Chapter 392 Only cooperation has a chance
After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, Japan relied on the compensation from the Qing Empire to improve its industrialization level, and indeed achieved certain results.
Japan’s industrial foundation is very weak and it has too much work to make up for. Although the Qing Empire paid a lot of compensation, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to industrialization.
The more serious problem is that Japan has seriously underestimated the cost of its navy, and has reached the point where it has to demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall.
A large part of the indemnity Japan received from the Qing Empire was used to repay British loans. Later, it continued to order warships from Britain. After all, there was not much left.
Although the Sixty-sixth Fleet has been established, Japan is overwhelmed by the maintenance costs of the fleet.
Japan itself is seriously short of resources, and even the coal used for warships must be purchased from abroad.
Japan's military expenditures are tight. In order to save money, the navy has even used artillery shells for training to the extent that it needs to be used sparingly.
If this situation continues, let alone the purchase of new ships, if there cannot be another Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy may have to mobilize their families to go overseas to sell what they want.
Except for the Qing Empire, the countries in East Asia that can bring Japan back are all European and American powers.
The Qing Empire had just been robbed of 230 million by Japan, and had been blackmailed by the Allied Forces for 450 million. Its blood had been drained, and there was not much money to be squeezed out in a short time.
Going south, the Philippines and East India are too far and beyond the combat range of the Sixty-Sixth Fleet.
So whether Japan wants it or not, the Russian Empire is Japan's only hope.
But compared to the Russian Empire, Japan was too weak, and its hope of victory was extremely slim.
In mid-December, Japan received US$15 million from the United States through Schiff.
The money was obtained in the form of treasury bonds, totaling US$20 million, and the sales cost was as high as 25% -
It was incredible to George that the Japanese could accept such a high cost.
It was freezing and snowy again in Amur in December. In a hotel next to Peter the Great Bay, Hector, a graduate of St. Petersburg University, and several of his friends were helpless.
Hektor's mission is to mobilize Amur workers to safeguard their own rights, preferably in the form of riots, to overthrow Grand Duke Yuriev's high-pressure rule of Amur.
What Hector did not expect was that the situation of Amur workers and St. Petersburg workers was completely different. They had no dissatisfaction with the rule of Grand Duke Yuriev.
Hector entered the Vladivostok Shipyard as an apprentice and just expressed his dissatisfaction with the Vladivostok City Government, which aroused the vigilance of the workers.
If Hector hadn't run quickly when he saw the situation was bad, Hector wouldn't have known he was digging in that ravine at this moment.
“Workers here can get high wages, enjoy high benefits, and have no dissatisfaction with work and life. Compared with going on strike, they are more willing to improve their skills and get higher wages——”
Hector still felt frightened when he thought about the situation that day.
“To be honest, I’m a little envious of the workers in Amur. As long as they work hard, they can live a good life. Isn’t this what we have always been pursuing?”
Kirill, who is from Moscow, is confused about the future.
“Brothers, this just proves the insidiousness of Grand Duke Yuriev. The workers here were deceived by Grand Duke Yuriev. They can obviously get higher income, but they are satisfied with the status quo. Their How much is the salary, and how much money does Grand Duke Yuriev have? This is not fair!”
Navas from Spain is not discouraged. The more difficult the task, the greater the reward.
Hektor subconsciously felt that what Navas said was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute it.
“Brothers, I found evidence of Grand Duke Yuriev’s crime——”
Dezny from Constantinople was excited.
“St. Petersburg stipulates that all farmers who immigrate to Siberia can get 100 acres of land. This rule is not resolutely implemented in Amur, especially in Vladivostok. You know that the land here is How expensive is it? In Peter the Great Bay where we are located, one acre of land costs at least 15,000 rubles——"
The information provided by Dezny surprised Hector and Kirill.
Nowadays, the average annual income of Russian civilians is only about 100 rubles.
15,000 per mu of land——
Land in St. Petersburg is not that expensive.
"This is normal. The land here is not used for farming, but sold to the aristocracy to build residences. You can't buy it even if you have money. You must have social status." Someone who came to Amur earlier. Sorokin understands the situation better.
“Whatever the reason is, since the farmers here have not received land, we can mobilize the farmers here——”
Dezny hasn’t said anything yet At the end, the door was suddenly kicked open, and several policemen rushed in. Just as Dezny was about to resist, a policeman hit him directly on the neck with a baton and fell to the ground.
"Sit still and don't move, otherwise we will tear you apart and feed you to the dogs!"
The leader of the team, Bilov, is a member of Asbo.
Hektor did not resist. He was tied up, put on a hood, and roughly stuffed into the car. He was swaying for who knows how long, and he didn’t know where he was taken.
It was already three days later when I saw Bilov again.
"Heila, your father is a tax collector and an imperial noble. Why do you hang out with those people?"
Bilov hopes to find the backers behind Hector and the others.
Hector was tied to a chair and unable to move.
There is a brazier in the room and the temperature is okay.
There were faint screams and pleas outside.
Bilov opened the small window on the iron door and shouted outside: "Quiet!"
It was finally quiet.
“For the ideal!”
Hector is confident.
Bilov laughed loudly, casually took out a red-hot triangular iron from the brazier, shook it in front of Hector's face and put it back.
"You are really stupid. Both Navas and Dezny are paid, did you know?"
Hector was stunned by Bilov's words.
Hector thought he was showing up for his ideals, so not only did he receive no salary, he also donated a lot of money to their small organization.
“Tell me, how do you know Navas——”
Bilov lit a cigarette and motioned to Hector.
Hector's expression was dull and showed no reaction.
"Do you know where this is?"
Hector shook his head.
"This is the Asbo base in the Stanov Mountains. If you don't tell the truth, I can guarantee that you will stay here forever."
Bilov put up a stick The expression on his fingers was cold and cruel.
“My time is very limited and I can’t waste it on you. You only have this chance. If you don’t have anything to say, then after a year, I may think of you—if then If you are still alive.”
Hector was silent.
Just when Birov's patience was about to run out, Hector spoke with difficulty.
“I met Navas at a party——”
That’s right, there is a chance for cooperation.
(End of this chapter)