Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Germany.

Prime Minister Bismarck walked into the room with a spring breeze on his face, bowed and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Times enthusiastically praised the independence of Central Asia, and the ...... of war may break out in Central Asia." As he spoke, he respectfully presented a telegram.

The British want to intervene in Central Asia? William was overjoyed, if the British were involved in the disputes in Central Asia at this juncture, it would undoubtedly be a great thing for Germany, and he took the telegram and hurriedly put on reading glasses to take a closer look.

The Times is the UK's largest and most influential comprehensive daily newspaper, covering important domestic and international news, focusing on politics, science, literature, art, etc., and has won a good reputation in almost every field, especially in politics and finance.

The telegram focused on excerpts from the "Times" report on the unrest in the northwestern provinces of the Qing Dynasty, and the article compared Central Asia to the center of the Eurasian continent and bluntly pointed out that the independence of Central Asia is conducive to world peace, to alleviating conflicts between the East and the West, to easing potential crises between the Qing and Britain, Russia, and Persia, and to maintaining peace in the Middle East.

After carefully reading the telegram, Wilhelm I took off his reading glasses and looked at Bismarck, "The British are guiding public opinion in support of Central Asian independence?" Or is it a gesture? ”

"It should be a gesture that the aim of the British should be to agitate Russia." Bismarck smiled and said: "Central Asia is located in the heart of Asia, the climate is harsh, the terrain is complex, the transportation is extremely inconvenient, and the Qing State has built a railway to Central Asia, if you want to support the independence of Central Asia, only Russia has the ability."

Russia was only a few hundred kilometers connected by rail to Central Asia, and only Russia could afford to provide strong support before the Qing court could recover Central Asia. ”

William I then asked: "In recent years, Russia has had very close relations with the Qing state, and the Russians will support the independence of Central Asia at the risk of offending the Qing state?" ”

Bismarck said with a smile: "Between countries, interests have always come first, as long as there are enough interests, as long as the benefits outweigh the risks, Russia is naturally willing to take risks." ”

After a pause, he continued: "It will take at least two years for our navy to form a combat force, and the outbreak of war in Central Asia can well divert the attention of the British, in addition, the war between Qing and Russia is more in line with our long-term interests, and the independence of Central Asia is also conducive to our interests in the Middle East, so our country should actively promote Russia's support for Central Asian independence." ”

Actively enabled? William groaned slightly, and then said: "The current situation of our country is not suitable for fighting with the Qing State. ”

"Naturally, it cannot affect the friendly relations between our country and the Qing State." Bismarck said slowly: "We are not fit to openly support, but we can let Austria-Hungary and Italy openly support, and we can also let the minister in Petersburg show our attitude." ”

Following the British "Times", France's "Paris News" followed closely with the voice of support for Central Asian independence, and the major newspapers of Austria-Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Empire, and other countries published articles one after another.

Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

“...... It is necessary to spare no effort to weaken or destroy Persia, and to enter the Persian Gulf as quickly as possible, so as to be close to India, the breadbasket of the world, and with British gold in hand, there is nothing to be found in the world. ”

Re-reading Peter the Great's suicide note, the Russian Emperor Alexander II can be described as having mixed feelings in his heart, and the successive Russian emperors after Peter the Great have regarded the southward policy as a national policy, but in his hands, the southward has become a luxury.

Not only did the Persian Gulf have already fallen into the hands of the Qing Dynasty, but even Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakh have been forcibly occupied by the Qing State, which can be said to have completely cut off Russia's southward journey, and the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean have become unattainable.

God seemed to have mercy on him, and in his lifetime, he gave him a chance, once Central Asia became independent, Russia still had a chance to continue to implement the southward policy, after all, the Persian Empire still had a few ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf!

Listening to the other party read Peter the Great's suicide note, Prime Minister Gorchakov said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, the entire Persian Gulf except for Persia still occupies a small piece of territory, and the rest are all included in the territory of the Qing State.

His Majesty's previous national policy of forming an alliance with the Qing State and expanding into northern Europe, Central Europe, and the Middle East is the most in line with our national conditions. ”

After a pause, he said bitterly: "Supporting Central Asian independence, no matter what kind of support method is adopted, will inevitably make enemies with the Qing State and destroy the existing good relations between the two countries, which is really more than worth the loss, and even if China supports it, Central Asia may not be able to become independent." ”

Alexander II was silent for a while before he said: "Feng Renxuan's Northwest Army itself has 300,000 people, and the Qing State has implemented compulsory military service in Anxi and Xinjiang provinces very early, and it is easy to mobilize millions of troops in a short time.

Although Britain and France and other countries cannot send troops to support, they can provide military assistance and financial assistance to Central Asia through our country, and they can also assist Persia and let Persia directly send troops to support. ”

Seeing that he was very tempted, Gorchakov said in a muffled voice: "Take a step back and say, what about after the independence of Central Asia?" ”

After independence? Alexander II couldn't help but be stunned, he hadn't thought about this problem, and he muttered for a while before he said: "Our country has a railway connection with Central Asia, which is an advantage that Britain can hardly achieve....... ”

"If Central Asia can become independent, it will have to be a second Persia." Gorchakov said slowly: "At that time, Central Asia will inevitably become a game game between our country and Britain, in order to avoid being constrained by our country, Central Asia will inevitably be balanced between our country and Britain, and our country may not be able to take much advantage." ”

In the game between Russia and Britain in Persia, Russia still had the upper hand, not that the Qing State later intervened, Russia's advantage in Persia was even more prominent, and Alexander was not worried about not being able to compete with Britain in Central Asia, not to mention, now that the Persian Gulf is no longer in the hands of the British, but in the hands of the Qing State, the disadvantage of the British is more obvious.

Seeing that he was silent, Gorchakov couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and said: "Your Majesty, the situation in Central Asia is not obvious at the moment, if you have to support it, you must wait for the situation to be clear before making a decision. ”

That's okay, Alexander II bowed his head and said: "You talk to them, the loan is not the point, the point is the Balkans!" ”

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Chapter 10110 - Interests Matter (Page 1/1)

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