St. Petersburg, building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. A horse-drawn carriage with a plaster flag stopped in front of the Foreign Ministry building. Then, a small man in a suit got out of the carriage, straightened his collar, and then strode into the Russian Foreign Ministry with his head held high.

"Japanese dwarfs in the Far East? What is he doing here? Many staff members of the Russian Foreign Ministry, when they saw that little man, couldn't help but look with disgust and even hatred in their eyes. However, the little man simply turned a blind eye to this.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the Russians were extremely hostile to the Japanese. During the Russo-Japanese War, the total number of Russian casualties and captured officers and soldiers reached 270,000. This means that many Russians have relatives who were killed, wounded, or captured in that war. Naturally, they won't have a good impression of the Japanese.

This Japanese dwarf is none other than Ichiro Honno, the Japanese ambassador to Russia. He was already familiar with the hostile gaze of these Russians. Rather, he sees it as a symbol of Japan's strength. In the past, before the rise of Japan, these old hairy people didn't even want to look at them with a straight eye. Now, they were able to look at him with hatred, which was a great improvement in comparison.

This time, Ambassador Ichiro Motono appeared at the Russian Foreign Ministry on the orders of Foreign Minister Lin Dong to pay a courtesy call on Russian Foreign Minister Izvorsky. A formal request for cooperation was made to the Russian side, hoping that the two countries would unite to fight against the military forces in the north and then divide the interests of the northeast.

The Japanese believed that the Russians would certainly not refuse such cooperation. After all, instead of letting the Russians attack the Northern Army alone, it would be better for the two countries to attack together, and in this case, not only would the chances of victory be greater. At the same time, the price to pay will be smaller.

Led by his secretary, Ichiro Motono appeared in Izvorsky's office.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, good morning!" Ichiro Honno greeted him humbly, and his posture was very low.

Izvorsky nodded, he was still very satisfied with the attitude of the Japanese. Though. These attitudes are almost all disguised. But it still looks very satisfying.

"Good morning, Your Excellency, please be seated." Ambassador Izvorsky said.

Coffee was then brought to the secretary and the office door was closed. And Ichiro Honno and Izvorsky also stopped exchanging pleasantries.

"Your Excellency, relations between Russia and the government in the north are now very tense, and war is about to break out. The Japanese government on this. Very concerned. The Japanese government believes that the government in the north is not only an enemy of Russia, but also an enemy of Japan. Therefore, we hope that the two countries can unite and jointly launch an attack on the government in the north. If our two countries join forces, it is absolutely impossible for the government of the North to win. After the defeat of the northern government, we only need to restore the provisions of the Treaty of Portsmouth. All other interests in northern China can belong to Russia. Ichiro Honno said.

"Original. What are these dwarfs up this idea for? It seems that after their defeat to the Northern Army, they have always been disgruntled. I don't want to get revenge all the time! Izvorsky thought secretly.

However, these Japanese dwarfs are too good at their calculations, right? They are too bold to want to snatch meat from the bowl of the great Russian Empire. Don't they know that the Russian Empire has already made the whole of northern China the target of this offensive? Not to mention the crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, which is for Russia. It's always been a pain in my heart. They not only buried most of the navy's belongings, but also lost half of the Northeast. In particular, the ice-free port of Lushun made Russia work hard to get the port and lose it. After Russia defeats the Northern Army this time, it will definitely regain these lost interests. The Japanese want a piece of the pie, but that's simply delusional.

"I'm sorry. Your Excellency the Ambassador. We are unable to accede to this request from the Japanese side. The northern government was the enemy of the Russian Empire, which could defeat them by its own strength without the intervention of others. Izvorsky directly refused.

"Huh?" Ambassador Ichiro Motono was stunned, as if he did not expect that the Russians would refuse their request for cooperation.

"Your Excellency, it is also very advantageous for Russia to join forces with Japan. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Northern Army was very strong, and even the Japanese Army suffered at their hands. Ambassador Ichiro Honno said quickly.

However, by this time, Izvorsky's face had become gloomy.

"Damn, are these dwarfs insulting the Russian Empire?" Izvorsky thought. In Ichiro Motono's words, there is obviously a meaning of lowering the Russian Army. He claimed that the Japanese Army was no match for the Northern Army, and that the Russian Army was the defeated enemy of the Japanese Army. Wouldn't this show that the Russian Army was definitely no match for the Northern Army? Perhaps, this is true. However, no Russian will admit this fact. Not to mention such a high-ranking Russian official as Izvorsky.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, but I didn't mean to insult Russia in the slightest." Ichiro Honno hurriedly apologized.

"Alright, Your Excellency, please come back. Regarding the matter of cooperation, this is impossible. Izvorsky said directly.

Ichiro Motono opened his mouth to say something more, but in the end he didn't say anything and left.

"Hmph, these little dwarfs are simply daydreaming. Trying to snatch the interests that belonged to the Russian Empire is simply wishful thinking. Izvorsky looked at the back of Ichiro Honno leaving, with a look of disdain.

In his routine report to Tsar Nicholas II the next day, Izvorsky informed the Tsar of the demands of the Japanese. Nicholas II also made no secret of his disdain for the ambitions of the Japanese. He claimed that Izvorsky did a very good job, that is, to reject the Japanese in this way, let them die of this heart.

Nicholas II confidently believed that Russia's own strength would be enough to defeat the Northern Army, and there would be no need for the Japanese to intervene. If the Japanese want to snatch the interests that belong to Russia, it is better to save it.

The refusal of the Russians shocked the Japanese cabinet and made it feel a great loss of face. The Japanese army even declared that since the Russians did not know each other like this, there was no need to care about them. Wait for the Russians and the Northern Army to lose both sides, and then they will intervene in the war. In this way, they are also able to get the maximum benefit at the minimum cost.

It's just that the bad luck of the Japanese is far more than that. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance were also rejected when they applied for loans from Britain and France.

Although France was a well-known usury country, they each provided 500 million francs to the Russian and northern governments, and the Japanese demanded loans, which they directly refused. Although France still has money, if Japan intervenes in this war, I am afraid that the development of the war will be out of their control. In this case, it would be very detrimental to the interests of Britain and France.

So, no matter how much the Japanese pleaded, the French were not willing to lend them money.

With the British, the Japanese not only hit a wall, but were threatened. Edward, the British ambassador to Japan, explicitly warned Japan not to intervene in the war between Russia and the northern government.

"The British Empire wanted peace in the Far East, and the war between Russia and the northern government had affected peace in the Far East. However, the British government did not want Japan to be involved in the war again, so the scale of the war was once again expanded. Ambassador Edward said with a serious face.

"But, Your Excellency, Ambassador. Russia is an ally of Great Britain! Japan entered the war to help Russia, which was also very beneficial to Britain. Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Dong was a little confused.

"By doing nothing in this war, Japan will be the greatest help to the British Empire." Edward said coldly. The British wanted the failure of Russian expansion in the Far East so that the Russians could turn their attention back to Europe from the Far East. If Japan and Russia join forces to defeat the Northern Army, with the greedy character of the Russians, the next step will definitely be to think about how to defeat Japan and then dominate the Far East. At that time, Britain and France would have to rely on their own strength against the Allies. This is undoubtedly a disaster for both Britain and France. Therefore, the British will definitely not let the Northern Army be defeated. The Japanese wanted to stab the Northern Army in the back, but of course they refused.

The stern warning of the British made the Japanese very puzzled, and they even secretly speculated whether the British planned to abandon the Anglo-Japanese alliance and form an alliance with the Northern Army instead. In this case, it will be very bad for Japan.

The French refused to lend money to Japan, and the British not only did not lend money, but sternly warned the Japanese not to intervene in the war. This undoubtedly made the Japanese want to intervene in this war, and they were stunned by a stick before it even began.

The attitude of the civilian officials in the Japanese cabinet immediately changed 180 degrees. Since they couldn't borrow the money and the British warned again, they had to do it.

However, the Japanese Army was very dissatisfied with this, they thought that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, how could they just give it up? However, if they want to start this war without sufficient military spending, it is undoubtedly impossible. The British warning, in particular, made them feel aggrieved. Are they allies of the British? But the British treat them like this, which is really undeserved. (To be continued......)

PS: The third update is here, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Next week it's naked running again, it's the third week in a row, it's embarrassing!!