Chapter 1018 Consultation
As time went by, the Russian government's response to the war was gradually developing in an unfavorable direction. The Lushun Navy was unable to break through for a long time. Under this situation, Russia also began to prepare for the worst.
On the one hand, the Russian government’s Baltic Fleet began to make preparations and entered a state of combat readiness. On the other hand, the Russian government began to lobby countries along the route, especially the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the three East African countries, to gain support and ensure the smooth flow of the waterway.
February 26, 1894.
The Russian Ambassador to East Africa Maxim once again approached the East African government.
"We in Russia hope that East Africa will support our country in this round of war and open the two west coast ports of Luanda or Cabinda, as well as the east coast ports that can provide related services, including Pontianak in the Southeast Asia region and the Southern Ryukyu Islands in the Far East, at any time. Provide our country with services such as rest and replenishment of warships and material supplies during the war.”
East Africa’s regional location and colonial distribution can perfectly solve the current dilemma of Russia’s naval expedition, especially the Southern Ryukyu Islands and Lanfang Overseas Province.
After the Russian warships pass through the Strait of Malacca, Lanfang Overseas Province will be one of the main locations that can provide the Russian Navy with services in the region, unless France and other countries provide relevant services to the Russian Navy.
The location of the Southern Ryukyu Islands is even more wonderful. With the Far Eastern Empire's clear neutral attitude, in the maritime battlefield between Japan and Russia, if the Southern Ryukyu Islands can be used by the Russian navy, it can definitely play a big role. Of course, East Africa will definitely Will not agree.
“Ambassador Maxim, there are no big problems in other cities and colonies in East Africa, but the Southern Ryukyu Islands must not participate in the war. After all, our country’s control ability in the Southern Ryukyu Islands is relatively weak due to the distance.”
“Furthermore, Japan has always been full of ambitions towards the Southern Ryukyu Islands, and our country cannot give Japan an excuse to start a war. The Southern Ryukyu Islands are too close to the Japanese mainland, and any risk is beyond our ability to bear.”
Speaking of the truth, Ernst will not open the Southern Ryukyu Islands to Russia. If he really proves it, Japan may use this as an excuse to seize the Southern Ryukyu Islands.
At that time, the East African Navy was no longer as powerful as the Japanese Navy more than a decade ago. If Japan was determined to go against East Africa, Alaska, the Southern Ryukyu Islands, and the Northern Hawaiian Kingdom might all be in danger, leading to East Africa's decades of insecurity. The layout of the Pacific region fell short.
Maxim still wants to fight for this. After all, if the Southern Ryukyu Islands can play a role in the war, it will be of great help to Russia.
Maxim suggested: "Your Highness, don't be too busy to refuse. If East Africa can provide us with the Southern Ryukyu Islands as a temporary base, after Russia defeats Japan, we are willing to share part of the spoils with your country. As far as I know, the Southern Ryukyu Islands As part of the Ryukyu Islands, as long as our country wins the war, we can add the Northern Ryukyu Islands to the results of the negotiations and transfer them to East Africa for management after the war."
This proposal can be said to be very bold. When the war situation is not yet clear, it shows to a certain extent that the Russian government has judged Japan's fate. Assuming that Japan is defeated in the Russo-Japanese War, there is no doubt that Japan will be bankrupt. After all, There is only one outcome for defeat, and that is the destruction of the Japanese combined fleet.
Naturally, Ernst could not agree with the Russian government's imagination. From before the outbreak of the war, Ernst was 100% sure that even if Russia did not lose miserably, it would not be possible to defeat Japan. At most, both sides would suffer, and it would be a tie. The probability is no more than ten percent.
Therefore, Ernst was completely unmoved by Maxim's pie. He said: "Ambassador Maxim, East Africa is determined not to use its own territory as a bet for war, although we are very 'optimistic' about Russia and are willing to provide whatever we can." Help, but the Southern Ryukyu Islands are the bottom line of East Africa and cannot be acted rashly." In response to Ernst's flat refusal, Maxim said: "Your Highness, our Russian navy is far more powerful than Japan, and the soon-to-be-formed Second Pacific Fleet is powerful. Considering the Far East Fleet's early consumption of the Japanese Navy, when the Second Fleet arrives in the Far East waters, it will be the end of the Japanese Navy, and the advantage is entirely on our side..."
According to what Maxim said, the Russian navy has a great chance of winning. If it were to go to war with other countries, Ernst would really believe it.
However, Ernst knew both Russia and Japan relatively well. The Japanese navy was definitely not something that Maxim said could be easily manipulated by Russia, and the Russian navy was not as disciplined and invincible as Maxim imagined.
In terms of war experience alone, Russia's last historic naval battle was the Crimean War. The only thing worth talking about in recent years was the Russo-Turkish War. However, for a country like the Ottoman Empire, it is not polite to say that it was a war with Japan. Opponents of this level are simply incomparable.
In Ernst's view, Japan's investment in military construction in recent years has greatly exceeded Russia's. It is not the funding and the number of ships. After all, Japan cannot surpass Russia in terms of size, but it is the military system that exceeds Russia. If the Russian Navy and the Japanese Navy invest the same 100 yuan, the Russian officers will deduct at least 50%, while the Japanese may deduct less than 10%. The Japanese Navy cannot be as good as the Russian Navy in terms of morale.
At the same time, there is no generational difference between Japan's naval equipment and Russia's, and the scale is similar. Although Russia may form an ocean-going fleet to support the Pacific battlefield, it may be difficult to arrive without half a year of preparation. By then, Lushun's Far East Fleet will have long been in decline, and the Japanese Navy It is entirely possible to sit back and wait for the exhausted Second Pacific Fleet.
Russia's Second Pacific Fleet seems to be strong, but when the war begins, its performance may not be as good as the original Far East Fleet.
At any rate, the Russian Far East Fleet is adapted to the climate of East Asia and is relatively familiar with the local hydrology and geography. However, the Second Pacific Fleet, also known as the Baltic Fleet, may be like a headless fly as long as it enters the Far East waters and cannot adapt to the battlefield environment.
In the previous Russo-Japanese War, Russian ship losses amounted to more than 200,000 tons. Of the twelve battleships, eight were sunk and four were captured. Of the eight cruisers, three were sunk, one was killed, and three were captured by a third country. Only one ship escaped back to Vladivostok. More than 4,000 Russian naval officers and soldiers were killed, nearly 6,000 were captured, and more than 1,800 were detained in neutral countries. However, Japan achieved this result only at the small cost of sinking three torpedo boats and killing more than 100 officers and soldiers.
With such a record in his previous life, there was no way Ernst could believe that the Russian Navy could make a comeback. The performance of the Russian Navy in his previous life could be said to be worse than that of a pig. The damage to the Japanese Navy was only scratched, and that was just by relying on captured soldiers. For the Russian naval ships, the Japanese navy would not lose anything but gain instead, and the damage would be basically zero.
Therefore, Ernst has great trust in the combat effectiveness of the Russian Navy. The current real level of the Russian Navy cannot be higher than in the previous life, and it can only be beaten violently in the Far East.
Therefore, it is impossible for East Africa to bet on Russia to win. It can provide some services to Russia. These are also some arrangements that East Africa must make due to its greed for the Russian market and resources.
To put it bluntly, if the Far Eastern Empire had the equipment advantage of the Russian Navy, the outcome of the previous Far Eastern naval battle might have gone to a different ending. This also shows from the side that the internal problems of the Russian Navy at that time were too serious.
Ernst has no hope for the Russian navy. As for the entire Ryukyu Islands that Maxim mentioned, it is just Russia's unilateral fantasy. After some time, Japan will teach more lessons. Ernst believes that Russia That's completely honest.
(End of this chapter)