The Ottomans' Revenge

After defeating the Great Qing Empire several years earlier, the Japanese had become the most powerful nation in the Far East.

But the Japanese were dogs raised by the people of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets. Until they could break free of the leash in their masters' hands, they could only obey their every command.

The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets had backed the Japanese precisely so it could use them to contain the Tsarist Russian Empire.

It had supported the Japanese in defeating the Great Qing Empire so they could carve it up and use its wealth and resources to rise rapidly.

Only then would the Japanese become a strong dog, capable of checking the polar bear's expansion in the Far East.

It could be said that the Japanese were naturally opposed to the Tsarist Russian Empire.

What was more, the Tsarist Russian Empire had previously rallied Gaul and the German Empire to force the Japanese to return the Liaodong Peninsula to the Great Qing Empire.

The Japanese had taken the opportunity to extort another thirty million taels of silver from the Great Qing Empire.

Even so, it remained a humiliation to them.

Having just defeated the Great Qing Empire, the Japanese had been in high spirits and thought themselves invincible. The Tsarist Russian Empire's move had been a resounding slap across their faces!

Afterward, the Tsarist Russian Empire had infiltrated the Korean Peninsula and competed with the Japanese for control of it. That was tantamount to snatching the choice meat from the Japanese bowl.

After the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese had already come to regard the Korean Peninsula as their own exclusive prize.

Yet the Tsarist Russian Empire had snatched food from the tiger's jaws.

In particular, after the Japanese killed Korean Queen Min, King Yi Hui of Korea took refuge in the Tsarist Russian Empire's legation in the Kingdom of Korea.

The Tsarist Russian Empire took Yi Hui under its protection and seized the opportunity to place a large number of pro-Russian officials in the Korean court and government.

That was undoubtedly unacceptable to the Japanese.

The Japanese had once proposed dividing the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel, with the two countries partitioning the entire peninsula between them.

The north would go to the Tsarist Russian Empire, and the south to the Japanese Empire.

But the Tsarist Russian Empire rejected the proposal.

In the end, agreements such as the "Komura-Weber Memorandum" and the "Nishi-Rosen Agreement" resulted in the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire jointly administering the Korean Peninsula.

The two countries enjoyed equal rights on the Korean Peninsula.

The Tsarist Russian Empire, however, held the political upper hand, while the Japanese Empire enjoyed economic and geographical advantages.

The outbreak of civil war in the Tsarist Russian Empire immediately had the Japanese rubbing their fists in anticipation.

If they could use this opportunity to drive the Tsarist Russian Empire out of the Korean Peninsula, or even go a step further and seize Lüshun, which the Tsarist Russian Empire had just leased, or the entire Liaodong Peninsula, nothing could be better.

The Japanese Empire's senior leaders reached an agreement on the matter and began mobilizing in secret, ready to take advantage of the situation and strike the Tsarist Russian Empire as soon as conditions there spiraled completely out of control.

With a pack of wolves circling it, the plight the Tsarist Russian Empire now faced could well be imagined.

Grand Duke Mikhail understood this as well.

But things had come to this, and the war had to be fought.

If he did not fight, he would have to watch helplessly as the throne slipped away before his eyes. Nor would he have a chance to root out the Tsarist Russian Empire's many ills, pull it out of its continuing decline, and make it rise again, defying heaven to change its fate in future wars.

A short pain was better than a long one, so long as he could defeat his domestic opponents, ascend the throne, and take control of the entire country.

Even if he suffered some losses for the time being, that was perfectly acceptable.

At worst, he could simply retaliate once the situation at home had stabilized.

Of course, the most important thing was that Grand Duke Mikhail had to win this civil war.

If he failed, all his plans would come to nothing. None of his schemes could possibly succeed.

The Tsarist Russian Empire's other enemies, by comparison, were preparing in secret and keeping a close eye on conditions within the empire, but had no intention of acting immediately.

They much preferred that the Tsarist Russian Empire's civil war spiral out of control and drag on.

If the Tsarist Russian Empire's national strength could be steadily drained in this way, nothing would be better.

Otherwise, defeating a vast nation with 22.8 million square kilometers of territory and a population of 130 million was no easy matter.

A moment's carelessness could very well mire them in the quagmire of war and even drag them down with it.

The Tsarist Russian Empire's other archenemy, the Ottoman Empire, however, could not sit still when it saw civil war break out there.

From the seventeenth century to the present, the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire had fought ten wars over the Caucasus region, the Balkan region, the Crimean region, and the Black Sea.

But in those ten wars, the Ottoman Empire had suffered far more defeats than victories.

The first and fourth wars had ended in draws, and the Ottoman Empire had won the third and ninth. It had lost the other six.

Even though the fourth had been a draw, the overall strategic situation had favored the Tsarist Russian Empire.

The ninth war, meanwhile, had actually been the Crimean War. The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets and the Gallic Empire had taken the lead in that war; the already declining Ottoman Empire had merely played a supporting role.

It could be said that the Ottoman Empire, which had once spanned the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa, had been beaten into the "sick man of West Asia" in these great wars, one after another.

The depth of the Ottoman Empire's hatred for the Tsarist Russian Empire could well be imagined.

Now that it finally had a chance to take revenge on the Tsarist Russian Empire, how could the Ottoman Empire sit still?

Abdul Hamid II, sultan and caliph of the Ottoman Empire, was an ambitious monarch who wanted to restore the empire's former glory.

The great powers of the entire country, including military and diplomatic affairs, were in his hands.

Abdul Hamid II clearly believed that the outbreak of civil war in the Tsarist Russian Empire was an excellent opportunity for the Ottoman Empire to defeat its archenemy and wash away its past shame.

More importantly, if the Ottoman Empire won the war, it could undoubtedly shake off its decline and rise again. It could also reclaim the territory it had lost in previous wars, restoring the confidence of its soldiers and people.

It could be said that victory in the war would bring the Ottoman Empire a great many benefits.

Thus, Abdul Hamid II swiftly summoned a group of senior imperial officials and announced his decision to take revenge. He ordered them to begin drawing up battle plans at once and await an opportunity to send troops against the Tsarist Russian Empire to avenge their grievances.

The senior officials all believed that the Ottoman Empire was now weak, and that the consequences would be unthinkable if it failed to win the war.

But Abdul Hamid II was determined to have his revenge, and the other ministers could do nothing about it.

Besides, the outbreak of civil war in the Tsarist Russian Empire truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Ottoman Empire. It would be a great pity to miss it.