Holy Roman Empire

St. Petersburg, after receiving the news from the Far East, Nicholas II went straight to the edge of violence.

The cause and consequences of the matter is no longer important, anyway, the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese Far East conflict, in the eyes of Nicholas II, is the Japanese in the provocation.

Old scores have not yet been settled with the Japanese government, and now the Japanese dare to provoke again, which naturally cannot be tolerated.

If it were not for the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway is not open, logistical pressures constrained military operations, Nicholas II would not want to destroy Japan now.

Of course, this is just a thought. The international situation was so complex that only a fool would have rushed to war.

The Tsarist government was prepared to move eastward, but when and against what background, it would have to be carefully considered.

"Take a moat and grow wise."

In recent decades, the Russian Empire has not been less war losses, losses suffered more, the Tsarist government has also been sublimated.

At one time, it seemed that the strategic goals were erratic, but in fact it was a kind of political wisdom.

Against the background of Britain and Shinra's struggle for supremacy, the Russian Empire, as the world's third most powerful country, did not have the joy of being a fisher of men, but only a deep fear.

The Russian Empire was too weak to fight for world hegemony, and too powerful to fish in troubled waters and make a profit.

Despite the good relations between Russia and Austria, there was still a great deal of suspicion and mistrust between the two governments. The Viennese government was uneasy about Russia, not to mention the British.

In a sense, the better the current Russian Empire did, the more likely it was to attract the scorn of the two hegemons.

Nicholas II, though a bit more indecisive, was definitely not a fool. Alexander III's old retainers were still around, and the Tsarist government had not yet slipped into the abyss.

It would indeed be profitable in the short term to get involved in the struggle for supremacy between Shinra and Britain. Once the two countries were separated, it was the Russian Empire's turn to suffer.

With the size of the Russian Empire, whoever is the boss will be deeply unscrupulous, and suppression is an inevitable operation.

Not to take sides is even worse. The strength of the Russian Empire has been able to influence the outcome of this hegemonic struggle to a certain extent. Neither Vienna nor London could tolerate such an unstable factor.

Such a situation was naturally not what the Tsarist government wanted. The best outcome, of course, would have been a win-win situation for both Britain and Shinra, and the rise of the Russian Empire.

Obviously, this was not possible. Both Shinra and Britain have their own advantages, and it is almost impossible to expect both countries to end up together in a confrontation.

From the Tsarist government's standpoint, the only option was to settle for the second best option, to get as much as possible before the outbreak of the war for supremacy, and to grow their own strength.

Whether it is going south to India or going east to East Asia, either strategy would be complete and Russia would be on top of the world once again.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to achieve either of these two strategies. The Tsarist government has already tried, and failed, to do so.

More than a decade ago, in the Anglo-Russian War, the Tsarist government tried out the strength of Britain. With a core of lobster soldiers + a steady stream of Indian cannon fodder, even the gray animals had to be numbed.

Of course, this was not a reason for the Tsarist government to abandon India. Although the enemy had a large number of troops, they were not very effective, and such soft persimmons were always the favorite of the military.

What really made the Tsarist government scare was the British Empire's great power, and as long as the London government didn't give up, it could keep on fighting them.

In any case, the British colony is not much else, but a large population, even if it is five for one, ten for one, the British government will die.

With a population base of five hundred million, the British had the greatest strength. The Russian Empire was the first to suffer.

Even with the support of the Shinra is useless, in the face of national interests, allies are all unreliable, no one can guarantee that the Vienna government will not stab them at a critical moment.

The southward strategy was blocked, and the eastward strategy was not easy either. The enemy's strength wasn't great, but the traffic was too bad.

As early as a few years ago, during the multinational siege of the Far Eastern Empire, the Tsarist government felt the pressure of logistics. The logistics for just a few tens of thousands of troops could not be supplied domestically and had to be procured from Japan.

Once the Eastward Expansion Plan is officially implemented, it will not be a matter of tens of thousands of troops. Without millions of troops, it would be a pipe dream to implement the "Yellow Russian Plan".

The logistics for tens of thousands of troops can be purchased nearby, but for millions of troops, no one would dare to resort to manpower.

Even if the Tsarist government had been willing to buy, the Japanese would not have been able to sell. After all, once the Russians' eastward strategy was implemented, the Russian Empire would have to confront Japan.

As long as the Tsarist government wanted to move eastward, the only two independent countries in the Far East were on the opposite side of the Russian Empire.

The many enemies were not to be feared, and the Tsarist government was not to be intimidated. The crux of the problem was still the logistical pressure.

Not to mention the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway was not yet operational, even if it was. To expect a single-line railroad to solve the logistical problems of a million troops was a fantasy.

If it is not possible to put it in place all at once, then we will have to turn to gradual encroachment. Unfortunately, the Tsarist government had only just taken a step forward when it was sniped at by the Japanese.

What's more troublesome is that the Russian Empire's power in the Far East, at the moment can't do anything about the Japanese, and may even be threatened by Japan.

Neither side is a big fat meat, but for a while they can not get off the mouth, the greedy tsarist government naturally does not want to give up either side.

The Russians themselves did not think so, but the term "flexible diplomacy" could be used to describe their strategy.

They were waiting for the international situation to change dramatically so that the Russian empire could take the opportunity to move south or east, or even launch both strategies together.

The moment that the Tsarist government waited for was, of course, the war of hegemony between Britain and Shinra. As long as the two big bosses fought, the Russian Empire would be able to fly away.

Obviously, Nicholas II, as a proud son of God, was not the master of patience. The Russian Empire had suffered in the previous conflict, and he couldn't stand it first.

Prime Minister Sergei Vetter: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The Japanese will settle their accounts sooner or later, and there is no need to fight with a country that is doomed to perish.

On the face of it, we are the ones who have suffered. But if you think about it from another angle, bad things can also turn out to be good.

The Vienna government has always opposed our move eastward, and the recent expansion of the empire in the east has created a rift between the two countries.

This opportunity is the best time to repair it. We can use this opportunity to send a signal to the outside world that our eastward strategy has been thwarted.

If necessary, we could also confuse the outside world by acting as if we were abandoning the Far East, which would provide cover for our eastward strategy.

The conflict between the Far East and the Japanese need not be dealt with hastily for the time being, and it will not be too late to consider how to deal with it after the Trans-Siberian Railway is in operation."

Faces were never as important as the lining, and the Russian Empire was also a master of flexibilities. For the sake of the national interest, Sergei Vetter did not mind admitting defeat first.

As for the destruction of Japan, that was not something to be taken lightly. Shortly after Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, the Russian government drew up a comprehensive plan for the destruction of Japan.

Of course, a plan is always a plan. Any country has a large number of reliable and unreliable strategic plans.

In a sense, the strategic plans of the think tanks of various countries are a big competition of brains. It's not about feasibility, it's about who is the most imaginative.

Not to say that all of them can be realized, but any country that can realize one tenth of them can become the captain of the Earth.

Compared to the crazy plans of conquering the world and landing on the sun, the destruction of Japan is not worth mentioning. Among all the strategic plans of the Russian Empire, this is definitely the most feasible.

Having listened to the Prime Minister's advice, Nicholas II was in a much better mood. After all, he was also a dignified and magnanimous monarch who could not afford to be bothered with a "dead country".

"Well!"

"Then let them get away with it for a few more days, and settle new and old scores with them later."

I could see that the breath in Nicholas II's heart was still there. He expected that when the time was ripe, he would go to seek the bad luck of the Japanese.

But it didn't matter, the people present also had no affection for the Japanese. At the moment did not attack, that is their own strength does not allow.

When the conditions are right, we won't mind showing the Japanese what the "roar of the fur bear" is all about. When it comes to holding a grudge, the Russians are definitely among the best in the world.

Foreign Minister Mikhailovich: "Your Majesty, the real reason why the Americans helped us build the Trans-Siberian Railway has been found out.

According to the information we have gathered from all sides, after in-depth analysis, we can confirm that the British were behind it.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that this was a deliberate attempt by the British to draw us eastward in order to reduce military pressure in the Indian region.

This also explains why the Americans insisted that the Trans-Siberian Railway be rested on a single line, not a double line."

The efficiency of the Tsarist government was a bit low, but the level of competence at the top of the government was definitely not low.

The Trans-Siberian Railway had been in operation for several years, and the Tsarist government did not give up trying to trace the real purpose of the Americans.

The persistence proved to be effective. No matter how secretive the British and American governments were, they both left traces when they made the deal.

For a short time, the Russians didn't find anything wrong, but over time, when everyone came to their senses, they would find something unusual.

It was not a case of investigating, and no concrete evidence was needed. As long as it was proven that the British had both motive and the ability to plan in secret, it was the British government that did it.

In the face of national interest, friendship is really not worth mentioning.

But it doesn't matter, let's just use each other. We are going to build the Trans-Siberian Railway anyway, and with the help of the Americans, we have saved some expenses.

As for the subsequent expenses, we don't have to pay them, and I believe the British have already paid the bill for us."

It was an understatement, but it was clear from the nervous look that Nicholas II's heart was not at peace.

The fact that the British were responsible meant that the next move east would have to be carefully considered.

Nicholas II did not think that the purpose of the British was so simple and costly as to lure the Russian Empire eastward.

Although the Trans-Siberian Railway was a single line railroad with very limited capacity, there was no rule that a single line could not be converted to a double line.

Adding a railroad line to the existing one would have been much less difficult, and at least transportation would no longer be a problem.

Once the reconstruction of the railroad was completed, the transportation problems that had constrained the expansion of the Russian Empire eastward would be solved.

The Mao Xiong, who can devote all of his country's resources to this project, cannot be stopped by the two independent countries of the Far East unless they join forces.

Obviously, this was not possible. From the moment a cannon went off in the Sino-Japanese War, the relationship between the two countries was unlikely to be good.

As long as the Czarist government exercised a modicum of foreign policy and expanded rhythmically, there would be no problem.

The fact that Britain was able to hold off the Russians in India, where they had been operating for hundreds of years, did not mean that they would be able to snipe the Russians in the Far East.

On second thought, Nicholas II felt that there was a problem, and that the British would never be able to sincerely help them complete the "Yellow Russian Plan".

To know the British-Russian conflict is a long history, stabbing each other is a routine operation, help each other to grow strength that is in the capital enemy.

What the problem was, Nicholas II did not know. In short, the Tsarist government was suddenly cautious in the face of the Far East problem.

......

Naturally, the Japanese government knew nothing about the changes that took place in St. Petersburg. It was not that the intelligence organizations were not working hard, but the difference in their innate appearance was too great for them to penetrate.

The Japanese government's intelligence gathering on the Russian Empire was limited to newspapers, radio broadcasts, and pub gossip.

The idea of bribing intelligence officers to go inside the Tsarist government to detect information is just a thought, but in reality, it is not operational at all.

It is not that the secrecy of the Tsarist government was high; on the contrary, the secrecy of the Tsarist government was among the lowest in the world, and could be described as a big sieve.

Japanese intelligence organizations have not been able to make a difference, and the fundamental reason is one word - poverty. With no money in their pockets, they could not operate.

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese conflict and the tension in the Far East, the entire Japanese government has been panicking.

The Russian Empire, known as the "European Road Roller," was the world's top power. Although it has not kept up with the times in recent decades, it is not something that the fledgling Japan can compare with.

The Philippine War is the best reference, in the bottom of the list of powers of Spain, are able to expedition in 10,000 miles away and they fight half a catty.

The more powerful Russian empire, not to mention that. In short, to take on the Russians, the top echelons of the Japanese government had no confidence.

This is not wimping out, people are just following their hearts.

Don't look at the popular propaganda that "the war between Japan and the West broke the myth of the invincibility of the white man," but in fact, if you know your own family, it was a blood loss.

The only thing that was gained was an opportunity for the Japanese Navy to develop rapidly.

Unfortunately, the opportunity was not a good one, as the Japanese government had to worry about how to afford the navy after the Sino-Japanese War due to the large number of warships.

The Japanese government's top brass had always been apprehensive about going to war with European countries, given the precedent of losing money.

If they won the war, they would have to worry about the European Union intervening and not getting the spoils they wanted; if they lost the war, they would return to the pre-Meiji Restoration era and perhaps become a colony.

Regardless of the outcome of the war, Japan was doomed to be the loser once the war began. If the war ended so tragically, why fight at all?

It is not yet the turn of military ****ism to be in charge, and the civilian political clique, led by Ito Hirobumi, is still firmly in control.

The Japanese government is generally a normal country, except for a little bit of a strong martial culture.

With the exception of the young, middle- and lower-ranking officers, whose morale was high and who swallowed all the vengeance and energy like a tiger, the top brass of the government had no interest in war at all, at least not for a short time.