Chapter 540

Fools miss opportunities, wise people are good at seizing opportunities, and successful people are good at creating opportunities. Opportunities are only left for those who are prepared.

Since they wanted to withdraw from France, the Tsarist government naturally wouldn't be held back by an "excuse".

The only way to withdraw troops without causing a backlash from the anti-French alliance was war. Only when the Russian Empire started a war with a third country, the Tsarist government would have enough reasons to withdraw troops without being blamed by other countries.

Opening the map, one would know that the Russian Empire didn't have many neighbors. Europe was tough, and the British in South Asia weren't easy to mess with. The east was easy to bully.

Before the Tsarist government could find a chance to create an excuse for war, someone sent a handle to their door. A "Declaration of War" was spread across the sea to Europe. Before the European countries could react, the Tsarist government took the lead in announcing the war.

They couldn't help but be impressed. They had never seen such a suicidal person.

Fortunately, this was just a farce. The declaration of war was only circulated internally and hadn't been handed over to the ministers of various countries. It didn't constitute a real declaration of war, otherwise …

It didn't matter if it was legal or not. Anyway, the Russians just wanted an excuse to make a fuss, and the Empire of the Far East happened to deliver it to their doorstep.

Whether to fight, how to fight, and to what extent, the Tsarist government probably hadn't figured it out yet.

What happened next didn't need to be said. Anyway, the Empire of the Far East was going to be unlucky this time. The Russians took the lead, and the British naturally wouldn't be idle. Needless to say, the Japanese didn't need to be mentioned.

The butterfly effect would cause Italy, Germany, and Austria to be destroyed. The UA would be divided into two. In the end, a coalition of several countries would be formed. This question could probably only be asked by God.

…

The new Foreign Minister, Leo Frankel, said, "Your Majesty, yesterday afternoon, the Tsarist government declared war on the Empire of the Far East and sent us an invitation …"

Before the Foreign Minister finished speaking, Franz interrupted, "Directly reject them. The international situation is constantly changing. Who knows, one day we might have to fight with the British.

The Empire of the Far East doesn't have the strength to compete with the British in the Far East. It's not wise to divert our attention to the Empire of the Far East.

Pay close attention to the next move of the Tsarist government. If they want to withdraw troops from France, we must delay them for two months to buy time for the formation of peacekeeping forces. "

The reason was a bit far-fetched, but the strategic core of Shinra was indeed not in East Asia. This kind of densely populated area was also not Shenluo's expansion target.

In contrast, France was a lot more important. were it. No matter how run-down France was, the Vienna government did not dare to lower their guard in view of the glorious history of the French.

"Your Majesty, the Tsarist government has announced the withdrawal plan. "Russia, we will., at war., at in. in. war.

After the implementation of the plan, the total number of troops stationed in France and Russia would drop from the current 270,000 to 50,000.

"We have received the diplomatic note. The coalition command will probably receive it soon. Now we just need to wait for the specific implementation.

Of course, if we ask for a two-month delay, the Tsarist government should give us face. "

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Leo Frankel, reminded awkwardly.

The war provided an excuse for the Tsarist government to withdraw troops. The fact that they didn't withdraw all the troops at once meant that the Tsarist government still wanted to stay in the anti-French alliance and didn't want to push things too far.

Since the Government of Vienna didn't want to take things too far, it wasn't a problem for them to ask for a two-month delay in the withdrawal of the Russian Army.

In any case, there were more than two hundred thousand troops. Without the cooperation of Shinra, the Tsarist government wouldn't be able to withdraw so many people and weapons from France to the Russian Empire.

For the Holy Roman Empire, it was obviously a good thing that the Russian Army didn't completely withdraw.

Someone had to do the dirty work that couldn't see the light of day. As long as there was enough money, the Russian Army wasn't afraid to take the blame.

With this professional scapegoat team, it would be very helpful to maintain the international image of the Holy Roman Empire.

Franz didn't think that the French would welcome the Shinra army if the Russian Army left. Although the military discipline of the Shinra army might be better, the centuries-old hatred between the two countries couldn't be resolved overnight.

Franz didn't even need to think to know that the "old sesame seeds, rotten millet" thing would be dug up by others.

History had proven that the hatred couldn't be solved by conciliation alone. Most of the time, it was more reliable to use a knife.

History had proven that things like hatred couldn't be solved with just conciliation. Most of the time, it was more reliable to use a knife.

History had proven that the hatred couldn't be solved by conciliation. Most of the time, it was more reliable to use a knife. As long as the situation could be stabilized and the French didn't jump out to cause trouble in the battle for supremacy, it would be fine.

…

London

The Far East was in turmoil again. It was definitely a good thing for the Government of the United Kingdom. After receiving the good news, Prime Minister Robert Cecil was in high spirits.

It wasn't easy. Other than the first day he ascended to the prime minister's throne, he hadn't been this happy.

There was no other way. The international situation was too unfriendly to Britannia. Looking at the European Union on the other side of the strait, Robert Cecil could only sigh.

He tried his best to calculate, but it only increased the time it took for Shinra to integrate the European continent. It didn't solve the problem fundamentally.

He had to admit the power of geopolitics. As the era-defining European overlord, as long as Shinra wasn't completely isolated, the European countries had to rely on it.

It was no longer a question of benefits or disadvantages, but a more core issue of survival. In the cruel international competition, small countries didn't have the right to choose and could only rely on the strong.

Of course, these fence-sitters were just small troubles. They could make do with waving the flag, but the actual value they could play was still very limited.

What really worried Britannia was the Russo-Austrian Alliance. If they didn't deal with this trump card, Britannia would have to fight with Shinra at sea and the Russo-Austrian Alliance on land in the future.

Prime Minister Robert Cecil wasn't afraid at sea. The Royal Navy wasn't afraid of anyone in a one-on-one fight; it was a tragedy on land.

Now there was finally a turning point. No matter why the Russians moved eastward, it reduced the pressure on Britannia in India.

In order to defend India, the Government of the United Kingdom put in a lot of effort. Not only did they spend a lot of money to train the colonial army, but even the declining Persia received funding from Britannia.

They didn't expect the Persians to be able to do anything. As long as the Persian Empire could hold on longer and prevent the Shinra army from pushing all the way to India, it would be fine.

The national strategy was never set easily. Since the Tsarist government chose to attack the Empire of the Far East at this time, then the strategy of Russia's eastward advance was basically set in stone.

The next problem was how to deal a heavy blow to the Russians in the east, get rid of the problem of fighting on multiple fronts, destroy the Russo-Austrian Alliance, and finally pull the Russians to their side.

The plan was a bit complicated and difficult to implement, and the success rate was a bit low.

But having a plan was better than not having a plan. At this point, if Britannia wanted to continue its hegemony, the only way was to rope in Russia.

The Russian Empire in its heyday obviously couldn't be moved. They were drooling at India, and Robert Cecil didn't dare to ask the Hairy Bear for help.

In this context, it was very necessary to weaken the Russians and make the Tsarist government have a sense of crisis.

It was almost the same routine in the original space and time. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the conflict between Britain and Russia was acute, but the relationship between Germany and Russia was still very good. After the war, the relationship between Germany and Russia deteriorated rapidly, but the conflict between Britain and Russia tended to ease.

Despite the mediation by France, the fundamental reason was that the Tsarist government felt threatened by the Germans. Otherwise, loans alone wouldn't be enough to make the Tsarist government submit.

After all, not paying back a debt was nothing new. If the ancestors could do it, why couldn't Nicholas II do it?

Not to mention now, it could be seen from the successive generations of Tsar who wanted to get rid of the dependence on Vienna. The Russians really felt the pressure.

The relationship between the two countries could be maintained. On the one hand, the Russo-Austrian Alliance made them feel at ease. The interests of the two countries were deeply tied, and it couldn't be untied for a while. On the other hand, India was right in front of them, and greed triumphed over fear.

Once they were beaten by society and found that they didn't have the strength to take over India, reality triumphed over greed, and the Tsarist government should feel fear.

The result of fear was naturally to find someone to ally with. As for completely relying on Shinra, that was completely nonsense.

Relying was a trick played by small countries. Even if a big country could put down their pride and seek refuge, people wouldn't dare to believe it.

If Britannia was finished, then the relationship between the Russian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire would be the relationship between the world's number two and the world's number one.

The world's number two relying on the world's number one wasn't harmonious no matter how one looked at it.

Since ancient times, the number two had been the target of suppression, and there had never been an exception. Why would the Tsarist government believe that the Government of Vienna would be lenient?

Based on the traditional friendship between the two countries?

Politicians weren't idealists. When they made a choice, their thoughts would naturally run to the worst. That was why the number two and number three huddled together to fight against the world's number one.

Frankly speaking, Robert Cecil also had deep doubts about Britain and Russia huddling together.

After all, the conflict between Britain and Russia was equally acute. Even if they temporarily came together under the pressure of Shinra, it would be difficult for them to truly cooperate closely.

But reality was cruel. Without France, the gold medal fighter, Britannia's layout on the European continent was missing a piece, and they had fallen into a passive strategic position.

Regardless of whether the British and Russian alliance was reliable or not, the Government of the United Kingdom had no choice. It was better for the two countries to work together to share the pressure than to do it alone.

Now that they saw the light, they naturally needed to celebrate. But now that they were working hours, in order to not let their competitors catch them, Robert Cecil could only temporarily suppress the restlessness in his heart.

"The international situation has finally changed. Before we had time to make a move, the Russians jumped in on their own. The next problem was how to deal with them.

Although the Russian Empire was powerful, the power they could invest in the Far East was very limited.

Not to mention that the Siberian Railway has not been opened yet, even if it was opened, this problematic railway would not be able to support many military operations.

The problem now is that although the Empire of the Far East has a certain amount of strength, their government is too corrupt, and they don't have the courage to fight against the Russians.

If we want to deal a heavy blow to the Russians in the Far East, it is obviously not enough to rely on them. We need more chess pieces, and the Japanese can't continue to be idle. "

Once again, the facts proved that there was no such thing as a meat pie falling from the sky for no reason. Even if it did fall, it was usually poisonous.

The Central Asian Railway built with the assistance of the Government of Vienna had quality problems; the Siberian Railway, which was secretly supported by the British, also had a lot of problems.

Perhaps it was not a big problem in normal use, but once the volume of freight increased, it would immediately make the Tsarist government understand that the railway also had a temper.

This was the inevitable result. If they did not set up some traps and drag down the logistics, and the Russians' plan really succeeded, then wouldn't the Government of the United Kingdom have shot themselves in the foot?

It must be known that the Far East was the sphere of influence of Britannia. John Bull would not do something like sacrificing himself for others.

Foreign Minister Cameron: "Prime Minister, it is still a bit too early to make a move. The Siberian Railway is not open, and the power of the Russians can't be projected.

It is just a small number of soldiers in the Far East. Even if the entire army is wiped out, it won't hurt the vitality of the Russians.

Maybe the Russians will see that it is too difficult to go east, and they will pick up the strategy of going south again. That will be troublesome.

In order to better lure the enemy, in the short term, it is best to let the Tsarist government experience the feeling of victory first. It just so happens that the Empire of the Far East is now … "

As the saying goes, "If you don't give up the child, you can't catch the wolf." Most people would not be willing to give up their own child; if it was someone else's child, there would not be this kind of pressure.

In politics, friends and enemies would always be in an instant. Just now, he said that he wanted to support the Empire of the Far East in the PK with the Russians, but in the blink of an eye, he decisively decided to sacrifice the interests of the Empire of the Far East to lure the enemy in.

It could be seen that Cameron already knew the essence of British diplomacy. In the shortest time, he showed the professionalism that the Foreign Minister of Britannia should have.

Minister of Finance Pavel: "Sir is right. The amount of power that the Russians can invest in the Far East is indeed too little. There is no weight at all.

Russia's strategy of going east not only means that Vienna's plan to divert the disaster to the south is ruined, but it also threatens Shinra's position as the land hegemon.

The Government of Vienna can't watch the Russians complete their plan. Right now, they are the ones who don't want the Tsarist government to succeed the most. We don't need to worry at all.

Regardless of whether the Russo-Austrian Alliance is still unbreakable, once Russia's strategy of going east shows signs of success, the Government of Vienna is bound to take action to suppress it.

If they succeed in the first step, if they want to take the second step, the Russians will find that the whole world is their enemy, especially their closest ally.

At that time, even if the Russo-Austrian Alliance can barely be maintained, it will only exist in name. Our opportunity will come.

But it's not enough to just have Russia. To deal with the Holy Roman Empire, the Empire needs more allies. "

At the mention of the word "ally," Prime Minister Robert Cecil felt a headache. There was no other way. He inherited a mess with a prosperous economy and a mess of diplomacy.

Although his predecessor was considered outstanding among all the Prime Ministers of Britannia, he misjudged the strength of France and brought Britannia to the edge of the cliff.

Remedy? That was completely overthinking. Since the establishment of the European Union, Britannia didn't have much room to use diplomatic means.

After working hard for so many years, Britannia didn't have a true ally. Japan couldn't be counted. That was just an insignificant little brother, not qualified to be Britannia's ally.

At the moment, other than the Russian Empire, Robert Cecil didn't know who to pull. Who could he pull?

"Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have any suggestions?"

It was better to leave this kind of complicated matter to the professionals. Although looking at the bitter face of the Foreign Minister, it didn't look like …

Foreign Minister Cameron replied helplessly, "We can't count on the European countries. They can remain neutral, and that's the result of God's blessing. Our goal can only be the Americas.

There are many independent countries in the Americas, but there are only a few that are powerful. There are even fewer that can be roped in by us.

The most valuable one is naturally the United States of America, followed by the European Union. Unfortunately, these two are sworn enemies.

If we pull in these two, we don't have to do anything. We can just focus on mediating the relationship between them.

If we choose one of the two, the other party is likely to be pulled in by the enemy. With the diplomatic ability of the Government of Vienna, the probability of this happening will not be less than 90%.

In addition to the pair of enemies, the remaining countries, such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile, were also the targets of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, these countries all have one thing in common — lack of strength. It's okay to have a strong reputation in politics, but it's impossible to expect them to contribute much.

At most, they can divert the enemy's attention and threaten their colonies in the Americas. It's of limited help to the overall situation. "

Britannia also took great credit for the opposition between the United States and the European Union. From the beginning of the joint intervention of the Fao and the West, the hidden dangers of today's opposition between the two countries were buried.

When it came to digging pits, Britannia was a professional, and France, Austria, and Spain, who joined forces in the past, were not ordinary people either.

When the United States was divided between the North and the South, the four countries, as arbitrators, unanimously planted mines on the border line.

The political means were still immature, and the leaders of the United States and the European Union obviously didn't encounter this kind of play. The specific people in charge were even more confused, and let the four countries' delegations participate in the whole process.

The end result was that the relationship between the North and the South, which was already full of hatred, worsened after the war because of the border issue.

If it weren't for the previous war being so fierce, the national cohesion of the two countries was not strong, and there were still a lot of internal contradictions, there might have been a second PK.

In fact, if it weren't for the internal contradictions of the European powers that broke out and relaxed their provocation of the relationship between the two countries, the North and South governments might have already fought.