Chapter 808: Tangled Britain and France
Chapter 791 – Tangled Britain and France
The small episode that occurred in North Africa did not affect the European continent, even the newspapers that reported the news of the rebels were few and far between.
Now is the time when the European people’s arrogance is at its peak, and they are simply indifferent to the colonial rebellion that took place in the poorer regions of the countryside.
Egyptian colonial rebellion can not be pacified, this kind of shameful thing, the French government blocked the news is too late, naturally will not be publicized.
Britain and Austria because of their own involvement, the same is not good to open the lid. Other countries would like to see the French joke, but we are not willing to go out of this head.
Can not see the French in Africa joke, does not prevent everyone to reveal the scars of the French army in Annam.
Nearly 20,000 French troops even a bunch of …… didn’t win, like a resounding slap in the face of Napoleon IV.
“Waste, through and through are a bunch of waste! The face of the French Army, all let them lose light, keep them ……”
“Immediately give me more troops, I want to make ……”
……
Under the Emperor’s roar, all the people tacitly lowered their high and proud heads.
If it is said that at the beginning of the battlefield loss, it is just that the French army is not well prepared, and was taken by surprise by the enemy; now that it continues to lose, there is no way to justify it.
Roy Vernon, the minister of finance, affected his scalp and persuaded, “Your majesty, Annam is too far away from us, the cost of laboring far away is too high, and continuing to increase the army has already outweighed the loss.”
As a colonial empire, the most important thing is to weigh the pros and cons. Opening a colony is to make money, controlling costs is a necessary factor.
All the supplies for an expedition to Annam would have to be transported from the mainland, and the cost of combat would be nearly three times that of a local campaign.
The previous defeat had already proved that the enemy was not easy to mess with, and increasing the troops again might not be able to win the war. Even if the war could be won, the military costs would be astronomical.
These huge military expenses, want to recover through the operation of the colony, simply not a short period of time can be accomplished, the return on investment is too low.
Napoleon IV said unquestionably: “No! Now European countries are looking at our jokes, if we stop at this time, how else can we get a foothold in the world ……”
There are too many cases of colonization failure to retreat back, the most recent is the British invasion of Afghanistan, spending hundreds of millions of pounds of military spending, and finally returned to no avail.
However, this does not apply to France. The hat of the world’s first army power is both an honor and a burden in equal measure.
It had only just begun when rumors sprang up in the European world that the French Army was not living up to its name. From the end of the war against France, the French army lacked a proven record.
Now if the French government gives up, the outside world will not care about their reasons for giving up, but will only say: the French Army is useless, even a bunch of …… can not beat.
Once the cognition is broken, the French army’s invincible momentum is gone. Napoleon IV was a military student, very clear about the importance of the “military spirit”.
Today’s times are different, the opposite of the Austrian weapons and equipment, training, are not worse than the French army, the only advantage of the French army is the Napoleonic era of casting the military soul.
The French army’s history of success, so that every French soldier thinks he is the strongest, on the battlefield against any enemy, have a psychological advantage.
Without the military soul, the French army would not be any different from the ordinary armies of Europe, and France would lose the power to overwhelm the European continent.
Let go can not, continue to carry on the war and very much at a disadvantage, a time when the French government is caught in a dilemma of riding a tiger in a difficult predicament.
Foreign Minister Terence Bourgoin proposed: “Your Majesty, according to the news from the Far East, the enemy has already made a request for peace talks with us.
Why don’t we use diplomacy to settle the Annam issue first, and then go and settle with them after the suppression of the Egyptian rebels?”
(Remarks: the Sudan region was relatively economically impoverished, and France had a viceroyalty district in Cairo with jurisdiction over French Sudan and Egypt)
In proposing a diplomatic solution to the problem, Terence Burgin was naturally not aiming at nothing. It was his knowledge of the enemy that led him to take on this seemingly “difficult” task.
Roy Vernon, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreed: “The Marquis is right, the priority is to focus on solving the Egyptian rebellion.
This time in the Egyptian region of the rebellion, behind the British and Austrian support, is definitely not the same as ordinary rebellion.
Egypt is our most important colony, once we let the rebels stray into the Delta region, our losses will be great.”
Involving the two major lifelines of the cotton plantations and the Suez Canal, the importance of Egypt to France cannot be overstated.
Faced with the harsh reality, Napoleon IV also had to make a choice.
“Well, the question of Annam will be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the time being. Urge the Egyptian governor to hurry up and send troops to suppress the rebels.”
……
While the French were in a headache, the London government was equally in trouble.
After the end of the Near Eastern War, the Czarist government had gained a large amount of revenue, and the pressure on its finances was greatly reduced.
Without any surprise, the woolly bears, who had just got rid of their financial difficulties, became restless again and made small moves in Central Asia.
After settling a bunch of hateful immigrants into Siberia, the Russians realized that it was a waste of money.
In order to save precious funds, the unscrupulous Tsarist bureaucrats deported the immigrants directly to Central Asia.
If it were only a small matter, it wouldn’t have bothered Prime Minister Gladstone, the Central Asian khanates would have taken care of it themselves.
The key is the Russians in the border area of the small action constantly, today the Russian army over to rob a few sheep, tomorrow the Russians came to rob a few horses ……
Especially last month, the Russians also migrated a few Cossack tribes over and seized a large area of grassland.
Central Asia several bean small countries, no courage and the Russians hard touch, can only find the boss out.
Foreign Secretary George: “The Foreign Office has already dealt with the Russians, and the results are very unpromising.
The Czarist government not only refuses to recognize the fact of crossing the border, but also insists that they are only operating on their own territory and warns us not to interfere in their internal affairs.
Perhaps it won’t be long before another war breaks out in Central Asia. I’m afraid that the power of just a few khanates in Central Asia won’t be able to hold off the Russians.”
The wind and water have turned, it has always been the British who have been rogues, and now they have met their match.
Prime Minister Gladstone slammed the table, “Damn Russian barbarians, how dare they provoke Britain like this, we must give them some color.”
He was really angry, even if he was talking nonsense with his eyes open, there had to be a limit.
Caught evidence, the Russians not only do not recognize, but also a rake, which makes Gladstone feel that the dignity of the British Empire has been provoked.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Xiaoji Childers, reminded, “In reality, we can do nothing, as early as three years ago when the Tsarist government announced the debt default, we have taken sanctions against them.
It turned out to have no effect at all, the Royal Navy could not enter the Baltic Sea, let alone blockade the Black Sea.
Most of the Russian Empire’s shipping business is undertaken by the Nordic Federation and Austrian companies, and there’s nothing the Royal Navy can do about it, even if it came across it.”
Interest is always the best bond, and originally the Nordic Confederation wanted to seek the bad luck of the Tsarist government in order to take revenge on the Russians for not honoring their agreement.
However, after the mediation of the Vienna government, the Nordic Confederation obtained a large amount of shipping business from the Russians as compensation, the relationship between the two sides was quickly restored.
No matter how much the British warned, there could be no delay in making money for the enterprises of both countries. It was not possible to turn against the two countries for this trifling matter, was it?
After insisting for several months, the London government, seeing no effect, had to revoke the blockade order against Russia.
Every time I think about it, Xiaozhi Childers can not help but spit out the previous governments: the brain is in the water.
On the one hand, they supported the PBF, on the other hand, they lent money to the Russians, and in the end, the PBF lost the war, owed a lot of debt, and the Russians even directly reneged on the debt.
Of course, the economic losses were barely made up for, and at least the pound gained the lead against the SHIELD for a long time.
Unfortunately, this was once upon a time, and after the Russo-Prussian War the Tsar decisively abandoned the pound to hold the guilder, and the battle for monetary hegemony took a turn for the worse once again.
Compared to the economic preservation of capital, it was the political loss that killed the British government, which completely lost its ability to restrict Austria without the pawn of the P&P Federation behind it.
The biggest aftermath was the destruction of the Ottoman Empire, and the situation in Europe was completely out of the control of the British government.
Gladstone nodded, “This I naturally know, but now we must do something to let the several Central Asian khanates see our determination.”
It is not easy to be the boss, when it is time to take the lead, you have to take the lead. Otherwise, the little brother cold heart, the back will not be good to fool people.
Foreign Minister George reminded, “Mr. Prime Minister, what the Central Asian countries need is substantial support.
Instead of sanctioning the Russians, we should arm the Central Asian countries. Even if they are no match for the Russians, at least they will be able to inflict greater losses on the Russians.
The Russian Empire is weak now, they can’t afford massive losses, or else it wouldn’t be a test now.
As long as the Central Asian countries show some strength, I believe the Tsarist government will make the right choice.”
Although several minions in Central Asia were supported by the British government, John Bull’s natural attribute of pitting teammates still exploded. While supporting the Central Asian countries, he did not forget to limit the growth of their strength.
For example: provoke the relationship between the Central Asian countries, deliberately let the countries against each other, hold each other; training the army at a discount ……
In this way, there is no need to worry about the little brothers getting bigger. But counting on them to block the Russians and guard the northern gate of India has likewise become a moot point.
After a moment’s effort of silence, Gladstone: “Sounds like a very good suggestion, just how to ensure smooth implementation?”
After a pause, Gladstone continued to add: “Have you noticed that this Central Asian conflict is very abnormal, there is no sign in advance, the outbreak is too sudden.
I have an unsettling feeling, as if there is someone behind this who is deliberately maneuvering to turn us against the Russians.”
Politicians also talk about feelings, and very often personal feelings are an important factor in shaping strategic decisions.
Finance Minister Xiaozhi Childers laughed, “I don’t think it matters, no matter if there is someone behind this manipulation, when it comes to Central Asia, sooner or later we will have to face off with the Russians.
If we must look for someone behind the scenes, my guess is that it is the Austrians who are behind it, and they are the only ones who have that kind of power.”
Foreign Minister George replied, “I don’t think there’s any need to guess on this one, just look at the current international situation.
We are in trouble at the same time as the French and the Russians, and the ones who have profited the most are the Austrians.
If this series of events, is all a coincidence, then God has favored Austria too much.”
Speculation is speculation, not to mention the lack of evidence, even if evidence is found, what should be done is still done.
After sighing, Gladstone said seriously, “Send someone to investigate, even if it can’t change the ending, getting the evidence can worsen the Russian-Austrian relationship.
How far has the Egyptian side gone?
If there is no hope, we can give up for now, this is not the time to weaken France.”
The self-contradictory plan reappeared.
On the one hand, one wanted to preserve the continental balance and not to weaken the French; on the other hand, one was looking for an opportunity to intervene in the Suez Canal and had to do something in Egypt.
As for destroying cotton plantations, striking at rivals, and creating opportunities for domestic industrial and commercial exports, all could only be considered incidental.
George shook his head: ”Lieutenant General Jarrett has already given the battle plan to the rebels, and material assistance has also been given.
Even if we were to stop immediately now, the French would not be grateful to us, but would instead miss the opportunity.”
……
(End of chapter)