Chapter 486 The Snipe and Clam Fight, Kill the Fisherman First

The uprising in Rome made many people see the opportunity and fell into trouble one after another. International public opinion is even more drenched in the blood of the French government's approval, including the French media.

There is no way, this is the sequelae of confusion of thought. Some people support the Reformation, there are also people who oppose the Reformation, and more for the sake of opposing it.

Perhaps Napoleon III was used to it, and domestic public opinion did not bring him much influence, and he still suppressed the rebellion step by step.

This made the British very disappointed. The outbreak of an uprising in Italy could not shake the foundation of France. As long as Paris was not in chaos, the Great French Empire would be very difficult to defeat.

Facts were not unexpected. The mighty Roman uprising lasted for less than a week before being suppressed by the French. To be precise, after resisting all morning, the rebels were routed.

The rabble is the rabble, and the hastily launched uprising looks huge, but the internal organizational relations are chaotic.

The revolutionaries were not able to control the situation from beginning to end. Although the church members participated in the uprising, they were afraid of the strength of the French and had no confidence in the revolution.

If there is trouble, it means that the crying child has milk to eat. Show your strength to the French and strive for more favorable conditions for yourself, but you are not ready to fight to the end with the French.

The French counter-insurgency army arrived quickly. Seeing that the momentum was not good, these people quickly changed their positions and betrayed the revolutionary party.

Before Britain could make a move, the Italian independence movement fell into a low ebb. With the exception of a part of the disintegrated guerrillas still holding on to the resistance, the cities controlled by the rebels were once again returned to the hands of the French.

In London, Prime Minister Benjamin has been very distressed recently. The situation in South Africa is tense. The telegrams for help arrive on time three times a day.

I finally planned an Italian independence movement, but it just started and it came to an end. The independent spirit of the Italians is very strong, but the actual combat ability is helpless.

There are a lot of revolutionaries, and everyone shouts slogans very powerfully. On the battlefield, these people are usually the first to run away.

Of course, it is not without results. After the failure of the uprising, Italy's cultural industry has developed substantially, and a large number of artists have emerged.

Italian artistic creation, this is not the concern of Prime Minister Benjamin, and now he is busy thinking about the aftermath.

With so many bad things happening during his tenure, he can almost announce that he does not need to participate in the next election, lest he lose too badly and look bad.

If you can't go to the next session, you won't be able to go to the next session, and Prime Minister Benjamin doesn't care. But the current problem must be dealt with, otherwise he will get out of the way before the election.

Queen Victoria, who is not very involved in politics, has summoned him three times this week, asking him to come up with a solution as soon as possible to solve the problem at hand.

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Foreign Secretary Maclean's frowning analysis said: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the current situation is very unfavorable for us, France and Austria have stood together.

The Vienna government has acquiesced to the French annexation of Italy, and has not intervened from beginning to end, otherwise the Italian independence movement will not fail quickly.

In the Mediterranean, they joined forces to squeeze us into a corner; in South Africa, they joined forces and posed for the Cape of Good Hope.

From the perspective of strategic layout, this time Fao's alliance is not only for expansion in the European continent, but it is very likely to seize maritime hegemony.

Now we are losing the Mediterranean Sea, and if we lose the Cape of Good Hope, the distance to the Indian Ocean will be greatly increased.

This is no exception to our control of the Indian region, including the control of the Far East will be affected. The tentacles of the Austrians have penetrated deep into the Arabian Peninsula and are very close to India.

For the time being, the Royal Navy can suppress their ambitions, but it is unknown how long they can suppress them in the context of the Fau Federation.

Now the time has come for a change in foreign policy, and I propose the recognition of Grand France in exchange for the French allowing us to join the alliance. "

Joining an alliance is not that simple. Now that the French have annexed the Italian region, Austria has yet to gain much. At this time, the Paris government has made a compromise, and the Vienna government will definitely be dissatisfied.

Although the specific content of the Franco-Austrian alliance could not be determined, McLean was certain that Austria had not yet obtained the benefits stipulated in the treaty.

In his opinion, just a little profit from South Africa is not enough for Austria's appearance fee. After all, Austria's investment in the South African war is also very large, and it is very difficult to recover the cost.

From the point of view of interests, the two partners do business together. One makes a lot of money, while the other loses money and makes a lot of money. Such cooperation is doomed to fail.

Prime Minister Benjamin rubbed his forehead and fell into hesitation. It is easy to recognize the Great French Empire, but the after-effects are very serious.

This means that the old enemy, France, has grown stronger again. On the bright side, the overall national strength of the French Empire after the annexation of Italy has directly increased by one-third.

If the internal integration is completed, the French will continue to grow in strength, and Britain will lose many of its advantages over the French.

Unlike Austria, with France and Spain standing in the way, the London government doesn't feel much pressure.

France, which is separated by water, is different. The British have to face this pressure, and the London government has always had the greatest vigilance.

"Then give it a try, the Fao-Austrian alliance is too much of a threat to us, and they must be dismantled. Austrian government

There are also many people in the palace who oppose the Great French Empire, and these people can be used. "

Prime Minister Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief at the decision. Despite the Royal Navy's sworn assurances that it could keep Britain safe and face two great powers at the same time, he still felt the pressure.

He is also considered unlucky. Looking at the history of British diplomacy, this should be regarded as their most isolated era.

After the tireless efforts of the ancestors, the European countries that paid expensive tuition fees are not so easy to fool now.

Seeing that France and Austria tend to have an alliance, everyone chose to protect themselves. It is right to oppose the establishment of the Great French Empire, but they all keep talking, and the actual actions are still in a wait-and-see state.

This made Prime Minister Benjamin very distressed, and the anti-French alliance became a phantom, not to mention the secret anti-Austrian alliance, they dared not raise it at this time.

In case of irritation, France and Austria simply tore off the last disguise and divided Europe upright, and then they shot themselves in the foot.

France and Austria must fight for continental hegemony. This concept was proposed by his predecessor, Prime Minister John Russell. In order to divide the relationship between the two countries, they also promoted it.

The plan will never catch up with the rapid changes. France and Austria will have a conflict over the hegemony of the European continent. This is the consensus of everyone, but it is difficult to say when this conflict will break out.

For example, there is another idea that is more widely circulated in France and Austria now, that is, to clear the field first, so as not to let the fisherman benefit.

This is hard work. Both sides intend to restrain their contradictions. They have to kill the fisherman before the decisive battle, which makes them a fisherman in a difficult situation.

A puzzle was dealt with, and another old puzzle surfaced. Colonial Minister Louis said: "Everyone, the situation on the battlefield in South Africa is tense, and everyone has seen the telegram for help.

If you don't want to lose the Cape of Good Hope, send reinforcements as soon as possible! The casualties on the front lines were very high, and if we were slow to react, they might simply surrender to the enemy. "

Threatening to surrender, forcing the government to send reinforcements. This is not a good idea. The London government will indeed make a compromise now, but it will also settle accounts in the future.

There is no doubt that this was not the work of Governor Delphi. As a politician, he would not put himself in.

However, there are still people who are not afraid of the London government, and civilian colonial companies are not. They are also an important part of the South African Armed Forces, they are not involved in politics, they still have a background, and they don't care about offending the cabinet at all.

Not only the colonial corporations, but also the lower and middle bureaucrats in the colonial government did not care about the London government. They are not soldiers without the responsibility of defending the soil. Even if they are held accountable after the war, they will not be able to catch up with these little shrimps.

This non-threatening telegram appeared in the London government. If reinforcements are delayed and there is no hope of victory, these people may indeed surrender to save their lives.

The atmosphere has fallen into embarrassment. Everyone has seen the casualty data reported by the Cape Town Governor's Office recently.

If ordinary people see it, it is a set of data. On average, seven or eight hundred casualties per day, plus more than ten times the glorious victory, this loss is completely unworthy of mention.

The layman watches the fun, the layman watches the doorway. These people still know a little bit of military common sense, and they are very clear about the consequences of this.

You must know that the cannon fodder troops in the enemy's hands are all attacking now. That's as much as you want. No matter how heavy the losses, the enemy will not feel distressed.

This situation, the blow to the morale of the military can be imagined. The best option is to launch a counterattack and have a decisive battle with the enemy, otherwise they will suffer a loss.

Once bitten, twice shy.

The Governor of Delphi has played against his opponents more than a dozen times, and all ended in failure. All his ambitions have been wiped away, and he dare not go out to the city for a decisive battle.

The London government did not dare to issue this order, and everyone was afraid of taking responsibility. Although there are a lot of British troops in Cape Town, it is not that they are not without the strength to fight, but unfortunately everyone does not have the courage to fight.

The Governor of Delphi hoped that the London government would send more troops to directly crush it with absolute strength, but the London government had no troops to send.

The British Army is just a little bit, and if all the troops are dispatched today, there will be an uprising in Ireland tomorrow. The desire for independence from the Irish people is clear to the London government.

If the army wants to expand the army, the navy will not agree in the first place. It is easy to expand the military, but difficult to disarm.

Once the size of the army is expanded, it is not so simple to want to reduce the size. Even if you think about it with your fingers, everyone knows that the Army will have enough excuses to keep the establishment.

Everyone knows that although the situation in South Africa is in crisis, it has not reached the point where it is about to fall. There are still so many troops in Britain, as long as there are no internal problems, the enemy will not be able to conquer Cape Town for a while.

What is the role of the Army behind the crisis is also a difficult question to answer.

Don't look at the fact that the Minister of War does not say a word. In fact, the Ministry of War has made a lot of efforts to promote the military expansion plan.

The war in South Africa provided them with an excellent opportunity. If the London government wants to continue to send reinforcements, it must first expand its army.

War Minister Fox waved his hand and said: "Don't look at me, you all know that the British Army is very small, and now the officers and soldiers are very busy, and there is no spare force to reinforce the Cape Town front.

Isn't Delphi asking for 100,000 reinforcements? As long as the cabinet also expands the army by 100,000, I can send reinforcements in within a month. "

Send reinforcements in a month

In the past, if this was not prepared in advance, no one would believe it.

Of course, it may also be bragging b, and it is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened. At that time, various accidents will occur, as a reason for delaying the dispatch of troops.

Admiral Robert sarcastically said: "I remember that the South African Boer Republic army was 30,000 or 40,000, less than half of the Cape Town garrison.

The war has been fought like this, but I'm too embarrassed to expand the army. Isn't this a waste of Britain's resources? "

Without waiting for Fox to refute, Robert said first: "Don't rush to explain, I know you want to say that the enemy has a bunch of servants, but a group of strong men who were caught temporarily, and the natives who charged with wooden sticks can also be considered an army?

Although not all troops in our colony are elites, the enemy troops on the opposite side are also rabble. From the outbreak of the war to the present, the Austrians did not have any regular army on the battlefield.

The composition of the army of the Boer Republic is well known to everyone. It was a group of civilian armed forces that recruited a group of young men on the spot and fought all the way from the Transvaal to Cape Town.

It's time for you to reflect, why is our army's combat effectiveness so poor?

The Army has made enough jokes over the years. I don't want to increase the combat effectiveness of the troops, I just want to expand the number, and I can only give the enemy a record on the battlefield. "

Robert and Fox have no personal grudges, but their identities determine their positions. In relation to the competition for military spending, Robert, as the Secretary of the Navy, directly uncovered the scars of the Army.

Fox slapped the table angrily and retorted: "Nonsense, the army's combat effectiveness is not as good as the Austrians, and that's because of insufficient military spending.

As long as a comparison is made, the military budgets of the two sides are enough to explain all the problems. Since the outbreak of the South African war, we have been suppressed by the enemy's firepower, otherwise we would not have suffered so many defeats! "

Who is to be afraid of who is arguing, there are thousands of reasons. To be able to achieve the current position, they all sprayed with people all the way.

Land and sea disputes exist in almost every country. Prime Minister Benjamin had to come out and fight the mud. Now both sides have a reason, and he is the only one left to ignore it.

"Enough, this is not the place for you to quarrel. If you want to quarrel, go out and quarrel."

The two looked at each other and fell silent. The issue of army expansion has also been shelved. Robert did not have the joy of victory, and Fox did not have the dissatisfaction of defeat.

Obviously, this kind of thing has happened many times, almost every time the government will support the navy, and then will appease the army, slightly improve the treatment, or slightly expand the establishment.

The problem of reinforcements to Cape Town was quickly resolved. Compared with the cannon fodder troops, John Bull will not be cowardly until the Indians are dead.

The only problem is that the finances cannot bear it. The combat missions that can be completed by 10,000 British troops may not be able to be completed by 50,000 Indian troops.

It looks cheap on the surface, but in fact, who knows who uses it. If the quality is not good, then use the quantity to make up.

In the world war in the original time and space, the British army had to go to the battlefield in person, which is enough to show that the price-performance ratio of the Indian colonial army was not enough.

Otherwise, the London government would have killed the enemy with the Indian colonial army.