I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 578 Bullying

Prior to this, the Bulgarian Kingdom had used hanging as the method of execution.

Both Japan and Goryeo used shooting as the method of execution, and it was not one-on-one, but at least a squad was deployed. This was originally intended to eliminate the fear of the recruits.

To train a farmer into a soldier, not only technical training is required, but also psychological transformation.

On May 5, French President Raymond Poincaré arrived at the Kronstadt naval base on the newly commissioned battleship "France" and began a friendly visit to the Russian Empire.

“法兰西”号是“孤拔”级四号舰，满载排水量2.5万吨，最快航速20节，武备系统是6座双联装45倍径305火炮，22门138毫米55倍径副炮，以及4具450毫米鱼雷发射管。

It is worth mentioning that "France" is also equipped with four 4mm anti-aircraft guns.

The Baltic Fleet held a grand welcome ceremony for Poincaré. Nicholas was present in person and George accompanied him throughout the ceremony. He was mainly responsible for receiving the French Minister of War Alexandre Millerand.

Millerand had many identities. He was a lawyer, writer, and freelance writer. He actively defended striking workers and used tough measures to suppress strikes when he served as Minister of the Interior in the Bryan cabinet. In 1912, he was appointed Minister of War by Poincaré.

Millerand was not from a military background, and throughout the first half of his life, he had almost no contact with the military.

It is very French to have such a person as Minister of War.

Miller was curious about George, not because of his achievements in the war, but because of Amur's economic miracle.

After meeting Millerand, George learned that when Millerand first became a lawyer, he worked for Ekaterina's cosmetics company in France.

"Princess Yurievskaya was noble, charming and full of charisma. Although 30 years have passed, I am still impressed by the princess. I still have a check that the princess wrote to me. I think I will never cash it because it is part of my memory."

Millerand's words were not an offense to Catherine; it was the French way of expressing themselves.

George didn't have the heart to tell him that the signature on the check was most likely signed by Anna.

George didn't want to talk to Millerand about Catherine, so he took the initiative to turn the topic to France's preparations for war.

"I know what you want to say, but in reality, we have done all we can. You can't ask us to do more—"

Milleran is worthy of being the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. He talked a lot but did not touch the core at all. He also put the blame on the aid to the Russian Empire.

"——Despite the extremely difficult financial situation, we still tried our best to support our allies. You should know how much money St. Petersburg has received from Paris in recent years. To be honest, our parliament has never been so generous to the army."

George had to admit that what Millerand said was true, otherwise the French Navy would not have been so stingy and only built four all-heavy artillery battleships in such a long time.

However, the overall strength of the French Navy is still good. Judging from the total tonnage alone, it is larger than that of the Russian Empire.

The French Navy's current total tonnage is around 71 tons, while the Russian Empire's is only 60 tons.

Britain, the most powerful country, has a total naval tonnage of over 200 million tons.

Although the total tonnage of the German Navy is only 100 million tons, like the Russian Empire, its ships are relatively new, and almost all of its capital ships were built in the last 10 years.

The French Navy was in a worse situation.

It was not until 1889 that the French Navy ordered its first true ironclad ship, the Dupuytré-Loume.

The Qing Empire's Dingyuan and Zhenyuan entered service in 1885.

When the "Yuriev" was bombarding Nagasaki in Japan, the "Danton", the last class of French dreadnoughts, had just been launched. A total of six "Danton" class ships were built, and the last one was launched in 6.

As a typical example of birth elimination, the French did not stop the subsequent construction plans. This is the true meaning of democracy.

The key to what kind of warships the Russian Empire will build lies in Nicholas.

It is the French Estates General that approves the budget for the French Navy.

The efficiency of parliament is well known. The plan for the Danton was proposed in 1901. The three-level parliament debated it for five years and passed it reluctantly under pressure from the German navy. If the plan is to be revised, it is unknown how long the debate will take.

According to the standards of the Russian Empire, the total displacement of warships that France can use for combat, including destroyers and submarines, does not exceed 20 tons.

The total displacement of the Russian Empire's seven super-dreadnoughts has reached 19 tons.

The Russian Empire is just bullying when it comes to naval warfare with France. To deal with Millerand, little Nicholas is enough.

"Shouldn't you look for the reason within yourselves?"

Miller's expression was as conflicted as if he had eaten a mouthful of mustard.

"How is the wife of one of your ministers doing now? Will the court sentence her to death?"

George keeps up with current affairs, which is the most concerning issue for the French government and the opposition in recent times.

The trial of Mrs. Caio's shooting will go to court in July.

"How is it possible that the lady stayed in the deceased's office for an hour before she opened fire? What I am most interested in now is what happened in that hour?"

Little Nicholas is more gossipy than the grand duchesses.

While George and little Nicola were teasing Millerand, Nicola was making a promise to Poincaré.

"The Russian Empire is ready to meet any challenge, but I believe that war will not break out. Peace is the theme."

Nicholas will prepare a military parade for Poincaré in St. Petersburg in a few days, with about 6 officers and soldiers participating, all from the Guards.

Poincaré was going to meet with the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to the Russian Empire to mediate the conflict between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia.

This was France's response to the mobilizations of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires respectively.

Even Britain, which has always relied on its navy, began to consider recruiting colonial vassal troops.

France, facing direct threat from the German Army, seemed to have made no preparations.

You can't say there isn't one.

France sent an additional 1000 troops to its North African colonies a few days ago to suppress colonial rebellions.

"Let us toast to peace!"

Poincaré took the initiative to raise his glass, and the guests responded loudly, creating a warm atmosphere.

George left before the banquet was over because he still had to prepare for the joint exercise between the Baltic Fleet and the "France" tomorrow.

Now that we are here, we have to do something.

It is said to be an exercise, but in fact it is just going out to sea for a trip and then coming back, under the euphemism of calling it a joint cruise.

Peter was full of malice and decided to send out all four Gangut-class battleships.

After the exercise, French naval generals were invited to visit the Queen Maria-class battleships under construction.

By British standards, both Gangut and Queen Maria are super fearless.

Isn't this bullying?

(End of this chapter)