Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1096 - 110, Who Has the Strongest Smuggling Techniques

Chapter 1096: Chapter 110, Who Has the Strongest Smuggling Techniques

High-standard materials that withstand low temperatures are definitely high-tech in this era, and only a few countries are capable of producing them.

Although the Russian Empire often boasts of being an industrial nation, those who are in the know understand the truth. Usual bragging aside, they are unreliable when it matters most.

Just look at the railway they built a few years ago; it needed maintenance dozens of times a year, and each maintenance took several days, with maintenance durations exceeding operational periods.

After a thorough inspection, it was found that the tracks were rusty and deformed, and the sleepers were rotting, which was bad enough, but the worst part was that some were even sprouting.

The intention was to hold someone accountable, but the involvement was too wide, and there were too many pleadings, making it impossible to continue the investigations. In the end, there was no choice but for the government to foot the bill and redo the railway.

Lessons must not be forgotten; to ensure the quality of the Siberian Railway, the Tsarist Government made an early decision to cut all domestically produced materials that withstand low temperatures.

...

Even though there were calls from the public to support domestic products, the Tsarist Government was too frightened by past failures to consider it.

Ordinary railways are one thing, the loss is just money; but a strategic artery like the Siberian Railway must ensure quality.

Importing not only means increased costs but also brings increased transportation pressure. Stopping work to wait for materials was a common occurrence.

Think about it, even logistical supplies on the battlefield often get mixed up, so it’s not unacceptable for railway materials to be sent to the wrong place.

The problems in the management system, or rather the bureaucratic issues within the Tsarist Government, obviously cannot be resolved by a mere administrative order.

High technical requirements, a chaotic management system, plus harsh weather, if the construction progress of the Siberian Railway was fast, that would indeed be a real problem.

The railway couldn’t start operations earlier, and the front-line strategic materials had to be met, creating an almost unsolvable problem.

Nicholas II’s expression was terribly grim, making the atmosphere in the room tense.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, Foreign Minister Mikhailovich spoke up, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already taken action, and the Vienna Government has agreed to help.

Currently, we are working on convincing the Far Eastern Empire to allow us to buy supplies from them, which would improve the situation significantly.

We have already achieved some results; with the efforts of our diplomats, we have gained the support of several officials from the Far Eastern Empire who are willing to tacitly allow us to transport materials through their territory.”

It is normal for negotiations to fail. The monarchist Constitutionalists and Conservatives in the Far Eastern Empire are heavily in conflict, with no time to concern themselves with the Russo-Japanese War.

Promising more benefits is futile; a government that is afraid of both fronts, whether it be Japan or Russia, dares not provoke either.

“Transporting materials through their territory” is essentially “smuggling.” This practice was rampant even in peacetime, and it’s even more prevalent in the chaotic wartime.

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

Rather than diplomatic efforts, it’s more about driven by interests. With just a blind eye turned, a lot of silver would flow in; why reject it?

After all, it’s not just doing business with Russians, everyone conducts business with the Japanese as well. As long as the money is good, merchants don’t mind who they sell to.

Even if the merchants of the Far Eastern Empire dare not get involved, international arms dealers rush in. As long as the payment is sufficient, there will be no problem acquiring the goods.

The only issue is that these dealers don’t have enough supplies and their transports are often attacked by bandits hired by the Japanese, unable to meet wartime demands.

However, Mikhailovich has confidence in the international arms dealers. The current shortage is mainly because no one anticipated the Russo-Japanese War erupting so soon, and the most powerful arms dealers hadn’t had the chance to get involved.

If those dealers with powerful backers join in, no matter the amount of materials, they could be obtained, which is the real reason they sought help from the Vienna Government.

To smuggle strategic materials on a large scale, it requires cooperation from the Far Eastern Empire and the deterrence from major powers.

Ordinary strategic materials are one thing, which could be produced in family workshops in the Far Eastern Empire, always purchasable with money. The problematic part is weapons and ammunition.

Not to mention, the Japanese Navy poses a significant barrier. To prevent arms from falling into Russian hands, the Japanese Navy assumed the role of the East Asian police after the war broke out.

Facing the infringement of sovereignty, the weak Far Eastern Empire Government chose to turn a deaf ear, allowing the Japanese Navy to inspect foreign merchant ships.

Of course, the ships that accepted inspection were those without strong backing or with insufficient influence. Those belonging to powerful transoceanic companies were not dared to be recklessly disturbed by the Japanese.

Although relations between Britain and Shinra were tense, the two nations had not yet come to blows. Who knew what would trigger a conflict, and what if they ended up sitting down and resolving it?

Although the Japanese Government chose to gamble on national fate, they were not foolish and knew whom they could not provoke. In dealing with these two behemoths, naturally, they had to act submissively.

In the original timeline, the smuggling trade failed to save the Russian Empire, mainly due to the lack of support from major powers.

Britain, Germany, the United States, Austria, and Greece all hoped for the failure of the Russians. Their only ally, the French, provided merely verbal support and fundamentally hoped they would return to Europe to confront the German people.

Without the support of major powers, the smuggling trade inevitably failed to scale. Besides purchasing food and daily necessities, weapons and ammunition still had to be transported from within the country.

Even these small-scale smuggling operations were crucial support for the Russian Army in the Far Eastern region.

Otherwise, the logistics for hundreds of thousands of troops would have to be transported from within the country, not to mention that the Siberian Railway was not yet operational; even if it were, it could not cope.

There was no other reason; the Siberian Railway was a single-track railway. Once a train was sent out, it had to return on the same track.

Hearing this explanation, Nicholas II’s expression eased slightly. However, the worry between his brows could not be dispelled.

In theory, with the help of the Holy Roman Empire and cooperation from the Far Eastern Empire, they could overcome the crisis by smuggling.

But this was merely theoretical, not to mention the extent of Shinra’s support, just the cooperation of the Far Eastern Empire was a major issue.

In recent years, they had caused significant harm there. Having made enemies before, now expecting full cooperation was nothing short of a joke.

No need for any significant figure to intervene personally; just the local snakes causing trouble along the way was enough for them to handle.

Whether it involved sporadic bridge destruction, road damage, or mountain thieves and bandits attacking, these were all risks.

If it were normal times, simply exerting diplomatic pressure on the Far Eastern Empire would solve the issue, but not now.

In the critical moment of the fierce Russo-Japanese War, the Far Eastern Empire actually possessed the power to decide the outcome of the conflict.

If they inadvertently pushed too far, causing them to side with the Japanese, then the Russian Empire would have no choice but to concede defeat and withdraw quietly from the Far Eastern region.

“Push forward as quickly as possible! It would be best if the Vienna Government could intervene, as they have good relations with the Far Eastern Empire, making coordination easier.”

As for the relations between Shinra and the Far Eastern Empire, Nicholas II was not clear. However, he knew one thing, that there had been no war between them.

That was enough; in the realm of great powers, non-aggression was a symbol of friendship.

Unintentionally spoken, but deliberately heard. To Mikhailovich, this was Nicholas II expressing mistrust in the capabilities of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Well, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indeed did not deserve “trust.” Over the past years, they had botched more affairs than they had managed to handle.

To change this situation, the Tsarist Government even specifically sent students to Austria and Britain to learn professional diplomatic skills.

It could not be said there was no progress, at least in terms of diplomatic etiquette, unspoken diplomatic rules, and common knowledge of international conventions, they no longer made big blunders.

As for the more critical diplomatic skills, they still had to wait for these individuals to rise to high positions in the Russian Empire to truly see results.