Unknowingly, the Ninth Russo-Turkish War has been going on for more than half a year. Nicholas I's idea of resolving the war in the first few months has been ruthlessly shattered.
Now let alone a few months, I'm afraid it will take twice as long. This will undoubtedly be a heavy burden on Russia's fragile economy.
As the most backward power in Europe, Russia's industrial capabilities are not worth mentioning at all. Even fifty years from now, Russia's industrial capabilities can only be described as scum. That's why at the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was replaced by another even weaker country.
The powerful people pressed him to the ground and rubbed him until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen.
Russia really looked like a powerful country when it had a loving father of steel. Without this loving father, there would indeed be no Soviet Union that was so prosperous in the future, and it would be impossible to fight against the entire Western world on its own for decades.
It’s just that obviously not everyone in Russia can realize the value of a loving father, and not everyone can realize the value of comprehensive industrialization. Whether before or after, Russia has resisted industrialization in an extremely ridiculous way.
He was so focused on his farming career that he couldn't help himself.
To put it simply, as the country with the largest land area in the world, the Russians do have unique advantages in farming, and if they make good use of it, they may not be inferior to the beautiful animals.
It's just that the Russians' method of utilization is too unique. For example, in this era, they tried every means to exploit serfs. Nobles from all walks of life were happy to be comfortable serf owners.
This method of doing things is indeed highly profitable, mainly because the cost is low and you don’t have to think about anything at all, you can make money just by lying down.
However, there is also a problem, because it is so easy to make money, it is easy for people to not make progress and just want to be a serf owner forever. Moreover, this kind of risk-free business is far less troublesome and labor-intensive than running a factory, so naturally it is even more useless.
People are willing to set up factories.
Developed agriculture has the benefits of developed agriculture, but Russia’s agriculture is far from being developed. It can only be said that agriculture accounts for a high proportion of the national economy, and there are many people engaged in agriculture, but the efficiency is really not very high.
Especially after the major capitalist powers completed industrialization and agriculture increasingly required agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers, even the lowest cost of using serfs could no longer keep up.
Moreover, in the current era, agricultural countries have a natural disadvantage compared to industrial countries, that is, once they are blocked, they will really be blinded.
Of course it is impossible for Turkey to blockade Russia, but Britain can. I think back then, if Napoleon was strong enough, it was because the British blockade made it impossible for them to take care of themselves.
For a backward country like Russia that needs to export agricultural products in exchange for industrial products, once it is blocked, it will be really miserable. Especially if they have to maintain a cruel war, it will be really frustrating if they cannot purchase scarce supplies from abroad.
What a dead man!
In fact, the war had only lasted for more than half a year, and many places in Russia had already begun to become unstable. The serf uprising, the national liberation struggle in Poland, and all kinds of messy things came together, making Nicholas I very anxious.
"The British army has begun to invade the Far East, which is likely to have a major impact on our country's control in the Far East. Gentlemen, can you tell us how to solve this problem?"
glutinous rice
In fact, the ministers participating in the Imperial Council were not particularly concerned about the issues in the Far East. To most Russian aristocrats, the barren lands in the Far East were worthless and had no use at all except for the exile of those pesky liberals.
So what if the British take it away? They won't lose a dime.
To be honest, they were more concerned about how to end the war decently than the instability in the Far East. This war has had a major impact on their lives, and as Britain and France continued to increase their troops, except for Nicholas I
Almost no one believed that Russia could win the war.
"Your Majesty, we really have to guard against this," Old Adlerberg was the first to speak for the first time. "In view of the fact that we are currently dealing with Britain, France and Turkey with all our strength, we do not have the extra strength to provide support to the Far East. Once Britain and France invade in full,
In the Far East of our country, we probably can’t defend it because of the lack of troops there!”
Nicholas I just looked at old Adlerberg, because he knew all these truths. He raised this issue because he wanted a solution, not to let his ministers continue to aggravate his worries.
Fortunately, old Adlerberg also understood this truth, and he immediately gave his own solution: "I heard that the United States is interested in Alaska. It is a completely uncivilized and barren land for us, and we
We don’t have enough troops to garrison it, so we might as well sell Alaska to the Americans and earn some money to ease our urgent financial pressure.”
Of course, this method was not thought up by old Adlerberg. He just expressed the sentiments of many people. Anyway, Alaska is deserted, so it is better to sell it for money. Even if the money is a little small, but the mosquito meat
It’s also meat, which can alleviate some of the financial pressure and allow Nicholas I to levy less war tax!
As soon as Old Adlerberg finished speaking, Count Uvarov and other nobles immediately began to agree. Conservative forces like them lived by holding on to the land. The tax imposed by Nicholas I had already made them very unhappy.
My heart aches. I don’t know how long this war will last. Maybe the second and third rounds of war are already on the way.
We must quickly find a way to help the tsar get some money. The key is to reduce taxes for him!
It’s just that those who agreed were naturally opposed to it. The first one to oppose was Alexander I. This is easy to understand. His opposition actually represented Nicholas I. For the Russian tsar, ceding territory was like cutting off their flesh.
.
The land that was snatched back at such a high price was sold for just three melons and two dates, and they would never accept it!
That is to say, the finances are indeed tight now and there are really not that many troops to defend such a large territory. Otherwise, the first one to jump out and oppose would be Nicholas I himself.
"For such a small amount of money, we were asked to cede the entire Alaska. This is a blatant humiliation to us. Although Russia is large, not an inch is redundant! I firmly oppose the selling of land!"
The reaction of everyone was actually a bit embarrassing. It was not that they were embarrassed but that it embarrassed Nicholas I and Crown Prince Alexander. Because everyone had almost no reaction to these words, and there was no symbolic shame at all.
It's obvious that everyone has seen through Nicholas I's trick. The face-conscious Tsar deliberately asked Crown Prince Alexander to come forward to oppose him just to maintain his face and dignity...