Wu Haoxuan nodded, the question raised by Yang Du, he believes that it is also of concern to everyone. After all, the consequences of a war with a powerful country like Russia would be very serious, and if it failed, everything they had accumulated with great difficulty would be ruined.

But Wu Haoxuan also had a reason to fight, if the northern army retreated, I am afraid that he would have to lose Mongolia. At the same time, Lao Maozi is very likely to gain an inch. It will even affect his future layout.

"Ladies and gentlemen, will there be a war between us and Russia? It's up to the Russians. We are only trying to protect our own interests, but if the Russians interfere in our internal affairs strongly, then we may have to fight the Russians. As for the scale of the war, it also depends on the Russians. If the Russians don't invade aggressively, maybe just a few of our cavalry brigades will be able to solve the problem. Of course, if the Russians attack in a big way, then everything will be different, and we must be ready to fight a full-scale war with the Russians. Wu Haoxuan said solemnly.

If the scale of the war is small, if only a few cavalry brigades are fighting, it doesn't hurt. But if there is an all-out war, it will be troublesome. After all, Russia's standing army alone is as high as 1.4 million. If the tsar wanted to, he could expand the army several times. After all, those serfs in Russia are a very good source of soldiers. Not only is he physically fit, but he is also very obedient. It is also described as gray livestock, which is too apt.

Russia is still one of the world's great powers, even after its crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. This is inseparable from the fact that they have a large number of land forces. After all, no country in Europe has as many standing armies as Russia. Even if you don't count the current China, if you don't count those miscellaneous armies. I'm afraid not as much as in Russia.

"In the case of a full-scale war, there should not be much chance of breaking out. The Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been completed, and the capacity of this railway is extremely limited. Therefore, if war breaks out, we will probably only have to deal with the Russian army in the Far East and the part of the Russian army that has been transferred from Europe by rail. Right now. The Russian army in the Far East, because of the crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, has not much left, at most only more than 300,000. Together with the Russian troops transferred from Europe, we are facing a maximum of 600,000 Russian troops. Major General Harry, Chief of Operations of the General Staff Headquarters, said.

Wu Haoxuan nodded, and asked Major Harry to continue.

"Although, 600,000 Russian troops are still a very large army. However, the combat effectiveness of the Russian Army. It's actually not strong. Their equipment, extremely backward, seriously lacked machine guns and artillery. If we talk about weapons and equipment, it is estimated that they will not be much stronger than the Japanese, or even weaker. If the twenty-five infantry divisions of the Northern Army can be fully manned, we can completely defeat the Russians! Major Harry continued. As the chief of operations of the General Staff Headquarters, Major General Harry also has a deep understanding of the combat effectiveness of the troops of the Northern Army.

After hearing Rear Admiral Harry say this. The faces of the high-ranking officials of the Political Affairs Committee present looked much more relaxed. As for the guys in the military. I wasn't scared much. Whether it is Lao Maozi or the Japanese, they are the enemies of the Northern Army. Therefore, the army has also been preparing for war all along.

"Our army, we also need to deduct the army that is guarding against the Japanese. That is, in order to defeat the Russians, we have in addition to the originally planned twenty-five infantry divisions. Do you have to expand the army further? Minister of Finance Liu Kuai said with a bitter face. Expanding the army means spending money, and fighting a war means spending money like running water. As the finance minister, the pressure on his shoulders will increase.

"Director Liu, didn't we just get 200 million oceans from the Manchu nobles? This money came at the right time! Major General Ren Yulin, head of the training department under the General Staff Headquarters, said with a smile.

Other generals of the General Staff Headquarters. They all laughed. This money, the Ministry of Finance estimates that it has not yet been hot, so it has to be spent!

"There is no way to do this, since Lao Maozi has come to the door, we take the initiative to retreat, it is impossible. Therefore, I have to do my best to fight this battle. Starting tomorrow, the 25 infantry divisions of the infantry of the Northern Army will begin to mobilize, and within a month, the newly expanded infantry divisions will be fully manned and ready to fight Lao Maozi at any time. With regard to the expansion of troops, the first to be expanded was the cavalry brigade, which originally had only seven cavalry brigades, but now it has increased by eight to 15. We now have the support of the vast majority of the Mongols, and it should not be a problem to recruit cavalry from among the Mongols. As for the infantry, a plan was drawn up for the expansion of fifteen divisions. As soon as the situation is tense, the expansion will start immediately! Wu Haoxuan said.

In the absence of the railway, cavalry could play a great role in the battle against the Russians. The main battlefield of the army is mainly in the Far East. Of course, if the Russians did not want a large-scale war with the Northern Army at this time, perhaps there would be no need to go to war. However, with the character of Lao Maozi, will they swallow their anger? That's obviously impossible. So, it's always right to be prepared first.

"Yes, young marshal!" The generals of the General Staff Headquarters replied one after another. The expansion of eight cavalry brigades and fifteen infantry divisions is equivalent to increasing the total strength of the Northern Army to 40 infantry divisions and 15 cavalry brigades, and with the addition of five heavy artillery brigades, the total strength has increased to 900,000 men. Although the Russians had a standing army of 1.4 million, they obviously did not have the ability to support more than a million men fighting in the Far East at the same time. The Trans-Siberian Railway, which has not yet been built, simply cannot afford it. Even if the railway is built, it will not be able to afford it. After all, Russia's center of gravity is in Europe, and the East Siberian region is very poor, and all war materials need to be transported from Europe. The Trans-Siberian Railway simply could not support such a large-scale war.

The same is true for the Northern Army. In battles in the Mongolian steppes and even in the direction of Lake Baikal, cavalry is the best type of troops. Due to logistical pressures, the infantry was able to put in only a small amount. The main battlefield of the infantry is the area north of Heilongjiang and east of Jilin. If the Russian forces in the Far East can be defeated, they may be able to recapture all the territories south of the Trans-Khingan Mountains.

"As for the question of the collusion between the Japanese and the Russians, which everyone fears, it seems to me that it is unlikely. Not to mention the contradictions between the two sides in the Russo-Japanese War, when the war broke out between us and the Japanese the year before last, the Russians did not stumble the Japanese. There is no reason why the Japanese would collude with Lao Maozi at this time. In addition, the Japanese are now nothing more than a dog raised by the British. The British will never watch us fail. If we fail, it will mean that the Russians will further expand their power in the Far East, which will threaten British interests in the Far East. Even if Britain and Russia had signed a treaty, the British would not change on this point. Perhaps, the British will secretly support us in defeating the Russians, so that they will be able to shift the Russians' focus to Europe. After all, the Allied bloc in Europe is the main enemy of the British, French and Russian Triple Entente! Wu Haoxuan continued to analyze.

The senior officials of the political affairs committee nodded one after another. After two years of development, they have gradually seen clearly the grievances between those powers, and they are no longer like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which closed off the country at the beginning, and knew nothing about the outside world.

The British wanted Russia to threaten Austria-Hungary from the east in Europe, rather than for the Russians to shift their focus to the Far East. To make the Russians revolve around the British baton would have to interrupt the Russians' expansion into the Far East. Initially, the British chose to prop up the Japanese to contain Russia. But now it seems that the Japanese have the impression that the mud cannot support the wall. If the Northern Army can defeat the Russians, the British may secretly give the Northern Army some support.

At this time, the senior military and political officials of the northern government had reached an agreement. If the Russians do not know each other and must meddle in the affairs of Outer Mongolia, then the Northern Army will fight the Russians at all costs. If at first, everyone was still a little worried that they would not be able to defeat Russia. But now it seems that the chances of victory for the Northern Army are not small. If the Northern Army, after defeating the Japanese, defeated the Russians again. Then, it seems that the government of the North is also qualified to be one of the great powers. When the time comes, it will be even easier to wave the army into the customs and unify China.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have one more piece of news. The current Russia can be said to be the weakest in these years. They first suffered a crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, and losses existed. The revolution broke out in Russia from 1905 onwards and lasted until last year. The Russian government was exhausted in order to suppress the revolution. Although the uprising has now been suppressed, the Russian government has also paid a huge price. So, did Tsar Alexander II dare to go to war with us at this time. Or rather, it is difficult to say whether the Russians will be able to win against us in such a situation. At the very least, our chances of winning will be huge. Perhaps, the Russians will choose to retreat. That way, we won't be under so much pressure! Wu Haoxuan said with a smile. Of course, if the Russians don't know each other, then let's get rid of them first! (To be continued......)

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