.
It was a monopoly, and they didn't want to buy it. Now they had to spend more money, and the increase in expenditure was far more than the tariff increase.
Protecting national industries? How dare they use such a nonsensical excuse? Who didn't know that the Russian industry had just started, and a bunch of inferior goods were unlucky to use.
Civilian goods were fine, but military goods were simply murder.
Alexander Ii Of Russia had already made a decision to separate the right of the Ministry of Finance to set the tax rate, and find a chance to replace the idiot in front of him.
Alexander Ii Of Russia decisively suppressed his dissatisfaction with Austria. Since he was asking for help, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had to endure it.
"Communicate with Austria. The tariff issue can be discussed. Based on the commercial trade treaty signed between the two countries, no one can change the tariff rate without permission. "
When he said this, Alexander Ii Of Russia's heart was bleeding. This meant that the Tsarist government would make significant concessions on the tariff issue in exchange for Austria's support.
This support was not only limited to economic, but also political. Once they chose to end the war, then Austria's support was indispensable.
Without the support of a superpower, even if they went to the negotiating table, they would suffer a big loss.
Now the Russian Empire was no longer the glory of the past. If they did not handle it well, they might usher in a disaster.
…
Just when Alexander Ii Of Russia was hesitating whether or not to end the war, the changes on the front line helped them make a decision.
On January 2nd, 1867, the Prussia army suddenly launched a winter offensive. This was supposed to be a probing attack, but it had achieved an astonishing result.
The Russian Army, which was originally good at fighting in winter, suddenly became soft feet. When the Prussia army won the war, they knew the root of the matter.
The sequelae of the inferior cotton-padded clothes and quilts broke out. The Russian Army soldiers were frozen into a ball and could only rely on fire to warm themselves.
Post-war statistics showed that on average, only one-third of the soldiers of the Russian Army on the eastern front received qualified cotton-padded clothes. Many companies had to let the soldiers on duty wear qualified cotton-padded clothes, and the rest of the soldiers gathered around the fire to warm themselves.
In addition to clothing, inferior food was also an important factor in the non-combat attrition of the Russian Army. Food poisoning became a common occurrence.
These problems were not unknown to the Russian Army commander, but because it involved too many people, everyone chose to protect themselves. After getting a share of the benefits, they all chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
Originally, the Russian Army commander thought that winter was coming, and the Prussia army was not good at fighting in winter. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire, and these problems would not be exposed.
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. A probing attack tore apart the Russian Army's defensive line, and hundreds of thousands of Russian Army soldiers became prisoners. The situation on the battlefield was completely out of control.
The lid was lifted, and now the Prussia army was expanding their gains. However, the Russian Army soldiers in the inferior cotton-padded clothes were not able to fight at all.
Many soldiers directly surrendered to the Prussia army, just to make a living. In terms of food, the standards of the two sides were like heaven and earth.
The standard of food of the Prussia army completely reflected their status in the country. It could be said that the food of the Prussia army was one of the best in Europe at the same time.
Bread, potatoes, and soybeans were needless to say. Every day, there was a certain amount of butter, cheese, meat, or canned food, and occasionally some vegetables.
On the other hand, the Russian Army soldiers were lucky to have potatoes to fill their stomachs. If the canned food was made in China, they might not dare to eat it. Cheese and biscuits existed in the cookbook, and the occasional distribution did not guarantee that they would be able to eat it.
Bread could be used to move bricks, build fortifications, and block the enemy's bullets.
It was not easy to eat meat, but it was jerky from an unknown era. It was almost impossible to chew it with the teeth, so it was better to cook it.
In this context, the Russian Army usually had to find ways to get some food on the battlefield to improve their meals. After all, the standard of their meals was really unbearable.
In the sudden winter battle, the Russians did not lose to the Prussia army, but to the logistics, or to the domestic bureaucrats.
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