Chapter 207: Chapter 198: Distant Friendship, Close Attack – European Edition
Arthur’s negotiations with William II went very smoothly. Of course, this time it was the German Empire that sought assistance from Australia and Arthur, so William II readily agreed to the majority of Arthur’s demands.
In the following few days, William II personally took Arthur to observe the daily training of the German Army and the naval exercises. After experiencing the powerful German Empire’s navy and army firsthand, they headed north to the Russian Empire together.
The Russian Empire was thest stop on Arthur’s European tour and one of the main purposes of his trip to Europe.
Regardless of whether the German-Russian alliance could be realized, Australia would reap substantial benefits and make a guaranteed profit.
Although the eastern part of the German Empire bordered the western part of the Russian Empire, William II and Arthur still chose to travel by warship to the Russian Empire.
Of course, this also had to do with their primary destination. William II and Nichs II chose Bjork Ind in the Gulf of Find as the first meeting ce for the German-Russian alliance negotiations. Although the formal meeting took ce on the warship rather than the ind, William II and Nichs II still tacitly agreed on Bjork Ind as the negotiation venue.
After three days at sea, on August 2, 1905, the two fleets carrying William II and Arthur arrived near Bjork Ind.
Soon after, the Baltic Fleet carrying Nichs II also arrived fashionablyte.
Unlike the first negotiations, this time due to Australia’s participation, the meeting location was officially chosen on Bjork Ind.
With thebined efforts of the attendees and servants of all three parties, a temporary negotiation site was quickly set up.<div>
Perhaps due to the rxed atmosphere, the tent appeared more like a vacation spot than a meeting ce.
The servants brought out various foods, fruits, and prepared beverages from their respective ships.
A crucial conversation concerning the future situation in Europe began in this manner.
Among William II, Nichs II and Arthur, William II was the oldest and also the initiator of these negotiations.
As the youngest, Arthur yed more of a listener role in these negotiations, learning from the monarchs’ conversational skills and following the progress of the German-Russian talks.
After exchanging greetings, the negotiations began in earnest.
William II first reaffirmed the attitude of the German Empire, stating that it was willing to provide arge amount of loans and support the Russian Empire’s Far East policy.
Nichs II nodded repeatedly; what William II proposed indeed struck a chord with him.
The Russian Empire’s defeat in the previous Russo-Japanese War was due not only to its internal decay but also to theck of international supportpared to the Ind Nation.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Although its only ally, France, chose to support the Russian Empire, such support was limitedpared to Britain’s backing of the Ind Nation andpletely insufficient to change the situation in the Far East.
Moreover, at the request of France, the Russian Empire’s main forces in Europe were not mobilized, and the majority of the army structure in the Far East were recruits with less than a year of training.
This led to a heavy loss of life for the Russian Empire in thest Russo-Japanese War, with over 200,000 deaths and as many as 300,000 indirect casualties.
Although these were mostly temporary recruits, they would not have too significant of an impact on the Russian Empire’s military strength.
Nevertheless, the deaths fueled widespread dissatisfaction and the war’s defeat became one of the key factors behind the Russian Empire’s instability.
If the Russian Empire had been able to mobilize one-third of its European forces to the Far East, the oue of the war might have been different.
This led some in the Russian Empire to be disappointed with France. They believed that their heavily relied upon ally had instead be a burden during the war.
Germany’s attitude andmitment vastly differed from that of France. If it were not for the existing alliance between the Russian Empire and France, Nichs II would have agreed to William II’s terms on the spot.
When discussing the Far East issue, Nichs II and William II both turned to Arthur.
If Australia were to strongly support the Russian Empire in future Far East conflicts, at least half of the Russian Empire’s logistical issues in the Far East would be solved.<div>
This was the advantage of distance. In the Far East, Australia’s influence wasparable to that of European secondary powers. In terms of weapons and resource support, it was equivalent to a powerful nation.
Arthur naturally agreed to this. Australia’s support for the Russian Empire’s actions in the Far East would bring no harm to Australia.
Moreover, the considerable arms trade would stimte the development of Australian industry and military capabilities, benefiting Australia’s future expansion.
However, Tsardom of Russia’s Far East policy will actually be met with the desperate resistance of the Ind Nation and the opposition of the British Empire and the United States.<div>
Given the current situation of domestic strife and external troubles in the Tsardom of Russia, it is not easy to make a difference in the Far East region.
Although supporting Russia would cause Australia to lose an armament market like the Ind Nation, the Ind Nation mainly relies on the British Empire and the United States, and only these two countries will provide the Ind Nation with arge amount of loans.
After obtaining Arthur’s support and guarantee, Nichs II nodded in satisfaction, which seemed to show approval for William II’s proposal to support Russia’s Far East policy.
However, arge number of people and officials in Russia still do not want to give up the alliance with France, because during the period of the French-Russian alliance, arge amount of French capital has poured into the Russian market, and Russia also relies heavily on French financial support and loans.
If the agreement with France is terminated hastily, it would also be a huge blow to the Russian Empire itself.
Moreover, there are many strikes in Russia currently. If the loan cooperation with France is suddenly cut off, even if there is a new German loan influx, the damage to the market is definitely not something that can be alleviated in a short time.
This will cause arge number of workers to lose their jobs, which will also indirectly make this Russian unrest even greater.
This is why a considerable part of Russian officials currently oppose the German-Russian alliance. Russia’s current domestic environment cannot withstand too much change. If it suddenly loses the support of French capital, it is feared that before German capital has poured in, Russia will face a greater crisis domestically.
Nichs II himself was also aware of this point, and although he was very tempted by William II’s proposal, he was still in a state of hesitation.
The first day’s negotiations ended in such indecision. Although Germany, Russia, and Australia all have a willingness to cooperate, it is obvious that Nichs II is still hesitant, or that opinions inside Russia are currently not unified.
After Nichs II left in a hurry, Arthur did not rush back to the warship but looked at William II, who was slightly thoughtful, andughed, “Cousin William, are you in a bad mood?”
Although Arthur asked knowingly, William II was not angry, but rather helplessly exined, “I really don’t know what those Frenchmen gave Russia that made them reluctant to give up the treaty with France.”
Even though William II offered a lot of terms that were favorable to Russia, Nichs II was still hesitant.<div>
Comparing Germany and France’spletely different attitudes towards Russia in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War, William II even felt that Nichs II’s head had been kicked by a donkey.
“You seem to be in a wrong area, Cousin William. Rather than bing allies, I think Germany and Russia’s better destination is mutual neutrality.” Arthur did not answer William II, but said with a deep meaning.
“Oh? How so?” William II suddenly became interested, asking with slight surprise.
“From a geopolitical point of view, Germany and Russia are neighboring, both being one of the hegemonic powers on the European Continent. But Russia and France are far apart, with the German Empire in between, so there are no territorial conflicts.” Arthur exined.
“As French-Russian allies, both parties can acquire Germany’s territory and continue to retain Germany as a buffer. But if Germany and Russia are allies, Germany may take a share of France’s territory, but what about Russia? Now is not the Middle Ages, and the exchange of territories is not feasible.”
Even on the European Continent, the diplomatic concept of remote exchange and near attack still applies.
Although Russia attaches great importance to its Far East policy, its base camp is after all in Europe, and it has to pay attention to the development of the situation in Europe.
As French-Russian allies, the victory of the war can acquire German territory for national replenishment.
Moreover, the two countries are separated by Germany as a buffer and will not cause too many conflicts.
But German-Russian is different. If Germany and Russia are allies, the only enemy on the European Continent would be France.
However, the distance between France and Russia is too far, and Russia will naturally not be so foolish as to upy an area without popr support.
Then just let Germany grow bigger? With the acquisition of French territory, Germany’s overall strength will definitely be stronger.
Once France is defeated, wouldn’t Russia naturally be Germany’s next potential rival?<div>
Russia is not Germany’s current opponent, and it is naturally not the opponent of Germany after Germany has acquired more territory andnd rights.
Such development also prompts Russia to think more about whether the German-Russian alliance is more suitable than the French-Russian alliance.
Apart from the fact that Russia currently cannot lose French capital on the surface, the potential crisis of the German-Russian alliance is also one of the reasons for the hesitation of Russian officials and Nichs II.
After a moment of silence, William II nodded and said, “Indeed, the purpose of the French-Russian alliance is actually to counter the German Empire.”
“So, I think the best rtionship between Germany and Russia is neutrality. Of course, how to be neutral and the diplomatic bottom line of the two countries still needs to be defined by your officials.” Arthur said with a smile.