The current Russian Tsar Alexander II is indeed a very influential Tsar in Russian history. Peter the Great, Catherine II and Alexander II are the three Russian Tsars honored by later historians.
One of Alexander II's most important contributions to Russia was the abolition of serfdom that attracted worldwide attention. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he deeply reflected on the merits and demerits of the Crimean War initiated by his father.
Why did the Crimean War fail? The British and French expeditionary force circumnavigated the entire Mediterranean to deploy troops, and the Russians had a geographical advantage. Why did it end in a disastrous defeat?
Alexander II clearly realized that the essence of the problem was that there were problems with Russia's industrial and political systems, which were completely lagging behind the European powers.
In Russia at that time, 90% of the total population were serfs. They were locked on the land and could not move. They had no property of their own, so they had no purchasing power. They did not have their own wealth for investment and trade. There was a huge landlord class. It has accumulated a lot of wealth in society.
From this point of view, the social system of Russia at that time was not as good as that of the Qing Dynasty, and the misery of serfs was even more miserable than that of tenants.
The fundamental element of the development of capitalism lies in the large and free-flowing group of employees. Because of freedom, the most basic resource, population, will gather and disperse with the magic wand of the market economy.
To give a simple example, a British businessman wants to invest in a steel plant. As long as he can rent land, have upfront capital, and be able to offer relatively generous wages, he can gather a large number of excellent labor forces.
But Russia cannot do even this. Capitalists who want to invest will painfully find that they can’t recruit people even if they have money, because 90% of the people are serfs.
Reform was imminent, and Tsar Alexander II did not adopt the forced abolition system like the United States, but chose a relatively mild redemption system.
The state provided loans to serfs, allowing them to obtain land from their landlords and retain their status as free persons. The serfs then repaid the money to the state within a specified period of time.
This is a relatively mild reform path, at least it will not shed too much blood and is acceptable to all parties. But the biggest drawback is that it requires a huge amount of start-up capital, which is so large that the Ministry of Finance even needs to create false accounts, otherwise British and French bankers would not dare to grant loans.
It is impossible to expect the Russian treasury to come up with such a huge sum of money. They can only ask for help from bankers in London and Paris, and fly high-interest loans one after another to Moscow, and then to the vast Russia. earth.
The reform has now entered its eighth year. Russia claims to the outside world that it has passed the most difficult period and that everything is moving in the right direction. However, senior executives with Stefanski's status are like the mirror in their hearts. The Tsar was now almost at the end of his rope.
The monthly interest paid to the British and French bankers was an astronomical figure, which required Russia to demolish the east wall to pay for the west wall. Even in some remote provinces, the redemption payments to landlords were actually just IOUs.
The Ministry of Finance can only use one lie after another to paralyze European bankers so that they can continue to lend funds to Russia to tide over the crisis. According to the optimistic judgment of Moscow’s top officials, it will take at least ten more years for Russia’s finances to gradually balance. Year.
Today, Molière, a bastard with a half-devil face, actually opened up the bloody scar of Russia. Although every word he said was so polite and he used honorifics one after another, what he revealed The reality made the captain's face burn.
"That's enough!" He shouted in a low voice, "What do you want to do? You stimulate me, hit me again and again, trying to anger... Why is this?"
Moliere's grimace twitched and he flicked the cigarette butt into the sea. "I don't have any intention. I just want to give you this great wealth. Think about it. If ten tons of gold were sent back to Moscow, wouldn't you? Where are the heroes of His Majesty the Tsar?"
"Even if my information is wrong, I'll give you a discount. As soon as five tons of gold show up in the City of London, Russia's national credit will skyrocket! By then, you will be able to lend out more funds. Where are the five tons of gold?”
"All the problems have been solved! Don't you want to become the Marshal of Russia? Don't you want Russia to get out of its financial crisis and build a more powerful naval fleet?"
Stefanski rushed up and grabbed Molière's collar and roared angrily, "Why should I believe you? What can you use to prove the authenticity of this information? War is not a child's play. Do you think I am that easy?" An adventurous person?”
Molière was not angry at all. He stood on tiptoes and let the general carry him, and said with a sneer, "You are not from an intelligence background, so you don't understand our ways. France has been operating in Asia for many years, and its power is second only to the British. Isn’t this bit of information very troublesome?”
"Not to mention, our intelligence community also has a fine tradition of exchanging intelligence. Some of our French intelligence will be shared with the British. At the same time, the British will also help us when we are in trouble..."
"Our French intelligence personnel and the British intelligence network have all confirmed this matter. Even...even the Manchus in Beijing have delivered a lot of important information to us. Isn't this the summary of intelligence from the three parties still believable? ?”
"Let go, my lord general, the Chinese have an old saying... Oh God, why do I love these Chinese proverbs more and more now? They describe it so accurately..."
"The Chinese have said that when a man is poor, his ambition is short, but his horse is thin and his hair is long. Look how accurate he is. Isn't this what Russia is like now? Money, the most evil money, but without this thing, the country would not be a country..."
As soon as Stefansky let go of his hand, Molière stood on the ground again. The Russian general sighed, "This matter is not something I can make the decision on. I have to discuss it with the senior leaders of the fleet... Also, let me remind you, don't You think you can calculate everything just because you have the intelligence shared by the three countries. To put it bluntly, if the intelligence was so important, your Dakar would not be in ruins!"
"There is also the Battle of Iquique. Didn't you guess the outcome? Information is of course important, but in the end, victory depends on the swords and guns in the hands of warriors and their brave hearts!"
Molière took half a step back and bowed respectfully, "Of course, the General's judgment is correct... But I hope that the General can convene a meeting as soon as possible, because I will have a big gift package for you soon... …It’s an appetizer before gold!”
"Appetizer? What?" Stefanski asked.
"No, no, no... all this can only be handed over to you after you recognize my intelligence and are willing to act. Please believe me that this land of Asia is full of all kinds of magic!"
