Chapter 586

With the sound of a gunshot, the already chaotic scene became even more out of control.

"The Russians are murdering people!"

No one knew who shouted, but it directly ignited the crowd. The protesters, who were already furious to begin with, were completely ignited.

The biggest characteristic of the word "radical" was that when making a decision, it was often due to the hot-headedness, never weighing the pros and cons.

No matter where it was, everyone's mind was filled with "Kill all the Russians, blood for blood!"

Not only did they think it, but they also put it into action. The protestors tore down the gate and walls and charged into the embassy.

In the face of the swarming crowd, the Russian Army guards fought back bravely, but it was difficult to fight against so many, even with guns.

After all, this was the embassy area. The security issue was mainly handled by the Government of Japan, and the weapons of the guards were limited to guarding against gangsters. They didn't have heavy firepower at all.

The people rushed in, and what would happen next was self-evident. Anyway, the nearby embassies had already picked up their cameras and crazily took pictures of the chaotic scene.

The only regret was that the distance was too far, and there was no picture quality at all. Through the pictures, they could only see the crowd attacking the Russian embassy.

Not far away, the police responsible for maintaining law and order were terrified. Making a scene outside the embassy and breaking in were two completely different concepts.

From the chaos at the scene, it could be seen that the group of people that broke in were not rational people. If they did something irrational, the consequences were simply unimaginable.

"Captain, what do we do now?"

The middle-aged captain stared at his subordinates who were scared to the point of peeing, and said indifferently, "What do you mean what do we do?

Remember, Muraki. Just now, there was a mob that wanted to attack the British embassy, and we have been intercepting it. We didn't see anything at the Russian embassy. "

After that, the middle-aged man raised his fist and began to punch and kick his subordinates, as if he was simulating the scene after the mob attacked.

They weren't the only ones who made similar decisions. In order not to be the scapegoat, the police on duty nearby didn't have their clothes intact.

There was no other way, the situation was out of control, and it wasn't something that they could stop. Now that they got involved, they didn't know if they could control the situation, but they would definitely be dragged into it.

Those who had rich experience in society knew that they had to take care of themselves first. As for other problems, that was the matter of the higher-ups. Anyway, it was an order from the higher-ups that allowed the protesters to approach the Russian embassy area.

With such a big thing happening, someone had to take the blame, and this "blame" wasn't something that ordinary people could take.

As pawns, of course, of course, of course of action. As long as they didn't get involved, of course of action, of course of action.

…

In the government office building, Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu, who had just finished his afternoon tea, was staring at a pile of documents in a daze. Suddenly, he received the shocking news that "mobs attacked the Russian embassy area".

"Is the situation under control?"

"Is there any casualties in the Russians?"

"Of of the Russians of of of the embassy.

Protesting was one thing, but attacking the embassy was another. Ordinary people did not know the seriousness of the matter, but Ōkuma Shigenobu knew.

Since he wanted to "leave Asia and enter Europe," he naturally had to understand the rules of the European political game, such as the "international law" that everyone recognized.

On the surface, the attack on the Russian embassy seemed to be just a conflict between Japan and Russia, but in fact, it was not.

If they didn't handle it well, the Government of Japan would face the blame of the entire international community. Not to mention international sanctions, just condemnation would be enough to make the Government of Japan suffer.

In this context, whether there were any casualties in the Russian embassy became particularly important.

If it was just property damage, they would just have to pay a sum of money. If people were injured, the Russians wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity.

The Russian Empire wasn't alone. Not only did they have the Russo-Austrian Alliance, but they were also one of the main members of the European Union.

The Tsarist government had no reason not to involve their allies since the reason had been presented to them. International politics did not advocate individual heroism. Using numbers to overwhelm an individual was the way to go.

The staff replied in a panic, "The situation is completely out of control. The garrison has asked the military for help. We don't know if there are any casualties in the Russian embassy."

Hearing this result, Okuma slumped into his seat. The situation was out of control to the point that the military had to intervene. Who would believe that there were casualties?

The question now was not how many people died, but how many people were still alive in the Russian embassy. In short, a diplomatic disaster was coming.

…

The emergence of the telegraph narrowed the distance between humans. The incident happened in Japan during the day, and Vienna received the news at night.

As for blocking the news, it was easy to think about it. The telegraph company was controlled by the major powers, and they didn't need to pay any attention to the Government of Japan.

What's more, it was useless to cut off the telegraph. The incident happened in the embassy area, and the embassies weren't far away. With so many witnesses, it was impossible to keep it a secret.

They couldn't just kill them, right?

If something really happened to the embassy staff, the treatment the Government of Japan would enjoy would be no worse than their neighbor, Xin Chou.

Other than not knowing the specific casualties of the Russian embassy, the other contents were sent to all parts of the world along with telegrams.

Looking at the telegram in his hand, Franz fell into deep thought. He had heard of the Russo-Japanese War, but he had never heard of the Japanese people attacking the embassy.

Did history change, or did someone deliberately hide the truth, or did they think that the incident was too small and did not cause any waves?

Franz was past the age of curiosity, and he wasn't interested in further understanding the Russo-Japanese conflict.

"Has the Japanese pro-war faction been suppressed badly recently?"

From a distance of a few hundred meters, it was good enough to see the general situation. The shooting incident that was hidden in the dark was naturally unknown.

They didn't know that someone was causing trouble, and the attack on the Russian embassy area was directly defined as "mob attack on the Russian embassy area."

In a pure conflict between Japan and Russia, no one would do such a stupid thing except for the war maniacs in the Japanese military.

Based on Franz's personal experience, when this kind of extreme incident occurred, it was usually the Japanese Army that was suppressed, and they used extreme methods to turn the tables.

There were many similar incidents that happened in the original timeline. For example, one year, the government wanted to reduce military spending, and the unwilling Japanese military directly launched a coup …

Frederick The Great: "That's right. In recent years, the Government of Japan has been reducing the military budget. At its peak, the military budget accounted for 84.7% of the fiscal revenue, but it was reduced to 46.2% now.

It is said that the Government of Japan is planning to continue to reduce military spending, and is planning to control the military spending to about 35% of the fiscal revenue.

But what does this have to do with the mob attack on the Russian embassy area? They can't just be unhappy with the reduction of the military budget, and … "

The high proportion of military spending to the fiscal revenue was a characteristic of the era. The more backward a country was, the higher the proportion of military spending in the fiscal expenditure.

Countries that could control the military budget within 40% were basically countries that had started the process of industrialization; countries that could control the military budget within 25% were considered developed countries.

From the proportion of the military budget, it could also be seen that Japan's economic development in recent years had been good, or else the military budget would not have been reduced.

After all, it was very expensive to support an army. With the development of military technology, the daily maintenance costs of the military had been in a state of increase.

In the case of the military establishment not changing, the annual military expenditure would only increase, not decrease. In order to reduce the proportion of the budget, the growth of the fiscal revenue must exceed the growth of the military maintenance costs.

In the era of the gold standard, the revenue from the seigniorage was far less than in the future, and it was simply impossible to become the pillar of the fiscal revenue. The increase in the government's fiscal revenue was mainly due to the increase in tax revenue brought by the economic development dividend.

"It is impossible to happen in other countries, but it is not certain in Japan. For this country, we can't use common sense.

The traditional Bushido ideology, coupled with the militarism ideology, from the beginning, the Japanese military embarked on a radical path of no return.

Of course, this may be one of the many factors that led to the attack on the Russian embassy. The direct fuse was most likely the recent conflict in the Far East.

Facing the Russian Empire, the Government of Japan did not have enough confidence. For the overall domestic development, the Government of Japan can make concessions, but it does not mean that the civil radical groups will also consider the overall situation.

In this world, there are too many people who do not use their brains when looking at problems and doing things. If they are mixed with nationalism and extremism, it will be even more crazy.

As long as someone instigates them, there is nothing they don't dare to do. Not to mention attacking the Russian embassy, even if they slaughtered all the Russian embassy staff, it is not impossible. "

With the original space-time as a reference, what Franz thought was normal was a comprehensive impact to Frederick The Great.

"Attacking the embassy area" was already shocking enough. If they slaughtered the embassy staff, then there was no need to say anything, and they would directly declare war.

No country could accept this kind of provocation, let alone the hot-tempered Russia.

Other than the initial disbelief, Frederick quickly recovered from his shock and said, "I'm not sure if I'll be able to tell the truth.

"If they really killed all the Russian embassy staff, then the Russo-Japanese war is inevitable. But the Siberian Railway has not yet opened, so the Russians should not make a move immediately.

Judging from the progress of the Siberian Railway, the main line is expected to open next year, and the branch railway will take about three to five years.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Russo-Japanese war should break out in the next five to ten years. Then can we … "

Before Frederick The Great finished speaking, Franz interrupted, "This is only the best time to launch a war from the perspective of Russia, but the outbreak of a war is never decided by one side.

If you are Emperor Meiji, will you wait for the Russians to prepare and then passively fight? "

There was no other way, this was a misunderstanding. The difference in strength between Japan and Russia was huge. If it weren't for the transportation restrictions, three to five Japanese combined wouldn't be enough to defeat the Russians.

If the discrimination against people of color was taken into account, the evaluation of the strength of both sides would be even greater.

The Philippines War was a benchmark. Spain's expeditionary force was able to fight against Japan. If it weren't for the distance limiting the projection of power, Japan would have been defeated a long time ago.

As for the issue of Spain using French mercenaries, it was directly ignored by everyone. Europe had a tradition of using mercenaries. Being able to recruit mercenaries to fight was also a manifestation of strength.

In many people's view, the difference in strength was too great. If the weak took the initiative to provoke a war, it would be courting death.

On the contrary, passively fighting could also win international sympathy and invite major countries to intervene. It was the same defeat, but the treatment they enjoyed was completely different.

If the former lost, it would be the death of the country; if the latter lost, there was still a chance of survival.

After all, the international community wouldn't let Russia continue to expand, so it was inevitable that they would intervene.

…

Just as Franz and his son were thinking about how to benefit from the Russo-Japanese war, the Tsarist government also received bad news from the Far East.

However, the information they received was not from their own embassy, but from the Government of Vienna.

Since they were allies, he would still help them with this small matter.

If it wasn't for the repeated confirmation that the embassy in Yoto had lost contact, Nicholas II would have thought that today was April Fool's Day.

A small country like Japan dared to provoke the great Russian Empire again and again. This was clearly bullying their weakness.

After receiving the news, Nicholas II held a high-level government meeting overnight. After something like this happened, if they didn't retaliate, how could the Russian Empire continue to exist in the world?

Prime Minister Sergei Witte: "Your Majesty, we must fight back against the Japanese's provocation and let them know that the Russian Empire is not something they can provoke.

It's just that the Siberian Railway has not yet been opened, and our forces in the Far East are limited. It will be difficult to deal a heavy blow to Japan.

Rather than taking revenge, it would be better to wait a little longer. When we are ready, we will directly destroy Japan to relieve the hatred in our hearts. "

Count Sergei Witte was a rational Prime Minister. Although he was indignant, he couldn't do it out of anger.

Don't forget what happened in the past. In recent years, the Russian Empire had suffered a lot from "anger," and now they must learn their lesson.

Deep in his heart, Sergei Witte had made up his mind that no matter how the Japanese provoked them, they must wait until the Siberian Railway was fully opened.

It wasn't only Sergei Witte who was rational. The current Tsarist government was basically the team left behind by Alexander III. They were all rational.

The Director of the Eastern Orthodox Administration Bureau, Donoschaiv: "The Prime Minister is right. It is not suitable to take military action at this time.

For a clown like Japan, we either don't make a move, or we must kill them with a stick. Only then can we truly shock people.

Considering that Japan is an island country, if we want to destroy them, with the current strength of the Imperial Navy, it is obviously not enough.

On this issue, we can follow the example of the Austrians and first formulate a comprehensive 20-year development plan. When we are fully prepared, we will destroy the Japanese monkeys. "

It could be seen that Donoschaiv also had a deep understanding of the essence of "hiding". He immediately came up with a 20-year plan to destroy the Japanese.

With the strong foundation of the Russian Empire, if they really concentrated on farming for 20 years, then there was no doubt that Japan would be completely destroyed.

Not to mention Japan, even the current British Empire may not be able to suppress the completed industrialization of the Russian Empire.