Struggle in Russia

Duke Mikhail knew very well how much Nicholas I had mobilized for this war. Except for the garrison troops in other directions, almost all the elite members of the Russian army gathered in his hands.

This 500,000-odd army is the basic base of Russia. No matter how many there are, it is extremely difficult to mobilize. Not only does it take time, but it also requires a lot of money.

But Russia lacks both of these, so we can’t find time to fill in the big pit of Wallachia in other strategic directions, right?

Duke Mikhail is well aware of how many unstable factors surround Russia. For example, Poland, for example, the Caucasus, if there were not hundreds of thousands of Russian troops guarding there, there would have been chaos there.

Once you choose to draw troops from these places, maybe the hole in Wallachia has not been filled, and the flames of war will be ignited again in Poland and the Caucasus. That would really be like playing whack-a-mole, pressing the gourd to float the gourd.

"The military strength in the country is very tense," Duke Mikhail said with difficulty. "Whether it is Poland or the Caucasus, there is no peace, and the army is needed."

Li Xiao actually understands this truth, but the most fatal situation right now is Turkey and Wallachia. If Russia fails here, the ending will definitely be very miserable.

"Poland can't move lightly, but the Caucasus area can still mobilize some troops, even if there are only 30,000 to 50,000 people!"

"In addition, the country can further mobilize. The current situation is even more severe than in 1812. Back then, we only had to face Napoleon's 500,000 troops, but now we have to deal with Turkey, the United Kingdom, the French coalition forces, and even our allies. Still holding back! To end the war decently, we only need one million troops, otherwise it won't work at all!"

Duke Mikhail was taken aback by the figure of one million, because it was difficult for him to imagine the concept of mobilizing one million troops. He used to think that five or six hundred thousand people could fight all over Europe, but now Li Xiao told him that one million people can hold the line of defense.

This gap is really too big!

Anyway, he couldn't open his mouth, and he didn't know how to ask Nicholas I for so many troops.

This naturally made Li Xiao very anxious, because the one million is really not his nonsense, in fact, he has no idea whether one million is enough, because Russia paid about 400,000 casualties in the Crimean War in history cost.

Just think about how many people have to be sent to the battlefield to fill in the pits with 400,000 casualties. After all, soldiers are human beings, not machines, and it is impossible to withstand a 50 to 60 percent casualty rate without collapsing.

Even if the gray cattle of Russia are stupider and honester,

Even if they can withstand a 50% casualty rate and continue to fight, then according to this ratio, the Russian army will have to mobilize at least 800,000 troops.

The problem is that the 700,000 to 800,000 Russian troops have been exhausted in history. If Li Xiao can accept the result in history, then naturally there is no need to do anything, just watch the Russian army collapse.

And he still wants to keep Wallachia and Moldavia now, which determines that Russia must increase its investment, and must be able to force Britain and France to accept Wallachia and Moldavia to maintain the status quo.

And this definitely requires performance on the battlefield to convince Britain and France, otherwise why would they show mercy to you?

Li Xiao still wanted to persuade Duke Mikhail a few more words, but Dmitry rushed ahead: "Duke, I personally think that Grand Duke Andrei's analysis is very reasonable. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us with the current strength Stabilize the current front, once Wallachia loses, the domestic opinion may be very strong!"

Duke Mikhail's heart skipped a beat immediately. He remembered that, as the commander of this war, if he not only failed to achieve a decent result, but also lost Wallachia, then he would be pushed to the forefront At that time, no matter whether it is the military or the nobles, I am afraid that everyone will shout and kill him, and his ending will be very miserable and desolate!

But what reason did he use to persuade Nicholas I to continue to increase investment? He knew the tsar so well, I am afraid that if he told Nicholas I that the current situation was very bad and that Wallachia might not be able to keep it, then Nicholas I might not believe it at all.

The current Nicholas I is still dreaming of forcing Turkey to surrender, and wants to win a few big victories!

You let him accept failure and let him accept failure?

Impossible!

Duke Mikhail was still hesitating, and Alexey also persuaded him: "Duke, the situation is extremely urgent now, and there is no need to hesitate any longer. Even being taught a lesson by His Majesty now is less of a responsibility than losing Wallachia!"

Duke Mikhail smiled wryly: "The problem is that His Majesty will never believe that the situation has reached such an out-of-control situation! He still counts on victory!"

Li Xiao snorted coldly and said: "Then you tell him that the troops are not enough and more troops are needed to win the battle, otherwise we can only switch to a comprehensive defense, because the Turks have mobilized the whole country to invade Wallachia!"

Well?

Duke Mikhail was a little dumbfounded, because this was a trick, but even if Nicholas I sent him more troops, he would not be able to annihilate the Turks. Now the enemies on the battlefield are grouped together and cannot be eaten at all. OK.

Li Xiao said contemptuously, "I'll talk about whether you can eat or not. First, trick the reinforcements over. After a while, His Majesty will always see the reality clearly. Even if you don't win the battle, he will understand!"

Duke Mikhail was immediately rendered speechless. Although it was a bit of a thing to do this, it seemed that this was the only way to do it. It was better than doing nothing but staring and being wasted to death!

After thinking for a long time, he sighed and said, "This is the only way to do it for now!"

However, Li Xiao knows that it is not enough to just do these things, because the future situation will become worse day by day, and he must be mentally prepared from now on, otherwise he will be crushed by despair in the future!

"What I'm most worried about now is the situation of the Black Sea Fleet. I don't know if they have completely closed the Bosporus Strait as planned!"

Alexei also sighed: "I hope General Kornilov and General Nasimov can do it. At least for the time being, we haven't heard the news of the British and French fleet entering the Black Sea, otherwise we will be even more passive!"

In fact, Li Xiao doesn't think so. Although closing the Bosporus is beneficial to Russia's overall situation, it is not necessarily beneficial to Wallachia.

The inability to pass through the strait is likely to force Britain and France to deploy their troops in Bulgaria, which is tantamount to increasing the pressure on the front line of Wallachia. On the contrary, if they can pass through the strait, I am afraid that they will go to Sevastopol to meet their heads like in history, right?