Chapter 989: Central Asia Railroad
Chapter 969: Central Asia Railroad
To be able to rebound from a rubber stamp to become a real emperor, Emperor Meiji is not a good master of fooling around. Army swore “guarantee”, not only did not make him feel at ease, but also let the Emperor of the Meiji heart even more uncertain.
As a knowledgeable emperor, Meiji knew very well what kind of troops were sent to overseas colonies by European countries. Defeating a colonial army dominated by natives was nothing at all.
Moreover, the main protagonist of this war was not the army. The real key to victory was diplomacy, followed by the navy.
Ignoring Oyama Iwami’s assurance, Emperor Meiji said cautiously in fact, “There are only three months left before the Vienna Peace Conference is convened, so it is time for us to make preparations.
Prime Minister, this time you will personally lead the trip. Do not expect Britain and Austria to support us, but at least make them remain neutral.
The rise and fall of the empire is here ……”
Ito Hirobumi’s face changed, with his knowledge of Emperor Meiji, he could be sure that Meiji’s confidence had taken a hit.
Sending him on a trip to Europe was not just to attend the Vienna Peace Conference, but more importantly to look for a way back and plan for the worst.
Anyone with eyes could tell that attending the Vienna Peace Conference was a joke. Japan’s current international status did not even qualify it to be at the negotiating table.
From the content of the invitation letter, it can be seen that the Anti-French Alliance only invited them to participate in the warship auction conference.
It was not the turn of the Japanese government to speak on the establishment of a new international order, and when the dust settled, they would simply abide by it.
Because of the Philippine War, even this warship auction, the Japanese government can only play soy sauce.
It’s not a question of money. As a member of the Antifa alliance, the Spaniards were one of the sellers, and could not sell warships to their enemies anyway.
Even if they had bought them it would have been useless, the Spaniards would surely have found a way to jam their necks. It was impossible for the warships to return home before the end of the war.
Against this background, the Vienna Peace Conference was a complete chicken scratch for the Japanese government, and there was no need for the Prime Minister to personally make an appearance.
……
St. Petersburg in January is already dressed in silver. Under the piercing cold wind, the streets and alleys became sparsely populated.
In the past, the Fikstar Café, which was a bustling marketplace, was also silent now. Inside the large living room, there were only six or seven people.
From the demeanor and temperament of the crowd, one could tell that apart from the two protagonists, the rest were all bodyguards.
……
Oscar Jimenez, the Russian Foreign Minister who was one of the protagonists, interrupted with a wave of his hand, “Your Excellency the Minister, there’s no need to repeat these unnutritious words.
We have never had a friendship with your country, and now Austria is our ally. It is impossible to try to break the Russian-Austrian alliance from our side.”
Being interrupted, Richard not only did not get angry, but instead revealed a satisfied smile.
It was indeed difficult for Britain and Russia to relate to friendship, in the past thirty years, the two countries had fought two wars, and the casualties on both sides were in the hundreds of thousands.
In contrast, the Russian-Australian alliance, which had lasted for decades without any major conflicts, could only be called “friendship”.
However, there is more to it than meets the eye. If Russia and Austria were really close, this meeting would not have taken place in this freezing weather.
Richard, who was good at reading people, had already discovered the problem from the conversation just now.
Of course, it is more likely that the Russians are deliberately releasing signals, otherwise Oscar Jimenez would not have to increase his tone when using the word “now”.
“Your Excellency, I know that there are many misunderstandings between your country and Britain, but that’s all in the past, we need to look forward.
With the end of the Continental War, the fall of France is a foregone conclusion. If we don’t take action, then the new continental hegemon will be Austria.
Just because your country and Austria are now allies doesn’t mean they’ll always be allies. You should know that true allies only exist when their strength is equal. Once the balance is upset, the situation is very different.
Even if your country gives up the westward plan, there is no guarantee that the Austrians will not move eastward. After all, the only thing that can affect Austrian hegemony on the European continent now is your country.
Your country’s true ally is the Austria of thirty years ago, not the reborn Holy Roman Empire.”
In international competition, it has always been a case of one against the other. Austria became powerful, and relatively speaking the Russian Empire was weakened.
The British felt threatened by the rise of Austria, as did the Tsarist government. Even because the two countries were neighbors, the Tsarist government felt it more deeply.
For the benefit of the Russian Empire, or rather for the Tsarist government’s own peace of mind, there was this secret meeting.
Only after the contact, Oscar Jiménez was very disappointed. The British were still doing the same old stirring up trouble, all asking the Russian Empire to do something, not what Britain was going to do.
It was not impossible to tear up the Russian-Austrian alliance, provided that the benefits were large enough. Obviously, the British, who like empty gloves, did not offer a sufficient price.
“Your Excellency is right about all that, but that is only what could happen. The future is yet to come, and no one can predict in advance what will eventually happen.
At least for now, the Russian-Austrian alliance remains unbreakable, and we won’t abandon our allies just because of a possibility. So Your Excellency just tell us what your purpose is, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
The Russian-Australian alliance had developed to the point where it had penetrated into all areas of the two countries, and it simply wasn’t something that could be dismantled just by saying so. Once it flipped, both sides would suffer heavy losses.
Against this background, despite wanting to limit Austria’s development, the tsarist government restrained itself and explicitly did not take any action against it. Instead, it put its hopes on its enemies, counting on the British to interrupt Austria’s momentum.
In this regard, Britain and Russia are thinking about the same thing, no one is willing to do at this time to stand out, jumped out to pull Austria’s hatred, so that the rivals to reap the benefits.
“Your Excellency the Minister, Austria getting bigger is a very serious threat to us all, and I believe your country is not willing to live under the shadow of Vienna.
In order to remove this threat, we propose that the two countries join forces to sabotage this Vienna Peace Conference and crush Austria’s ambitions to establish a new international order, so that the international situation will return to the era of the three-legged power, with our three countries jointly dominating the world.”
Oscar Jimenez shook his head, “Your country’s sincerity, we feel it, but it is not enough.
By destroying the Vienna Peace Conference, the Russo-Austrian alliance is on its last legs. The price we have to pay is too great, and it may even lead to an economic collapse at home.
If your country defaults later, we will have to bear Austria’s wrath alone. The risks involved are too great and are beyond our capacity to bear.”
Minister Richard assured, “High risk comes with high reward. As long as we interrupt the great power gathered by Austria, all the payoffs will be worth it.
As for your country’s loss, we can find a way to make up for part of it. In short, we will not let our friends suffer.”
……
Gatchina Palace, Alexander III, who was holding the conditions of Russia and Austria at the same time, was at this moment engaged in a difficult struggle in his heart.
The conditions given by the British, as long as the immediate shock is passed, the Russian Empire may soar, take the place of Austria, and become the new hegemon of the European continent.
However, as great as the gains were, so high were the risks. In case the operation failed, or the British defaulted midway, the Russian Empire might be finished.
Even if one doesn’t think that the British will default on this issue, who can say for sure about this thing called politics?
The government in London is only for one term every few years, so if you are unlucky enough to run into an Iron Bean and make a mess of things, the Russian Empire will be in deep shit.
It’s not like this hasn’t happened before in history, and the Russian Empire itself has been a victim. If not for Peter III’s divine operation, the Russian Empire would have become the dominant power in Europe long ago, and there wouldn’t have been so much trouble at all.
Of course, it was better for Alexander III to have these troubles. After all, Peter III wouldn’t have butterflied them away without messing around.
In contrast, the terms offered by Austria were much safer, and the gains were naturally much smaller. Continental hegemony is out of the question, South Asian hegemony can still be expected.
Looking out the window, Alexander III asked, “How much money is needed for the Central Asian Railroad, has the assessment come out?”
Finance Minister Alisher Gurov: “The Central Asian Railway main line is 3,864 kilometers long, plus subsidiary lines totaling more than 15,600 kilometers.
Not only will it have to withstand the harsh climate, but it will also have to pass through a number of rough terrains in the middle of the way, with a projected construction period of 12 years, and a preliminary estimate of 1.276 billion gold rubles to be spent.”
Railroads have always been a pain for the Russian Empire. Not to mention comparing it to the developed countries of Europe, even the railroads of British India next door are better than theirs.
It’s not that the Tsarist government didn’t try hard, it’s really that the strength didn’t allow it! The Russian Empire is not only vast, more terrible is the harsh climate.
Other countries to build railroads, exploration is completed, get the design drawings, directly start dry on the line.
The Russian Empire can not, their railroads must be able to ensure the normal operation of the ice and snow. Occasionally a big drop in temperature, there will even be minus forty or fifty degrees of extreme weather.
A penny for a penny, the Russian Empire’s railroad requirements are high, the construction cost is naturally high.
The completion of the railroad is just the beginning, the bigger problem is still in the later operation. Harsh natural climate, directly increase the later operation and maintenance costs, simply a bottomless pit.
Foreign repair capital are flocking to, do not have to worry about funding; while the Russian Empire to build railroads, but only the government to pay.
There is no way, who let the Russian Empire’s railroads lose money for many years! No one to do the money-losing business, the capital refuses to invest, railroad construction is naturally slow.
If it was not for Austria’s encouragement, coupled with the French reparations can look forward to a little, the tsarist government would not have said nothing to start the Central Asia Railway at this time.
“Can we shorten the construction period?”
There was no request to compress the construction cost, that was Alexander III knew, what kind of bureaucrats in the country were. If the construction cost is really compressed, no one can guarantee that the railroad repaired will be able to open smoothly.
It is not as if similar things have not happened before. In the previous construction of the railroad, there were fools to save money, unauthorized compression of the gauge and sleeper length.
If one were to scrutinize the railroads that were successfully opened to traffic, they all had one common feature – budget overruns.
Simply put, it is the first to report a low price to set up a project. When the project is carried out to the halfway point, there is no money, forcing the government to increase investment.
“If contracted to the Austrian Railways construction, the total construction period can be compressed by one-quarter, the main line can be extended to the Afghan border in eight years.
But their offer is very high, 1.886 billion gold rubles even with us providing the labor; if it is constructed entirely by them, the budget is even higher at 3 billion gold rubles.”
With such a spread, Alisher Gurov was helpless. The budget of the domestic railroad companies is really low, but unfortunately, every time they fail to complete the project successfully. Not only is the schedule not guaranteed, but the budget has to be increased.
Austria’s railroad company asking price is indeed high, but people have a guaranteed schedule, reliable quality, and are a quote, even if there is an incremental increase in the back, the increase in the budget will not be too much. The final cost, on the contrary, lower.
If this is the case, the tsarist government should introduce the Austrian railroad company to reduce the construction cost is right. The fact is just the opposite, almost no Austrian railroad company in the hands of the tsarist government to undertake projects.
It is not that the tsarist government is not willing to contract, but simply no Austrian railroad company is willing to take orders. The reason was very realistic: the Tsarist government was poor and payment was not guaranteed.
So much so that now the construction of a tsarist government-funded railroad, have become Austria’s bargaining chips, and still very tempting chips.
As long as the railroad to the Afghan region, the Russian Empire’s door to India, was opened.
Such an important project, the tsarist government is naturally not dare to sloppy. In case the trust is not, the investment will be wasted.
The biggest advantage of handing over the construction to the Austrian Railway Company is safety. Everyone knows that the Vienna government wants the Russian Empire south and the British to die, will certainly protect the quality of this railroad.
Even if the budget went wrong in the middle of the project, there was no need to worry about stopping the work, the Austrians would advance the money to finish the project for them in the spirit of fearless internationalism.
(End of chapter)