Chapter 781: Hope
Chapter 764 Hope
With the passage of time, the overseas interests of various countries have been increasing, and the mutual friction and checks and balances between the great powers have become more and more frequent, and many times they are generated passively.
Austria wanted to destroy the Ottomans in order to obtain a stable rear, inadvertently penetrated the tentacles into Persia, with the ability to threaten India.
There were many places where Britain and Austria checked and balanced each other in their overseas colonization activities, and the threat was mutual.
You can move my cheese and I can take your bread. Everyone was restraining each other, for example:
The British Cape of Good Hope, which was fine under Austrian eyes; and Austrian Alaska next to Canada, which likewise did not erupt into conflict.
Nowadays, Austrian Alaska is no longer a land of ice and snow with nothing on it, but a world-famous gold producer.
Of course, this famous, not to say that the local gold production how heavenly, mainly because the colonial government advertise well.
Ranking words, now the world’s major gold producing areas are: South Africa, Australia, Canada, the United States, Russia, West Africa, Alaska can only rank seventh.
Austrian Alaska’s reputation for harsh climatic conditions has been dubbed “God’s test” by an Austrian poet.
The colonial government of Austro-Alaska, which lacked a population, used the phrase directly as a propaganda slogan.
To the outside world, it claimed that Alaska had the world’s harshest gold mines and was God’s test for mankind.
Only by withstanding the test set by God can one become rich and go to the peak of life.
Of course, the Russians may not be convinced by the term “harshest natural conditions”, but there are many gold mines in the Russian Empire that have a harsh climate.
Said God’s test is also right, if you do not pass the test, really will go to God.
Frozen Alaska, every year more than four-figure gold miners, on the road to meet God. The ones who get rich are the lucky few who make it through the test.
Alaska’s annual gold production of tens of tons, to the Vienna government, is also a piece of fat meat can not be easily cut off.
If the British Government had not been too sensitive to India, it would have realized that the forces holding each other back between Britain and Austria were no longer small.
India, though delicious, in the absence of full certainty before eating, the Vienna government is not likely to risk.
The premise of the potential threat is “potential”, the British have been operating in India for so many years, is not paper thin.
Now is Britain’s most peak period, who if you think British India is a soft persimmon to pinch, foolishly rushed up, custodian touched a broken head and blood flow out.
……
London, the goodwill released by the government in Vienna, pulled the British government out of panic.
As the saying goes, “I am relieved that you are also afraid”. Since Austria was still afraid of Britain, it meant that India was still safe for the time being.
In the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street, after rationally analyzing the pros and cons, Gladstone was confused.
“What do you think the Austrian government is trying to do with its sudden release of goodwill?”
Seemingly thinking of something, Foreign Secretary George’s face changed drastically, “What the Austrians’ true purpose is cannot be determined for the time being. But next, I’m afraid we’re going to be in big trouble.
Austria’s willingness to sign a safeguard treaty with us only proves that the Vienna government has no interest in Persia for the time being, it doesn’t mean that the Russians don’t have an interest as well.
The international situation is changing, although Austria is temporarily ahead of the European countries, but their position as the hegemon of the continent is not stable.
From the Vienna government’s release of goodwill towards us, we can see that the Austrians do not have the backbone to sit on their European land hegemony.
Neither the ambitious Russians nor the arrogant French will recognize their position.
Sandwiched between France and Russia, Austria’s continental hegemony was a joke. Perhaps realizing this, the Vienna government never claimed to be the hegemon of Europe.
With the passage of time, both France and Russia would regain their strength, and then Austria would be in big trouble.
According to past experience, the Austrians will not and France and Russia head-on confrontation, most likely again to play the trick of conflict transfer.
I’m afraid that the next step will be to encourage the Russians to move south to the subcontinent, provoke the Russians into conflict with us, and then concentrate on France.
I’m afraid that the North German Empire, which we engineered, will also become the guards holding the western gate for Austria.”
What makes a phallic conspiracy scary is that it’s exposed and things still happen.
Russian ambitions are not something the London government can eliminate. Unlike the Russian-Austrian relationship from the time of the war against France, the two countries are allies, has been bumping to maintain until now, the Anglo-Russian relationship that is a complete mess.
Even if the Austrian plan, on the desk of Alexander III, the tsarist government will still be happy to go south to the subcontinent.
London government issued a warning can only play a counterproductive role, trust this thing is never easy to corrupt, hard to establish.
Over the past few decades, Russia and Austria had established a basic relationship of trust through three generations of monarchs. Despite the same backstabbing, the agreements made between the two countries were eventually honored.
The Vienna government encourages Russia to go south, that is a tangible interest, the tsarist government will naturally believe; the British pointed out that Austria conspired to disassociate the Anglo-Russian relationship, the tsarist government will not take it seriously at all.
There was never anything past you in the first place, so how can we talk about dissociation?
The North German Empire as a guard is even more insoluble, that is the geographical location of the decision, they are sandwiched in the middle of the French and Austrian, do not want to be this guard can not be.
Unless the North German Empire program is abandoned and the North German region is allowed to remain divided, then the weak German Confederation will certainly not be able to handle it.
This was the worst option, bar none. External pressure is also what drives a people to unite.
Unless the London government personally steps in to help withstand French military pressure, the bunch of small states in the German region will fall to Austria in minutes.
After hesitating for a while, Gladstone sighed: “The price Austria can offer is too high for the Russians to refuse.
But this is something for the future, in a short period of time the Tsarist government should be at peace for a while. Let the Viceroy of India get ready, the future of Central Asia and the Persian region is going to be unsettled.
Warn the French to hold back their ambitions. Or else they will go and cry if they create an opportunity for the Austrians to reorganize the anti-French alliance!
The next step is for everyone to be on the alert, especially the Foreign Ministry.
The enemies encountered this time are different from the past, they are much tougher than France and Russia, and none of their past experience will be of use to them.
The main battlefield for the future has shifted, from a real fight to a diplomatic game.”
The Vienna government made one move after another, and the London government could only respond passively, much to Gladstone’s displeasure.
To know that Britain has always been known as a diplomatic powerhouse, now actually being led by the nose, want to counterattack do not know how to start?
Foreign Minister George replied confidently, “Don’t worry, Prime Minister. The front is just that we were not vigilant enough against Austria, and were drilled by them, and only then fell into a passive state, the back will not have this kind of thing happen again.”
……
On November 18, 1882, the anti-Turkish alliance met successfully on the Kyzyl River and the Ottoman Empire became precarious.
In the royal palace in Ankara, at this moment Abdul Hamid II was in a hurry, ten times worse than the last Near East war when Austrian airships dropped bombs downward over his head.
It was true that the British boss had been very helpful, supporting them with tons of supplies, but that was all in the past.
After Asia Minor had been split in two, the western part was completely isolated, surrounded on all sides by anti-Turkish allies.
No amount of material aid could be sent over. Theoretically, the British could still have airdropped it with airships.
Unfortunately, this is not possible, the British support for the Ottomans also has a limit, directly sending airships to airdrop supplies, that is to challenge the bottom line of the Anti-Turkish Alliance.
In case it intensified the conflict and got itself involved, the London government would only be able to cry.
Whether it is Austria, or Russia, are not alone to spy on the strength of the Indian region, but once the two countries joined forces the situation is different.
Not to say that the British expelled, at least the fire to the Indian hinterland no problem. At the same time against the world’s three continental military power of two, the London government has not gone crazy.
To start a war in defense of Ottoman? I guess the suggestion has just been made and Downing Street is about to change ownership.
A panicked Abdul Hamid II: “Chancellor, what do we do now?”
Midhat replied distractedly, “Your Majesty, at this point, the enemy will not give us a chance to live, and if we want to preserve Ottoman, we can only fight for our lives.
The Russian army is only about eighty kilometers away from Ankara, next we have to prepare for the defense of the capital, your majesty can personally visit the front line to boost morale.”
“Do we have any hope of winning?” Abdul Hamid II asked expectantly
He was very eager to hear that someone could give him an affirmative answer. Midhat was not the master of ass-kissing, the mess at home made his heart rhythms brittle, and naturally he would not bend to meet him at this time.
“The enemy’s advantage is too great, the possibility of us winning the war is almost zero, but there is still hope of preserving the Ottoman Empire.
As long as we give the Anti-Turkish Alliance the maximum killings, the brutal casualty figures will make them calm down and come to the negotiation table.
When the time comes, we will be able to end this war with honor by paying a price and sending the enemy out of the country with a gift.”
Abdul Hamid II said fiercely, “Fine, I’ll go and patrol the barracks now.”
What people fear most is that there is no hope, even if they know that there is little hope, there are still people who can’t help but try.
By this time, Abdul Hamid II’s expectations had dropped, and it was enough to keep the Ottoman Empire and the throne.
(End of chapter)