I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 281 Fire in the Backyard

When Bismarck was in office, the relationship between Germany and the Russian Empire was generally stable, although there were twists and turns.

With Bismarck out of office, the relationship between Germany and the Russian Empire was full of uncertainty, and Europe could fall into a new war at any time because of the unstable character of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The alliance with France was such a big deal that neither George nor Milyutin had the right to decide, so Milyutin returned to St. Petersburg and reported to the Tsar face to face.

The Vladivostok Shipyard is still very efficient. It only took two months from laying the keel to launching the inland river patrol boat.

The 75mm rapid-fire cannon that George wanted was ultimately not available on the ship. The patrol boat used a 47mm rapid-fire cannon. The number of machine guns was increased from two to four, which was enough for patrolling.

As the first batch of warships in the Amur Military District, although the inland river patrol boats were a bit shabby, George still attended the launching ceremony.

It is said to be launched into the water, but in fact the power and weapon systems have been outfitted and will be ready for service after the ceremony.

The Siberian Fleet still attaches great importance to the inland river fleet of the Amur Military District. Fleet Commander Alexeyev personally returned to Vladivostok and attended the launching ceremony with George.

The launching ceremony was held at the No. 3 dock of the Vladivostok Shipyard. This dock is 120 meters long, 30 meters wide, and 12 meters high. It is used to build inland river patrol boats. It is really overkill.

This is not the largest shipyard at the Vladivostok Shipyard.

The largest No. 4 dock is 180 meters long and 40 meters wide, and can build giant ships of tons.

The cargo ship "Mikhail" currently being manufactured by Dockyard No. 4 for Dolgolu Company has a dead weight of 8500 tons and a maximum load capacity of 1.2 tons.

The Vladivostok Shipyard has a total of 6 docks.

Alexeyev looked at the huge "Mikhail" and fell into thought.

The "Dingyuan" battleship of the Qing Empire was 94.5 meters long, 18 meters wide, with a draft of 6 meters and a displacement of only 7355 tons.

Regardless of technology, the Vladivostok Shipyard can build warships with a larger displacement than the "Dingyuan".

The technology of the Vladivostok Shipyard is not bad either. The artillery and engines used in these two inland river patrol boats were all manufactured by Vladivostok itself.

The Vladivostok Arsenal already has the ability to manufacture 305 artillery pieces.

Although Alexeyev does not know the performance of the Vladivostok 305 artillery, as long as its performance is similar to that of the Obukhov Arsenal, it can be used on warships.

It is known that the Vladivostok Arsenal's rifles and field guns have better performance than the products of the three major empires.

If the Vladivostok Shipyard can produce battleships of the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" level, will the Siberian Fleet still worry about having no warships?

It can definitely be built. Even if there are technical flaws, the Vladivostok Shipyard can obtain relevant technology through the Baltic Shipyard.

The key is the cost of building ships.

The cost of inland river patrol boats is very low. The total cost of two boats is only 1.2 rubles, which is not as expensive as a "Mercury".

The Qing Empire spent a total of 300 million taels of silver on ordering "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan". The Siberian Fleet was owned by its own people, and the Vladivostok Shipyard had to pay 270 or 280 taels even with a discount. Who would pay for this?

Alexeyev left in a hurry.

Can't afford it, really can't afford it.

George is not willing to spend millions to build warships now.

Although "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" cannot be built, small ships can still be built.

This time it is not a warship, but a torpedo boat built in the name of torpedo research.

Although Yuriev was safe, the Amur River was still a bit narrow and there was no room to study torpedoes.

George's research on torpedoes was not for torpedo boats, but for submarines.

Today's torpedoes are still too flawed and ineffective, so they have not attracted the attention of various countries.

George knew the potential of torpedoes. If Vladivostok could develop a torpedo with reliable performance, then even if Vladivostok did not have large surface ships, submarines and train guns would be enough to protect Vladivostok's safety.

For this trivial matter, George didn't even need Nikolai's help. He could just send a telegram to the Admiralty to report it. Alexei still gave George face.

Compared with building forts, building railways is much simpler.

After the beginning of spring, the construction of the railway around the coast of Vladivostok began, and the construction of train guns also started at the same time.

There is no need to build too many train guns, because these things are movable. As long as there are them in Vladivostok, the number is not important, because no one knows how many train guns there are in Vladivostok.

While strengthening the defense of Vladivostok, George did not forget to cause trouble for the British.

In 1884, the discovery of the Rand gold mine in the Transvaal Republic in southern Africa led to the gradual deterioration of relations between the Transvaal Republic and the British Cape Colony.

In order to protect the interests of the Transvaal Republic, the President of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger, not only imposed heavy taxes on foreigners who settled in the Transvaal, but also did not give foreigners the right to vote unless they were in the Transvaal. Have lived there for 14 years and have nationality.

In addition, all foreigners cannot hold government offices and their children cannot attend government-funded schools.

Although they are said to be foreign expatriates, in fact the foreign expatriates living in the Transvaal are mainly British. Therefore, the policies of the Transvaal Republic are completely formulated for the British.

This policy was naturally opposed by the British government, and the relationship between the Transvaal Republic and Britain became increasingly tense.

Through the Rand gold mines, the Transvaal Republic made substantial profits. With benefits, there must be corresponding strength.

So after setting sail, a German merchant ship transported 1000 magazine-type rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition to the Transvaal Republic.

The news was quickly learned by the British, and Vladivostok once again incurred British protests.

In response, George's reply was simple, saying this was just normal business behavior.

When the Russian Empire went to war with the Ottomans, Britain could sell weapons to the Ottomans.

There has not yet been a war between Britain and the Transvaal Republic. Why shouldn't Vladivostok be allowed to sell weapons to the Germans?

The key point is that these weapons were not sold by George to the Boers. Instead, a British man bought these weapons from Vladivostok and then rented a German merchant ship to transport them to the Transvaal. From beginning to end, they had nothing to do with Vladivostok.

The Vladivostok Arsenal is open for business. Some people use money to buy weapons. The prices given are quite high and the profits are huge. This business must be done.

The British were very dissatisfied with this explanation, so they raised taxes on Vladivostok goods.

Many products in Vladivostok are unique businesses, such as cars and cosmetics. They have no rivals in the world and are naturally very popular in the UK.

Not to mention cars.

Although cosmetics have been around for several years, sporadic opponents have begun to appear in Europe, but George said bluntly that none of them can beat them.

Vladivostok cosmetics are full of ingredients. They say pearls and ginseng are used, but they are really pearls and ginseng.

Although it is different from the round pearls on the posters and the century-old ginseng with intact roots, consumers have not seen with their own eyes what the pearls and ginseng used in Vladivostok cosmetics look like. Therefore, although Vladivostok cosmetics is no longer a separate business, But still extremely strong.

Especially in the field of top cosmetics, Vladivostok cosmetics has no rivals at all.

Same goes for cars.

Sometimes George has to say that the British are really lucky, otherwise they would have no chance of becoming the sun.

Vladivostok Automobile became an instant hit at the St. Petersburg World Expo, and then related automobile companies appeared in Germany and France.

Although the technology of Germany's Dailem Automobile is not as good as that of Vladivostok, it is protected by the German government. The German government and the German military purchase large quantities, and the technology is constantly being improved.

After Peugeot, France established Citroën at the end of last year, and now Paris even has taxis.

Even the United States has opened factories to produce its own cars.

Only Britain remained indifferent and took no action.

Although the UK does not produce cars, its demand for cars is no less than that of other countries.

Although German cars and French cars have already started, there is still a technological gap between them and Vladivostok, so the cars imported into the UK mainly come from Vladivostok.

George stopped talking to the British and left the task of talking to St. Petersburg.

Goods exported from Vladivostok, even a box of matches, will be taxed according to regulations.

Therefore, if Britain increases tariffs on Vladivostok goods, imperial tax revenue will also be affected.

The Tsar was very angry and immediately sent a telegram to his brother-in-law. The mood was quite strong.

Prince Albert was helpless.

Because Prince Albert lives an informal life and sometimes loses his integrity, the Queen has never allowed Prince Albert to take charge of any affairs related to actual government affairs.

Therefore, Prince Albert's status in the UK is not even as good as that of George.

Prince Albert, who was born in 1841, is almost 50 years old. He still races horses and yachts every day and does not do his job.

He also has no job to do. If he makes irresponsible remarks on this matter, it will only make the relationship between him and the Queen worse.

Although George did not say anything, the counterattacks against the British came one after another and were overwhelming.

On July 7, a British church in Malay Tunnel purchased a trafficked Malay child. When relatives went to the church to ask for it, the church opened fire and a Malay was injured.

This incident aroused strong emotions among the Malays. Thousands of Malays were excited and broke into the church to inspect. They found more than 70 children's corpses in the church cemetery, and there was not even a living baby in the nursery. No.

The angry Malays burned down the church, the missionaries' residences, and the residences of six British businessmen. Four missionaries were injured, and one person died of his injuries after being sent to the hospital.

Tunai is very close to the Lion City, only more than 20 kilometers away. The British Governor of the Straits Settlements sent British troops to Tunai to suppress the incident and punish the perpetrators.

The British believed that this was just one of countless anti-British incidents.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the British army left the Lion City, they were attacked by the Malays, and a total of 120 colonial servant officers and soldiers were wiped out.

The majority of the British troops stationed in the Lion City are Indians.

These Indians died without mercy. Among the British troops who were attacked, there were four British officers, and one of them was a descendant of the Duke of Manchester family.

Now we're in big trouble.

(End of this chapter)