Chapter 495

Provoking the relationship between Russia and Austria had always been Britannia's national policy. Although it did not achieve substantial results, the Government of the United Kingdom still spared no effort to promote it.

When it came to patience, there were probably few in the world who could compare to the British.

At this juncture of a change that had not been seen in two thousand years, the entire human society had become impetuous. It was rare to find someone who could stick to the same foreign policy for decades.

With the development of science and technology, people's patience was constantly declining, and politics was no exception.

In this era where short-term interests were increasingly valued, it was definitely not an easy task to adhere to a national policy for a long time.

From this point of view, it was definitely not a fluke that the British could become the hegemon of the 19th century.

As the trendsetter of the times, Britannia had always pursued pragmatism. In their view, whether it was a conspiracy or an overt plot, it was fine as long as it was effective.

Although Leondero's means were not up to standard, it still caused Morose's dissatisfaction with the Government of Vienna. Although this dissatisfaction did not affect the international situation for the time being, emotions could be accumulated.

There were always very few people who could restrain their emotions and remain rational. Minister Morose was obviously not one of them.

Morose, who was full of dissatisfaction, naturally did not have any good words in the telegram to St. Peter Castle.

There was no need to add fuel to the fire. Just the title of the "Second Roman Empire" was enough to make Nicholas II furious.

These days, the European world's obsession with Rome was far beyond the imagination of later generations. Almost every European country was trying to make themselves related to Rome, as if this could make them more noble.

For Nicholas II, Rome was even more important. One had to know that Tsar's crown came from the Eastern Roman Empire. The issue of Rome had already involved the legitimacy of the Tsar's throne.

If the Holy Roman Empire, the successor of the Western Roman Empire, became the direct successor of the Roman Empire, then the Russian Empire, the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire, would be embarrassed.

When it came to the issue of the crown, Nicholas II naturally would not give in.

It was just that it was only the European media that shouted "Second Roman Empire." From the beginning to the end, the Government of Vienna had not made a clear statement on this issue.

This was awkward. He couldn't go to Vienna to protest just because the European media was shouting slogans, and ask them to change the "Second Roman Empire" to "Second Western Roman Empire."

If he really did this, the whole world would probably laugh at him. Not only would it not solve the problem, but it would also expose his guilty conscience.

After a period of depression, Nicholas II did nothing in the end. However, his determination to get rid of Shinra became even more intense.

In the world of adults, once a crack was created, it would grow larger and larger, and it was almost impossible to close it.

The gap between Russia and Austria was not a matter of a day. It had existed as early as the era of Alexander II. Now, it was nothing more than further expansion.

The only difference was that the Vienna government's demand for the alliance had been declining, and there was less and less motivation to bridge the gap between the two countries.

Shinra and Shinra and Kingdom.

Accompanied by a resonant salute, the Central Asian Railway, which had a profound impact on Eurasian politics, was finally opened to traffic on June 16, 1899.

The Central Asia Railway Trunk Line, which had a profound impact on Eurasian politics, was finally opened to traffic on June 16, 1899.

The world's attention was once again focused on London and St. Peter Castle. Compared to the strategic conflict between Britain and Russia, the small gap between Russia and Austria was not a big deal at all.

After personally attending the opening ceremony, Nicholas II's excitement quickly turned to annoyance.

With the opening of the railway trunk line, the anti-British sentiment within the Russian Empire suddenly rose. "South to India" once again became a hot topic in society.

Compared with the enthusiasm of the people, the Tsarist government was now extraordinarily calm.

Ordinary people only saw the wealth of going south to India and ignored the risks. With a little guidance, it was easy to lose themselves.

As a senior government official, they must fully consider the risks and benefits of going south to India and conduct a comprehensive assessment.

…

Prime Minister Sergei Witte: "The opening of the Central Asia Railway Trunk Line is a good thing. This will help us strengthen our control over Central Asia. But the sudden war fanaticism in the country is a problem.

The strength of the British is not weak. It's not like we haven't fought with the British army. Their land force is not worse than the Empire's army, except for a slightly smaller number.

Britannia has been operating in India for hundreds of years. Our many Indian independence movements have failed, which also proves the deep- rooted British rule in the local area.

As long as the British are willing, they can easily arm millions of Indians from the local area to fight us. We've already experienced it in the last war against England.

Although the combat effectiveness of these colonial troops is not strong, they can't handle the large number of Indians. Like maggots in a cesspool, they can't be killed at all.

Once the strategy of going south is launched, it is destined to be a protracted war. The Empire's financial resources are limited and simply can't support long-term wars.

Combined with the current international situation, it is easy to benefit from the strategy of going south now.

If we can capture India, the Empire's efforts will not be in vain. I'm afraid that the British will be forced to compromise with the Holy Roman Empire and choose to fight to the end with us. "

Sergey Witte's worries were not superfluous. India was the lifeblood of the British. The hegemony of the British in the world is essentially based on the premise of having India.

Without India, the national strength of the British Empire will shrink by at least 40%, and its importance will be second only to the mainland. If forced, the Government of London may really give up its hegemony to defend India.

Just look at the colonial habits of the Government of Vienna. They obviously prefer sparsely populated colonies. The populous India is not their dish at all.

As long as the Government of Vienna doesn't pursue India, and the British are willing to give up their hegemony, there is a possibility of compromise between the two countries.

If the British and Austria really compromise, the Russian Empire will become a tragedy. Not only will they make a wedding dress for others, but they will also put themselves in danger.

The Russo-Austrian Alliance can only ensure stability on the Western Front, but it doesn't mean that the Government of Vienna will necessarily support them. In the past years, Russia and Austria have been digging each other's throats all the way.

Foreign Minister Mikhailovich: "The Prime Minister is right. The current international situation is indeed not suitable to launch the strategy of going south.

Although the main line of the Central Asia Railway is open to traffic, the construction of the branch railway has just begun. The Austrians' construction assistance plan has ended, and we need to do the rest of the follow-up work ourselves.

With only one main line, it is impossible to support the logistics of the army going south. Taking action rashly will only be futile and waste the precious national strength.

The problem now is that the British don't trust us at all. Since the news of the Central Asia Railway opening to traffic spread, the Government of the United Kingdom has repeatedly increased troops in the Regions of Afghanistan.

The number of British troops stationed in the border area has exceeded 500,000. Although most of these troops are colonial troops, the pressure on our front line is still not small.

If the British take advantage of the time when we are building the branch railway and provoke a war, the Empire will be very passive. "

Distrust is inevitable. Countless experiences told the world that as the neighbor of the Hairy Bear, if you don't always maintain a high degree of vigilance, sooner or later you will suffer a big loss.

The conflict between Britain and Russia is not a day or two. Since the First Near East War (Crimean War), the relationship between the two countries has never been good.

…

The strategy of going south was opposed by the civil officials. As the Minister of War, Yevgeny's face was very ugly.

In his opinion, there was indeed a risk in going south to India, but the risk was definitely not as serious as people said.

If the "Anglo-Austrian compromise" was really that simple, there wouldn't be so many disputes in the world. Anything, once it involves interests, can't be simple.

The world's hegemon is not just a title, but it also comes with a lot of benefits. Whether it is the financial harvest or the convenience in foreign trade, it is enough to make people scramble like ducks.

Such a huge benefit is not something that a politician can give up just because he wants to. Otherwise, there would be no war for hegemony in this world.

Knowing is knowing, but Yevgeny doesn't know how to refute. After all, glib talk has always been the strength of civil officials.

After hesitating for a while, Yevgeny, who organized his words, slowly said, "Everyone, the risk of going south to India is not small, but the benefits are even greater.

The competition in today's world is increasingly fierce, and the struggle between the major powers is even more intense. In the past few decades, there have been many powerful countries that have declined in the competition.

If we flip through the history books, we will find that the current situation is different from any time in the past. If we continue to look at the problem with the old view, we will suffer a great loss.

Right now, the countries that can be called great powers in the world are Britannia, the Holy Roman Empire, and including us, a total of three countries.

The number of powerful countries is constantly decreasing, which means that the era of multi-polarity is dying. If the Empire doesn't want to become the next great power to decline, then increasing our strength is our only choice.

But now we are wavering, sometimes to the west, sometimes to the east, and constantly dispersing the power of the country. We don't even have a clear strategic goal. If this continues, we will suffer a great loss. "

Yevgeny didn't even bother to hide the obvious accusation. It was obvious that he was quite dissatisfied with the strategy of the Tsarist government in recent years.

"To the west" naturally referred to the garrison in France. In the eyes of the outside world, the Tsarist government's garrison in France was mainly to extort war reparations.

However, this was only on the surface. In addition to seeking benefits, the Tsarist government fought to garrison in Paris, at the same time, there was a deeper purpose – "to preserve the strength of the French and leave an enemy for the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe."

But the plan didn't change fast because they misjudged the execution ability of the Russian Army and ignored the military discipline of the Russian Army.

Because of an unexpected conflict, the Tsarist government, who originally wanted to preserve the strength of the French, became the vanguard of suppressing France.

Either they don't do it, or they do it to the extreme. On this issue, the Tsarist government saw it very clearly.

Seeing that supporting the French had failed, for their own benefit, the Tsarist government quickly turned to Vienna and became the vanguard of suppressing France.

One part of the work, one part of the harvest.

Although the plan to preserve the enemy for the Holy Roman Empire failed, in the process of suppressing France's resistance organization, the Tsarist government also gained a lot of benefits.

The top talents in France had already been plundered during the European War, but there were still a lot of ordinary talents in the second class.

The outside world only saw the Russian Army forcibly recruiting able-bodied men in France, but they ignored the doctors, engineers, and skilled workers hidden among the able-bodied men …

If it wasn't for the Russian Army working hard on the front line and acting as if they couldn't live under the same sky with the French, it would have been impossible to plunder talents from France.

After the war, there was free labor to build the railway, and the basic talents to promote the country's industrialization process were also available.

Most importantly, the military expenses were paid by the Government of Vienna. In the war to suppress France, the Tsarist government actually only sent people.

From this point of view, the "West" strategy was undoubtedly successful. In addition to losing face, the Russian Empire actually made a lot of money.

If these talents could be used, the industrialization of the Russian Empire could be accelerated by at least ten years by sucking the blood of the French.

In contrast, the "East" strategy was barely satisfactory. The Siberian Railway was still under construction, and it was still a long way from opening.

In any country, there were only a few talents. The blood of the French wasn't unlimited. From the current situation, the "West" strategy was about to end.

What Yevgeny wanted to express was very obvious. There was no hope for the Western Front, and the East strategy was limited by the traffic. In the short term, going south was the best choice.

As for staying put and waiting for the Siberian Railway to open, then implement the East plan. Just think about it. Not every country has that much patience.

Even if the Tsarist government could wait, the people under them couldn't. There was no other way, India was too rich, and the wealth had already blinded the eyes of many Russians.

After the topic was brought up, everyone's mood suddenly became heavy. Although the Russian Empire didn't have a tradition of subordinates succeeding the superiors, it still happened from time to time that the subordinates acted on their own.

No one knew better than the people present how bad the relationship between the United Kingdom and Russia was. Especially at the moment when the Central Asia Railway was about to open, a spark on the border could trigger a war.

…

Nicholas II: "In any case, the Central Asian Railway is currently only open to the public. There are many areas along the way that still require a lot of manpower to transport supplies.

If the war breaks out before the construction of the branch railway is completed, we don't have the ability to guarantee the logistics of the frontline troops. The Empire has suffered similar losses many times, and we absolutely can't repeat the same mistakes.

In order to avoid the worst situation, the Empire should do everything possible to avoid conflict with the British. The military must look after the frontline troops. The Empire can't afford to be tossed around. "

There was no way to solve the problem, so Nicholas II decisively used the "delay" tactic. He used the excuse that the construction of the branch railway would take time to stabilize the military.

As for when the branch railway could be completed, it would depend on how the situation developed.