Ulan Geli was completely angry. The problems in the Ili Valley stimulated him, causing him to change his previous attitude. From being humble and pitiful, he suddenly turned into a mad dog.
When he was most excited, he forgot to communicate in Chinese, and he spoke a series of Russian words that were so fast that he couldn't even catch up with the translator!
Of course Cai Bixia knew why he was so angry, because the strategic location of the Ili Valley was so important to Tsarist Russia!
Since Tsarist Russia broke away from the rule of the Mongolians of the Golden Horde, all the tsars of the past dynasties have learned from the powerful countries of Western Europe. They have tried every means to learn from powerful countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands, and eventually integrate into the main European civilization!
In order to turn the landlocked Tsarist Russia into a maritime country, Peter the Great did not hesitate to disguise himself as a corporal in a mission with the dignity of the Tsar, and secretly went to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to learn advanced science and technology!
They spent a lot of money to recruit many shipbuilders, navigators, engineers, and scientists... and devoted all their efforts to start a war with the Kingdom of Sweden, and finally secured the entrance to the Baltic Sea!
In the Neva River Delta he built a military fortress on this newly occupied land. This is St. Petersburg!
Relying on this fortress, the city of St. Petersburg came into existence, and Peter the Great also moved the capital to St. Petersburg!
Until now, Tsarist Russia has had dual capitals, and the Tsar lived and worked back and forth between St. Petersburg and Moscow!
Is one St. Petersburg enough? It's far from enough, because the Baltic Sea is an inland sea closed within the European continent, and it has to pass through many countries at its outlet. The winding stretch is very dangerous, and any country along the way may pose a threat to Tsarist Russia's fleet!
Especially Britain, if they want to deal with the Tsarist Russian fleet, they only need to block the Kattegat Strait on the Swedish and Danish sides, and none of your Tsarist Russian fleets and merchant ships will be able to get through!
For the sake of maritime commercial interests and national security, Tsarist Russia can’t wait to find more outlets to the sea, especially warm water ports!
This era is not the same as Xiao Letian's previous life. The Arctic Ocean shows no signs of melting, and the earth's temperature is still very cold!
If you want to take the Arctic route, it’s just a dream!
Tsarist Russia initially set its sights on the Black Sea and even the Bulgarian region. Why is the Balkans such a barrel? This has a lot to do with the long-term war between Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire!
Tsarist Russia not only wants Crimea, he also wants the Balkans and finds a suitable port in the Aegean Sea!
The British would definitely not agree to such a strategy, so the Crimean War came about. Britain and France joined forces with the Ottoman Empire to cripple Tsarist Russia in one go!
Blocking the exit of the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, the helpless Tsar could only look for opportunities in the distant east. In the end, they really encountered a great opportunity!
In the Second Opium War, Tsarist Russia used blackmail to obtain Vladivostok and hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land in the Far East without spending a single soldier!
This can be regarded as opening the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. Although it is far away from Moscow, Tsarist Russia, who is crazy about the entrance to the sea, will not be picky!
The Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, Vladivostok... although the geographical locations of the three seaports are not very good, they give Tsarist Russia some peace of mind, which is better than none at all!
But this strategy to the ocean was really not going well. Xiao Letian was born, and after tormenting the Qing Dynasty, he tormented France, and finally came to torment Tsarist Russia!
Ulan Geli was so wronged. Didn’t we just massacre some miners in the Qingdao Gold Mine? Why not just kill some aborigines? As for you, just the navy and army will come forward to fight a national war with us?
The loss of Vladivostok was definitely a fatal blow to Tsarist Russia's maritime strategy. At the beginning, the Tsar still hoped for a comeback, so the domestic army was preparing for a second war with the Chinese!
But I never expected that Xiao Letian would unite with Prussia to defeat the French! When Paris fell completely, all of Tsarist Russia was shocked!
This group of people can only abandon their original arrogant thoughts and re-examine Xiao Letian, this god-like opponent!
As a result of this research, the senior officials of the Russian Empire were confused. No one expected that in just a few years, the Chinese people would have begun to make leaps in terms of military, economic, cultural, technological and industrial levels!
In addition to being inferior to the Tsarist Russian Empire in terms of population and land area, they have completely crushed all other elements of a powerful country!
Just now Hua Ruohan was chatting with Ulan Geli. The Russian ambassador also said that the Chinese do not have excellent steel pipe forging technology or deep hole rifling cutting technology!
But while you say that the Chinese don’t have it, do you think the Russians have it? The same is not true. It is not even as high as the technical level of the Chinese!
The war really can't go on any longer. The Chinese are no longer something Tsarist Russia can fight against! If you can't fight, you can only adjust the empire's strategy!
At this time, they can only turn their attention to Central Asia!
Why are there a large number of troops stationed in the Ili Valley? Why should the railway be built to Central Asia first?
Because Tsarist Russia’s eyes are not only on Xinjiang in the western region, but also on the far southern Afghanistan region!
They can only look for seaports in the Indian Ocean, but to develop here, they need to establish a stable base camp in Central Asia!
This base camp must have its own farming and commercial development to provide supplies to the army. At least it must be self-sufficient in food and grass!
With this advanced base, the Russian army can penetrate into Afghanistan and enter the Pamir Plateau!
Where is his final destination? Of course it's not Pakistan. This country doesn't exist at this time. Their destination is Balochistan!
Yes, it is the area where Gwadar Port is located, which was very familiar to Chinese people in Xiao Letian's previous life!
At this time, there is still a country in Balochistan that is 'protected' by the British, which is the country of Baluchistan! The world still recognizes this country’s independent status!
The goal of Tsarist Russia is here, to compete with the British for control of the country of Baluchistan!
Gwadar Port is the Tsar's last hope!
This strategy is very large and cannot be accomplished in a short time. If you want to conquer the Afghan plateau, you must first build an advance base in Central Asia.
After much selection, only Ili Valley is the most suitable!
The snow water flowing down from the Tianshan Mountains nourishes large areas of pasture and farmland, providing a place for supplying grain and fodder for war horses!
Moreover, the Chinese have been operating here for a long time, and the trade routes have become very developed. As long as the Qing Dynasty cedes this place, the Russian caravans can trade with the Qing caravans!
It is much more convenient to purchase supplies from the Qing Dynasty first than to transport them from Moscow!
This advance base must not be lost no matter what!
