Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

Around July 1866, Auguste, who had been catching fish for more than half a year, finally decided to get up and do something. She had nothing to do these days, thinking about how to exchange some junk for more money. Then do a little more studing in the future Franco-Prussian War.

But after all, she is not Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. She cannot squeeze money out of the people in any way. The current situation is not bad. There is no need to be so anxious about the development of military industry. Just take it slowly. The core idea is how to make money. When it comes to money, don’t think about how to sustainably drain it. If you do that kind of thing too much, you will lose your merit.

Just when she was thinking about who to torture next, August suddenly remembered, that so-and-so... Tsarist Russia, right? That old guy seems to still have some gold coins left to explode. As for Russia, this unlucky thing, there seems to be a good Feng Shui land in America.

It seems to be called Alaska. Speaking of August, it gets exciting. Alaska is the easternmost territory of Tsarist Russia. It is next to British Canada and across the sea from the United States below. Lilian has no time to spare now. If you want to use your hands to torture Tsarist Russia, then I, Prussia, can get involved.

August asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate with Tsarist Russia. What he basically meant was that your state of Alaska is so far away from the mainland, it is impractical to station troops, and there is not a large population there. The British don't want it, so it's useless for you to come. , why don't I, Prussia, be the unlucky guy and spend some money to buy this place from you?

Alexander II was not very willing at first. After all, the Russians' desire for territory is unlimited, unless it is cost-effective. After all, if you say this place is bad, it is indeed bad, but you don't have three hundred taels of silver here. ? What do you mean, is there any treasure in my land? Prussia wants it so much.

It’s okay, not only Alexander II didn’t understand it, but also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t understand it. They also felt that it was useless, so their response was, “His Royal Highness the Regent hopes to have a territory in the United States and help you share the burden from Britain. Pressure with the United States.

Alexander II was very confused by this. He also mentioned this matter in the Senate meeting. The ministers' opinions were biased towards selling to Prussia because they found that Prussia was very powerful and had great influence on the East. The territory is not of much interest, it is also a natural barrier between Tsarist Russia and France.

There were also intermarriages between the nobles of Tsarist Russia and major European countries. The relationship between Tsarist Russia and Prussia was also quite confusing. The mother of the contemporary Tsar Alexander II was a Prussian princess, although her relationship with Auguste was a bit distant. , but they all share the same ancestor. This blood relationship made Alexander II have a good attitude towards Prussia.

In addition, Auguste supported him in several of his reforms, which also made the relationship between Tsarist Russia and Prussia good. Now the relationship between Prussia and France has become very delicate, and it seems that there will be a fight at the slightest sign of trouble. look.

Alexander II also sensed an opportunity in this regard. If he could have a good relationship with Prussia, Prussia currently relies on imports for most of its food. France and Tsarist Russia are the two channels for Prussia's imports. If Alexander II could bring Prussia to his side, Drag and isolate France, so that you can get more foreign exchange, and you can use this extra money to build a stronger army.

Pawar, chairman of the Council of Ministers, said to Alexander II, "Alaska is too far from Tsarist Russia and there is no room for development. Since His Highness Augustus favors this land, it is better to sell it to Prussia at a friendly price. In this way, we just lose A piece of useless territory has been replaced by an ally with great potential, and if we don’t take action, it will most likely be occupied by the British later on.”

Alexander II thought for a moment, "It seems to make some sense, but do you want to stop thinking about it?"

Minister: "Yes, we should ask about the price. It has to be higher."

Alexander II: "I want to say that we should consider whether to sell it?"

Minister: "Why has your Majesty already decided on the price?"

In short, after repeated considerations, Alexander II decided to personally invite August to the Winter Palace to discuss the price. Although this invitation seemed to have impure motives, August could be said to covet Alaska very much, even if he couldn't control it in the future. , then it would be better to be independent than to be merged into the United States. August did not want the United States to get this place.

This is not a barren land in the eyes of Tsarist Russia, where dogs don’t even come. It is the second oil-producing area in the United States, with a large amount of oil and natural gas. It can be said that the United States made a fortune when it bought this land. At first, the United States just hoped that this land would not be occupied by the British.

OTL's Tsarist Russia singled it out and wanted to sell it. In order to prevent other countries from going to America to cause trouble, the United States simply gave it to others rather than giving it to itself. If you suffer some losses, you will suffer some losses. They spent some money to buy this place, but It’s not very expensive, so the United States doesn’t actually think it’s a big deal.

It was only later that I discovered that this place was a treasure, and it was also a base for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Its importance was self-evident. August judged that although Alexander II did not want to sell it now, it would probably not be able to replenish its capital by next year. Want to sell.

But it is actually a bit of a loss to buy now, but August is really a little anxious. After all, this place is even more valuable than Malaya.

For this reason, August decided to go to Tsarist Russia in person to negotiate for Alaska. To this end, she brought Lister and a few people from the bank. Of course, the development of Tsarist Russia was not very good. August Especially if you don’t want to travel a long distance in a carriage, you might as well take a boat and show off your muscles.

Thinking of this, August boarded the newly developed large ship of the Prussian Navy, which was also a battleship, but this one was much more formal than the previous one. After all, Victoria sold it to Prussia at a low price. Can it be legal?

The Prussian Navy now has a total of nearly [-] ships, half of which were purchased at low prices from British clearance sales. To be honest, this scale is quite good in the Mediterranean, but compared with its next-door neighbor France, it is still Not even close.

However, August’s enthusiasm for the navy was only second or third in the world. For Prussia and later Germany, the army was definitely more important. Although August was not interested in the world’s number one navy, he I am still very interested in the world's number one army.

In order for the future war machine to be able to operate, August must capture Alaska, so that a steady stream of fuel can be injected into the future German war machine.