I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 94 Iron-Blooded Prime Minister
  In 1875, Germany had a chance to completely defeat France.

Although France lost the Franco-Prussian War, with its huge overseas colonies, France quickly recovered its strength after the Franco-Prussian War, which caused Germany to worry.

Germany was worried about French retaliation and hoped to continue waging war to completely eliminate the French threat.

But before that, Germany wants to test the attitude of Britain and Russia.

In February 1875, a German delegation visited Russia to test Russia's attitude towards the French war.

At this time, Russia had become more wary of Germany because Germany had been completely unified through three wars. Tsar Alexander II therefore firmly opposed Germany's attack on France. Germany missed the best opportunity to defeat its old enemy.

This was also the inducement for Germany to target Russia at the Berlin Conference.

In October 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed an alliance. The two parties agreed that if either country was attacked by Russia, the other country would be obliged to "exhaust all the military power of the empire" and provide military assistance.

It should be noted that this alliance does not conflict with the Second Alliance of Three Emperors. After the expiration of the Second Alliance of Three Emperors, the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary continued until the two countries respectively fought in World War I. Perish in the middle.

Bismarck knew very well that Russia's return to the Second Alliance of Three Emperors was a temporary solution.

Therefore, Bismarck took advantage of the turmoil in the domestic political situation in Russia and had no time to pay attention to the short window period in the Balkans to speed up his efforts to win over the Balkan countries.

Bismarck, who was born in 1815, was 67 years old, one year older than Milyutin. He was an energetic strongman with the absolute trust of Kaiser Wilhelm I. In 1862, Bismarck, who became prime minister, firmly stated in his first speech in the German House of Commons. Said: The major problems of our time cannot be solved through speeches and majority resolutions, but must be solved with iron and blood.

In Russia now, the only one who can be as famous as Bismarck is Milyutin.

Like Milyutin, Bismarck looked affable and smiled without any threat most of the time. Only when he was unhappy did Bismarck show his sharpness and became the "iron-blooded prime minister" known to everyone in Europe.

"Good morning, Super Duke Yurievsky -" Bismarck greeted George with a smile, and then praised Milyutin beside him: "-What a good boy. When I see him, I feel like I saw his father. Same."

"Super Duke Yurievsky is indeed outstanding. He will become the best general in the Russian Empire." Milyutin made no secret of his admiration for George, which made Bismarck's eyes narrower and smaller.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Prime Minister." George responded politely. Bismarck's title was Marquis.

"Are you not old enough to serve in the military?" Bismarck showed his extraordinary familiarity with the Russian royal family.

Ordinary people pay attention to the Russian royal family and only pay attention to the children of Ya Er and Queen Maria. Few people pay attention to Ya Er and Catherine's family members.

George is also very low-key in St. Petersburg. Not many people know George, and even fewer people know his age.

"George is already a qualified Guards officer." Milyutin didn't care about George's age. He was more ambitious than young.

"That's really rare." Bismarck didn't pay much attention to George. He didn't come for George.

The Tsar prepared a grand welcome banquet for Bismarck. Because of Nicholas, George got the opportunity to get close to Bismarck.

At the banquet, Yasan warmly welcomed the arrival of Bismarck. Bismarck and Milyutin accepted the worship of Russian military generals and military observers from various countries.

After the banquet, the meeting between the Tsar and Bismarck became tense. "Our maneuvers in Rivne were not directed at anyone, so why did they cause concern in Vienna?" The Tsar showed little respect for Bismarck, and relations between Russia and Germany had broken down in 1879.

In 1879, Tsar Alexander II wrote to Kaiser Wilhelm I: If Germany treats its old friend like this, a war between the two countries may be inevitable.

After Germany, Austria and Italy formed an alliance, Bismarck said arrogantly in his speech to the Congress: I advise other countries to stop their threats. In this world, we have nothing to fear except God.

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire's exercises were not aimed at the Russian Empire. Vienna chose Lemberg because of the instability in Hungary." Bismarck sounded like he was defending the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the threat was even greater.

In addition to Austria-Hungary's own reasons for the instability in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia's fueling of the situation also played a key role.

"Do you have to help the damn Austrians?" Ya San had no patience to talk in circles with Bismarck.

"We only care about peace on the European continent, and Germany is only with God." The wily Bismarck was able to deal with the angry Yasan with ease.

"Winter is coming again. My old bones are sore every winter. St. Petersburg is so unfriendly to old guys like me. I have begun to miss the sunshine of the Mediterranean." Milyutin's assistant, Biya San The main tank has higher output.

Germany wooed Russia in order to isolate France and get rid of the unfavorable situation of being flanked by France and Russia.

So without Russia's commitment, Germany was forced to abandon its attack on France.

Bismarck brought Russia into the Alliance of Three Emperors and at the same time teamed up with Austria-Hungary to isolate Russia. To change the current unfavorable situation, relations with France were the only turning point.

"I recommend you to go to the Apennines, you will definitely fall in love with it." Bismarck was confident, and George's guess was further confirmed.

"The sunshine of the Black Sea is also good for cultivating the body. You can live in my palace, and you will be idle anyway." Ya San doesn't have high hopes for France, and the Balkan countries are more worthy of wooing.

France is the only capitalist country in Europe today, which is fundamentally different from the Russian imperial system.

During the French Revolution, even the French king sent him to the guillotine.

Ya Er's body was still cold, and Ya San resisted contact with France from the bottom of his heart.

"When it comes to the Black Sea, be careful of the Ottomans." Bismarck rambled on, and George couldn't help but start to wonder. Could it be that Germany and the Ottoman Empire had also reached some secret agreement?
  This is hard to say.

In World War I, the Ottoman Empire joined the German side.

After the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, Germany and the Ottoman Empire had an affair. During the Berlin Conference, the Germans helped the Ottomans a lot.

"The Ottomans are nothing to worry about. We can defeat the Ottomans once, and we can defeat the Ottomans a hundred times." Yasan laughed. Russia's confidence was completely boosted through the tenth Russo-Turkish War.

Bismarck did not smile, his expression was extremely serious.

George finally realized what it was like for Nicholas to attend the imperial meeting.

(End of this chapter)