Dominate the Country

Rumyantsev learned the truth of the matter, and St. Petersburg was not far from knowing it. One day in late February, the news spread to St. Petersburg, the heart of Russia.

St. Petersburg was quite cold at the moment. Suvorov's victory was a thing of the past, and the tension of the war against Sweden was the new problem.

After the Ottoman Empire suffered a major defeat, morale was low and it would not launch a fierce attack to the north in a short time. But Sweden was in turmoil again.

After the initial damage to the Swedish navy and army, Gustav III of the Kingdom of Sweden took advantage of the people's strong anti-aristocratic tendency to convene a great parliament, depriving the parliament of all powers except taxation, and personally commanded the Finnish campaign at the front line. Russia's pressure on the Western Front suddenly increased.

And now the news that Rumyantsev brought was another heavy blow to some Russian nobles.

St. Petersburg now has no thoughts or spare energy to care about France.

Last winter, on the eve of Christmas, a riot broke out in Paris that shocked Europe. One month after the Paris riots, the Palace of Versailles where King Louis XVI of France lived was attacked by several Parisian women and thousands of National Guard soldiers. Several guards were killed, and the queen hid with her children in dishevel. That night, Louis XVI and his family were forced to move into the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and their freedom of movement was greatly restricted.

Louis XVI was forced to take a compromising position and promote constitutional monarchy. He repeatedly expressed his support for the Constitutional Convention in public and signed most of the decrees obediently. But these are all superficial articles, and his true thoughts are probably not like this.

And the whole of Europe also opposed the Paris government. The powerful France was in chaos in just two or three months. If it continues like this, the Gallic rooster will definitely not be John Bull's opponent.

The dignitaries in London are afraid that they will fall asleep with a smile.

But Russia is too far away from France, and St. Petersburg is always troubled by the war. At this time in the European political arena, they are like a lonely recluse, isolated from European affairs.

Chen Han may not have received this news yet, but who cares? Russia is now facing great danger. Catherine II has already made a formal request to Vienna, asking Austria to send troops to Russia's western front.

The news delivered by Rumyantsev only added another big stone to the hearts of the people in St. Petersburg, which was already a small mountain.

But for the tough old Russians, this little damage can only be a case of more lice, but it can't be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Catherine II is a woman with a very strong character. She is not Nicholas I who committed suicide after the failure of the war, nor is she Alexander III who was frightened by his father's assassination and hid in Gatchina, a palace outside St. Petersburg, as a hermit. She is a generation of heroes in Russian history who is as famous as Peter I.

Even though this war has caused Russia heavy losses and the situation has made Russia increasingly difficult, Catherine II's bones have not bent. Deep in her heart, there is still the last hope - the hope of a comeback.

Even though Russia had little hope of winning the war against China, as long as it dealt with the Ottoman Empire and Sweden, Russia could concentrate its forces in the east and prepare for a decisive battle with China in the Ural River Basin.

The Chinese were very powerful, but the Kazakh steppes and the Xinjiang near Western Siberia were their absolute remote frontier provinces in China. Even after years of road construction, the transportation flow and convenience of transportation materials were far behind the transportation routes from Russia to the Ural River Basin.

The latter was only one step away from the core areas of Russia - the Volga River Basin and the Don River Basin. Large rivers ran through the vast land of Russia, and the rivers greatly reduced the time and cost of Russia's transportation of troops and materials to the Ural River Basin.

Catherine II felt that she could at least gather more than 200,000 troops. If the military expenditure was sufficient and if Austria was still Russia's ally at that time, then 300,000 people would not be impossible.

A 300,000-man army fought a decisive battle with the Chinese in the Ural River Basin.

——This may not necessarily lead to the destruction of the Romanov dynasty and the fall of the Tsarist royal family into the present Bourbon royal family. But it will definitely make Russia bankrupt and seriously hurt its vitality.

Catherine II bet that the Chinese would not fight this fateful battle with Russia.

Because there is no need.

Even if the Chinese swallowed up all 300,000 troops in one bite, they could not establish rule in the Volga and Don River basins across the Kazakh steppe. And relying on the Kazakhs and Mongols alone, Russia would not be bullied even if it lost 300,000 troops.

The Chinese would also pay a heavy price for fighting a war. Even if their national strength is stronger than the whole of Europe put together, this move will still make the Chinese feel painful. And this is a "business" that is destined to lose money.

There are people who do the business of beheading, but no one does the business of losing money.

If the Chinese territory has expanded to the edge of the Caspian Sea, then they have enough motivation to take over the Ural River Basin, and then seize the Volga River Basin and the Don River Basin. But now it is obviously not the case!

The latter is an enclave for China, or "making wedding clothes for others".

No matter how many millions of people China has in the army, and no matter how many billions of pounds in finance and taxation there is, it is impossible for China to throw money into a bottomless pit as if it were money. No matter how powerful an empire is, it will not risk serious losses to seize an enclave thousands of miles away.

Moreover, if the Volga River and Ural River areas are taken by the Chinese, will the Kazakhs and Mongolians of the Three Tents be at ease? They must have thought that sooner or later the Chinese would annex them - to take the enclave with them. This would have a devastating impact on the current situation for the Chinese.

Therefore, Catherine II dared to gamble with China.

She also knows that although the Chinese government has abundant wealth, it also knows how to spend money. Every year, they send a large number of immigrants and materials to North America and the desolate island further south in the Southeast Asia. It is easy to see how huge the financial expenditure is on building a country thousands of miles away from the mainland. At the same time, they are also vigorously promoting compulsory education in the country. The scale of the latter has expanded from the original "Two Beijings + Lushan" to all the capital cities of the original eighteen provinces in Han Dynasty. Moreover, local governments with deep pockets such as Yangzhou, Suzhou, Tianjin, and Yantai have also joined in. The central government only allocates 30% of the funds, and the majority goes to local preparations, plus social donations to assist students.

Anyway, these news are being poured into the ears of common people and nobles across the European continent through the mouths of businessmen from various countries traveling between the East and the West. Including the "annual salary agreement" between the Chen and Han royal family and the cabinet, only one out of a hundred revenue from the treasury was taken. This is a very strange rule! The number is too small.

This tiny proportion does not appear to be very prominent in China before the implementation of the new tax, but it is not pitiful either - more than 10 million Chinese dollars and 200,000 to 300,000 pounds per year. In Europe, it is already very wealthy. It's just that this number is relatively small compared to the behemoth China. Judging from the many statistics compiled by the Chinese themselves, the expenditure figures of the entire royal family are not less than one million pounds a year. One percent of the national treasury revenue is, at most, a fraction.

Just talking about "fiscal deficit", the Chinese royal family is as big as China, astonishingly big.

But the Chinese royal family has a profound background, and the profits generated by the companies under its name are measured in "hundred million" every year. They can easily bear such a huge "fiscal deficit".

But after China's new tax and fiscal policy was implemented, the situation has changed significantly.

In the past, the expenses of the Chinese royal family were divided into “treasury revenue” and a large amount from “corporate income,” but now the two sides have switched.

Although the Chinese royal family is still "losing money" and the Chinese royal family still maintains an "extremely luxurious" life, the changes inside are so obvious that everyone can see it.

China's fiscal revenue is skyrocketing, but so are China's fiscal expenditures.

As a wise king, Catherine II could not say that the "compulsory education" provided by the Chinese was a waste of money. She knew the importance of knowledge very well. In her early years, Catherine II was hailed as 'the most enlightened monarch in Europe' by countless thinkers.

He supported literati painters and thinkers, and was close pen pals with such great intellectual figures as Voltaire, Diderot, and Montesquieu. In the impression of outsiders, she is completely a "literary queen".

Although after the Pugachev uprising, Catherine II, who revealed her true face, seemed very reactionary, but you cannot deny her intellectual and insightful side. After all, he is a master who has come and gone with Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu and other enlightenment people. If there is really no ink in his belly, even if he is showing off, he will not be able to create the most beautiful thing in Europe. An enlightened monarch.

Therefore, the knowledgeable Tsarina knew very well that a large amount of China's financial funds could not be transferred to the war casually. Those funds had a fixed position. Although China's finances are extremely abundant, their finances cannot only serve military expenditures. They are not Russia.

In today's Russia, the country's fiscal and tax revenue has long been exhausted. It relies on war bonds and national debt to fight its wars.

While reporting to St. Petersburg, Rumyantsev once again loudly called for "reinforcements, reinforcements." Catherine II had a headache just thinking about it.

China only killed the emperor's grandmother, not the terrible emperor directly.

As long as the snow on the Eastern Front battlefield subsides and the cold winter subsides, the Chinese will obviously start a war again, and it will be more violent. Because after they stopped for a winter, their material reserves must be more abundant.

Rumyantsev was not wrong to call for "reinforcements". He had not told St. Petersburg before that - after giving me the first batch of support, I will definitely keep the Ural River Basin.

Rumyantsev said at least, two 'at leasts' - at least 100,000 rockets should be sent to him, and 30,000 regular troops, and at least 50,000 young men must be recruited in Western Siberia and the Volga River Basin; and then Only then can he keep the Chinese in the Ural River Basin.

Now Rumyantsev came to St. Petersburg for help. But in St. Petersburg, where the war on the southern front had slowed down a bit and the war on the western front had become tense again, there were still plenty of troops for Rumyantsev.

"Inform the Treasury to issue a third tranche of government bonds. Tell Denmark that the time has come for them to enter war."

Catherine II did not think much of Denmark. Today's Denmark is no longer the strongest country in Northern Europe it used to be. After Sweden became independent, Denmark's wars for more than two hundred years ended in failure, resulting in the shrinking of Denmark's territory. At the moment, although Denmark has a sizable naval force and a powerful merchant fleet, its weakness on land has made this small country almost become a vassal of St. Petersburg under the strength of Russia.

That's a small version of Holland. But in the previous hundred years, there was no ‘London’ as an ally.

Catherine II's choice was obviously to continue the war. After all, Russia also has the support of the Netherlands, Britain, Prussia, Spain, Denmark, Austria and other countries, and has the support of most of Europe. There will be no problem with war funding in the short term.

And as long as St. Petersburg has money, Russia will never lack gray livestock.

There is ‘peace’ in Europe today. Countless pairs of eyes are looking at Paris, watching the evolution of the current situation in France. All major European countries, except Russia and Austria, are no longer in a state of war.

They will provide huge sums of money for this war.

The world situation has evolved to this day, and the war between China and Russia has faintly changed its flavor. It is no longer a contest between two behemoths, China and Russia, but has become a contest between the East and the West, between the yellow race and the white race.

It is impossible to say that China’s continuous expansion in recent years has not had an impact on Europe. Whether it is Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, London, or Paris, everyone will be vaguely wary of China. After all, these benefits that China has extracted are all snatched from their bowl.

There are indeed 'people' in these countries who don't want to see Russia continue to become stronger, but they also prefer to see China hit a wall. Supporting the successive wars between Russia and China can not only weaken Russia's strength, but also make the Chinese people feel the "power" of the white race. Kill two birds with one stone and kill two birds with one stone. Why not?

Suvorov's victory last year indeed gave many Russians an unrealistic delusion, and also gave many Europeans "hope." Just as Catherine II thought, if the Ottoman Empire was solved first, Sweden would never be a problem. Then Russia would not be able to fight China before it could face it.

Russia used all its strength and had the financial support of so many countries behind it, while the Chinese only used one arm in Western Siberia, which may not necessarily mean they have no fighting power. This includes more than just Catherine II.