Chapter 705: The Czar’s Choice

  Chapter 689 – The Czar’s Choice

“People sit at home, but pots come from the sky.”

Similar things often happen in international politics and diplomacy, many times it is the political need to decide the “truth”.

Now, for example, because of the economic impact, the London government had to support the Berlin government, but their power alone was not enough, they had to pull in the French.

In this context, the black hand can only be “Austria”. The fact that the Government of Vienna also has a motive from the point of view of interest makes it even more difficult to clear the air.

It does not matter, in the issue of the Russo-Prussian War, Britain and Austria were on opposite sides of the issue, the debt is not more pressure on the body.

Franz didn’t matter, Alexander II had a headache. Once the British were out of the way, most of their diplomatic efforts were nullified.

There was no way around it, diplomacy really wasn’t their strong suit, just look at the international reputation of the Tsarist government and you’ll see how amateurish their diplomacy was.

To be able to achieve the current results, that is the opponent is also diplomatic white, both sides in the rookie pecking each other, barely equal.

Not to say that the two countries do not have excellent diplomats, really talk about the individual ability of grass-roots diplomats, even if there is a gap in the overall will not be too big, the root of the problem in the decision-making.

In international diplomacy, excellent diplomats are important, but also more important to look at the top of the decision makers, they are the real power to decide a country’s foreign affairs of the main.

Unfortunately, the decision-makers in Russia and China are not good at diplomacy, and it is useless for the officials below to try harder.

In the original space and time, the German Empire is a perfect example, Bismarck’s diplomacy was at its peak during the period of his rule, but after the change of government, it was a complete mess.

After the Battle of Smolensk, the outside world was generally optimistic about the Russians, and the Tsarist government also took the opportunity to strengthen its diplomatic offensive against the Nordic countries.

It’s hard to send charcoal in the snow, but easy to put icing on the cake. Many people in the Nordic Confederation were moved, especially the Danes, who were ready to avenge the Prussian-Danish War.

Strategically, as long as the Nordic Confederation stabs the Pupo Confederation now, this war will be over, and no matter what amazing schemes Mauch has, it will be useless.

Unfortunately, the Czarist government was too slow to act, and I don’t know whether it was because of interest, or for some other reason, the negotiations were slow to bear fruit.

With the intervention of the British, the Nordic federal government, which had been ready to put the icing on the cake, faltered again, and the alliance became a dream, and the Russians missed the best opportunity to win the war.

This was not the worst thing that happened to Alexander II, but the optimism at home after the victory in the Battle of Smolensk was even more troublesome.

A lot of people, who could not do anything and could not eat anything, became military experts and gave directions to the front.

“What to drive straight into Warsaw”, “surprise attack on Berlin” …… all kinds of strange tactics are endless, sounds very good, can easily win the war.

The mouth-breathing party doesn’t count for much, just think of it as listening to a story, and when you do something, just exclude what they say first. If the mouth-breathers had social influence, things would be very different.

Russia’s mouth-breathers happen to have social influence, and some of them have a lot of power in the government. When these guys “bleeped”, Alexander II had a headache, not to mention the pressure on the commanders at the front.

……

In July in St. Petersburg, there is no winter cold, no summer heat. The temperature is in the mid-teens, which is the most pleasant time of the year.

In this best time, and ushered in the exciting “Smolensk victory”, the whole of St. Petersburg is filled with the joy of victory.

Field Marshal Ivanov, as the person most responsible for commanding the battle, returned quietly from the front to attend the military conference.

In the face of the compliments of his colleagues, Ivanov just laughed it off. No one knew better than him how much water the battle of Smolensk contained.

The main force of the Prussian army still exists, it is too early to talk about “victory”. If it wasn’t politically necessary, Marshal Ivanov wouldn’t mind publicizing the truth and exposing the enemy’s evil intentions.

There were no ifs and buts in politics. The Tsar’s government needed a victory, and the “Smolensk Victory” had come at the right time, and the false had to be made true.

Comparatively speaking, this is not a forgery, but at most an artistic process. The prisoners were the result of a battle.

Of course, as a real soldier, Ivanov didn’t think this was anything to brag about. He even suspected that the enemy couldn’t afford to feed so much cannon fodder and deliberately stuffed them to increase the logistical pressure.

……

Winter Palace

Alexander II smiled and said, “Marshal, tell us about the situation at the front!”

There was more than one marshal in the Russian Empire, but the only one who could appear here and be treated with discretion by Alexander II was Ivanov.

A soldier’s greatest base is always the war achievements, no matter how much moisture there is, a win is a win, and as a victor Ivanov has the capital to be respected.

Perhaps Ivanov’s military command ability is not the best, but he has the advantage that others do not have, that is, he commanded the battle never lost.

A quick look at his resume reveals that this is a steady output player. The favorite thing is to be steady and opposed to any military adventures.

On top of that, he has always been lucky, and the enemies he has encountered have always been on the weak side.

In the First Russo-Prussian War, he first commanded troops against the Poles, and then was sent to defend Constantinople to block the Ottomans.

The enemies were all soft, and with him being such a conservative commander, it was hard for the Russians to lose even if they wanted to.

With the Russian army in a state of great defeat, Ivanov, who could win battles, naturally stood out.

Immediately after the Second Near East War, the tsarist government and Austria to join hands to beat the Ottomans, no need to say that this is to send war credit.

At the outbreak of the Second Russo-Prussian War, Alexander II, for the sake of stability, first appointed this “good luck” marshal with “great achievements”.

This proved to be a very wise appointment, and in the last ten months of the war, although the Russian army did not take much advantage, did not suffer any losses.

Pure war of attrition to the present, everyone suddenly realized that the Russian army in the war of attrition gradually gained the strategic initiative.

The only drawback was that the casualties were a little higher, but in the face of victory, this was a minor problem. Compared to the first Russo-Prussian War, the exchange ratio of the Russian army now playing out on the battlefield has looked too good.

Ivanov picked up a baton and dotted on the map as he spoke, “After the Battle of Smolensk, the main force of the Prussian army retreated all the way back as if they were going to abandon the Polish region.

But this is only the surface situation, the Battle of Smolensk did not hit the main force of the Prussian Army hard, they still have the power to fight, there is no need to run so fast, not to mention abandoning the eastern gate, Warsaw.

I’ve studied the direction of the enemy’s mobilization, in spreading out to the two flanks, and as soon as we enter the Warsaw area, they can pounce immediately.

Of course, it’s not that we’re afraid of a duel with the enemy, but mainly that there’s no need to duel with the enemy in the Warsaw area. Even if we were to have a duel, we should be the ones to choose the place.”

Obviously, Ivanov was politically minded and resolutely refrained from saying what he could not say.

All present were intelligent people, and even if Ivanov did not say anything, everyone knew that the Poles did not welcome the Tsar’s little father, and that the Warsaw region was the most actively anti-Russian, and that there was no popular basis for a duel here.

But smart people also do stupid things, because it’s not their brains that determine their thinking, but the position under their own ass.

Finance Minister Kristanval questioned, “Your Excellency the Field Marshal, a duel with the enemy in the Warsaw region may not be the best option, but it’s the one that suits us best.

From the outbreak of the war until now, we have spent nearly 1.87 billion rubles, and every month down the line we spend nearly 200 million rubles per month.

This means that our financial income for one year is not enough to finance the war for three months.

For every day the war lasts, we have to pay a huge amount of military expenses, and ending this war as soon as possible is the best option.”

When the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold, the tsarist government has mobilized millions of troops, and every day’s military expenditure is an astronomical figure.

Self-financing was impossible, and the Russian treasury had never been rich. In order to carry on this war, the Tsarist government had run up huge foreign debts.

If the war continues, it won’t be long before the government coffers are depleted again. When the time came, the Ministry of Finance would have to find a way to do it again. Kristanwal was a smart man, and he knew very well that it was too difficult for the Tsarist government to raise money now.

If there is no defeat on the battlefield, but because of the financial cause of war failure, this black pot of the Ministry of Finance will take the blame. As the Minister of Finance is the first to bear the brunt, may be pulled to the guillotine to quell public anger.

Moreover, the borrowed money has to be repaid. This loan is mortgaged land, if the pocket is too clean, can not fulfill the debt, will have to cut the land to repay the debt.

Once this situation occurs, the last to take the blame is again the Ministry of Finance, as the Minister of Finance Kristanvall can not help but anxious.

For him, this war is hanging in the air, “the sword of doom”, at any time may cut down, to kill him.

Not only the Ministry of Finance is anxious to end the war, many interest groups within the tsarist government, also want to end the war as soon as possible.

The war had done too much damage to the economy, and many industries were unable to operate normally, which undoubtedly cut off everyone’s financial resources.

Ivanov shook his head: ”Your Excellency is thinking too simply, the increased difficulty of a duel in the Warsaw region is not a single star.

If one chooses to take strategic risks in order to pursue a quick battle, then one will fall for the enemy’s trickery.

In the event of a change of heart that results in heavy losses for our army, who can be held responsible?”

Explanations were impossible; in the context of political correctness, many things could not be said, and Marshal Ivanov could only choose to stand firm.

Finance Minister Kristanvar sneered, “What happens on the battlefield is not the responsibility of your military, do you want us, the Ministry of Finance, to be responsible for it? Or simply let us take command!”

There were many people who wanted a quick battle, including Alexander II who was also one of them. People didn’t say it out loud, mainly because they were worried that forcing the military into an early showdown would lead to a failure of the war, and no one was willing to take on that responsibility.

Kristanvar was out of options, the Tsarist government’s finances were so bad, and the expenses of the war were too great.

The war funds raised by the Ministry of Finance could sustain the war for another year at most, yet could the war be over in a year?

If he hadn’t experienced the last Russo-Prussian War, Kristanwald might have said yes. But after his own experience, Kristanwald was no longer optimistic.

As a military novice, Kristan Val does not think it is important to change the location of the duel, the big deal is that the casualties are a little bit bigger, anyway, gray animals are not worth it, they can afford to lose.

Marshal Ivanov sneered, “That’s a good proposal, since Marquis Kristanvar is so confident, I’ll just step aside!”

At this point in time, Ivanov was very clear that he could not give in. Taking a step back was not a wide sea and sky, but an abyss of ten thousand feet.

A direct hard top wasn’t the best option, it would offend a lot of people. But compared to the risk of an early showdown, he felt it was safer to offend people.

This was a time of war, belonging to the era when the military was the most powerful, no one could move him, a marshal with a great war record.

Seeing the argument escalate, Alexander II waved his hand, ”Alright, this issue stops here. Marshal, it’s better to talk about your battle plan first!”

Undoubtedly, this brief interlude triumphed with Marshal Ivanov’s persistence.

In front of the financial crisis and the risk of losing the war, Alexander II still chose to face the financial crisis, the risk of losing the war he just couldn’t afford anymore.

As long as the war was won, the financial crisis could always be solved. If you really can’t, the big deal is to renege on the debt again. Once back to life twice familiar, get used to it is also good.

The only trouble is the mortgaged territory, but this is a small problem, the big deal is to make up for the loss from the enemy, the Vienna government is not unacceptable to exchange land.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Ivanov replied seriously, “Now the enemy has deployed traps in the Warsaw area, waiting for us to jump into them.

To be on the safe side, we have studied and decided to take the Lithuanian region first, to outflank the enemy forces in the Baltic region from behind, and to remove the enemy’s military threat to St. Petersburg first.”

Hearing this answer many people nodded with satisfaction, the Prussian army have hit Estonia, not far from St. Petersburg.

This made the officials sleep badly, fearing that one day the enemy would march on the city. If it were not for Alexander II’s single-minded insistence, the tsarist government would have moved the capital to Moscow.

No one would have objected to prioritizing the removal of the threat of St. Petersburg, not even Alexander II, and no one would have minded living in too much security.

After a pause, Marshal Ivanov continued, “After the recovery of the Lithuanian region, the situation on the battlefield will change again.

Considering the logistical pressure, the command plans to launch a full-scale attack on the southern front, using troops along the Austro-Prussian border to make it easier to get supplies from Austria close by.

Behind it is only necessary to step by step, steadily forward, relying on our strength advantage to directly crush the enemy.”

One word is “steady”, according to Ivanov’s military deployment, the Russian army may be difficult to achieve a world-shattering victory, the same will not appear shocking defeat.

Of course, the aftermath was also very serious, and the price to be paid was a bit grueling. While defeating the enemy, the Russian Empire would have to be devastated.

Alexander II asked with concern, “Is there any way to reduce our losses? Even if we win after fighting like this, we will still lose a lot.”

After contemplating for a few moments of effort, Ivanov took his command and pointed in the direction of the map Nordic Federation and said, “There is no simpler way than to let the Nordic Federation enter the war.

We’ve already held the enemy’s main force in check, and as long as they send out troops to raid Berlin, the war can be over within a month.

Of course, it would be the same to let Austria and the German Confederation enter the war. The enemy’s rear is so empty that only 50,000 troops can take Berlin.”

It was an awkward scenario, and the Czarist government’s plan to draw in the Nordic Confederation failed when John Bull sabotaged it.

As for Austria and the German Confederation, don’t even think about it, it’s an impossibility, even if they promise greater benefits, it’s useless.

Not to mention international relations, the nationalists wouldn’t agree in the first place.

If Austria wanted to unify the German region, it could not do so without the support of the nationalists, and the Vienna government would not go against public opinion.

The German Confederation is even worse, with a bunch of internal states, if the central government dares to mess around, people will become independent in minutes.

(End of chapter)