Chapter 420

A change in Russian-Austrian relations soon triggered a chain reaction in politics, and the London government could finally sleep peacefully.

An alliance without contradictions is scary, but an alliance full of contradictions is nothing to worry about.

Now that the relationship between the two countries is cold, the Vienna government's support for the Russians will definitely be reduced, which is what the London government wants most.

All other issues can be postponed, but the Russian threat to India must be resolved immediately.

The great uprising in India a few years ago is still fresh in the memory of the British. It is because of the secret support of the Russians that the London government has paid hundreds of millions of pounds in military spending.

If you don't solve this hidden danger and come every three to five, who can stand it?

The most important thing in India is people, and there are also a lot of social conflicts. As long as someone stirs up the flames, it is common for a rebellion to break out.

The best way is to separate India from other countries. Small countries don't care. They have neither the courage nor the strength to do things. Big countries are different.

In particular, the three countries of Russia, France and Austria are the focus of the London government's strict defense. Now, neither France nor Austria has reached out to India, only the Russian family has expressed interest, and the London government will naturally cut off the idea of ​​​​the tsarist government.

Letting Central Asia become independent is the best choice, leaving such a buffer zone to keep the enemy out of the country. Even if there is a conflict between Britain and Russia, it is in Central Asia, and the London government in Central Asia is not distressed.

On the current four fronts, the central Asia region is the one with the most support from the London government, and sending mercenaries to battle in person is enough to illustrate the problem.

10 Downing Street, Foreign Secretary Raislinhui reported: "There were no surprises, the negotiations failed, the Russians were unwilling to make any concessions, and their final offer was a return to pre-war status.

This was unacceptable to our friends, the Prussians made territorial claims to the Lithuanian region, and at the same time they demanded the independence of Poland.

The Ottomans wanted to reclaim Constantinople, and they were said to be negotiating with Austria to redeem part of the Balkans.

The Vienna government did not directly refuse, but now it is just that the price has not been negotiated. If the Ottoman Empire takes back Constantinople, then the redemption of the Dardanelles is not a big problem, and Austria seems to have no interest in the Black Sea.

The representatives of the Eastern Empire hope to take back the Western Border and the Far East. At present, they are playing well in the Western Border area. It is said that the old general still carried a coffin to go out on the expedition.

Central Asia is a bit chaotic, and it is too difficult to coordinate several khanates to fight together, but their hatred of the Russians is still worthy of recognition.

Our friends have a firm will to fight, and the situation on the battlefield is generally favorable to us.

The relationship between Russia and Austria has changed not long ago, and it seems that Alexander II lost his temper as a child. Instigated by the capitalists, the tsarist government raised tariffs with Austria, and a cold war broke out between the two sides.

The Austrians tit for tat raised the prices of their export commodities, by about 50 percent, and some commodities went up by 100 percent.

If nothing else, Austria's support for the Russians will be further reduced in the following wars, and the Russians have no chance to retreat this time. "

These conditions are obviously not acceptable to the tsarist government. Otherwise, the Russian Empire will be smaller in an instant, especially in Constantinople, there is no room for negotiation.

The coldness of Russian-Austrian relations was originally managed by the London government. Any contradictions are accumulated bit by bit. Some people in the tsarist government felt that they were at a disadvantage by forming an alliance with Austria, and there were also such people in the Vienna government.

In this context, I encountered the British who were provoking discord, and the usual small contradictions were naturally magnified infinitely.

When Franz found out, there was nothing he could do but let the relationship between the two countries continue to deteriorate. The same was true for Alexander II, and even if he discovered this, he could not stop it.

In addition to benefits, everyone also needs face. The benefits brought by the Russian-Austrian alliance are no longer enough for them to suppress the contradictions.

The two powerful emperors were unwilling to make concessions, and things gradually became serious. Only when the sequelae broke out would the two sides re-emphasize the role of the alliance.

Obviously, the British would not give such an opportunity to stay. Continuing to alienate the Russian-Austrian alliance has become the most important relationship of the British Foreign Office.

Prime Minister John Russell smiled and said: "It seems that the means of peace have failed, so the next step is to test strength.

The Russians fighting alone are not so scary. As long as the war is delayed until next year, then the purse of the tsarist government will be in a hurry again, right? "

John Russell is in a very good mood. If possible, he doesn't mind awarding a medal to the Russian capitalists and bureaucrats, which is the highest level.

According to the plan, they originally thought that it should be the Austrians who caused the deterioration of Russian-Austrian relations. After all, now that the Russians are still at war on all sides, how can they ignore the relationship between the two countries?

It doesn't matter who gets it first, the end result is the same anyway. The current changes have directly raised the cost of war for the Russians.

War is a beast of gold, and money is really not spent. Don't look at the huge profits of the Tsarist government, but the bureaucracy is too greedy, and no amount of money will be squandered quickly.

This is the commonality of the old empires. Which of the UK, France, Russia, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal is not a corrupt empire?

It's just that the tsarist government is more powerful. The chaotic system provides a breeding ground for corruption, while Britain, France and Austria have a system that can curb corruption to a certain extent.

Even Franz has no way to completely solve the problem of corruption. He can only adopt the policy of slaughtering pigs from time to time. Every three or five years, there will be a major anti-corruption, killing chickens and monkeys to deter the bureaucracy.

The advantage of doing this is that the bureaucrats learn more smartly, know what money cannot be touched, and restrain themselves.

At this stage, it is already the ultimate that can be achieved in this era. It is impossible to eradicate corruption.

The final result is naturally that for the 10 yuan with constraints, seven or eight yuan are always spent; for the unconstrained 10 yuan, four or five yuan can finally be realized, which is not easy.

After thinking about it, Minister of Finance Agarwal replied: "Not so fast, the tsarist government is still trying to raise funds, and it is not completely sitting idle.

Of course, if the fire in their country is ignited, then the purse of the tsarist government will really be exhausted.

At that time, the tsarist government should declare bankruptcy, repay all its debts, and the Russian-Austrian alliance should almost collapse. "

The actual situation is even more serious. Because of the war, there is a large outflow of gold and silver from the Russian Empire every year, and this outflow rate has far exceeded the replenishment rate of mining.

The tsarist government reduced imports from Austria, and there was also a "money shortage" factor. After all, it was a cash transaction, and all they took out were hard currency.

A transaction, equivalent to silver, can range from a few million taels to tens of millions of taels. No matter how big a family business is, it can't afford such a waste of money.

This is also the reason for the sharp increase in loans between Russia and Austria. The tsarist government cannot get enough cash in the short term and can only use physical mortgages to pay for the goods.

This kind of mortgage must be established in the case of the stability of the Russian Empire. If there is a civil war, many collaterals will fall to nothing in an instant.

At present, the tsarist government holds a large amount of real estate, such as port terminals, mines, farms, forest farms, shops in cities, residences...

These are still good collateral and can generate a portion of the income every year. Once the civil war broke out, these things were worthless.

...

In Moscow, Matty Torsky was in no hurry to launch an uprising. There are so many international friends behind this uprising, and it is natural for experts to exchange experiences.

After specialized training, Matei Torsky evolved. In order to mobilize more people to support the revolution, he is launching workers' strikes and organizing farmers to resist taxes.

After the war, prices skyrocketed, but wages did not increase, and overtime hours were extended. Fortunately, everyone worked hard for a day, and the rewards they received even filled the stomach of the family, which has become a delusion.

Throughout 1866, 76 large and small strikes broke out in the Russian Empire. There is no doubt that these unorganized resistances were futile and all were suppressed.

It is also difficult for the peasants to accept the high war tax.

Although the actual war tax of the tsarist government was not high, the overcharge of three or five buckets was not something that Alexander II could prevent.

A young man whispered: "Sir, the Prussians are pressing again. They want us to find a way to cut off the Moscow railway and cut off the supplies of the tsarist army."

The Russians don't have many railways, and Moscow happens to have one. As long as this railway is cut off, it will be even more difficult for the grain of the Volga Valley and the industrial products produced in Moscow to enter and transport to the front line.

In fact, the strategic position of the Volga River is more important. As the mother river of Russia, it can connect Moscow and St. Petersburg by water. However, it freezes in winter and cannot function.

After pondering for a moment, Matty Torsky frowned and replied: "Reassure them, we will fulfill the agreement!"

Obviously, he did not want to cooperate with the Prussians, and Matei Torsky was not willing to sell out Russian interests, if not for nothing.

The geographical location of Moscow is very important. It is not only the second largest industrial base in the Russian Empire, but also the main road connecting the east and the west, and it is also one of the most important grain producing areas in the Russian Empire.

At present, the three major grain producing areas of the Russian Empire are Poland, the surrounding area of ​​Moscow (Volga River Basin), and Ukraine, and other areas have not yet been developed.

The Polish region can no longer be counted on. If chaos occurs in the surrounding areas of Moscow, there will be only one Ukraine left in the tsarist government.

Then the shortage of food will also become a major problem for the tsarist government, or an unsolved problem. Not only will the soldiers on the front line be hungry, but St. Petersburg will not last long.

The Prussians sent them to the Moscow region in order to cut off the Russian logistical supply and weaken the war potential of the tsarist government.

Without local supplements, it is expected to import from the outside world, not to mention whether the tsarist government's wallet can support it, the key is that their transportation capacity cannot meet the demand at all.

Matty Torsky did not want to be a puppet, he wanted to overthrow the Tsarist government and establish a free state.

After arriving in the Moscow region, he took the initiative to distance himself from the Prussians, on the grounds that he did not want to cede land because of confidentiality.

It's just that now he can't do without the support of the Prussians, let alone the support of the British behind him, so he has to show a look of gratitude.

In this era, the industry of the Russian Empire did not develop, the number of workers was not large, and it was not enough to overthrow the tsarist government.

To make up for the lack of strength, Matei Torsky set his sights on the peasants who were outnumbered. Alexander II liberated the serfs and won the support of everyone, which became the biggest problem of the uprising.

"Qingjun's side

"This is the slogan of the uprising sponsored by an international friend for free. The purpose is naturally to attract more people to participate in the uprising. After all, the Tsar's reputation among the people is quite good, and the people who directly rebelled did not agree.

This is contrary to Matty Torsky's ideals. European cultural tradition has determined that once this banner is used, even if the government is overthrown, the tsar will still be the tsar, and at best it will use the constitutional monarchy to restrain it.

Nicholas I recaptured Constantinople, leaving enough political legacy to Alexander II. He himself announced the abolition of serfdom and won the support of tens of millions of Russian peasants who had just been liberated.

Matty Torsky was very skeptical that even with the overthrow of the current government, Alexander II would still be in power.

Although the "Qing Jun's side" was good, he also placed himself under the tsar, and the names of monarchs and ministers were fixed, so he was naturally at a political disadvantage.

However, this slogan has won the support of many international friends. Needless to say, the reason is that everyone is a monarchy, and it is natural to support this system.

"Hey!"

Taking a deep sigh, Matty Torsky reluctantly chose to compromise. The forces of various parties within the revolutionary party have gathered, and they are no longer monolithic. As a leader, he can't make a single word.

The bourgeoisie who supported them just wanted to take control of power through the revolution, but they were not ready to overthrow the tsar.

Most of the revolutionary party also supports retaining the tsar. If there is no tsar, how can they counterattack and become aristocrats?

Don't expect everyone's ideological awareness to be high. Most revolutionaries rebelled because they were dissatisfied with reality, and did not have the lofty ideal of liberating human beings.

Matty Torsky could not go against the wishes of everyone, otherwise, changing the leader would be a matter of a meeting, and the quarrel would last three or five days at most.

On December 12, 1866, under the leadership of Matei Torsky, a coalition of many revolutionary parties in Russia launched the Double Twelve Uprising in Moscow.

The uprising army took "the side of the Qing emperor" as its political platform, calling on all Russian people to rise up and kill the corrupt ministers and return power to the tsar.