In St. Petersburg, when the news came that the Japanese government suddenly announced the severance of diplomatic relations, the tsarist government was stunned, and it was completely the same - how dare the Japanese......

Whatever it was, it happened anyway. In addition to being angry, the tsarist government had to face reality.

Just when the tsarist government came out of its state of confusion and clamored to give the Japanese some color, something even more unbearable for the tsarist government happened.

On February 8, 1904, the Japanese launched an attack on the Russian army in the Far East without declaring war.

Well, the Japanese government helped the tsarist government make a choice. At this point, there is nothing to argue about, whether you want to or not, you can only fight.

Of course, it may have been a more rational choice to abandon the Far East for a temporary strategic contraction and wait for the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway before liquidating with the Japanese, but the tsarist government could not do it.

No great country can tolerate the loss of its territory without declaring war, and if the tsarist government really chooses to forbear, it is estimated that the people in the country will rebel.

The arrogance of the fighting nation is not covered, and everything can be tolerated, but it cannot tolerate the instigation of the tsarist government.

From this point of view, the original time and space put the blame of the Russo-Japanese War on the head of Nicholas II, which is purely wronging people.

The Japanese have all come over, and the tsarist government can't just be beaten and not fight back, right?

Of course, Nicholas II was not without responsibility. The biggest problem was the mistake of strategic judgment, wishful thinking that the Japanese did not dare to launch an attack and did not prepare for war in advance.

The current situation is similar to that of history, and although the butterfly effect has a great impact, it still has not been able to change the subjective judgment of the tsarist government.

Had it not been for the war reports sent from the front, the tsarist government would not have believed that the Japanese would have dared to declare war against the Russian Empire.

It can only be said that the Japanese government chose the wrong time for the attack, and if it had launched an attack on April Fool's Day or the day before, the tsarist government would most likely have let off the war reports from the front line.

……

After a few years as an emperor, Nicholas II's qi cultivation skills have improved a lot, and he has been able to barely restrain his emotions.

"War has broken out, what is the government's plan?"

Anyone who knows Nicholas II knows that the calmer the situation, the more angry the tsar became.

Although this strategic misjudgment was made by everyone, the government must take the initiative to carry this pot.

Prime Minister Sergei Witt stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, with the power of the empire in the Far East, it will be difficult to defeat the Japanese, and in the short term we can only take a defensive position.

The top priority at the moment is to concentrate forces and hold on to a few strategic points. After the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, a large force will be sent to reinforce it.

The next step was to enlist the support of the Vienna government. Although there was a Russian-Austrian alliance, it was only signed with Austria and did not represent the Holy Roman Empire.

In the style of Franz the Great, there will definitely be support, but the specific strength depends on our next diplomatic means.

However, the Japanese not declared war this time, which not only violated international practice, but also provoked the Vienna system, and it is estimated that the Vienna government is now very dissatisfied with the Japanese.

If we can get the full support of the Vienna government, it will be much easier to win the support of the international community.

In any case, we are also a European country after all, and no European country wants to see Europe lose to the Japanese natives.

The previous war in the Philippines is an example of this. For the sake of the face of the white world, the European countries should be more inclined to us.

If possible, it's better to pull up Spain. Less than a decade after the Philippine War, the Spaniards would never mind beating the water dogs if they had the chance.

With Spain's help, the landing problem was no longer difficult. With the HRE pinning down the British, it was not difficult for the Imperial Navy and the Spanish Navy to join forces and defeat the Japanese Navy. ”

There is nothing wrong with it overall, but there are loopholes everywhere in the details.

Sticking to strategic points is easier said than done, but if you really do it, you will have to face many problems.

The first problem we face is "materials". Although the Russian army has hoarded some supplies in the Far East, it is obviously not enough to support the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In the original time and space, many keyboard warriors sprayed the command mistakes of the Russian army, but they didn't know that many "mistakes" had to be done.

No matter how big the strategy is, it is not as important as the belly, and the first thing the commander should do is not to win the war, but to find a way to fill the belly of the soldiers and meet the supply of strategic materials.

When the troops are scattered, they can also supply some supplies on the spot, and once the troops are concentrated, it will be a test of logistics.

Enlisting the support of the international community would be even more subtle. Spain is Spain, Russia is Russia, and in the European world these are two very different concepts.

It is true that the European world does not want to see whites lose to natives, but this is only a folk idea and represents the position of national governments.

Governments were willing to support Spain at the beginning, because the declining Spain was no threat to everyone, and there was the bad luck of Shinra leading the search for the Japanese, so everyone was naturally happy to be a favor.

It's different with the Russian Empire, even the HRE is afraid of Russia, not to mention the rest of the country.

It is useless to pull the banner of "Europe", and the debate about whether the Russian Empire is a European or Asian country has not been understood by later generations, let alone now.

Coupled with the tyrannical style of the tsarist government in the past, it offended many people even more. Now there are definitely more people who want to see the defeat of the Russian Empire than there are people who want them to win.

In this context, everyone is already very face-saving if they don't fall from behind, and they still want to support their dreams!

If it weren't for the fact that the Japanese government's approach was equally annoying, it is estimated that public opinion would have been one-sided long ago. The general trend is like this, and it cannot be reversed by the power of individuals.

The only feasible thing was probably to win over Spain, but unfortunately the tsarist government chose the wrong time.

If it had been during the Philippine War, the Spanish government would have formed an alliance with them, so forget it now!

There are a lot of internal contradictions in their own country, which has exhausted the Spanish government, who can care about taking revenge on the Japanese?

Of course, there is no actual retaliation, and there is no problem with moral support.

It is estimated that there is no need to win over, and the Spanish government will spontaneously help wave the flag and shout, but it is limited to waving the flag and shouting.

As Prime Minister, Sergei Witt naturally will not be blind to these problems, and even if he does not discover them for a while, the think tank will remind him.

Now I am pretending to be confused, and there is a reason for it. Not being able to extinguish one's own prestige is one thing, but more importantly, it is political necessity.

Someone needs to be responsible for strategic miscalculations, and as prime minister, he will definitely be to blame. If you don't want to get out of the way, you have to find a way to remedy it.

The key to determining the outcome of a war is strength, and there is no way to reverse the balance of power in the Far East, and naturally it will not be able to turn the tables.

But the tsar had already asked, and Sergei Witt could not be regarded as not hearing, let alone saying that there was no way.

Politics is just to deal with it first. As for how to fight on the battlefield next, that is a matter for the military, and as the prime minister, he is responsible for logistics.

As soon as the words fell, Mihairovich's expression became nervous. I don't know if the army will be able to complete the plan, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can't complete it anyway.

was affected by the pond fish, and Mihairovich didn't care about giving face to the prime minister, and immediately retorted: "Prime minister, don't forget that there are also British."

We have the Russian-Austrian alliance, and the Japanese also have the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Whether you like to admit it or not, the most powerful people in the Far East are the British.

Including this war, most of it was planned by the British. Without their backing, the Japanese government would not have had the courage to go to war with us.

What we have to do now is not only to fight the Japanese government, but also to play games with the British.

With the British making trouble, it is simply impossible for us to gain the support of the international community, and European countries will not easily take sides.

What the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was really able to win was the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. With the British holding us back, it will be difficult for the two countries to provide us with substantial help in the Far East. ”

There is no way, the British Empire is so good in these years. Even the rise of the Holy Roman Empire could not hide the power of Britain.

What's more, the Far East was originally dominated by the British, and the HRE were all involved in the later period, and their influence in the local area was far less than that of the British.

If it weren't for the prestige of defeating France, it is estimated that it would still be regarded as a second-rate country. Now the contradiction between HRE and Britain, in addition to interests, also has a dispute over "name".

Individuals can not care about fame and fortune, but the state cannot. Without a prestige as a deterrent, it's inconvenient to do anything.

War Minister Yevgeny: "Not only diplomatically, but also militarily. Our forces in the Far East are limited, and the Japanese can mobilize several times as many forces to fight.

Strategic contraction would have been the best option, but the empire was not prepared for war and stockpiled limited supplies in various places.

In order to ensure logistics, we can only divide our troops to resist and buy time for the arrival of reinforcements.

Militarily speaking, nothing is as important now as getting the Trans-Siberian Railway into operation.

I propose that from now on, the Trans-Siberian Railway will be worked on day and night in order to open to traffic in the shortest possible time.

The second is to immediately organize a material procurement group to go to Europe to purchase strategic materials, and if it is too late, it will be preempted by the Japanese. ”

Falling into the well, perhaps!

However, politics is originally a dead friend, not a poor man, and someone will always take responsibility for strategic miscalculations, and everyone will take the blame if the prime minister does not take the blame.

Taking responsibility is not the same as immediately rolling up and leaving, and when to leave the job still has to be seen from the battlefield. If the front line wins, everyone can also be happy.

Sergei Witt, the original space-time, was forced to leave his post a year later because of his responsibility and the continuous defeat of the Russian army on the front line.

As for the anti-war and political discord with the tsar on the Internet in later generations, it is complete nonsense, and it is estimated that it is not even a trigger.

The Russo-Japanese War was the first move of the Japanese, and the tsarist government only responded passively to the war, so it had no choice at all.

Political discord, then it is even more nonsense. From the time Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, Sergei Witt was an important minister of the tsarist government, and he was promoted to prime minister for more than ten years.

If there is really a political disagreement, there is no such drama at all. In the style of Nicholas II, those who don't like it usually kick them away.

If there was a choice, Yevgeny did not want to fall into the trap. But there is no way, continue to make mud, or it will not be long before it will be his turn to be unlucky.

War is not child's play, and no one knows better than him, the Minister of War, what is going on at the front.

If you don't get vaccinated in advance, how will a series of defeats come later?

If you look at the wording, you can see that "divide the troops and garrison", "resist step by step", and "gain time", which is clearly to make everyone mentally prepared to receive "defeat at the front".

The reversal is still after the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, who made the start of this railway later than the original time and space?

Even if you don't take the lives of French laborers seriously, you can't get the railroad through at once!

The situation has collapsed, the people below are still fighting for power and shirking responsibility, Rao is Nicholas II's qi cultivation kung fu has improved, so he can't help it.

I saw him slam the table and scolded angrily: "When is the time, you don't want to solve the problem one by one, but are competing here to pass the buck, don't forget your identity!" ”

This is a problem that every monarch has to face. The people below are in harmony, and they must be feared that they are complicit; The constant fighting among the people below will affect the efficiency of political governance.

In a sense, this is also the contradiction of the monarch.

In normal times, everyone likes to play with checks and balances of power, and let the people below fight each other; At the critical moment, I hope that the people below will unite.

There is no doubt that a bureaucracy that satisfies both requirements at the same time simply does not exist. Most people are selfish, and bureaucrats are no exception, and everyone has to think about themselves first.

Don't think they really like political struggles, more often than not, there is still no way. Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are bureaucrats, there are factions.

Even if you want to stop, the people below won't agree. Most of the time, a step back politically is not a sea and a sky, but an abyss.

Now, for example, if the ministers were united, Nicholas II might be happy on the surface, but he would certainly not be able to sleep at night.

As for solving the problem?

In fact, the departments have been in action for a long time. The Ministry of Finance is trying to find ways to raise money, the War Department is deploying troops, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working hard like a swarm of bees.

Actions are actions, but most of these actions are carried out passively. No one can expect everyone to come up with the perfect plan in just a few hours.

If Nicholas II had convened a meeting later, the situation would definitely have been much better. No matter how bad it is, it won't be a bunch of clichés without nutrition.

……

In the Far East, as the initiator of this war, Japan showed unprecedented fanaticism. As soon as the Japanese government issued a recruitment order, a wave of military enlistments broke out.

In particular, the people of Tokyo, perhaps stimulated by the previous embassy case, are now showing a particularly fanatical attitude.

Whether it is government offices, schools, shops, or factories, they are all hanging up propaganda slogans of "snow shame" at this moment.

The felons who were sentenced to death in the embassy case have now been invited to shrines as heroes, and various folk [58] rituals are also in full swing.

If it weren't for the face of the legation, it is estimated that the Japanese government would have personally gone to the sacrifice. In short, the results of the previous trial have now been overturned by the Japanese.

Even the Japanese students who were ready to take the entrance examination for Nanyang University have now put down their books and thrown themselves into the war that will determine the fate of the nation.

In the context of the whole people clamoring for revenge, a small number of rational people can't make waves at all.

"Anti-war", that does not exist. Even the members of the anti-war faction now obediently keep their mouths shut, at most, when no one is around, secretly thinking about it.

Even foreigners in Japan have been affected. As an ally of the Russians, the HRE embassy in Tokyo has been much more low-key in recent times.

From this point of view, the Russian embassy case is still valuable to Japan, and at least it has dealt a blow to the arrogance of the embassies of various countries.

As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid to wear shoes, and the current Japan is the one who is barefoot. The national mood is mobilized to the extreme, and the slightest stimulus can explode.

It's just that this kind of mental stimulation is obviously impossible to last. If the front-line armies continue to achieve victories, then this can continue for a long time.

On the contrary, once the front-line army suffers a major defeat. The fragile Japanese national spirit immediately triggers an avalanche.

Gambling on the fortunes of the country is not only the army and colonies, but also the national spirit.

The current Japan has once again embarked on the old path of the original time and space, losing everything; Winning means that the nation will be reborn from the ashes, casting the foundation of a great power, and the world will have one more power.