It wasn't that Volenzov was useless. It was entirely because Russia's industrial and economic strength had always been at the bottom among the great powers.
In the Great European War, although Russia was the victorious country, it was schemed against by the beautiful countries of Great Britain and France. It almost single-handedly held back Germany on the Western Front battlefield, causing huge losses and making the already sluggish economy even worse.
What disappointed Russia was that after the war ended, the beautiful countries of Great Britain and France divided the fruits of victory, leaving the scarred Russia with nothing.
This was also due to the incompetence of the reigning Queen Anna, who allowed her irascible lover, Biron, who was good at running amok, to manage the country, causing Russia to suffer huge losses.
After Queen Elizabeth came to power, she made drastic reforms, formulated a five-year development plan, and invested heavily in education, heavy industry, and agriculture. This allowed Russia's industrial economic strength to rise steadily, quickly surpassing Italy, Holland, and Spain, becoming the world's seventh largest industrial power.
However, with the outbreak of the economic crisis, the wise and diligent Queen Elizabeth died unexpectedly, and the stupid and willful Peter ascended the throne. A series of wrong government decrees almost ignited a nationwide uprising of workers and peasants.
Fortunately, Empress Catherine stood up and stabilized the situation. She took the opportunity to eradicate the aristocrats and the landlord class. She implemented policies that were supported by all the citizens and created a brand new Russian Empire.
In the new Russian Empire, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and all walks of life flourished. It could be foreseen that the future Russian Empire would definitely become incomparably powerful.
However, the civil strife caused the economy to almost collapse. After the agricultural reform, time was needed to buffer before the goal of rapid growth could be achieved.
It was the same for business. It would take at least two to three years to recover.
Volenzov also agreed with Qin Jun's analysis.
The dark clouds of war were already gathering. How could there be time for Russia to slowly develop?
Compromise might be a wise choice!
Because only when the country was strong could they gain benefits in the future war that would determine world hegemony.
Volenzov understood and looked at the queen with admiration.
As expected, the Empress was wise and mighty! Who am I to question him?
"Your Majesty, I agree with your decision!”
As soon as Voluntsov finished speaking, Olavec, Voroshilov, and Yenivsky raised their hands at the same time to show that they supported any decision of the Empress.
Seeing that the most senior of them all had no objections, what else could the other ministers say?
Moreover, even if he had an opinion, it wouldn't change anything.
According to the new constitution of the Empire, the decree proposed by the Emperor would be unanimously approved by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Military Affairs, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, the Minister of Finance, and the five heads of the cabinet.
If you jump out to oppose at this time, wouldn't you be asking for a snub?
Qin Jun, who was observing everyone's expressions from the side, was very satisfied. He secretly gave Catherine, who was pretending to be noble and cold, a "well done" look.
Catherine's face was expressionless after receiving the praise, but she was cheering in her heart, like a kindergarten girl who had just received candy.
"Since no one is against it, Qin, write the plan for the establishment of the North Industries Group as soon as possible and submit it to the cabinet for approval and signature.”
Qin Jun stood up and bowed slightly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please rest assured that you will be able to see the complete and detailed plan within three days.”
After discussing the establishment of the Northern Industries Group, Catherine asked,"Is there anything else? If there's nothing else, let's end the meeting!"
"Yes!"
Foreign Minister Abramovich raised his hand.
" Your Majesty, the Qing Emperor has sent you an invitation to visit the Qing Kingdom in half a month to attend his 36th birthday…"
Catherine was speechless.
Qin Jun was speechless.
Everyone was speechless.
Was Qianlong still sleeping? He actually had such a daydream.
They were both emperors of great countries, but the Russian Emperor had a much higher status than the Qing Emperor.
Although Russia's industrial and economic strength was at the bottom among the big powers, it was much stronger than the Qing Dynasty. The royal family of the Qing Dynasty was almost a puppet supported by the beautiful countries of Great Britain and France. They usually had to do things according to the eyes of these three big powers. They were so cowardly that the world looked down on them.
Did Qianlong have the right to let the Russian Empress personally come to the Qing Kingdom to celebrate your birthday?
No!
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Volentsov, was the first to raise his hand in opposition.
"No, I don't agree!"
"Uh…that, in order to invite His Majesty to visit the Qing Kingdom, Qianlong was willing to open up trade and allow Russia to enjoy the same treatment as the beautiful countries of Great Britain and France.”
What?
As soon as he said that, everyone was stunned. The meeting room was instantly silent.
Because the second trade war had ended, Great Britain, France, and Germany joined forces and forced the Qing Kingdom to sign the Yanjing treaty.
The treaty stipulated that the Qing customs would be managed by the four countries.
What did this mean? It meant that the four countries had joined forces to divide the Qing market. The goods of other countries could not enter the Qing country. They completely used the Qing country as a dumping ground for industrial and agricultural products. They exploited the Qing people crazily and plundered the Qing country's resources.
After the end of the European War, Germany was defeated, and the four countries became three countries. In order to make up for the losses in the war, the beautiful countries, Great Britain, and France squeezed the Qing Kingdom even more wantonly, indirectly causing millions of Qing people to die from famine, plague, and war.
Using the flesh and blood of the Qing people to feed the three bandits, one could imagine how cruel and shameless it was!
After a long silence, Catherine asked,""Why?"
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, it should be due to the economic crisis. The beautiful country of Great Britain and France has suffered heavy losses, and its influence in the mute continent has greatly decreased.”
"The Wei Nation, which is next to the Qing Kingdom, also took this opportunity to shift the domestic conflicts caused by the economic crisis and prepare to launch a war against the Qing Kingdom.”
" The beautiful country of Great Britain and France is too far away from the Qing Kingdom. It's beyond Qianlong's reach. The only one he can ask for help from is us, Tsarist Russia. That's why…"
He understood!
So that was how it was!
After knowing the cause and effect, everyone was enlightened and instantly became excited.
The Qing Kingdom bordered Russia and was also a large country with a population of more than 100 million.
Having a supermarket like the Qing Kingdom was definitely a good thing for Russia, which did not have a colony to dump its goods.
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