War has never had a boundary, and when a war breaks out in one place, its influence will spread to other places, especially the fight between the great powers, and even change the pattern of the world to a certain extent! Just as the Chinese Republic and the Russians were fighting in the vast and cold Siberian wilderness and playing for their lives on the scorching sea of Southeast Asia, in distant Europe, an undercurrent was surging. As the enemies of Russia, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary wished that the Russians would be defeated, and the French and British also hoped that the Russians would recognize the situation and not think that they could act recklessly by hanging the name of a polar bear! Without the pounds and francs offered by Britain and France, a hungry polar bear is no different from a sick cat. Of course, if it's still a sick cat that has lost a battle, it's easier to manipulate.

But as the curtain of war opened, the Chinese Republic and the Russians had already played the first round on land and sea. At sea, Essen's naval fleet, which concentrated the highest industrial achievements of France, the United States, and Russia, was defeated in the Battle of the Java Sea, and after throwing away two armored cruisers, he retreated to the island of Java to recuperate. The strong combat effectiveness of the Chinese Navy made European counterparts look sideways. And the will to fight in the face of adversity has won the admiration and fear of Europeans. Later, Britain and France also specially deduced again, if the next battle results are the same as this time, the Russian-Dutch combined fleet led by Makanov will have nothing to jump, and the Russians themselves will not have an advantage in terms of capital ships, and if the patrol dies more, then there will be no suspense in this war! And this is definitely not what Britain and France want to see.

The Russians could not win sea power in the Far East, this was the consensus of Britain and France. If the Russians had gained a foothold in the Far East, would they have wholeheartedly cooperated with Britain and France to suppress Germany? Definitely not, human energy is limited. The energy of the state is even more limited, and in the opinion of Nicholas II, the Balkan Peninsula is definitely inferior to the northeastern region of China. If there is a better goal, why do you have to play with Austria-Hungary? So the Russians must lose! Whether at sea or on land! That's why the British supported the Chinese navy, and the French helped the Russians entirely on the glamorous gold ruble!

But is it the goal of Britain and France that the Russians lost? Obviously not, the British family thought not only that the Russians would lose, but that the Russians would leave, and that it would not be possible for China to gain a firm foothold in Southeast Asia! Huaxia is closer to Southeast Asia. As soon as he raised his feet, he came in, and Britain and France were destined to be stumbling in Europeans and Germany, Austria and Italy for more than ten years, and the Far East could not take care of it at all! If the losses of the Huaxia Navy in this war are not large. What if China makes trouble in the Far East while the Europeans are stumbling? At that time, not only the Dutch East Indies, but also British Malaya, Sarawak, French Indochina, and even British Burma could not be saved, so the Russians lost. The Chinese Navy also needs to be seriously injured to meet the goals of Britain and France!

And just when Britain and France were struggling with this issue. One country came up and offered to join Britain and France in "maintaining order and tranquillity in the Far East!" "And this country is the United States of America, a distant cousin of John Bull! The Americans' diplomatic rhetoric is very good. "In order to ensure order and stability in the Far East, to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Western countries in Southeast Asia are respected and protected, and to enable all countries to enjoy equal commercial opportunities and political rights and interests in Southeast Asia. The United States of America is ready to work with Britain and France to reconcile the contradictions and relations between the Chinese Republic and the Russian Empire. ”

How, such diplomatic rhetoric is very sanctimonious, isn't it? If it were given to a diplomat who didn't have much experience, it would be fooled, but the Americans gave this document to the British, what did the British do? A mix of a pirate and a merchant at heart! For hundreds of years, the British Empire has produced a vast number of men who are proficient in logic and diplomacy, in addition to a navy that is unparalleled in the world. They belong to the kind of people who can know what you want to say as soon as you see the beginning. And know what you want in a matter of seconds! The Americans' hands belong to a typical big knife in front of Guan Gongmen! The British Foreign Minister, after seeing the note, waited until the Americans left. Throw it aside without saying a word!

The first half of this sentence is not a problem, the problem is "to let all countries enjoy equal business opportunities and political rights in Southeast Asia, and to reconcile the contradictions with Britain and France." These words are not necessarily, they contain at least two meanings, the first meaning is that the Americans demand the same status in Southeast Asia as Britain and France, which is not only commercial but also political. If you make this request on the Anglo-French land, do you think the British and French will agree?

The second meaning is to reconcile the contradictions between the hostile sides with Britain and France. Note that this is conciliation, that is, pulling a fight, and this statement is very broad, it may be to use force to "persuade", or it may be just to send a diplomatic note, it is said that the Americans want to meddle in this matter, you must at least show some sincerity, and then come with some hard goods, such as funds or military strength or something, as a result, the Americans came to this hand, Britain and France had to put a big question mark on the sincerity of the Americans!

In addition, Britain and France really look down on the United States, don't look at the current GDP of the United States is the first in the world, but looking at the performance of the United States in the Spanish-American War, Britain and France are really unwilling to let the United States and themselves mediate the situation in the Far East on an equal footing. Status depends on strength, and the influence and power projection of the United States overseas is really not worth mentioning in the eyes of Britain and France, and it is true that the Americans have also built several dreadnoughts. But you must know that the battleships of the British and French fleets at this time are all made one level at a time, who are you bluffing with three melons and two dates?

Therefore, Britain and France naturally threw this note aside, and then continued to discuss how to make the Chinese Republic and Russia fight for both sides on the ocean of the Far East! Of course, it would be better if the two countries could "see the situation" and stop on the seas of Southeast Asia.

The reason is simple: with the gradual formation of the German-Austrian, Italian-Turkish alliance, the maritime pressure of Britain and France has become more and more intense, and the British have struggled to face the aggressive naval expansion plans of the Germans, and the French navy is no match for the combined fleet of Italy and Austria-Hungary. After all, France is the main force in the land war, and the investment at sea will inevitably be reduced to a very low level. So if they could, Britain and France would like to let the remaining Russian fleet share the pressure at sea!

As for the land war, Britain and France did not care much about the Russian army that was fighting in the Siberian wilderness, and even secretly wished that the Russians would lose badly. If the Russian Army loses badly, it will be too good for Britain and France! Only after the defeat of the land war and the bitterness of the Russians will they finally abandon their aggression against the Far East, and only then will the Russians shrink their limited forces to Europe.

Some people may say how to solve the problem of blood loss caused by the Russian army if it is defeated. This is too easy to solve for Russia, the Russians are a large population and have a large number of low-cost soldiers, is the name gray cattle called for nothing? Cheap, hard-working, and fearless. What a soldier. Of course, the level of discipline and culture is worse.

In addition, a considerable part of the troops lost in the battle will be prisoners of war, and the prisoners of war can be put back after the war, and after going back, they will take a gun and put on a military uniform and be a soldier again, so Britain and France are least worried about the problem of replenishment of the army lost by the Russians, as for the technical equipment you said about the loss, this problem is not big, the Russians do not have too many heavy artillery and machine guns, and the point that the Russians lost is nothing to Britain and France, the two industrial countries plus creditor countries. Isn't it just equipment and money? As long as you work with Britain and France, can you do without the Russians?

And it was the same in history, March 1906. The European banking syndicate lent a total of 2.25 billion francs to the Russians, of which 1.2 billion francs came from France, 300 million francs from Great Britain, and 500 million francs from Russia's own banks. The rest of the money came from the Rohde family's banks in the Netherlands and Hungary. On 23 March, however, the German Empire refused to lend money to the Russians, and the Russians' entry into the Anglo-French alliance was a foregone conclusion. This also indicates that the international situation before World War 1 has finally evolved into a situation in which the two powers are opposed.

Subsequently, the Russians accepted a series of demands and proposals from Britain and France, including the reform of domestic politics and the development of industry, and began to revive Russia, which was already on the verge of collapse. However, history did not give the Russians too long, and the Normanov dynasty was finally overthrown in World War 1 due to internal and external difficulties, but with the help of Russia, Britain and France finally achieved their plan to defeat Germany and Austria. The pattern of the European continent was re-established for decades.

Therefore, Britain and France need to plan for the future, although the energy of the two old capitalist empires is strong, but they must not do whatever they want, to a certain extent, the British and French can even be regarded as allies of China. Because they were also willing to help Huaxia contain the eastward expansion of the Russian bear. In the same way, the British and French can also be regarded as enemies of China, because they want to contain China's actions in Southeast Asia!

In order to uphold this strategy, Britain and France first decided to begin to weaken the Russian army in the Far East, and the most direct and effective point was to delay the supply of weapons to the Russians, so that the Russian offensive could be slowed down, preferably on the defensive. However, when delaying the land attack plan of the Russians, Britain and France also needed to strengthen the Russian navy, after all, it was up to Russia and the Netherlands to block the way for the Chinese fleet to go south. This one is more difficult to do.

The reason is very simple, Britain and France cannot directly participate in the war, once Britain and France directly do it in the Far East, Germany, Austria and Italy will definitely do it in Europe, the Russians have no strength to manage Europe, if France and Britain put their energy into the Far East again, the affairs of Europe are not the final say of Germany, Austria and Italy? Britain and France will never do something that is small or big!

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