"According to the news from the embassy in St. Petersburg, since the outbreak of the conflict in the Far East, anti-Japanese sentiment among the Russian Empire has continued to rise.
Many people in the tsarist government advocated taking tough measures against us.
The international community has shown very indifference to the conflict between us and the Russians. Except for the British people who expressed their support, most countries have a mentality of watching the fun. "
Inoue Xin said helplessly.
Since the rise of fanatical nationalism, the Japanese government is not easy to be an official, and the foreign minister in charge of international affairs is a hot potato.
Folk radicals don't use their brains when looking at problems. They always have a hot brain when they do things, and their ambitions and strengths are seriously out of balance.
In this context, foreign ministers are often scapegoats, and among the people, they are roughly equivalent to "traitors".
No matter who goes up, it's the same. You must know that after the signing of the Shimonoseki Treaty, Ito Hirobumi, who was a great hero, was almost killed by the heavens.
Such a challenging job cannot be accomplished without a strong heart.
No matter how strong her heart is, in the face of the current international situation, Inoue Xin also feels her scalp tingling.
In the international context where the two powers are opposed, even if he has too many dragon slaying skills, there is no room for him to display them.
Since you are with the British, you can't expect to be good in front of Shinra. It is human instinct to rely on the strong. As a sea power country, there is nothing wrong with following the British with the most powerful navy.
The crux of the problem lies in the boss. In recent years, for some reason, the British leader has suddenly become ineffective, and has gradually been at a disadvantage in international competition.
First lost in the second industrial revolution, then lost control of the European continent, and now even the hegemony of the Royal Navy is crumbling along with it.
The hegemony of the sea was attacked, and it was caused by the world tour of the Shinra Navy. All countries that have conducted joint exercises together know the gap between super battleships and traditional battleships.
But the British were one step behind in this regard. Although their dreadnoughts were also launched, they suffered from bad problems because of the rush.
Just like Shinra's earliest "Roman", it's okay to put it at home to support the facade, but it will be bad once it goes out.
In this context, although the British also have super battleships, they can only watch the Shinra Navy stir up the situation and stand out.
In the eyes of people with a heart, this is the manifestation of the navy's backwardness. At least the British are one step behind in terms of warship construction technology.
The phrase "prosperity and decline" is not popular in the European world, but it is well known in East Asia. Including the previous seizure of the Philippines, it is based on this judgment.
What worries Inoue even more is that the British boss has not only fallen behind in technology, economy, and military, but even the best diplomacy is now in a bottle.
The diplomacy of the eldest brother can't work, and the diplomacy of the younger brother is even more difficult to carry out. In this era of Europe being the center, who knew that Japan was the green onion
In order to change this passive diplomatic situation, a full-scale Westernization movement broke out in Japan, that is, the "Brexit Asia into Europe" movement. As the foreign minister, Kaoru Inoue was the leader of this strategy.
Ito Hirobumi: "It's not that serious, it's just a diplomatic conflict, and the Russians won't go to war for it.
The current international situation is very divided. Britain and Shinra are opposed to each other. The Russian Empire, which is the second most powerful, seems to be powerful, but in fact, they are also very embarrassed.
It stands to reason that the Russian-Austrian alliance has lasted for decades. The Russians should support Shinra, but they are on the European continent and happen to be neighbors.
One mountain cannot hold two tigers, nor can the European continent hold two great powers. Once Shinra had defeated Britain, the Russian Empire could not go any further.
From the strategic point of view of distant friendship and close attack, it is the best choice for Britain and Russia to form an alliance to deal with Shinra. After all, Russia and Austria are all land-power countries, and the British are sea-power countries.
Even if Britain won hegemony, it would not threaten the very existence of the Russian Empire, and not vice versa.
However, the grievances between Britain and Russia are already deep, and they cannot be resolved if they want to. The two sides lack the most basic trust and there is no basis for an alliance at all.
At this point, no matter who they support is not in the interests of the Russian Empire, but they must stand in line, otherwise London and Vienna will not be at ease.
This is a big trouble, and the Tsarist government will not make any extra efforts until it is resolved.
Moreover, the strength of the Russians in the Far East is not enough to start a war. Logistics alone can kill them once a war breaks out. "
After listening to Ito Hirobumi's explanation, Emperor Meiji's face was obviously relieved a lot. Because of the butterfly effect, Japan today is not as lucky as the original time and space.
Although the war against the Far Eastern Empire was very rewarding, there was an additional loss-making Philippine war, and the size of the navy was much larger than that of the same period in history.
These all cost money. The plundered war reparations were used to fill these two huge pits. Naturally, less funds were used for domestic development, and the national strength was much weaker than the same period in history.
The most immediate response is financial. It is impossible to even think about the balance of fiscal revenue and expenditure, and it is the blessing of eight million gods to be able to keep the finances from going bankrupt.
Against the Russians, not only the military pressure is greater, but the financial pressure is even greater.
From this point of view, Japan and Russia are similar, both are poor countries with clean pockets than faces.
Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma: "Ito-kun, this is just an extrapolation from normal circumstances, but don't forget that the Russian Empire is often abnormal.
I have studied Russian history, and the tsarist government often made decisions without thinking.
The most famous is Peter III, who directly cut off the westward road of the Russian Empire because of his personal preference for backing the allies to aid Prussia.
There are even more that are not well-known, including several wars in the modern Russian Empire, which are hardly reasonable.
Including Nicholas the Great, who is highly regarded by the Russians, blindly launched the Near Eastern War, although in the end he captured the Constantinople area and seemed to win the war.
But from the price paid by the Russian Empire, we know that this is a lose-lose war, and the Russians won only for face.
The next Alexander II was similar. Without carefully weighing the pros and cons, he blindly went to war with Prussia.
The war was indeed won in the end, but at the cost of the Russian Empire's fall from the top powers to the second tier.
…
In short, we cannot judge with common sense when the tsarist government makes decisions, otherwise it will suffer a great loss. "
I don't know if I don't analyze it, but I'm startled when I analyze it. If you run into a competitor who is used to playing cards out of common sense, anyone who puts it on will have a tingling scalp.
In fact, the law of inference of interest itself does not hold. It is true that the interests of the countries come first, but the rulers are still people. Since it is human, it cannot be absolutely rational.
In many cases, the personal preferences and perceptions of politicians can also influence government decisions, especially in feudal monarchies.
There is no doubt that the Russian Empire is a typical feudal monarchy. Even the reforms of Alexander II have not been able to change this essence.
It cannot be said that the decision-making of the country is entirely determined by the monarch's personal will, but the influence of the monarch's personal perception on the decision-making of the country is unquestionable.
The most typical example is the anti-Japanese faction at the top of the Russian Empire, and there are very few pro-Japanese factions in the tsarist government.
For no other reason than the two scars on Nicholas II's body. This alone is enough to make everyone hate the Japanese Empire.
This is also politically correct. If someone assassinated your loyal monarch, if you are still indifferent, do you still want to get involved
Sow what, reap what. Whether it likes it or not, the Japanese government has to pay for its previous mistakes.
Of course, everyone thought of more. It seems that the decision-making mistakes of the tsarist government in recent decades have finally made Austria a bargain.
They had no choice but to think too much. One time could be a coincidence, but two or three coincidences would be too much of a coincidence.
If you think about it, what you can do now is actually not much. They can all see the problem, and so can others.
These problems were also discovered by senior officials of the tsarist government. Otherwise, it would not have occurred that the first thing every tsar did after he succeeded to the throne was to get rid of his dependence on Vienna.
No one wants to be led by the nose, let alone a rebellious bear.
It's just that the gap between reality and ideal is a little far away. If they really let them cut themselves off and cut off the connection between Russia and Austria, they can't make up their minds.
Since they cannot be separated, they can only be cautious when making decisions to avoid being led astray.
After all, this kind of influence is carried out secretly, and the Vienna government has done nothing on the surface.
Even if they stepped on the pit, the tsarist government could only knock down their teeth and swallow them in their stomachs. It is absolutely unacceptable to the outside world. If the cover is really lifted, it can only prove their incompetence.
…
Both governments are trying to avoid war, the Japanese government is doing just a little bit more, strengthening the defense against the Russians.
But the folks are different. The anti-Japanese sentiment in the Russian Empire is high, and the anti-Russian sentiment in Japan is equally strong.
Looking at the crowd of protesters outside, the staff of the Russian embassy in Japan were afraid to go out even to buy groceries.
The incessant swearing, which seemed to never stop from morning to night, made Minister Fotoliak furious.
"Call the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The staff suggested in a low voice: "Your Excellency Minister, the telephone line has been cut off, why don't we send a telegram?"
It can be seen that Minister Fotoliak is still very prestigious in the embassy, and the staff does not dare to stab at all.
Minister Fotoliak roared: "Then why are you still standing here, don't hurry up!"
Just after shouting, Ftoryak realized that he had made a slip of the tongue. Since you want to send a telegram, you must have content, and you don't say anything, so the people who do things will naturally have to wait.
"Sorry, Frank. I didn't mean to, I just got confused by the Japanese.
The movement outside is so big, I don't believe the Japanese government doesn't know. Knowing that someone is making trouble and not stopping it, this is a provocation against the great Russian Empire.
Let the guards be prepared, as long as anyone dares to cross the line, don't be polite to me. "
There is no doubt that the last sentence is just an angry remark. If they dared to shoot, the people below would have already fired.
After a pause, Fotoryak continued: "Inform the country about the situation we are facing, and by the way, invite the embassies of various countries in Japan to put pressure on the Japanese government together.
Inform the Japanese Foreign Ministry and order them to expel the troublemakers within two hours, or else…”
What if it didn't, Ftoryak himself didn't know.
Diplomatic blackmail also needs to be divided into targets, but it does not mean that Japan cannot blackmail. The crux of the matter is that the Russian Empire's power in the Far East simply cannot scare the Japanese.
If this kind of diplomatic note of severe warning was replaced by Shinra or Britain, it is estimated that it would still have some deterrent effect. As for the Russian Empire, it is still a little bit worse.
However, Minister Futoryak was not worried. This was the embassy area, and there was not only a Russian embassy, but also the embassies of Britain and Shinra a few hundred meters away.
There was so much commotion outside, not only their family was affected, but the surrounding neighbors were also having a hard time.
If it's to watch the fun, it's enough to be noisy for so long. Even if it is to get a good night's sleep, everyone will put pressure on the Japanese government.
You know, in Japan, there is no shortage of extremists. Ordinary Japanese can't tell the difference in appearance between Europeans. Anyway, white people are against it together.
If things really get worse, everyone's life will not be easier. It is all too common to injure a horse by mistake.
A "touch" sound.
"what sound?"
Forturiak was sure that it wasn't the sound of gunshots, the sound of bullets was not like that, and he had some experience with that.
What's more, those who can serve as embassy guards are not fools. Even if they look down on the Japanese, they know where they are.
If there are hundreds or thousands of Russian troops stationed here, then of course there is nothing to say, just do it directly.
It is a pity that the guards of the embassy are only a dozen or so. Compared with the dark crowd of protesters outside, it is really insignificant, even with a gun in hand.
People are under the eaves and have to bow their heads. In the case of a huge disparity in strength, no matter how angry you are in your heart, you must hold it back first.
"The glass was broken and someone threw stones at the embassy."
This is just the beginning. People follow blindly. As long as someone takes the lead in anything, there will be no shortage of followers.
The crackling sound continued for a while, and the flying stones could not only shatter glass, but also hurt people.
The situation is heading for chaos, the frenzy is ignited, and everyone's courage is getting bigger and bigger.
No one noticed that just a few hundred meters away, a black barrel was aimed at the protesters.
"Aim at the shooter holding the flag, and the resolution should be higher."
…