Struggle in Russia - Vol 3 Chapter 755

Nicholas I did not understand the strategic purpose of Britain and France from the beginning, and it is not surprising that he made a wrong judgment. Fortunately, Russia is not without smart people. Whether it is Li Xiao, the traveler, or Kornilov and Nakhimov, they all know that Britain and France have only one goal, and that is Sevastopol.

Therefore, after receiving information that Britain and France were preparing to forcibly break through the mine blockade, they were actively preparing. The aforementioned evacuation of the main Black Sea Fleet to the Sea of ​​Azov is one of the strategies.

Don’t think it’s easy, because the Sea of ​​Azov really isn’t a good place. Although Peter the Great formed the navy from here and gradually dominated the Black Sea. However, the enclosed water depth around the Sea of ​​Azov is very shallow, and it is not suitable for large ships and fleet activities at all.

The Kerch Strait at the mouth of the sea is less than five kilometers wide, and such a big gap is really easy to be blocked. If it weren’t for the Black Sea Fleet, there was really no way, and sincerity would not have avoided this end.

Of course, the closed environment is not suitable for fleets and large ships.

Kornilov not only evacuated the fleet, but also greatly strengthened the fortifications of Sevastopol. Let’s just say that the project continued on the day the combined British and French fleet shelled Sevastopol.

When the British and French fleets withdrew, the workers picked up hammers and shovels to continue construction, without a moment’s rest.

“Speed ​​up, let the naval infantry also go up to help if necessary, and be sure to fully complete the Sevastopol defense project before the enemy attacks!”

Kornilov’s so-called defense project is to build Sevastopol into an airtight fortress group. He will use stone and concrete to build a fortress. As long as the British and French forces dare to come, he will break their mouths. good teeth.

“The concrete sent by Your Excellency the Archduke and Governor Speransky is very useful,” Nakhimov sighed sincerely: “It has greatly saved the construction time. Without these, we are still a mess!”

Russia’s backwardness is evident at this moment. Concrete was invented by the British in 1796, but Russia could not produce it by itself until 1853.

If Li Xiao wants to build infrastructure, it is naturally impossible not to use cement. Originally, the technical content of this thing is not particularly high, not to mention that the British invented Portland cement in 1824, as long as it is not copied.

So Li Xiao built a concrete processing plant in Crimea and Wallachia, and the high-quality cement produced was completely digested by the war. Even Duke Mikhail and Kornilov kept urging him to open a branch, because their thirst for cement was simply insatiable.

A little bit of broken steel and cement can be mixed to build a solid fortress. At most, add some pebbles to it. Isn’t this faster than finding stones to build a fortress all over the mountains and plains?

After all, it takes too much man-hours from mining to transportation to construction of stones, and it is really difficult for those who do not have mines at home.

Kornilov sighed: “Concrete is good or not, but there is still a gap in defense compared to masonry (the quality of concrete in those days was not as good as the latter), and it is still slightly vulnerable in the face of heavy artillery strikes by the enemy. .If only there were better quality concrete!”

Nakhimov was speechless. He felt that Kornilov was just a little dissatisfied. The concrete currently used is not easy to come by. If Li Xiaoli hadn’t built a factory out of the crowd, they could only look at the stone and worry about it!

As for concrete with better performance, he also wants to use it, but this thing requires technical research and development and requires money investment, and you don’t pay for research and development expenses, why should people care about you!

Not to mention, isn’t better concrete more expensive? When you can’t use it, you should have a big head!

Nakhimov snorted and changed the topic: “The top priority is to speed up the progress of the project. Looking at the movements of the British and French allied forces, it is estimated that a landing operation will soon be launched. We must get ahead of them to consolidate fortifications and hoard materials. !”

Kornilov felt more and more headaches, because he was not very worried about consolidating the fortifications, but hoarding supplies would cost him his life.

First of all, hoarding materials costs money, but the current state of the country’s financial situation is there, not ordinary financial constraints. It is almost impossible to open up the hoarding of supplies.

All Kornilov can do is to find ways to stock up on food and medicines. The prices of these two things are rising every day. If they don’t start quickly, they really can’t afford them.

“The price of this **** food is about to break through the sky,” he scolded through gritted teeth. “Those **** vampires only know how to take advantage of the fire, so they should be pulled out and shot!”

The so-called vampires naturally refer to conservative aristocrats. Each of these people has a large area of ​​land and serfs, and they live by farming and selling food.

Seeing that the scale of the war is getting bigger and bigger, and the demand for food is getting stronger and stronger, it is crazy to raise the price.

This is still for the military, and the price of food among the people is even more exaggerated. The serfs in many places have already started uprisings because they cannot survive, and if this continues, sooner or later the world will be in chaos.

What’s irritating is that Nicholas I turned a blind eye to this and didn’t take it seriously. Apart from sending troops to suppress the serfs, he didn’t even think about hitting those vampires in the past~www.mtlnovel.com~, making them more and more fearless.

Nakhimov sighed, because it would be of no use for him to fight for those serfs here. Nicholas I was as stubborn as a stone on certain issues, and there was no way to persuade him.

And he didn’t have the energy to persuade him, because the current Anglo-French coalition was enough of a headache for him.

“Bombardment again?”

He held up his binoculars and watched the Anglo-French fleet that was lined up in a single column across the coast of Sevastopol. If he expected it right, it was aimed at the battery. Are these **** really planning to land and storm Sevastopol? Pol?

Although he and Kornilov both judged that the goal of the British-French coalition was Sevastopol, it was a bit unexpected that people really dared to call at the door. After all, Sevastopol is not an ordinary place. This is a fortress that Russia has been operating for 50 years. How can it be conquered without heavy troops?

But now that the Anglo-French coalition forces have gathered a lot of troops on the Danube front line, are they still capable of deploying troops to besiege Siwaistopol? How many troops does it take?

Nakhimov was secretly frightened, and the crazy investment of Britain and France made him more and more optimistic about the prospect of war…