It has always been Britain's national policy to sow discord between Russia and Austria. Although it has not achieved substantial results, the British government has spared no effort to promote it.

In terms of patience, it is estimated that there are few people in the world who can compare with the British.

At the moment of changes unseen in 2,000 years, the entire human society has become impetuous. It is absolutely rare to be able to adhere to a foreign policy for decades.

With the development of science and technology, people's patience is also declining, and politics is no exception.

In this era of increasing emphasis on short-term interests, it is definitely not an easy task to stick to a national policy for a long time.

From this point of view, it is definitely not a fluke that the British can become the hegemon of the 19th century.

As a trendsetter of the times, Britain has always pursued pragmatism. In their opinion, whether it is a conspiracy or a conspiracy, as long as there is an effect.

Leandro's methods, although inadequate, provoked Moros's dissatisfaction with the Viennese government. Although this dissatisfaction will not affect the international situation for the time being, it can be accumulated.

If you can restrain your emotions, there are always very few people who can remain rational, and Minister Moros is obviously not one of them.

Moros, full of dissatisfaction, naturally did not have anything good to say in his telegram to St. Petersburg.

There is no need to add oil and vinegar, the title of "Second Roman Empire" alone is enough to make Nicholas II mad.

In these years, the European world's obsession with Rome far exceeded the imagination of later generations. Almost every European country is trying to find a way to make itself associated with Rome, as if it would make them more noble.

For Nicholas II, Rome was even more important. You must know that the crown of the Tsar came from the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Roman question has involved the legitimacy of the Tsar's throne.

If the Holy Roman Empire, the successor of Western Rome, became the heir of the Roman Empire, then the Russian Empire, the heir of Eastern Rome, would be embarrassed.

When it comes to the question of the crown, Nicholas II will naturally not budge.

It's just that now it is only the European media that shouts about the "Second Roman Empire", and the Vienna government has never made a clear statement on this issue from beginning to end.

That's embarrassing. You can't just go to Vienna to protest because the European media are shouting slogans, and ask them to change the "Second Roman Empire" to the "Second Western Roman Empire", right?

If you do that, the whole world will probably see the joke. Not only could it not solve the problem, but it exposed his own weakness.

After a period of depression, in the end Nicholas II did nothing. However, the determination to get rid of Shinra has become stronger and stronger.

In the adult world, once the rift is created, it becomes bigger and bigger, and it is almost impossible to heal it.

The gap between Russia and Austria is not an overnight problem, it arose as early as the time of Alexander II, and now it is nothing more than a further expansion.

The only difference is that the Vienna government's demand for an alliance has been declining, and there is less and less incentive to bridge the gap between the two countries.

……

With a resonant cannon salute, the main line of the Central Asian Railway, which had a profound impact on Eurasian politics, was finally opened to traffic on June 16, 1899.

Anyone with a little bit of international common sense knows the impact of the opening of this railway from Moscow in the west to Afghanistan in the south.

Once again, the eyes of the world are focused on London and St. Petersburg. Compared with the strategic conflict between Britain and Russia, the small gap between Russia and Austria is not a big deal at all.

After attending the opening ceremony in person, Nicholas II quickly turned from excitement to annoyance.

With the opening of the main railway line, anti-British sentiment within the Russian Empire suddenly rose, and "going south to India" once again became a hot topic in society.

In contrast to the fanaticism of the people, the top echelons of the tsarist government are now showing extraordinary calm.

Ordinary people only see the wealth of going south to India, ignore the risks, and with a little guidance, it is easy to lose themselves.

As a senior level of government, they must comprehensively consider the risks and benefits of going south to India, and conduct a comprehensive and comprehensive assessment.

……

Prime Minister Sergei Witt: "The opening of the main line of the Central Asian Railway is a good thing, which is conducive to strengthening our control over the Central Asian region. But the sudden rise of war fanaticism in the country is problematic.

The strength of the British is not weak, and our British army has not fought before, and their land forces are no worse than the imperial army in combat effectiveness, except for a slightly smaller number.

Britain has been in business in India for more than 100 years, and our many attempts to plan Indian independence have ended in failure, which is also a testament to the deep-rooted British rule in the region.

The British, if they wished, could easily arm millions of Indians from the ground to fight us. We learned this in the last war against Britain.

Although the combat effectiveness of these colonial armies was not strong, they could not stand the Indians. It's like maggots in a manure pit, and it's just endless.

Once the southbound strategy is launched, it is destined to be a protracted war. The empire's financial resources are limited, and it is simply not able to support long-term warfare.

Judging from the current international situation, it is very easy for people to benefit from launching the southward strategy now.

If India can be captured, it will be fine, and the empire will not be in vain. I'm afraid that the British will be forced to compromise directly with the Holy Roman Empire and choose to fight to the end with us. ”

Sergei Witt's worries were not unfounded, India was the lifeblood of the British. The hegemony of the British world is essentially based on the premise of having India.

Without India, the British Empire would have shrunk by at least 40 percent of its national power, second only to its own country. If it is really urgent, it is really possible that the London government will give up hegemony to defend India.

Just look at the colonial habits of the Viennese government, who clearly preferred sparsely populated colonies, and populous India was not their dish at all.

As long as the Vienna government does not seek the Indian region and the British are willing to give up world hegemony, there is a possibility of compromise between the two countries.

If Britain and Austria had compromised, the Russian Empire would have become a tragedy. not only made a wedding dress for others, but also sent himself into a dangerous situation.

The fact that the Russian-Austrian alliance can only guarantee stability on the Western Front does not mean that the Vienna government will necessarily support them. In the past years, Russia and Austria have come all the way to each other.

Foreign Minister Mikhairovich: "The Prime Minister is right, the current international situation is indeed not suitable for launching a southward strategy.

Although the main line of the Central Asian Railway has been opened to traffic, the construction of the branch railway has just begun. The Austrians' aid program to us has come to an end, and we have to do the rest of the work ourselves.

With only one main line, it is simply not possible to support the logistics of the army to fight southward. Taking bold action will only be futile and a waste of precious national strength.

The trouble now is that the British simply do not trust us. Since the news of the opening of the Central Asian Railway spread, the British government has repeatedly increased its troops in Afghanistan.

At present, the number of British troops stationed in the border areas has exceeded 500,000, and although most of these troops are colonial troops, the pressure on our front line is still not small.

If the British take advantage of the fact that we are building a branch railway line and take the lead in provoking a war, the empire will be very passive. ”

Distrust is inevitable. Countless experiences have taught the world that if you don't keep your guard high at all times, you will suffer a lot sooner or later.

Anglo-Russian contradictions have not been a day or two, since the first war in the Near East (the Crimean War), relations between the two countries have never been good.

……

The southward strategy was opposed by the civilian clique, and Yevgeny, as Minister of War, looked very ugly.

In his opinion, there is indeed a risk in going south to India, but this risk is definitely not as serious as everyone says.

If the "Anglo-Austrian compromise" were really that simple, there would not be so many disputes in this world. Nothing can be simple when it comes to interests.

World hegemony is not just a name, but also comes with a lot of benefits. Whether it is financial harvesting or foreign trade facilitation, it is enough to make people rush to it.

Such huge interests are simply not something that a politician can give up if he says to give up. Otherwise, there would be no struggle for hegemony in this world.

But Yevgeny didn't know where to start to refute it, after all, playing tricks has always been the strength of civil officials.

After hesitating for a while, Yevgeny, who had organized the language, said slowly: "Ladies and gentlemen, the risk of going south to India is not small, but the benefits are greater.

In today's world, competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the struggle between major powers is even more intense. Over the past few decades, several powerful countries have declined from competition.

If we look through the history books, we will find that the current situation is different from any time in the past, and we will suffer a great loss if we continue to look at problems with the old concepts.

At present, the countries in the world that can be called great powers, are Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, and we are a total of three.

The number of great powers is decreasing, which means that the era of multipolarity is dying out. If the Empire doesn't want to be the next great power to decline, then increasing our power becomes our only option.

However, we are now vacillating, sometimes moving westward, sometimes eastward, constantly dispersing national strength, and not even having a clear strategic goal. ”

Clearly accused, Yevgeny didn't even bother to cover it up. It can be seen that he is quite dissatisfied with the strategy of the tsarist government in recent years.

"To the west", naturally, refers to the garrison of France. In the eyes of the outside world, the Tsarist government stationed troops in France mainly to extort war reparations.

However, this is only superficial. In addition to seeking profits, the tsarist government fought for the garrison in Paris, but also had a deeper purpose - "to preserve the vitality of the French and leave an enemy of the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe".

It's just that the plan did not change quickly, because it misestimated the execution ability of the Russian army and ignored the military discipline of the Russian officers and soldiers.

Because of an unexpected conflict, the tsarist government, which originally wanted to preserve the vitality of the French, became the vanguard of the suppression of France.

Either don't do it or never do it. On this issue, the tsarist government saw it very clearly.

Seeing the failure of supporting the French, for its own interests, the tsarist government soon turned to Vienna and became the vanguard of the suppression of France.

A hard work, a harvest.

Although the plan to keep the enemy in the Holy Roman Empire failed, the Tsarist government also benefited from the suppression of the French Resistance.

The top talent in France was looted as early as the European War, but there are still many second-class ordinary talents.

The outside world only saw the Russian army forcibly recruiting strong men in France and acting recklessly, but ignored the doctors, engineers, and skilled workers hidden among the strong men......

If it weren't for the Russian army's hard work on the front line and the posture of not sharing the sky with the French, it would have been impossible to search for talents from France.

After a war, there was free labor to build railways, and there were basic talents to promote the country's industrialization process.

The most important thing is the military spending, which was paid in advance by the Vienna government, a war to suppress France, and the tsarist government was actually just a man.

In this respect, the "westward" strategy is undoubtedly a success. In addition to being unpleasant on the face, the Russian Empire was actually made in blood.

If these talents can be harnessed, the industrialization of the Russian Empire can be accelerated by at least ten years by sucking the blood of the French.

In contrast, the "Eastward Expansion" strategy is far from satisfactory. The Trans-Siberian Railway is under construction, and it is still far from being opened.

In any country, talent is only a very small minority. The blood of the French is not unlimited either, and judging by the current situation, the "westward" strategy is about to come to an end.

Yevgeny's meaning is very obvious, the western front can no longer be counted on, and the eastward expansion strategy is limited by transportation in the long term, and the best choice is to go south in the short term.

As for standing still, wait for the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and then implement the eastward expansion plan. Just think about it, not every country has that good patience.

Even if the top of the tsarist government could wait, the people below could not wait. There is no way, India is simply too rich, and wealth has lost the eyes of many Russians.

picked up the topic, and everyone's mood suddenly became heavy. Although the Russian Empire did not have a tradition of doing things on their own, it still happened from time to time that people below did things on their own.

No one knows better than everyone present how bad Anglo-Russian relations are. Especially at the moment when the Central Asian Railway is opened, the slightest spark on the border may trigger a war.

……

Nicholas II: "In any case, the Central Asian Railway is currently only the main line. In many areas along the way, a large amount of manpower is still needed to transport supplies.

If war breaks out before the construction of the feeder railway is completed, we simply will not be able to guarantee the logistics of the troops on the front. The empire has already suffered a lot of similar losses, and now it must not repeat the mistakes of the past.

In order to avoid the worst, the Empire should do everything in its power to avoid conflict with the British. The military must be optimistic about the troops on the front, and the empire cannot afford to toss now. ”

There was no way to solve the problem, and Nicholas II decisively adopted the word "drag". On the grounds that it takes time to build a branch railway, we should first stabilize the main battle faction of the military.

As for when the construction of the regional railway can be completed, it depends on how the situation develops.