Chapter 647

The end of the Russian-Austrian alliance was like a thunderclap on the ground, instantly causing a sensation in the world.

The Pacific War, the dispute over the free trade system, Queen Victoria's Secret History, these popular news have been suppressed.

Anyone with a little political savvy knows that the international situation is about to start to shuffle again.

Without the Russian-Austrian alliance, the last obstacle that restricts the Federation of Pubo and Poland no longer exists. The Berlin government could not wait for the Russians to be ready to go to war.

In recent years, both Prussia and Russia have been preparing for war, and the military industry and transportation of the two countries have achieved leapfrog development.

Because of the Russian-Austrian alliance, the Russians and Austria have carried out in-depth cooperation in the field of military industry. In order to maximize cost savings, the bureaucracy of the tsarist government directly copied the Austrian military-industrial system.

In the long run, this kind of complete copying has ruined the independent research and development capabilities of Russia's military industry, and the consequences will definitely be catastrophic.

But in a short period of time, it has greatly enhanced the strength of Russia's military industry and has directly reached the top level in the world.

What is the development of the military industry?

There are many comprehensive factors that need to be considered, but it can be summed up in two words - throwing money!

The tsarist government was self-aware, knowing that its own research and development capabilities were not good, and that it did not have enough funds in its pockets, so it simply cooperated with Austria.

The Commonwealth of Prussia is different. From the very beginning, the Kingdom of Prussia has taken the road of self-help research and development. Limited by funding, Prussia's domestic military industry has actually fallen behind.

The British couldn't help them in this regard, and John Bull's army equipment was mediocre. It's not that their technology is not good. The main reason is that the number of British Army is too small and the purchase order for equipment is too small. Naturally, military enterprises are not willing to spend a lot of money on research and development.

This situation continued until the Pude territory deal. With the change of ownership of the Rhineland, the obstacles between the French and the French no longer exist, and it is natural for the Berlin government to move closer to the French.

In recent years, there have been more and more military technology transactions between the two countries.

Of course, Prussia and France are not allies, and the French have no need to take care of the Commonwealth. The cooperation between the two countries in the military industry is not as deep as that of Russia and Austria.

The cooperation between the two parties is limited to technical exchanges, and it is impossible to go further. At least until there is no unified industrial standard between the two countries, it is impossible to achieve a perfect connection.

In theory, the Russian and Austrian industrial standards are unified, and the tsarist government directly replicates the Austrian military industry, which should have an advantage in the arms race.

It is a pity that the industrial base of the Russians is too poor, and there is a lack of good enough industrial workers. With the same production equipment, the products produced by the Russians always have a higher defective rate.

The gap in this regard has brought the Prussian and Russian military industries to the same level. Even if there is a gap, it is limited to individual weapons and equipment, and there is no age gap.

Compared with the military industry, the changes in transportation are more obvious.

Only a few short years after the establishment of the Commonwealth of Poles, the Berlin government has started construction of 10,000 kilometers of railways in Poland, one third of which has now been opened to traffic, and the remaining sections will be completed in two or three years.

Not only Poland is building railways, but other areas in Prussia are not idle. For example, Lithuania has planned two main lines, plus subsidiary branches, with a total length of up to 4,000 kilometers.

Up to now, the total railway mileage of the Pubo Federal Railway has reached 26,000 kilometers. Once the plan of the Berlin government is completed, the total mileage of the Pubo Federal Railway will exceed 37,000 kilometers.

This figure can make the total mileage of the Federal Railways of Pubo surpass that of France and become the third largest railway country in Europe after Russia and Austria.

The Commonwealth of Pubo was working hard to build roads, and Alexander II, who saw the importance of transportation, was not idle.

In just ten years, the Tsarist government has successively started construction of 34,000 kilometers of railways, of which 26,000 kilometers have been opened to traffic. In addition to the previous railways, the total mileage of railways in operation in the Russian Empire has approached 30,000 kilometers.

From a purely numerical point of view, the Russian Empire clearly surpassed the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth, but in reality the situation is quite the opposite.

The territory of the Russian Empire is more than 20 times that of the Commonwealth of Poland, but the difference in the total railway mileage between the two countries is less than 15%. The gap in transportation between the two countries can be imagined.

Now that both sides are rushing for time, there is no doubt that the Popo Federation will have the upper hand. Restricted by geographical conditions, the Russians were destined to be at a disadvantage in railway construction.

Don't look at the total railway mileage of the Russian Empire seems to be more, but the capacity is still not as good as the Commonwealth of Poland. This is determined by the climate, as long as winter comes, the Russian railways cannot guarantee full load.

In terms of transportation, the Russians need to build at least 150,000 kilometers of railways to reach the current level of the Commonwealth. This is only limited to connecting some major cities in Russia in Europe. Considering Asia, doubling it may not be enough.

Obviously, this is not possible. The Berlin government would not have left so much time for the Russians. If the Tsarist government had solved the traffic problem, unless they were able to hang up, the war would not have been fought at all.

The whole world is paying attention to the news of the dissolution of the Russian-Austrian alliance. In addition to the political impact of this alliance, the most important thing is that the dissolution of the alliance is equivalent to announcing that the Prussian-Russian war has entered a countdown.

The people who eat melons can't help but come out to give pointers, not to mention the tsarist government as the protagonist. As soon as the bad news came, Alexander II smashed n cultural relics in anger.

"Damn Habsburg bastards, a bunch of perfidious traitors..."

Anger resounded in the Winter Palace. No wonder Alexander II was so angry, in order to maintain the Russian-Austrian alliance, they have

After making obvious concessions, goodwill was released to the Vienna government through various channels.

However, it was all in vain. Not to mention the renewal of the contract for another 30 years, even if the contract was extended to five years later, it was rejected by the Vienna government.

The reform of Alexander II has basically been completed, and now it is only time to transform the reform into national strength. It can be said that every day is crucial to the Russian Empire.

The Russian-Austrian Alliance bought time for Austria to develop peacefully. Now it is time to buy time for the Russian Empire. Austria suddenly announced that it would not play. How could Alexander II feel bad?

It doesn't need much, as long as it drags on for another five years, the Russian Empire will be able to have the strength to hang the Pubo Federation.

This is a gap in size, but also a gap in development potential. Both countries are developing rapidly now, but the ceiling of the Commonwealth has reached its ceiling, and the Russian Empire has just begun.

The angry tsar was terrifying, and none of the ministers wanted to touch this brow. Seeing that the situation was not right, Alexandrovich bravely persuaded:

"Father, now is not the time to be angry. Since the Russian-Austrian alliance no longer renews the contract, the obstacles that restrict the Pubo Federation from starting a war will no longer exist."

"Humph!" Alexander II exclaimed angrily. "What are you afraid of? Could it be that without Austria, the great Russian Empire cannot defeat the enemy?"

Aleksandrovich: "Of course not, but the situation is very serious. We have made major concessions, the Vienna government still refuses to make concessions, and there must be unknown transactions behind this.

We can boldly guess that there is insider trading between Puo and Ao. The Berlin government has limited leverage, and the only thing that can impress the Vienna government is…”

After speaking in one breath, Alexandrovich almost believed it himself. Of course, in essence, this is just a step, and everyone still won't believe that Prussia and Austria will hook up.

Politicians control their emotions, which is only the most basic operation. Alexander II was quite angry, but not to the point where he couldn't control himself. His anger was just to cover up his wrong foreign policy after he came to power.

No way, who let him kiss Pu in the first place? With Peter III, the scumbag predecessor, the tolerance of such things in Russia has dropped by several grades.

Even though Alexander II made the right choice and decisively changed his political stance, his early pro-Pussius foreign policy was still questioned from within.

Now that the Russian-Austrian alliance has ended, there must be a group of people in the country who put the blame on him. The nobles whose interests were damaged in the reform have always been looking for opportunities to attack, and Alexander II must put an end to this possibility.

This is also the reason why Alexandrovich pinned the responsibility for the termination of the Russian-Austrian alliance on the collusion between Phu and Austria.

The hearts of the Russians are still there. In any case, the Russian Empire cannot tolerate Austria's unification of Central Europe, which means that their European hegemony will end.

If the tsarist government could not make concessions on the issue of German unification, then the breakdown of the Russian-Austrian alliance would make sense. It is nothing more than saying that the Berlin government has a lower bottom line and can compromise on this issue.

It doesn't matter if it's true or not, as long as it's politically said in the past.

After a moment of silence, Alexander II seemed to be adjusting his emotions: "Alas!"

"Forget it, this is the end, let's discuss how to deal with it!"

The collapse of the Russian-Austrian alliance was also anticipated by the tsarist government. Since joining the tsarist government and opting to join the pound-gold system, the two countries are separated.

Minister of the Army Heramed: "Your Majesty, without the Russian-Austrian alliance, the initiative in war is no longer ours alone.

Judging from the current situation, the railway plan of the Pubo Federation can be completed within three years at most and two years at the fastest, while our railway plan will take at least five years.

In terms of time, we no longer have the advantage. The enemy will not give us that much time, and now there are only two paths before us.

Either start the war in advance while everyone is not ready; or do the defensive work and wait for the Popo Federation to be ready to attack us. "

"Five years" is only a theoretical figure. In fact, everyone knows that the transportation of the Russian Empire cannot be solved in five years, and at most it will connect major cities.

Of course, it's enough if you can do this. Almost catching up with the traffic in the European part of the Russian Empire before the First World War.

It's a little bit worse, but it can support millions of troops to fight on the front line. This number is enough to fight the Popo Federation.

The population of the Russian Empire is 2.8 times that of the Commonwealth, and the casualty tolerance is much higher.

It's a pity they don't have that much time and now have to do multiple choice questions. This war is extraordinary. The tsarist government cannot afford to lose. Once defeated, it means that the Russian Empire will not be able to turn over for decades.

Everyone's breathing suddenly became heavier. Obviously, this multiple-choice question is not easy to do.

Minister of the Interior Mikhail: "We can't wait for the enemy to complete the plan. Now the enemy is busy building roads, and a lot of money has been occupied, and the financial resources that can be invested in the war are limited.

Once the enemy is allowed to complete the plan, the situation will be different, then they will be able to concentrate all their financial resources into the war.

Today is different from the past. The international situation has undergone earth-shaking changes. We are no longer enough to make Britain and France fearful. The British will not support the Commonwealth as much as they did in the last war.

As far as I know, the financial situation of the Commonwealth of Pope is also very bad. If it hadn't sold the Rhineland area before, they would have been broken long ago.

gave birth.

As soon as war broke out, the Berlin government would soon be in financial trouble. It is not easy for a government with limited repayment ability to face a war in which the outcome is uncertain. It is not easy to obtain financing from the outside world. "

War is all about money. After the war in the Near East and the last Russian-Prussian War, the Tsarist government has sobered up and no longer believes that the second Russian-Prussian War can be ended in a short time.

Once the war continues, the two sides fight is financial resources. As for the army, the tsarist government has no shortage of soldiers. As long as there is money, there will be soldiers.

The finances of the Commonwealth of Popo and Po are not good, mainly because of the financial problems of the Polish government. Prussia emerged from a financial crisis after the land sale.

Everyone can see that the Polish region may become a battlefield at any time, and naturally no capitalists are willing to invest in railways there.

The railways built by the Pubo Federation are basically funded by the government. This is obviously not enough to rely on the government's annual tax revenue, and borrowing is inevitable.

In comparison, the Russian Empire is better. The territory is large enough that even if a war breaks out, it is on the border, and there are still people who dare to invest in the railways in the heartland.

For example: the railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow is a project invested by the Austrian Railway Company.

This is normal, even those who are more optimistic about the Pope Federation do not think they can reach Moscow all the way. William I was not Napoleon, and his combat effectiveness was not so perverted.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Coxar shook his head: "Your Excellency, don't forget that our finances are not much better.

Although preparations have been made in advance, in a short period of time, the Ministry of Finance still cannot come up with enough war funds. "

War is a beast that swallows gold, and it is normal for a war to destroy financial revenue for several years, or even more than ten years. Arguably a large-scale war is the biggest financial disaster.

Unfortunately for such a catastrophe, the Russian Empire has experienced it twice in just three decades and is now on the verge of a third.

The Russian Empire is indeed a great family, but no matter how solid the family is, it can't stand such a toss.

Fiscal revenue is obviously not enough. No matter how draconian they are, it is impossible for the government to rely on taxation to raise funds for the war.

The best source of war funding is financing in the financial market. It is a pity that the tsarist government does not have enough credibility, and if you want to raise funds in the international market, part-time work is a dream.

Mikhail, the Minister of the Interior, was unmoved: "If you don't have money, you will raise it. If you can't raise enough money at home, you will go abroad to find it.

London, Paris, Vienna, any financial market has the ability to provide us with sufficient funds. As long as the benefits given are large enough, are you afraid that you won't be able to borrow money?

There is no need to consider the cost, this war is not something we don't want to fight, and it can be avoided.

No matter how great the price paid now, it will not be as great as the loss caused by the failure of the war. "