What is the basis for victory in war? Is it a powerful army? Is it a well-equipped weapon? Is it a wise general or sufficient logistics?
These are all necessary, but the core and most fundamental issue is what the ancient Chinese said is the issue of people's hearts. In such a large systematic project from war organization, preparations, actions, conflicts... to post-war negotiations, what is the issue of people's hearts and minds? Xiang has always played a key role.
People's hearts and minds sound vague and nihilistic. In the eyes of the world, people's hearts and minds can always be suppressed by power. This is especially obvious in the Middle Ages. In the jungle law of the jungle, the winner has all the right to interpret, while the loser can only Passive acceptance.
But people often overlook one point. When you can defeat your opponent with an overwhelming advantage without any suspense, of course you can temporarily ignore the will of the people, but what about when two powerful forces meet? What about a tangled deadlock?
Or maybe two tigers are fighting for territory, but there are a group of lions watching them around? The situation has become more complicated. At this time, the seemingly illusory public sentiment has become a key factor in victory.
The international conflicts at the end of the 19th century were basically two tigers fighting against each other, surrounded by wolves. For example, the war between the Chinese and Tsarist Russia in the Far East seemed to be just a hot war between two ethnic groups, but There are too many big countries involved, and even the United States across the Bering Strait has been paying attention to this war.
Xiao Letian is a person who is good at fishing in troubled waters in chaos. He cannot let go of such a good opportunity for a public opinion battle. He wants to defeat Tsarist Russia on the battlefield, and he also wants to win on the moral and popular front.
The information Pierre brought also had a set of action plans hidden in his mind, which was the trigger for the media war that lasted for two years. After escaping from death, he finally launched the entire plan in Hamburg.
The relationship between the British and Tsarist Russia was not good to begin with. The Crimean War caused the two sides to tear themselves apart. In addition, Tsarist Russia has always been unwilling to be a land power and has long been looking for a warm water port to break through the British maritime encirclement.
In Crimea, in Central Asia and Afghanistan, including in the Far East of the Qing Dynasty, Tsarist Russia's expansion plan always had a very clear purpose, and that was the warm water port, which was the huge benefit of maritime trade.
Some analysts think that Britain briefly cooperated with Tsarist Russia and seized several arms ships for Xiao Letian, and that Britain changed its national policy towards Tsarist Russia. This is a very absurd argument.
Britain just hoped that both Tsarist Russia and the Chinese would suffer. The only reason he helped Tsarist Russia was that the Chinese had risen too fast and too dazzlingly, and needed to be restrained.
What Britain wants is for both sides to bleed and be bruised. If the Chinese are too strong, they will beat the Chinese. If Tsarist Russia becomes bigger during the war, Britain will also support the Chinese.
It's just a matter of balance and has nothing to do with the country's fundamental strategy.
People don’t understand the balancing game played by politicians. The aristocrats, gentlemen, farmers and workers in the UK still have no good impression of the polar bear in Tsarist Russia. After the victory of the Crimean War, the British were so proud that their chins were raised to the sky. , always full of contempt for the barbarians in the north.
This is the gap in the egg, and this is the breakthrough point of Xiao Letian's plan. If he wants to provoke a melee in the entire European media, he cannot make too many enemies at once. France will leave behind first, and we will start blasting with Tsarist Russia.
The first article Pierre brought back was first published in The Times. The eager British media were as excited as if they were celebrating a holiday. They carefully followed the circulation number of the latest newspaper.
As long as this article becomes popular, the sales volume will be high. High sales volume proves that people like to read it. If they like to read it, they should conduct in-depth reporting and dig out all the wealth value of this hot spot.
Leo, the Golden Pen Holder, is indeed extraordinary. He mentioned the massacre at the Qingdao Gold Mine at the beginning of the chapter, and directly presented the cruel rule of Tsarist Russia to the aboriginal people of the Far East in front of the public.
"Kind and upright European citizens! Maybe you still don't know that Tsarist Russia cut off nearly one million square kilometers of land from the territory of the Qing Dynasty ten years ago... That is a huge land that is more than three times the size of the United Kingdom. Just on the desolate tundra on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean!"
"If any country in the world expands so much land at once, there will always be a moment when desires are briefly satisfied, and there will always be a time when they restrain their minions and choose to be civilized gentlemen! But only that barbaric country can swallow it up in one go He lost such a vast area of land, but he is still a bloody and brutal barbarian without any restraint!"
"The Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty clearly states that before the treaty is signed, the property of all aboriginal people will be protected and recognized. Even Chinese aborigines who committed crimes will be punished according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty..."
"So shouldn't the treaty written in black and white be abided by? Where is the most respected spirit of contract in Europe? Is it illegal for the Chinese to mine gold in ancient gold mines that have been passed down from generation to generation? Why did they get a massacre?"
"They didn't even think about asking the Chinese aborigines to collect taxes, but just raised the butcher knife! Isn't their purpose just to rob Chi Guoguo? One million square kilometers of land have been robbed, and now even ordinary people on this land Do you want to rob the people’s wealth as well?”
"The Chinese will not watch the barbarians carry out bloody and cruel suppression of their compatriots. This war of the Chinese is to tell those barbarians what a civilized society is and what is the true spirit of contract!"
"The Chinese used this war to provide important circumstantial evidence for the entire Europe, that is, all previous national policies of defending, rejecting, and surrounding Tsarist Russia were correct!"
"Barbaric peoples can never represent the civilized world! The arbiter of Europe must not be handed over to such a country!"
The big black words on the newspaper were like Xiao Letian roaring to the whole of Europe. With the help of Leo's golden pen, Xiao Letian showed the whole of Europe all the ins and outs of the Far East War.
How the Tsarist Russians defrauded one million square kilometers of land through clever robbery, while Britain and France only got a little benefit. Tsarist Russia did not use many troops, but ended up getting the most.
Then he introduced every detail of the Sino-Russian Beijing Treaty in detail. Anyway, the treaty did not have many words, so it was easy to explain. After that, he wrote clearly one by one all the cases of the Tsarist Russian army massacring people in violation of the treaty.
This was a big revelation, and the people in London and then the entire UK were dumbfounded. People living in a peaceful environment had never seen such ugly-looking barbarians.
Coupled with the fact that they already look down on those polar bears, and the pride that comes from the soul of the citizens of the Empire where the sun never sets, they still want to scold the idiots of other countries for nothing, but today someone took the initiative to send ammunition so that they can have a good time. Complained.
This is simply a grand festival!
"Oh! God! These barbarians are so shameless. No wonder the empire wants to fight them again and again. These are simply a group of barbaric cannibals!"
"God will punish them. The treacherous ones are destined to go to hell!"
"We must not do business with these people. They don't have the slightest sense of contract. They will steal the last copper from our partners!"
"Dirty polar bear, get out of the ocean of the Empire where the sun never sets, and go to the frozen land to eat ice and snow!"
A war of words began.
Note: Time flies so fast. It’s already the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are still 12 days of Spring Festival... There are really too many things going on during the New Year, and updates will not be stable. Please bear with me, please bear with me!
