Chapter 768 Impotent Rage

Robert Peel, as Prime Minister, was very puzzled as to how two mature diplomats could do such a substandard thing.

However, when he learned the details, he even hesitated for a second between war and peace, and finally chose to tear up the letter written to Queen Victoria.

"People on the European continent are all freaks!"

Robert Peel was a little angry. At first, he saw the Pope bombarding those Catholic countries and thought that this person was good, at least he could be used.

However, at this time, Robert Peel had already given up that idea. If this madman really succeeded, he might launch another Crusade.

Robert Peel shook his head to dispel the scene in his mind. The continuous natural disasters and increasing international challenges have significantly slowed down the economic growth of Britain.

Wars in southern Brazil, the southeast coast of Albania, and the Indian subcontinent continue to consume Britain's financial resources.

In fact, the original purpose of these wars was to transfer domestic conflicts and use war to stimulate the economy.

However, all these operations failed, especially the sudden attack of the Afghans during the Sikh War, coupled with the full-scale uprising on the subcontinent, which is now dragging Britain into a deeper abyss.

This costly military operation by Britain did not gain much except conquering the Sikh Empire.

And this conquered empire is obviously corrupt, and its people and land are completely useless. At the same time, due to the influence of religion and culture, the Sikhs have a particularly strong will to resist.

Sir Henry Harding felt that at least 50,000 troops needed to be left to maintain local stability, because the Sikh Empire was close to the Kabul Pass, which was the only way for the Afghans to invade India.

The feasibility of completely conquering Afghanistan was discussed in Britain, but it was opposed by the vast majority of people.

There are several main reasons:

First, it has only been a few years since the first Anglo-Afghan War, and the bloody tragedy of the Kabul retreat is still vivid. If we launch another war to invade Afghanistan, we must be prepared to bear the consequences of failure.

Of the more than 20,000 expeditionary forces, only one military doctor survived.

Second, it is not difficult to defeat the Afghans, but it is difficult to maintain occupation. If the nomads collect protection fees, then this is not an invasion war, but poverty alleviation.

The British have always been fighting one by one, using their maritime advantages to quickly attack and quickly supply.

But Afghanistan, which is located in the inland, obviously does not have this condition. It is difficult to achieve full occupation if the army is too small, and the overly dispersed troops will be divided and annihilated by the nomads.

However, it is difficult to maintain the supply of the army if it is too large. If you want to maintain the supply of the army, you need to mobilize more manpower and material resources, and the two costs will spiral up.

Building railways may be a good choice, but there are no railways on the Indian subcontinent now, and the steel production efficiency is too low, and advanced machinery and equipment must be shipped from the mainland.

At the same time, the length of the entire railway will reach an astonishing 3,000 kilometers, during which it will pass through a lot of complex terrain, especially mountains and deserts, which are blind spots for British railway companies.

The cost of the entire railway is expected to be more than 60 million pounds, and due to the uncertainty of economic value, no one will pay for it. The government needs to unilaterally prepay the construction funds in the early stage.

During the construction period, various natural disasters and possible uprisings and wars must be taken into account. In this way, this railway is a bottomless pit.

However, it must be said that there were many talents in Britain at that time. Sir Henry Harding insisted on building the Indian Railway, and Robert Peel actually agreed despite the huge pressure from the country.

The reasons for the two are different. The former is considered from a military perspective. Although the railway cannot be built directly to Afghanistan, the railway on the Indian subcontinent can be built first, and the Afghan issue can be solved when Britain has the strength.

The latter considers the economy and politics. The railway is like the blood of the country. If you want to firmly control the Indian subcontinent, the railway is indispensable.

However, it is not enough to have an attitude. Palmerston used his relationship to find some Indian businessmen and princes. These people were willing to invest in the construction of the Indian Railway for different purposes.

They did not know at this time that they were building a gallows to hang themselves.

After the injection of funds, the Indian Railway was officially established, but Franz was not worried because he knew that it would be 1858 when the first Indian railway was opened.

As for what the British and Indians did during these twelve years, Franz knew it without thinking.

Perhaps people at this time were full of enthusiasm, but they could not guarantee that the later generations would be the same. When the temptation was great enough, the usual morality, faith, and even the law would hardly restrain people's thoughts and behaviors.

The island of Ireland.

At this time, it was experiencing the biggest famine in history, but the Emerald Island was still lush and green, and even the grain exports hit new highs.

Boxes of grain and herds of cattle and sheep left Ireland on the dock in exchange for exquisite silk clothes and wine.

Franz did not see the desperate Irish people taking up arms to take back the food that should have belonged to them. He only saw a white-haired old man standing on the dock and roaring hysterically.

"This is our food! This is what we planted with great effort! This is our reliance for survival!

Why do you take away our food? Why do you let us endure hunger? Aren't we British? "

But no one stopped, no one paid attention to him, and no one drove him away.

On the floor below Franz, a burst of laughter erupted in the corridor of the second-class cabin.

"Sir, why are you laughing?"

Franz asked politely, but no one answered.

The lower level was still filled with laughter and pointing. Bordeaux held the railing with one hand and was about to jump down to argue with the other party, but was stopped by Franz.

"What's so funny about this?"

Franz's words were no longer polite, and even sounded a bit sullen, making him sound uncomfortable. Because the sound was so loud, the passengers in the second-class cabin turned around one after another, and some even uttered curse words.

However, when they saw the first-class people asking questions, these people immediately changed their attitude. They shut up their mouths and hid quietly. The guys who were looking for people with angry eyes now took off their hats in a friendly manner. salute.

"Good morning, sir. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but it's all the Irishman's fault.

That guy O'Connell actually said he was British, how shameless. "

"Aren't the Irish English? Don't they live in this land?"

Lakshmi Pai on the side rushed to ask, and the British man below immediately changed his face when he heard this curry-flavored English and asked.

"Are Indians Americans too? Shouldn't they be grateful to you if you didn't crush the cockroaches or rats in your house? Why should you ask for more?"