Chapter 59

In the pale moonlight, the stars were brilliant, and in a side hall of the Winter Palace, the lights were dazzling. Qing Ying and the tall, slender, and dignified last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, sat facing each other. After listening to Qing Ying's opening remarks, the casual expression on Nicholas's face gradually faded, replaced by a solemn and serious demeanor.

Just as the young man said.

Russia, vast and sprawling across Europe and Asia, stretched from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. When Vladivostok, a city a thousand miles away, had already entered the endless night, the magnificent St. Petersburg was just beginning to light up with dazzling morning rays. Since the reign of Peter the Great, Russia under the rule of successive tsars had been a fierce and brutal two-headed eagle, one head watching Western Europe and the other eyeing East Asia.

In 1855, Tsar Alexander II ascended to the throne, and the focus of the two-headed eagle began to shift quietly. For the previous 100 years, Russia's strategic center had been in Europe. However, during that time, Europe had produced two genius military leaders: Frederick II (Frederick the Great) and Napoleon. The former fought a seven-year war with Russia, and the latter almost destroyed Russia, nearly leading to its extinction. Russia's excessive involvement in European affairs not only failed to achieve the expected land and wealth but also severely weakened the country. This was a thoroughly losing deal, forcing the Russian ruling class to reassess their national policies. At that time, Russia had just suffered a major defeat in the Crimean War; the extent of the defeat was evident from the fact that they had to rely on the sale of Alaska to the United States for a mere $7.2 million to overcome the financial crisis. After this battle, the Russian nobility's disappointment with European expansion reached its peak. They urgently needed to find a new area for expansion to compensate for the huge losses in Europe.

A few years later, Britain and France began to attack the Qing Dynasty in the Far East, which immediately caught the attention of the Russian ruling class, eager to expand their territory and shift domestic conflicts. After a series of opportunistic extortions, Russia, without much effort, obtained over 1.5 million square kilometers of land from the corrupt and traitorous Qing government. This outcome made Alexander II tremble with excitement; just one military extortion could achieve such a stunning and glorious result. If they were to directly engage in battle, what kind of rich harvest could they obtain? Overjoyed, Alexander II felt as if he had discovered a new continent filled with gold. For the next forty years, Russia's strategic focus quietly shifted eastward, viewing the entire northeast of the Qing Dynasty as its future territory, not allowing any outsiders to interfere. His successors, Alexander III and Nicholas II, also galloped forward on the broad road laid out by their predecessors. Therefore, Nicholas was furious at Japan's attempt to occupy Liaodong and, together with France and Germany, formed a formidable alliance that even Britain feared, forcing Japan to withdraw from Liaodong.

Although Nicholas knew that his cousin Wilhelm was certainly not a saint, and that his willingness to act together on the Far East issue must have some ulterior motives, he was still very displeased when his envoy appeared before him. He glanced at his distant nephew and said, "There's no need for unnecessary words. Little Eitel, what did your father instruct me, his cousin, to do?"

Qing Ying smiled slightly and said to the person in front of him, "Uncle, you are a genius, and Father admires you greatly. He often praises you as the most outstanding third-generation ruler in our great-grandmother's family. How could he use the word 'instruct'? Father sent me here to hope that your country would focus on Japan and properly teach these short, yellow-skinned monkeys a lesson in the future!"

Nicholas snorted and automatically ignored Qing Ying's first sentence. Wilhelm II's arrogance and self-importance were well-known in their circle for over a decade. Now that he had inherited the throne and Germany's power had surged under his rule, it was easy to imagine that he was extremely proud and self-satisfied. How could he possibly praise Nicholas? He glanced at Qing Ying and said coolly, "Forget it, do I not know that arrogant cousin Wilhelm? As for his request, it concerns the fate of the Russian Empire. If you, Little Eitel, cannot give me a reasonable explanation, I can only regretfully refuse him."

Being thus openly confronted by Nicholas, Qing Ying did not show any embarrassment. His gaze sharpened, and his expression became serious as he said, "Uncle, if Russia regards Japan as a hypothetical enemy, it would be the most desirable outcome for both Germany and your country."

Nicholas gave Qing Ying a look, signaling him to continue.

"Your country is vast and spans Europe and Asia. Looking around, the only viable option for expansion is the Far East. The Qing Dynasty in the Far East has a large territory and abundant wealth, but its military is extremely weak, making it the ideal destination for your country's expansion. However, Japan, overestimating its capabilities, also covets the Qing territory. In this situation, your country must first eliminate Japan before it can focus on the Qing territory. With your country's strength, you probably don't need to share the northeast of the Qing Dynasty with Japan, reducing the great yellow Russia's territory, right?" Qing Ying's eyes met Nicholas's blue eyes as he spoke.

Nicholas smiled slightly, his words filled with unhidden pride and arrogance. "Exactly. This time, our country forced Japan to withdraw from the Liaodong of the Qing Dynasty to prepare for the future incorporation of the entire northeast of the Qing Dynasty into the great yellow Russia. A mere Japan has no right to compete with the great Russian Empire. For Russia, dealing with Japan is as simple as squashing a stinky bug!" For Qing Ying, who was destined to become the German Crown Prince, Nicholas wanted to give him an impression of Russia's invincible strength, so he spoke without reservation, fully showcasing Russia's sharp and formidable nature.

However, Nicholas miscalculated. Qing Ying, in his previous life, had long known about Nicholas's ambitions, so he was not particularly shocked. After hearing these words, Qing Ying remained calm and continued, "And our Germany also covets the Qing Dynasty in the Far East, as evidenced by our actions in the Sino-Japanese War. Father's intention is for both sides to take what they can. Your country should first crush Japan, and then the two countries can divide the Qing Dynasty! If your country does not shift its focus to the Far East, it will be hard to find a better option." For a ruler like Nicholas, Qing Ying did not need to say much; many things only needed to be hinted at, and saying too much could have the opposite effect.

Nicholas's eyes showed surprise. Although the young man's words were not profound, they accurately grasped the current situation and made a near-inciting suggestion to him.

Since the unification of Germany, after more than twenty years of peaceful development, Germany's national strength and military power had reached an unprecedented peak. The army was unprecedentedly powerful, and the economy was unprecedentedly prosperous. Even the southern Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the rule of Emperor Joseph I, was experiencing a renaissance, with political stability and social harmony. If Russia were to shift its strategic focus to Europe, it would directly face the German Empire and the southern Austro-Hungarian Empire. With Russia's strength, even with France's help, it would be difficult to gain any advantage in Europe. Currently, Europe was peaceful, and the Ottoman Empire in the south was a stubborn and difficult opponent, with the nightmare of the Crimean War still fresh in memory. When Russia chose to move south, it could not ignore the pain of that past conflict. If it were not for the great talent of the new Tsar Alexander II, Russia might still be struggling to recover from the shadow of that war. Since the paths of expansion to the west and south were blocked, only the Far East was suitable for Russia's current expansion.

In the second half of the 19th century, after a series of reforms by Alexander II, Russia embarked on the path of imperialist expansion through capital concentration, no longer content with the vast but extremely cold territory. At that time, Germany had just unified, with many issues to address; France had been defeated in the war, its strength weakened, and the 5 billion mark indemnity was a heavy burden. The only power that could rival Britain was the northern giant, Russia. However, at this time, Russia began a large-scale expansion, directly harming British interests, and the once-great British Empire immediately turned its hostile gaze toward Russia. For the next few decades, the rivalry between Britain and Russia became the main theme of the world, with both sides engaging in open and covert struggles over their interests, with invisible flames of war spreading across Europe and Asia.

Today, the contradictions between Britain and Russia in the Far East are even more intense. Russia wants to dominate the northeast of the Qing Dynasty and establish a "yellow Russia" for new colonization, while Britain believes that Russia's southward expansion will affect its influence in the Yangtze River region and is determined to prevent this. Japan's acquisition of Liaodong from the Qing Dynasty in the Treaty of Shimonoseki was largely influenced by Britain, which wanted to support Japan in occupying Liaodong to gradually undermine Russia's plan to dominate the northeast of the Qing Dynasty. Russia, not to be outdone, saw Japan's audacity to covet the northeast of the Qing Dynasty and, together with Germany and France, forced Japan to withdraw by military means.

Although Japan submitted to Russia in the Liaodong affair this time, everyone knew that it was only because the alliance of the three countries was too formidable for Japan to resist. Russia wants to move south and swallow the northeast of the Qing Dynasty, while Japan, with British support, still has territorial claims on the northeast of the Qing Dynasty. The contradiction between the two is essentially the contradiction between Russia and Britain in the Far East, which is almost impossible to reconcile. Currently, Russia's military strength in the Far East is not strong enough to launch an invasion of the northeast, and Japan, despite its recent victory, must use most of its indemnity to repay foreign debts. Given Japan's current national strength, it also dares not act rashly. However, once both sides are prepared, a fierce war over the Qing Dynasty, the weak and vulnerable flower girl, is inevitable!