St. Petersburg, having received news from the Far East, Nicholas II went straight to the brink of a rampage.

The cause and effect of the incident is no longer important, anyway, the outbreak of the conflict in the Far East between Japan and Russia, in the eyes of Nicholas II, is a provocation by the Japanese.

The old accounts have not yet been settled with the Japanese government, and now that the Japanese dare to provoke again, it is naturally intolerable.

If it were not for the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway was not open to traffic and the logistical pressures constrained military operations, Nicholas II would have wanted to destroy Japan now.

Of course, this is just a thought. The international situation is so complicated that only a fool would venture to provoke a war.

It is true that the tsarist government is preparing to advance eastward, but when and under what background it will move eastward, it will be carefully considered.

"Eat a trench, grow a wisdom."

In recent decades, the Russian Empire has not suffered less from the war, but has suffered much more, and the tsarist government has also been sublimated.

One moment to the south, the other to the east, it seems that the strategic goal is erratic, but in fact, this is not a kind of political wisdom?

Against the backdrop of the struggle for hegemony between Britain and HRE, the Russian Empire, as the third largest power in the world, did not have the slightest joy of profit, but only deep fear.

There is no way, if you want to compete for world hegemony, the strength of the Russian Empire is too weak; If you want to fish in troubled waters and make a profit, the strength of the Russian Empire is too strong.

Regardless of the fact that relations between Russia and Austria are very good, there is still a lot of suspicion and distrust between the two governments. The Vienna government was not at ease with Russia, let alone the British.

In a sense, the better the current Russian Empire does, the more likely it is to arouse the jealousy of the two hegemons.

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

Mixing in the hegemony struggle between HRE and Britain, it can indeed be very profitable in the short term. Once the two countries have decided the winner, it will be the turn of the Russian Empire to be unlucky.

With the size of the Russian Empire, whoever is the boss will be deeply jealous, and suppression is inevitable.

If you don't stand in line, you can't do it. The strength of the Russian Empire has been able to determine the outcome of this hegemonic struggle to a certain extent. Neither Vienna nor London could tolerate the existence of such an element of instability.

Such a situation is naturally not what the tsarist government wants. The best outcome was, of course, Britain and HRE both defeated, and the Russian Empire took the opportunity to rise.

Obviously, this is not possible. Both HRE and Britain have their own advantages, and it is almost impossible to expect the two countries to end up together in a confrontation.

From the standpoint of the tsarist government, it can only choose to retreat to the next best thing, and before the outbreak of this battle for hegemony, it will reap the benefits as much as possible and strengthen its own strength.

Whether it is going south to India or east to East Asia, any strategy will be completed, and Russia will be reborn and stand at the top of the world again.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to achieve either of these two strategies. The tsarist government had tried, all of which ended in failure.

As early as a dozen years ago, in the Anglo-Russian War, the tsarist government tried the strength of Britain. With lobster soldiers as the core + a steady stream of Indian cannon fodder, gray livestock also have a numb scalp.

Of course, this was not a reason for the tsarist government to abandon India. Although the enemy's army is large in number, its combat effectiveness is not good, and such soft persimmons have always been the favorite of the military.

What really frightened the Tsarist government was the great strength of the British Empire, and as long as the London government did not give up, it could continue to spend time with them.

Anyway, the British colonies are not much else, that is, the population is large, even if it is five for one or ten for one, the British government will die to death.

The population base of 500 million is the greatest confidence of the British. It dragged on for a long time, and the first thing that could not stand it was the Russian Empire.

Even with the support of the HRE, it is useless, in the face of national interests, allies are all unreliable, and no one can guarantee that the Viennese government will not stab them at a critical moment.

The southward strategy was blocked, and the eastward strategy was also not easy. The enemy's strength is not good, but the traffic is too bad.

As early as a few years after the siege of the Far Eastern Empire by the multinational coalition, the tsarist government felt the logistical pressure. The logistics of tens of thousands of troops cannot be supplied domestically, so they can only be purchased from Japan.

Once the eastward expansion plan is officially implemented, it will not be a matter of tens of thousands of people. Without a million troops, it would be a dream to implement the "Yellow Russia Plan".

The logistics of tens of thousands of troops can be purchased nearby, and the logistics of millions of troops will not dare to be faked.

Even if the tsarist government was willing to buy it, the Japanese would not be able to sell it. After all, once the eastward expansion strategy of the Russians was implemented, the Russian Empire would be pitted against Japan.

As long as the tsarist government wanted to move eastward, the only two independent states in the Far East stood in opposition to the Russian Empire.

There are many enemies and there are not many to fear, and the tsarist government is not frightened. The crux of the problem lies in logistics.

Mo said that the Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been opened, even if it has been put into operation. Counting on a single-track railway to solve the logistics problem of a million-strong army is also a fantasy.

If it can't be done all at once, then it can only be turned into gradual cannibalization. It is a pity that the tsarist government had only just taken its steps when it was sniped by the Japanese.

What is even more troublesome is that with the Russian Empire's power in the Far East, there is no way to help the Japanese at the moment, and it is even possible to be threatened by Japan.

Neither side is a big fat meat, but it can't be said for a while, and the greedy tsarist government naturally doesn't want to give up on either side.

The outside world thinks that the tsarist government is vacillating in its strategy, but the Russians themselves do not think so, in other words, it can be said that it is a "flexible diplomatic strategy".

As long as the international situation changes greatly, the Russian Empire can take the opportunity to move southward or eastward, or even start the two major strategies together.

The time that the tsarist government was waiting for was, naturally, a war of hegemony between Britain and the HRE. As long as the two big bosses fight, the Russian Empire will be high and let the birds fly.

It is clear that Nicholas II, as the proud son of heaven, is not a lord who can forbear. The Russian Empire suffered in the previous conflict, and he couldn't stand it first.

Prime Minister Sergei Witt: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The accounts of the Japanese, we will settle them sooner or later, there is really no need to fight with a country that is doomed to perish.

On the face of it, we are now at a loss. But think about it from another angle, and bad things can also become good things.

The Viennese government has always opposed our eastward expansion, and the expansion of the empire in the east in recent years has caused a rift in the relationship between the two countries.

Now is the best time to recover. We can take this opportunity to send a signal to the Austrians that our eastward expansion strategy has been frustrated.

If necessary, we can also make the appearance of abandoning the Far East to confuse the outside world and provide cover for the eastward expansion strategy.

There is no need to rush to deal with the conflict between the Far East and the Japanese for the time being, and it is not too late to think about how to deal with it after the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway. ”

Face is always less important than the inside, and the Russian Empire is also a master who can bend and stretch. For the sake of the country, Sergei Witt also did not mind admitting first.

As for the destruction of Japan, that is not a casual talk. Soon after Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, the Russian government formulated a perfect plan to destroy the sun.

Of course, a plan is always a plan. Any country has a lot of reliable and unreliable strategic plans.

In a sense, the strategic plan of the think tank of various countries is a brain competition. Not more than feasibility, but who is the most imaginative.

Not to mention the realization of all of them, but any country that can achieve one-tenth of them can become the length of the earth.

Compared to the crazy plan to conquer the world and land on the sun, the destruction of Japan is simply not worth mentioning. Of all the strategic plans of the Russian Empire, this is definitely the existence that ranks high in terms of feasibility.

Listening to the Prime Minister's persuasion, Nicholas II was in a much better mood. After all, he is also a monarch with status and grace, and he can't deal with a "dead country".

"Hmm!"

"Then let them get away for a few more days, and then settle the new accounts and old accounts with them."

It can be seen that the breath in Nicholas II's heart still did not let go. It is estimated that when the time is ripe, he will go to find the bad luck of the Japanese.

But it didn't matter, and everyone present didn't have a good opinion of the Japanese. There is no seizure at the moment, that is because his own strength does not allow it.

Once the conditions are ripe, you don't mind letting the Japanese learn what a "hairy bear's roar" is. When it comes to holding grudges, the Russians are definitely one of the best in the world.

Foreign Minister Mikhairovich: "Your Majesty, the real reason why the Americans helped us build the Trans-Siberian Railway has been found out.

Based on the intelligence we have gathered from various parties, after in-depth analysis, we can determine that there is a British shadow behind this.

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

This would also explain why the Americans insisted on the Siberian Railway, which was closed only on a single line, and not on a double line. ”

Those who can play politics are human spirits, and although the efficiency of the tsarist government is a little lower, the level of competence of the top government is definitely not low.

The Trans-Siberian Railway was launched for several years, and the tsarist government did not abandon the true purpose of tracking down the Americans.

Persistence has proven to be effective. No matter how secretive the British and American governments were, they left clues when making deals.

For a short time, the Russians did not find the problem, but after a long time, when everyone came back to their senses, they would find the abnormality.

It's not an investigation of a case, and it doesn't require specific evidence. As long as it is proved that the British have both motives and the ability to plot secretly, it is the British government that did it.

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

But it doesn't matter, just take advantage of each other. Anyway, we have to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, and with the help of the Americans, we also save a sum of money.

As for the follow-up costs, there is no need to pay them, I believe that the British have already paid for us. ”

To put it mildly, it can be seen from the nervous look that Nicholas II's heart is not at peace.

The British head has been checked, which means that the next eastward expansion plan must be considered more carefully.

Nicholas II did not think that the purpose of the British was so simple, and that at such a great cost, it was to lead the Russian Empire eastward.

Although the Trans-Siberian Railway is a single-track railway, the capacity of the railway is very limited, but there is no provision for a single line to be changed to a double line.

There is already a railway, and if we continue to add a railway line next to it, the construction will be much less difficult than before, at least transportation will no longer be a problem.

Once the railroad reconstruction was completed, the transportation problems that constrained the eastward expansion of the Russian Empire were solved.

The woolly bears that can be invested with all the strength of the country are not something that the two independent countries in the Far East can stop, unless they can join forces.

Obviously, this is not possible. As soon as a cannon rang out on the first day of the First Sino-Japanese War, it was doomed that the relations between the two countries could not be very good.

As long as the tsarist government pursued a slight foreign policy and expanded at a pace, there would be no problems.

In the Indian region, which has been in operation for hundreds of years, Britain can hold back the Russian army, which does not mean that they also have the ability to snipe the Russian army in the Far East.

After a little thought, Nicholas II felt that there was a problem here, and it was absolutely impossible for the British to really help them complete the "Yellow Russia Plan".

You must know that the contradictions between Britain and Russia have been around for a long time, and stabbing each other is a routine operation, and helping each other to strengthen their strength is to invest in the enemy.

What exactly the problem is, Nicholas II did not know. In short, in the face of the Far Eastern question, the tsarist government suddenly became cautious.

……

Naturally, the Japanese government was ignorant of the changes that had taken place in St. Petersburg. It's not that the intelligence organization doesn't work hard, it's just that the innate appearance gap is too big and it can't penetrate at all.

The Japanese government is currently only at the stage of newspapers, broadcasts, and tavern gossip for the Russian Empire.

Buying intelligence officers and going deep into the tsarist government to spy on intelligence is just a matter of thinking, but in fact it is not operational at all.

It is not that the secrecy of the tsarist government is high, on the contrary, the secrecy of the tsarist government is the lowest in the whole world, and it can be said that it is a big sieve.

The fundamental reason why the Japanese intelligence organization has not been able to make contributions is one word -- poverty. If you don't have any money in your pocket, you can't operate it.

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese conflict and the tension in the Far East, the Japanese government has panicked.

That was the Russian Empire, known as the "steamroller of Europe", the world's top power. Although it has not kept up with the times in recent decades, it is not comparable to the fledgling Japan.

The Philippine War is the best reference, and Spain, which is at the bottom of the great powers, can go on an expedition thousands of miles away to fight them.

The more powerful Russian Empire, not to mention. In short, the top of the Japanese government has no confidence in dealing with the Russians.

It's not cowardice, everyone just follows their hearts.

Don't look at the propaganda of the people, "the Spanish-Japanese War broke the myth of the invincibility of white people", in fact, my family knows about my own family, and it is a bloody deal.

The only thing that can be called a gain is that the Japanese Navy has been given an opportunity to develop by leaps and bounds.

Unfortunately, this opportunity was not very good, because of the large number of warships, the Japanese government has been worried about how to afford this navy since the First Sino-Japanese War.

With the experience of the war of losing money, the top level of the Japanese government has always been apprehensive about fighting with European countries.

If the battle is won, you must worry that the European Continental Alliance will intervene and interfere and you will not be able to get the spoils you want; The defeat was even worse, and once it returned to the pre-Meiji Restoration, it would be reduced to a colony.

No matter how the war is won or lost, as long as Japan starts, it is doomed to lose. If the ending is so tragic, then why fight?

It is not yet the turn of the military-based doctrine to be the master, and the civilian political clique headed by Ito Hirobumi is still firmly in control of the political power.

The Japanese government is still a normal country on the whole, except that the martial arts are a little stronger.

Except for the young middle- and lower-ranking officers, who were highly motivated, scolded, and devoured like tigers, the top of the government had no interest in the war at all, at least not for a short time.

(End of chapter)