St. Petersburg, after receiving the news of the Anglo-Persian treaty, Alexander III's hair has fallen out a lot.

Throwing away the telegram in his hand, Alexander III complained: "Damn the British, can't you settle down a little?

It's only been a few days of worry-free, and it's starting to toss again. Do you really think we're bullies......"

Heaven and earth conscience, he really doesn't want to do things now. Isn't it good to farm quietly, why do you want to do things?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alisher Gulov, advised: "Your Majesty, this is a trick of the British.

They provoked the Persian conflict at this time in order to interrupt the recovery of the Russian Empire, and we must not allow their plot to succeed. ”

He was really afraid that the young and vigorous Tsar would be angry, so he ran to war with the British, and this kind of thing happened many times among the previous Tsars.

To be exact, there are many such things all over the world. It lasted until modern times, and after learning the lessons of countless predecessors, everyone became sensible.

The current Russian Empire is not suitable for foreign wars, first the Russo-Prussian War, then the economic crisis, and the Russian Empire is at its weakest.

Without waiting for Alexander III to answer, the War Secretary Paladru Wald preemptively said: "Everyone knows that this is a conspiracy of the British, but so what?

The interests of the Russian Empire were inviolable, and the Persian question was only a test for the British. If we don't cut off their delusions, more trouble awaits us.

Once the outside world thinks that the Russian Empire has fallen, we will not only face the British as enemies. ”

Hatred was drawn too much, and at the time of the strength of the Russian Empire, these were the diseases of scabies, and there was nothing to worry about.

Now it's different, the Russian Empire is at its weakest. can live a peaceful and stable life, relying on the former tiger might.

No matter how prosperous the tiger is, it can't change the fact that it is a sick tiger. If you can't deter the jackals, tigers and leopards in the mountains and forests, it will be a situation where wolves eat tigers.

In order to avoid the worst, the tsarist government has made a lot of efforts, including: restoring the Russian-Austrian alliance and actively participating in the war in the Near East......

On the one hand, he used the power of the alliance to intimidate the heroes, and on the other hand, he flexed his muscles on the battlefield to convince everyone that the Russian Empire was still strong.

In order to speed up the recovery, the tsarist government even sold the spoils of war in the Near East in exchange for large sums of money to improve its finances.

Still, the temptation came. The Persian question is only a shadow, and once the Russian Empire shows signs of fatigue, there will be no peace in the future.

The more they thought about it, the more nervous they became, and after constant brain filling, a conspiracy theory against the Russian Empire took shape.

Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez hurriedly explained: "Your Excellency, the matter is not so serious.

The British may be tempting us, but the Persian question also involves Austrian interests, and the situation is under control as long as we are in agreement with the Viennese government.

The Foreign Office had already communicated with the Vienna government, and they suggested a direct showdown with the Persian government, ignoring the presence of the British. ”

The Russian-Austrian alliance is an invincible existence on the World Island, especially after the end of the Pubo Federation, other countries together can't shake this big boss.

It's okay for the British to do things, anyway, they are not in Eurasia, and the Royal Navy is enough to ensure their own security. If you want to directly bring down Russia and Austria, it will be impossible.

War Minister Palladru Wald asked suspiciously: "Austria is going to do something against Persia?" ”

Oscar Jimenez rubbed his forehead, there was no way that these teammates really couldn't take it. Militant peoples were fond of using violence to solve problems, and the top echelons of the tsarist government were no exception.

Reluctantly explained: "Britain and Poland signed a secret treaty, and the two governments did not recognize it, so we can also pretend that we don't know anything."

Now in a showdown with the Persian government, we can deliberately put forward conditions that contradict the contents of the secret treaty, so that the plans of the British will be frustrated.

If the Austrians wanted to make a move against the Persian region, they didn't need to be so troublesome at all, they could just hit it. ”

"Fight directly" is the style of the great powers. The excuse for war can be found later, and anyway, the war of aggression has been launched, and there is nothing to wash at all.

This is different from the war in the Near East, the Ottoman Empire was the public enemy of Europe in the past, and a casual flip through the history books can turn the war of aggression into a war of revenge.

International public opinion itself has a strong tendency, and a war of revenge launched on behalf of the will of the European people must be just.

Under the influence of the general environment, even the British, who were-stirring sticks, did not dwell on this issue.

There is nothing to say about attacking Persia, after all, the Persian Empire and the Habsburgs have no hatred, and there are still 18,000 miles with the European world.

This answer was a mixed blessing for Alexander III. The good news is that the problem can be solved, and there is no need to worry about the situation deteriorating; But the Russian Empire became more dependent on Austria.

In order to get rid of dependence on Austria, the tsarist government, starting with Alexander II, deliberately alienated the Vienna government.

However, tossing and turning, in the end, it returned to square one, and even made the problem worse.

said that he would get rid of his dependence on Austria, but in the end he became more dependent, and if he continued like this, he could only be a little brother with peace of mind.

Learning from his father's lesson, Alexander III did not blindly alienate the diplomatic relations between the two countries in order to get rid of his dependence on Austria.

And then there was no then, and Alexander III simply did not know what to do. It is not impossible to get rid of Austria, but the price to pay is too great.

Political dependence is best addressed, troublesome economic implications. Once again, international loans are not easy to come by.

Under the influence of the additional condition that only Austrian goods could be bought, Russian industry lost its own style and completely copied Austria.

No, they still have their own style, the machinery and equipment they bought, and the same goods produced have been improved in shape, volume, and function.

Unfortunately, this improvement is not benign, but in the opposite direction. If you can't copy your homework, you won't have to think about independent research and development and upgrading.

If you buy the first generation, you have to buy the second generation, and everyone will get used to it. The after-effect was that Russian industry was forced to adopt Austrian standards.

To this day, with the exception of Austria, machinery and equipment produced in other countries cannot be sold in the Russian Empire.

It's not a matter of price, it's not a matter of quality, the key is that the standard system is not right.

Industrial development is about the industrial chain, to change the standard must be changed upstream and downstream together, if only one of the links is changed, the industrial chain will immediately have problems.

Even if the industrial chain is not highly dependent, capitalists also have to consider the problem of equipment maintenance in the later stage.

There is no supporting standard system, and if you change a screw, you must import it from the country where the equipment is purchased.

If these small accessories are not worth much, and the manufacturer can give a batch, then the machinery and equipment are broken, and the maintenance workers have to be invited from overseas, then there is no way.

Everyone has to think about the cost, and no one will ask for trouble. There were also few large factories in the Russian Empire that allowed equipment suppliers to send skilled workers directly to the site.

Alexander III still knew a little about economics, and he didn't toss around in order to get rid of restrictions.

If you can't get it yourself, you have to import it anyway, and it's better to buy Britain and France than to buy Austria, at least everyone is an ally.

Under the free trade system, monopoly on industrial equipment was achieved by relying on the promotion of standards, which taught many European economists a lesson.

Even in some universities, the Russian Empire was used as a classic case of promoting standards, and appeared in students' textbooks in a grand manner.

From the beginning to the end, the tsarist government did not think of the British approach, but only a response to the conflict in Central Asia.

In this respect, the "warning" of the British government was in vain, and the Russians did not think of that step at all.

It's not that the tsarist government is stupid, it's mainly a cognitive difference. Perhaps in the eyes of the outside world, the Russian army's small moves in Central Asia are a big deal, but in the eyes of the tsarist government, it is a trivial matter.

Isn't it just a matter of robbing a few sheep, a few cows, a few horses, plus occupying a pasture, and the Russians have been doing similar things for hundreds of years.

Accustomed to nature, the tsarist government from top to bottom did not feel that there was a problem, who could have imagined that the British would make a big fuss?

It is estimated that the British government directly compiled the cause and effect into information and sent it to the tsarist government, and the Russians may not necessarily believe it.

……

On April 13, 1885, the Mahdi rebels ambushed the vanguard of the French counterinsurgency army in the Idfu area, and the battle scene was that touching.

Relying on the superiority in troops, coupled with the advance ambush that caught the French army by surprise, the two sides actually ended in a draw.

After receiving the news, the first reaction of Huthier and the others was impossible. The French, even if they are papier-mâché, cannot be so vulnerable.

At the military meeting, Mahdi reprimanded with a blue face: "You guys are really powerful, aren't you very capable in normal times?"

More than 30,000 people ambushed less than 5,000 enemies, occupied all the advantages, and finally actually fought a draw.

If you don't have a geographical advantage, but have an encounter in the wild, will you be completely annihilated by the French?

Waste ......"

After listening to Mahdi's reprimand, Hurthir probably understood what the "tie" was all about.

The six-fold superiority in troops, coupled with the ambush in advance, hit the enemy's ambush, and in the end, not only did not completely annihilate the enemy's army, but allowed the enemy to break through and leave.

Such a record is a joke when it comes out, but it really happened.

The "draw" is nothing more than self-consolation, and if you look at the battle loss ratio between the two sides, you will know that it is 3.4:1. almost killed a French legion, but the price he paid was a division.

Judging from everyone's expressions, Huthier felt that the annihilated "French army" might also have water, and if he really killed a regular regiment of the French army, it was estimated that a celebration banquet could be held here.

An ominous premonition arose from Hurtier's heart. Secretly guessed: Should it be the French colonial army that is independent?

Fortunately, there were pure French soldiers who were captured, proving that the main forces participated in this battle.

If the colonial army has such a record, then don't say anything, hurry up and pack your things and go home, don't even think about the mission.

The main forces of the rebel army suffered heavy losses, and Mahdi had to once again turn his attention to the British and Austrian representatives, hoping for more assistance.

In the end, he was accustomed to seeing strong winds and waves, and Lieutenant General Jeret did not express his dissatisfaction with the result of this ambush battle: "Everyone, something has happened, let him pass!"

According to convention, the vanguard of the French army is generally elite, and it is normal for them to be a little stronger. The troops in the back are not so powerful.

The most urgent task at the moment is to seize the time to reorganize and train the rebel army and improve its combat effectiveness as much as possible.

I hope that the problems that were exposed in this ambush battle will not recur in later battles. ”

……