Chapter 721

High-standard materials that could withstand low temperatures were high-tech these days, and there were only a few countries that could produce them.

Although the Russian Empire often claimed to be an industrial country, it knew itself best. It was fine to boast normally, but it couldn't be counted on at critical times.

Just look at the railway built in the past few years. It was repaired more than a dozen times a year, and each repair took more than ten days. The repair time was longer than the opening time.

After a comprehensive inspection, it was found that the rails were rusted and deformed. The sleepers were rotten, and the most excessive thing was that there were actually sprouts.

They wanted to investigate who was responsible, but the implications were too wide, and there were too many people interceding. It was really impossible to investigate. In the end, there was no other way. The government could only pay the bill, pull out the railway, and start over.

The lesson couldn't be forgotten. In order to ensure the quality of the Siberian Railway, the Tsarist government had carried out a one-size-fits-all policy early on. Domestic materials that could withstand low temperatures could not be used.

Even if the people were calling for support of domestic products, there was no way. The Tsarist government was afraid of domestic products.

Ordinary railways were fine. At most, they would lose a little money. The quality of a strategic artery like the Siberian Railway must be guaranteed.

Imports not only meant an increase in costs, but also a great increase in transportation pressure. Stopping work and waiting for materials was a common thing.

Think about it, even the logistics supplies on the battlefield could often be mixed up. Then it was not so unacceptable that railway materials should be shipped to the wrong place.

The problems in the management system, or the problems in the Tsarist government's bureaucratic system, obviously couldn't be solved by an administrative order.

The technical requirements were high, the management system was chaotic, and coupled with bad weather, if the construction progress of the Siberian Railway could be fast, then it would be a real problem.

The railway could not be opened in advance, and the strategic materials on the front line had to be met. It was almost an unsolvable problem.

Nicholas II's face was gloomy and terrible, and even the atmosphere in the room became tense.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Foreign Minister Mihailovich said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken action, and the Government of Vienna has agreed to help.

At present, we are working hard on the Empire of the Far East. If we can buy materials from them, the situation will be much better.

Now we have achieved some results. With the efforts of the diplomats, we have gained the support of many officials of the Empire of the Far East. They can tacitly allow us to transport materials through the road. "

It was normal to fail. The constitutional monarchists and conservatives of the Empire of the Far East were at war, and they had no time to participate in the Russo-Japanese War.

It was useless to promise more benefits. Neither the Japanese nor the Russians dared to provoke a government that was afraid of wolves and tigers.

"Using the road to transport supplies" was essentially "smuggling". This thing was banned even in peaceful times, let alone in chaotic times of war.

It was not so much a diplomatic effort as a profit-driven. All he had to do was turn a blind eye, and he would be able to earn a large sum of money. Why should he refuse?

In any case, it's not like they only do business with the Russians, they also do business with the Japanese. As long as they were willing to pay, the merchants didn't care who the buyer was.

Even if the merchants of the Far East Empire didn't dare to get involved, there were still international arms dealers who rushed in. As long as there was enough money, there was no need to worry about not being able to buy the goods.

The only problem was that these guys did not have enough supplies, and the transportation was often attacked by the Japanese hired bandits, which could not meet the needs of the war.

However, Mikhailovich had confidence in the international arms dealers. Now the supply was insufficient. It was mainly because people didn't expect the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. The most powerful arms dealers didn't have time to participate.

If these arms dealers were involved, they could get as many supplies as they wanted. This was the real reason why they asked the Government of Vienna for help.

To smuggle strategic materials on a large scale, in addition to the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East, they also needed a powerful background to deter them.

Ordinary strategic materials could be produced in the family workshops of the Empire of the Far East. They could always be bought as long as they had money. What was troublesome was the ammunition.

Not to mention, the Japanese Navy was not easy to pass. In order to prevent arms from falling into the hands of the Russian Army, the Japanese Navy acted as the East Asian police after the outbreak of the war.

In the face of the violation of sovereignty, the weak government of the Empire of the Far East chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb and let the Japanese Navy inspect foreign merchant ships.

Of course, the ships that were inspected had no background, or the background was not strong enough. The Japanese still didn't dare to act rashly on the ships that had a strong background.

The relationship between Britannia and Shinra was tense, but the two countries hadn't really fought yet. Who knew when he would explode? What if he sat down again after making a fuss?

Although the Government of Japan chose to gamble on the fate of the country, they weren't stupid. They knew who they couldn't provoke. In the face of these two giants, they naturally had to pretend to be weak.

The smuggling trade in the original space and time could not save the Russian Empire. The most important reason was the lack of support from the major powers.

Britain, Germany, the United States, Austria, and Italy all hoped that Russia would fail. The only ally, France, only verbally supported them. In essence, they still hoped that they would return to Europe to deal with the Germans.

Without the help of the major powers, the smuggling trade naturally couldn't be on a large scale. In addition to purchasing food and some daily necessities, weapons and ammunition still had to be transported from home.

Even if it was a small-scale smuggling trade, it was still an important support for the Russian army in the far east.

Otherwise, the logistics of hundreds of thousands of troops would all be transported from home. Not to mention that the Siberian Railway was not open to traffic, even if it was open to traffic, it still wouldn't be able to support it.

There was no other reason. Who let the Siberian Railway be a single-track railway? The train was sent out, but it had to return the same way.

Hearing this explanation, Nicholas II's expression softened a little. However, the worry between his eyebrows still lingered.

In theory, with the help of the Holy Roman Empire and the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East, they could rely on smuggling to survive the crisis.

But this was only in theory. Not to mention how strong the support of Shinra was, the cooperation of the Empire of the Far East was a big problem.

In recent years, they had harmed a lot of people. They had created hatred in the beginning. Now they expected the other party to fully cooperate. Wasn't that a joke?

They didn't need any big shots to personally take action. Just the local bullies along the way would be enough to make trouble for them.

Whether it was through the Five Broken Bridges or bandits blocking the road, they were all hidden dangers.

If it was in normal times, it was needless to say that they could directly exert diplomatic pressure on the Empire of the Far East. But not now.

At the critical moment of the Russo-Japanese War, the Empire of the Far East actually had the power to determine the outcome of the war between the two sides.

If they accidentally provoked them too much and they turned to the Japanese, then the Russian Empire could only bow their heads and obediently withdraw from the Far East.

"Push it as soon as possible! It is best to let the Government of Vienna come forward. They have a good relationship with the Empire of the Far East. It will be easier to coordinate relations. "

Nicholas II naturally didn't know what the relationship between Shinra and the Empire of the Far East was. But one thing he knew was that the two sides had not broken out in a war.

This was enough. As long as the strong countries didn't invade you, it was a symbol of friendship.

The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener did. In Mikhailovich's ears, this was Nicholas II's lack of trust in the ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Well, the ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia was indeed not worthy of "trust." In the past few years, they had screwed up far more than they had succeeded in accomplishing.

In order to change this situation, the Tsarist government also sent students to Austria and Britannia to learn professional diplomatic skills.

It couldn't be said that there was no progress. At least in terms of diplomatic etiquette, diplomatic unspoken rules, international practice, and common sense, they didn't make a big joke again.

As for the more important diplomatic ability, it needed to wait for these people to grow up and hold a high position in the Russian Empire.