The Prussian army's intention to open up the situation on the southwestern front did not affect the strategic layout of the tsarist government, and Marshal Ivanov continued the previous strategy.

For a war in which millions of people participate, the gains and losses on the local battlefield are no longer so important.

As long as there was no total collapse of the South-Western Front, it was within the tolerance of the tsarist government, and now they had a much more important goal - Smolensk.

No matter how well prepared the Prussian army is, the war will always kill people.

Smolensk has become a meat grinder, with thousands of people falling every day, and the brutal casualties are a difficult test for both the Russian army and the Prussian army.

Within a month of the war, in order to seize Smolensk, the number of casualties of the Russian army has exceeded 100,000; The Prussian army, as the defender, did not take much advantage, and the casualties were as high as more than 70,000.

Half of them were killed or disabled, and left the battlefield permanently, and it can be said that both Prussia and Russia suffered heavy losses.

The cold figures on the battle report did not shake Marshal Ivanov's will, but strengthened his previous judgment.

A war of attrition is the most brutal and the most secure. According to the current situation, it will definitely not be Russia that will not be the first to hold on.

Marshal Ivanov was able to accept it, but it did not mean that others could accept it too, and the heavy casualties still raised questions within the tsarist government.

Hermitage, a meeting of high-level government officials

Interior Minister Mikhail took the lead: "Your Excellency Marshal, it has only been a little more than a month since the start of the war, and we have paid more than 100,000 casualties, and the front has barely advanced, shouldn't you explain?" ”

Ivanov was unmoved: "Your Excellency, to be precise, from the beginning of the war to the present, we have lost a total of 65,863 killed and 97,684 wounded.

Oh, this is the statistic two days ago, and now that number should have increased quite a bit. The total number of casualties exceeded the 200,000 mark this month without any problems.

However, you can't just see our losses, the enemy's losses are not small. Judging by the statistical data, the number of killed in the Prussian army is also approaching 60,000. ”

The watery "Kamen's victory" contributed a quarter to this figure, directly narrowing the exchange ratio between Prussia and Russia.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Cristanval: "Your Excellency, no one denies your achievements. The problem is that our losses are so great that the war has only been going on for a little more than a month! ”

Ivanov sneered: "Where is there no immortal in the war, as long as you can win the victory, any sacrifice is worth it."

Of course, it is not impossible to end this war as soon as possible, but it will be very damaging to our international reputation. ”

At this time, still thinking about fighting for power, Ivanov hated these politicians and did not save face for them at all.

Whether it is really dissatisfied, or is it for the sake of the tsar, this question is up to the wise and the wise.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Cristanval asked excitedly: "What can be done, as long as we can fight this war, we can slowly restore our international reputation." ”

It's not that Cristanval doesn't pay attention to international reputation, it's just that their international reputation is at the bottom of Europe.

All eyes were on Ivanov, expecting him to give an answer.

After a pause, Ivanov pretended to be relaxed and said: "It's very simple, you can follow the example of the Tartars." It is enough to send troops to sabotage the enemy's territory and weaken their war potential to the maximum. ”

Everyone gasped, where is this sabotage, it is clearly a massacre, okay?

Foreign Secretary Chris Basham hurriedly objected: "No, this will give Britain and France a pretext to intervene in this war, and I am afraid that even Austria will not support us at that time." ”

It's the nineteenth century, and it's no longer appropriate to play Holocaust on the European continent.

Through the eyes of everyone, Ivanov knew that no one supported the plan. It's not that everyone doesn't want to, the main thing is that they don't dare, Russia can't afford the consequences of the massacre.

Ivanov: "If that's the case, then we can only de-escalate, just sabotage and not kill." ”

When he said this, Ivanov himself did not believe it. It is completely idealistic to only engage in destruction and not to kill people.

In the actual operation process, the enemy will definitely resist, how can it be possible not to kill people after a conflict? On the battlefield, the red eyes are killed, and the military discipline of the Russian army cannot be contained at all.

Moreover, Ivanov was ready to send Cossack cavalry to carry out this plan, and the situation was even more uncontrollable.

Alexander II shook his head: "It is impossible not to kill, but to kill selectively." It is enough to get rid of the enemy's youth and strength, leave the old and weak, and give an explanation to the international community.

Tell us about your plans. The enemy is not a fool, it is not so simple to go deep into the enemy territory alone, if you are bitten by the enemy, it will be a big trouble. ”

Alexander II, who has a reputation or something, doesn't care about it for a long time, and since he is already an enemy, he naturally wants to weaken it as much as possible. He would not mind a massacre if it were not for the reaction of the countries of Europe.

Ivanov: "Your Majesty, this plan is a land and sea move. On land, saxophone cavalry dressed as robbers crossed the border to wreak havoc.

The naval assault is the same as the last war, except that this time we have a special mission, and in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, some troops may need to dress up as pirates.

We can issue privateer licenses and encourage civilian forces to participate in looting the coastal areas of the enemy, and it would be even better if we could attract real pirates.

Taking into account the position of the Viennese government, the hostages taken by the pirates could be sold to Austrian colonial merchants. ”

Ci is not in charge of the army, and in order to win the war, Ivanov has already abandoned the temperance.

After weighing the pros and cons, the room was quiet. Neither one supported nor opposed. Obviously, everyone is the elite of the bureaucracy, and they are not willing to take the lead in the things they are responsible for.

Alexander II glared at everyone fiercely: "Why are they all dumb?" Whether it is for or against, it is necessary to have a clear attitude today. ”

After a pause, he added, "If you oppose it, then come up with a better plan." The situation on the battlefield is in crisis, and there is not so much time for you to waste. ”

As a last resort, Chancellor of the Exchequer Cristanval stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Marshal Ivanov's proposal is very good, but there are some details that need to be improved.

It is not easy to penetrate deep into enemy territory, and if we are not careful, the whole army will be annihilated, so how can we ensure the safety of the troops we send out? ”

Agreed. There's no way, Cristanval is not good at fighting, and it's completely embarrassing for him to come up with a battle plan.

Ivanov said confidently: "It's very simple, on the frontal battlefield, we have pinned down the main forces of the Prussian army, and the enemy in the rear will not be too strong."

In addition, there is also airship reconnaissance, which can grasp the movement of large forces of the enemy and make adjustments in time.

Attacking troops by land and sea, as long as they do not go too far inland, can be withdrawn before the enemy arrives. We just do sabotage, we don't need to occupy places.

On land, mainly Cossack cavalry, which came and went like the wind, and only Polish cavalry could pose a threat to them, but they were too few in number.

Because of logistics, we will control the range of activities and will not be far from the main forces. ”

This is all theoretical, and in real battles, it is certainly not as simple as Ivanov said. Not to mention anything else, as long as the Prussian army moves at night, the airship will not be able to detect it.

Even if the movement of the Prussian army is discovered, there is no way to distinguish between the main force and cannon fodder in high-altitude reconnaissance. If the Prussian army wants to, it is entirely possible to put on military uniforms for civilians and pretend to be soldiers.

Marshal Ivanov naturally will not say these questions, otherwise there will be another moth. He had no expectations of the military level of his colleagues.

……

The resolution was adopted, and Ivanov breathed a sigh of relief. Once this plan is launched, it will be bloodied, and the reputation of the Russian Empire will once again fall to the bottom.

No matter how you embellishe, this will be a piece of black history.