The Northern Army brazenly dispatched and directly attacked the troops deployed by the Russians along the Middle East Road, which completely caught the Russians by surprise. Although, everyone knew that war was about to break out. But no one thought that the war would break out so soon.

Even the order of the Russian Army Command to deploy troops along the Middle East Road was to blow up the railway at the right time. After all, the railway, although it was painstakingly built by the Russians. But once it is used by the Northern Army, it will undoubtedly bring a disaster to the Russian Army. It's just that before the Russians had time to prepare for all this, the railway had already fallen under the control of the Northern Army.

When Wu Haoxuan learned that the plan was successful, a smile appeared on his face. In his opinion, the fact that the Middle East Road was taken intact represented that the Northern Army had made a good start in this war. In the ensuing war, it is enough to launch an attack according to the predetermined plan. The Western Front may face a onslaught of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops. But on the Eastern Front, the Northern Army will have an absolute advantage.

The time in St. Petersburg was five hours behind Shengjing. When Yang Du, secretary general of the Political Affairs Committee of the Northern Government, proposed to the Russian consul in Shengjing, Luo Baifu, that the Northern Army would take back the Middle Road, St. Petersburg was still past 4 o'clock in the morning.

In St. Petersburg, it's past four o'clock in the morning, which is the coldest time of the day. However, War Minister Sukhhomlinov and Foreign Minister Izvorsky had to get up from the warm bed. However, after reading the telegram, both of them changed their faces drastically.

"Damn, those yellow-skinned monkeys actually went to the Middle East? This is unforgivable! Sukhhomlinov's face changed dramatically.

"Come, prepare the carriage immediately, I'm going to the summer palace. In addition, please contact the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and others. Sukhhomlinov hurriedly began to get dressed.

The reaction of Foreign Minister Izvorsky. Also the same as Sukhhomlinov. It was also the first time that people prepared a carriage and went to the summer palace to report to Tsar Nicholas II. After all, this is no small matter. The Northern Army actually made the first move, although it was only against the Middle East Road, but this also meant that it would be a war.

By the time everyone rushed to the summer palace, it was already dawn. Tsar Nicholas II was already fully dressed. Appeared in the office. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Army, the Director of the Administration of Orthodox Affairs, and other high-ranking officials of the Russian Empire have all gathered here.

"War, this is an act of war! Those yellow-skinned monkeys have declared war on us! Tsar Nicholas II had an angry look on his face. This is undoubtedly another slap in the face of the Russian Empire after the northern government rejected the ultimatum of the Russian government.

"Your Majesty, this is indeed an act of war. Isn't that what we expected, though? War between us and the Northern Army has long been inevitable. It's just that the Middle East Road fell intact into the hands of the Chinese. What a detrimental effect this will have on us, we have to be prepared for it earlier. Prime Minister Kokoftsev said.

"This will be a disaster for the army of our Far Eastern Military District! The Chinese could use the railroad to transport troops and other war materials to the Far East without impunity. War Minister Sukhhomlinov had a bitter look on his face.

"Is the situation so critical? We are in the Far East, don't we have more than 200,000 troops? In addition, we also have a series of fortresses and fortifications, and it may not be so easy for the Chinese to capture those fortresses. They're going to hit their heads and bleed because of this. "Chancellor of the Exchequer Sergei . Witt said with a frown.

"According to the information we have gotten. The Chinese were armed with a lot of heavy artillery. It was sold to them by the Germans, in the midst of the war with the Japanese. They've already used those heavy guns. Sukhhomlinov said.

"It seems that my cousin has done everything to weaken the strength of the Russian Empire!" Nicholas II's face was gloomy. After Russia joined the Triple Entente, the contradictions with Germany became prominent. And Germany, in order to weaken Russia, not only supported Austria-Hungary in the Balkans and fought with Russia. At the same time, it also provided assistance to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the old enemy of the Russian Empire. Now, it is colluding with the northern government again. There is no doubt that these are all aimed at dealing with Russia.

"According to the information we have received, the Chinese have hundreds of large-caliber heavy guns and hundreds of heavy guns with a caliber of more than 155 mm. Alone on our fortresses and fortresses in the Far East. It is undoubtedly very difficult to completely block the Chinese. Sukhhomlinov said.

"Could it be that the fortress we have painstakingly built is all papier-mâché?" Nicholas II was somewhat annoyed. In order to build strong fortifications in the Far East, the Russian government invested heavily in it. Vladivostok alone, which served as the home port of the Pacific Fleet, was painstakingly operated by Russia for decades. It was not until Russia achieved Arthur that the construction of Vladivostok was stopped. However, after the Russo-Japanese War, Russia lost Arthur, which made Vladivostok's position even more important. Russia resumed construction of Vladivostok.

"Your Majesty, it is impossible for the Chinese to conquer Vladivostok, but if they adopt the method of siege, Vladivostok will be able to hold out for a year at most. If we cannot defeat the Chinese in time, the defenders of Vladivostok will most likely surrender to the Chinese when they run out of ammunition and food. "Sukhhomlinov is talking about the worst-case scenario.

"One year is enough. The great Russian Imperial Army will definitely defeat those yellow-skinned monkeys in a year. Nicholas II said directly.

Nicholas II appeared confident, but Sukhhomlinov was different. The Russian Army was sluggish, although preparations for war had already begun. However, the number of troops transported from Europe to Eastern Siberia during this period was only a few tens of thousands. There is still a big gap between more than 300,000 people. In particular, these troops could only be transported to Irkutsk, then on foot to Ulan-Ude, then by train from Ulan-Ude to Chita, then not to Khabarovsk (Bole), and finally from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok (Vladivostok). This means that it is almost impossible for the Russian Army to send troops to the Far East. Especially now that war is about to break out, this has become a luxury. As soon as war broke out, Sukhhomlinov could almost imagine that the troops of the Far Eastern Military District would definitely be attacked by the superior forces and powerful firepower of the Northern Army. However, the Russian army's troops gathered in Irkutsk were not a threat to the northern army at all because of the barrier of thousands of kilometers of steppes.

"Your Majesty, according to international practice, the Northern Army attacks our army, which is already considered a war against the Russian Empire. Are we going to declare war on them? Foreign Minister Izvorsky asked.

"War is declared, of course war is to be declared! Since those yellow-skinned monkeys dare to use force, let them know the consequences of provoking the great Russian Empire! Nicholas II exclaimed.

"Your Majesty, if we can, we'd better wait a little longer before declaring war. Our army has not yet completed its build-up. Now in the Far East and Eastern Siberia, the army is just over 400,000 people. Nearly 300,000 people are still on the way. Sukhhomlinov said.

"What? How so? It's been half a month! Nicholas II said viciously. He was clearly dissatisfied with the speed of the Army's response.

"Your Majesty, Russia's poor transportation construction has seriously restricted the movement of troops." Sukhhomlinov had no choice but to bite the bullet.

"Don't look for objective reasons, I just know. Those yellow-skinned monkeys used force first, and the war has begun! Nicholas II said stubbornly.

Sukhhomlinov had no choice but to say no more, knowing that once Nicholas II became stubborn, no one would be able to persuade him.

"By the way, have the French received their loan to us?" Nicholas II asked. If you want to fight, you must first have money.

"Your Majesty, the French government has provided us with a loan of five hundred million francs. We are going to borrow another 500 million, but they have already refused. In addition, the French were very unhappy with our war in the Far East and the North. They believed that the Russian Empire should turn its attention to Europe. "Chancellor of the Exchequer Sergei . Witt said.

"Humph! Those damned French wanted the Russian Empire to drag the Germans for them, forever serving only as their pawns. It's impossible. The Russian Empire is in the Far East, and it is necessary to obtain an ice-free port! Nicholas II snorted coldly.

Nicholas II and other high-ranking Russian officials were very clear about what Britain and France were thinking. It's just that they will definitely not let Britain and France get their way.

At the stubborn request of Nicholas II, the Russian consul in Shengjing, Luo Baifu, declared war on behalf of the Russian government against the northern government. Yang Du, secretary general of the Political Affairs Committee of the Northern Government, also declared war on the Russian Government on behalf of the Northern Government. However, they all seem to ignore that the northern government is just a local government in China, and has no power to declare war on foreign countries.

To some extent, this also shows that neither the northern government nor the Russians have taken Yuan Datou's Beiyang government seriously. And this also made Yuan Datou's Beiyang government very dissatisfied. It's just that neither the Russians nor the northern government can afford to provoke them. So, they can only complain a few words. (To be continued......)

PS: The third update has arrived, and it has fallen from eighth to tenth on the list of historical monthly tickets, and it has been exploded by the back one after another! The author is already crying and fainting in the toilet. Book friends, do you still have a monthly pass? Please vote for the little fish, so that the little fish can blow back! Thank you for the book friend longkwok, crumpled and heart-wrenched commuter pass!