Under the crystal clear chandelier, Qingying's slightly magnetic voice echoed in the luxurious room.

"A few months ago, the situation in the Far East was in a good situation for Nikolai Shu, but now the situation is different. In response to Russia's efforts to reach out to its doorstep, Japan conscripted a large number of reservists into the army, and the total number of troops jumped to 300,000; And almost all of these reservists have the experience of being trained by German instructors, and their combat ability should not be underestimated. The Russian army there was only the size of an army group, twice as many as the total number of the Japanese army opposite; Even though the Japanese monkeys, who were generally only 5 feet tall, could be crushed by the fighting peoples of Tunguska in white-knuckle combat, these physical disadvantages have been largely offset by rifles and cannons in the age of hot weapons. Their Dalian and Vladivostok fortresses still have a lot to be built, and they are still a long way from being impregnable. ”

Qingying took a purple pot from the stove, helped William refill a cup of rich coffee, and then said, "In the end, it's because my Nikolai Shu is too ambitious. Before the Russian army in the Far East had amassed a strong enough force, he could not wait to order the Russian army to stop retreating and reoccupy the Manchuria region of the Qing State. I couldn't figure out what was so good about that kind of place that he swallowed it whole, regardless of whether he could digest it. If I were Nikolai Shu, I would not have killed the horse and stayed in Manchu last year, but would have withdrawn all my troops to the north of Heilongjiang and buried myself in mobilizing troops and reserves. Wait until two years when everything is ready, and then move south, and then it will be really unstoppable like a tsunami! ”

Bilo nodded slightly: "What His Highness said is extremely true. If the Tsar had acted in this way, he would have no doubt that he would have acquired all of Manchuria and Korea as their Yellow Russian colonies, and even included a part of Japan proper. Unfortunately, His Majesty the Tsar does not seem to be a person who can endure loneliness. Speaking of this, Bülow glanced at Emperor William, who was sitting at the top, and continued: "Guided by the extreme expansionist philosophy of 'wherever the Russian flag is raised, then it must never be allowed to fall', he naturally refuses to give up the Manchuria region that he has already obtained and dreamed of." Such a strong behavior regardless of one's own strength will inevitably lead to oneself in an unfavorable and passive situation. In the face of Japan's extremely tough attitude, Russia had no way at this stage, they were inferior to Japan in terms of troops, and the reinforcement and supply was a disaster; The Tsar was still reluctant to give up Manchuria for the time being, and this created a situation that was almost insoluble for the Russians. ”

William sighed, his face showed a bit of abruptness, and said: "At present, Russia urgently needs to strengthen its strength in the Far East; However, since the Manchurian front was so far away from Europe that it would take about six weeks for a single resupply, the growth rate of their strength in Manchuria would be very limited. That's why little Nicky came up with the idea of transporting troops directly by sea. Although the sea distance from the Baltic Sea to Dalian Bay was several times longer than that by land, troop carriers were able to arrive in the early months of the month, and a large-scale ship could carry much more than the capacity of his dilapidated railroad that had not yet been completed. However, I don't understand one thing, since Xiao Ni is planning to increase troops in the Far East at the same time by land and sea, then they can use their own ships, why should they find me Germany? ”

"On this note, Nikolai millet may be due to the following two reasons." Qingying sorted out her thoughts and briefly told William Bilow and the others what she thought.

"One is the lack of Russian shipping capacity. This time, Nikolai Shu prepared to directly send three divisions to the Far East, with a total strength of nearly 50,000 men, and countless supplies of various weapons, ammunition, mules, and horses; With the current capacity of the Russian Navy, it is almost impossible to be able to transport such a large number of personnel and materials to Manchuria. Although ordinary supplies such as food, forage, and building materials can still be requisitioned by merchant ships to load, in the case of ultra-long-distance delivery of more than 7,000 nautical miles, a large number of soldiers, munitions, ammunition, and other things directly related to war must be transported by special troop carriers. In order to conquer the Philippines, I in Germany either built or rebuilt a fairly large troop transport fleet, which was barely up to the job, so Nikolai Shu came to us. Speaking of this, Qingying felt a little helpless in her heart, in history, Russia did not have such an operation to transport troops by sea on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War; And in this plane, due to the butterfly effect caused by himself, Mao Zi actually made such a move, which really surprised him.

William snorted lightly and said, "It's a good idea for little Nicky to drop all the troops of the three divisions and all the corresponding war materials to the Far East at once." Is there any other reason? ”

"The second, and most important point, is that Nikolai Shu wants to tie us to his Far Eastern chariot as a shield to provide a guarantee for the safe delivery of his three divisions of army troops. After all, this is an army of nearly 50,000 people, and the various military supplies that have been put into operation with it have exceeded 70,000 tons. And after the flotilla crossed the Taiwan Strait in the Far East, it entered the sphere of activity of the Japanese Navy, and the trip of more than 2 days in between was enough for the Japanese to take any action! The behavior of the Japanese in sneaking up on the Qing troop carriers 10 years ago without declaring war is still vividly remembered, and this time they are presented with such a big piece of fat that it is impossible not to let the Japanese take action. If Japan made a desperate gamble and directly sent a fleet to intercept and sink the Russian troop convoy, then even if all their main naval forces in Dalian Bay were dispatched, it would be impossible to guarantee that the convoy would be safe! Therefore, if the Russians were on our ships, and the sailors on them were all German sailors, the Japanese would probably be afraid of our German attitude and would not dare to act. In this way, Nikolai Shu Huang was able to successfully complete this troop transportation operation and directly throw these three divisions into Manchuria to strengthen its military strength. Qingying smiled bitterly.

"Little Nicky must not be granted this request. We can support Russia in the Far East, but only if it allows Russia to be depleted and does not affect our Germany, so that we can give them a slight boost to their actions. The transfer of three divisions to the Far East by the Russians did little to ease the pressure on our Germans in the East, and they had a full 70 divisions in Europe; And if we agree to their demands, it will be tantamount to going from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, directly helping them to bear the war risks that belong to them, which is absolutely not feasible! ”

After hearing Qingying's words, William shook his head and said, "If Japan still ignores it and directly sinks our ship with people and ships, then we also lack effective means to balance them." At the moment we have only one battleship in the Far East, the Caesar Barbarossa, and we cannot force them to surrender with the threat of force. Economically, we have not received a lot of the 300 million marks we have previously granted to them in the ultra-usurious loans, and if we fall out with them, it will also be a disadvantageous situation for Germany. The most important thing is that once our ship was sunk by Japan, Germany was dragged down by Russia from the quagmire of war that belonged to them; In the face of the angry populace demanding a little color for the Japanese, and the war in the Far East, which was clearly disproportionate to the input-output, what should the government do? The Anglo-Japanese alliance is an extremely important factor! So leave this matter to Nicky Jr.'s French allies. ”

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"Well, the French have already rejected the Russian request. Thanks to my efforts, Sanya finally confessed the situation. Qingying coughed and said a little unnaturally.

"Huh?" William frowned, and there was a strange look in his eyes, whether he was surprised by the unusual behavior of the French, or whether he was suspicious of the method used by Qingying to obtain this information. Qing Ying did not feel any surprise at this situation: during the Russian Second Pacific Fleet's crusade to the east, the French refused to refuel the Russian fleet, and it was the German Lufthansa shipping company that leased 70 coal carriers to Maozi, and let the colonies along the way open the door for Maozi's fleet to refuel and dock. In fact, this move of the French is not difficult to understand: your current actions have long since betrayed my original intention of forming an alliance with you, and are doing all things that are beneficial to the evil Germans, so why should I provide convenience for you?

After a long time, Birlo suddenly spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, I think we can promise the Russians to help them transport troops!" William was stunned and said: "But Bernhard, the situation in the Far East is already extremely tense at present, and if Germany hands over the ships and men to the Russians to transport troops, its safety will not be guaranteed at all!" Besides, there is no reason for us to help the Russians take the risk that belongs to them in the first place. ”

The corners of Billo's mouth twitched, and the kind face of the uncle next door faintly revealed a bit of fierceness; He beckoned to Qingying, then leaned over to William's side and muttered a few words in a voice that only the three of them could hear.

"This ...... Will little Nicky agree to such harsh conditions? If I were him, I would rather not transport troops by sea than be involved in this matter! William's mouth widened slightly, and there was a hint of unbearability in his words, "Also, you seem to be too ruthless, they are all citizens of my German Empire!" ”

Bilo said slowly: "How can you know the Tao without trying?" What's more, this troop transport is not dead. In order to reduce losses, the number of sailors on the troop carrier could be minimized, allowing Russian sailors to fill in large numbers. If the trip is unfortunate, then they can generate so much for the Empire...... It must have been in vain, right? ”

William was silent for a long time, but finally nodded slightly; Qingying saw it in her eyes and didn't speak, and a cold current quietly flowed through her heart.