I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 194 The shit stirrer

The relationship between Russia and Britain depends entirely on Russia's strength.

When Russia is weak, Britain will maintain friendly relations with Russia.

When Russia becomes so powerful that it begins to threaten the balance of power in Europe, Britain will unite other countries to deal with Russia.

This is the British's notorious continental equilibrium doctrine.

In the ninth Russo-Turkish War, Britain participated in the war.

As well as Britain's pursuit of Russia in Central Asia and the Far East, they are all concrete manifestations of the continental balancing policy.

The counterpart to continental equilibrium is glorious isolation.

The difference between the two corresponds to the different forms of Europe. When Europe's power is balanced, Britain will pursue glorious isolation and will not join any party.

When there is a clear gap in European power, Britain will join the weaker side.

This is why Britain is called the "shit stirrup."

Without Britain's interference, France during the Emperor's reign might have unified Europe.

"Europe" here includes the UK.

British Prime Minister Churchill wrote in his autobiography "Memoirs of the Second World War": Britain's foreign policy for the past four hundred years has been to oppose the largest, most aggressive and domineering countries on the continent. Britain has always joined The less powerful party will join forces with them to defeat the continent's military overlord, no matter who he is or which country he rules.

This is the best summary of British foreign policy.

The two world wars have not yet started.

Others may not understand the true face of the British, but George knows best.

This was the root cause of Brian Godwin's cold reception in Vladivostok.

What made Brian Godwin extremely angry was that Vladivostok even restricted his normal contact with the British mainland and did not allow him to send telegrams to the British mainland through the telegraph office in Vladivostok.

Therefore, if Brian Godwin wanted to send a telegram, he would have to go through Japan or the telegraph office of the Qing Empire.

"The existence of Yurievsky Super Duke will cause the power balance in East Asia to be completely unbalanced, which will in turn lead to the further expansion of the strength of the Russian Empire and threaten European security."

George would be happy to know that Brian Godwin thinks so highly of him.

"You mean that child? How could it be-"

The British Minister to China, John Worsham, was not impressed. He had never met George at all.

"Have you been to Vladivostok?"

Godwin knew why Worsham despised George.

Before Godwin went to Vladivostok, Godwin did not believe that Vladivostok had the ability to threaten the balance of power in the Far East.

“I heard it’s very cold there—”

"Before the Tsar granted Vladivostok to Super Duke Yurievsky, there was nothing there; now Vladivostok has not only steel plants, but also machinery plants and arsenals. A railway is even being built from Ladivostok to St. Petersburg, and you should know what that means.”

Godwin's words surprised Worsham.

“Are the Russians going to build the Trans-Siberian Railway?”

Worsham was stunned.

The reason why the Trans-Siberian Railway has not started yet is thanks to the efforts of the British Empire.

The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was indeed a heavy burden for the Russian Empire.

But the meaning is also very important.

There is no need to wait for the railway to be built.

As long as the railway construction is started, it can play a huge role in promoting the development of Siberia.

Britain did not want Russia to build the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Because in that case, Russia's strategic depth will extend from Europe to the Far East, which will almost make Russia invincible.

An undefeated Russia is completely inconsistent with British interests. In serious cases, it may even lead to the bankruptcy of the continental balancing policy.

"St. Petersburg hasn't made up its mind yet, but this is the scary part -"

Godwin was worried. He had also seen the miniature map of Vladivostok City Hall and knew how ambitious George was.

"The railway between Vladivostok and Khabarovka was built with private investment by Super Duke Yurievsky. Only the last section is left and it will be completed in Vladivostok next year. Trafigura will have greater steel processing capacity and can produce more rails, and St. Petersburg will see all this, and the tsar will have no reason to hesitate.”

"how can that be?"

Worsham murmured that the stakes were too high for Godwin to talk nonsense.

"If it were in St. Petersburg, then the possibility of this matter is indeed unlikely, but this is in Vladivostok, in the private domain of Super Duke Yurievsky. I am in Vladivostok Gram has taken the subway, and although I don’t want to admit it, I have to say that the subway in Vladivostok is faster, more comfortable, cleaner and more in line with the definition of civilization than the subway in London.”

What really caught Worsham's attention was Godwin's next words.

"Super Duke Yurievsky is also the commander of the Amur Military District. You should know that although the nominal commander of the mysterious Oak Regiment in St. Petersburg is the Crown Prince, Super Duke Yurievsky is the actual commander of the Oak Regiment. The commander of the army."

"Last year Super Duke Yuriyevsky transferred a battalion from the Oak Regiment to Vladivostok, and formed the Talisman Regiment on the basis of this battalion. If you go to Vladivostok, go Vladivostok City Hall Take a look at what Vladivostok will look like in the future, and you will know that the Talisman Group is by no means the end."         "Well, we have to report this to London."

Worsham could sit still.

But the British didn't take it to heart at all about the Siberian Fleet.

The Russian Empire's army and navy are completely different. In the ninth Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Empire singled out Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire. In the end, Britain, France, and Austria only won miserably.

If it had been any other country, it might have collapsed.

The Russian Empire did not accept defeat, and even the Tsar committed suicide in anger. This shows the attitude of the entire empire towards that war.

As expected, Russia made a comeback 20 years later. This time, even Britain and France did not provide substantial help to the Ottoman Empire.

The British have a deep understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Russian Imperial Army.

The fundamental reason why Britain dared to pursue and intercept the Russian Empire in East Asia was that the Trans-Siberian Railway had not been completed and St. Petersburg and the Far East were not connected.

After the Trans-Siberian Railway is completed, it will not be as easy for Britain to strangle Russia.

George didn't know that Britain had quietly increased its regard for him.

The new year is approaching, and this year Yuriev Palace will issue more year-end bonuses, larger red envelopes, and more benefits.

Mulind returned to Vladivostok in early December. This year, he earned at least 12 rubles in the Qing Empire by acting as an agent for Vladivostok products.

This is only the first year.

Mu Linde brought back orders for 1.2 military rifles alone.

If Vladivostok can provide more advanced magazine-type rifles, Mulind is confident that he can bring back more orders.

"Even if we don't sell, some countries are willing to sell. The Qing Empire has sent people to Europe and the United States to purchase. The arsenals in Europe and the United States will definitely not refuse orders from the Qing Empire."

Mulinder is now qualified to bargain with Mikhail.

Ability is confidence.

"For sale, not only magazine-type rifles, but also artillery!"

Mikhail was determined to do something big.

The local troops of the Russian Empire will all be reorganized into engineering corps, and the need for replacement equipment is no longer so strong.

Vladivostok's steel production is now getting higher and higher, and another set of steel equipment has been shipped out of Odessa. This is due to Nikolai.

Some things are just afraid of comparison.

Russia's steel production capacity has remained at around 75% all year round, and has never reached ideal output.

If calculated based on the output of the Russian Imperial Steel Plant, the annual output of the Vladivostok Steel Plant should be only about 1.2 tons.

In the first ten months of this year, the Vladivostok Steel Plant has produced 1.5 tons of steel.

It's steel, not pig iron.

Therefore, locating the steel plant in Vladivostok can maximize profits.

George originally expected that Vladivostok's steel production within three years would be satisfied as long as it could reach 10 tons.

It now appears that George still underestimated the potential of Vladivostok.

Now that there is enough steel, military production capacity will also reach a higher level.

Therefore, next year the Vladivostok Arsenal will be able to produce not only magazine-type rifles, but also artillery.

It's not a 305mm large-caliber naval gun.

It's just a field gun with a caliber of tens of millimeters. For the Vladivostok Arsenal, it is no more difficult than a heavy machine gun.

"That's great! You don't know how strong the demand for weapons is among the governors of the Qing Empire. The landowners of the Qing Dynasty can buy a hundred rifles at a time to protect their property. The bandits of the Qing Dynasty—— "

Mulinder looked embarrassed. He was an official official in Vladivostok, how could he deal with bandits.

"How did you do with the mission the princess gave you?"

Mikhail didn't care who Murind sold the weapons to, even if he sold them to the Japanese, Mikhail didn't care.

If Russia doesn’t sell weapons to the Japanese, doesn’t it mean that European and American countries don’t sell them either?

The British could even sell warships to the Japanese. Vladivostok did not make the money, but some people did.

"Princess is so discerning. The Su embroidery and Shu brocade from the Qing Empire are really ingenious. I have never seen anything so exquisite. It is simply a work of art——"

Mu Linde was full of praise at first, and then started to complain as soon as the topic changed.

"The only shortcoming of the Qing Empire is that the Qing people are too conservative. I offer Qing embroiderers a salary of one hundred taels a year, but no one is willing to come to Vladivostok to work."

"If 100 taels is not enough, just 500 taels. As long as the problem can be solved with money, it is not a problem!"

Mikhail finally got George's true story, and his attitude towards money has made great progress compared to when George first met him.

(End of this chapter)