Beijing, Zhongnanhai.

In a small study, Liu Xian was discussing the second Sino-Russian war and the current situation in Europe with his important ministers.

There were only six people who appeared in front of Liu Xian, Fan Debang, Zhang Shouyan, Shen Guifen, Li Hongzhang, Guo Songtao and Ding Zhenduo.

is also a cabinet minister, and in Liu Xianam's eyes, he is also close and distant, light and heavy.

And does the second Sino-Russian war have anything to do with the current situation in Europe? Is it okay?

The distribution of the situation in Europe over the next 30 years can already be seen in the current reactions of European countries.

"Your Majesty, there is a great deal of controversy in Germany over Bismarck's foreign policy. The Berlin Conference continues to influence the German media. The attitude towards our country is still very friendly, and the Sino-Russian war is rarely mentioned in the press. At most, I was surprised by the sudden outbreak of a military conflict between Japan and Russia. ”

The 10th Russian-Turkish war officially ended last year. In January, Russia and Turkey formally signed the "Peace Treaty of San Stefano", which stipulated: Turkey recognized the independence of Serbia, Menegro and Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina was autonomous, and established the Grand Bulgarian Principality from the Danube River in the north, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Serbian border in the west, to be occupied by the Russian army for two years. In addition, Turkey ceded Kars, Batumi and Adakhan on the Black Sea coast to Russia.

The Treaty of San Stefano greatly expanded Russia's power in the Balkans, and the situation in which the Russian fleet did not leave the Black Sea would definitely be rewritten, and the Russian army also had access to the sea in the Aegean Sea! This affected the interests of Britain and France, and would also cause Austria-Hungary to fall into the semi-encirclement of the Russian army in southeastern Europe, which aroused strong opposition from Britain and Austria and other countries. The conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia intensified, and relations between the two countries quickly broke down. Britain, France, Austria, Italy and other countries jointly put pressure on Russia. Calling for the convening of an international conference to revise the Russian-Turkish peace treaty.

Seeing that his alliance of the Three Emperors [Germany, Russia and Austria] was actually collapsing, Bismarck had to play the role of an 'honest broker' and invite all parties to Berlin for multilateral negotiations in April this year. Resolving the Balkan crisis.

Bismarck had made a number of preparations before the meeting - a consensus was reached that Russia would reduce 'Great Bulgaria,' that Britain would need to secure the Ottoman Empire and thus Cyprus, and that Austria-Hungary would still be able to obtain Bosnia and Herzegovina under the guarantee of the British Empire.

All of the above conditions were agreed upon at the meeting, although there were numerous verbal exchanges. 'Great Bulgaria' was not only reduced, but divided into three, independent in the north, autonomous in the southeast, and the rest still returned to the Turks.

This simple map operation has no regard for the national question. It would further complicate the Balkan problem. Russian circles have denounced Tsar Alexander III as a 'traitor' and described the conference as 'a siege of Russia under Bismarck, Prince of Europe'. This kind of conference, which prevented Russia from 'returning with a full load,' was a great blow to the trust of the Russians in Germany. Bismarck's continental stabilizer, the Three Emperors' Alliance, went bankrupt.

Although the alliance of the Three Emperors is still in place due to treaty restrictions, the deterioration of Russian-German relations and the Russian-Austrian conflict have made this alliance meaningless.

There is news from the European Office that Bismarck and Austria seem to have re-established a secret covenant, but the exact agreement is unknown.

In any case, the biggest winner of the Berlin Conference was not Germany, but Britain, which seemed to have nothing to gain. Without the Three Emperors' Alliance, the pressure on Germany from the French increased dramatically.

And the Sino-Russian war that broke out not so long ago. The French press did not give Germany a low profile, but rather considerable attention. The rhetoric is an attack on China.

The UEF is also aware of clandestine contacts between France and Russia. There is information that France has secretly provided Russia with a huge sum of money. The EU's £1 million a year is not something that can be thrown into the water.

Franco-Russian Vs Deo!

Italy is still playing soy sauce, and Britain is still standing on the shore and applauding. Today, the British Empire is pro-German. Both France and Russia were rivals and enemies of the British Empire.

"From next year, the import quota from France will be reduced. Increase orders to the British! ”

"But the emperor. Although the quality of British things comes first, they are expensive. ”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has close ties with the Military Intelligence Agency. The European Office is nominally part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in fact it is led by the military intelligence system. Guo Songtao: Don't look at it, now read the manuscript and introduce the situation easily. These things have wasted the strength of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the European Office to feed before.

The appearance of Chinese is very different from that of Westerners, which makes it inherently more difficult to integrate into their society. So far, the OEU has to get some confidential information. In addition to using money to buy, it is to use money to smash the relationship. An ace spy in the truest sense of the word. Not one.

Many Westerners who have come to us for various reasons, the EEG Office uses them at most to do some useless work. It is impossible to keep something secret that can be tentacled by foreigners who have only been attached to it in three or five years.

Liu Xian's eyes swept over the world map hanging on the back wall of the study. "They are the most powerful country in the world. If it's expensive, we'll buy it too. At least until the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, we must honestly express our attitude towards the UK. ”

"How long can we fight this battle with the Russians?"

"What's going to happen next year, it's going to be over, right?"

"Russia is now in the eyes of Europe. and at the threshold of the emptiness of national strength, how much strength do they have to fight with us all the time? ”

Although the situation in Xinjiang is dominated by the Russians. However, the Xinjiang Military Region belongs to the defensive stage. There are geographical advantages.

Whether it is the front line of Tuschi, or several mountain passes and key roads, if the Russian army wants to break through there head-on, it needs to pay a great price.

It would have been impossible for Skobelev to be able to wipe out the land by artillery fire alone, as he had done with the natives of Central Asia.

Xinjiang has limestone suitable for firing cement, but the steel industry is not very good, or the entire steel industry in China is concentrated in the east. Steel from the mainland can be shipped to Xinjiang. Coupled with the iron bars from the Xinjiang earthen kiln, it is not a problem to build fortifications.

With permanent fortifications and trench positions, if the Russian army attacks head-on, the casualties will be too large for the Russian army in Central Asia to bear.

If you march from the mountain trails, the danger is too great. Moreover, these mountain trails, where are the Russians familiar with the local residents and the officers and men of the Xinjiang Military Region.

Two days later, Li Hongzhang would depart from Beijing to Zhengzhou as a messenger and then transfer to the northwest. The Longhai line has not been fully completed, otherwise he would have been able to take the train all the way to Lanzhou.

With the embodiment of the role and convenience of the railway in the past two years, the call for overhaul of the railway in China is getting louder and louder.

The Jin merchants even had to raise their own funds to build a railway line connecting Mongolia and the interior, otherwise the export of wool and coal would be too hindered and would consume too much manpower and time.

Railways should also be built in the northeast, and railways should be built in the southwest. There is so much money in the central government.

The ministers of the court and the central government also had reservations about the complete privatization of the railway. This is different from the highway, which involves the operation of the national route. Before selling stocks, state-owned assets still accounted for the majority.

……

The battle for Xinjiang began in late August.

But Skobelev did not appear in Almaty for the first time. He was in Breel Baitar on the shores of Lake Balkhash, a Slavic three-story building on the plain not far from the lake harbor, the full moon hanging high in the clear night sky, sprinkling the silvery light on the dome of this building, and the cool breeze of the harbor gently swept by, with the faint sound of piano playing and the relaxed laughter of people.

Lieutenant Colonel Alekseev, dressed in a crisp white summer dress with a row of medals on his chest, sat comfortably on the sofa with his legs crossed. To his right sat a graceful woman in a long skirt with a hundred folds, and from time to time she cast a reverent gaze on the face of the lieutenant general Skobelev's aide-de-camp.

Lieutenant General Skabelev, as the owner, was not the focus of the meeting at this time, because he and the owner of the building, Ukhtomsky, were out of sight.

At this moment, the focus of the banquet was Mikhail, who was admiring the skills of the luthier at the piano. Count Pavlovich. This is a wealthy man whose financial resources are not inferior to Ukhtomsky, and he is not yet forty years old. Pavlovich holds a wine glass in one hand and taps softly on the brown piano table with the other, as if beating the luthier to the beat.

Of course, such a gathering would not be attended by just a few figures, but in the huge hall, groups of soldiers, gentlemen, and ladies fluttering like flowers and butterflies were staggered and seated or standing.

It's a feast of gluttony.

In the room, only the baronial Ukhtomsky did not fall behind in the face of Skobelev. Because he is a representative of the Russian business community in Central Asia. At this moment, he is not only himself, but also represents the powerful wealth behind him, and comes to talk to Lieutenant General Skobelev.

"So, in September, can you see the effect? My general! You should know how to wring the necks of those yellow ghosts, right? ”

With a decent smile on Skobelev's face, "Dear sir, war is a complex issue. I have the confidence to defeat the Chinese on the other side, it depends on whether you want to believe me. ”

"Of course we believe in you, Your Excellency. Otherwise, there would not be a banquet tonight. ”

"Then I need a cannon of a larger caliber and more shells. I know you can do it. Skobelev's eyes lit up. Logistics. The key to this battle is logistics. As long as logistical supplies can be secured, the army of the great Tsar Xià will be invincible. ”

Ukhtomsky walked to the window with graceful steps, stood behind Skobelev's side, and said softly: "Your Excellency, I wish you the promotion to general next year. ”

"We are more than happy to help you in any way we can in the war you are facing. We hope that the army of Tsarist Russia will be able to protect the mines and land of Yili [the reserves of copper, gold, iron and other minerals in the Lihe Valley are the largest in Xinjiang, and the coal reserves are huge]. In the future, if your army can enter Urumqi, we can rest assured that we will invest a huge amount of construction money there. Of course, because of your care, you will own the minerals of the Ili Valley......"

Ukhtomsky stared at Lieutenant General Skobelev: "Not less than five percent of the shares." (To be continued......)