Chapter 577

In St. Peter's castle, after receiving the news from the Far East, Nicholas II was on the verge of going berserk.

The cause and effect of the matter were no longer important. Anyway, the outbreak of the conflict between Japan and Russia in the Far East fell into Nicholas II's eyes.

The old accounts had not been settled with the Government of Japan. Now that the Japanese dared to provoke them, it was naturally intolerable.

If it weren't for the fact that the Siberian Railway had not been opened to traffic and the logistical pressure restricting military operations, Nicholas II would have destroyed Japan right now.

Of course, this was just a thought. The international situation was so complicated that only a fool would rashly provoke a war.

It was true that the Tsarist government was preparing to move east, but when and under what background, it had to be carefully considered.

"Learn from your mistakes."

In recent decades, the Russian Empire had suffered a lot from war. As it suffered more losses, the Tsarist government also sublimated.

One moment, they were heading south, the next moment, they were heading east. It seemed that the strategic goal was erratic, but in fact, wasn't it a kind of political wisdom?

In the context of the struggle between Britannia and Shinra, the Russian Empire, as the world's third most powerful country, did not have the slightest joy of reaping the benefits, only a deep fear.

There was no other way. If they wanted to compete for world hegemony, the Russian Empire was too weak. If they wanted to fish in troubled waters, the Russian Empire was too powerful.

Although the relationship between Russia and Austria was good, the two governments were still full of suspicion and distrust. The Government of Vienna was not at ease with Russia, let alone the British.

In a sense, the better the Russian Empire did, the easier it was to arouse the fear of the two hegemons.

Although Nicholas II's character was a little indecisive, he was definitely not a fool. The old ministers left by Alexander III were still there, and the Tsarist government had not yet slipped into the abyss.

Getting involved in the struggle for hegemony between Shinra and Britannia could indeed make a lot of profits in the short term. Once the two countries were determined, it would be the Russian Empire's turn to be unlucky.

With the size of the Russian Empire, no matter who was the leader, they would be deeply afraid, and suppression was inevitable.

It was impossible not to choose a side. The strength of the Russian Empire had already been able to influence the outcome of this struggle for hegemony to a certain extent. Whether it was Vienna or London, they could not tolerate the existence of such instability.

This situation was naturally not what the Tsarist government wanted. The best outcome was naturally that Britannia and Shinra suffered losses, and the Russian Empire took the opportunity to rise.

Of course, this was not possible. Both Shenluo and Britain had their own advantages, and it was almost impossible to hope that both countries would perish together in the confrontation.

From the standpoint of the Tsarist government, they could only choose to settle for the next best thing. Before the war for supremacy broke out, they would try their best to gain as many benefits as possible and strengthen themselves.

Whether it was south to India or east to East Asia, once any of these strategies were completed, Russia would be reborn and once again stand on the top of the world.

Russia and of Russia and of these two was, of Russia was Russia, Of East, was, was of Rome, it, of Was, of the of Empire. The Tsarist government had already tried, but they had all failed.

With lobster soldiers as the core and an endless supply of Indian cannon fodder, even the Grey Beasts would be scared. Of course, this was not the reason for the Tsarist government to give up on India.

Of course, this was not a reason for the Tsarist government to abandon India. What the Tsarist government was truly afraid of was the strength of the British Empire. As long as the Government of London did not give up, they could continue to fight with the British.

What the Tsarist government was afraid of was the strength of the British Empire. As long as the Government of London did not give up, they could continue to fight with the British.

After all, the British colonies had a large population. Even if it was five to one, or ten to one, the Government of the United Kingdom could afford it.

The population of 500 million was the British's biggest source of confidence. If this dragged on, the Russian Empire would be the first to give up.

Even if they had the support of Shinra, it would be useless. In the face of national interests, all allies were unreliable. No one could guarantee that the Government of Vienna would not stab them in the back at a critical moment.

The south strategy was blocked, and the east strategy was also not easy. The strength of the enemy was not that great, but the transportation was too difficult.

A few years ago, when the allied forces besieged the Empire of the Far East, the Tsarist government had already experienced the pressure of logistics. The country could not supply the logistics of tens of thousands of troops, so they could only purchase it from Japan.

Once the east strategy was officially implemented, it would not just be a matter of tens of thousands of troops. Without millions of troops, it would be a dream to implement the "Russian Yellow Plan".

The logistics of tens of thousands of troops could be purchased nearby, but no one dared to use manpower to supply the logistics of millions of troops.

Even if the Tsarist government was willing to buy it, the Japanese would not sell it. After all, once the Russia started the east strategy, they would have to face Japan.

As long as the Tsarist government wanted to move east, the only two independent countries in the Far East would stand on the opposite side of the Russian Empire.

The enemy was not scary, and the Tsarist government was not afraid. The key to the problem was logistics.

Not to mention that the Siberian Railway had not yet been opened, even if it was already in operation. It would be a fantasy to expect a single-track railway to solve the logistics problem of millions of troops.

If they could not solve it at once, they could only turn to gradual encroachment. Unfortunately, the Tsarist government had just taken a step forward when it was attacked by the Japanese.

What was more troublesome was that with the power of the Russian Empire in the Far East, they could not do anything to the Japanese at the moment, and they might even be threatened by the Japanese.

Neither side was a big fat meat, but they could not eat it for a while. The greedy Tsarist government naturally did not want to give up on either side.

The outside world thought that the Tsarist government's strategy was wavering, but the Russians did not think so. In other words, it could be a "flexible diplomatic strategy."

As long as there was a major change in the international situation, the Russian Empire could take the opportunity to move south or east, or even launch two major strategies at the same time.

The time that the Tsarist government was waiting for was naturally the war for hegemony between Britannia and Shinra. As long as the two big bosses fought, the Russian Empire would be able to fly as high as the sky.

As long as the two big bosses fought, the Russian Empire would be able to fly as high as the sky. The Russian Empire suffered in the previous conflict, and he could not bear it.

Prime Minister Sergei Witte: "Your Majesty, please calm down. We will settle the accounts with the Japanese sooner or later. There is really no need to fight with a country that is doomed to destruction.

On the surface, it looks like we're the ones at a disadvantage. But from another perspective, bad things can also become good things.

The Government of Vienna has always opposed our eastward expansion. In recent years, the expansion of the Empire in the East has caused a rift in the relationship between the two countries.

The current opportunity was the best time to recover. We can use this opportunity to send a signal to the outside world to tell the Austrians that our eastward expansion strategy has failed.

If necessary, we can also pretend to give up the Far East to confuse the outside world and cover for our eastward expansion strategy.

The conflict between the Far East and the Japanese doesn't need to be dealt with in a hurry. It won't be too late to consider how to deal with it after the Siberian Railway is opened. "

Face was always not as important as the inside. The Russian Empire was also flexible. For the national interest, Sergei Witte didn't mind admitting defeat first.

As for destroying Japan, that wasn't something that could be casually said. Shortly after Nicholas II succeeded the throne, the Russian government formulated a perfect plan to destroy the Sun.

Of course, a plan was always a plan. Any country would have a bunch of reliable and unreliable strategic plans.

In a sense, the strategic plans of the think tanks of various countries were a competition of imagination. It wasn't a competition of feasibility, but who had the most imagination.

Not all of them could be achieved, but any country that could achieve one-tenth of it could become the leader of the Earth.

Compared to the crazy plan to conquer the world and land on the Sun, destroying Japan was simply not worth mentioning. Among all the strategic plans of the Russian Empire, this was definitely one of the most feasible.

After listening to the Prime Minister's persuasion, Nicholas II's mood was a lot better. After all, he was also a king with status and temperament. He couldn't argue with a "dead country."

"Mhmm!"

"Then let them be free for a few more days, and then we'll settle the old and new debts with them."

It could be seen that Nicholas II still hadn't let go of the anger in his heart. It was estimated that when the time was right, he would go find the Japanese to vent his anger.

But this wasn't important. The people present also didn't have a good impression of the Japanese. They didn't do anything right now because their strength didn't allow it.

Once the conditions were right, they didn't mind letting the Japanese experience what the "Hairy Bear's Roar" was. When it came to holding a grudge, the Russians were definitely one of the best in the world.

Foreign Minister Mikhailovich: "Your Majesty, the real reason why the Americans helped us build the Siberian Railway was found.

According to the information we collected from various parties, after in-depth analysis, we can determine that the British are behind this.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the British deliberately led us eastward in order to reduce the military pressure in India.

This also explains why the Americans insist that the Siberian Railway is only a single line, not a double line. "

Those who could play politics were all smart people. Although the efficiency of the Tsarist government was a bit low, the ability of the government's top officials was definitely not low.

The Siberian Railway had been in operation for many years, and the Tsarist government hadn't given up on tracking down the true purpose of the Americans.

It turned out that persistence was still effective. No matter how secretive the British and American governments were, there were clues left behind when they were making deals.

In a short period of time, the Russians didn't find any problems, but after a long time, when everyone came back to their senses, they would find abnormalities.

It wasn't a case, and specific evidence wasn't needed. As long as the British had both the motive and the ability to secretly plan, it was the Government of the United Kingdom who did it.

Nicholas II slammed the table and said indifferently, "Sure enough, in the face of national interests, friendship is really not worth mentioning.

But it doesn't matter, we'll just treat it as using each other. Anyway, we have to build the Siberian Railway, and with the help of the Americans, we can save a lot of money.

As for the follow-up costs, we don't have to pay them. I believe the British have already paid for us. "

His words were light, but from his nervous expression, it could be seen that Nicholas II wasn't calm inside.

The investigation led to the United Kingdom, which meant that the next eastward expansion plan had to be considered more carefully.

Nicholas II didn't think that the British's purpose was so simple. They spent so much money just to lead the Russian Empire eastward.

Although the Siberian Railway was a single-track railway, and the railway capacity was very limited, there was no rule that a single-track railway couldn't be changed to a double line.

There was already a railway, and if they continued to add another railway line next to it, the construction difficulty would be much lower than before. At least transportation would no longer be a problem.

Once the railway was completed, the transportation problem that restricted the expansion of the Russian Empire to the east would be solved.

The Hairy Bear, who was able to invest the entire country, wasn't something that the two independent countries in the Far East could stop, unless they could join forces.

Obviously, this was impossible. From the sound of the cannon in Jiawu, it was destined that the relationship between the two countries wouldn't be good.

As long as the Tsarist government carried out a little foreign policy and carried out a rhythmic expansion, there wouldn't be a problem.

In India, where they had been operating for hundreds of years, Britannia was able to stop the Russian Army, but it didn't mean that they had the ability to snipe the Russian Army in the Far East.

After a little thought, Nicholas II felt that there was a problem. It was impossible for the British to help them complete the "Yellow Russian Plan."

The conflict between Britain and Russia had a long history, and it was normal for them to stab each other in the back. Helping the other side to strengthen their strength was supporting the enemy.

Nicholas II didn't know what the problem was. In short, when faced with the problem of the Far East, the Tsarist government suddenly became cautious.

…

The Government of Japan naturally knew nothing about the changes that happened in St. Peter's Castle. It wasn't that the intelligence organization didn't work hard, it was just that the innate difference in appearance was too great, and it was impossible to penetrate.

The Government of Japan's collection of intelligence on the Russian Empire was only at the stage of newspapers, radio, and tavern gossip.

Bribing intelligence personnel and going deep into the Tsarist government to investigate intelligence was just a thought, but in reality, it wasn't practical at all.

It wasn't that the Tsarist government's confidentiality was high. On the contrary, the Tsarist government's confidentiality was at the bottom of the world. It could be said that it was a big sieve.

The Japanese intelligence organization couldn't achieve anything, and the root cause was one word – poverty. Without money in their pockets, they naturally couldn't operate.

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese conflict, the situation in the Far East became tense, and the Government of Japan panicked.

That was the Russian Empire, known as the "European road roller," and the world's top power. Although it hadn't kept up with the times in recent decades, it wasn't something that the fledgling Japan could compare with.

The Philippines War was the best reference. Spain, which was at the bottom of the world's top powers, was able to travel far away and fight with them tens of thousands of miles away.

Needless to say, the Russian Empire, which was even more powerful. In short, the Government of Japan didn't have confidence in going against the Russians.

This wasn't fear, everyone was just following their hearts.

Don't look at the propaganda that "the Russo-Japanese War broke the myth of the invincible Caucasians." In fact, the people knew their own situation, and it was a bloody deal.

The only thing that could be called a gain was the opportunity for the Japanese Navy to develop rapidly.

Unfortunately, this opportunity wasn't very good. Because there were too many warships, after the Sino-Japanese War, the Government of Japan had been worried about how to support this navy.

With the lessons learned from the mistakes of the past, the senior officials of the Japanese government had always been afraid of going to war with the European countries.

If the war was won, they had to worry about the European Union intervening, and they wouldn't be able to get the spoils of war they wanted. If they lost, it would be even worse. Not to mention going back to before the Meiji Restoration, they might even become a colony.

No matter the outcome of the war, as long as the war started, Japan was destined to be the loser. Since the ending was so tragic, why bother fighting?

It wasn't the time for the militarists to be in charge. The political group headed by Ito Hirobumi was still firmly in control of the political power.

Other than the fact that the Japanese government was a little more militaristic, it was generally a normal country.

Apart from the high morale of the middle and lower level military officers, the upper echelons of the government had no interest in the war at all, at least not in the short term.