If the general strike on a Russian scale was the factor that forced Russia to agree to admit defeat, then the series of revolutions that resulted from this bloodshed was the reason why Russia had to ask for more support from the international community.

This so-called revolution was in fact an event of social turmoil over a long period of time. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, terrorist attacks, strikes, peasant struggles, riots and uprisings continued to be born in the major regions of the Tsarist Empire.

This so-called revolution has no organization, no goal, and not even a single cause.

If the reason is to be said, it is mainly due to the unrest of the country in the past few decades and the dissatisfaction of the Russian people with the Romanov dynasty.

Of course, the lack of reform in Russia decades ago and the demand for liberation by some ethnic minorities were also part of the cause.

This revolution became even more intense after the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, and although it was not on the scale of history, it was definitely a crisis of national annihilation.

After the resumption of German-Russian negotiations, the progress is very fast. The Germans seized on Russia's new defeat and internal and external troubles, and promised a large amount of loans to help Russia stabilize the domestic order and restore domestic production.

and willing to support Russia's future expansion in the Far East, Germany was willing to provide Russia with a batch of German-made equipment at cost price, and was willing to abandon the provisions of the treaty on reminding France of the Franco-Russian treaty of travel.

France, on the other hand, was only willing to give Russia a small loan to help Russia stabilize production in Europe.

As for the Far East, France did not mention anything and clearly no longer supported Russian actions in the Far East.

Nor did this glaring gap lead Russia to abandon its alliance with France.

But things also took a turn for the better.

In the original history, because of Russia's crushing defeat in the war, the competition between Britain and Russia in the Far East, the Near East and Central Asia basically disappeared.

But now it's different. Although Russia has experienced defeat, it is more like it has to admit defeat because of the domestic crisis.

Give Russia a few more years to develop, and Russia will still be the hegemon of the Far East.

Not to mention the Near East and Central Asia, where Russia's power has not weakened, and competition with Britain continues.

Because the competition still exists, it has also led to the historical Anglo-Russian reconciliation has not progressed, and even because the last fishermen's crisis has become more serious.

Although Russia and Britain eventually reached a settlement on the fishermen's crisis through French mediation, the crisis in the Far and Near East was not resolved.

To put it simply, Russia, which was defeated in history, is no longer Britain's main opponent in the struggle for hegemony, but Russia, which has not experienced much defeat, is still Britain's biggest opponent in the Far East and Near East of Central Asia, especially India and the Middle East.

How important was India to the position of the British Empire? The British Empire was an empire because of the titles and resources of the Indian Empire.

If India had been lost, the British Empire would have been a small United Kingdom.

Because Russia was still a threat to India, Britain remained vigilant and hostile to Russia, and did not lead to reconciliation because of the signing of the Anglo-French Entente.

The contradictions between Britain and Russia have also become one of the most troublesome problems for France. After the Anglo-French Entente, both Britain and Russia became France's theoretical allies, and they were a powerful help for France against Germany.

But the problem is that there are also obvious contradictions between Britain and Russia, and it is simply impossible to eradicate them in a short time.

More importantly, Russia had begun to make contact with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and its ambitions in the Far East were well known.

But France did not want Russia to continue to look at the Far East, and the French wanted Russia to fulfill its obligations as an ally and contain a large number of German main forces to the east of Germany.

If France continued to strongly support Russia, it would not only be in its own interests, but would also lead to British dissatisfaction.

Because the area that Russia is currently attaching importance to is precisely the same area to which the British Empire is attached. Russia and the British Empire had strong rivalry in the Far East, Near East, Central Asia and other regions, and naturally France was not allowed to provide a large amount of support to Russia, so that Russia could once again have the power to deploy in these regions.

The contradictions with Great Britain and the French dissupport for the Far East made Russia disappointed with the French Treaty, and at the same time wary of the Entente between Britain and France.

Under such a premise, the desperate co-optation of the Germans and their willingness to support the Far East gave the Russians the only trace of warmth.

At the end of May 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II met near the island of Björk in the Gulf of Finland to negotiate a possible German-Russian alliance treaty.

Compared with the French, Kaiser Wilhelm II was much more tyrant.

In the first negotiations, Wilhelm II promised Tsar Nicholas II 100 million marks in free aid and 500 million marks in private loans.

Because the German automobile factory Wilhelm II also participated, Wilhelm II could also take out 100 million marks of free aid without blinking an eye.

It was also very important for the German Empire to win over Russia. As long as Russia was willing to remain neutral in the event of a Franco-German conflict, Germany could avoid fighting on both sides and concentrate all its superior forces on the Western Front, seeking a short-term solution to France.

Prussia did this before the Franco-Prussian War, and the Germans were convinced that a stronger German Reich would be able to accomplish such a task more easily.

The negotiations went very well, but many of the Russian ministers believed that if Russia sided with Germany in a future war and assumed corresponding obligations, it would break the agreement of the Russo-French alliance.

Moreover, Russia's diplomacy should be based on the Russo-French alliance, and Russia, already deeply dependent on French capital, also needed a large amount of French loans.

The Russian side was also divided into two factions, one of which supported the continuation of the Russo-French alliance, the maintenance of good relations with France, and the pursuit of a certain reconciliation with Britain and the conclusion of a further trilateral treaty between Britain, France, and Russia.

On the other hand, France is now clearly more dependent on the Entente with Great Britain, and its support for Russia is concentrated in Europe.

However, Russia's Far East policy is still one of the most important policies, and Russia still needs to maintain its hegemony in the Far East and other regions and defend its hard-won ice-free ports.

But adherence to the Far East policy would lead to competition with Britain and discontent from France.

Rather than a larger conflict with Britain in the future, forcing France to choose between Russia and Britain (in fact, the Russians on this faction thought that France would choose England), it was better to abandon or weaken cooperation with France in advance in exchange for German support for Russia.

Nicholas II did not know how to choose for a while, but the proposal of an official made Nicholas II's eyes shine.

Didn't Germany claim that it would support Germany in a future conflict with loans and weapons, as well as substantial support from Australia for the Russian Far East?

So why not ask Australia's opinion?

With the development of Australia's arms industry in the Russo-Japanese War, Australia's position in the Far East is also relatively special.

First of all, Australia's industry has developed, and the industrial side has reached a certain scale.

In particular, in terms of the military industry, because of the integration of British and German weapons systems, Australia's military industry is also extremely developed.

In addition, Australia has abundant mineral resources and a large number of labor, and compared to other powers, Australia is very close to the Far East, and supplies can be reached in a week.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian army relied on a large amount of weapons and equipment from Australia, which barely balanced the defense with the army of the island nation.

Although Russia understands that Australia's weapons are also exported to island countries, this is the norm in the international community without any diplomatic relations.

Upon receiving Nicholas II's request, Wilhelm II raised an eyebrow, but quickly agreed to Nicholas II's request.

Chapter 2, Ask for Support!

(End of chapter)