Europeans of that era actually had similar understandings of war. How long could the war last? The Seven Years' War and the Thirty Years' War just sounded bluffing, and the scale was actually just a drizzle.
For example, in the later World War I, the leaders of the major participating countries almost unanimously believed that the war would last only a few months, and they never expected that it would last as long as four years.
The same was true for the Crimean War. Russia initially thought that it was just trying to teach Turkey a lesson. How long would it take? As for Britain and France, they also believed that as long as they went into battle together, they would scare the polar bears to death, and the fight would not last long at all.
Not only was there an error in judging the time, but there was also a problem with the unanimous judgment of the major powers on the scale of the war. They never thought that this small-scale conflict would involve almost the entire Europe, and that millions of people would fight there for several years.
There will be so many casualties.
So much so that some European historians believe that the Crimean War was the First World War because its level of bloodshed and scale of participation were not comparable to those of the subsequent Afghanistan War, the Boer War, the Sino-Japanese War of 1888, and the Russo-Japanese War.
The only thing that could compete with the Crimean War in terms of brutality was the American Civil War. However, this was a civil war and did not affect other powers. Naturally, it cannot be compared with the Crimean War in which almost all the powers participated.
So when Li Xiao said that this possible war would last for a long time and affect a wide range of areas, neither Kornilov nor Nasimov disagreed.
They believe that either it will last for a long time but there will not be many countries participating in the war, and the natural impact will not be very large. If the impact will be large and too many powers are involved, then the war will not be particularly long.
Their reason is that if there are too many great powers participating in the war, then everyone will be wary of each other and cannot really risk their lives to fight to the death. At most, they can test each other's bottom line, then give up when they get along, and finally resolve it through negotiation.
The problem becomes.
In fact, this was also the norm in Europe during the Vienna System era. Otherwise, after the Vienna Conference was held that year, there would have been claims that this would end the war. Because under the framework of the Vienna System, Europe was generally a system of mutual restraints and balances. Everyone took advantage of it.
There is nothing anyone can do, the most they can do is test each other, even if they use force, it is mostly to scare people, it is more like a bargaining method at the negotiation table.
However, Li Xiao knew that the Vienna System was almost over, because the reason why the Vienna System existed was that France was weakened, and Russia, Opus, and Russia stayed together to keep warm. But now France has risen and become stronger again, and Britain is even more powerful because of the Industrial Revolution.
The strength of the relationship has increased by leaps and bounds, while Opp has fallen into internal troubles and its strength is not as good as before. The balanced relationship of mutual restraint no longer exists.
Obviously, the European political landscape or the Vienna System needs to be reshuffled. Only after a new round of political shuffling will countries reach a new temporary balance, until new countries that can break the balance appear again, and then the next move will be made.
Shuffle the cards in rounds, and then cycle forward over and over again.
Unfortunately, Russia will be the biggest loser in this round of reshuffle. Russia has failed to keep up with the situation and its strength is no longer enough to support its status and ambitions!
"What we are about to face is an extraordinary tug-of-war and protracted war. The scale of the war will be unprecedentedly large and the duration will be unprecedentedly long! Don't believe it, time will prove everything, and gentlemen, it is always right to be more prepared for war.
No one can say for sure how the situation will change in the future, but one thing is never wrong, it is always good to be more prepared!”
Although Kornilov and Nasimov do not completely agree with Li Xiao's opinions, as battlefield veterans, they also know the importance of being prepared, and preparation is better than no preparation, right?
"But this is very troublesome!" Kornilov sighed, "Berkh and the others didn't pay attention to Turkey at all. They had no intention of defending at all. They only planned to use violent attacks to destroy the Turkish navy and let them destroy the Turkish navy.
Their promise to strengthen defense is simply unrealistic!"
This is indeed a headache. It must be said that the upper echelons of Russia at this time were swayed by blind optimism. They generally believed that teaching Turkey a lesson was a piece of cake. They did not expect that Britain and France would stand up for Turkey, so they naturally had no intention of defending.
Most people are ready to completely destroy Turkey with one brilliant victory after another.
This is Nicholas I's fault. Who made his judgments wrong? Who made him blindly optimistic and kept drawing the pie for the generals? As a result, the Russian army is now generally arrogant and thinks that victory is easy to come by.
Li Xiao had no good solution for this, because he was not a god and could not reverse this general blind optimism. The only idea he could come up with was: "Go to Sevastopol for an inspection under the guise of inspecting armaments."
As an excuse to go, focus on the defense facilities... I guess few people have paid special attention to that aspect in recent years. There must be a lot of problems. You can seize these problems to make a big fuss, and then try every means to get more funds.
Go and repair defense facilities..."
Kornilov and Nasimov were a little bit dumbfounded when they heard this, because this method was really weird, but thinking about it, it was the only way to do it.
But Li Xiao didn't finish what he said. He immediately added: "I will also mention this matter to Grand Duke Constantine. He has been the Assistant to the Minister of the Navy for so many years and has some influence in the Ministry of the Navy.
I should be able to help you out..."
Kornilov and Nasimov looked at each other. They were not political novices. The relationship between Li Xiao and Grand Duke Constantine was not harmonious, and Grand Duke Constantine had previously sent people to Wallachia to hit them.
I've also heard about it. How come in the blink of an eye, these two groups got together again?
If Li Xiao could hear their voices, he would probably tell them: "It's normal to get together. There are never permanent enemies in politics, only permanent interests. Grand Duke Constantine is not a stupid young man or an angry young man. He knows how to choose."
What’s best for you.”
In fact, just as Li Xiao was chatting with them, Grand Duke Constantine was about to arrive in Bucharest. This time he was invited by Alexei to negotiate.
"This guy Prozolov really disappoints me!"
Grand Duke Constantine, who was sitting in the carriage, kept complaining like a resentful woman. He already knew all about the planes built by Viscount Prozolov, and for the first time, he felt what it meant to be under great pressure...