Chapter 1056: The Enemy is in Congress
Chapter 1036 – Enemy in Congress
“Where does the money come from?”
Finance Minister Pavel Lisizian issued a soul-crushing question.
How poor the Tsar’s government was was a question to which no one could probably give a definite answer. In short, there was no money to build the Siberian Railroad for sure.
As early as 1891, the tsarist government organized road experts to start the Siberian Railway exploration program. That’s right, it was initiated after the assassination of Nicholas II in Japan that year.
Although Alexander III was the pacifist of the Tsars, he was also a good father. If he hadn’t been limited by transportation, it is estimated that the Russo-Japanese War would have opened early after the Anglo-Russian War ended that year.
Whether it was due to a moment of anger or early preparation, in any case, the Siberian Railway project was launched.
The results of the exploration were horrendous, and on the way from Moscow, it was necessary to pass through vast pine forests, to cross the Ural Mountains, and to traverse the vast Siberian tundra before finally reaching the Pacific Ocean.
The journey was long enough, and no more so than the Shenandoah Circle Line Railroad, but the point is that the natural conditions were harsh.
The same is to build a railroad, if the construction cost of the plains railroad is 1, then the construction cost of the Siberian railroad may be 2, 3, 4 ……
Without money in your pocket, you can’t do anything hard. Just when the Czarist government hesitated to start the Siberian Railway construction program, the Vienna government stepped in.
The same tempting “Central Asia Railway Plan” came out, so that the tsarist government became more hesitant. But not waiting for the Russians to hesitate for long, the Vienna government helped them to make up their mind – “aid construction”!
Open the map to know, whether the Siberian Railway or Central Asian Railway, the construction cost is an astronomical sum.
Let the already not rich tsarist government to bear this expense, undoubtedly is a fatal thing. In the original time and space in order to build the Siberian Railway, the Russians are also frugal.
From 1891 to 1901 alone, the tsarist government invested 1.46 billion rubles, far more than the military expenditure during the same period.
After 13 years of hard work, July 13, 1904, the world’s longest railroad line began to open to traffic, and the subsequent project eventually stumbled under the bumps and bruises until 1916 was completed.
In contrast, the Central Asian Railway was constructed under slightly better conditions, but of course only slightly.
Although it did not need to be accompanied by permafrost all year round, the continuous mountain range in Afghanistan was also a pain in the neck.
Whether it is strategic needs, or for the sake of their own wallets, the tsarist government has decided to choose the Central Asia Railway.
Even if it knew that the Vienna government was calculating the relationship between Britain and Russia, the tsarist government had no room to refuse.
In the words of a certain optimistic minister in the tsarist government: “No matter how much the Austrians are calculating, the Central Asia Railway is always beneficial to the empire. The initiative to go south or not remains in our hands.”
There was nothing wrong with the theory; the initiative to go south was indeed in the hands of the Tsarist government, and it was impossible for the government in Vienna to decide for them.
Only this will be able to fool the ordinary people, India such a big piece of fat meat nearly all put on the table, but also do not move the knife and fork to split, that is still woolly bear?
In essence, the economic minister proposed to help the Russians to build the Siberian Railway is the same. As long as the railroad is open to traffic, nothing needs to be done, the greedy bear will go out to forage for food.
The eastward advance of the woolly bears would certainly be detrimental to Britain’s interests, but it was clear that it was more important than going south to India.
Containing the Russians will not be a matter for Britain alone, and Shinra will not watch the Russians complete their “Yellow Russia Program”.
If the operation is correct, the end will become: Britain and Austria together to pit the woolly bear.
It is estimated that a proxy war down, the Russians will again five labor seven injuries. I can’t promise much, but it’s not hard to keep them quiet for ten years.
The most important thing is to bury a thorn in the middle of the Russian-Austrian alliance, with this thorn in the middle of the two countries, even if they do not meet in arms, but also not as close as it is now.
If everything goes well, in the future Anglo-Austrian rivalry, the Tsarist government will also find ways to give Shen Luo dragged back.
The plan is perfect, the only problem is: to build the “Siberian Railway” money, where to come from?
The relationship between Britain and Russia is not as close as the relationship between Russia and Austria, the government of Vienna to help the Russians build the Central Asian Railway, but also only helped to advance part of the funds.
Mainly project exploration, design, management and other costs, labor, raw materials or tsarist government to provide their own.
For the sake of the Russian-Austrian alliance, even if there are people in the country to raise objections, the Vienna government can also cope with it.
Put aside in the head of Britain will not be able to, the blood of the Anglo-Russian war in Afghanistan, has not yet dried up?
This time to contribute money and effort, run to help the Russians to build railroads, the families of soldiers killed in the Anglo-Russian War, I’m afraid that the heart of the raw tear them all have.
If public anger is aroused, the opposition parties will surely push the issue. National interests are important, but party interests are even more important.
I oppose what the enemy supports, and I support what the enemy opposes. It is never uncommon in politics, and it doesn’t matter whether it is correct or not, it depends on what is needed.
If it is only a funding gap of a million or eight hundred thousand pounds, we can still find a way to raise money from the east and west, hide it from the public eye, and even out the books with special funding expenses.
But in the case of the Siberian Railway, without hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, it simply can not be opened.
Even if the Russians were to pay for the labor and materials, it would still take tens of millions of pounds. To utilize such a large sum of money, no matter what method is used, it will not be able to keep the secret.
Secretary of State for the Navy Flora: “It’s not just a question of money. Our relationship with the Russians is so strained that even if we offer to help build the Siberian Railway, I’m afraid the Tsarist government won’t believe it.
Unless we just contribute money and don’t touch the railroad exploration design and construction, they won’t be at ease at all.”
This was the inevitable result. Suddenly one day, the enemy suddenly comes to your door and wants to help you build a railroad, in anyone’s case, they would suspect a conspiracy.
Standing in the position of the tsarist government, the British offered to help build the Siberian Railway, I guess the first reaction of the Russians was: this is to sabotage.
After all, the construction of the Central Asian Railway has reached a critical moment, it will not be a few years before the opening of the train, the British feel the pressure is normal.
For the sake of India’s security, Britain out to sabotage the construction of the Central Asian Railway, there is no fault.
Although the Russian Empire was huge, the Tsarist government’s ability to mobilize materials was limited. Central Asian railroad construction has already mobilized a lot of manpower and material resources, if the Siberian railroad construction is started again, it will obviously increase the logistical pressure.
Explanation is a cover-up, no matter what the British government says, the Russians will think that this is a British conspiracy, trying to use the Siberian Railway plan to delay the progress of the Central Asian Railway construction.
To help with exploration and design and construction, there is even less to talk about. Who knows if the railroad that the British helped build will work in the end?
As Flora said, unless it was just a matter of giving money and leaving everything to the Russians to toss around on their own, the Tsarist government would not have been comfortable at all.
The problem was that the British government wasn’t comfortable with just giving the money. Who can guarantee that when the Russians got the money, they spent it on the construction of the Siberian Railroad and not on military expenses for going south to India?
The British government had no sense of propriety, nor did the Tsarist government. It was too difficult to get the two countries, which lacked the most basic trust, to cooperate.
Foreign Secretary Cameron: “The problem of trust is not really difficult to solve, we are not convenient to come forward, can be a third country to come forward and communicate with the Russians.
Convincing the Russian military engineers to agree to the construction of the Siberian Railway is also not difficult, the current Tsar is Nicholas II. The unpleasant trip to Tokyo had always been a source of ennui for Nicholas II.
From Nicholas II’s personal standpoint, the temptation to move eastward to seek revenge on the Japanese was greater than the temptation to move southward to India.
After all, we are not soft. Even with the opening of the Central Asian Railroad, the Russians’ chances of victory were still not high.
Compared to going south, going east has a significantly higher success rate and will bring greater gains.
If the Russians are able to realize the Yellow Russia plan before the hegemony struggle falls, then it will be a three-legged race again.
No one wants to be a little brother when they can be the boss themselves, let alone an arrogant hairy bear.
Don’t look at the Russian-Austrian relationship seems to be very good, in fact, many Russians in the heart, the Holy Roman Empire’s European hegemony is not convinced.
This bait was enough to make the Russians take the bait. As soon as the Tsarist government took this step, the Russian-Austrian alliance would be over.
Vienna could tolerate a powerful Russian Empire, but it could never tolerate a Russian Empire that could threaten itself.
In a sense, the Russians pose a much greater threat to the Holy Roman Empire than we do.
After all, they were both land powers and happened to be neighbors. The European continent, as vast as it was, could not accommodate two hegemons.
In contrast, it is instead the problem of funding that is not easy to solve. Those lords in Congress won’t agree to fund the Russians, even if it’s a strategic necessity.”
“The enemy is in Parliament,” is a sentiment echoed by every British government. Without blowing it out of proportion, it is true that the British Parliament has caused the government more trouble than any of its enemies.
Without the Congress and the opposition dragging their feet, the international situation would not have evolved to the present state of affairs.
As early as the middle of the Continental War, the previous British government wanted to send troops to intervene, but the parliamentary bickering, as well as playing with the opposition parties, wasted a lot of time.
Without waiting for a result to be discussed, the French had lost their power. There is no way to say that the dust has settled, so naturally, the only thing to do is to sell your teammates. And Britain as an ally with sweetness can be considered, share the pain that is impossible.
Similar things have not only happened once, and further back, there are several previous Ottoman wars, the French invasion of Italy, the Austrian annexation of South Germany …… and a series of international events.
Britain in 1895 couldn’t do anything about the Holy Roman Empire, but Britain forty years ago was definitely capable of stopping Austrian expansion.
Not to say preventing Austria from annexing South Germany, at least able to destroy Austria’s colonization plans, the absolute dominance of the Royal Navy lasted until the early 1980s.
Until then, the Austrian Navy was a little brother. It wasn’t until the introduction of the former Dreadnoughts that the gap was closed enough to have the ability to lose both.
Of course, because of the times, the two big bosses, France and Russia, drew fire up front to the extent that the politicians of the time underestimated the Austrian threat.
By the time the British government started to take it seriously, the Holy Roman Empire was on the verge of coming out, and it was too late to do anything about it.
There is everything in this world, just no pills of regret. Without noticing the hegemony of Britain, the most serious challenge was encountered.
Problems that have been encountered by previous generations have now once again fallen on the British government.
If you can not deal with the Congress, the construction of the Siberian Railway project funds will not be available; without this railroad, the evil water east will not be able to talk about; Tsarist government does not look east, then the ultimate plan to divide the Russian-Australian alliance, and finally will become “the moon in the water, the flowers in the mirror”.
After hesitating for a while, Robert Cecil nodded: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will first find a third party to contact the Russians, and with a layer of separation, we can at least avoid the anger of the public.
As for the issue of the parliament, you guys first communicate privately with the party’s MPs, I’ll pay a visit to the Queen.”
There is no way to face the pressure of the parliament alone Robert Cecil Prime Minister also goat, had to seek more help.
Victorian era, the British royal family is not a rubber stamp. Although the aging Queen Victoria, has rarely asked about politics, but no one can ignore her presence.
Want to suppress the voice of opposition in parliament, only the power of the Conservative Party is not enough. For the sake of the big picture, Robert Cecil had to turn to Queen Victoria.
(End of chapter)