I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 395 Tear
For a mere dancer to be noticed by Archduke Kirill, how could this be kidnapping? It was simply a great thing.

It doesn’t matter what others think, at least that’s what Kirill’s mother, Maria, thinks.

It is simply outrageous that the dignified first-in-line heir to the Tsar does not think about how to inherit the throne, but thinks about marrying the empress's brother's ex-wife all day long.

Even Nicholas complained about George's meddling in this matter.

The breakdown of Archduke Ernst's marriage had a lot to do with Kirill.

Alex deeply hated Kirill for ruining her brother's marriage, and she didn't want to see Kirill marry his ex-sister-in-law back home. If Kirill really married the dancer, then the result would not be bad.

The Vladivostok police station arrested the person, and all of this naturally came to nothing.

George has already given face.

Kidnapping, a serious crime, is theoretically non-bailable.

So Kirill can leave the police station if he wants, but the bail fee of 10 rubles cannot be less than a kopeck.

The royal foundation asked Vladimir to donate money, but Vladimir only donated 1000 rubles.

Now in order to save Kirill, Vladimir has to spend 10.

It was just time for Nicholas to take a look at how much money the imperial uncle who cried about poverty all day long had.

Vladimir couldn't bear to see his son suffering in the police station. After just one night, 10 rubles were transferred from the account of the Pacific Fleet to the account of the Vladivostok Police Station.

George didn't know who paid for the money, but since he got the money, there was no reason to detain him anymore, so he notified him to release him.

Kirill did not stop in Vladivostok. After leaving the police station, he actually violated the orders of the Vladivostok police station and took a Pacific Fleet warship to Dalini.

According to regulations, Kirill cannot leave Vladivostok and must be on call to cooperate with the investigation of the Vladivostok Police Department.

It didn't matter if he left. Not only was the 10 rubles wasted, but the relationship between the Vladivostok city government and the Pacific Fleet also became sour.

On November 11, the Vladivostok Police Department issued a wanted order for Kirill.

Since Kirill is in Dalini, the Vladivostok police station cannot come to arrest people.

So this wanted order is more like George's humiliation of Grand Duke Vladimir.

Nicholas doesn’t look good either.

The dignified first-in-line heir to the Tsar has become a wanted criminal in Amur. Is Amur still part of the empire?

George didn't dwell on the issue.

At this point, if Alex's former sister-in-law still insists on marrying Kirill, then this will be Grand Duke Ernst's luck.

George was not in the mood to dwell on this issue. By December, the British and Indian troops in Kuching were increasingly affected by the disease. Due to insufficient corpse processing, not only malaria was rampant in Kuching, but also a plague broke out, and the Japanese Third Division was also affected.

Now, the East India Company had to take strict precautions to prevent the plague from spreading to East India.

This was originally caused by the British and Indian troops themselves, but London blamed the malaria and plague on the East India Company, using this as an excuse to criticize the East India Company for its extermination plan in East India.

George did not argue with the British. According to the plans of the Russian Empire and the Qing Empire, the Russian troops in the Far East will continue to withdraw in April.

Alexeyev went back on his promise and made seven demands to the Qing Empire as conditions for continued withdrawal.

The Qing Empire did not agree to the additional conditions.

Alexeyev then tore up the withdrawal treaty and not only sent more troops to Dalini again, but also sent 800 troops to occupy the camp entrance.

When the news came out, Japan, together with Britain and the United States, once again made representations to the Russian Empire.

Alexeyev's response was very Russian. He actually went to St. Petersburg and left the special envoys of Japan, Britain and the United States in Dalini. The return date has not yet been determined.

George is the governor of Amur and has no control over Kanto.

For George, the most important thing in April is the successful completion of the Kanto Railway.

The completion of the Kanto Railway means that the Amur forces are about to completely withdraw from Kanto.

Mikhail was unwilling to give in and suggested that George continue to stay in Guandong on the grounds that the South Manchuria Railway had not been completed.

George is not lying. It is now clear that it is the Japanese version of the Three Kingdoms intervention in Liaoning. If the intervention fails, then war will break out. George does not want to wade into this muddy water.

Without George's intervention, the Japanese were still very efficient. Around the New Year, the first batch of iron sand produced by Fengtian Iron Mine was shipped to Japan, and Yawat Iron Works could finally start work.

A ridiculous thing happened again. The iron smelted by the Japanese was held in the furnace and could not be poured out. The reason is unknown.

Yawat Iron Works gave full play to its studious spirit and sent people to Amur Steel Plant to seek technical help.

The Amur Steel Plant was not a good teacher.

If you Japanese can't smelt iron, then your fate is bad. If you go back and burn incense and worship Buddha, you will succeed.

George didn't know whether the Japanese burned incense. With the coal from Kanto, the Sixty-Sixth Fleet finally solved the power problem. Former Guards Lieutenant Colonel and Imperial Minister Alexander Bezobrazov was very happy. This was his business.

Bezobrazov is not betraying Russia's interests. He does not have a clear understanding of Japan and its war potential. He believes that Japan is a small country and there is no need to worry. "The Russian Empire only needs to throw a hat and it can defeat Japan." Japan is overwhelmed.”

Based on this judgment, St. Petersburg did not take the "Three Kingdoms Intervention and Return to Liaoning" initiated by Japan at all. After Alexeyev returned to St. Petersburg, the Russian Empire not only did not withdraw its troops, but continued to increase its troops to Kanto.

This behavior is not only a threat to Japan, but also a threat to Britain and the United States. Even its ally France does not want the Russian Empire to continue to tilt toward Kanto to avoid overly weakening the threat to Germany.

In mid-May, Werther sent a telegram to George, hoping that George could return to St. Petersburg to persuade Nicholas to avoid conflicts between the Russian Empire and Britain and the United States in East Asia.

Witte was not a pacifist. His strategy was to wait for the entire Trans-Siberian Railway to be opened, accumulate enough power in Kanto, and then wait for an opportunity for a decisive battle.

George remembered Georgi's reminder before his death and ignored Werther's telegram.

Even without Georgi's reminder, George is no longer the same George who comes and goes as soon as he is called.

Although Guandong is not George's jurisdiction, George believes that he has done his best for Guandong, including Dalini, and George has not slacked off at all.

George's strict defense against Japan was regarded by St. Petersburg as evidence that George dominated Kantung.

Now George decided to let go and hand over Guandong to St. Petersburg to see how well those great people in St. Petersburg could manage Guandong.

After the China-Eastern Railway was completed and opened to traffic, George evacuated all the construction teams and sent them to East India. The simplicity was surprising.

Dalini Military Port is also about to be completed. In order to accommodate all the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, Dalini Military Port has a total of 12 berths of more than 1.5 tons. The largest shipyard can repair 305-ton warships. The mm shore produced by the Vladivostok Arsenal Anti-artillery pieces were also sent to Dalini as a priority to strengthen Dalini's defense.

Vladivostok's own coastal defense guns are 330 mm.

This is not because George is hiding something, but because the commander of the Port Arthur Fortress, Lieutenant General Stessel, believes that the 305mm coastal defense cannon is enough for the fortress, and there is no need to equip the 330mm coastal defense cannon.

Even for the 305mm coastal defense gun shells, only 120 rounds were prepared for each gun.

If it is only used for training, 120 rounds is indeed enough.

But if a war breaks out, 120 rounds of artillery shells will not be enough, because no one knows how long the war will last, let alone whether supplies will be available after the war breaks out.

George sent a telegram to Minister of War Kuropatkin, reminding Kuropatkin to increase the ammunition inventory at Port Arthur Fortress.

This telegram, like the telegram sent by Werther to George, was thrown into the sea without any response.

George is not angry.

Now such a trivial matter can no longer let George break the defense. George is just doing his best. Whether it can have any effect depends on fate.

Alexeyev did not return from St. Petersburg until the end of July, leaving the special envoys of Britain, the United States, and Japan in Dalini for three months.

Alexeyev's return does not mean the beginning of negotiations.

Although Alexeyev is the governor of Kanto, there is still a tsar above him. Alexeyev has no decision-making power. No matter what happens, he must report to St. Petersburg first and wait for St. Petersburg's decision.

St. Petersburg is thousands of miles away from Dalini, and information comes and goes for at least a month. Time is gradually consumed by the tug and pull between St. Petersburg and Dalini, and the patience of Britain, the United States, and Japan is about to run out.

At the end of September, George Dewey visited Vladivostok to remind George of Japan's movements.

Before the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Army had a total of 6 divisions, which increased to 12 after the Sino-Japanese War.

Last month, Japan decided to add six more divisions, bringing the total to 6. Its ambition is clear.

After the Xinchou War, Japan's finances were in trouble and they returned to the old path of borrowing to support themselves.

Most of Japan's loans are obtained from the United Kingdom and the United States.

So George laughed at Dewey to his face, saying that you Americans were providing loans to the Japanese and informing the Russian Empire at the same time. All the good people in the co-author were fooled by you.

"Duke, what's wrong with you is that you don't know that your uncle also bought Japanese bonds——"

Dewey's counterattack was also sharp.

The crows in the world are as black as the boss, let alone the second child.

"Don't say I don't know, neither does my uncle. That's the fund manager's decision."

George wouldn't be considered a traitor just because of that little interest.

"Okay, whatever you rich people say is right."

Dewey didn't struggle. He was a soldier and couldn't control the financial tycoons on Wall Street.

George believed that Dewey was really not trying to please both sides. The United States was such a tangled country, and its internal divisions were extremely serious.

“If a war broke out in the Far East, would the United States join the war?”

George still cared about this.

"You can rest assured of this, absolutely not."

Dewey seemed to have received authorization from Washington, otherwise he would not be so sure.

George was a little relieved. If there was only Japan, then the difficulty would not be high.

Even the Americans know about the Japanese ambitions, how could the Russian Empire not know about it.

The Queen Mother Maria has been in London during this time, and the purpose is self-evident.

(End of this chapter)