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The face of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Duke Gorchakov, changed greatly, although Russia has a population of millions in Eastern Siberia, but the former governor of the Far East, Muravyov, has already recruited 50,000 troops from there. If the army is recruited on a large scale, I am afraid that there will not be many recruits. Besides, how could those civilians who had not received any military training be the opponents of the Imperial Chinese Army, which was armed to the teeth! If you send them to battle, what difference is it from looking for death!

"Your Majesty, those are untrained civilians, if you send them to the battlefield, I'm afraid not only will you not be able to stop the attack of the Chinese Rank, but you will also pay a huge sacrifice!" Duke Gorchakov said.

"And what are you going to do?" Tsar Nicholas I asked with a frown.

"Your Majesty, we can order the civilians of Eastern Siberia to retreat westward immediately, so that casualties can be avoided." Duke Gorchakov said. After all, these civilians will not play much role on the battlefield at all, but will cause huge casualties.

"No! Absolutely not! You can't let the land of the empire be handed over to those yellow-skinned monkeys so lightly. With a population of more than one million in Eastern Siberia, at least 100,000 people can be armed, and if the scope of recruitment is further expanded, it can even arm 200,000 people. With these 200,000 men, it should be able to resist for a while, holding out until the imperial expeditionary force arrives in Eastern Siberia. Nicholas I said with some distraction. Let him give up those territories that belong to Russia, he will definitely not be able to do it.

Armed 200,000 people. I'm afraid that all adult men will be forcibly conscripted into the army! Maybe even the elderly and underage children. Even if there are 200,000 people, what is it? The land forces of the Chinese Empire will soon enter Eastern Siberia. In such a short period of time, those 200,000 recruits will be sent to the battlefield without even having time to train. Even stricter is that. There are simply not enough weapons to arm them in Eastern Siberia. Sending these recruits into battle will only send them to their deaths. However, now Tsar Nicholas I apparently ignored this, and all he had to do was to entangle the march of the Chinese Empire with the blood of the people of Eastern Siberia and buy time for the subsequent expeditionary force. Originally, according to the plan, it was the duty of the remnants of the Manchus and the Mongols, and now. A qiē fell on the heads of the Russians themselves. For an old soldier like Gorchakov, it is almost impossible to think about it and know that the whole of Eastern Siberia will definitely be bloody.

"I know. It's very difficult. However, there is no other way. It was necessary to delay the advance of the Chinese Empire as much as possible. Otherwise, we will lose Eastern Siberia before our expeditionary force arrives in Eastern Siberia. Once the Chinese army gained a foothold in Eastern Siberia. We want to defeat them. It's even more difficult, as long as you can win in the end, even if you pay a big price for it, it's worth it! Tsar Nicholas I said. Of course, he knew what would become of Eastern Siberia after such an order, but, from his standpoint, he had to do it.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I know! "Duke Gorchakov chose to compromise and did not continue to insist on his opinion.

"陛xià. The Governor of the Far East, Governor Muravyov, has died in battle, so we have to reappoint a Governor of the Far East. Crown Prince Alexander said. Originally, Tsar Nicholas I had high hopes for Governor Muravyov and expected him to expand Russia's territory in the Far East. But I didn't expect that it would be such a result in the end.

"Your Majesty, in order to cope with the coming war, I have established a new governor of the Far East, preferably to be taken over by a military man. In this way, it is convenient to dispatch in the war. Duke Gorchakov also said.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Count Neschel Rodie, opened his mouth to express his opinion, but in the end he did not say anything. The Eastern Strategy was proposed by him, but now Russia has hit a wall in the Far East, and it has lost more than 200,000 troops, not to mention that even the Russian mainland in the Far East is about to be attacked by the Chinese Empire. This undoubtedly represents the failure of the Eastern strategy. Although Tsar Nicholas I did not say anything, he knew without thinking about it that he must have been full of hatred for Count Neschel Rodie. If he had spoken at this time, he might have to bear the wrath of Tsar Nicholas I.

Tsar Nicholas I hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, and then said: "In this case, the commander of the expeditionary force, Ivan I. Marshal Paskovich as Governor-General of the Far East! ”

Ivan. Paskovich, who had 1782 years to live and was now 65 years old, was promoted to Russian Field Marshal in 1829 and served as commander of the Russian garrison in Transcaucasia. After the crushing defeat of the Russian army in the Far East, Russia was ready to send a large army to the Far East for reinforcements. Ivan. Marshal Paskovich was appointed commander of the expeditionary forces, and after the death of the Governor-General of the Far East, Muravyov, he assumed the post of Governor-General of the Far East under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Duke Gorchakov. Of course, for Ivan . For Marshal Paskovich, concurrently serving as Governor-General of the Far East is not only an honor, but also a heavy responsibility. Although the total strength of the Russian expeditionary force was as high as 600,000, it seemed that it would not be so easy to defeat the vicious Chinese Imperial Army. Even more so, when the situation in the Far East was changing and the flames of war were about to burn on Russian soil. Once the Imperial Chinese Army gained a foothold in Eastern Siberia, it became even more difficult for the Russian Expeditionary Force to win. In addition, fragile logistical supply lines have been threatening the Russian Expeditionary Force. It can be said that this expedition of 600,000 troops will be full of difficulties.

"Your Majesty, the British have made contact with our ambassador to the United Kingdom. The British seem willing to give us some support, especially in terms of funding and armament. The Foreign Minister, Count Niechel Rodie, said cautiously.

"Oh? Are the British willing to support us? Hmph, they just want us to fight to the death with the Chinese Empire! Crown Prince Alexander said in surprise. Russia's relations with Britain were not so good. It was precisely because of the British that Russia's attempt to expand in the Balkan direction ended in failure.

"What's going on?" Tsar Nicholas I asked.

"Your Majesty, the British government can offer us a loan. As for those weapons and equipment, we need to buy them from the British. Said Count Nieschel Rodie.

"Loans? Sue the British, if it is a low-interest loan, we can consider it. In addition, those weapons and equipment must be sold to us at cost price! Tsar Nicholas I said. Although he knew that the British wanted to use Russia as a tool against the Chinese Empire, was there any other way for him than to accept the British's kindness? At present, Russia has run a fiscal deficit, almost to the point where it is impossible to maintain it. The large-scale expansion of the army, as well as the expeditionary force of 600,000 expeditionary forces, required a large amount of weapons and equipment and war materials. Russia's own industrial strength is not strong, and it is very difficult to arm millions of new soldiers in a short period of time. It would be great if it was possible to buy a batch of weapons and equipment from the British at a low price.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will liaise with the British. Preliminary estimates suggest that we could secure at least £20 million in low-interest loans. Said Count Nieschel Rodie.

Tsar Nicholas I nodded with satisfaction, twenty million pounds, that is equivalent to 180 million rubles. You must know that Russia's fiscal revenue last year was only 192 million rubles. Of course, as for whether this money can be repaid, it is not now considered by Tsar Nicholas I. He was concerned with defeating the Chinese Empire, and as long as it could defeat the Chinese Empire, Russia would not only be able to exchange these debts, but also take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

In fact, although Russia's finances have fallen into crisis, the wealth accumulated by the Russian royal family over the centuries is very staggering. It's just that the royal family will not use their wealth to provide for the country to tide over the crisis, and they will command desperately to collect more wealth. Historically, after the fall of Russia, thousands of tons of gold were seized by the Soviet Union, which led to the rapid rise of the Soviet Union.

"Your Majesty, should we contact the Americans? The Americans are now sending troops in large numbers into those territories that the Chinese Empire had purchased from the Mexicans. It is estimated that the war between the Chinese Empire and the United States will soon break out, and if we can unite with the United States, we will be under less pressure. Count Nischel Rodie continued.

"Humph! Those Yankees, what's the use of them? The weak military strength of the Americans is estimated to be unable to contain much of the Chinese Empire's army. What's more, the French and Spaniards are also eyeing the United States, and if they unite with the United States, I am afraid that we will be put into it. Father, I'll forget it! With Russia's own strength, we can already defeat the Chinese Empire. Crown Prince Alexander said disdainfully.

"Hmmm! Alexander is right that the Americans are not going to be of much help. Tsar Nicholas I said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Count Niechel Rodie nodded, and said no more.

"陛xià, I built yì, to Ivan. Marshal Paskovich gave an order for him to first send a part of the Cossack cavalry to Eastern Siberia in order to stabilize the situation there. "said the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Duke Gorchakov. (To be continued......)