Chapter 865

The British army in Afghanistan is still working hard, the Central Asian battlefield has already been decided, and the Russians have proved with their strength that they are still the arrogant European road rollers.

Of course, this victory was announced by the tsarist government, and the outside world still doesn't know what the specific situation is.

The only thing that is certain is that the Russian army has indeed defeated the main force of the three Central Asian countries and has mastered the initiative on the battlefield. As for whether it will fall into the vast ocean of people's war, only the Russians know it.

Although Franz was concerned about the situation in Central Asia, he did not send people to collect intelligence on the ground. Most of the information in the hands of the Vienna government was released by Britain and Russia themselves.

This time point is too sensitive. If Austria is more involved, it will easily be mistaken by Britain and Russia for its ambitions for Central Asia.

"What step have the Russians made in their preparations for war, and when can they attack Afghanistan?"

In fact, the Tsarist government began preparing for the war as early as a year ago. It's just that the combat goal at that time was to capture parts of Central Asia.

Afghanistan is simply not within the scope of the tsarist government's plan. The highest goal is to support the guilty regime and act as a buffer for Britain and Russia.

With the smooth progress on the battlefield and the poor performance of the British army, the expectations of the Russians have also increased, and now they want to swallow the Afghanistan region.

In this context, the original war preparations are naturally insufficient. About three months ago, Alexander III issued a national preparation order.

It's just "national preparation for war", not "national mobilization". The terrain of Afghanistan limits the troop input of both sides. As long as the supplies are sufficient, the mere hundreds of thousands of troops do not need the Russians to mobilize the whole country.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg: "This is only a local war, in theory, after such a long time, the Russians should be ready for war.

However, from the analysis of the military mobilization, material flow, and railway transportation of the Russian Empire, I am afraid that it will take some time to coordinate. "

The war is the most test of the government's organizational ability, and there is no confidence in the Russian bureaucrat Franz, and chaos is inevitable.

Preparing for war does not mean that materials are produced, but more importantly, the materials must be delivered to the soldiers on the front line before they can really play a role.

The First World War in the original time and space was the pinnacle of Russian bureaucracy. The soldiers on the front were hungry, and the grain in the rear was moldy in the warehouse.

Similar things happened in the two Russian-Prussian wars. In fact, in the first Russian-Prussian War, the Russian army was also killed by domestic bureaucrats.

"By the way, yesterday the British media also published the news of the massacre of the Russian army in Central Asia, and it is said that it also attached photos.

If the news is true, then the situation in Central Asia is not as peaceful as the tsarist government said. "

Hearing the news of "Massacre", Franz frowned. In the late 19th century, there was little news of massacres in the world.

However, in the style of the Russian army, it is not surprising that several massacres occurred. After all, the Three Khanates of Central Asia still bear the name of traitors, and they will definitely have to retaliate against the traitor Russians.

If the news is not released by the British, then the credibility is higher.

No way, the integrity of the British is really not high. Even if there is a picture and the truth, it can also be faked.

It is nothing more than a question of changing into a military uniform. As long as it is politically necessary, Franz believes that John Bull can do it.

Although the slaughter of indigenous people is not a big deal these days, the damage to the country's image is still great.

At the critical moment when the Anglo-Russian war is about to break out, whoever has a better international image will be able to gain the support of international public opinion more easily in the war.

After pondering for a while, Franz said solemnly: "Send someone to verify the authenticity of the news as soon as possible, and the Propaganda Department is preparing for public opinion channeling work, so as not to let the massacre happen to us."

Russia and Austria are allies. If the massacre of the Russians is real, Austria will also be scolded by public opinion.

It is enough to be scolded internationally. Even if Franz wanted to manage, he couldn't stretch his hand out that long.

However, domestic public opinion must be controlled, and there must be no bizarre incident of public opinion kidnapping the government's decision-making.

From start to finish, Franz's focus was on Austria itself. As for the trouble with the Russians, is that trouble?

If it wasn't really out of reach, he would have acted as an enthusiastic person to support the Central Asian people's war against aggression.

...

St. Petersburg

"The British are smearing our international image internationally, how do you think we should deal with it?"

It was evident from the tone of voice that Alexander III did not take this seriously.

If you are scolded, you will be scolded. Anyway, the Russian Empire also has a tradition of being scolded internationally. The European world has scolded them for hundreds of years, and life is still the same.

In Alexander III's view, whether or not the Russian army massacred cities in Central Asia is essentially unimportant.

Even if the image of the Russian Empire in the European world is a barbarian, it cannot be reversed in a few words.

The barbarian slaughtering the city is completely normal operation. If the Russian army did not commit any crimes in the Central Asian Autumn, there would be problems.

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez replied: "Your Majesty, the massacres that the British say happened in Central Asia, and the people who died were all indigenous pagans, so the European world won't pay too much attention.

If the direct explanation would be fooled by the British, no matter how much evidence we come up with, some people will preconceived that the massacre is real.

It is better to do the opposite. The British accuse us of massacres in Central Asia. We can also expose their atrocities in Afghanistan and India...

If it still can't stand it, then turn to the old accounts, drag all the colonial empires into the water, and disperse the pressure of international public opinion. "

Maybe other countries can accuse the Russians of massacred the city, but the British are not qualified, and what they have done in Afghanistan is not much better than the massacre of the city.

In fact, in this rotten era, no one is much cleaner than anyone else. Every colonial empire is built on a sea of ​​corpses and blood, without any exceptions.

In recent years, the news of the massacre has rarely been heard, which does not mean that it did not happen.

It's just that everyone has learned to be good and knows to keep a low profile. The impact of massacres is too bad, perhaps the number of occurrences has decreased, but colonial massacres still occur frequently.

Alexander III nodded and explained that it didn't exist, his family knew about his family affairs, and everyone knew exactly how the Russian army's military discipline was.

It may be as exaggerated as the massacre if there is no movement, but it is normal for massacres to occur, which is also acquiesced by the tsarist government.

From the moment the Three Khanates of Central Asia stabbed Russia, the tsarist government decided to retaliate, and the Russian army on the front line was nothing more than implementing this will.

"The issue of public opinion is a trivial matter and will not affect the next war. The key is the situation in Central Asia.

Marshal Ivanov, how long will it take for the military to clear the area and start the next battle plan? "

Although he did not pay much attention to details, Alexander III was still aware of the instability of the situation in Central Asia.

The Russian army on the front line is not a lunatic. Only when the social order is out of control will they take extreme measures.

Under normal circumstances, at most, it would be robbery and robbery. There is not enough interest, so I go to play slaughter after I am full.

Marshal Ivanov, who had been bowing his head and wanted to reduce his presence, realized that he couldn't escape, and replied bravely, "Your Majesty, I can't give an accurate time due to the current situation.

The main reason is that the Central Asia region is too large. After defeating the main force of the enemy army, a large number of stragglers wandered around and began to cause disaster. For a while, it was difficult for us to find their hiding place.

The War Department plans to clear some areas first, open up a safe passage to Afghanistan, and then go back to clean them up after the capture of Afghanistan. "

This is a fact. The Central Asia region is indeed too big, with several million square kilometers. It is simply not enough for hundreds of thousands of Russian troops to come over.

If you really want to clean up the place, you can't do it in a few years, and the Russian Empire lacks time the most.

The British have taken control of Afghanistan, and although there are still resistance groups, no one can guarantee how long these people will be able to hold on.

Once the British have cleared the guerrillas and established themselves locally, it will be difficult to take Afghanistan from them.

After thinking for a while, Alexander III said slowly: "Let's do it like this! But the military must speed up and not delay the fighter jets."

...