After receiving news from the Far East in Saint Petersburg, Nicholas II was on the verge of flying into a rage.
The causes and consequences no longer mattered. In Nicholas II's eyes, the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese conflict in the Far East meant that the Japanese were provoking them.
The old score with the Japanese Government had yet to be settled, and now the Japanese dared provoke them again. That was naturally intolerable.
If not for the fact that the Siberian Railway had yet to open, with logistical pressure constraining military operations, Nicholas II would have dearly loved to wipe out Japan at once.
Of course, that was only a thought. With the international situation so tangled and complex, only a fool would rashly start a war.
It was true that the Tsarist Government intended to advance eastward, but when to do so and under what circumstances required careful consideration.
"Learn wisdom from every fall."
Over the past few decades, the Russian Empire had suffered no small number of losses in war. Having suffered so many losses, the Tsarist Government had evolved along with them.
Now moving south, now advancing east—its strategic objectives seemed to drift without fixed direction, but was that not a kind of political wisdom in itself?
Against the backdrop of Britain and the Holy Roman Empire contending for supremacy, the Russian Empire, the world's third-greatest power, felt no joy at the prospect of reaping the fisherman's gains. All it felt was profound dread.
There was no helping it. The Russian Empire was too weak to contend for world hegemony, yet too powerful to muddy the waters and profit as the fisherman.
Though Russo-Austrian relations appeared excellent, the two governments remained full of suspicion and distrust. Even the Vienna Government did not trust Russia, let alone the