Chapter 196 Australia enters the game

If the nationwide general strike in Russia was the factor that forced Russia to agree to admit defeat, then the series of revolutions caused by this bloody incident was the reason why Russia had to ask for more support from the international community. new

This so-called revolution was actually a long-term social unrest. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, terrorist attacks, strikes, peasant protests, riots, and uprisings continued to occur in all major regions of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Even with sufficient external threats, the Tsarist Russian Empire also experienced internal worries that were like a crisis of national annihilation.

This so-called revolution has no organization, no goal, and no single cause.

If we were to say the reason, it is mainly due to the national turmoil in the past few decades and the Russian people's dissatisfaction with the Romanov dynasty.

Of course, Russia's ineffective domestic reforms decades ago and the demands for liberation by some ethnic minorities are also among the reasons.

This revolution became more intense after the defeat of the Russo-Japanese War. Although it was not as large as in history, it could definitely be called a national crisis.

After the restart of negotiations between Germany and Russia, the progress is very fast. The Germans took advantage of Russia's new defeat and internal and external troubles, and promised a large amount of loans to help Russia stabilize domestic order and restore domestic production.

And it is willing to support Russia's future expansion in the Far East. Germany is willing to provide Russia with a batch of German-made equipment at cost price, and is willing to give up the provisions of the treaty that remind France of the Franco-Russian treaty when traveling.

France, on the other hand, is only willing to provide Russia with a small loan to help Russia stabilize production in Europe.

As for matters in the Far East, France did not mention it at all, and it is obvious that it no longer supports Russia's actions in the Far East. new

Such an obvious gap did not lead Russia to abandon its alliance with France.

But things took a turn for the better.

In the original history, due to Russia's disastrous defeat in the war, the competition between Britain and Russia in the Far East, Near East and Central Asia basically disappeared.

But it's different now. Although Russia experienced failure, it was more like having to admit defeat because of a domestic crisis.

Give Russia a few more years to develop, and Russia will still be the hegemon in the Far East.

Not to mention the issues in the Near East and Central Asia. Russia's power in these two regions has not weakened, and competition with Britain continues.

Because competition still exists, the reconciliation between Britain and Russia that originally occurred in history has not progressed, and it has even become more serious because of the last fishermen crisis.

Although Russia and Britain finally reached a settlement on the fishermen crisis due to French mediation, the crises in the Far and Near East were not resolved.

To put it simply, Russia, which was defeated in history, is no longer Britain's main opponent for hegemony, but Russia, which has not experienced a major defeat now, is still Britain's biggest opponent in the Far East and Near East of Central Asia, especially India and the Middle East. .

How important was India to the British Empire? The British Empire was an empire because of the titles and resources of the Indian Empire.

If India were lost, the British Empire would be just a small United Kingdom.

Because Russia still poses a threat to India, Britain still maintains vigilance and hostility towards Russia, and did not lead to reconciliation due to the signing of the Anglo-French Entente. new

The conflict between Britain and Russia has also become one of France's most troublesome problems. After the Anglo-French Entente, both Britain and Russia became France's theoretical allies and a powerful force in France's fight against Germany.

But the problem is that there are also obvious conflicts between Britain and Russia, and it is impossible to eradicate them in a short time.

More importantly, Russia has begun to contact Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Russia's ambitions in the Far East are well known.

But France does not want Russia to continue to set its sights on the Far East. The French hope that Russia will fulfill its obligations as an ally and contain a large number of German main forces to the east of Germany.

If France continues to strongly support Russia, it will not only be inconsistent with its own interests, but will also cause British dissatisfaction.

Because the areas that Russia currently attaches great importance to are precisely the areas that the British Empire also attaches great importance to. Russia and the British Empire have a strong competitive relationship in the Far East, Near East, Central Asia and other regions. Naturally, France is not allowed to provide a large amount of support to Russia, allowing Russia to once again have the power to deploy in these regions.

The conflict with Britain and France's failure to support actions in the Far East made Russia disillusioned with the alliance with France, and at the same time wary of the agreement between Britain and France.

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Under such a premise, the Germans' desperate efforts to win over and their willingness to support the Far East made the Russians feel the only warmth.

Emperor Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II met near the island of Bjork in the Gulf of Finland to discuss a possible German-Russian alliance treaty.

Compared with the French, Kaiser Wilhelm II seemed much richer.

In the first negotiation, Wilhelm II promised to give Tsar Nicholas II 100 million marks in free aid and 500 million marks in private loans.

Because the German automobile manufacturer Wilhelm II was also involved, Wilhelm II was able to provide the 100 million mark free aid without blinking an eye.

And winning over Russia is also very important for the German Empire. As long as Russia is willing to remain neutral during the Franco-German conflict, Germany can avoid fighting on two fronts, concentrate all its superior forces on the Western Front, and seek to resolve France in a short time.

Prussia did this in the previous Franco-Prussian War, and the Germans also firmly believed that a more powerful German Empire would more easily complete such a task.

The negotiations went very smoothly, but many ministers in Russia believed that if Russia sided with Germany in future wars and assumed corresponding obligations, it would break the agreement of the Russo-French alliance.

Moreover, Russia's diplomacy should be based on the Russo-French alliance. Russia, which is already deeply dependent on French capital, also needs a large amount of French loans.

Russia is also divided into two factions. One faction supports the continued maintenance of the Russo-French alliance and good relations with France, and seeks a certain reconciliation with the United Kingdom to reach a higher level of the Triple Entente between Britain, France, and Russia.

The other group believes that France currently relies more on the Entente with Britain, and its support for Russia is concentrated in Europe.

However, Russia's Far East policy is still one of the most important policies. Russia still needs to maintain its hegemony in the Far East and other regions and defend its hard-won ice-free port.

But insisting on a Far East policy would lead to competition with Britain and dissatisfaction from France.

Rather than having a bigger conflict with Britain in the future and forcing France to choose between Russia and Britain (in fact, Russians from this group believe that France will choose Britain), it is better to give up or weaken cooperation with France in advance. , in exchange for Germany's support for Russia.

Nicholas II didn't know how to choose for a while, but an official's proposal made Nicholas II's eyes light up.

Didn’t Germany claim that it would use loans and weapons, as well as Australia’s massive support to the Russian Far East, in exchange for Russia’s support for Germany in future conflicts?

So why not ask Australia for its opinion?

With the development of Australia's arms industry in the Russo-Japanese War, Australia's position in the Far East is also relatively special.

First of all, Australia's industry has developed and the industry has reached a certain scale.

Especially in the military industry, Australia's military industry is also extremely developed due to the integration of British and German weapons systems.

In addition, it has sufficient mineral resources and a large labor force. Compared with other powerful countries, Australia is very close to the Far East, and supplies can arrive in a week.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian army relied on a large amount of weapons and equipment from Australia, so that it could barely balance with the island nation's army in terms of defense.

Although Russia also understands that Australian weapons are also exported to island countries, without any diplomatic relations, this is the norm in the international community.

After receiving Nicholas II's request, William II raised his eyebrows, but quickly agreed to Nicholas II's request.

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