I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 426 Swallowing the world with anger
Both the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet had suffered enough from Shimase's gunpowder, and now the Combined Fleet finally suffered a backlash from Shimase's gunpowder.

From the 26th to the 28th, in just three days, as many as 15 Japanese ships were sunk by the Siberian Fleet, including 2 Japanese warships and a civilian merchant ship carrying Japanese troops.

On the morning of the 29th, the Siberian Fleet arrived at Gangneung Port.

Gangneung Port has no forts and no fleet defenses. If Peter sends sailors at this time, he can easily land at Gangneung.

Peter was sensitively aware that this was a good opportunity to quickly regain Korea.

But before Peter could send a telegram to George, Peter received George's order.

The reason why the main force of the combined fleet never appeared was not that Dongxiang avoided the fight, but that he had other battle plans.

In the early morning of the 29th, the main force of the combined fleet escorted a Japanese army to land on Sakhalin Island.

After Peter learned the news, his first reaction was to lead the Siberian Fleet to attack Nagasaki, forcing the main force of the combined fleet to return to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao.

Milyutin disagreed.

The Japanese government and the public have scrimped on food and clothing, and spent a lot of money to build a combined fleet. If even the Japanese mainland cannot be protected, then Dongxiang will be attacked by the Japanese government and the public.

Dongxiang's attack on Sakhalin Island made it clear that he wanted to force the Siberian fleet to a decisive battle.

At this time, if the Japanese mainland is attacked by the Siberian Fleet, Dongxiang will face unprecedented pressure.

If the Siberian fleet continues to move south and threaten Nagasaki, it can force the main force of the combined fleet to return for reinforcements. Dongxiang will face greater pressure than Peter.

But when and where the decisive battle will take place cannot be dictated by Dongxiang.

How many Japanese will starve to death next spring?

Milyutin asked Peter to remove the Japanese threat to Sakhalin Island as quickly as possible.

Peter sent a telegram to George, hoping that George could understand the situation of the Siberian fleet.

Peter was not afraid of a decisive battle with the United Fleet.

The voice for peace in Japan is no less vocal than in St. Petersburg.

If the Siberian Fleet rushes to Sakhalin Island at full speed, the submarine will definitely not be able to keep up, and the combat effectiveness of the Siberian Fleet will be greatly reduced.

What Dongxiang fears most is the submarines of the Siberian Fleet.

Japan is experiencing a severe drought this summer. From May to July, not a drop of rain fell for two full months. Agricultural harvest failure has become a reality. The disaster will be even more serious this winter and next spring.

If the Siberian fleet returns to support Sakhalin Island, it will be in the arms of the Middle East.

This spring, people in Japan have starved to death.

By forcing Dongxiang to return to defense, Peter could wait for work.

Nagasaki doesn't have long legs, so he can't run away, so he can hit him at any time.

Don't think that Japan is monolithic.

Milyutin is George's chief of staff and a former minister of war. His prestige in the Amur army is second only to George.

After the Russo-Japanese War broke out, although George ordered the residents of Sakhalin Island to evacuate to Vladivostok, after the Battle of Vladivostok, the threat of the combined fleet was greatly reduced, and some residents who had been unable to leave their homeland returned to Sakhalin. Now they are Facing the threat of the Japanese army.

Since the beginning of the war, the Aceh Sultanate has blocked the Strait of Malacca, making it impossible for Japanese ships to navigate. Trade with Europe can only be carried out through European shipping companies, and the cost of external procurement has greatly increased.

George is not worried about the residents of Sakhalin Island, but after comprehensive consideration, George still prefers Peter's decision.

So George took the initiative to invite Milyugin to a barbecue.

After Dejan was sent abroad to serve as a military judge, George's adjutant was changed to Mikhail, the younger son of his second uncle Julian.

In addition to Misha, George also has a life secretary beside him.

Nana, who is 26 years old this year, is completely mature. She is still unmarried and has been working as a female official in Yuriev Palace. She was sent to George by Ekaterina to take care of George's life.

Anne knew about this and did not object.

For so many years, George had not had a single woman around him except Anne. Compared with other Grand Dukes, he was simply a saint.

Anne knew very well how much Catherine loved children.

After Anne gave birth to Alexander, she did not get pregnant again. Although George didn't say anything, Catherine had objections.

In the words of Ekaterina, Russian women have not completed their mission unless they give birth to ten or eight of his children.

Anne did not argue with Catherine.

You only have three children, why do you blame me?
This reason does not hold.

Catherine only had three children because Ya Er was assassinated early.

If Ya Er had lived to this day, George would have had countless younger brothers and sisters.

Ya Er is very strong in that aspect.

George ate the barbecue without anyone else having to do it. He roasted potatoes and apples on the stove himself, while Nana helped pass things around. The two cooperated tacitly and complemented each other.

Nana has been with George for 10 years.

"Peter is very good. In time, he will become the best admiral in the empire."

Although Milyutin did not agree with Peter's plan, he had a high opinion of Peter.

"No need to wait for time, he is now."

George expected more from Peter. Makarov was killed, Foxam died of illness, and Roger Stevinsky was captured.

If you don’t count on Peter, how can you count on Alexey and Alexeyev?

"It's a good thing to insist on yourself, but you can't disobey your superiors' orders——"

What Milyugin said is also true.

"The purpose of moving the Siberian Fleet north is to eliminate the threat of the Combined Fleet to Sakhalin Island; attacking Nagasaki can also achieve the goal, and the main force of the Siberian Fleet is located closer to Nagasaki -"

George's attitude was clear.

Milyutin is a traditional soldier and does not like thoughtful subordinates.

George is trustworthy in employing people and hopes that all of his subordinates can perform their duties independently. Even if they make mistakes, George is not afraid.

Mistakes are not terrible.

The terrible thing is that if you don’t learn from your experience and lessons afterwards, you will make the same mistake next time.

After the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the Russian Empire made all the mistakes it could from top to bottom, and they continued to make mistakes over and over again.

You deserve to lose the war!

Milyutin laughed. Although George was already the governor of the Far East, he was only 30 years old.

Milyutin knew that George had a good relationship with Peter.

When Milyutin met George, Peter was George's little follower. From the beginning of the rubber regiment, Peter served as George's adjutant, and his relationship with George was extremely deep.

Peter and George's second sister, Catherine, are already engaged. After the war is over, Peter and Catherine will get married.

To outsiders, this is a standard political marriage.

Mi Liujing knew that Peter and Xiaoye had a very good relationship.

Needless to say, Xiaoye, where is the identity of Duchess Yurievskaya? She has no worries about getting married.

Peter is now the commander of the Siberian Fleet, and his future development is limitless. Peter can fly as high as George can fly.

If it were anyone else, Xiaosan and Xiaosi would have lost track of how many they had.

With George around, Peter didn't dare to mess around with women.

This is no more than ten thousand times better than marrying in St. Petersburg or marrying abroad.

George has his two sisters to thank.

Otherwise, George would not be able to guarantee the loyalty of Vasily and Peter's family.

Now Vasily and Peter's family are deeply bound to George. They both suffer and prosper.

"The situation in Washington is not good. We may lose Port Arthur and Mukden."

Milyutin stopped worrying about Peter and began to worry about negotiations in Washington.

Japan has a huge appetite. In addition to Kanto and Goryeo, it also requires the Russian Empire to compensate Japan for 10 billion rubles in military expenses.

Werther said that the dwarf could really dream.

Witte's request was that the Japanese army withdraw from Goryeo and Kantung and compensate the Russian Empire 20 billion rubles.

Witte's request was to include all losses of the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet.

Elihu Root, as the mediator, proposed that the two sides cease fighting along the current Line of Actual Control and made no mention of reparations.

Root's suggestion is more practical. Now the Russian Empire and Japan are full of contradictions and troubles, and the war can no longer be fought.

In addition to sending telegrams to St. Petersburg, Werther also maintained close contact with George.

George can't control St. Petersburg.

My advice to Werther is to hold off.

After the Russian troops in Kwantung withdrew, the resistance within the Russian Empire quickly died down, and order everywhere was quickly restored.

This clearly shows that there are foreign forces at work, taking advantage of the domestic conflicts in the Russian Empire to consume Russia's national power.

As long as the war ceases in St. Petersburg, the economy will recover quickly.

How to fight in the Far East is George's business and has nothing to do with St. Petersburg.

So the situation is that the Russian Empire can drag.

Japan cannot afford to delay.

Japan provoked the war with the same purpose as the Sino-Japanese War, to blackmail the Russian Empire through war and thereby alleviate domestic conflicts.

Now as long as Japan fails to achieve its goals and cannot obtain reparations from the Russian Empire, Japan will be burdened with heavy foreign debt, and it will be difficult to turn around.

After the Russo-Japanese War in another time and space, Japan gained Goryeo and Kanto, and it took nearly 20 years for Japan to recover.

Not only is there no reparations in this time and space, there is no Kanto and Korea. Even if George stops after taking Kanto and Korea, Japan will be crushed by heavy foreign debt.

Milyutin still doesn't know George's final plan.

"Don't worry, not only will we not lose Arthur and Fengtian, Nagasaki will also become the home port of the Siberian Fleet in the future."

George is so angry that he wants to take control of the Far East!
(End of this chapter)