I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 639: Surrender and Suicide
The negotiations between the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary this summer were appreciated by Britain and France.

If the Kingdom of Hungary withdrew from the war, the Russian Empire could deploy George's million-strong army to the Eastern Front, and defeating Germany would be just around the corner.

Negotiating with Germany was absolutely unacceptable to Britain and France. Once the Russian Empire withdrew from the war, Germany could concentrate all its forces on the Western Front, and France's defeat would be imminent.

There were also inconsistent attitudes towards the negotiations within the empire. Some were in favor, some were against, and the ministers in front of the emperor disregarded their decency and argued fiercely at the meeting.

Nicholas was hesitant and did not realize that he had made a big mistake.

In this war, Russian military losses have exceeded 400 million people.

These 400 million people were all loyal to the Tsar. After the war broke out, they responded enthusiastically to the Tsar's mobilization, joined the army, and fought bloody battles for the empire and the Tsar.

In Russia, Yusupova can surrender. No matter which country she goes to, capital is always welcome.

Sukhomlinov could also surrender, because there would be someone tall to hold up the sky if it collapsed.

Even George could give up. With the Balkans and Amur in his hands, no matter who became the Tsar, he had to get George's approval.

Only Nicholas insisted on fighting to the end.

In order not to let down the 400 million people who died or were captured, and the millions of families behind them, we must fight to the end.

George sent a telegram to Nicholas, hoping that Nicholas would be firm in his will and not let down the trust of hundreds of millions of people, and reminding Nicholas not to forget the tragedy of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I committed suicide after his defeat, and only then did the Tenth Russo-Turkish War take place to avenge the previous humiliation.

If the empire withdraws from the war, who will be responsible for this result?

The telegram was sent to the Winter Palace, and the first person to see it was the Queen.

This is not because the Queen monopolized all the power, but after Nicholas took over as commander-in-chief, he spent most of his time on the front lines, and the affairs of the palace were handled by the Queen out of inertia.

The Queen thought George's telegram was a curse on Nicholas and became furious.

I swear to God, George did not mean to let Nicholas commit suicide, but to remind Nicholas that he must not negotiate with the Germans, he must fight to the end, and lead the empire to win the final victory.

Only in this way can Nicholas restore his image in the eyes of all Russians.

Alex used this as a concentrated outburst of the anger accumulated over the murder of Rasputin and the grievances she had suffered from being excluded by the imperial nobility.

And perhaps some concern for George.

Even though the people of St. Petersburg were talking about that woman's box being crowded with visitors every day, Mikhail posed no threat to Nikolai unless he dissolved his marriage with that woman.

The real threat to Nicholas is George.

Although George has no right of inheritance, who would care about this if the empire really came to a critical moment of life and death?

Time will dilute everything.

It's not that George did nothing over the years. Now when Russians mention the marriage of Yaer and Catherine, no one mentions intermarriage between the nobles and the commoners. Instead, they praise Yaer and Catherine for their courage to stay together despite worldly opposition.

With the power and strength George has now, if anyone dares to provoke George at this time, he would be courting death.

"You misunderstood George's attitude. That's not what he meant at all."

Although Nicholas didn't say it, he knew it clearly.

This is why Nicholas preferred to serve as commander-in-chief himself rather than recall George back to St. Petersburg.

"George is no longer Grand Prince Yuriev of the Empire, he is the father of the King of Bulgaria."

Alex reminded Nicholas that George already had a way out.

Nicholas let out a long sigh and could only say that it was fate that played tricks on him.

If it weren't for the incident in Polis, George would still be the royal military god of the Russian Empire.

If Alexei were healthy, Nicholas and George would become a model of ruler-minister harmony.

Nicholas also didn't know why the relationship between him and George had gone from being very close when they were young to becoming more and more distant now.

Thinking of the two thin figures on the steps in front of the Gatchina Palace, it seems like a lifetime ago.

For Nicholas, George's telegram was not too outrageous. It was the strong opposition from Britain and France that made Nicholas angry and humiliated.

George V sent a telegram to Nicholas, warning him not to negotiate with the Germans, otherwise Nicholas and the Russian Empire would be punished by God.

The French directly mocked in the newspapers, saying that if Nicholas was unable to lead the Russian Empire to final victory, he should abdicate and let someone capable of leading the Russian Empire to victory become Tsar.

Germans -

Hindenburg took the opportunity to make trouble, and on the grounds that the Russian Empire was on the verge of collapse, he demanded that the Eastern Front continue to be the main attack direction next year.

William II responded positively, hoping to meet Nicholas in Denmark.

Americans on the other side of the ocean were also not willing to be left out. Amur's actions against the Hebrews attracted strong attention from the United States.

Mario publicly stated that this was an internal affair of the Russian Empire and no one had the right to interfere.

In response, Mario called on the international community to pay attention to the situation of Indians in the United States.

At the same time, it attacked the so-called "free trade" of the United States, claiming that the United States was the driving force behind the world war.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, after the outbreak of the World War, there were at least four groups of Hebrews who returned to the Russian Empire after training in the United States, with a total number of more than 4. After George's military reform, homeless people disappeared from St. Petersburg for a time.

This winter, there are more than one million refugees in St. Petersburg, most of them Hebrews from Poland.

In order to encourage more people to join the army, the empire lifted restrictions on the Hebrews.

Not only did the Hebrews not enthusiastically join the army, but they fled to St. Petersburg because there was food in St. Petersburg.

Before the outbreak of the World War, the Russian Empire's grain production was one-third greater than the total of Argentina, the United States and Canada.

The Russian Empire was the country with the most abundant food reserves in the world. There was still sufficient food supply in the market of St. Petersburg, including beef, fish, bacon, ham, butter, and all kinds of vegetables and fruits.

These refugees posed a serious threat to St. Petersburg, not only in terms of security but also in terms of food reserves.

With St. Petersburg's food reserves, it will be no problem to safely survive this winter.

But if we add these one million refugees, it’s hard to say, after all, the total population of St. Petersburg is only one million.

Even so, as long as the railways are kept open, grain from the countryside can be transported to St. Petersburg continuously, and there will always be enough food.

If the railway is interrupted, the refugees will have no food and will rebel.

There were also many refugees in Constantinople.

George doesn't care about food, so if he wants to fill his stomach he has to work.

Most of the refugees are young and middle-aged people, and the elderly, the weak and the disabled are not qualified to become refugees.

There were many job opportunities in Constantinople, such as building bridges and roads, working in factories, or even cleaning. As long as you were willing to work, you would definitely not starve to death.

In order to facilitate the transportation of supplies to the Asia Minor Peninsula, Demeter suggested building a cross-sea bridge across the Bosphorus.

The Bosphorus Strait is more than 1000 meters wide at its narrowest point.

If we build a bridge, the total length will definitely be over 1500 meters, which is definitely a huge project.

There is no technical problem. In 1869, the Brooklyn Bridge built in New York, USA, is 1600 meters long and took 14 years to build.

The Russian Empire accumulated rich experience in bridge construction when building the Trans-Siberian Railway.

George had no shortage of workers. There were more than 50 prisoners from the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone.

The only thing to worry about is the steel.

Demeter estimated that the total amount of steel needed to build a cross-sea bridge might be more than 10 tons.

Against the backdrop of the world war, the demand for steel remained high. Last year, the Russian Empire's steel production was 1100 million tons. Although this was higher than that of Britain, France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was still far from Germany's 1800 million tons.

Since the beginning of this year, the Russian Empire's steel production has continued to increase, producing 1300 million tons in the first ten months alone, with the main increase coming from Amur.

In order to ensure control of the eastern bank of the Bosphorus, George decided to start construction next spring, despite the huge project.

With so many prisoners, who could neither be killed nor released, it was just a matter of using them as free workers, saving a lot of money.

Louis Bardo, who had served as French Prime Minister, came to George as the personal envoy of French President Poincaré, hoping that George would openly oppose the peace between the Russian Empire and Germany, stand firm in his beliefs, and never be a deserter.

George is a man who cherishes old times but also holds grudges.

"What were you doing when Germany attacked Warsaw?"

Louis Bardu argued: "What does this have to do with this matter?"

"Of course it matters. Since you can abandon the Russian Empire, the Russian Empire can also abandon you."

If Nicholas wants to die, let him do it. George will not openly oppose Nicholas.

"Grand Duke, the German attack last year caused us heavy losses, and we also had our own reasons."

Louis Barr is playing the victim, and it is not up to him to decide whether to fight or not.

Haig and Joffre, one is the "Butcher of the Somme" and the other is the "Slow General". We cannot have too much hope in them.

"When the Germans attacked you, we took the initiative to attack Germany in order to contain the German army, and fulfilled our obligations as an ally—"

George didn't accept this reason. Everyone has their own reasons.

"——When the Germans attacked us, you were too lazy to even put on a show, fearing that you would attract Germany's attention. Now that you need Russia again, is this your attitude?"

George asked the Frenchman for attitude like a scumbag.

"Grand Duke, if Russia insists on fighting, then after the war, France will support the Russian Empire in gaining complete access to the Black Sea and the interests of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in the Balkans."

The conditions offered by Louis Bard did not satisfy George.

Regardless of whether France supports it or not, George is determined to secure the complete access to the Black Sea, and no one can take it away from him.

As for the interests of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in the Balkans—

This is not support at all, but rather a way of driving a wedge between George and St. Petersburg.

Even at this time, they still don't forget to intrigue. This is really very French.

(End of this chapter)