"General? What are you writing about? A haggard Essen pushed open the half-hidden door and entered, and he saw Makanov hesitating, holding a pen but not being able to write a word for a long time. This should be a report. Looking at the pale-faced Makanov, Essen suddenly felt a little lonely in his heart. Someone must take responsibility for the defeat in the naval battle in the Java Sea, and Makanov will definitely not be able to escape. Maybe after this war is over, whether he wins or loses, maybe General Makanov will leave the front line of the Navy, right? Essen said in his heart. But in reality, Makanov wrote much more than Essen could have imagined!

"I'm writing a report that can save Russia, but it can push me into the abyss." Looking at his confidant, a smile squeezed out of Makanov's cloudy face. Looking at Essen's suspicious gaze, Makanov continued: "I don't want to fight, we can't win. The seas of the Far East have nothing to do with us anymore. Win or lose this war, we will forever lose access to the Far East, and the Russian navy will only be able to cruise in the Barents and Baltic Seas, as well as the Black Sea. And that's already the best result! With that, Makanov relaxed and leaned back in his chair to see Essen's reaction.

"General, we still have a chance, before the Chinese Navy arrives here, the French warships will definitely be in place, and then we will have 10 dreadnoughts, and we will still have the ability to fight!" The opponent has only 9 dreadnoughts, and two of them are not suitable for entering the battle line, and we will still have an advantage! Essen said with a grim face, as Makanov said. This report can definitely push him into the abyss! When the Russian government and the people have not given up, Makanov, as the head of the navy, actually asked for a truce, which is absolutely dead!

"What you said. How much do you believe yourself? Makanov didn't get angry, but asked with a smile. Makanov would never give up the slightest opportunity, but he knew that it was completely impossible. And even if two French battleships came? Only 1 armored cruiser remained, and the fast fleet was already in name only. And this is only in exchange for the fact that the strength of the two sides on the dreadnought is roughly equal. EVEN IF ALL WENT WELL, THE BROADSIDE FIRE OF THE RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP FORMATION WAS NO MORE THAN 60 12-INCH GUNS AND 16 274MM GUNS. The 9 dreadnoughts of the Huaxia Navy have 87 12-inch guns, which have obvious advantages in firepower, and the Huaxia Navy also has 3 Ninghai-class battleships and 1 Scharnhorst pocket battle cruiser. If the two sides meet again. I'm afraid the Russians will lose even faster than this battle!

"Even then, you should never send this report in, at least not now. With the French fleet in place, we can hold Batavia in the same way that we have a fleet. As long as we are in the port. Then it would be absolutely impossible for the Chinese Navy to attack from the sea. We can drag it out until the land battle is clear. When the government is willing to negotiate with Huaxia, we will send this report to us. Essen thought for a moment and said.

"The idea is good, if everything goes as you think, we can keep both the fleet and our position. But alas, the Republic of China may not be willing to cease war. The Germans have already intervened, and their battleships are already firing at us. Financial assistance is indispensable, right? As long as the Huaxia government is not short of money, they will definitely not give up this opportunity to expand! This is already the case at sea, and the fall of Kalimantan is only a matter of time. If Kalimantan falls. I'm afraid the next one will be Java, right? Even if you count the natives and the police, how many soldiers are there in the Netherlands? Makanov said.

"I don't believe they can cross such a long distance to attack Java." Essen's heart was cold. "Since Russia can cross thousands of mountains and rivers to come to the Far East to fight the Chinese Army. So why can't the Chinese army attack Java under the cover of the navy? The Java Sea is not wide. Makanov said helplessly.

"Remember what you said, after you go back, you can write a report according to what you just said and send it to the Admiralty, I think His Majesty the Tsar and the Admiralty will appreciate you very much, and your fleet has suffered heavy damage to the former dreadnought fleet of the Huaxia Navy, so your future will be bright, at least it will not be affected by this defeat." Looking at Essen, who was eager to justify, Makanov waved his hand to stop: "The future battlefield of the Russian Navy is in the Baltic Sea, and our enemy will be the powerful German Navy." I must leave a qualified head of the future Russian fleet. Just do it, my child. ”

In fact, what forced Makanov to make this decision, in addition to the lack of hope for the current war situation, there was another reason, that is, Makanov's concern for Europe. The German navy has begun to exert its strength, and once Germany, whose industrial and technical capabilities are much higher than those of China, decides to build a navy, it will definitely not be comparable to Russia, and in the foreseeable future, the German High Seas Fleet will inevitably leave the Russian fleet far behind, and I am afraid that only the Grand Fleet of the British Empire will be able to stabilize the Germans, right? Thinking of the almost irreconcilable conflict between Germany and Austria and Russia, Makanov believed that Russia would in the future join Britain and France in the war with Germany, Austria, Italy and Turkey!

The British and French navies are okay, at least they can support each other, but what about Russia? Surrounded by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey, the navy was trapped in two closed inland seas, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The Black Sea is fine, facing the fragile Turkish Navy. The Baltic Fleet was facing the formidable German High Seas Fleet! So Makanov believed that instead of consuming the precious dreadnoughts in the Far East, a doomed battlefield, it would be better to keep them as the basis of the Baltic Fleet. After all, each of these dreadnoughts is extremely precious, and the total value of the remaining 5 Borodino-class battleships can reach nearly 10 million pounds! With mine arrays and shore artillery, the defense of the Baltic coast will be a little more certain.

Not only did Makanov not want to continue to fight with China, but Britain and France were also unwilling to let Russia continue to fight. Because they are now certain that the Russians cannot win this war. Even they are more pessimistic than Makanov about the prospects for this war. "The Germans have officially intervened in this war, they have put Russia on the list of mortal enemies, and the Germans are using China to weaken Russia. In the case that the Russian navy could not go to sea for several months, German aid would continue to arrive in China by sea. If the Russian Navy under the command of General Makanov still has the strength to fight a war, then the Russian Army under the command of Kuropatkin is far inferior in combat effectiveness to the Chinese Army fighting at home, and this result is bound to be very tragic. In an internal report of the British Army, a British general described future land battles as follows.

The concerns of the British and French were justified, and although the quality of the officers and men of the Russian navy was lower than that of the Chinese navy, the officers were more or less decent. Moreover, under the leadership of a general with outstanding skills and abilities, the quality of the Russian Navy is quite good. The rotten aristocrats of Russia will stuff their juniors into the navy, but in general, they will never stuff them into warships! Jokes, fighting a war is no joke! In addition, most of the Russian warships were built by France and the United States, and although the price was a little more expensive, there was absolutely no cutting corners! Therefore, Britain and France still recognized Russia's maritime strength.

But the army is different, not to mention anything else, in the case of the railway has not yet been built, it actually ran thousands of miles away to fight with a land power in the Far East, if the opponent is the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it is okay, but it is the newly rising China! Moreover, it was in China with the support of Germany, and the other side had a population and troops. The Germans have weapons and equipment, and the Russians can't win the battle anyway. In terms of personnel, the soldiers of the Russian Army, known as "gray livestock", are absolutely hard-working, but the technical and tactical level is definitely not worth expecting. How much combat power can most of the strong men who pull out give a Mosina to the battlefield with? The equipment was even more unbearable, and the Russians maintained an extremely large army with not a strong national strength. And such an army will also be used to confront Germany, Austria and Turkey, and the Russian army, which can be used in the Far East at the very least, cannot even guarantee its numerical superiority, and its equipment is even more backward. And the supply is insufficient. Such an army is really a bit shabby in the face of the army that China has built after more than ten years.

Therefore, the idea of Britain and France is very simple: to try to maintain the state before the war while the main force of the navy still exists, the army has not yet started fighting, and Russia has not yet broken its muscles and bones. Just come up with a contract that is acceptable to both parties. Whether it is for the sake of Britain and France themselves or for Russia, they believe that the life and death decision of these three countries is in Europe! If Europe wins, Britain and France, free up, may be able to help Russia return to the Far East together. After all, the emergence of such a powerful China in the Far East is not in their interests. But if Europe loses, even if Russia gains the benefits of the Far East, what will be the result? Therefore, in the eyes of Britain and France, Russia's continued bloody war in the Far East is completely a foolish act of sacrificing the roots!

Within three days of Britain and France receiving information about the naval battle in the Java Sea, the British and French ambassadors to Russia expressed to the Russian Foreign Ministry that the two countries were willing to mediate the war between Russia and the Chinese Republic in the Far East. And it is implied that Russia's interests will be guaranteed to the greatest extent, at least the land borders will be maintained at the level before the war. But this condition was really unattractive to the Russians, on the one hand, because the Russians felt that they were really at a loss, and they were fighting for the land lost in the First Sino-Russian War. As for the other aspect, it is that Britain and France want a truce, but some countries do not want this war to end like this!

Thanks to the book friend zmyzmzzml and the running piggy for their monthly pass support~~~. (To be continued......)