African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1018 Consultation
As time went by, the Russian government's view of the war was developing in an increasingly unfavorable direction, and the Port Arthur Navy was unable to break out for a long time. In this situation, Russia began to prepare for the worst.

On the one hand, the Russian government's Baltic Fleet began to prepare and entered a state of combat readiness. On the other hand, the Russian government began to lobby countries along the route, especially Britain, Germany, France and the three East African countries, to gain support and ensure the smooth flow of waterways.

1894 2 Month 26 Day.

Russian Ambassador to East Africa Maxim once again approached the East African government.

"We in Russia hope that East Africa will support us in this round of war, open the two west coast ports of Luanda or Cabinda, as well as the east coast ports that can provide related services, Pontianak in the Southeast Asia, and the South Ryukyu Islands in the Far East, so as to provide our warships with rest and material supply services at any time during the war."

The regional location of East Africa and the distribution of colonies can perfectly solve Russia's current dilemma of naval expeditions, especially the South Ryukyu Islands and the Lanfang Overseas Province.

After the Russian warships pass through the Strait of Malacca, the Lan Fang Overseas Province will be one of the main locations that can be provided for the Russian Navy in the region, unless countries such as France provide relevant services to the Russian Navy.

The location of the South Ryukyu Islands is even more wonderful. Under the clear neutral attitude of the Far Eastern Empire, if the South Ryukyu Islands can be used by the Russian Navy in the maritime battlefield between Japan and Russia, it can definitely play a big role. Of course, East Africa will definitely not agree.

"Ambassador Maxim, there are no major problems with other cities and colonies in East Africa, but the South Ryukyu Islands must not be involved in the war. After all, our country's control over the South Ryukyu Islands is relatively weak due to the distance."

"Moreover, Japan has always been ambitious about the South Ryukyu Islands. my country cannot give Japan an excuse to start a war. The South Ryukyu Islands are too close to the Japanese mainland. Any risk is beyond my country's ability to bear."

No matter what, Ernst would never open the South Ryukyu Islands to Russia. If this were to give Russia an excuse, Japan might use it as an excuse to seize the South Ryukyu Islands.

At that time, the East African Navy was no longer able to overwhelm the Japanese Navy as it had been a decade ago. If Japan was determined to go against East Africa, then Alaska, the South Ryukyu Islands, and the North Hawaiian Kingdom might be in danger, causing East Africa's decades-long layout in the Pacific region to fail.

Maxim wanted to fight for this. After all, if the South Ryukyu Islands could play a role in the war, it would be of great help to Russia.

Maxim suggested: "Your Highness, don't rush to refuse. If East Africa can provide us with the South Ryukyu Islands as a temporary base, we are willing to share part of the spoils with your country after Russia defeats Japan. As far as I know, the South Ryukyu Islands are part of the Ryukyu Islands. As long as our country wins the war, we can include the North Ryukyu Islands in the negotiation results 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 already made a judgment on 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 of defeat, and that is the destruction of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

If the war turned out like this, Japan would become Russia's prey after losing its navy. Although its homeland might be preserved due to the guarantees of Britain and the United States, its other overseas colonies, including Korea and other Pacific colonies, would most likely be divided up by Russia.

Ernst naturally could not agree with the Russian government's fantasy. Before the war broke out, Ernst was 100% sure that even if Russia did not lose badly, it would not be able to defeat Japan. At most, both sides would suffer losses and the war would end in a draw, and the possibility of a draw was no more than 10%.

Therefore, Ernst was not tempted by Maxim's promise. He said, "Ambassador Maxim, East Africa will never use its territory as a bet in the war. Although we are very optimistic about Russia and are willing to provide help within our capacity, the South Ryukyu Islands are East Africa's bottom line and cannot be moved rashly." In response to Ernst's straightforward refusal, Maxim said, "Your Highness, our Russian navy is far more powerful than Japan. The Pacific Second Fleet that is about to be formed is very powerful. In addition, the Far East Fleet has consumed the Japanese Navy in the early stage. When the Second Fleet arrives in the Far East waters, it will be the end of the Japanese Navy. The advantage is completely on our side..."

According to Maxim, the Russian Navy does have a great chance of winning, and if it were a war with other countries, Ernst might actually believe it.

However, Ernst had a relatively good understanding of both Russia and Japan. The Japanese Navy was definitely not something that could be easily controlled by Russia as Maxim said, and the Russian Navy was not as disciplined and invincible as Maxim imagined.

In terms of war experience alone, Russia's last historically significant naval battle was the Crimean War. The only thing worth mentioning in recent years was the Russo-Turkish War. However, for a country like the Ottoman Empire, it is no exaggeration to say that it cannot compare with an opponent of the level of Japan.

In Ernst's view, Japan's investment in military construction in recent years has far exceeded that of Russia. It is not the funding and the number of ships. After all, it is impossible for Japan to surpass Russia based on its size. Instead, it is the military system that surpasses Russia. If the Russian Navy and the Japanese Navy invest the same 100 yuan, the Russian officers will at least withhold 50%, while the Japanese may withhold less than 10%. The morale of the Japanese Navy cannot be compared with that of the Russian Navy.

At the same time, there is no generation gap between the Japanese and Russian naval equipment, and the scale is not much different. 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 that time, the Far East Fleet in Port Arthur would have been wiped out, and the Japanese Navy could just sit back and wait for the exhausted Second Pacific Fleet.

Russia's Second Pacific Fleet seems to be very powerful, but when the war really starts, its performance may be worse than that of the former Far East Fleet.

The Russian Far East Fleet has at least adapted to the climate of East Asia and is relatively familiar with the local hydrology and geography. However, as soon as the Pacific Second Fleet, or the Baltic Fleet, enters the Far East waters, it will probably be like a headless fly and find it difficult to adapt to the battlefield environment.

In the Russo-Japanese War, Russia lost more than 200,000 tons of ships. Of the 12 battleships, eight were sunk, four were captured, and of the eight cruisers, three were sunk, one was lost, three were detained by a third country, and only one 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 only paid a small price for the sinking of three torpedo boats and the death of more than 100 officers and soldiers.

With such a record in the previous life, Ernst could never believe that the Russian Navy could turn the tables. The performance of the Russian Navy in the previous life could be said to be worse than that of a pig, and the damage to the Japanese Navy was only at the level of scraping. Moreover, just relying on the captured Russian naval ships, the Japanese Navy did not lose anything but made a profit, and the damage was basically zero.

Therefore, Ernst has great confidence 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 badly in the Far East.

Therefore, it is impossible for East Africa to bet on Russia's victory. It can provide some services to Russia, but that is also some arrangements that East Africa must make due to its greed for the Russian market and resources.

To be even more blunt, if the Far Eastern Empire had the equipment advantage of the Russian Navy, the outcome of the previous Far Eastern naval battle would probably have been different. This also indirectly shows that the internal problems of the Russian Navy were too serious at that time.

Ernst did not hold out any hope for the Russian Navy. As for the big pie of the entire Ryukyu Islands that Maxim had mentioned, it was just Russia's unilateral fantasy. After a while, if Japan taught Russia a few more lessons, Ernst believed that Russia would be completely honest.

(End of this chapter)