At the same time, it has become a back-erabbed man, and the Russian-Austrian Alliance can also be renamed the Back-Handed Alliance. However, there is also a difference between the backstabbers and the backstabbers.

Austria willingly jumped out to take the blame.

French Foreign Ministry: Austria spreads rumors, smears the national image of France, claims economic losses.

Austrian Foreign Ministry: No, we just stated the facts and let the European people know the truth.

……

The tsarist government was different, it was all about people sitting at home, and the pot came from the sky.

The Vienna government took the blame, and the quarrel between France and Austria was more like a political game.

The pot thrown by the British is different, sending troops to attack the British troops in Afghanistan, which is no different from declaring war.

Although they were not afraid of war with the British, the Russians were naturally reluctant to bear this black cauldron for the enemy without any gains.

saint petersburg

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez: "Your Majesty, the matter has been clarified. After the British occupied the Afghan region, they met with fierce resistance from the locals, and the troops suffered heavy losses.

The British government slandered us for sending troops to attack the British troops in Afghanistan in order not to bear the responsibility for the heavy losses on the front line and to give an explanation to the people at home. ”

What does it mean for Anglo-Russian war?

If you open the map, you will know that this is not a big deal at all, except for the possibility of war in Central Asia, other regions are beyond the reach of both sides.

Theoretically, the Royal Navy could indeed blockade the coastline of the Russian Empire, but in practice it simply could not do so.

Russia's shipbuilding industry is underdeveloped, domestic ocean shipping companies are also rare, and most of the shipping business of overseas trade is undertaken by international shipping companies.

Including the British shipping companies, they have taken a big piece of the pie. The Royal Navy has an embargo, so it can't even detain its own ships, right?

To put it mildly, the main outlets of the Russians to the sea are concentrated in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and even if the Royal Navy blocks the door, everyone can still pretend to be trading with the Nordic Confederation and Austria.

In these years, there is no satellite monitoring, and who knows the real start and end of these ships. Arbitrarily arresting ships is bound to cause international disputes.

Hearing this answer, War Minister Ivanov said angrily: "Your Majesty, the British continue to challenge the bottom line of the empire, and now they can't tolerate it any longer.

We have to use the strongest means to give them a strong response. Let the whole world know that the great Russian Empire is not to be messed with! ”

"Tough" is not without reason, in fact, after Marshal Ivanov became Minister of War, the Russian military became relatively conservative.

If it weren't for the British government's behavior of throwing the blame, which exposed the weakness of the British army's low combat effectiveness, Marshal Ivanov would never have jumped out of the main battle now.

Alexander III hesitated, and the tsar, who did not dare to fight, was not a qualified tsar.

Peace-loving, that's just a need for interests. Now that the British have exposed their weakness, it would be completely unreasonable if they did not take the opportunity to fall into the ground!

But are the British really that weak?

Alexander III was deeply skeptical, he was well aware that the Indian colonial army did not represent the real combat effectiveness of the British army.

Most of the troops attacking Afghanistan this time were Indian colonial troops, and the main force transferred from the mainland was less than one-fifth of the total number.

Seeing that Alexander III wavered, Ivanov continued: "Your Majesty, the British have long been a foreign power.

After so many years, there has been no progress at all. The combat effectiveness of the British army may not be comparable to that of the First Near Eastern War.

The war in Afghanistan is proof of this, as is the war in South Africa, which was earlier.

At that time, the British were the main force, but even the militia of Austria temporarily entangled did not win, and the combat effectiveness of the British army can be imagined.

Now is the best chance, the three khanates of Central Asia have been crippled, and it won't be long before we are in Afghanistan.

Although the British occupied Afghanistan first, their local roots were shaky, and there were guerrillas who caused trouble.

We can take advantage of the situation and seize Afghanistan and lay the groundwork for the southward expansion into India. ”

The law of the jungle was the essence of this era, and the original goal of the tsarist government was only to seize Central Asia.

As for the Afghan region, since it fell into the hands of the British, the military no longer has expectations and is ready to wait for the next opportunity.

However, the plan did not change quickly, and after discovering that the British troops occupying the Afghan area were weak chickens and could not even handle the Afghan guerrillas, Marshal Ivanov immediately changed his mind.

"If God does not take it, it will be punished by God."

To miss such an opportunity is simply a crime. As the leader of the military, this kind of soft persimmon sent to the door is turned away, do you want to find hard bones to gnaw?

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jiménez added: "We had secret contacts with the French not long ago, and the government in Paris has no objection to our access to the Indian Ocean.

If we turn against the British at this time, the French will not send troops to intervene, and Austria will support us.

All diplomatic obstacles have been cleared. The rest of the problem is military, as long as the military is sure of victory, the southward strategy can be implemented. ”

Hearing the news, Alexander III was shocked: "The French sold their teammates so quickly?" ”

Then he reacted again, and it seemed that the French government did not want to sell his teammates, and now it could not help the British.

France and Austria are arguing over the issue of Central Europe. At this time, sending troops to help the British fight the war didn't provide Austria with an opportunity?

"Are there any financial problems?"

Traditionally, almost every war is preceded by a routine opposition from the Treasury Department.

It's not that the Chancellor of the Exchequer doesn't have a big picture, the main thing is that the tsarist government is poor and doesn't get vaccinated in advance, what if there is no money in the middle of the war?

No one wants to bear the blame, so the Russian finance minister has always been the leader of the anti-war faction. As long as the financial difficulties are mentioned in advance, and there is no money in the middle of the war, it is not a problem of the Ministry of Finance.

Every time the treasury was against it, it was not easy to meet one time that it was not against it, and it is not to blame Alexander III for being surprised.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alisher Gulov, replied with a smile: "It is true that there are some financial difficulties, but thanks to the efforts of our colleagues, we have raised a sum of money for the war.

Just a few months ago, we signed a loan contract with the Austrian National Bank for 50 million Aegis; In addition, we have reached an agreement with a French consortium to issue bonds of 270 million francs secured by industrial raw materials.

As long as the total number of troops we invest is less than 500,000 and the war lasts no more than a year, we will be able to support it financially. ”

(£1 = 2 Aegis = 25 francs)

In fact, it is not only the military that wants to go south to seize India, but the Ministry of Finance is not inferior to India.

The Tsarist government offset nearly 30 percent of its debts by selling the spoils of war after the Third Near Eastern War and obtaining large sums of money for the resettlement of immigrants in Austria.

Combined with the successive repayment of debts in recent years, the total debt of the tsarist government has fallen by nearly 40%.

In addition to the reduction of debt pressure, Russia's economy has also achieved certain development in recent years. Although it is still a snail's speed, it is still moving forward.

Self-raising and borrowing, hundreds of thousands of troops will be able to fund the war for a year.

Alexander III was surprised: "The French are willing to issue bonds for us?" ”

He was not surprised, because of the credibility of the Russian government, the government bonds issued by the Russian government could only be sold at home, even on the side of its ally Austria.

No matter how good the relationship is, no matter how high the interest rate is, financial institutions that have suffered losses are not willing to come a second time.

In contrast, France's financial regulations are much looser. Bonds are risky investments, and in the event of default, the purchaser bears their own responsibility and does not need to be jointly and severally liable by the issuer.

Capitalists, as long as the profits are high enough, there will naturally be people who will do it. To the surprise of Alexander III, the French government did not intervene.

You must know that Britain and France are allies, and the French issuing bonds for the Russians at this time is completely stabbing the allies again.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alisher Gulov nodded: "Yes, the French government did not intervene!"

However, the interest and handling fees are very high, and the amount of bonds should not be too large, and it can only be done in the form of private enterprise fundraising. ”

For the tsarist government, the process was not important, the most important thing was the result. As long as you can get the money, there is no real difference between corporate bonds and government bonds.

……