Holy Roman Empire

If this kind of stern warning diplomatic note is sent by Shinra or Britain, it is estimated that there is still some deterrence. As for the Russian Empire, it is still a little bit worse.

However, Minister Fotolyak is not worried. This is the embassy area, and there is not only one Russian embassy, ​​there are also British and Shinra embassies a few hundred meters away.

There was such a commotion outside, not only their family was affected, but also the neighbors around them were also having a hard time.

If it's just to watch the fun, it's enough to go on for so long.Even if it is to get a good night's sleep, everyone will put pressure on the Japanese government.

You must know that in Japan, the most indispensable thing is extremists.Ordinary Japanese people can't tell the difference in appearance between Europeans. Anyway, it's right for white people to oppose together.

If things get serious, everyone's life will not be easy.It is too common to accidentally injure a horse.

There was a sound of "touch".

"what sound?"

Futoriak could be sure that this was not the sound of a gunshot, and that the sound of bullets was not like this. He still had some experience with this.

What's more, those who can serve as embassy guards are not fools. No matter how much 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's a pity that there are only a dozen guards at the embassy.Compared with the black crowd of protesters outside, it is really insignificant, even with a gun in hand.

People under the eaves had to bow their heads.In the case of a huge disparity in strength, no matter how angry you are in your heart, you must first hold it back.

"The glass was broken, and someone threw stones into 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 break the glass, but also hurt people.

The situation is heading for chaos, fanaticism is ignited, and everyone's courage is getting bigger and bigger.

No one noticed that just a few hundred meters away, a black gun barrel was aimed at the protesters.

"Aim at the shot that raises the flag, and the resolution should be higher."

Chapter 88 My way is not alone

With a gunshot, the already chaotic scene became more and more out of control.

"The Russians have killed!"

I don't know who yelled, and it directly detonated the audience.The already angry protest crowd was completely ignited.

The reason why radicalism is labeled with the word "radical" is that the biggest characteristic is that when making decisions, it is often just out of enthusiasm, and never weighs the pros and cons.

No matter where it is, everyone's mind is full of "Kill all the Russians, bloody blood!"

Not only thinking about it in the heart, but also taking practical actions.Protesters tore down gates and walls and charged inside the embassy.

Facing the swarming crowd, the Russian guards resisted bravely, but they were no match for four hands, even with guns.

After all, this is the embassy district.The security issue is mainly taken care of by the Japanese government, and the weapons of the guards are limited to guarding against young people, and there is no heavy firepower at all.

Everyone rushed in, and it was self-evident what would happen next.Anyway, the embassies of various countries who were watching the excitement nearby had already picked up their cameras and frantically took pictures of the chaotic scene.

The only regret is that the distance is too far, and there is no picture quality at all. Through the photos, we can only see the crowd attacking the Russian embassy.

The police not far away, who were in charge of maintaining law and order, were already terrified at the moment.Making trouble outside the embassy and breaking into it are two completely different concepts.

It can be seen from the chaos at the scene that the group of people who broke in were not rational masters. If they did something irrational, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Sheriff, what do we do now?"

Glancing at the subordinate who was about to piss in fright, the middle-aged police chief said indifferently: "What should I do?

Remember, Muraki.There were mobs who wanted to attack the British embassy just now, and we have been intercepting them.We didn't see anything about the situation at the Russian embassy. "

After finishing speaking, the middle-aged man raised his fist and punched and kicked his subordinates, as if simulating the scene after the mob attacked.

They are far from the only ones who made similar decisions. In order not to be blamed, few policemen on duty nearby are intact.

There is no way, the scene is out of control, and it is simply not something they little pawns can stop.I don't know if I can control the situation by mixing it in now, but I will definitely be involved anyway.

People with rich social experience know that they should be alone first.As for other issues, that is a matter for the higher-ups. Anyway, allowing the parade to approach the Russian embassy area is also an order from the superior.

For such a big incident, someone has to come out and take the blame, and this "blame" is not something that ordinary people can bear.

As a pawn, you have to dodge as you should.As long as they are not directly involved, the big shots don't care about them.

……

In the government office building, Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma, who had just had afternoon tea, was looking at a pile of documents in a daze at the moment, when he suddenly received the shocking news that "mobs attacked the Russian embassy district".

"Is the scene under control?"

"Are there any casualties in the Russian embassy?"

……

Protests belong to protests, and the storming of the embassy area is over.Ordinary people don't know the seriousness of the matter, but Okuma Shigenobu is still clear.

Since one wants to "leave Asia and enter Europe", it is natural to understand the rules of the European political game, such as the generally recognized "international law".

On the surface, the attack on the Russian embassy area seems to be just a contradiction between Japan and Russia, but it is not.

If one is not handled well, the Japanese government will face the blame of the entire international community.Not to mention international sanctions, the condemnation alone is enough for the Japanese government to drink a pot.

In this context, whether there are casualties in the Russian embassy becomes extremely important.

If it's just property casualties, it's a big deal to lose a lot of money; if someone is injured, the Russians will never give up with such a good opportunity.

You must know that the current Russian Empire is not alone. Not only does it have the Russia-Austria alliance, it is also one of the main member states of the European Union.

The reasons were all delivered to the door, and the tsarist government had no reason not to invite allies to intervene.International politics does not advocate individual heroism, and bullying the few is the kingly way.

The staff replied in a panic: "The scene is completely out of control. The Police Department has asked the military for help. It is unknown whether there are casualties in the Russian embassy."

Hearing this result, Shigenobu Okuma jumped into position.The scene got so out of control that the military had to intervene. Who would dare to believe that there were casualties?

The question now is not how many people died, but how many people are still alive in the Russian embassy.In short, diplomatic disaster is coming.

……

The emergence of the telegraph has shortened the distance between human beings.There was an accident in Japan during the day, and the news was received in Vienna at night.

As for blocking news, just think about it.You must know that the telegraph company these days is controlled by the big powers, and there is no need to buy the account of the Japanese government.

Besides, it was useless to cut off the telegraph connection.The incident happened in the embassy district, and the distance between the embassies of various countries is not far away. With so many witnesses, it is impossible to keep it secret.

You can't kill someone, can you?

If something happened to the staff of embassies in various countries, the treatment enjoyed by the Japanese government would definitely not be worse than that of its neighbor Xin Chounian.

Apart from not knowing the specific casualties of the Russian embassy, ​​other contents were sent to all parts of the world accompanied by telegrams.

Looking at the telegram in his hand, Franz fell into deep thought.He had heard of the Russo-Japanese War, but he had never heard of the Japanese people storming the embassy.

Is it because history has changed, or someone deliberately covered up the truth, or the incident is too small to cause waves.

Franz has passed the age of curiosity and has no interest in deciphering the Russo-Japanese conflict in depth.

"Has the Japanese war faction been suppressed miserably recently?"

At a distance of a few hundred meters, it would be nice to be able to roughly see the situation at the scene. The shooting incident hidden in the dark is naturally unknown.

I don’t know that someone was causing trouble, and the attack on the Russian embassy area was directly defined as “mob attacking the Russian embassy area”.

In a purely Japanese-Russian conflict, there is no one else who can do such a stupid thing except the war lunatics of the Japanese military.

According to Franz's personal experience, when such extreme events generally occur, it is the extreme methods adopted by the main combat faction of the Japanese army to turn the tables when they are suppressed.

Similar incidents have happened many times in the original time and space.For example: One year the government wanted to cut military spending, and the Japanese military, not reconciled, directly launched a coup...

Frederick: "That's right, the Japanese government has been reducing its military budget in recent years. The military budget has been compressed from 84.7% of fiscal revenue at its peak to 46.2% now.

It is said that the Japanese government is also preparing to continue to reduce military expenditures, and plans to control military expenditures to about 35% of fiscal revenue.

However, what does this have to do with the mob attacking the Russian embassy district?You can’t just…”

The ratio of military spending to fiscal revenue remains high, which is characteristic of the times.The more economically backward the country, the higher the proportion of military expenditure in fiscal expenditure.

Countries that can control military budgets within 40% are basically countries that have started the process of industrialization; countries that can control military budgets within 25% can be regarded as developed countries.

From the military budget ratio, it can also be seen that Japan's economic development in recent years has been good, otherwise the military budget ratio would not have come down at all.

After all, raising an army is very expensive.With the development of military technology, the military's daily maintenance costs have been on the rise.

With the military establishment unchanged, the annual military expenditure will only increase, not decrease.If you want to reduce the proportion in the fiscal budget, the only way that the growth rate of fiscal revenue exceeds the growth rate of military maintenance costs.

In the era of the gold standard, seigniorage revenue was far less abnormal than that of later generations, and it was impossible to become a pillar of fiscal revenue at all.The increase in the government's fiscal revenue is mainly due to the increase in tax revenue brought about by the dividends of economic development.

"It can't happen in other countries, but it's impossible to say in Japan. For this country, we can't use common sense to judge it.

The traditional thinking of Bushido, coupled with the thinking of militarism, the Japanese military has embarked on a radical road of no return from the very beginning.

Of course, this may be one of the many factors that led to the attack on the Russian embassy.The direct fuse is mostly the recent Far East conflict.

Facing the Russian Empire, the Japanese government does not have enough confidence.For the overall interests of domestic development, the Japanese government can make concessions, which does not mean that radical non-governmental groups will also take care of the overall interests.

In this world, there are too many people who look at problems and do things without using their brains.If nationalism and extremism are mixed in, it will be even crazier.

As long as someone provokes them, there is nothing they dare not do.Not to mention the attack on the Russian embassy, ​​even if all the staff of the Russian embassy were massacred, it is not impossible. "

With the original time and space as a reference, what Franz thought was normal, for Frederick, it was a comprehensive impact on the three views.

"Assault on the embassy district" is already appalling enough. If the staff of the embassy are massacred again, then don't say anything, just go to war.

No big country can accept this kind of provocation, let alone the violent Russians.

After all, he was used to seeing strong winds and waves. Apart from the initial disbelief, Frederick quickly recovered and said slowly:

"If the staff of the Russian embassy were really killed, then the Russo-Japanese War would be unavoidable. But the Siberian Railway has not yet opened to traffic, and the Russians should not do it right away.

Judging from the progress of the Siberian Railway, the main line is expected to open to traffic next year, and the branch line will take three to five years.

If nothing else, the Russo-Japanese War should break out in the next five to ten years.So can we…”

Before Frederick could finish speaking, Franz interrupted: "This is just the best time to launch a war from Russia's point of view, but the outbreak of a war is never decided unilaterally.

If you were Emperor Meiji, would you wait until the Russians were ready to fight, and then passively fight? "

There is no way, this is a cognitive misunderstanding.The strength gap between Japan and Russia is very different. If it is not limited by traffic, three or five Japanese combined will not be enough for the Russians to fight.

If discrimination against people of color is taken into account, the assessment of the strength of both parties will be even greater.

The Philippine War is a benchmark. The Spanish labor expedition can fight Japan half a catty. If it is not for the distance to limit the power projection, Japan will have been defeated long ago.

As for the issue of Spain's use of French mercenaries, it was directly ignored by everyone.Europe has a tradition of using mercenaries, and being able to recruit mercenaries to fight is also a manifestation of strength.

In the eyes of many people, the disparity in strength is too great, and if the weak take the initiative to start a war, they are looking for death.

On the contrary, passively fighting the war can also win international sympathy and invite major powers to intervene in mediation.It is also a defeat, but the treatment is completely different.

If the former loses, the country might die; although the latter is defeated, there is still a glimmer of hope.

After all, the international community will not watch the Russians continue to expand, and intervention is inevitable.

……

While Franz and his son were thinking about how to benefit from the Russo-Japanese War, the Tsarist government also received bad news from the Far East.

It's just that the information they received was not from their own embassy, ​​but forwarded by the Vienna government.

Allies, this small favor is still helpful.

If it hadn't been confirmed again and again, the embassy in Tokyo had lost contact, and Nicholas II would have thought it was April Fool's Day today.

A small Japan dares to provoke the great Russian Empire again and again. This is clearly a bad way to bully them again.

After receiving the news, Nicholas II held a high-level government meeting overnight.This kind of thing happened, if it doesn't retaliate and go back, how can the Russian Empire mess around internationally?

Prime Minister Sergei Witte: "Your Majesty, we must respond strongly to the provocation of the Japanese to let them know that the Russian Empire is not something they can provoke.

It's just that the Siberian Railway has not yet opened to traffic, and our troops in the Far East are limited, so it is difficult to deal a heavy blow to Japan.

Rather than taking revenge without pain, it is better to wait.When we are ready, we will directly destroy Japan to relieve our hatred. "

Earl Sergei Witte is a rational prime minister, he is filled with righteous indignation, and it is absolutely unacceptable to start an army in anger.

learn from past experience.In recent years, the Russian Empire has not suffered from "angry and motivating troops", and now it must learn a lesson.

Deep down in his heart, Sergei Witte has made up his mind that no matter how provocative the Japanese are, they must hold back until the Siberian Railway is fully opened to traffic.

Sergei Witte is not the only one who is sensible. The current senior officials of the tsarist government are basically the team left by Alexander III, and they are all rational.