Chapter 491: The Russian Rescue Plan

The current German-French battlefield is definitely the most intense battlefield in all of Europe, but what Gao Da is currently worried about is not France, but the passively defending Russia.

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

In contrast, on the German-French side, large-scale battles like the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of the Aisne, and the Battle of Alsace have casualties commonly reaching hundreds of thousands; the scale of casualties in any random battle is comparable to or even exceeds the Battle of Tannenberg.

Judging by Russia's population, the current Russia should still be at full health; 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?

According to intelligence gathered by the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency, although the current Russia has no risk of collapse, 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 that easy.

Although the current Tsarist government is still ruled by the dictatorship of Tsar Nicholas II, outside the Tsarist government, a large number of Russian citizens are not very 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.

But 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, it still did not touch the root.

Compared to other European countries, Russia has had too many wars in the last few decades, and every war was basically 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 Russia has participated in over the last few decades.

Among these wars, except for the Russo-Turkish War where they fought the Ottoman Empire to a standstill, Russia was the loser in all the others.

The Russian army has been defeated repeatedly, and 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; the public's dissatisfaction with the government and the Tsar has intensified, and the conflict between the two sides has even become irreconcilable.

Regarding the situation inside Russia, Gao Da is quite clear. Regardless of whether the World War was advanced, the rule of Russia has actually reached a dead end.

Even if Russia had a reformist monarch with a firm hand at this time, it would likely be unable to save Russia, which has already sounded its final horn.

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

Gao Da specifically ordered the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency to secretly protect Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. This man, hailed in later generations as one of the greatest statesmen in Russian history and the second greatest Russian, is the only savior of Russia at present.

Under the protection of the Spanish Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin successfully escaped an assassination attempt by the Socialist Revolutionaries, thereby indirectly changing history.

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

The reason Gao Da attaches such importance to this Russian Prime Minister is also simple: he is highly wary of the new Russian government that will be established after Tsarist Russia.

This new Russian government is a rebirth for Russia; it will fully exert the advantages of Russia's vast territory and population, rebuilding Russia into a super-power.

Even if it develops as it did in history, this super-power would have a lifespan of nearly a hundred years. Gao Da does not want such a powerful country in Europe, where Spain is located. In its peak period, the future Russia could challenge the world policeman, the United States, after World War II.

Since Gao Da wants to prevent the United States from rising in the two World Wars as it did in history, he naturally must also guard against Russia establishing a super-empire capable of overturning the world through revolution, as it did in history.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin is the perfect candidate for Gao Da.

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 later, and there is even hope that it can be quickly suppressed when it does occur.

On the other hand, Stolypin's land reform can reduce the conflict between the peasants and the Tsarist government. As long as the Tsarist government can still obtain the support of the peasants, the threat of the revolutionary party will not be fatal.

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

In the worst-case scenario, even if the revolutionary party eventually gains power in Russia, the Tsarist government supported by Stolypin can still rely on the support of the vast number of peasants to continue to occupy the Eastern European and Northern European regions centered on Saint Petersburg, thus becoming a situation where Russia is divided into two.

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

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

In order to help Tsarist Russia linger on for a longer time, in addition to secretly protecting Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, Gao Da also specifically ordered the branches 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 comprehensive beating by the Central Powers. By then, even if Spain enters the war, it will have to pay huge casualties to defeat the joint forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Gao Da will not underestimate the current Germany; this is a super-empire that almost won even while fighting a two-front war.

The two World Wars in history have fully proven the combat effectiveness of the Germans; it is no exaggeration to say that if Germany had chosen 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 settlement of the two World Wars, Italy became Germany's enemy, and both times it stood on the side of the winners.

From this aspect, one can also see that Italy is very talented in choosing sides. However, this also shows the unreliability of the Italian government, which is also why, even though the Spanish royal family and the Italian royal family have a close relationship, Gao Da has never counted on Italy.

After confirming that France and Russia can still hold on for a long time, Gao Da completely set his mind at ease and began to care about the various research and development projects he had previously instructed. **CHAPTER 492: The Four Great Academies of Science**