Chapter 491: Russia Rescue Plan

The current German-French battlefield is absolutely the most intensely contested theater in all of Europe, but what Kaluo is currently worried about is not France, but the passively defending Russia.

Come to think of it, the casualties of the Russian government in this world war are not high; the battle with the most casualties was merely the Battle of Tannenberg.

Looking at the German-French side, large-scale battles such as the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of the Aisne, and the Battle of Alsace have generally seen casualties as high as hundreds of thousands, with the scale of casualties in any random battle being comparable to or even exceeding the Battle of Tannenberg.

Judging by Russia's population, the current Russia should still be at full strength; the lost troops are completely negligible to a Russia with a population of over one hundred million, and it would only take a few weeks to fully replenish them.

Is that really the case?

Judging from the intelligence gathered by the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency, although there is no risk of collapse in Russia at present, the internal conflicts have already intensified.

The failure of the Battle of Tannenberg poured a bucket of cold water on the Russian high command and also made Tsar Nicholas II realize that defeating Germany is not so easy.

Although the current Tsarist government is still a dictatorship under Tsar Nicholas II, outside of the Tsarist government, a large number of the Russian public are not so optimistic about this war.

The decay of Russia has lasted for too long, and the famous Alexander reforms only made Russia look slightly glamorous on the surface.

Yet the essence of Russia's decay has not changed at all; even if Nicholas II, under pressure from public opinion, carried out certain reforms to the government system, he still did not touch the root of the problem.

Compared to other European countries, Russia has had far too many wars in the last few decades, and every single one was essentially large-scale.

Two Russo-Turkish Wars, one war between Russia and Germany-Austria, the Russo-Japanese War, and the current super war are all wars that Russia has participated in over the last few decades.

Among these wars, except for the Russo-Turkish War where they fought back and forth with the Ottoman Empire, Russia was the loser in all the others.

The Russian army has been defeated time and time again; it would be a miracle if the public were satisfied with the army's performance. The prestige of the Tsarist government has also dropped significantly in recent times, and the public's dissatisfaction with the government and the Tsar has intensified, with the conflict between the two sides becoming irreconcilable.

Kaluo is quite clear about the situation within Russia. Regardless of whether the world war started early or not, Russia's rule has actually reached a dead end.

Even if Russia had a hard-line reformist monarch at this time, it would likely be unable to save a Russia that has already sounded its final horn.

Not to mention that the current Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, does not have much desire for reform. Although the Tsarist dictatorship has disappeared on the surface, everyone knows in private that the current Tsarist government is still a government of autocratic Tsarist rule, and the so-called Russian Prime Minister is just a puppet who can be replaced at will in front of the Tsar.

The good news is that although the current Russia cannot be saved, it is still possible to extend its life for a few more years.

Kaluo specifically ordered the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency to secretly protect the Russian Prime Minister, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, who is hailed in later generations as one of the greatest politicians in Russian history; this second-greatest Russian is currently the only savior of Russia.

Under the protection of the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin successfully escaped an assassination attempt by the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which also indirectly changed history.

As time reached 1913, the still-living Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin continued to serve as the Russian Prime Minister, which is a point completely different from history.

The reason Kaluo attaches such importance to this Russian Prime Minister is very simple: he is highly wary of the new Russian government that would be established after Tsarist Russia.

This new Russian government would be a nirvana-like rebirth for Russia, fully leveraging Russia's vast territory and population advantages to rebuild Russia into a super great power.

Even if it developed as it did in history, this super great power would have a lifespan of nearly a hundred years. Kaluo does not want such a powerful country in Europe, where Spain is located; the future Russia, at its peak, could challenge the post-WWII world policeman, the United States.

Since Kaluo wants to prevent the United States from rising in two world wars as it did in history, he must naturally also guard against Russia establishing a super empire capable of subverting the world through revolution as it did in history.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin is the perfect candidate for Kaluo.

On one hand, Stolypin is quite repulsed by the revolutionary parties within Russia. With such a figure sitting in the Russian government, the internal turmoil in Russia can happen a little later, and there is even hope that it could be quickly suppressed when it does occur.

On the other hand, Stolypin's land reforms can reduce the peasants' conflict with the Tsarist government. As long as the Tsarist government can still gain the support of the peasants, the threat from the revolutionary party will not be fatal.

In a better future scenario, Tsarist Russia will continue to exist, lingering on in the wind and rain for several more decades.

In the worst-case scenario, even if the revolutionary parties eventually gain power in Russia, the Tsarist government supported by Stolypin could still rely on the support of the vast peasantry to continue to occupy the Eastern European and Northern European regions centered on Saint Petersburg, thereby resulting in a situation where Russia is split in two.

If the vast Russia can be split in two, then regardless of whether it is a revolutionary regime or a Tsarist regime, it will no longer be such a great threat to Spain and all other European countries.

This is also the situation Kaluo wants to achieve, and the current situation in Russia is indeed moving in this direction, which counts as good news for Kaluo.

In order to help Tsarist Russia linger on for a longer time, in addition to secretly protecting the Russian Prime Minister, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, Kaluo also specifically ordered the branch of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency in Russia to assassinate some important members of the Russian revolution who pose a huge threat, ensuring the stability of the current Russian situation.

Although this may not necessarily be good news for the Russian people, for Russia's allies, France and Spain, this is the best choice.

Once Russia cannot hold on, France will face a full-scale siege by the Central Powers. By then, even if Spain enters the war, it will have to pay heavy casualties to defeat the combined forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Kaluo will not underestimate the current Germany; this is a super empire that almost won even while fighting on two fronts.

The two world wars in history have completely proven the combat effectiveness of the Germans; it is no exaggeration to say that as long as Germany chose the right allies, it would not have lost both times.

It is even more worth mentioning that before the outbreak of the two world wars, Italy was an ally of Germany.

And in the final outcome of the two world wars, Italy became Germany's enemy and stood on the side of the victors both times.

From this, one can see that Italy is very talented at picking sides. However, this also shows the unreliability of the Italian government, which is why, even though the Spanish royal family and the Italian royal family have a close relationship, Kaluo never counts on Italy.

After confirming that both France and Russia can hold on for a long time, Kaluo finally set his mind at ease and turned his attention to the various research and development projects he had previously instructed.