Mediterranean Hegemony Road

In the Sofia Palace, when Ferdinand's family was enjoying the happiness of their family, a news from the Far East broke the peaceful atmosphere!

The Russo-Japanese War broke out!

Although Ferdinand knew that the Russo-Japanese War would break out, he did not know exactly when.

Judging from the current situation, the Russians have a great advantage, and it is very unwise for the Japanese to take the initiative to provoke a war at this moment!

Especially when the British have not yet made up their minds to fully support them, once the attitude of the London government softens, the French-Russian coalition will teach them how to behave!

The conflict between Japan and Russia has a long history. It broke out when the "Three Kingdoms interfered and returned to Liao". However, at that time, the Japanese chose to pretend to be grandsons in the face of the strong stock Tsarist Russia. This situation continued until the establishment of the "Britain-Japan Alliance" in 19o2.

With the support of the British, the Japanese government was no longer satisfied with its existing interests in Korea and the Northeast, and wanted to expand further, but was resisted by the Russians!

In July 19o3, the Japanese government formally proposed to the Russians to negotiate on North Korea and the Northeast. Because the conditions of the two sides are too different, it is difficult to reach an agreement, and the dispute is still in progress.

That's all Ferdinand knew, now neither the Russians nor the Japanese are ready for war, but the war is on!

In any case, Japan and Russia have already started pk, and the Bulgarian government must come up with its own position. Ferdinand specially held a state conference on the Far East issue.

"What's going on? Why did the Japanese suddenly go to war with the Russians?" Ferdinand asked suspiciously

Foreign Minister Metev replied: "This war broke out because on January 28, in a tavern in Incheon, two Russian soldiers got drunk and clashed with three Japanese soldiers. The soldiers shot and killed a Japanese soldier, and the troops of the two countries who came to inquire about them started working.

There were casualties on both sides!

Such small conflicts have not happened once or twice between Japan and Russia, but they have been suppressed by the high-level officials of both sides.

But this time was a bit special. One of the dead was the younger brother of a Japanese major. In order to avenge his younger brother, he led troops to raid the Russian camp that night.

After the incident broke out, the Japanese army in North Korea simply did not do anything and started an attack on the Russian army.

It can be said that this war broke out unexpectedly. The Japanese government was dragged into the water by the army and had to go to war with the Russians! "

History has changed!

This was Ferdinand's first thought. Historically, the Russo-Japanese war broke out. The Japanese government chose to preempt the situation after the Japanese government knew that the goal could not be achieved through negotiation.

Then the navy took the lead in attacking the Russian fleet in Port Lushun and Incheon, but this time it was the 6th Army that acted first!

In any case, the Russo-Japanese War is definitely about to explode. The Japanese army has already attacked Russia. Even if Nicholas II has always opposed starting a war with the Japanese now, he has to fight now!

In fact, the early outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War has something to do with Ferdinand. Because of his butterfly effect, Bulgaria is much stronger than in history. Due to the existence of the Russian-Russian alliance, the pressure on the Russians in Europe is less. A lot, so their power into the Far East was greatly enhanced.

The progress of the Trans-Siberian Railway is much faster than in history, and now there is only the part of Lake Berga left. According to the current progress, the entire line can be opened to traffic in 19o7 at the latest.

This made people of insight in Japan very worried, especially the radicals in the Japanese 6th Army, who advocated preemption and decisive battle with Russia in the Far East before the railway opened!

This incident is just an incentive in the background, even without it, there will be other fuses!

Xiang Constantine asked worriedly: "What is the attitude of the British? Will they go to war with the Russians for the sake of the Japanese?"

Metev thought for a while and said: "I don't know, the Russo-Japanese war broke out yesterday, and neither side has declared war yet, and the London government has not made any statement on this matter!

However, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that most of the British will not go to war with the Russians for the sake of the Japanese!

After all, according to the covenant, once the British go to war with Russia, then we and the French must also participate in the war. I dare not say that in other regions, but the British are at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean region!

Moreover, on the Far East issue now, the German government also supports the Russians. Under normal circumstances, the British would not take this risk! "

More than that, Ferdinand also knew that Nicholas II and William II had plans to form an alliance, but the British temporarily fooled the Germans with the beautiful idea of ​​an "Anglo-German" alliance!

From a strategic point of view, the British show the navy and the Germans show the 6th Army, which seems to be a good combination.

In essence, there is no possibility of an alliance between the two sides. The industrial and commercial circles of Britain and Germany have long been inseparable. How can an alliance without common interests be realized?

The words of the Foreign Minister undoubtedly gave everyone a sedative. Since the Anglo-Russian war will not break out, no matter how violent the Far East fights, Bulgaria will not be affected.

Ferdinand said calmly: "The British are now being trapped by the little Japan. They have just seen the dawn of victory in the battle with the Boers in South Africa. Now that the Russo-Japanese War has exploded, I am afraid it will continue!

And they haven't had time to coordinate their relationship with the Germans. If the Germans fully support the Russians' Far East strategy, the British Empire will not be able to hold back the pressure of Germany, France and Russia, and even the Americans are supporting the Japanese!

Now we need to express our attitude. Now we will ban all commercial exchanges with the Japanese. As for our position in this war, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should first find out the attitude of the major powers before making a decision! "

Yes, because of Ferdinand's butterfly effect, the British were trapped in South Africa, and the whole of Europe supported the Boers. It took the British for nearly two years to make diplomatic means keep countries neutral in the war.

But the strength of the Boers is still stronger, at least the tens of thousands of mercenaries that come out are just a pot of lobster soldiers.

Now, when the Boer government was finally forced to compromise, the Russo-Japanese War broke out again. Didn’t this give the Boers another hope of victory?

Besides, what should the French do now? It's not too much to support the Boers!

The Germans were severely beaten by the British in front of them. At this moment, the Russians rushed in front and did not give the British any bad hands. Is this still the style of William II?

As for the Portuguese, if they had the courage to block France and Germany, Ferdinand would really admire their courage! As for the guarantee the British gave them, everyone knows that it belongs to the contract whose validity is pending!

Although the attitudes of the major powers have not yet come out, for Bulgaria, even if war is declared against the Japanese immediately, Ferdinand has no pressure, and it is out of reach anyway!

There is also the so-called economic sanctions against Japan, which is even more funny. Is the commercial trade volume between the two countries large? Is there a million leva, that's a big question mark?

This is completely made by Ferdinand for the Russians to show that I support you!

Foreign Minister Metev replied: "Okay! Your Majesty, we will try to figure out the attitude of the major powers!"

"By the way, Japan and Russia are about to start a full-scale war. The 6th Military Department will discuss with the Russians and send some of our new weapons to test their power. By the way, let's see what the Russians are still lacking and whether there is anything we can provide! ' added Ferdinand heartlessly.

Well, in Ferdinand's eyes, the most important thing in the Russo-Japanese War is war money! In any case, the Russians are not ready. Once the fight begins, they will develop a lot of strategic supplies and the reserves are simply not enough.

In terms of the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia, the strength of the pro-guarantee faction within the Russian government is also very strong. The two sides have had a friendly and cooperative relationship for many years, and of course they must continue to maintain it!

Even the so-called testing of new weapons is not to let the Russian military take the initiative to place an order to purchase it after seeing its power?

...

On January 3o, on the third day of the Japanese offensive, the Japanese government finally handed over the war book to the Russians in a queasy state; on the same day, the Russian government also declared war on the Japanese, and the Russo-Japanese War broke out.

On February 1, the London government announced its neutrality, followed by France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Austria-Hungary and other countries.

Oh, the position of the Bulgarian government on this issue really doesn't matter, so everyone doesn't pay much attention to it.

Ferdinand was so happy, and continued to remain silent! He had already made up his mind that he wanted war money. If you continue to sell weapons after neutrality, you will definitely be criticized by the international community, especially the British!

At the beginning of the war, the Russians were beaten by a measure, and they were defeated on the battlefield.

Russia's total population is now as high as 141 million. At this time, the total strength of the Russians' 6th Army Standing Army is about 1o50,000, and the reserve soldiers have reached 3.75 million.

Among them, 90% of the troops are deployed in the western region. In the Far East, there are only more than 98,000 regular troops of the 6th Army, 168 cannons and 328 machine guns (historically: 148 guns, 8 machine guns).

At the same time, the Russian Navy has more than 200 warships, of which the Pacific Squadron has more than 60 combat ships (192,000 tons).

It can be said that the Russians have a lot of strength, but in the Far East, they can only play one point!

Correspondingly, Japan now has a total population of about 4400,000, the total strength of the 6th Army is about 375,000, the reserve is 200, and it has 114 cannons, of which 250,000 can be used for operations outside the Japanese archipelago.

37% of the guns are mountain guns, which are suitable for the terrain characteristics of the Northeast battlefield. 847 machine guns (147 in history).

The Japanese Navy has about 80 warships (260,000 tons), most of which are new-type ships built in Britain with good performance and uniform specifications.

Affected by the Balkan War, both Japan and Russia recognized the importance of machine guns and increased the number of machine guns.

If it is only a disadvantage in the number of troops, the Russians say that they can make up for it at any time, but the logistical problem is the real trouble!

The Trans-Siberian Railway around Lake Baikal has not been fully completed. It takes nearly five weeks to travel from Europe to Northeast China (six weeks in history), but only 2-3 military vehicles can be driven every day and night.

Although in the Far East, the Russians are at a disadvantage militarily, but in terms of national strength, the Russians have an absolute advantage, and the Russians are more than ten times as many as Japan in industry!

Therefore, the outside world is still generally optimistic that the Russians will achieve the final victory!

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