Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 533 Class Struggle
"Your Majesty, Russian rebels stormed the Winter Palace and the government building yesterday, arresting Russian ministers and several generals. These rebels are now conducting a large-scale manhunt for Tsar Nicholas II and members of the Russian royal family. Russia has changed hands." In the Royal Palace of Madrid, the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, Cadil, delivered this devastating news to Carlo with a grave expression.

Upon hearing this, Carlo nodded, his expression remaining unchanged, and said calmly, "Russia would have this day sooner or later; the end of the Tsar's rule is an inevitable consequence of the times."

"What about the Russian government? Will the Russian troops on the front lines be redeployed?" Carlo asked.

Frankly speaking, Carlo didn't care about the fate of Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family. What Carlo cared about was whether the situation on the Russian front would be affected, and whether the morale of the millions of troops on the Russian front would collapse as a result.

"After the revolutionaries arrested many ministers and officers of the Tsarist government, the Tsarist government and the Russian Supreme Command were effectively defunct."

However, according to Russian sources, Tsar Nicholas II seems intent on mobilizing troops to reinforce St. Petersburg in suppressing the rebellion. It is said that disagreements have arisen within the revolutionary party regarding the Tsar's fate, and the internal turmoil in Russia may continue for a long time until the two sides resolve their differences or one side is dealt with. Director Kadir provided a detailed account of the internal situation in Russia, daring not to conceal or omit anything.

Carlo nodded, having anticipated Nicholas II's actions.

For Nicholas II, he certainly didn't want the Russian imperial rule to end. Although doing so wouldn't completely solve Russia's internal problems, it was better to put on a final stand and fight for that last glimmer of hope than to surrender.

While it's understandable, the changes on the Eastern Front caused by the troop movements of Russia still need to be prevented in advance.

The good news is that Austria-Hungary is currently engaged in secret negotiations with the Entente Powers. Austria-Hungary certainly does not want to fight anymore. If Russia persists for a while longer, and the Entente Powers and Austria-Hungary reach a peace agreement, the Entente Powers can properly resolve the situation on the Eastern Front.

With that in mind, Carlo no longer hesitated and immediately issued the order: "Let our intelligence agents in Russia take action to ensure the safety of Tsar Nicholas II and his family as much as possible."

If the internal situation in Russia cannot be salvaged, the Russian imperial family will be transferred to Romania.

Preserving Tsar Nicholas II was still very important to Carlo. Although the current Tsarist government was destined to be overthrown by the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries were not monolithic.

The Russian Revolutionary Party can be divided into two major forces: one is the workers' union that organizes demonstrations and plans armed uprisings, and the other is the moderate revolutionary party composed of the bourgeoisie and some bureaucrats.

Compared to the workers' union, which planned to completely overthrow the Tsarist government and rebuild everything in Russia from scratch, the moderate revolutionaries were not so extreme.

After all, if the uprising planned by the workers' union were to proceed as planned, these moderate revolutionaries who had already gained some power would also be subject to revolution.

For this reason, the moderate revolutionary party, composed of capitalists and bureaucrats, feared the proletarian revolution even more than the reactionaries of the Tsarist government.

This is also why Tsar Nicholas II remained unharmed after the armed uprising led by the Russian revolutionaries occupied the Winter Palace and the Tsarist government.

If history had followed its course, the workers' union would have defeated the moderate revolutionaries, and Russia would have embarked on a revolution that would have completely overturned the existing situation.

But this is not the situation Carlo wanted to see. A fully unified Russia that had been completely overthrown and rebuilt would have comprehensive strength that European countries could hardly match.

Carlo knew that Spain, facing the Second World War, would have little energy to attend to the Russian revolution and its future development.

If Russia had truly been given significant room for development during the two World Wars, then what awaited Spain in the future would have been a superpower comparable to the United States in later generations.

Rather than watching Russia grow stronger, it would be better to let this vast empire fall apart before it is even established.

The internal contradictions within the revolutionary party presented a major opportunity, as did the legitimacy of the Tsarist family's rule.

Although most of the Russian people were extremely dissatisfied and angry with the Tsar's corrupt rule, not everyone opposed the Tsar; at least some people still had some affection for the Tsar's rule.

If a cooperation between the Tsar and the moderate revolutionaries could be facilitated, transforming Russia into a constitutional monarchy to counter the new Russia soon to be formed by the workers' union, then the future situation in Russia would not be so dire.

Spain only needs to support one side to ensure that Russia never unifies, thus avoiding the threat posed by a strong and unified Russia.

Carlo certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by, which is why he decided to protect Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family.

Upon receiving Carlo's order, the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Service, Kadir, did not hesitate at all, nor did he even ask Carlo why he had given such an order.

He nodded decisively and replied, "I understand, Your Majesty. If the situation in Russia can still be salvaged, I will do my best to ensure the safety of Tsar Nicholas II and his family."

If the situation in Russia becomes beyond saving, I will immediately relocate the Russian imperial family to ensure they are not persecuted by the revolutionaries.

This is actually why Carlo is quite satisfied with Cadir, the head of the Royal Security Intelligence Service. Carlo needs people who can execute orders without question and don't need their subordinates to question his commands.

Since the goal is to induce a split within Russia, it is necessary to save the government formed by the moderate revolutionaries and ensure that the Russian provisional government is not overthrown by the workers' union.

This is quite important. If the new Russian government formed by the workers' union gains power, even if Tsar Nicholas II and the moderate revolutionaries unite, they will not be able to contend with such a powerful force.

Only by fostering a split in Russia before the workers' union has grown can the situation within Russia be kept under control.

To achieve this, in addition to Carlo and Spain's strategy, support from France and Italy is also necessary.

Russia has now collapsed, and France and Italy have become Spain's two most important allies. Although the United States also plans to join the Entente, Carlos is extremely wary of the US and will not reveal his plans for Russia to the US until they are successful.

At Carlo's call, Spain, France, and Italy convened a meeting in Madrid, ostensibly a routine meeting of the Entente powers, but in reality, to discuss the impact of the situation in Russia and how the Entente should deal with the internal turmoil in Russia.

Because it was Carlo who invited the French and Italian governments, both countries attached great importance to the meeting. France sent its prime minister to participate, and Italy also sent its prime minister.

Soon, diplomatic representatives from France and Italy arrived in Madrid, and Carlo summoned them, explaining the purpose of his invitation.

France and Italy are quite interested in the internal situation in Russia that Carlo mentioned. This is partly because the situation in Russia is related to the situation on the Eastern Front, and partly because Russia's future trajectory could potentially influence the whole of Europe.

Although Russia lost its status as a superpower due to its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, it still holds a middle-to-upper-class position among the world's eight major powers, and its discussions with superpowers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Spain have always been ongoing.

Faced with turmoil within such an important country, the French and Italian governments were naturally paying close attention. They also had their own intelligence sources, but compared to the long-standing development of Spanish intelligence agencies, they were clearly somewhat lacking.

After detailing the current situation in Russia, Carlo slowly revealed his proposal to support the moderate revolutionaries within the Russian Revolutionary Party in order to counter the more radical workers' alliance.

After listening to Carlo's entire plan, French Prime Minister Aristide Briand and Italian Prime Minister Antonio Sarandella did not rush to reply, but each remained silent for a moment.

Then, French Prime Minister Aristide Briand spoke first, asking: "Your Majesty Carlo, if we are to support the moderate revolutionaries in the Russian Revolutionary Party to fight against the radical workers' alliance, does that mean that our three countries will have to send a large number of troops?"
If that's the case, I think we should consider this carefully. If our intervention forces the workers' alliance to side with the Central Powers, we will not only completely lose Russia as an ally, but we might even put a future Russia on the opposite side of the Entente.

French Prime Minister Aristide Briand's concerns are not unreasonable. After all, Russia has committed so much military, human, and material resources to the war, and even if the workers' union eventually gains power in Russia, they are unlikely to side with the Central Powers. However, if the Allied Powers forcibly intervene in the internal situation of Russia and force the workers' union to side with the Central Powers, it would clearly be a losing proposition.

The new Russia, especially after reforming its corrupt and bloated bureaucracy, is far more powerful than the Russia of today.

French Prime Minister Aristide Briand's stance was actually quite simple: the current Allied Powers had no need to provoke such an enemy.

Instead of worrying about Russia's internal situation, it would be better to prioritize winning this world war before turning the guns around.

After all, a world war would only last for a year or two at most, and Russia wouldn't be able to cause much trouble during that time.

Waiting until the Allied Powers are free to deal with Russia might not be a bad solution.

Seeing the somewhat hesitant French Prime Minister Aristide Briand, Carlo smiled and said, "Mr. Aristide, you're overcomplicating things."

Even if the workers' union learns that we have interfered in the situation in Russia, what can they do? They are unlikely to side with the Allies until they have fully taken control of the Russian government.

We only need to provide some support to the moderate revolutionaries and supply them with some materials to ensure that they are not defeated by the workers' union, and we can sit back and watch the two Russian governments fight each other.

Germany and Britain are also highly unlikely to support the workers' union, as they are well aware of the uproar such an extreme revolutionary force would cause in Europe.

Aristide Briand's concerns are not without merit, but what Carlo said is also quite possible.

European countries were certainly hostile towards radical revolutionary parties like the Russian Workers' Union.

Just as Europe united against revolutionary France, if the workers' union seized power in Russia, the European monarchies would likely unite to resist the ideological invasion of revolutionary Russia.

This is no longer a matter of stance on a world war, but a clash of class consciousness between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, between monarchy and radical republic.

The conflict between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers could be alleviated through the redistribution of interests. However, the conflict between classes was fundamentally irreconcilable; the two sides remained mortal enemies and could never change their positions.

This is precisely why Carlo believed that the Russian workers' union was unlikely to receive support from Britain and Germany.

If Britain and Germany truly disregard the class contradictions and insist on supporting the Russian workers' union, then Carlo can only demonstrate to Europe just how powerful Russia, ruled by the workers' union, truly is.

In any case, Russia is located at the easternmost point of Europe, and Spain at the westernmost point. No matter how the situation in Russia develops, it will not pose a threat to Spain.

Before French Prime Minister Aristide Briand could speak, Italian Prime Minister Antonio Sarandella responded impatiently: "I think His Majesty Carlo is right. There is an irreconcilable class contradiction between the Russian workers' union and us."

I believe that Britain and Germany can see this as well. If they support the workers' union despite class contradictions, it only shows that the current war situation has made Britain and Germany afraid, which is actually good news for us.

Furthermore, even if Britain and Germany support the workers' union, we can still confront Britain and Germany within Russia by supporting moderate revolutionaries.

As long as the workers' union doesn't take control of all of Russia, the situation in Russia will always remain under our control.

Compared to France, which was less willing to participate in Eastern European affairs, Italy was quite interested in intervening in Russia.

The reason is simple: Italy did not want to see a unified Russia. Although both were major powers, Russia's overall strength far surpassed that of Italy.

Once Russia completes its unification after the revolution, its overall strength will far surpass that of pre-revolutionary Russia, and it will overwhelmingly dominate Italy.

It is well known that Italy has always harbored ambitions for the Balkans. After the Allied victory, Russia was the only power capable of threatening Italy's position in the distribution of interests in the Balkans.

The division of Russia is certainly good news for Italy. It not only means that Russia will be unable to attend to the situation in the Balkans, but also that Italy can gain more benefits in the future Russian civil war.

The sale of weapons and other supplies alone was enough to make Italy a fortune. In addition, there were no great powers around the Balkans that could stop Italy's expansion. This was a dream situation for Italy, like paradise.

Italian Prime Minister Antonio Sarandra's proactive statement served as the best form of persuasion for French Prime Minister Aristide Briand.

Although the French are reluctant to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia, they cannot remain indifferent, given that their two major allies, Spain and Italy, both want to curb the expansion of the Russian workers' union.

Furthermore, even if the Romanov family's rule is overthrown, there are still many interests within Russia that can be exploited.

After all, Russia is the only country in Europe with a population of over 100 million, and it also possesses abundant mineral resources. For France, Spain, and Italy, which had just experienced World War I, Russia was undoubtedly an excellent complement.

Especially after the Romanov family's rule was overthrown, whether the moderate revolutionary bourgeoisie or the proletariat of the workers' alliance took control of the government, Russia would no longer be Tsarist Russia.

Since it was no longer Tsarist Russia, Russia was naturally no longer an ally of France, Spain, and Italy.

If the war can be won, losing one ally would actually be a good thing for France.

This also means that there will be one less country to divide the spoils of the defeated nations after the war. Especially given Russia's enormous sacrifices, Russia's voluntary withdrawal will allow France to receive a larger share of the spoils, enabling France to better make up for the losses caused by the war.

With that in mind, French Prime Minister Aristide Briand no longer hesitated and said with a smile, "Well, Your Majesty Carlo, you have convinced me."

Regardless, radical workers' unions have always been the enemy of all European countries. In order to prevent this radical ideology from spreading throughout Europe, I believe it is necessary to intervene to some extent in the situation in Russia and help a more moderate bourgeoisie, who are more beneficial to the Russian people, to take control of the Russian government.

But all of this is predicated on the Russian bourgeoisie needing to control Russia through their own power, not through us.

France has already paid too high a price in this war, and we are in no condition to send any more troops to Russia, at least not until the war is over.

Carlo had anticipated the French attitude.

However, this was enough, since the primary task at present was still to win the world war. Carlo's plan was merely to help the Russian bourgeoisie hold out longer, to drag the war out until the Allied Powers had enough resources to send troops to support them, rather than engaging in a decisive battle with the workers' union now.

Upon hearing French Prime Minister Aristide Briand's reply, Carlo smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course. Our primary task now is to win this war, and the first step is to withdraw Austria-Hungary from this war through peaceful negotiations."

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(End of this chapter)