The Rise of the Empire

"Your Majesty, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has begun to take action. They have begun to strengthen the troops in the border areas between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia. In up to fifteen days, the Austro-Hungarian Army can launch an attack on Serbia!" Nikolayevich said to The Russian Emperor said.

"We have no choice now, do we?" Nicholas II said numbly. "Serbia is our most important ally in the Balkans. We are a nation. If we retreat today, then no one will dare to provoke the Russian Empire tomorrow. The Empire lost to Britain, France, and the Japanese. The majesty of the empire has been overdrawn, and we can no longer tolerate such provocations."

Nicholas II seemed to be convincing himself and making excuses for the actions he was about to take. But at the same time he was still very afraid of war. "What's the attitude of the French? It's time for them to take a stand?"

"The French have stated that all previous treaties signed with our country will proceed as planned." said the Foreign Secretary.

"This is not enough." Nicholas II said.

"French President Raymond Poincaré will visit St. Petersburg in a week to discuss cooperation between the two countries." The Foreign Secretary thought for a while and continued.

"So, do the French also think it's time to solve the problem? Well, we are going to prepare a grand welcome ceremony for your Excellency to witness the friendship between our two countries. We can not announce the mobilization for the time being, But some preparations need to be carried out, and we need longer than Germany and Austria to concentrate our strength." Nicholas II finally breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the wishes of the Russian emperor, although the Russians have not issued a general mobilization order, units have begun to move from Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic Sea region, and St. Petersburg to the Russian Poland area along the Russian railway lines that are not smooth. A torrent of soldiers, horses and various vehicles marched across the vast land of Eastern Europe. Russia, this behemoth that once made the whole of Europe tremble, has once again awakened. Whether it will move towards victory or fall into the abyss of decline, the only thing left to do is wait for the test of time.

On the issue of war, the French were more determined than the Russians. After the Franco-Prussian War, the bridge between France and Germany was completely forged. In the next half century, the French were always thinking about taking back the occupied territories. This can be seen from the actions taken by France after the war. Without saying a word, they concentrated their efforts on attacking the Alsace-Lorraine region.

Moreover, the current situation does not allow the French to retreat. The Russian political environment determines that they cannot ignore Serbia. If Russia and Austria intervene, Germany will definitely help Austria-Hungary, because the Germans have issued a statement that if there is a third party in the war If you join, then Germany will definitely take action, and this third party refers to Russia!

If Germany and Austria attack Russia together, then Russia will definitely kneel down, and if Russia kneels down, France will never have a chance again, so when the bayonet sees red, the French must not retreat! There is no place to retreat! Therefore, even the French president went into battle and prepared to have a good exchange with the Russians.

"We can gather 1.5 million troops in fifteen days, and we can also leave another 300,000 troops for the War Department as a total reserve. It is impossible for the Germans to exceed our numbers simply by relying on our strength. We can maintain a balance with the Germans, and if the British are willing to fulfill their promises, we can completely defeat Germany. At the end, we can also contain the main German force on the Eastern Front.

And then have the Russians stab them in the back. "General Joffre promised this when he met with the French President.

"So now the question is, will the British declare war on Germany as agreed?" The French Prime Minister looked at the Foreign Minister.

"They will. As long as the British don't want to lose their current status, they will definitely do it!" The French president said firmly without waiting for the foreign minister to answer.

The French moved much faster than the Russians. The Franco-Prussian War not only allowed the French to taste the consequences of failure, but also allowed the French army to make a qualitative leap! In terms of mobilization speed, the French are not much inferior to the Germans. According to the French timetable, they can complete the deployment and assembly of 24 armies in 12 days. More than 1 million people and 400,000 military horses will be transported by rail. , in some busy stations, a train carrying 50 carriages will pass in less than 4 minutes on average!

At the same time, just as the French hoped, the British were also actively preparing for war. Although the British Foreign Secretary Gray also claimed when summoning the German ambassador to Berlin: "The United Kingdom will do its best to ensure that Europe Peace among the great powers." King George V of England also told Prince Heinrich that he hoped that Britain would remain as neutral as possible.

But under the cover of this ambiguous diplomatic vocabulary, the British have begun full-scale mobilization, the Royal Navy has begun to gather, and Prince Louis is about to be replaced because of his German ancestry. Even the military forces of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have begun to mobilize. The British were preparing enough ships to initially be able to deliver large numbers of troops to the other side.

Churchill, who had become the Lord of the Admiralty, even made a request to the Navy: "From now on, we will monitor every Allied warship and merchant ship so that when war breaks out, we can sink or block it as soon as possible."

Churchill naturally knew the situation of the two super-dreadnoughts built by Germany for Argentina, and he was also very concerned about the ownership of these two warships. "Immediately tell the Argentines to take away those two battleships immediately or sell them to us. It is simply unimaginable to leave such two powerful battleships in Germany."

The British Empire Navy once again gathered its huge fleet. If there was a similar action last time, I am afraid it can be traced back to the Napoleonic period. Huge fleets gathered at the exit of the North Sea. A fleet of more than 20 dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, more than a dozen quasi-dreadnoughts, and dozens of armored cruisers and light cruisers locked the exit from the North Sea like a long chain. The dense forest-like steel masts symbolize the most powerful existence of the industrial revolution. Jericho takes office, and he is in charge of the most powerful maritime force in the world.

"The glory of the Royal Navy will surely reach a higher level in my hands. We look forward to knocking this new challenger to the ground! I hope there will be a Battle of Trafalgar Point in the North Sea to serve as the starting point for our generation of naval forces. The mark and glory of the military!" Jericho wrote in his diary.

It seems like there's going to be a war today? ! Third update, please subscribe and reward~~~!