Being able to counterattack from a rubber stamp to become a real emperor, Emperor Meiji is not a master of foolishness. The army's sworn "guarantee" not only did not reassure him, but made Emperor Meiji even more uncertain.

As an insightful emperor, Meiji was well aware of the kind of troops sent by European countries to overseas colonies. Defeating an indigenous-majority colonial army is nothing at all.

Moreover, the protagonist of this war is not the army. The key to victory or defeat is diplomacy, followed by the navy.

Ignoring Oyamaiwa's assurances, Emperor Meiji cautiously said, "There are only three months left until the Vienna Peace Conference, and we should also make preparations."

Prime Minister, this time I will personally lead the team. We don't expect Britain and Austria to support us, but at least keep them neutral.

The rise and fall of empires ...... in one fell swoop"

Ito's face changed, and with his knowledge of Emperor Meiji, he could be sure that Meiji's confidence had been hit.

He was sent to Europe not only to attend the Vienna Peace Conference, but more importantly to find a way back and prepare for the worst.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that attending the Vienna Peace Conference is a joke. With Japan's current international status, it is not even qualified to sit at the negotiating table.

It can be seen from the content of the invitation that the anti-French alliance only invited them to participate in the auction of warships.

It is not the turn of the Japanese Government to speak on the matter of establishing a new international order, and when the dust settles, they will just abide by it.

Because of the Philippine War, even this warship auction, the Japanese government could only play soy sauce.

It's not about money. As a member of the anti-French alliance, the Spaniards were also among the sellers, and it was impossible to sell warships to their enemies under any circumstances.

Even if they buy it, it's useless, the Spaniards will definitely find a way to jam their necks. It was impossible for a warship to return home until the end of the war.

Against this backdrop, the Vienna Peace Conference was nothing more than a chicken affair for the Japanese government, and there was no need for the prime minister to intervene in person.

……

St. Petersburg in January has already been dressed in silver. Under the biting cold wind, the streets and alleys have become inaccessible.

The Fikexing Cafe, which used to be full of people, is now silent. In the living room of Nuoda, there were only six or seven people scattered around.

From the demeanor and temperament of everyone, it can be seen that except for the two protagonists, the rest are bodyguards.

……

Russian Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez, one of the protagonists, interrupted with a wave of his hand: "Your Excellency, these unnutritious words do not need to be repeated.

We have never had friendship with your country, and now Austria is our ally. It is impossible to undermine the Russian-Austrian alliance from our side. ”

Interrupted, Richard not only did not get angry, but showed a satisfied smile.

It is indeed difficult for Britain and Russia to associate friendship with each other, and in the past three decades or so, the two countries have fought twice, with hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides.

In contrast, the Russian-Austrian alliance, which has been maintained for decades and has hardly broken out into major conflicts, can be called "friendship".

However, the problem cannot be taken at face value. If the Russian-Austrian relationship had been really close, there would have been no secret meeting on this icy day.

Richard, who is good at observing words and colors, has already found the problem from the conversation just now.

Of course, it is more likely that the Russians are deliberately sending a signal, or Oscar Jimenez would not have been guilty of accentuating the use of the word "now".

"Your Excellency, I know that there are many misunderstandings between your country and Britain, but that is in the past tense, and we must look ahead.

With the end of the European War, the fall of France was a foregone conclusion. If we do not act, then the new European hegemon will be Austria.

Now your country and Austria are allies, but it does not mean that they will always be allies. You must know that real allies only exist when there is an equal amount of strength. Once the equilibrium is upset, the situation is very different.

Even if your country abandons its plan to move westward, there is no guarantee that the Austrians will not advance eastward. After all, the only one on the European continent who can influence Austria's hegemony is your country.

Your country's true ally is Austria thirty years ago, not the reborn Holy Roman Empire. ”

In international competition, one trades off the other. Austria became stronger, and the Russian Empire was weakened in relative terms.

The British felt the threat of the rise of Austria, and so did the tsarist government. Even because the two countries are neighbors, the tsarist government felt it even more deeply.

It was for the benefit of the Russian Empire, or rather, that the tsarist government wanted to reassure itself.

It's just that after contact, Oscar Jimenez was very disappointed. The British are still the same old way of sowing discord, all asking the Russian Empire to do something, not what Britain is going to do.

It is not impossible to tear up the Russian-Austrian alliance, provided that the interests are sufficiently large. Obviously, the British, who like white wolves with empty gloves, did not offer enough prices.

"Your Excellency is right, but that's just a possibility. The future has not yet arrived, and no one can predict what will happen in advance.

At least for now, the Russian-Austrian alliance is still unbreakable, and we will not abandon our allies because of a possibility. So what your purpose is, just say it, there is no need to go around in circles here. ”

The Russian-Austrian alliance has developed so far, and it has penetrated into all fields of the two countries, and it is not at all that it can be dissolved by saying that it can be dissolved. Once the face is turned, both sides will lose a lot.

Against this background, despite its desire to limit the development of Austria, the tsarist government restrained itself and did not take any targeted action on the surface. Instead, they pinned their hopes on the enemy, counting on the British to intervene to interrupt the momentum of Austria's development.

In this regard, Britain and Russia both think about the same, and neither of them wants to be the first bird at this time, jump out to pull the hatred of Austria, and let the opponent benefit the fisherman.

"Your Excellency, Austria's enlargement is a very serious threat to us, and I believe that your country does not want to live in the shadow of Vienna.

In order to remove this threat, we propose that the two countries join hands to sabotage the Vienna Peace Conference, crush Austria's ambition to establish a new international order, and return the international situation to the era of three-legged power, in which our three countries will jointly dominate the world. ”

Oscar Jimenez shook his head: "We feel the sincerity of your country, but it is far from enough.

The Vienna Peace Conference was destroyed, and the Russian-Austrian alliance came to an end. The price we have to pay is too great and could even lead to the collapse of the domestic economy.

If your country defaults later, we will bear the wrath of Austria alone. The risks are too great to bear. ”

Minister Richard assured: "High risk is high return." As long as the general trend of Austria is interrupted, all the effort is worth it.

As for your country's losses, we can find a way to compensate for part of it. In short, we don't let our friends suffer. ”

……

The Gatchina Palace, and Alexander III, who was holding the conditions of Russia and Austria at the same time, was in the midst of a difficult mental struggle.

The conditions given by the British were that as long as they survived the immediate onslaught, the Russian Empire could soar into the sky and replace Austria as the new European hegemon.

However, as much as the benefits are, the risks are as high. In the event of a failure of the operation, or if the British defaulted halfway, the Russian Empire would be doomed.

Even if you don't think the British will default on this issue, who can say for sure what politics is?

The government of London is also held every few years, and if you are unlucky enough to run into an iron man and mess around, the Russian Empire will be miserable.

This kind of thing has not happened in history, and the Russian Empire itself was a victim. If it were not for the divine operation of Peter III, the Russian Empire would have become the hegemon of the European continent long ago, and there would not have been so much trouble at all.

Of course, it was better for Alexander III to have these troubles. After all, Peter III did not mess around, and the position of tsar was not their turn.

In contrast, Austria offers much safer terms and naturally much smaller benefits. The hegemony of the European continent is impossible, and the hegemony of South Asia can be expected.

Looking out the window, Alexander III asked: "How much does the Central Asian Railway cost, has it been assessed?" ”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alisher Gulov: "The total length of the main line of the Central Asian Railway is 3,864 km, and the total length of the subsidiary lines is more than 15,600 km.

Not only will it have to endure the test of harsh weather, but also pass through a number of harsh terrain on the way, and the construction period is expected to be 12 years, and the preliminary estimate is that it will cost 1.276 billion gold rubles. ”

Railways have always been a sore spot for the Russian Empire. Not to mention that the developed countries in Europe are comparative, even the railways of the British India next door are stronger than them.

It's not that the tsarist government doesn't work hard, it's really not allowed by strength! The Russian Empire was not only vast, but even more terrible was the harsh climate.

In other countries, when railways are built, after the exploration is completed, the design drawings are made, and the work can be done directly.

The Russian Empire could not, and their railways had to be able to operate in the snow and ice. Occasionally, there will be a big cooling, and there will even be extreme weather of minus forty or fifty degrees.

You get what you pay for, and the railways of the Russian Empire were demanding, and the cost of construction was naturally high.

The completion of the railway is only the beginning, and the greater trouble lies in the later operation. The harsh natural climate directly increases the cost of later operation and maintenance, which is simply a bottomless pit.

Foreign repair capital is flocking in, and there is no need to worry about funding at all; And the Russian Empire built railways, but only the government paid for it.

No way, who let the railways of the Russian Empire lose money for many years! No one did the loss-making business, the capital refused to invest, and the construction of the railway was naturally slow.

If it were not for the agitation of Austria, plus the fact that there were French reparations to be expected, the tsarist government said that it would not have started the Central Asian Railway at this time.

"Can I shorten the construction period?"

There was no demand for a reduction in construction costs, that is, Alexander III knew what the domestic bureaucracy was. If the construction cost is really reduced, no one can guarantee that the built railway will be able to open to traffic smoothly.

Something like this has not happened before. In the previous railway construction, there were fools who arbitrarily compressed the length of the track gauge and sleepers in order to save money.

If you take a closer look at the railways that have been successfully put into operation, they all have one thing in common – budget overruns.

To put it simply, it is to quote a low-cost project first. When the project is halfway through, there is no money, forcing the government to increase investment.

"If the construction is contracted to Austrian Railways, the total construction period can be reduced by a quarter, and the main line can be extended to the border with Afghanistan in eight years.

However, their offer is very high, 1.886 billion gold rubles if we provide labor, and the budget is 3 billion gold rubles if the work is carried out entirely by them. ”

With such a price difference, Alisher Gulov was also helpless. The budget of the domestic railway company is really low, but it is a pity that it cannot be successfully completed every time. Not only is the construction period not guaranteed, but the budget is also increased.

The asking price of Austrian railway companies is indeed high, but the construction period is guaranteed, the quality is reliable, and they are all quoted at one time, even if there is an increment in the future, the increased budget will not be too much. In the end, the cost is lower.

If this was the case, the tsarist government should have brought in Austrian railways to reduce construction costs. On the contrary, almost no Austrian railway companies took on projects in the hands of the tsarist government.

It was not that the tsarist government was unwilling to issue contracts, but that there was no Austrian railway company willing to take orders. The reason is very realistic, the tsarist government is poor, and there is no guarantee of payment.

So much so that the construction of a railway funded by the tsarist government has become a bargaining chip for Austria to negotiate terms, and it is still a very tempting bargaining chip.

As soon as the railway was built to the Afghan region, the door of the Russian Empire to India was opened.

Naturally, the tsarist government did not dare to be careless in such an important project. In case of a non-human, the investment will be wasted.

The biggest benefit of handing over to Austrian Railways is safety. Everyone knew that the Vienna government wanted the Russian Empire to go south and the British to fight to the death, and would definitely guarantee the quality of this railway.

Even if there is a budget problem in the middle of the project, there is no need to worry about the stoppage, and the Austrians will advance the funds to complete the project for them in a spirit of fearless internationalism.