The Rise of the Empire

When the footsteps of history entered March 1906, the Russo-Japanese War marked by the outbreak of the Battle of the South China Sea had been fought for a full 20 months! In this war to determine the overlord of the Far East, whether it is Russia, the distant overlord of Eastern Europe, or Japan, a newly emerging power in the Far East, they all put up 12 points of strength to fight! The former is for the coveted deep-water port, while the latter is for survival.

Judging from the size of the participating troops and the level of equipment invested, this war is much stronger than in history. The peak strength of the Russian army in the Far East is as high as 700,000. The Japanese also invested 550,000 troops without showing any weakness. In the end, after more than a year of fighting, the total number of casualties and prisoners of the Russian Army reached 250,000! The Japanese Army also suffered 175,000 casualties and 30,000 were captured! Among them, at Lushunkou, the Japanese army died more than 45,000 in one battle. A new record was set!

The fighting at sea was equally brutal. Although the Japanese attacked the Makanov fleet unexpectedly by relying on undeclared war, in the end, a group of warships still managed to return to Vladivostok. Subsequently, the Russian navy, which lost to the Japanese fleet on the frontal battlefield, decisively launched a sea-breaking battle. More than ten warships of various types played hide-and-seek games with the Japanese navy in the vast area from Vladivostok in the north to the South China Sea in the south.

During the more than one year-long sea breaking and anti-breaking battles, the total tonnage lost by Japan and the fleet transporting materials for Japan reached 450,000 tons! If it weren't for the continuous support of the British, all the ocean-going transport ships in Japan would have sunk and would not be enough for the Russians to fight. Among them, the most distressing thing for the Japanese was that in the Sea of ​​​​Japan, two Rurik 2 battleships formed a formation and successfully ambushed After destroying the two dome cruisers escorting them, the two battleships took 4 transport ships, 5,500 Japanese soldiers, 82 various artillery pieces, and hundreds of tons of ammunition along the way. sent to the bottom of the ocean.

The sea-breaking battle like a noose caused Japan's domestic economy to suffer huge losses. Four months after the start of the war, various food and industrial raw materials began to be in short supply, and the textiles piled up in the port could not be exported. All Japanese ports The lowest cargo throughput in the month is only half of the usual! Even the British worried that the Japanese might not be able to hold out.

However, with the passage of time and the help of the British, after paying a heavy price, the Japanese succeeded in reversing the decline at sea. Off the Zhoushan Islands, the Japanese armored cruiser formation led by Hikonojo Uemura successfully blocked the After destroying two Rurik 2 armored cruisers, one of his own armored cruisers was sunk and two were severely damaged. Successfully forced Grombay to run aground offshore, while another Russian ship was also forced into British lease and then disarmed.

Subsequently, as Lushunkou was captured, the Russian battleships inside were either sunk or became trophies of the Japanese navy. With the advent of the winter of 1904, only one Russian fleet in Vladivostok was double blocked by sea ice and the Japanese navy. , and Japan's maritime transportation has finally become normal.

Then the back road was stable, and the Japanese who took Lushun began to advance northward. However, although the Russian army on this plane was still relatively weak, the Japanese were not much stronger. Although far more weapons and personnel were invested than in history, and although they still defeated the Russian army in battle after battle, their deepest attack line did not surpass history!

The Russian economy also failed to survive. In order to ensure the stability of the ruble and raise enough funds, the Russians sold 80% of the precious metals and various gems in the treasury in the international market. And if the prince remembers correctly,

Historically, less than 60% of the gold in the treasury should be sold off...

The cruelty of the war not only made Japan and Russia feel unsustainable, but also made Britain and France feel terrified. Judging from the current situation, Russia is no longer bleeding, but arterial bleeding, maybe it will pass like this!

In fact, the riots and revolutions in Russia have put the whole of Russia in a state of turmoil. In desperation, France has not even waited for Japan and Russia to start negotiations. It first provided Russia with an allocation of 300 million francs, and the only request was only It is to let Russia verbally promise that the money will not be used in the Far East War. Of course, the French cannot supervise how the Russians spend the money.

The trauma and consumption caused by the war far exceeded the expectations of all countries, and this time the Americans did not act as middlemen. They hoped that the war would last as long as possible! Therefore, the British stood up. On the one hand, they ensured that Russia's rights and interests in North Manchuria would not be violated, and at the same time, they guaranteed that if Japan's maritime rights and interests in the Far East were damaged by foreign countries, the British could provide help. This approach of pulling both sides at the same time can also be regarded as a step forward for Japan and Russia.

I have to say that the means of the British are really powerful. He grasped the pain points of both sides. The Russians have already lost militarily. Their current national strength is not enough to continue to support the war, and it is impossible to regain everything lost militarily. So what they think is how to make themselves lose less. The British guarantee allowed the Russians to at least keep North Manchuria.

Similarly, the Japanese have a lot of trouble here, let alone the destroyed funds, troops, and loans to be repaid in the future. The period of weakness caused by the war makes the Japanese extremely uncomfortable. What if the Americans come up again at this time? ? Even if the Americans are just putting on airs, without fighting a battle, it will be economically enough to drag down Japan, which is already exhausted! The British guarantee undoubtedly made Japan much safer. If the British did not fight, then the current United States would not be able to pose any threat to the Anglo-Japanese alliance in the Far East.

And when the time came to the end of May, after the results of the Japan-Russia London Conference came out, Ruprecht could only say that luck was tricking people, because the content of the entire agreement was exactly the same as that signed by Japan and Russia in history. More power results in a result similar to history. Ah, very good.

By the way, the prince also paid attention to the fate of the two Rurik 2 battleships still staying in the British Concession in Shanghai. These two battleships were finally acquired by the Japanese. The Russians did not raise any objections. This result is quite surprising, but it is easy to understand after thinking about it. After the naval battle, the Japanese Navy also paid a high price. They continued to replenish their combat power to deal with possible threats. The Russians obviously think that the Rurik 2 battleships are outdated, and they are going to build newer warships.

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