With the return of the Prince to the port of Muroran, the Great Powers were clearly aware of the outcome of this large-scale war in the Far East! After a series of battles, the Russian Far East Fleet has existed in name only, and even the most basic deterrent power is not left for Beiyang, the Russians have failed in this game of chess at sea, and on land, the Russians' surprise attack on the Zhili Governor was blocked in Inner Mongolia, and the Northeast Guards have begun to gradually clean up Russia's heavy military clusters in the Far East after crossing the Heilongjiang River, and the Russian army on the northern front is either eliminated or intended, and Russia's heavy troops in the Far East are only left with the Vladivostok fortress! From now on, the Beiyang Army may be very interested in this fortress!

"Now that Beiyang is invincible, I didn't expect that Beiyang, which had so much trouble dealing with the Japanese Navy and Army five years ago, could sweep away Russia's strength in the Far East in just a few months, which is really terrifying." In a Washington villa, Mahan said of the Beiyang Fleet.

"The Russians also have a large number of land forces." Theodore Roosevelt said with some dissatisfaction.

"The long supply lines of the Russians simply could not bear the consumption required for the operations of the Great Armies, and in the Far East, the Russians had already committed hundreds of thousands of troops, which were divided into three separate battlefields of Inner Mongolia, Northeast China and Japan, and were attacked by Beiyang and Japanese armies several times their size. What's more, Russia's supply lines have been cut off, the garrison in Vladivostok is no longer able to get even a single shell to be supplied, and Russia's poor economic situation means I don't think the tsar wants to fight anymore. Mahan said. Although not an army, Mahan's speculation about the situation is quite correct.

"More importantly, Beiyang has in his hands conditions that Nicholas II cannot refuse." Mahan said mysteriously.

"What conditions? Beiyang as the winner. Will there still be an exchange of interests with the loser Russia? Theodore Roosevelt believed in the supremacy of strength, in his opinion, as a strong man, Beiyang will never compromise with the weak Russia, I am stronger than you, just take what you can get with violence, and there is no need to exchange any interests at all.

"Although the Russian political system is rotten, there are problems of one kind or another in the leadership. But Russia was still much stronger than the original Manchu government, which was bullied by others. And although Beiyang has an absolute advantage on the battlefield, if you want the Russians to spit out something, you can't do it without exchanging. After all, the reason why Beiyang has survived until now is that the financial and material assistance of the British and Germans is crucial. Mahan said with a smile.

"So what does Beiyang want to get? And what does Beiyang have to exchange for what he wants? Theodore Roosevelt asked.

"I think the 1 million square kilometers of northeastern land that the Russians took away from the Qing government back then may be reclassified into the territory of a new empire, right?" Mahan touched his chin and said.

"Beiyang's appetite is really not small, but I don't know if that General Xu can eat such a large area!" Theodore Roosevelt was first taken aback, and then said with a little disdain. "Even militarily there are no problems. But if Russia insists on not giving it. Instead, it will continue to maintain military contact with Beiyang, and if it does not fight or talk, Beiyang will not have time to clean up the domestic mess, unable to establish a new country, and I am afraid it will be difficult to hold out for a long time, after all, the British and Germans will not always support it like this. ”

"You're right, Mr. Roosevelt, and there must be someone in the Russian government who could think of that. But that Lord Xu was still confident that he could get what he wanted. Mahan said after taking a sip of coffee.

"What can be more valuable than a million square kilometers of fertile territory? Please don't go around in circles, okay? Roosevelt said with a little dissatisfaction.

"An ice-free port on Hokkaido and the island of Hokkaido!" Mahan said, pointing to the map on the table with his hand.

"Mr. Roosevelt, please see, except for Hokkaido at this time. The war situation in the entire Japanese Viceroyalty has been eroded, and as we have already said on the army side, it will be difficult for the Russians to draw more troops into the Japanese theater. It was only a matter of time before the Japanese recovered the occupied territories in Honshu, and if it weren't for the fact that there was a strait, I think the Japanese Army would have taken advantage of the situation to enter Hokkaido and eventually drive the Russians out into the sea, but the idea is good, but the reality is cruel. Even though the Japanese can already see their homeland in the distance through the Kamatsu Strait, the narrow strait has become an insurmountable curse! And all this is completely in the hands of the Beiyang Fleet! Mahan said solemnly.

"If the conditions of the Russians do not meet the bottom line of the Beiyang, then the Beiyang is very likely to help Japan cross the strait to threaten the Russian government, in order to obtain an ice-free port in the Far East, the Russian tsars have made great efforts, and the Russians will not sit idly by and watch the ice-free port in the Far East disappear like this!" Mahan explained.

"But as far as I know, the relationship between the Japanese government and Beiyang is not good, in order to let Japan regain its navy, the British have not bothered much, if the Japanese army occupies Hokkaido, then Beiyang may not be able to gain benefits." Theodore Roosevelt retorted.

"With the help of Beiyang, Japan will occupy Hokkaido, but whether Hokkaido can be re-incorporated into the Japanese territory is different, you can know that after 4 years, the Russians have reduced a considerable part of the Japanese aborigines in Hokkaido, and Hokkaido is the homeland of the Ainu, the only minority in Japan, if Beiyang has to threaten with force and let Hokkaido be in a state of detachment, it is not impossible." Mahan smiled bitterly.

"And will the British agree? Don't forget, the British are the big financiers of Beiyang. Theodore Roosevelt said.

"The British were the big financiers, the Germans and Italians provided considerable money, and even the United States of America interacted with the North Sea through various overt and covert trades. As a new nation is created, as more and more countries recognize reality, I guess the assistance of the British is not indispensable. After all, the British also need to do business, the British also need to have a spokesman in the Far East, and more importantly, the British need to curb Russia's expansion, and Britain will not fall out with Beiyang until Russia really falls! Ma Han said solemnly.

And while Mahan and Theodore Roosevelt were sipping coffee and discussing the overall situation of the Far East, the situation in the Far East was also being discussed in the Whitehall of London, England, and on the surface, everything was going according to the assumption of the British Empire, Beiyang as a thug, the British paid and received other compensation, the Russians were about to be defeated, the new power in the Far East and Russia would become feuds, and Russia would lose its access to the Far East. Everything was so good, so smooth. But is it really as rosy as it seems? The British government bigwigs don't think so!

"What do you think about the plan to assist the Japanese Army in landing in Hokkaido?" Salisbury asked.

"They did not object, but instead handed us a completely new plan for the seizure of Vladivostok and the loss of the Russians the last outlet to the sea on the mainland." Said the foreign secretary next to him.

"This is an excuse, we don't want the Russians to lose access to the mainland so early, we care about whether Japan can exist as an independent country, with no foreign troops stationed on its own, an independent modern country. The dominance of the Russians is not what we want to see, but again, the North Ocean is not good. The British Prime Minister said angrily.

"If we reduce our aid to Beiyang, I wonder if we can change Beiyang's wrong policy. Now that the war is being fought, Beiyang needs a lot of money and weapons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer analysed from an economic point of view.

"Beiyang has already made contact with Germany, Italy and even the French, as the victor of the war and the ruler of a country, Beiyang can raise a large amount of money from Germany, France and Italy, and they can use war reparations or some power as a guarantee to tide over this difficult situation without any problem. And when Beiyang changed from a feudal town to the ruler of a country, then the British Empire may not be as important as it is now. The Foreign Secretary said worriedly.

"It is still too early for us to discuss how to deal with the Beiyang, Russia is only stumbling on the way forward, and it is still far from collapse, in this case, do you not think that it is not in the interests of the British Empire to weaken the Beiyang prematurely? Although Russia is about to lose its access to the sea and a large amount of land on the mainland, the Eurasian railway bridge does not have to extend to Vladivostok, and the Russians will pay a lower price. According to the estimate of the War Department, if Russia is given five years to prepare, then Russia can concentrate at least 350,000 troops to launch an offensive in the next major war. The Secretary of State for Defense said as he handed over a copy of the document to the people around him to circulate.

"This is only the army, as well as the navy, all the Russian shipyards began to work in full force, in just one month, at least 4 new battleships or cruisers put down their keels, the Beiyang fleet is indeed elite, the quality of the officers and men in the Beiyang can also be compared with any navy in the world, but their number is too small, there are only 10 main battle warships of more than 8,000 tons, and there is a lack of enough light and medium warships, in the face of the Russian navy with absolute superiority in numbers, I am afraid it will be very difficult." After saying that, the Minister of Defense handed over another piece of information to the Prime Minister.

"In that case, I think we should study the information submitted by the Secretary of State for Defense and decide on our future policy, right? After all, none of us are soldiers, and the situation in the Far East must be resolved by artillery and warships! More importantly, the greatest enemy of the British Empire has not yet fallen, although the current behavior of Beiyang is very unfriendly, but at least we are still allies for now, and we don't need to fall out with the most powerful allies in the Far East for the sake of Japan, right? Foreign Secretary Roundba said.

"In that case, I agree to adjourn the meeting for the time being." Salisbury couldn't see that he could not reach an agreement, so it was better to let it go for now, after all, the war was not over.

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