It was intended later to continue this line from Vierni to Semipalatinsk (about goo versts) and join up with the Trans-Siberian line.
In Asia, after the accession of Nicholas II., the expansion of Russia, following the line of least resistance and stimulated by the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway, took the direction of northern China and the effete little kingdom of Korea.
Subsequently, by obtaining from the Tsungli-Yaman a long lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan and a concession to unite those ports with the Trans-Siberian by a branch line, she tightened her hold on that portion of the Chinese empire and prepared to complete the work of aggression by so-called " spontaneous infiltration."
The Trans-Siberian railway was a military necessity if Russia was to exercise dominion throughout Siberia and maintain a port on the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan.
He again visited the Philippines to open the first legislative assembly (16th October 1907), and returned by way of the Trans-Siberian railway.
