Chapter 579

"According to the news from the embassy in St. Peter's Castle, anti-Japanese sentiment among the people of the Russian Empire has continued to rise since the outbreak of the conflict in the Far East.

Many people in the Tsarist government are advocating taking tough measures against us. The pro-war faction is rising, and the possibility of war is not ruled out.

The international community is very indifferent to the conflict between us and Russia. Other than the British, most countries are just watching the show. "

Inoue Kaori said helplessly.

Since the rise of fanatical nationalism, it was not easy to be an official in the Government of Japan. The foreign minister, who was in charge of international affairs, was even more of a hot potato.

The radicals didn't use their brains at all when looking at problems. They always did things on impulse, and their ambition and strength were seriously out of balance.

In this context, the foreign minister was often the scapegoat, which was equivalent to a "traitor" among the people.

It was the same no matter who went up. After the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, Ito Hirobumi, who was a great hero, was almost executed as a national traitor.

Without a strong heart, one would not be able to do such a challenging job.

No matter how strong her heart was, Inoue Kaori felt her scalp tingle in the face of the current international situation.

In the international context of the two powers opposing each other, even if she had too many dragon-slaying skills, there was no room for her to use them.

Since she followed the British, she couldn't expect to get a good result in front of Shinra. It was human instinct to rely on the strong. As a country with maritime power, there was nothing wrong with following Britannia, the most powerful navy.

The key to the problem was the boss. In recent years, for some reason, the British boss suddenly became weak and gradually fell into a disadvantage in international competition.

First, they lost the first opportunity in the second industrial revolution, then they lost control of the European continent. Now, even the hegemony of the Royal Navy was on the verge of collapse.

The impact on maritime hegemony was caused by the world cruise of the Shinra Navy. All the countries that had joint exercises together knew the gap between super battleships and traditional battleships.

The British were a step behind in this. Although their dreadnought had also been launched, it suffered from a lot of bad problems because they were in a hurry.

Just like the earliest "Rome" of Shinra, it was fine to keep it at home, but it was bad once it was out.

In this context, even if the British also had a super battleship, they could only watch the Shinra Navy stir up trouble everywhere.

In the eyes of the people, this was a sign of the navy's backwardness. At least in warship construction technology, the British were a step behind.

The saying "extreme prosperity leads to decline" wasn't popular in Europe, but it was well known in East Asia. Even the previous seizure of the Philippines was based on this.

What worried Kei Inoue even more was that the British boss had not only fallen behind in terms of technology, economy, and military, but even diplomacy, which he was best at, was now stuck in a bottleneck.

If the boss couldn't handle diplomacy, then it would be even more difficult for the underlings to do so. In this era where Europe was the center, who knew where Japan was?

In order to change this passive diplomatic situation, there was a full-scale Westernization movement in Japan, namely: "Leaving Asia and Entering Europe" movement. As the foreign minister, Inoue Kaoru was the leader of this strategy.

Ito Hiroto said, "It's not that serious. It's just a diplomatic conflict. The Russians won't go to war over it.

The current international situation is very divided. Britannia and Shinra are two powers against each other. The Russian Empire seems powerful, but they are in an awkward position.

Logically speaking, the Russian-Austrian alliance had lasted for decades, and the Russians should have supported Shinro. However, they were both on the European continent and happened to be neighbors.

One mountain can't accommodate two tigers, and Europe can't accommodate two big countries. Once Shinra defeats Britannia, the Russian Empire won't be able to go any further.

From a strategic point of view, an alliance between Britain and Russia against Shinra was the best choice. After all, Russia and Austria were countries with land power, while the British were countries with sea power.

Even if Britannia won hegemony, it wouldn't threaten the survival of the Russian Empire, and vice versa.

The resentment between Britain and Russia was so deep that it couldn't be resolved easily. The two sides lacked the most basic trust, and there was no basis for an alliance.

At this point, no matter who they supported, it wouldn't be in the interest of the Russian Empire, but they had to choose a side. Otherwise, London and Vienna wouldn't be at ease.

This was a big problem. Before this problem was solved, the Tsarist government wouldn't create more problems.

What's more, with the strength of the Russians in the Far East, it's not enough to start a war. Once a war breaks out, logistics alone can drag them to death. "

After listening to Ito Hiroto's explanation, Emperor Meiji's face relaxed a lot. Because of the butterfly effect, Japan wasn't as lucky as the original time.

Although they gained a lot from the war against the Empire of the Far East, they lost money in the Philippines War, and the size of the navy was much larger than at the same time in history.

These all cost money. The looted war reparations were used to fill these two huge holes. Naturally, the funds for domestic development were less, and the national strength was much weaker than at the same time in history.

The most direct effect was on the financial side. Balance of revenue and expenditure was unthinkable. It would be the blessing of eight million gods to be able to keep the finances from going bankrupt.

Going against the Russians wasn't only a lot of pressure on the military, but the financial pressure was even greater.

From this point of view, Japan and Russia were similar. They were both poor countries whose pockets were cleaner than their faces.

Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu: "Ito-kun, this is just an inference under normal circumstances, but don't forget that the Russian Empire is often abnormal.

I have studied the history of Russia. The Tsarist government often makes decisions without thinking.

The most famous example is Peter III. Because of his personal preference, he directly cut off the road of the Russian Empire's westward advance because of his personal preference.

There were even more that weren't famous, including several wars of the Russian Empire in modern times. It was difficult to say that they were rational.

Including Nicholas the Great, who was highly respected by the Russians, blindly launched the Near East War. Although in the end, he seized the territory of Constantinople and seemed to have won the war.

But from the price paid by the Russian Empire, it was clear that this was a war where both sides lost. The Russians only won their reputation.

The next Alexander Ii Of Russia was similar. Without carefully weighing the pros and cons, he blindly went to war with Prussia.

In the end, they did win the war, but the price they paid was that the Russian Empire fell from the top power to the second echelon.

…

In short, when the Tsarist government makes decisions, we can't judge it with common sense. Otherwise, we will suffer a big loss. "

He would not have known if he had not analyzed it, but once he did, he was shocked. Meeting a competitor who was used to playing cards unconventionally would make anyone's scalp tingle.

In fact, the interest inference method itself wasn't valid. It was true that interests came first between countries, but the ruler was still human. Since they were human, it was impossible to be absolutely rational.

Many times, the personal preferences and feelings of politicians could also affect the government's decision-making, especially in feudal monarchies.

There was no doubt that the Russian Empire was a typical feudal monarch country. Even Alexander Ii Of Russia's reforms couldn't change this essence.

It couldn't be said that the monarch's personal will could influence the country's decision-making, but the monarch's personal feelings had an unquestionable influence on the country's decision-making.

The most typical example was that the Russian Empire's top officials were all anti-Japanese, and there were very few pro-Japanese creatures in the Tsarist government.

There was no other reason than the two scars on Nicholas II's body. Just this alone was enough to make everyone hate the Japanese Empire.

This was also politically correct. If someone assassinated the monarch you served, and you remained indifferent, then do you still want to live?

You reap what you sow. Whether they were willing or not, the Government of Japan had to pay for their previous mistakes.

Of course, people thought of more. It seemed that the Tsarist government's decision-making mistakes in the past few decades were ultimately taken advantage of by Austria.

They couldn't help but think more. One time could be a coincidence, but two or three times was too much of a coincidence.

Thinking was thinking, but there wasn't much that they could do now. If they could see the problem, others could also see the problem.

Including the top officials of the Tsarist government, they also discovered these problems. Otherwise, the first thing that every Tsar did after succeeding the throne was to get rid of the dependence on Vienna.

No one wanted to be led by the nose, let alone the unruly Hairy Bear.

It was just that the reality and the ideal were a bit far apart. If they were really asked to cut off the connection between Russia and Austria, they couldn't make the decision.

Since they couldn't be separated, they could only be careful when making decisions to avoid being led astray.

After all, this kind of influence was done in the dark, and the Government of Vienna didn't do anything on the surface.

Even if they stepped into a pit, the Tsarist government could only swallow it. They absolutely couldn't admit it to the outside world. If they really opened the lid, it could only prove their own incompetence.

…

Both governments were thinking of ways to avoid war. The Government of Japan only did a little bit more and strengthened their defense against Russia.

But it was different among the people. The Russian Empire's anti-Japanese sentiment was high, and the anti-Russian sentiment in Japan was also strong.

Looking at the black crowd of protesters outside, the staff of the Russian Embassy in Japan didn't even dare to go out to buy groceries.

The incessant stream of curses seemed to be incessant from morning till night, and Minister Ftoriak was infuriated.

"Call the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

The staff suggested in a low voice, "Your Excellency, the phone line was cut off. How about we send a telegram?"

It could be seen that Minister Ftoriak was still very prestigious in the embassy, and the staff didn't dare to provoke him.

Minister Ftoriak roared, "Then why are you still standing here? Hurry up and send the telegram!"

Just as he finished shouting, Ftoriak realized that he made a slip of the tongue. Since he wanted to send a telegram, there had to be content. He didn't say anything, and the staff had to wait.

"Sorry, Frank. I didn't do it on purpose. I was just confused by the Japanese.

I don't believe that the Government of Japan doesn't know about the commotion outside. They know that there are people causing trouble, but they didn't stop it. This is a provocation to the great Russian Empire.

Tell the guards to be prepared. If anyone dares to cross the line, don't hold back. "

Without a doubt, the last sentence was just said out of anger. If they dared to shoot, the people below would have already opened fire.

After a pause, Ftoriak continued, "Report the situation we are facing to Japan, and invite other embassies in Japan to pressure the Government of Japan.

Inform the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and order them to expel the troublemakers within two hours. Otherwise … "

Ftoriak didn't know what else he would do.

Diplomatic blackmail also depended on the target. It didn't mean that Japan couldn't blackmail them. The problem was that the power of the Russian Empire in the Far East couldn't scare the Japanese.

If this diplomatic note with a stern warning was sent by Shinra or Britannia, it might still be a deterrent. As for the Russian Empire, it was still lacking.

However, Minister Ftoriak wasn't worried. This was the embassy area, and there wasn't only the Russian embassy. A few hundred meters away, there were also the embassies of Britannia and Shinra.

With such a big commotion outside, they weren't the only ones affected. The neighbors also didn't have a good time.

If it was just to watch the commotion, it was enough. Even if it was just for a good night's sleep, everyone would pressure the Government of Japan.

In Japan, there was no shortage of extremists. Ordinary Japanese couldn't tell the difference between Europeans and ordinary Japanese. Anyway, they were all Caucasians.

If things got out of hand, no one would have a good time. Accidental injuries were all too common.

"Bang!"

"What's that sound?"

Ftoriak was sure that it wasn't a gunshot. This wasn't the sound of bullets being fired. He had this bit of experience.

Furthermore, the embassy guards weren't fools. No matter how much they looked down on the Japanese, they knew where they were.

If there were a few hundred or a few thousand Russian soldiers stationed here, then there was no need to say anything and they would just attack.

Unfortunately, there were only a few dozen guards in the embassy. Compared to the crowd of protesters outside, they were insignificant. Even if they had guns, it wasn't enough.

People had to lower their heads when they were under someone else's roof. In a situation where there was a huge difference in strength, no matter how angry they were, they had to hold it in first.

"The glass is broken. Someone threw stones into the embassy."

This was just the beginning. People followed blindly. As long as someone took the lead, there would be no lack of followers.

Suddenly, the sound of stones flying could be heard. The flying stones could not only break the glass but also hurt people.

The situation was heading towards chaos. The fanaticism was ignited, and everyone became more and more courageous.

No one noticed that just a few hundred meters away, a black barrel was aimed at the protesters.

"Aim at the one who raised the flag. It will be more distinguishable."