Chapter 324 Verbal Message

The rescue operation continued the next day. Under the command of the Austrian officers, more people were rescued, more available materials were found, and the port's functions were constantly restored.

Of course, in exchange, the rescued and gathered dock workers will first repair the damaged Austrian warships. Under reasonable management and incentives, the efficiency of these ship workers has been raised to an unprecedented level.

At this rate, the repair work can be completed within two weeks. The actual number of casualties in this disaster is much greater than Franz imagined.

In the following days, more than a thousand swollen and smelly corpses were found, and they had to be cremated quickly to avoid the emergence of plague.

Franz, who was interested, would naturally not be idle. He took this opportunity to win over a group of self-righteous British officials and celebrities in India with "sugar-coated bullets". After all, the Austrian Empire's machinery, clocks and other small crafts are indeed better than those of the United Kingdom.

In addition, the advanced Austrian revolver, a street fighting weapon, was also sought after by the locals. Of course, the Indian kings were even more eager to invite Franz.

Nana Sahib and Kir Singh, who were powerful and had long been dissatisfied with the British like Tandia Toby, were the key targets he tried to win over.

These Indian princes were richer than expected, and they were willing to establish long-term and stable trade relations with Austria. Even Baji Rao II, an anti-British fighter far away in Jhansi, secretly sent an envoy to contact Franz after receiving Tandia Toby's pigeon letter.

There was only one thing that was very confusing, that is, more than ten days had passed, the repair work of the Austrian ships was nearing completion, and the docks had basically been restored, but there was still no sign of the British rescue team.

Of course, what was not known to everyone was that the other party's slow response was because they encountered another big trouble during this period, that is, the Redwood Army that invaded Afghanistan suffered a disastrous defeat.

Although they persisted for two months longer than in history, they got nothing except higher costs and more exaggerated casualties.

The British troops retreating from Kabul were chased by Akbar Khan's main force all the way, and affected by the bad weather and environment, and harassed by tribal armed forces along the way. In the end, only a doctor with only one arm left returned to Jalalabad Castle alone from the team of more than 20,000 people.

(Jalalabad Castle, a British border fortress.)

George Eden, the Indian Governor-General, who was an active advocate and proposer of the Afghan War, turned gray overnight. He never thought that the invincible Redwood Army would be defeated in this desert.

Not long ago, he was just awarded the title of Earl of Auckland. If he lost Afghanistan at this time, not only would his position as the Governor-General of India be lost, but his political career would also be ruined.

Compared with his political future, the natural disaster tsunami was not taken seriously by the Governor-General. He immediately ordered the British troops stationed in various places to immediately withdraw half of their troops to the north to retake Kabul at all costs.

George Eden's approach directly led to the lack of troops in the Indian region. Fortunately, most of the locals were honest.

Only the powerful Sikh Empire was ready to move. After all, after Ranjit Singh's reforms, they had the strongest artillery on the Indian subcontinent and infantry and cavalry second only to the British, with a total force of 80,000.

The Sikh Empire had a total of 14 standing artillery regiments, with 192 artillery pieces and more than 4,500 gunners. Although the scale of the establishment was reduced with the death of Ranjit, it was still the strongest on the Indian subcontinent.

In addition, they also adopted a comprehensive French military reform, from training to establishment to tactics. The threat of the Sikhs was understandable to British India, and George Eden had to draw troops from all over the country to guard against this powerful enemy.

At this time, Calcutta was almost an empty city, and the British commander stationed there could only strictly prohibit contact with the Austrians who landed, and never provoke them.

However, it was a good thing for the Austrians that the British did not come, after all, it would be troublesome to transfer power and materials at that time. In this case, it is better to solve the problem according to one's own wishes - balance the interests of all parties.

As for those ownerless items, those that can be transported back to the homeland will be accepted with a smile, and those that cannot be transported will be used as rewards and rewards for the hard work of the Indians and boatmen.

Franz's once-and-for-all approach has benefited everyone, at least they are all grateful on the surface. When the imperial fleet slowly left the port, people gathered at the newly repaired dock to line up to see them off.

There was also an interesting episode in the middle, that is, some Indian reformists came to Calcutta and wanted to ask the Austrians for reform.

However, when these people saw that the leaders of the Austrian Empire were two children, they showed contempt. Friedrich was short and had no habit of growing a beard, so he looked like fifteen or sixteen years old.

Although Franz looked like a little adult in the old city, he was actually only twelve years old.

There were also some unexpected exceptions, such as the envoy sent by Baji Rao II was actually a little girl of seven or eight years old. When she saw Franz, she couldn't help but snorted in disdain.

"Aren't you also a child? What are you snorting about!"

"Snort!" The little girl made that sound again.

It seems Franz needs to let her know the price of arrogance, ignorance and weakness!

Although she came on horseback and practiced Indian martial arts since childhood, she still had no power to fight back in front of Franz, an expert with rich life experience.

Franz held her under his armpit, and then persuaded her with a harmonious exchange, and then asked, "What's your name?"

The little girl had been receiving training that ordinary people could not bear since she was a child, but she had never been bullied, let alone lost to others. She felt very wronged after being "persuaded" by him.

The other party did not answer, so Franz had to raise his hand again, and this time she answered very quickly.

"Lakshmi Payi."

"It would have been better if it had been like this earlier."

Maria, his sister who was spoiled by his parents, was also naughty all day long, so he had to go out in person to let the other party know the rules.

Although it is a bit cruel to do so, it is better to understand rules and bottom lines as early as possible, otherwise she will suffer greater harm sooner or later, or cause a disaster that no one can solve, and it will be too late to regret it then.

"What is your purpose here?"

"Delivering a letter."

"Then why do you entrust such a heavy responsibility to a young person like you? Is there no one else?"

"The prince is being watched by the British and cannot leave his territory, so I have to come."

Lakshmi Payi was telling the truth. Baji Rao II once raised the banner of resistance. After the defeat, his actions were restricted for the rest of his life.

At this time, Franz extended his hand to her. Lakshmi Payi looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Where is the letter?!"

"It's a verbal message."

"Why didn't you say it earlier!"

Franz then had a "friendly" exchange with him, and only then did he learn the content of the verbal message.

To be honest, he was a little disappointed, because the prince's behavior made Franz feel a little disgusted. The message was long, but it can be summed up in four words: "driving the tiger to swallow the wolf".

This Baji Rao II hoped to use Austria to restore his status, or at least to deal some blow to the British.

As for those corny things such as measuring India's material resources to win the favor of the empire, admiring Western civilization, and willing to convert to Catholicism, they were all empty promises.

What made Franz even more contemptuous was that this person who felt he was a "hero" actually sent a little girl to deliver a message, of course for safety, after all, who would have thought that a little girl would bring such a long message.

In addition, children's words are not restrained, whether for the British or the Austrians, he can put all the responsibilities on a little girl.

Looking at the poor little girl on the side, Franz opened a box and stuffed a lollipop into her, and gave her a new watch.

Lakshmi Payi, who received the gift, wiped her tears and left happily.