Chapter 497: Snipe and Mussel Struggle, Kill the Fisherman First

  Chapter 486: Snipe and Clam, Punish the Fisherman First

The uprising that took place in Rome allowed many people to see the opportunity to fall on their swords. International public opinion is the French government criticized, which also includes the French media.

There was no way around it, it was the aftermath of a confused mind. There were people who supported the Reformation, and likewise there were people who opposed the Reformation, more or less for the sake of opposition.

Perhaps Napoleon III had gotten used to it, and the public opinion in the country did not give him much influence, and still suppressed the rebellion as usual.

This was a great disappointment to the British. The outbreak of revolt in Italy could not move the foundation of France, and as long as Paris was not in turmoil, it would be difficult to bring down the Great French Empire.

The fact is not unexpected, the powerful Roman uprising only lasted less than a week, was suppressed by the French. After resisting for one morning to be exact, the uprising was crushed.

A rabble is a rabble, and while a hasty revolt may appear to be a powerful one, its internal organization is in disarray.

The revolutionaries were not able to control the situation, and although the churchmen participated in the uprising, they were afraid of the strength of the French and had no confidence in the revolution.

Make a fuss, that is, the child that cries has milk to eat. Show the French a bit of strength, for their own more favorable conditions, but not ready to die with the French to the end.

The French counterinsurgency army arrived quickly, after seeing the momentum is not good, this group of people and quickly switched positions, betrayed the revolutionary party.

Without waiting for the British to take action, the Italian independence movement was at a low ebb. With the exception of the partisans who were still holding on to their resistance, the cities controlled by the insurgents were once again back in the hands of the French.

In London, Prime Minister Benjamin has been very distressed lately. The situation in South Africa is tight, and telegrams for help have been arriving on time three times a day.

It was with great difficulty that an Italian independence movement was planned, but it had only just begun, when it came to an end. The Italian spirit of independence is very strong, but the ability to fight in the field is out of the question.

There were very many mouth-breathing revolutionaries, and people were great at shouting slogans. When it came to the battlefield, these people were usually the first to run away.

Of course, it is not without results, after the failure of the uprising, Italy’s cultural industry has developed substantially, a large number of artists emerged.

The artistic creation of the Italians, this is not the concern of Prime Minister Benjamin, now he is busy thinking about the aftermath.

So many rotten things happened during his term of office that he could almost announce that he didn’t need to participate in the next election, lest he lose too badly and lose face when the time came.

If he couldn’t make it to the next term, he couldn’t make it, and Prime Minister Benjamin didn’t care. But the problem at hand has to be dealt with, or else he’ll have to roll out early if he can’t wait for the election.

Queen Victoria, who doesn’t interfere much in politics, has summoned him three times this week, asking him to come up with a plan as soon as possible to solve the problem at hand.

……

Foreign Minister MacLean analyzed with a sad face, “Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the situation is very unfavorable for us now, France and Austria have already stood together.

The Vienna government has acquiesced to the annexation of Italy by the French and did not intervene from start to finish, otherwise this Italian independence movement would not have failed so quickly.

In the Mediterranean they have joined forces to compress us into a corner; in South Africa they have joined forces and are poised to seize the Cape of Good Hope.

Judging from the strategic layout, this time France and Austria joined hands not only for the purpose of expanding in the European continent, but there is a great possibility that they want to seize the hegemony of the sea.

Now we are losing the Mediterranean Sea, and if we lose the Cape of Good Hope again, then the distance to the Indian Ocean increases dramatically.

This is not an example of how our control of the Indian region, including the Far East, would be affected. The Austrians have their tentacles deep into the Arabian Peninsula and are very close to India.

For the time being, the Royal Navy was able to suppress their ambitions, but in the context of the Franco-Austrian alliance, how long it will be possible to do so is an open question.

The time has come when there must be a shift in foreign policy, and I propose recognizing Greater France in exchange for the French letting us join the alliance.”

Joining the alliance is not as simple as it sounds. Now that the French had annexed the Italian regions and Austria hadn’t gained anything yet, this was the time when the government in Paris made a compromise, and the government in Vienna was sure to be displeased.

Despite not being able to determine the specifics of the Franco-Austrian alliance, Maclean was certain that Austria had not yet gotten the benefits agreed upon in the treaty.

Just the South African region of the gains, in his opinion, is not enough to Austria’s appearance fee, after all, this war in South Africa, Austria’s investment is also very large, it is very difficult to recover the cost.

From the point of view of interest, the two together in partnership business, one big profit, the other is losing money, such cooperation is doomed to go on.

Prime Minister Benjamin rubbed his forehead and fell into hesitation. Recognizing the Great French Empire was easy, but the aftermath was very serious.

It meant that the arch-enemy France, once again, grew stronger. On the bright side, the French Empire after the annexation of the Italian region, the comprehensive national power directly increased by one third.

If the internal integration was completed, the strength of the French would continue to grow, and Britain would lose much of its advantage over France.

Unlike Austria, there was still France and Spain in the middle blocking the way, and the London government could not feel much pressure.

Not so with France, which is separated by water, and the British will have to face this share of pressure head-on, and the London government has never been more wary.

“Let’s try it then, the Franco-Austrian coalition is too much of a threat to us and they must be broken up. There are many in the Austrian government who are opposed to the Great French Empire, all of these people can be utilized.”

Prime Minister Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief when the decision was made. Despite the fact that the Royal Navy had always sworn to guarantee that it would be able to defend Britannia, he still felt the pressure of taking on two great powers at the same time.

He was also considered unlucky, looking through the history of British diplomacy, this should be considered their most isolated era.

After the tireless efforts of our forefathers, the European countries that have paid expensive tuition fees are now not so good at fooling around.

Seeing the tendency of the French and Austrian countries to have an alliance, everyone has chosen to keep their heads above water. Opposition to the establishment of the Great French Empire is correct, but they are stuck in the mouth, the actual action is still in a wait-and-see state.

This makes Prime Minister Benjamin very distressed, the anti-French alliance has become the name of the real, not to mention the anti-Austrian alliance, they dare not put forward at this time.

In case of stimulation, France and Austria simply tore off the final disguise, openly and squarely divided Europe, then moved a stone to stone their own feet.

France and Austria in order to European hegemony will have a war, this concept or his predecessor John Russell Prime Minister put forward, in order to disassociate the two countries, they also proclaimed out.

Plans can never catch up with changes fast, France and Austria will be for the European hegemony will break out contradictions, this is the consensus of all people, but when this contradiction breaks out it is hard to say.

For example: now France and Austria have another more widely circulated ideas, that is, on the first to clear the field, so as not to let people benefit.

This is bitter, both sides are intent on restraining the conflict, to first kill the fisherman and then duel, which makes them the fisherman love difficult.

Having dealt with one dilemma, another old one surfaced. Colonial Secretary Louis opened his mouth and said: “Gentlemen, the situation on the battlefield in South Africa is tight, and we have all seen the telegrams asking for help.

If everyone still doesn’t want to lose the Cape of Good Hope, then send reinforcements as soon as possible! The casualties at the front line are very high, if we are slow to react, there is no chance that they will just surrender to the enemy.”

Using surrender as blackmail to force the government to send reinforcements. This was not a brilliant plan, it was true that the London government would make compromises now, but in the future, they would settle scores.

There was no doubt that this was not Governor Delphi’s handiwork. As a politician, he would not get himself involved.

Still, there were people who were not afraid of the London government, not the Civilian Colonization Company. They are also an important part of the armed forces of South Africa, and do not mix with politics, or have a backstage, do not care about offending the cabinet.

Not only the colonial company, the colonial government in the middle and lower bureaucrats also do not care about the London government. They are not soldiers do not have the responsibility of guarding the land, even if the post-war pursuit of responsibility, but also can not be traced to these small shrimps on them.

The telegram, which was not threatening, appeared in the London government. If the reinforcements are delayed and there is no hope of victory in sight, there is a real possibility that these people will surrender to save their lives.

The atmosphere fell into an awkwardness, everyone had seen the casualty figures reported by the Cape Town Governor’s Office in recent times.

If an ordinary person had seen it, it would have been a set of figures. With an average of seven to eight hundred casualties per day, coupled with more than ten times the brilliant results of the battle, this little loss was not worth mentioning at all.

Outsiders looked at the scene, but insiders looked at the doorway. These people more or less still understand a little bit of military common sense, and are very clear about the consequences of going on like this.

To know that now launching the attack are the enemy’s hands of cannon fodder troops, that is as much as you want, the loss of even more heavy enemy will not be heartbroken.

This situation, the blow to military morale can be imagined. The best option was to launch a counterattack and engage the enemy in a decisive battle, otherwise they would lose out if they wore it out like this.

Once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope.

Governor Delphi had fought with his opponents more than a dozen times, all of which ended in failure, and all of his ambitions were sapped, not daring to go out of the city for a duel at all.

The London government also dared not give this order, everyone was afraid of taking responsibility. Although the number of British troops in Cape Town is quite large, it is not without the power to fight, but unfortunately everyone does not have the courage to fight.

Governor Delphi expected the London government to send more troops to run over them directly with absolute strength, while the London government had no troops to send.

The British Army was so small that if all the troops were sent out today, an independence uprising would break out in Ireland tomorrow. The London government knew all about the Irish population’s desire for independence.

If the army wanted to expand, the navy would not agree. Expansion is easy, disarmament is hard.

Once the size of the army is expanded, and then want to compress the size, it is not so simple. Then even if one thinks with one’s fingers, everyone knows that the Army will have enough excuses to keep the establishment in place.

It is clear to all present that the situation in South Africa, though critical, is not such that it will be lost at once. There are still so many troops in Britain, and as long as there are no internal problems, the enemy will not be able to conquer Cape Town for a while.

The question of what role the Army played behind the crisis is also a difficult one to answer.

Don’t look at the Secretary of State for War not saying a word, but in fact the War Office has made a lot of efforts to promote the expansion program.

This time, the South African War provided them with another excellent opportunity. If the London government wants to continue to send reinforcements, then the army must be expanded first.

Secretary of State for War Fox waved his hand and said, “Don’t look at me, you all know that Britain’s army is very small, and now the officers and soldiers are all very busy and have no spare troops to reinforce the Cape Town front.

Doesn’t Delphi want a hundred thousand reinforcements? As long as the Cabinet likewise expands the army by one hundred thousand, I can send the reinforcements there within a month.”

Sending reinforcements over in a month, if this was not prepared beforehand, no one would believe it.

Of course it could also be bragging, this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened. There would be all sorts of mishaps that would happen by then as a reason to delay sending the troops.

Robert, the Minister of the Navy, sneered, “I remember that the Boer Republican army in South Africa was 30,000, or was it 40,000, less than half of the Cape Town garrison.

The war has been fought to this extent, but still have the nerve to want to expand the army, is not this a waste of Britain’s resources?”

Not waiting for Fox to retort, Robert jumped ahead and said, “Don’t be in a hurry to explain, I know you want to say that the enemy has a bunch of servant army, but a bunch of natives who are temporarily captured and charge with wooden sticks can also be considered as an army?

The troops of our colony are not all elite, but the enemy’s army is also a rabble. From the outbreak of the war until now, the Austrians did not have any regular army on the battlefield.

The components of the Boer Republican army are clear to everyone. It is a group of civilian armies, recruited a group of young men on the spot, and fought all the way from the Transvaal to Cape Town.

It’s time for you to reflect on why our army is so poorly equipped to fight.

The Army has made enough jokes over the years. If you don’t think about improving the fighting strength of your troops, but only think about expanding their numbers, you will only be able to give the enemy battle results when you get to the battlefield.”

Robert and Fox had no personal grudges, but status determined position. The relationship is related to the competition for military expenditure, as the Secretary of the Navy, Robert directly uncovered the scars of the Army.

Fox angrily slapped the table and retorted, “Nonsense, the Army’s combat power is not as good as the Austrians, that is determined by insufficient military spending.

Just comparing, the military budgets of both sides is enough to explain everything. Since the outbreak of the South African War, we have been suppressed by the enemy’s firepower, or we wouldn’t have suffered so many defeats!”

Pulling the wool over the eyes of whoever makes them afraid, there are thousands of reasons. To be able to get to the position they are in now, they have all sprayed against people along the way.

The sea and land dispute exists in almost every country, Prime Minister Benjamin had to come out to make peace, and now both sides are justified, leaving him unjustified.

“Enough, this is not the place for you to argue, if you want to argue, go out and argue.”

The two men looked at each other and fell silent. The issue of the Army’s expansion was likewise put on hold. Robert didn’t have the joy of victory, and Fox didn’t have the dissatisfaction of defeat.

Apparently this kind of thing had happened many times before, and almost every time the government would support the Navy, and then make an appeasement to the Army, with a slight upgrade or a small expansion of the establishment.

The problem of reinforcing Cape Town was quickly solved. It was to be more than a cannon fodder force, and John Bull would not wimp out before the Indians were all dead.

The only problem is that the finances can not stand, 10,000 British troops can complete the combat task, 50,000 Indian troops are not necessarily able to complete.

On the surface looks cheap, in fact that is also who uses who knows. Quality can not, then the quantity to make up.

The original space and time of the world war, the British army have to personally on the battlefield, it is enough to show that the cost-effectiveness of the Indian colonial army is still not enough.

Otherwise, the London government would have used the Indian colonial army to pile up the enemy.

(End of chapter)