Not all countries are so keen in this era of great changes in weapons and tactics.
For example, countries such as Austria.
When barbed wire squatting began to flow on the Eastern battlefield, the Austrian Army was still using flintlock muskets and practicing the tactic of lining up to kill.
Therefore, Kutuzov’s suggestion has room for maneuver.
But fighting a war with European countries will affect the whole body.
The relations between European countries are complicated, and Tsarist Russia has always wanted to integrate into Europe and be recognized by European countries - this is true whether it is Tsarist Russia in the 18th century or Tsarist Russia in the 21st century.
But it's a pity.
Whether in the 18th century or the 21st century.
European aristocrats all regarded Tsarist Russia as Slavic barbarians.
And it must be portrayed as vicious and aggressive.
How pitiful.
Whether it is the tsar of the 18th century or the foolish emperor of the 21st century, they are both quite pro-Western.
However, everyone went into shock.
Instead of accepting it, the West stabbed Crimea directly, right under the soft belly of the new Tsarist Russia.
So helpless.
The new tsar had no choice but to cry and go find a big Eastern country that he didn't like very much to hug together for warmth.
India: Exactly below.
However, the Slavic nation's greed for land still gave the new tsar in the 18th century the idea of taking risks.
"Your Majesty, while the Austrians are still using weapons and tactics from more than ten years ago, give them a hard blow. Maybe we can take over the two territories of Galicia and Rodomelia. In this case, Even if it has been explained to the country.”
Petrovich made a mental calculation.
Losing the desolate Eastern Siberia, gaining Moldavia in the Balkan Peninsula, annexing half of the Caucasus, and tearing off a piece of Galicia and Rhodomelia from the idiot emperor of Habsburg, although in terms of area Nothing compared to Eastern Siberia.
But these are all lands obtained near the core territory of Russia. In any aspect, the value of these lands far exceeds that of Siberia.
"But we don't have many troops on hand." Petrovich frowned.
"I think we can evacuate 30,000 to 40,000 people from the Caucasus battlefield, and then draw 30,000 to 40,000 people from the eastern Balkans, and another 30,000 to 40,000 people from each military region. We can gather a hundred thousand troops and catch the Austrians by surprise. Got it!"
'Wait, withdrawing troops from the Caucasus? Doesn’t this mean that the territory of the Caucasus that has been swallowed is being vomited back to the Turks? '
Petrovich said,.
"My Majesty, times have changed. We no longer need to maintain too many troops on a battlefield where we no longer attempt to attack. With the current defense system, ten thousand people are enough to defend against the Turkish attack!"
Kutuzov said.
"In addition, the Turks also know that they cannot break through the defense system composed of barbed wire and trenches! This is our only chance!"
The Tsar was somewhat silent.
After more than a year of war, one thing has been proved: defense is omnipotent!
Both warring parties, no matter who is the main attacker, will suffer heavy casualties, while the defensive side will win at a very small cost.
"Okay, then mobilize 100,000 troops and go find trouble with the Habsburg fools! But they are allies of the British."
"It doesn't matter. The British now have no power to use on the European continent. The poor relationship between the French and the Habsburgs also determines that the Austrians are unlikely to receive support from the European powers."
"Where are the Prussians?"
"Prussia? It would be nice if we didn't bother them,"
Kutuzov spread his hands and said.
Although we have been fighting fiercely in the Balkans for more than a year, there have been no major breakthroughs.
But Kutuzov finally understood how modern war is fought.
Neither the Austrians nor the Prussians had experienced the baptism of "modern warfare".
so.
He believes that the Russian army can make progress on the Central European battlefield.
As for the Ming Empire.
What the Russians are up to is no secret either.
Large-scale troop movements take time to prepare.
When the Russians moved their troops from the Caucasus.
The Ming Dynasty's intelligence system worked hard to convey the new trends of the Russian army to the Jiangbei Palace in Zhongdu.
"The Russians are going to attack Austria."
Grand Duke Lin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, made this judgment in the imperial conference room.
Peng Jun frowned slightly.
Compared with the "European-knowledge faction" like Duke Lin who came back from Europe.
As a native of Hunan, the Prime Minister was really confused about the complicated relations between European countries.
Therefore, when encountering foreign affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lin Dagong, will definitely attend.
And Grand Duke Lin will definitely become Prime Minister by then.
In addition, Emperor Zhu's various reforms have completely broken through the "middle school-based" framework.
Regardless of whether it is Chinese or Western, whatever is suitable is used now.
Although Peng Jun is a Confucian scholar of the Xianghu School, he is still a little uncomfortable with this.
Fortunately, the Xianghu faction is essentially bureaucrats.
They are not present-day saints who "carry on the teachings of past saints."
Therefore, even if his ideas are not completely consistent with those of Emperor Zhu, he can still seek common ground while reserving differences and tolerate each other as officials.
For example, many officials from the Xianghu faction were opposed to the previous war with Russia.
It’s not that they don’t consider the national interests of the Ming Empire.
The main reason is that they are worried that the war will be protracted, the front will be too long, and the Russians will be dragged down by a protracted war.
But look at it now.
This kind of worry is really unnecessary.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has now carried out large-scale reclamation in the Northeast. There are now more than three million people in the Northeast.
More than half are young adults. Even one out of ten can form an army of nearly 200,000 people!
not to mention.
The social structure of the Ming Dynasty in the Northeast was based on the structure of large and small collective farms.
There is no local gentry class in Han areas.
The ruling power of Ming Dynasty can be directly implemented by everyone!
It has strong power in the vast Northeast Plains, the Heilongjiang River Basin, and the Xing'an Mountains inside and outside.
Another benefit is that the grassland tribes are also unprecedentedly obedient - can you not obey? In the past, the Ming Dynasty had to send troops from within the pass to control the grassland tribes. Now, it can directly dispatch military households from the collective farms in the northeast to control the grassland tribes. But he was slaughtered more than once.
With the support of the grassland tribes, the loyalty of the Westward Expedition Battalion adapted from the surrendered Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia was also guaranteed.
With the establishment of collective farms in the Great Northwest, there were large numbers of immigrants from both the east and west.
Fighting in the northern grasslands and northwest, the logistics of supporting an army of hundreds of thousands was no longer a heavy burden that could crush any Central Plains dynasty.
Ever since.
These Xianghu faction bureaucrats are now supporters of the war.
"Tsarist Russia is going to take action against Austria? How will France react?"
Emperor Zhu asked with great interest.
"The emperors of the Habsburg dynasty were the monarchs who most fiercely opposed the French Republic. Their relationship with France was not harmonious, so I believe that France will wait and see what happens in the early stage, but they will not let Tsarist Russia gain too much territory in Central Europe. , after all, places like Galicia, Rodomelia, and Bulgaria are the most fertile lands in Central Europe, and the value of their land far exceeds that of Eastern Siberia. The reason why the new tsar of Tsarist Russia has set his sights on these territories is because They lost Eastern Siberia, and the new tsar must gain some territory if he wants to gain domestic support."
Grand Duke Lin said.
"What you lose in the East, make up for in the West." Emperor Zhu couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"Since Tsarist Russia wants to expand to the west, the westward expedition camp will also have to move its base. This time, let's use the Yenisei River as the border between the two countries. Anyway, the Russians don't have many strongholds in Siberia now. Just move them in Yenisei. The few remaining strongholds east of the Yenisei River will be eradicated, and the land east of the Yenisei River will belong to the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Daohua's hand slipped on the map.
The fingertips follow the Yenisei River all the way north to the Arctic Ocean.
Don't look at the map, the map of Russia is so big.
But in fact, their control over the territory in the east is not strong.
Especially in the huge tundra of Western Asia, it is difficult for humans to survive in these places, let alone where large armies must be stationed.
Therefore, it was easy for Ming Dynasty to win these territories.
As long as the series of Tsarist strongholds established along the Yenisey River are expelled, the Ming Dynasty can claim on the map that the large land east of the Yenisey River and west of the Lena River belongs to the Ming Dynasty - as for the local indigenous people.
As everyone knows.
in the 18th century world.
Aboriginal people have no human rights.
This world is a hunting ground belonging to those "civilized countries".
"In this way, the Ming Dynasty finally became the country with the largest territory in the world."
Emperor Zhu said with a joke.
Although it is said that the map is open to the frontier.
But he was the founding emperor.
The opening of his map is different from the opening of other people's maps.
His hand slipped on the map.
That means that Ming Dynasty will really have millions of square kilometers of territory!
Although these sites are now some seemingly worthless tundra areas.
But Emperor Zhu knew.
In the future, these resource-rich areas will be hard to come by.
It is said that China has a vast territory and abundant resources.
But it is true that the earth is vast.
Extensive things may not be the case.
For example, the most important black gold in the industrialization era: oil!
In later generations, China will be an out-and-out oil-poor country.
It costs a lot of foreign exchange to import oil from abroad every year.
And beneath the permafrost of Siberia.
Coal mines, oil, metal mines and other resources are quite abundant.
Now, just by dispatching a partial force, we can cut off a piece of Russia when it wants to attack Central European countries. Why not?
I heard Emperor Zhu’s joke.
There was a strange look on Peng Jun's face.
Emperor Zhu was probably different from all other Chinese emperors in history.
He was not the emperor of the Central Empire.
It is similar to a king among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period.
only.
The five days of the Seven Heroes' struggle for hegemony have transformed the Central Plains into the entire world.
The Seven Heroes are no longer Qin, Chu, Han, Zhao, Wei, Yanqi.
But the Ming Dynasty, Britain, France, Tsarist Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Spain.
before.
To the Chinese scholar-bureaucrats.
They don't need to study Europe, America, world situation, diplomatic balance, etc.
After all, these places are too far away.
China does not need to spend too much experience on them.
China only needs to take care of its own internal affairs - as the saying goes, when China is at peace, all barbarians will submit to themselves.
However, Emperor Zhu obviously had different ideas from the scholar-bureaucrats like them.
He even criticized this "isolationist" idea.
He believes that this idea is completely outdated and unrealistic.
Today's world is no longer the time to live behind closed doors.
And this door cannot be closed.
If you don't open it yourself, you will be violently opened by others.
This is not the time of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
At that time, China did not have a population of 40 million. There was still a large amount of land in China that could be developed and utilized in the Jiangnan, Lingnan, and Sichuan basins.
So there is no need to blindly expand.
Now, in Han China, the land that can be cultivated has basically been cultivated.
There are too many people and too little land.
The average cultivated land is less than three acres.
And it is counted together with various dry lands that are not very productive.
The per capita grain consumption is only three to four hundred kilograms per year.
Not to mention that the whole country is full.
It would be good if he didn't starve to death.
The country has a population of 40 million.
At least half are malnourished.
In this case, if there is no external expansion, how can we maintain the operation of the dynasty and how can we achieve long-term peace and stability?
so.
External expansion is the basic national policy of the Ming Empire at this stage.
In this regard, Emperor Zhu had long been angry with senior cabinet officials.
There is no need to discuss this aspect.
This is the general principle.
And under this general principle.
How to expand.
In which direction to expand.
Of course these are negotiable.
Expansion is not simply about sending troops to fight.
It also requires a combination of strength and softness.
Expansion by force would be too much and would easily stimulate the Europeans to unite.
If the Europeans unite, the Ming Dynasty's expansion in certain directions will not be too smooth.
so.
Now Emperor Zhu adopts rigid expansion in the west and north.
The war with the Russian Empire - on the one hand, this country does have a lot of territory, and secondly, this country is aggressive. When it has an advantage, Emperor Zhu will not let this country have a chance to breathe.
A large piece of territory was taken away in one battle.
By then, it may not be a fantasy to completely drive the Slavs back to Europe - with railway transportation, thousands of miles of transportation lines are no longer difficult.
Also in the New World.
The Ming Empire would not send a large army to take the initiative in that direction - it makes no sense.
Because you may not even be able to find an opponent.
so.
In the direction of the New World, a cannibalization strategy was adopted. Through continuous immigration, they first gained a piece of territory in the New World.
On the one hand, it alleviates the pressure on the local population.
On the other hand, it is also accumulating strength in the New World and waiting for the time when the war is ripe!
Now even if the Ming Dynasty sent a large army to the New World and defeated Spain, Britain, and even the United States, what would it mean?
There is not enough population.
It is difficult to occupy such a vast territory.
Population is the key.
(End of chapter)
