Chapter 846 Prologue

On December 21, 1887, British Prime Minister Gladstone publicly declared war on Afghanistan in response to parliamentary questions, and the Second Anglo-Afghan War broke out.

These days, the British Empire does not need parliamentary authorization to bully a small country. In fact, if the assassination of Waters hadn't caused a lot of uproar, Afghanistan would not even be eligible to declare war.

Like most small indigenous nations of this era, the European world has never recognized the Afghan government at all.

In the perception of most Europeans, the kingdom of Afghanistan is similar to the indigenous tribes. Even the defeat of the British army in the last war in Afghanistan has not changed the perception of the outside world.

Because the Indian colonial army cannot represent the real combat power of Britain, and it is only the East India Company that is fighting Afghanistan, not the entire British Empire.

This can be seen from the declaration of war on Afghanistan. Knowing that Afghanistan may have been wronged, the British government still declared war, and did not even bother to go through the investigation.

Since the declaration of war between Britain and Afghanistan, Franz has successfully retired and become a happy melon eater.

However, waiting left and right, just didn't see a good show. The British government's slogans were earth-shattering, but there was no actual action.

They promised to send troops after Christmas, and wait until February to see no war, and if you wait, it will be the next Christmas.

At this time, if you don't know, the British will declare no war again, and Franz will be the emperor for so many years in vain.

...

Franz asked: "How are the Russians preparing?"

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "The Tsarist government has assembled two infantry divisions and one cavalry division in Central Asia, as well as a large amount of strategic material.

As long as the ice and snow melt and the domestic roads are clear, they will launch an attack on Central Asia. "

The British don't move, it doesn't mean that the Russians don't move either. Compared with the cunning British, the Russians are still better to fool.

Perhaps due to genetic inheritance, the Russians have always had little resistance to land, especially since they once occupied Central Asia.

Seeing that the novice's younger brother is in danger, the agitation in Austria goes on. After weighing the pros and cons and finding no danger, the tsarist government decided to do it.

Prime Minister Carr: "The British government has declared no war on Afghanistan, it seems that they have realized the danger, and now they are reluctant to give up.

The Russians have just recovered a bit of vitality, and at most they will eat one or two Central Asian Khanates. It is impossible to sweep Central Asia and then go south to the Indian Ocean in one breath.

Now there are two paths left for the British government: either stop the arms race, concentrate on killing Afghanistan, and fight the Russians in Central Asia; or give up half of Central Asia to the Russians and go all out for the arms race.

Whatever choice is made, the odds are good for the British. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the London government has lost its head and started an arms race and Central Asia strategy at the same time. "

From Austria's point of view, of course, I hope that Britain will go to Central Asia and fight to the death with the Russians. No matter who wins or loses, Austria is the winner.

It doesn't matter if the allies are allies or not. If the British can kill the Russians, Franz wouldn't mind awarding them a 100-ton medal, which is absolutely pure gold.

And vice versa, as long as the Russians can go south to India, Franz doesn't mind giving full assistance. Of course, it doesn't matter if you smash the pot and sell iron, it doesn't matter that much.

In contrast, the arms race is dead. Instead of spending money and spending it with the British, it is better to take this money to develop the country.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg: "The British will not be so unwise to start an arms race and a Central Asia strategy at the same time.

The British government should be very entangled now, not knowing which side to take into account, after all, they are fighting against the three major powers.

Maybe we should give them a hand, control the intensity of the arms race, and let the British go north and play with the Russians with confidence.

On this issue, I believe the French will have a common language with us.

Napoleon IV is busy eradicating dissidents, and participating in the arms race is also driving ducks to the shelves. If it can be ended early, he has no reason to refuse. "

Prime Minister Carr asked: "How did the Russians explain it? We promised to contain the British, and now we give up, I'm afraid it doesn't make sense."

Russia and Austria did not, even the Russians rarely do anything about breaching the contract without authorization, let alone Austria, who cherishes feathers.

Austria has been traversing Europe for hundreds of years, relying on diplomacy. Especially before the renaissance of Austria after the Anti-French War, during this period, the status of a great power was maintained entirely by diplomatic means.

After so many years of operation, the international reputation of the Austrian government has become very valuable.

Unless it is certain that it can kill the Russians and get rid of the threat of the Eastern Front, the Austrian government will not easily default.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Mark replied: "This question is easy to deal with, as long as the Russians know that we have lent them the funds for shipbuilding and are unable to continue the arms race."

Everyone's eyes lit up, although the yin was a little damaged, but this is indeed a good solution.

The Tsarist government has limited wealth, and if the Central Asian War is resolved quickly, it will be fine; if the war continues, the Russians will definitely borrow money from Austria.

At that time, the Austrian financial circle will not buy the Russians' accounts, and the Vienna government will lend them the shipbuilding funds to fight the war for the sake of friendship between the two countries - perfect.

Seeing that everyone unified their position, Franz smiled slightly: "Then the matter is settled, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for giving the Russians an explanation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretly communicated with the French to facilitate this

The Central Asian melee will weaken Britain and Russia as much as possible. "

...

Austria is on the move, and the British are not idle either. They were all forced out, and at the same time they fought against the three major powers, and the British government was also under great pressure.

The enemy of the enemy is a friend. It may not be applicable in all international struggles, but in a single incident, it can be effective.

Marine civilization gave the British a sense of crisis. After discovering that they were confronting Russia, France and Austria at the same time, the British government began to seek a solution.

Russia and Austria have been united for many years, and it is unrealistic to want Austria’s support. The British government has set its target on the French.

On March 1, 1888, British Foreign Secretary George visited Paris. The London government has very high expectations, and Sir George has publicly stated that this is an icebreaker for UK-French relations.

Napoleon IV himself was not welcome to the unexpected visitor. The reason for this can be seen by looking at the Palace of Versailles not far away.

Destroyed by the Paris Revolution, the Palace of Versailles has only recovered 70 percent, and the rest is still under construction.

And the British happened to be the culprits who triggered the Paris Revolution. Even after the revolution was suppressed, many leaders of the revolutionary party were sent out by the British.

The hatred of the country and the family came together, and Napoleon IV naturally didn't like the British, to be precise, he didn't like the two black hands of Yingao.

For the routine welcome banquet, Napoleon IV was absent for no reason. This should be regarded as the first time since the time of Napoleon III that the French emperor did not give face to the British.

In addition to the deterioration of diplomatic relations, it is more that the balance of power between Britain and France has changed.

As the world's largest army power and the world's second naval power, France no longer recognizes the hegemony of the British.

Especially the younger generation of France, including Napoleon IV himself, have no reverence for the British, and some are just eager to challenge.

It just confirms that sentence: whoever is the world hegemon has the most enemies in the world.

...

In the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon IV asked with a gloomy face: "The British have come to the door, what do you think they want from us?"

If you are unhappy with the British, diplomatic activities should still be carried out normally. Whether we can talk about the result or not depends on the interests, not personal perceptions.

Foreign Secretary Karel Cardlets: "Your Majesty, the British are in a hurry.

The Russians are eager to try in Central Asia, the war is imminent, and there is also the shadow of Austria behind.

If the situation gets out of control, it is very likely that Russia and Austria will join forces to expand to India.

If no one can be found to contain Austria, the British will fight against Russia and Austria alone. Even if they can win in the end, they will lose a lot, even lose India. "

Colonial competition not only depends on the apparent victory or defeat, but also considers the issue of colony domination.

Especially in a densely populated area like India, once nationalist ideas are imported, the cost of ruling will be beyond imagination.

There is no morality in the game between the great powers. People often do things that hurt others and not themselves.

Prime Minister Terence Bulkin sneered: "It's just a problem for the British, Russia and Austria cannot swallow India even if they are united.

The British have been operating in India for so many years, and even if they can't hold it, they can instigate local independence.

The Austrians should not have such illusions, but the Russians are not sure, but they have a yellow Russia plan.

India should be easier to start with than the Far East Empire. With the greed of the tsarist government, it will not give up as long as there is a chance.

Because of the Russian-Austrian alliance, even if Austria does not go on its own, it will not prevent the Russians from expanding to India.

This is also an opportunity for us to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and maybe we can pick up some cheap.

What we need to do now is to compare the quotations of all parties and choose the party that maximizes the benefits. "

Terence Bourgin's opinion can be said to represent the mainstream in the French government. It is true that everyone hates the British, but they will not get along with their interests.

As long as the British bid high enough, anything is possible.

After hesitating for a while, Napoleon IV nodded in agreement with this view.

The trace of sadness between his brows still showed that he was not so willing. There is no way, and the interests of countries should come first.

...