High-standard materials that could withstand low temperatures were high-tech these days, and there were only a few countries that could produce them.
Although the Russian Empire often claimed to be an industrial country, it knew itself best. It was fine to boast normally, but it couldn't be counted on at critical times.
Just look at the railway built in the past few years. It was repaired more than a dozen times a year, and each repair took more than ten days. The repair time was longer than the opening time.
After a comprehensive inspection, it was found that the rails were rusted and deformed. The sleepers were rotten, and the most excessive thing was that there were actually sprouts.
They wanted to investigate who was responsible, but the implications were too wide, and there were too many people interceding. It was really impossible to investigate. In the end, there was no other way. The government could only pay the bill, pull out the railway, and start over.
The experience and lessons couldn't be forgotten. In order to ensure the quality of the Siberian Railway, the Tsarist government had carried out a one-size-fits-all policy early on. Domestic materials that could withstand low temperatures could not be used.
Even if the people were calling for support of domestic products, there was no way. The Tsarist government was afraid of domestic products.
Ordinary railways were fine. At most, they would lose some money. The quality of a strategic artery like the Siberian Railway still had to be guaranteed.
Imports not only meant an increase in costs, but also a great increase in transportation pressure. Stopping work and waiting for materials was a common thing.
Think about it, even the logistics supplies on the battlefield could often be mixed up. So it was not unacceptable to transport railway materials to the wrong place.
The problems in the management system, or the problems in the Tsarist government's bureaucratic system, obviously couldn't be solved by an administrative order.
The technical requirements were high, the management system was chaotic, and coupled with bad weather, if the construction progress of the Siberian Railway could be fast, it would be a real problem.
The railway could not be opened in advance, and the strategic materials for the front line had to be met. It was almost an unsolvable problem.
Nicholas II's face was gloomy and terrible, and even the atmosphere in the room became tense.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Foreign Minister Mihailovich said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already taken action, and the Government of Vienna has agreed to help.
At present, we are working hard to do the work of the Empire of the Far East. If we can buy materials from them, the situation will be much better.
Now, we have achieved some results. With the efforts of the diplomats, we have obtained the support of many officials of the Empire of the Far East. They can tacitly allow us to use the road to transport supplies. "
It was normal to fail to rope them in. The constitutional monarchists and conservatives of the Empire of the Far East were engaged in a fierce battle, so they had no time to participate in the Russo-Japanese War.
No matter how many benefits were promised, it was useless. A government that was afraid of wolves and tigers, whether it was the Japanese or the Russians, no one dared to provoke.
"Using the road to transport supplies" was essentially "smuggling". This thing was banned even in peaceful times, let alone in chaotic times of war.
It was not so much a diplomatic effort, but a profit-driven one. All he had to do was turn a blind eye, and a large amount of silver would enter his account. Why should he refuse?
In any case, they weren't just doing business with the Russians. They were also doing business with the Japanese. As long as they were willing to pay, the merchants didn't care who the buyer was.
Even if the merchants of the Empire of the Far East did not dare to get involved, there were international arms dealers rushing in. As long as there was enough money, there was no need to worry about not being able to buy the goods.
The only problem was that the supply of these guys was not sufficient, and the transportation was often attacked by the bandits hired by the Japanese, which could not meet the needs of the war.
However, Mikhailovich had confidence in the international arms dealers. Now the supply was insufficient, mainly because everyone did not expect the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in advance, and the most powerful wave of arms dealers did not have time to participate.
If these arms dealers with background were really involved, no matter how many supplies, they could get. This was the real reason why they asked the Government of Vienna for help.
If they wanted to smuggle strategic supplies on a large scale, in addition to the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East, they also needed a powerful background to deter the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.
Ordinary strategic supplies could be produced in the family workshops of the Empire of the Far East. As long as there was money, it could always be bought. The troublesome thing was the ammunition.
Not to mention other things, the Japanese Navy was not easy to pass. In order to prevent arms from falling into the hands of the Russian Army, the Japanese Navy acted as the East Asian police after the outbreak of the war.
In the face of the violation of sovereignty, the weak government of the Empire of the Far East chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb and let the Japanese Navy inspect foreign merchant ships.
Of course, the ships that were inspected had no background, or the background was not strong enough. The ship with a strong background, the Japanese still did not dare to act rashly.
It was true that the relationship between Britannia and Shinra was tense, but the two countries had not really fought after all. Who knew when the war would break out? What if they sat down again after making a fuss?
Although the Government of Japan chose to gamble on the fate of the country, they were not stupid and knew who they could not provoke. In the face of these two giants, they naturally had to pretend to be weak.
The smuggling trade in the original space and time could not save the Russian Empire, and the most important reason was the lack of support from the major powers.
Britain, Germany, the United States, Austria, and Italy all hoped that Russia would fail. The only ally, France, only verbally supported them. In essence, they still hoped that they would return to Europe to deal with the Germans.
Without the help of the major powers, the smuggling trade naturally could not be on a large scale. In addition to the purchase of food and some daily necessities, weapons and ammunition still had to be transported from home.
Even this small scale smuggling trade was an important support for the Russian Army in the Far East.
Otherwise, the logistics of hundreds of thousands of troops would all be transported from home. Not to mention that the Siberian Railway was not open to traffic, even if it was open to traffic, it would not be able to support it.
There was no other reason, who let the Siberian Railway be a single-track railway? The train was sent out, but it had to return the same way.
Hearing this explanation, Nicholas II's expression relaxed a little. However, the worry between his eyebrows still lingered.
In theory, with the help of the Holy Roman Empire and the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East, they could rely on smuggling to survive the crisis.
But this was only in theory. Not to mention how strong the support of Shinra was, the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East was a big problem.
In recent years, they had harmed a lot of people. There was hatred in the beginning, and now they expected the other party to fully cooperate, wasn't that a joke?
There was no need for any big shots to personally take action, just the local gangsters along the way would be enough to make trouble for them.
Whether it was through the Five Broken Bridges, or bandits blocking the road, they were all hidden dangers.
If it was in normal times, it was needless to say, someone could directly exert diplomatic pressure on the Empire of the Far East, but now it was not possible.
At the critical moment of the Russo-Japanese War, the Empire of the Far East actually had the power to determine the outcome of the two sides.
If they accidentally provoked them too much, and they turned to the Japanese, then the Russian Empire could only bow their heads and obediently withdraw from the Far East.
"Push it as soon as possible! It is best to get the Government of Vienna to come forward. They have a good relationship with the Empire of the Far East, so it is more convenient to coordinate relations. "
Nicholas II naturally did not know what the relationship between Shinra and the Empire of the Far East was. But one thing he knew was that the two sides had not broken out in a war.
This was enough. As long as the strong countries did not invade you, it was a symbol of friendship.
The speaker did not mean it, but the listener did. In Mikhailovich's ears, this was Nicholas II's lack of trust in the ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Well, the ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia was indeed not worthy of "trust." In the past years, the things they messed up were far more than they succeeded.
In order to change this situation, the Tsarist government also sent students to Austria and Britannia to learn professional diplomatic skills.
It could not be said that there was no progress, at least in terms of diplomatic etiquette, diplomatic hidden rules, international practice, common sense, etc., they did not make a big joke.
As for the more important diplomatic ability, it needed to wait for these people to grow up and hold a high position in the Russian Empire before they could really see it.
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