Chapter 872 The Most Honest Department

In Vienna Palace, since the news of the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian war came, Franz felt relieved.

Having been the emperor for so many years, he has always been cautious, just to avoid the situation of being besieged by people in the original time and space.

Austria's national policy is also established around this center. First, it divided the United States on the other side of the ocean, and then annihilated the budding Italy.

Then he played with the awesome Prussia, and by the way weakened the Russian Empire. It was not until now that the Anglo-Russian War broke out that Austria really got rid of the situation of being besieged.

Although the policy pursued by the British government is "there are only eternal interests, no eternal enemies", it does not mean that they have just been beaten to death, and they may become allies immediately.

The government can be shameless, but the people cannot accept this shocking reversal. Even if interest groups suppress public opinion, the Russians must cooperate.

If the Russians win this war, going south to India is the future national policy of the tsarist government, and no one can stop it.

Unless the British can back down, the two countries will have to fight to the death.

It is impossible for the Russians to lose the war, and Franz has made up his mind to support the tsarist government to fight.

The big deal came to the later stage, Austria contributed money and materials, and the Russians sent troops to spend with the British.

If it fails in one year, it will take two years, if it fails in two years, it will take three years and five years. If there is no bloodshed, this war will never stop.

When the war was over, Britain and Russia were almost exhausted. For a long time in the future, they will not be able to intervene in European affairs.

...

Franz: "Selling the mortar we just equipped to the Russians, Afghanistan is mostly mountainous, and they need a light gun."

The British Empire has a solid foundation and has not suffered heavy losses. To make them both lose, Franz had to find a way to strengthen the Russians.

Originally, Franz also prepared to give the Maxim machine gun to the Russians, but considering the poor logistics of the tsarist government, it would not cause them any trouble.

More black technology, needless to say, is reserved for the Austrian enemy and cannot be exposed for the time being.

The only thing that can appear in advance is this kind of mortar with little technical content. The original time and space were also created by the Russians, and they were directly modified on the battlefield with retired naval guns.

The Minister of War Feslav reminded a little embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, the Russians introduced the mortar production line three years ago, and now there are quite a few troops lined up."

The Russian-Austrian alliance is not an alliance in a simple sense. Since the first Near East War was led away, Russian armaments began to be Austrian.

After a long period of running-in, the Russians also learned to be smart, but they all followed the introduction of weapons equipped by the Austrian army on a large scale.

The mortar, a low-tech, simple-to-operate, and versatile weapon, has not been classified as a secret weapon since its birth, and the military has long since installed it.

In fact, any weapon used in large-scale equipment cannot be kept secret.

After all, weapons and equipment also need time to run in before they can exert their power. They are not sent to soldiers and can be used for battle immediately.

The Maxim machine gun was not installed immediately, because the Austrian army has already equipped Gatling, and similar weapons have been upgraded and replaced, and it will not take long for the running-in time.

In fact, Austria's real secret weapons and equipment are still aircraft, tanks, and armored vehicles.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't do it at all. Tanks and armored vehicles can also be secretly researched and developed in a small corner. The test flight of the aircraft must be in the sky, right?

The test flight of the plane is hundreds of miles, such a long distance, it is just a dream not to be seen.

Instead of helping to attract attention, it is better to put it outside and let others watch it, and you can also collect tickets.

Anyway, the public is the first generation of products, and all major industrial countries can make them. If there is no in-depth research and development, it means that everyone does not realize the value of the aircraft.

As for tanks and armored vehicles, they are laboratory products in the true sense, and they all bear the brand of the Automobile R&D Center.

It is a purely private enterprise and has nothing to do with the military industry. Even the research and development funds are paid by Franz himself, and he has not taken the account from military expenditures.

Don't talk about the outside world, even the top officials of the Austrian government don't know about this thing, and even the military knows only a few participants.

...

Franz asked suspiciously: "The Russians attach so much importance to armament?"

In his subconscious, the tsarist government did not pay attention to the replacement of armaments.

Because of military spending, the Russian military is also not active in this regard. Unless it is necessary to exchange, generally speaking, it is possible to save when it can be saved.

In the past 20 years, the Russian army has purchased second-hand equipment from Austria, especially during the Prussian-Russian War, when the Russians directly scavenged the goods.

The purpose is to save costs. After all, second-hand weapons and equipment are cheap enough. Generally speaking, there are only 30 to 40% off the price of new equipment, and some weapons can be bought for 10% off.

Although it is a little old, as long as it is well maintained, it can continue to be used for many years, which is most suitable for the army without money.

Weissenberg, the foreign minister who knows the Russian Empire best, explained: "Your Majesty, the lack of money for the tsarist government does not contradict the introduction of a production line for weapons.

In fact, every time we sign an arms purchase contract with the Russians, huge rebates are attached.

In order not to be discovered by the tsarist government, the bureaucrats in charge of procurement even demanded that all contracts be even at the transaction price

taxable.

The rebates returned to them are not directly given to cash, but are completed through the transmission of secret interests.

Relying on this covert means of accepting bribes, the Russian military's international procurement department has become the most honest department in the tsarist government, and even set a historical record in which no one has been held accountable for corruption and bribery for ten years. "

Hearing this explanation, Franz rolled his eyes. Sure enough, the tsarist government was still the tsarist government he was familiar with, and the bureaucrats were still just as rude when they made money.

Now this kind of change is nothing more than having been in contact with Austria for a long time, learning the money-making skills of Austrian bureaucrats, and making progress compared with their domestic counterparts, knowing how to do it quietly.

It is conceivable how terrifying the evolved Russian bureaucracy will be.

With the supervision ability of the tsarist government, the Russian military's international procurement department is mostly unable to supervise to make money by transferring profits, otherwise it will not be able to become the most corrupt department in the Russian government.

Even because of the imperfection of the law, many obscure ways of making money may not constitute a crime in the Russian Empire.

Making money is making money, and these bureaucrats also played a role, at least it played a role in promoting the upgrade of Russian military weapons and equipment.

No, it should have contributed to the upgrading of Austrian army weapons and equipment.

Because of industrial technology, the production cost of Russian weapons has always been high, not only the defective rate is high, but also the performance of the products is not stable.

Whether they are bureaucrats in state-run military factories or capitalists in private military-industrial enterprises, they all focus on maximizing profits.

Buying a production line, just pretending to meet the above inspection, in order to grab the order from the government.

The cost of organizing production by ourselves is too high. In order to reduce costs and reduce accident risks, everyone tacitly chooses smuggling.

Don't think that there is a problem with the Russian military's weapons and equipment, and there is no need to hold it accountable. It's just that compared to other countries, the Russian military's ability to bear is higher, and the failure rate is too high to be held accountable.

In fact, many capitalists lost their heads during the Russian-Prussian War. Most of the state-owned military-industrial enterprises in the hands of the tsarist government were confiscated from their homes at that time.

At the beginning, everyone still followed the rules and imported new equipment. Later, in order to obtain greater benefits, everyone tacitly chose to replace it with cheaper second-hand equipment.

Anyway, let's put it another way. Second-hand equipment does not exist, it is all pure Russian imperial products.

It looks a bit old, but the arsenal is serious and responsible, and has gone through thousands of quality tests for each weapon.

If you are not satisfied, there are weapons and equipment that have just left the factory to choose from, but they have not been tested for performance, and the quality cannot be guaranteed.

This multiple-choice question is easy to do, and everyone knows how to choose after trying it out. Even if you know that there is a problem, there is no problem in the face of the ruble.

In order to meet the needs of customers, the Austrian military has advanced the replacement time of weapons to ensure that they do not look too old in the hands of the Russian army.

In fact, even if it is sold at a discount at the international transaction price, this price is enough for the production cost of weapons, and some weapons still have to be earned.

In a sense, this is also a win-win option. The Austrian military saved military expenses, the quality of weapons guaranteed by the Russian military, and the Russian bureaucrats and capitalists got money.

If such a thing happened in Austria, Franz would definitely kill him, but if it happened in the Russian Empire, he chose not to see it.

After all, the Russian bureaucracy is good for Austria. If one day Russia and Austria turn their faces, the Russian military's military-industrial system will immediately show its original shape.

...

On the battlefield in Afghanistan, a week has passed since the outbreak of the war. Naturally, the surprise attack expected by the tsarist government failed.

The British generals were not idle either. They had built a line of defense on the border early on, and scouts were scattered everywhere, giving the Russians no chance at all.

However, it is strength that determines the outcome of the war. After a week of fighting, Andhuy has become shaky.

This is not the core of the British defense. From a strategic point of view, the Russian army's best offensive route is to attack Herat along the Hari River, and then go upstream into the hinterland of Afghanistan.

However, Admiral Oginets is not an ordinary person, Herat naturally belongs to one of the offensive scope, but the breakthrough is placed in Anderhui.

In the temporary command of the Russian army, Admiral Oginets asked with concern: "Has the Afghan resistance group been in contact?"

There is no doubt that Afghan resistance groups are also an important force in his strategic plan.

In his opinion, the Afghan resistance organization can make hundreds of thousands of British troops helpless, and its own strength is definitely not weak. It is a pity not to use it.

Colonel Loznisa, the young officer in charge of the contact work, replied helplessly: "Your Excellency Commander, the contact is made.

It's just that there are unexpectedly many resistance organizations in Afghanistan. There are 27 resistance organizations that we contacted.

Judging from the intelligence we have collected, there are no less than 100 resistance groups in Afghanistan, and there may even be more than 200.

Nominally they are led by King Amir, but in fact, these organizations have long since gone their own way and are not bound at all.

Because of religion, the relationship between these resistance groups is not very harmonious, and it is almost impossible to integrate them. "

"One hundred" and "two hundred", such figures directly refresh the three views of Admiral Oginets. According to his estimates, there are at most two or three Afghan resistance groups.

After all, there are too many organizations

It will lead to the dispersion of power, it is difficult to cooperate with each other, and the maximum combat effectiveness cannot be exerted.

The reality is just the opposite. The Afghan resistance groups are in bulk, and there is no overall coordination.

"If it's integrated, wouldn't it be possible to..."

As soon as this tempting idea was born, it was snuffed out by Admiral Auchinets. The purpose of the Russian army coming this time is not to send warmth to the Afghans.

Essentially, both Britain and Russia were aggressors. It's just that the British occupy the Afghan area now, and the Russian army naturally doesn't mind raising the banner of the liberation of Afghanistan.

Once the British are driven out, the Russian army will also occupy Afghanistan, which is the national policy of the tsarist government.

In this context, the Afghan resistance groups can only be used as cannon fodder, and they still need to be cleaned up in the future. To strengthen their strength is to cause trouble for themselves.