Russian preparation (July-October, 1866)
Diplomacy]
Negotiations for a Franco-Russian punitive expedition started in July, Emperor Alexander III was simply thinking of obtaining the French Chassepots rifles.
Any type of naval or technical aid was out of the question.
It turns out that the operation was mainly led by the French consul in China, Henri de Bellonet, but he and Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze did not have the same diplomatic objectives.
Bellonet was quite boastful, convinced that the expedition would cause Korea to cede its full sovereignty to France. Roze was less ambitious and more realistic, simply thinking of forcing Korea to pay for repairs.
The lack of nautical charts convinced Admiral Roze that a topographical expedition to Korea was necessary, so a French detachment moved to Yakohoma at the beginning of August, preparing in coordination with a Russian detachment.
In August, while the Russians and French were planning their expedition, an American ship (General Sherman) was wrecked in Korea, a part of the Korean crew was massacred by the kidnapping of a Korean official.
France (the French diplomats in China) tried to convince the United States to join, but the American interest in Korea has not yet manifested itself.
France and Russia would be alone then.
[Military affairs]
With the Chassepots made in diplomatic affair by Tsar Alexander III, he now needed to introduce them into the Russian army, but the emperor did not stop there. He also hired the American soldier and engineer, Hiram Berdan.
Berdan would be in charge of the experimentation and quality of the production of Chassepot rifles in the Russian army, probably they would begin to integrate at the end of the year 1867 and 1868.
On the other hand, the emperor planned some other reforms together with Dmitry Milyutin. The reforms will take at least four years however (1870) before being completely ready.
Improvements in military education, tactics, and other needs were being discussed.
The tsar also planned the change of the military uniform for the armies and the navy, with a simpler and more practical model.
(OOC: Basically the Russian military uniform has evolved relatively little since the times of Alexander III due to the reform of him in this aspect).
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Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov was a recent graduate, literally graduated in August, when he was sent to the Kiev fortress, only to discover that Tsar Alexander III himself was there under inspection. Yablochkov was impressed, being himself from a rather impoverished noble family.
Much to his surprise, the tsar had summoned him and the other engineers from the Kiev fortress. There they were all, in line, with the emperor accompanied by his guards, they all greeted him.
"Sirs, I have the honor to say that you will be sent to the Technical Galvanic School in Kronstadt" Emperor Alexander III began his talk "Any questions?"
Yablochkov's insatiable curiosity and his burden with military life made him stand out from the other quiet officers "Why?" The second lieutenant and engineer tried to sound as respectful as possible.
"Very good question" Tsar Alexander III congratulates simply. "At the Technical Galvanic School is the only place in the Russian Empire where you could study electrical engineering in an advanced way, they will be there from January next year until 1869. Once there, they will be given the funds and technical help for their next project. The project consists of the electrification of Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Moscow and Helsinki. "
And with those simple words, he started a very exciting journey for Yablochkov, or well, it would start in January.
The plan was to electrify Kiev first, then St. Petersburg, Moscow, and finally Helsinki.
[International]
The Battle of Königgrätz gives the Prussians a decisive victory against the Austrians. King Wilhelm I of Prussia would have tried to advance towards Austria to annex it, but the difficulties of this campaign attempt, and threats from the Minister President Otto von Bismarck convinced the king to avoid this.
The Austrians on July 20 defeat the Italian fleet at the Battle of Lissa, but on August 23, Austria ends its war with Prussia in the Treaty of Prague.
The treaty ends the German Confederation and legalizes the North German Confederation, the southern Germanic states (Baden and Bavaria for example) pay compensation to Prussia, which is expanding as the hegemon of the northern German states.
The French are withdrawing from northern Mexico, but some imperial Pyrrhic victories occur in the Southwest and Northeast of Mexico.
The Second Mexican Empire of Maximiliano (Maximilian) of Habsburg takes Guadalajara, Matamoros, Tampico and Acapulco, expanding to the whole of Tamaulipas.
Thus guaranteeing the majority of Mexican territory.
Emperor Napoleon III tried to convince Emperor Maximiliano (Maximilian), but following his mother, the Mexican emperor believes that a Habsburg does not abdicate.
The defense of the north has been successful, and the Republicans of Benito Juarez for the moment are mostly in the south (Oxaca, Yucatán, Veracruz, Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo).
But the war is not yet to be considered won, financially the United States supports the Republicans, while Maximiliano loses French support, and his victories in the north have been considerably costly.
Paraguay has managed to successfully defend Curupayty so far.
[Franco-Russian expedition: Preliminary]
In September the French stationed in Beijing and Japan joined the Russians in the surveying expedition to Korea. Admiral Roze focused on the waterway leading to the city of Seoul.
For this the French wanted to focus on the waters around Ganghwa Island and the Han River.
The Russians on the other hand could project their research capabilities on Jeju Island and southern Korea, in areas like Busan that were remarkably close to Asō Bay.
Native Japanese sailors from Tsushima, trained by the Russians, would participate in the expedition.
Roze and the French began investigating northwest Korea, while the Russians focused on the south and southwest.
Finally Roze understood that he could not move his ships very deep in the Han River, so strategically speaking, he decided that the French forces would focus on the island of Ganghwa.
From Vladivostok the situation of the Russian expedition to Korea began to be planned, the island of Ganghwa would open the way to Seoul, but only if they managed to have a victory on land, for example, by taking the Munsusansong monastery.
October.
By the first days of October, Admiral Roze with the nautical charts of the Korean coast (from Busan to Ganghwa Island), was convinced that taking the city of Seoul would be difficult, but possible.
But the waters of the Han River would still be rough.
The Franco-Russian attack was prepared for October 14.
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[Business]
Tsar Alexander III invested heavily in Alfred Nobel's Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget AB, founded after a dangerous nitroglycerin explosion that killed Alfred's younger brother (Emil).
The money invested in the tsar made Nobel plan a demonstration of a project in one of Russia's mines for next year (1867), Nobel calls it "Nobel's Safety Powder".
The potential for the use of this material in mining and the construction of transport networks is quite high, and that is what interests the Tsar.
Nobel has already lived in Russia temporarily with his parents, and studied under Russian Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin (the young Swede's private chemistry professor). Zinin stills alive by the way.