"Where does the money come from?"

Chancellor Pavel Licician issued a soul-question.

No one can give a definite answer to the question of how poor the Tsarist government is. In short, it is certain that there is no money to build the Siberian Railway.

As early as 1891, the Tsarist government organized road experts to launch the Siberian railway exploration plan. That's right, it was launched after Nicholas II was assassinated in Japan.

Although Alexander III was a peacemaker among the Tsars, he was also a good father. If it were not for the restriction of transportation, it would have been expected that the Russo-Japanese War would have started early after the end of the British-Russian War.

Whether it was because of a moment of anger or a long time ago, the Siberian Railway Plan was launched.

The results of the exploration are terrible. Starting from Moscow, you have to pass through the vast pine forests, cross the Ural Mountains, and cross the vast Siberian frozen landslides before you can finally reach the Pacific Ocean.

It would be fine if the journey was long, but no matter how far it was, it would not be as good as the Shenra Ring Railway. The key was the harsh natural conditions.

It is also a railway construction. If the construction cost of plain railways is 1, then the construction cost of Siberian railways may be 2, 3, 4...

He had no money in his pocket and was not tough in his work. Just when the Tsarist government was hesitating whether to launch the Siberian railway construction plan, the Vienna government took action.

The same tempting "Central Asia Railway Plan" was released, which made the Tsarist government even hesitant. However, without waiting for the Russians to hesitate, the Vienna government helped them make up their minds - "assistance"!

Open the map and you will know that the construction cost is astronomical, whether it is the Siberian Railway or the Central Asian Railway.

It is undoubtedly a fatal matter to let the Tsarist government bear this expense. In order to build the Siberian Railway in the original time and space, the Russians also saved money.

From 1891 to 1901 alone, the Tsarist government invested 1.46 billion rubles, far exceeding the military expenditure of the same period.

After 13 years of hard work, the world's longest railway trunk line was opened to traffic on July 13, 1904, and the subsequent projects finally continued until 1916 after bumps and bruises.

In contrast, the construction conditions of the Central Asia Railway are still better, and of course they are just better.

Although there is no need to be accompanied by permafrost all year round, the endless mountains in Afghanistan are also miserable.

Whether it is strategic needs or for the sake of its own wallet, the Tsarist government decisively chose the Central Asia Railway.

Even though he knew that the Vienna government was calculating relations between Britain and Russia, the Tsarist government had no room for rejection.

In the words of a certain Opti-sect minister in the Tsarist government: "No matter how many calculations the Austrians have, the Central Asian Railway is always beneficial to the empire. Whether to go south or not, the initiative is still in our hands."

There is nothing wrong with the theory. The initiative to move south is indeed in the hands of the Tsarist government, and the Vienna government cannot make a decision for them.

But this can fool ordinary people. Such a large piece of fat in India is placed on the dining table, and it is not used to divide it with a knife or fork. Is it still a fur bear?

Essentially, the same is true for the Minister of Economic Affairs to help the Russians build the Siberian Railway. As long as the railway is opened and there is nothing to do, the greedy bear will go out to find food by itself.

Although the Mao Bear's eastward advancement will certainly harm Britain's interests, it is clear which is more important than going south to India.

At that time, it will not be the British family to curb the growth of the Russians. Shinra will not watch the Russians complete the "Yellow Russia Plan".

If the operation is done properly, the final outcome will turn into: Britain and Austria will cheat the bear together.

It is estimated that after a war of agents, the Russians will suffer another five-work and seven-injury. There are so many that I can't guarantee that it will be easy for them to be at peace for ten years.

The most important thing is that a thorn was buried in the middle of the Russian-Austrian alliance. With this thorn, the two countries could not be as close as they are now.

If everything goes well, the Tsarist government will try every means to drag Shinra back in the future battle for the British and Austrians.

The plan is perfect, the only question is: Where does the money for building the "Siberian Railway" come from?

The relationship between Britain and Russia is not as close as that between Russia and Austria. The Vienna government helped the Russians build the Central Asian Railway, but only helped to advance part of the funds.

The main things are the costs of project exploration, design, management, etc., labor and raw materials provided by the Tsarist government itself.

For the sake of the Russian-Austrian alliance, even if someone raises objections in the country, the Vienna government can handle it.

It won’t work if you put it on Britain’s head. The blood of the British-Russian war in Afghanistan has not yet been dried?

At this time, I paid money and worked hard to help the Russians build railways. The families of the soldiers who died in the British-Russian War may have all their hearts.

If public outrage is really aroused, the opposition party will definitely add fuel to the fire. Although national interests are important, party interests are even more important.

I oppose the enemy’s support, and I support the enemy’s support. It has never been common in politics. Whether it is correct or not is not important, the key depends on what is needed.

If it is only a funding gap of 1.8 million pounds, everyone can find ways to gather it, conceal it from the public's eyes, and settle the accounts with special expenses.

However, for the Siberian Railway, without the investment of hundreds of millions of pounds, there is no way to get through the car.

Even if the Russians are allowed to provide labor and materials, it will take tens of millions of pounds to invest. If such a large amount of funds is used, no matter what method is used, it will not be kept secret.

Navy Secretary Flora: "It's not just a matter of money. Our relationship with the Russians is so tense that even if we ask for help in building the Siberian Railway, the Tsarist government would not believe it.

Unless we just pay for the money and don’t touch railway exploration, design and construction, they will not be at ease.”

This is an inevitable result. Suddenly one day, the enemy suddenly comes to you to build a railway, and anyone else will suspect that there is a conspiracy.

From the standpoint of the Tsarist government, the British proposed to help build the Siberian Railway. It is estimated that the Russians' first reaction was: this was to cause destruction.

After all, the construction of the Central Asia Railway has reached a critical moment and will be opened to traffic in a few years. It is normal for the British to feel pressured.

For the sake of Indian security, Britain took action to disrupt the construction of the Central Asia Railway without any problems.

Although the Russian Empire was huge, the Tsarist government's material mobilization capacity was limited. The construction of the Central Asia Railway has mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources. If the construction of the Siberian Railway is started again, it will obviously increase the logistics pressure.

The explanation is to cover up. No matter what the British government says, the Russians will think that this is a conspiracy of the British and attempt to use the Siberian Railway plan to delay the progress of the Central Asian Railway construction.

If you help with exploration and design and construction, there is no need to talk about it. Who knows if the railway that the British helped to build can be used in the end?

As Flora said, unless you just give money and leave everything to the Russians for trouble, the Tsarist government would not be at ease.

The problem is that the British government is not at ease just by giving money. Who can guarantee that the Russians will use it for the construction of Siberian railways after getting the money, rather than for military expenses to travel south to India?

The British government does not have the same thing as moral integrity, nor does the Tsarist government. It is really difficult to cooperate with the two countries that lack the most basic trust.

Foreign Minister Cameron: "The problem of trust is actually not difficult to solve. It is not convenient for us to come forward, and a third country can communicate with the Russians.

It is not difficult to convince the Russian military industry to agree to build the Siberian Railway. The current Tsar is Nicholas II. His unpleasant trip to Tokyo has always made Nicholas II feel complacent.

From the personal standpoint of Nicholas II, going east to seek revenge on the Japanese is probably more tempting than going south to India.

After all, we are not soft persimmons. Even if the Central Asian Railway is opened to traffic, the Russians still have low chances of victory.

Compared with moving south, the success rate of moving eastward is significantly higher and the benefits will be greater.

If the Russians can implement the Yellow Russia plan first before the battle for hegemony ends, then it will be a three-legged pattern.

If you can be the boss yourself, no one wants to be the younger brother, let alone the arrogant bear.

Although Russia and Austria seem to have a good relationship, in fact, many Russians are not convinced by the position of European overlord of the Holy Roman Empire.

This bait is enough to make the Russians take the bait. As long as the Tsarist government takes this step, the Russian-Austrian alliance will end.

Vienna can tolerate a powerful Russian empire, but it is absolutely impossible to tolerate a Russian empire that can threaten itself.

In a sense, the Russians posed much greater threat to the Holy Roman Empire than we do.

After all, they are both land-powered countries and happen to be neighbors. Although the European continent is vast, it cannot accommodate two hegemons.

In contrast, the funding problem is difficult to solve. The men of Congress will not agree to fund the Russians, even if they are strategically needed."

"The enemy is in Parliament", this is the emotion that every British government will have. If you don't brag or black, the trouble that the British Parliament brings to the government is indeed greater than that of any enemy.

Without the congress and opposition parties dragging us down, the international situation would not have evolved to this current situation.

As early as the middle of the Continental War, the last British government wanted to send troops to interfere, but the parliament quarrels and game with the opposition parties wasted a lot of time.

Before the discussion could come out, the French were in a desperate situation. There was no need to say that the dust had settled, so naturally they could only sell their teammates. You can consider being allies with Britain, but it is impossible to share the woe.

Similar events have happened more than once, and then traced back to the previous Ottoman Wars, France's embezzlement of Italy, Austria's annexation of South Germany, etc.

Britain in 1895 could not do anything to the Holy Roman Empire, but Britain forty years ago was absolutely capable of preventing Austria from expanding.

Not to mention preventing Austria from annexing South Germany, at least it could undermine Austria's colonial plan, the absolute advantage of the Royal Navy continued until the early 1980s.

Before this, the Austrian Navy was a little brother. It was not until the former dreadnought that the gap was narrowed to the ability to lose both sides.

Of course, because of the times, the two major bosses of France and Russia attracted firepower ahead, so that the politicians at that time underestimated the threat from Austria.

When the British government began to pay attention, the Holy Roman Empire was about to come out, and it was too late to do anything.

There is everything in this world, but there is no medicine for regret. If you don’t pay attention to the hegemony of Britain, you will encounter the most serious challenges.

The problems that our predecessors have encountered have now fallen to the British government again.

If the parliament cannot be settled, the funding for the construction of the Siberian railway plan will not be settled; without this railway, there will be no way to talk about the disaster in the east; if the Tsarist government does not look east, then the ultimate plan to divide the Russian-Austrian alliance will eventually become "the moon in the water and the flowers in the mirror."

After hesitating for a while, Robert Cecil nodded: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first finds a third party to contact the Russians, and there is a layer between them. We can at least avoid the anger of the people.

As for the issue of Congress, you can communicate with the members of the party in private first, and I will visit the queen."

There is no way, facing the pressure of Congress alone, Prime Minister Robert Cecil was also timid and had to seek more help.

During the Victorian era, the British royal family was not an eraser seal. Although the elderly Queen Victoria rarely cared about politics, no one could ignore her existence.

To suppress the opposition in Congress, the power of the Conservative Party alone is not enough. For the sake of the overall situation, Robert Cecil had to turn to Queen Victoria.
Chapter completed!