Chapter 1062 Opening of the Central Asian Railway
It has always been Britain's national policy to provoke Russia-Austria relations. Although no substantial effect has been achieved, the British government is still sparing no effort to promote it.
In terms of patience, it is estimated that there are few in the world who can compare with the British.
At this moment of unseen changes in two thousand years, the entire human society has become impetuous. Those who can stick to a foreign policy for decades are absolutely rare.
With the development of science and technology, people's patience is also declining, and politics is no exception.
In this era of increasing emphasis on short-term interests, it is definitely not an easy task to stick to a national policy for a long time.
From this point of view, it is definitely not a fluke that the British can become the overlord of the 19th century.
As a trendsetter of the times, Britain has always pursued pragmatism. In their view, it doesn't matter whether it is a conspiracy or a conspiracy, as long as it has an effect.
Although Leandro's method was not popular, it still caused Molos' dissatisfaction with the Vienna government. Although this kind of dissatisfaction will not affect the international situation for the time being, emotions can be accumulated.
There are always very few people who can restrain their emotions and remain rational all the time, and Minister Moros is obviously not one of them.
Molos, full of discontent, naturally had nothing good to say in his telegram to St. Petersburg.
There is no need to add oil and vinegar. The title of "Second Roman Empire" is enough to make Nicholas II go crazy.
The obsession of the European world with Rome in these years far exceeds the imagination of later generations. Almost every European country is trying to find a way to get involved with Rome, as if it can make them more noble.
For Nicholas II, Rome was even more important. You must know that the tsar's crown came from the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Roman issue has already involved the legitimacy of the tsar's throne.
If the Holy Roman Empire, the successor of Western Rome, became the direct heir of the Roman Empire, then the Russian Empire, the successor of Eastern Rome, would be embarrassed.
When it comes to the crown issue, Nicholas II will naturally not back down.
It's just that the European media are calling out the "Second Roman Empire" now, and the Vienna government has never made a clear statement on this issue from the beginning to the end.
This is embarrassing. You can't go to Vienna to protest because the European media are shouting slogans, let them change the "Second Roman Empire" to "Second Western Roman Empire", right?
If he really did this, the whole world would probably laugh at him. Not only did it fail to solve the problem, but it exposed my guilty conscience.
After a while of depression, in the end Nicholas II did nothing. However, the determination to get rid of Shinra has become stronger.
In the world of adults, once a rift is created, it will become bigger and bigger, and it is almost impossible to bridge it.
The gap between Russia and Austria is not an overnight problem. It was created as early as the time of Alexander II, and now it is nothing more than further expansion.
The only difference is that today is different from the past. The Vienna government's demand for alliances has been declining, and the motivation to bridge the gap between the two countries is getting smaller and smaller.
...
Accompanied by the sound of a resonant salute, the main line of the Central Asian Railway, which had a profound impact on Eurasian politics, was finally opened to traffic on June 16, 1899.
Anyone with a little bit of international common sense is aware of the influence brought by the opening of this railway from Moscow in the west to Afghanistan in the south.
The eyes of the world are once again on London and St. Petersburg. Compared with the strategic conflict between Britain and Russia, the small gap between Russia and Austria is not a big deal at all.
After personally attending the opening ceremony, Nicholas II quickly turned from excitement to worry.
With the opening of the main railway line, anti-British sentiment within the Russian Empire suddenly rose, and "going south to India" once again became a hot topic in society.
Compared with the fanaticism of the people, the high level of the tsarist government is now extremely calm.
Ordinary people only see the wealth of going south to India, and ignore the risks involved. As long as they are guided a little, they can easily lose themselves.
As a high-level government, they must fully consider the risks and benefits of going south to India, and conduct a comprehensive and comprehensive assessment.
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Prime Minister Sergei Witte: "The opening of the main line of the Central Asian Railway is a good thing, which will help us strengthen our control over the Central Asian region. However, there is a problem with the sudden rise of war fanaticism in the country.
The strength of the British is not weak, and it's not like our British army has never fought against each other. Except for a slightly smaller army, their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of the imperial army.
Britain has operated in the Indian region for hundreds of years. We have planned Indian independence movements many times but ended in failure, which also confirmed the deep-rooted British rule in the area from the side.
As long as the British are willing, they can easily arm millions of Indians from the local area to fight us. We have already experienced it in the last war against Britain.
Although the combat effectiveness of these colonial troops is not strong, they cannot hold back the large number of Indians. It's like maggots in a cesspit, they can't be killed at all.
Once the southward strategy is launched, it is destined to be a protracted war. The empire's financial resources are limited, and it is simply impossible to support long-term combat.
Considering the current international situation, it is easy for people to benefit from launching the southward strategy now.
If you can capture India, that's all, the empire is not too busy. I am afraid that the British will be forced to compromise directly with the Holy Roman Empire and choose to fight us to the end. "
Sergey Witte's worries are not superfluous, India is the lifeblood of the British. The hegemony of the British world is essentially based on the premise of owning India.
Without India, the national power of the British Empire will shrink by at least 40%, and its importance is second only to the mainland. If it is really urgent, the London government may really give up its hegemony to defend India.
Just look at the colonial habits of the Vienna government. They obviously prefer sparsely populated colonies, and India with a large population is not their dish at all.
As long as the Vienna government does not seek the Indian region and the British are willing to give up world hegemony, there is a possibility of compromise between the two countries.
If Britain and Austria compromised, the Russian Empire would be a tragedy. Not only did he make a wedding dress for others, but he also sent himself into a dangerous situation.
The Russia-Austria alliance can only guarantee the stability of the Western Front, which does not mean that the Vienna government will definitely support them. In the past years, Russia and Austria have pitted each other all the way.
Foreign Minister Mikhailovich: "The Prime Minister is right. The current international situation is indeed not suitable for launching the southward strategy.
Although the main line of the Central Asia Railway has been opened to traffic, the construction of branch railways has just begun. The Austrian aid program for us has ended, and we need to do the rest of the follow-up projects ourselves.
With only one main line, it is simply impossible to support the logistics of the army going south. Taking action rashly will only be futile and waste precious national power.
The trouble now is that the British don't trust us at all. Since the news of the opening of the Central Asian Railway spread, the British government has repeatedly sent more troops to Afghanistan.
At present, the number of British troops stationed in the border area has exceeded 500,000. Although most of these troops are colonial troops, the pressure on our front line is still not small.
If the British take the lead in provoking war while we are building the railway branch, the empire will be very passive. "
Mistrust is inevitable. Countless experiences have told the world that as a neighbor of Mao Xiong, if he does not maintain a high degree of vigilance at all times, he will suffer a big loss sooner or later.
The conflict between Britain and Russia has not been a day or two. Since the first Near East War (Crimean War), the relationship between the two countries has never been better.
...
The southward strategy was opposed by the civilian group, and Yevgeny, as the Minister of War, looked very ugly.
In his opinion, going south to India does have risks, but the risks are definitely not as serious as everyone says.
If the "British-Austrian Compromise" was really that simple, there wouldn't be so many disputes in this world. Nothing can be simple once interests are involved.
World hegemony is not just a title, but also comes with a lot of benefits. Whether it is the financial harvest or the convenience of foreign trade, it is enough to make people flock to it.
Such a huge benefit is simply not something a politician can give up just by giving up. Otherwise, there would be no battle for supremacy in this world.
You know what you know, but Yevgeny doesn't know where to start to refute. After all, talking has always been the strength of civil servants.
After hesitating again and again, Yevgeny, who had organized his words, said slowly: "Everyone, the risk of going south to India is not small, but the benefits are even greater.
The competition in today's world is becoming increasingly fierce, and the struggle among major powers is even more intense. Over the past few decades, several great powers have declined in competition.
If we look through the history books, we will find that the current situation is different from any time in the past. If we continue to look at problems with the old ideas, we will suffer a lot.
At present, the countries in the world that can be called great powers are Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, and us, a total of three.
The number of powerful countries is decreasing, which means that the era of multipolar coexistence is dying. If the empire does not want to be the next great power to decline, then strengthening becomes our only option.
But now we are vacillating, sometimes going west and sometimes east, constantly dispersing our national power, without even a clear strategic goal, if we continue like this, we will suffer a lot. "
Yevgeny didn't even bother to cover up the blatant accusation. It can be seen that he is quite dissatisfied with the strategy of the tsarist government in recent years.
"Westwards" naturally refers to the garrison in France. In the eyes of the outside world, the tsarist government stationed troops in France mainly to extort war reparations.
However, this is only superficial. The tsarist government scrambled to garrison Paris, in addition to seeking benefits, but also had a deeper purpose-"to preserve the vitality of the French and leave an enemy for the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe."
It's just that the plan didn't change quickly, because it misestimated the execution capabilities of the Russian army and ignored the military discipline of Russian officers and soldiers.
Because of an unexpected conflict, the tsarist government, which originally wanted to preserve the vitality of the French, became the vanguard of suppressing France.
Either don't do it, or do it absolutely. On this issue, the tsarist government saw it very clearly.
Seeing the failure of supporting the French, for its own benefit, the tsarist government quickly fell to Vienna and became the vanguard of suppressing France.
One sow, one harvest.
Although the plan to retain enemies for the Holy Roman Empire failed, the Tsarist government also reaped sufficient benefits in the process of suppressing the French resistance.
The top talent in France was plundered as early as the European War, but there are still many second-class ordinary talents.
The outside world only saw that the Russian army recruited strong men in France and acted recklessly, but ignored the doctors,
Engineers, skilled workers...
If it weren't for the Russian army fighting hard on the front line and making a posture of being incompatible with the French, it would be impossible to search for talents from France.
After a war, there are free labors to build railways, and basic talents to promote the country's industrialization process.
The most important thing is the military expenditure, which was paid in advance by the Vienna government. In a war to suppress France, the tsarist government actually just paid for it.
From this perspective, the "Westward" strategy is undoubtedly a success. In addition to the ugly face, the Russian Empire is actually a blood profit.
If these talents can be utilized, relying on this wave of French blood, the industrialization process of the Russian Empire can be accelerated by at least ten years.
In contrast, the "East Advance" strategy will be unsatisfactory. The Trans-Siberian Railway is under construction, and it is still far away from opening to traffic.
In any country, talents are only a handful. The blood of the French is not unlimited. Judging from the current situation, the "Westward" strategy is coming to an end soon.
The meaning Yevgeny wants to express is very obvious. There is no way to continue to count on the western front, and the eastward strategy is limited by the traffic. The best choice is to go south in the short term.
As for staying put, wait for the Siberia Railway to open to traffic before implementing the eastward plan. Just think about it, not every country has such good patience.
Even if the top leaders of the tsarist government could wait, the people below couldn't wait. There is no way, India is too rich, and wealth has lost the eyes of many Russians.
After picking up the topic, everyone's mood suddenly became heavy. Although the Russian Empire has no tradition of subduing the superiors, it still happens from time to time that the people below make their own decisions.
How bad the relationship between Britain and Russia is, no one knows better than everyone present. Especially at the time when the Central Asian Railway was opened to traffic, a spark on the border could trigger a war.
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Nicholas II: "In any case, the Central Asian Railway is currently only open to traffic on the main line. Many areas along the route still require a lot of manpower to transfer materials.
If the war breaks out before the construction of the feeder railway is completed, we simply will not be able to guarantee the logistics of the frontline troops. The empire has suffered a lot from similar losses, and it must not repeat the same mistakes now.
To avoid the worst, the Empire should do everything in its power to avoid conflict with the British. The military must be optimistic about the troops on the front line, the empire can't stand the toss now. "
There was no way to solve the problem, Nicholas II decisively adopted the word "drag". On the grounds that the construction of the feeder railway will take time, first stabilize the main combat faction of the military.
As for when the construction of the feeder railway will be completed, it depends on how the situation develops.