Chapter 399: There’s a pit to jump into.
Chapter 389 – There’s a Pit or You Have to Jump
London, Prime Minister John Russell is very unhappy with the current situation in Europe.
The government in Paris had actually given a loan to the Russians. Although the amount was not too large for the British, only a mere 100 million francs. But the politics behind it were terrible.
Originally, it was agreed that Britain and France would contribute money and effort together to support the Kingdom of Prussia in a proxy war with the Russians.
Now on the battlefield, the Kingdom of Prussia just appeared crisis, the French can not wait to fall on the well.
Perhaps in the view of the Paris government, it was a timely stop-loss for a greater return. On the side of the British, Prime Minister John Russell could not tolerate it.
“The situation in Europe is deteriorating, France and Russia are moving closer together, and the position of the Paris government has changed, with the intention of joining forces with the Russians to divide Prussia.
Perhaps with the addition of an Austria, as long as France and Russia are willing to support Austria’s annexation of the German Confederation, it becomes Russia, France and Austria dividing up the continent.
This is the worst case scenario. Each of the three countries, Russia, France and Austria, has the strength to challenge us. If they are allowed to divide Europe, then it will be even more difficult to restrict them.
For the sake of Britannia’s strategic security, we must stop this from happening.”
John Russell possesses a strong sense of crisis, which seems to be common to the island nations and the driving force behind their success.
Balance in Euroland is the national policy of the government in London. Right now, Euroland is still balanced, but the growing size of Russia, France and Austria has seriously threatened their hegemony.
Originally, the London government was prepared to suppress the Russians first, and then use the Italian issue to provoke the conflict between France and Austria, so that they can restrain each other on the European continent.
Plans never change fast, the contradiction between France and Austria did not ignite, the Russian Empire looked to break through the limitations and take control of the Baltic Sea.
Foreign Minister Raistlin analyzed: “Your Excellency the Prime Minister, this time France and Russia are leaning on each other because the Tsarist government made concessions first.
The Russians supported the French annexation of the Rhineland region and actually did not have good intentions.
You should know that Austria, Belgium, Prussia, the German Confederation, Spain and other countries have an agreement that if one side encounters a French invasion they will jointly defend themselves.
Even if the Russians supported the French, Russia and Austria were still allies, and it was impossible for the Tsarist government to send troops to help the French fight, right?
Nationalism is a double-edged sword. As long as we drum up nationalism in the German region, Vienna could not sit back and watch the French annex the Rhineland.
There is also the Joint Defense Treaty in place. Although the French are strong, Austria is not weak, and with Spain, Belgium, and the German Confederation, the French do not have much of a chance of winning.
Napoleon III was not stupid enough to take a risk without a chance of winning.
……
The possibility of Russia, France and Austria joining forces to divide up the European continent is almost zero in my opinion, starting with the unequal division of the spoils.
The Russians were able to get too little, Austria was not able to give up the German regions, and after the Russians gained Prussian Poland, the way forward was blocked by Austria.
Of course, the Tsarist government could expand into northern Europe if it wanted to. But Sweden was no soft touch, and could not succeed without paying a price.
Besides, with the mere Russo-Prussian War being such a struggle, would the Russians still be able to attack Sweden?”
This is the reality of the problem, although the Russian Empire is powerful, but the fatigue is already showing. If it was the Russian Empire before the Near East War, the Kingdom of Prussia would have already been boxed in.
The main reason the Tsarist government didn’t rely on the sea of men tactic to pile up Prussia was that the government didn’t have the money. Increasing the number of troops on the front line also meant an increase in military expenses.
Fighting on the Bold Plain, there are still rivers that can transport strategic supplies, theoretically the Tsarist government can guarantee supplies even if it sends out millions of troops.
In the case of their own exhaustion, and France and Austria to divide up the European continent, they are obviously to suffer a great loss.
Just the Prussian Polish region, as long as the defeat of the Kingdom of Prussia is enough, there is absolutely no need to take the corn in the fire.
“No, Raistlin. These are all theoretical, and you have to understand that the Russian Empire is a dictatorship. As long as the Tsar thinks it’s feasible, it’s likely to become a reality.
We can’t take rational deductions as Tsarist decisions. In reality, most Russian tsars were irrational.
Russia, France, and Austria are all dictatorships, and as soon as the Emperor gives the go-ahead for an immediate alliance, we can’t give them any chance to lean on us.”
This is not Prime Minister John Russell being pessimistic, but something a national leader must take into account. For Great Britain, there is no need to take any risks now, “stability” is the most important.
No matter how far the Franco-Russian relations have reached, there is nothing wrong with stirring them up.
The role of the European shit-stirrers, a hundred years half of the continent’s conflicts are provoked by them, and now it is time to perform again.
……
With the Berlin government stepping in to thwart it and the Brits doing their damage, naturally Franz couldn’t stay idle.
Having been counted out, it was definitely time to fight back. However, the loan contract was signed, naturally cannot be torn up. The question of where to strike back became a real one.
Alexander II knew to use civilized means, within the rules of secret calculation, Franz naturally could not break the rules.
Supporting the conservatives of the Russian Empire?
Not good!
It was too deeply involved in Russia’s internal affairs to do anything but worsen relations between the two countries. Franz didn’t think that these people would be able to defeat Alexander II.
Secretly supporting the revolutionaries?
This was even more unlikely. As an emperor, Franz and the revolutionaries were naturally in an antagonistic camp, and he could not do anything to support the enemy.
Besides, the Russian Empire was in a very bad state, what if it was overthrown?
The corrupt Tsarist government was Austria’s best ally, while the newborn Russia was Austria’s greatest threat, a risk Franz dared not take.
Provoking the Russians with the nations of Europe?
It didn’t seem like it would do any good to do so, and it didn’t even take Franz to do it, now that the Tsarist government was gloriously isolated.
……
After much deliberation, Franz came to the conclusion that the Russians could not be helped for a short time in the context of the Russo-Austrian alliance.
Foreign Minister Weissenberg proposed, “Your Majesty, the Tsarist government has made a request for our help in modifying a batch of breech-loading rifles.”
During the war years, even the Tsarist government attached great importance to weaponry. After personally feeling the power of the breech rifles, they also had to abandon the front-bore rifles.
Converting the front-bore rifles to breech-bore rifles was naturally a cost-saving measure. In this respect, the Russo-Prussian War was not without its contribution, and at least it taught the Tsarist government to be smart with its money.
Converting hundreds of thousands of rifles was a small business. If it were not for the political significance of the arms trade, there would have been no need for the foreign ministries of the two countries to intervene.
Franz thought about it and said, “Well, let them talk to the capitalists, we don’t interfere with free trade.
Send someone to sell the Russians the breech-loading rifle production line, and by the way, sell them the old goods in our warehouses that have been converted and completed.
Remember to tell the Russians that the power of breech-loading artillery is also more advantageous, and suggest that they purchase a batch for trial.”
Converting the breech-loading rifles would take time, and the officers and soldiers at the front could not wait, so of course the only way to buy them in this case was to buy them from Austria.
This is the Near East War period, to the tsarist government to promote the dividends of the Austrian equipment. In addition to earning fees for ancillary services, when it came to outsourcing equipment, the Russians had to choose Austria.
After the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, the tsarist government was the first to place an order with Austria for the procurement of strategic materials, the main reason being that we all have the same standard system.
Road are paved, Franz naturally can not let the Russians in this weapons revolution to get rid of the influence of Austrian equipment, which is related to the future strategic layout.
If the peace era, the Russians can naturally slowly weapons and equipment upgrades, breech-loading weapons technology is again too high, is nothing more than a few years.
No great power is willing to be limited in weaponry for a long time. Alexander II is not a bumbling generation, if not lack of money, it is estimated that he would have already made a move on the military industrial system.
Unfortunately, the Russians were unlucky, the last weapons renewal encountered the Near East War. In order to save time, let the Austrian armament equipment became the mainstream in the army.
This time, the weapons modernization encountered the Russo-Prussian War again. The war will not wait for anyone, Franz is ready to give the Russians another mandatory sale of Ordnance equipment.
Wanting to get rid of the restrictions, do you know that the Tsarist government had a million land forces? How much money would it cost to refit so many armies and to replace the weapons production lines?
If you don’t have the money, then just keep using it. Anyway, in terms of cost, directly purchasing the Austrian armament equipment system will not be much more expensive than self-development.
As for whether doing so will result in the loss of the ability to do independent research and development, this is not the concern of Russian bureaucrats. This is not the Russian bureaucrats care about, consider so much as to think about how to get rich.
Two or three consecutive generations of Ordnance Military Industrial System, the Russian weapons research and development personnel will be almost useless. In the future, if they want to get rid of this situation, they will have to re-train their talents.
Franz kind of understand why Alexander II has been upset with Austria, encounter this kind of thing, no one would be happy.
Unfortunately, this is a Yang conspiracy, the same as he counted Austria. Knowing that it is a pit, Franz will also put real money into it, and now the tsarist government is likewise the same.
It is impossible to disregard the needs of the frontline war in order to ensure the autonomy of the military industry, so that the soldiers will take the backward front-loading equipment and give their heads to the enemy, right?
It’s literally giving away heads, the breech rifle can lie down and fight, while the front rifle can only play a little volley tactics.
Just think about it and you’ll know how badly you’ll be abused if you encounter it on the battlefield.
Foreign Minister Weisenberg explained, ”Your Majesty, there is actually no need for us to push, as long as we delay the speed of the modification.
Recently, the Prussians have been performing very well, utilizing their superiority in weaponry and equipment to heavily defeat the Russian army many times in the field.
The Russians have the advantage of sea power and are constantly striking the coastal areas of the Kingdom of Prussia, though they are ill-prepared to expand their gains.”
This was the heart of the problem. Theoretically, if the Russian navy covered the landings of the land forces, and opened up on all sides inside the Kingdom of Prussia, it wouldn’t take more than a few months for the Kingdom of Prussia to collapse.
However, the Tsarist government was not prepared for this, and the navy did a really good job of attacking the coast of the Kingdom of Prussia, but unfortunately the army did not follow suit to expand the results of the war.
Prussia and Russia are not far from each other, cross-sea expeditions can not be called, but the necessary logistical supplies, or less.
Undoubtedly, the tsarist government now does not have so many strategic materials, or rather there is no way to transport so many strategic materials over.
In order to supply the troops on the front line, the tsarist government all had to buy and buy and buy. It was not only that the Russian Empire had insufficient production capacity, but the most crucial thing was that the transportation was too bad.
The Russian Poland region was one of their granaries, and most of the food supply for the St. Petersburg region came from here, and now that this land was lost, the Tsarist government naturally had to transfer food from other regions.
The railroads were not working well, and transportation by horse-drawn wagons and oxcarts would take at least a month to bring supplies from the Ukraine and Moscow regions to the front.
This is also the face of God, and if it is winter it will be even worse, it is possible to walk for two or three months. Such bad transportation not only increases the cost, but also limits the amount of supplies to be transported.
The front line of the army combat, but also from the next door to Austria to import strategic supplies. But cross-sea combat will not work, even if it is imported from Austria, but also must be transported around a big circle.
This is the Russians’ own pot, if the war began by sending the navy to attack the coast of Prussia, then you can still use the rivers in the Polish region to transport the supplies imported from Austria.
Now there was no need to think about it, most of Russian Poland fell into the hands of the enemy. At this time to carry out the transportation of supplies, either by land through the region of Belarus, or by sea along the continent of Europe in a big circle.
Either way, it limited the amount of supplies that could be transported.
Originally, the Russians could have purchased strategic supplies from European countries as well, but unfortunately, people did not buy the Russians’ account. No one would do business with them unless they had real money.
Because of the problem of financial resources, the Tsarist government had no way to make a big purchase of supplies from various countries, which is why Alexander II was in a hurry to borrow money.
Only after solving the financial problem could they raise enough strategic materials to bring the naval advantage into play.
(End of chapter)