Vienna Palace, since the news of the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian war came, Franz was relieved.

After being an emperor for so many years, he has always been cautious, just to avoid the situation of being besieged in the original time and space.

Austria's national focus is also based on this center. First, it divided the United States on the other side of the ocean, and then it snuffed out the embryonic Italy.

Then he abolished the bullish Prussia, and incidentally weakened the Russian Empire, and it was not until now that the Anglo-Russian War broke out, and Austria was truly out of the besieged situation.

Although the policy pursued by the British government is that "there are only eternal interests, no eternal enemies", it does not mean that you may become allies immediately after you have just fought to the death.

The government can be shameless, and the people cannot accept this earth-shattering reversal. Even if interest groups suppress public opinion, the Russians must cooperate.

If the Russians win this war, going south to India will be the future national policy of the tsarist government, and no one can stop it.

Unless the British can back down, the two countries will have to fight to the death.

If the Russians had lost the war, this would have been impossible, and Franz had already made up his mind to support the tsarist government in the fight.

It's a big deal that in the later period, Austria contributed money and materials, and the Russians sent troops to spend it with the British.

If it doesn't work in one year, it will be two years, and if it doesn't work in two years, it will take three or five years, and if you don't kill a river of blood, this war will not stop at all.

By the time the war was over, Britain and Russia were almost exhausted. For a long time to come, we will not be able to meddle in continental affairs.

……

Franz: "Sell the mortars we just equipped to the Russians, Afghanistan is mostly mountainous, and they need a light artillery. ”

The foundation of the British Empire is solid and has not suffered heavy losses. To defeat them both, Franz had to find a way to strengthen the Russians.

Originally, Franz had prepared the Maxim machine gun for the Russians, but considering the poor logistics of the tsarist government, it still didn't bother them.

More black technology, needless to say, was reserved for the Austrian enemy, and could not be exposed for the time being.

The only thing that can appear in advance is this kind of mortar with little technical content, the original time and space were also made by the Russians, and the retired naval guns were directly modified on the battlefield.

War Minister Fislav reminded with a little embarrassment: "Your Majesty, as early as three years ago, the Russians introduced a mortar production line, and now many troops are already installed. ”

The Russian-Austrian alliance is not an alliance in the simple sense of the word, since the first Near Eastern war was deviated, Russia's armament began to be Austrianized.

After a long run-in, the Russians also learned wisely, but they followed the introduction of all the weapons that the Austrian army was equipped with on a large scale.

Mortars, which are low-tech, simple to operate, and have a wide range of uses, have not been classified as secret armaments since their birth, and have been installed by the military long ago.

In fact, no weapon used in a large-scale equipment can be kept secret.

After all, weapons and equipment also need time to run in before they can exert their power, and they are not issued to soldiers and can be used in combat immediately.

The Maxim machine gun was not immediately installed, because the Austrian army was already equipped with Gatling, and the same kind of weapons were upgraded and replaced, and the run-in time would not be long.

In fact, the weapons and equipment that Austria really kept secret were planes, tanks, and armored vehicles, and the planes that were prepared were not kept secret.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't do it at all. Tanks and armored vehicles can also be secretly developed in a small corner, and the test flight of the aircraft can't help but go to the sky, right?

The test flight of the plane is hundreds of miles, and at such a distance, it is a dream not to be seen.

Instead of helping to attract attention, it is better to put it outside for others to watch, and you can also charge tickets.

Anyway, the public is the first generation of products, and all major industrial countries can make them. Without in-depth research and development, it is because everyone does not realize the value of the aircraft.

As for tanks and armored vehicles, they are laboratory products in the true sense of the word, and they are all hung with the brand of the automobile R&D center to the outside world.

Purely private enterprises have nothing to do with the military industry. Even the R&D expenses were paid by Franz himself, and he did not go through the accounts from military spending.

Not to mention the outside world, even the top of the Austrian government did not know about this thing, and even the military only a few participants knew about it.

……

Franz asked suspiciously: "The Russians attach so much importance to armaments?" ”

In his subconscious, the tsarist government did not pay attention to the replacement of armaments.

Because of military spending, the Russian military is also not active in this regard, unless it reaches the point where it has to be replaced, generally speaking, it can be saved.

In the past 20 years, the Russian army has not purchased second-hand equipment from Austria, especially during the Russo-Russian War, the Russians directly swept the goods.

In order to save expenses, after all, second-hand weapons and equipment are cheap enough, generally speaking, only three or four percent of the price of new equipment, and some weapons can be bought at a discount.

Although it is a little old, as long as it is well maintained, it can still be used for many years, which is most suitable for the army without money.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg, who knew the Russian Empire best, explained: "Your Majesty, there is no contradiction between the lack of money in the tsarist government and the introduction of weapons production lines.

In fact, every time we sign an arms purchase contract with the Russians, there are huge kickbacks attached.

In order not to be discovered by the tsarist government, the bureaucrats in charge of procurement even demanded that all contracts be taxed even according to the transaction price.

The kickbacks returned to them are not directly given to cash, but are done through the transmission of benefits secretly.

Relying on this covert bribery method, the international procurement department of the Russian military became the most corrupt department in the tsarist government, and even set a record for ten years that no one was held accountable for corruption and bribery. ”

Hearing this explanation, Franz rolled his eyes directly. Sure enough, the tsarist government was still the same tsarist government he was familiar with, and the bureaucrats were still just as unkind when they made money.

Now this kind of change is nothing more than having been in contact with Austria for a long time, learning the money-making skills of the Austrian bureaucrats, improving compared with their domestic counterparts, and knowing how to work quietly.

One can imagine how terrifying the combat power of the evolved Russian bureaucracy would be.

With the tsarist government's ability to supervise, the international procurement department of the Russian military could not supervise most of the money by relying on the transfer of interests, otherwise it would not be able to become the most corrupt department in the Russian government.

Even because of the imperfect relationship of the law, many obscure ways to make money may not constitute a crime in the Russian Empire.

Money-making is money-making, and these bureaucrats have also played a role, at least promoting the upgrading of the Russian army's weapons and equipment.

No, it should have contributed to the upgrading of the weapons and equipment of the Austrian army.

Because of industrial technology, the cost of weapons production for the Russians has always been high, not only with a high rate of defective products, but also with unstable product performance.

Whether it is the bureaucrats of the state-run military factories or the capitalists of the private military industrial enterprises, they all pay attention to the maximization of profits.

Buying a production line is just a façade to cope with the above inspections, so as to grab orders from the government.

The cost of self-organized production is too high, and in order to reduce costs and reduce the risk of accidents, everyone tacitly chooses smuggling.

Don't think that if there is a problem with the weapons and equipment of the Russian army, there is no need to be held accountable. It's just that compared with other countries, the Russian army's bearing capacity is higher, and the failure rate is too high, and it is still necessary to be held responsible.

In fact, during the Russo-Prussian War, many capitalists lost their heads because of this. Most of the state-owned military enterprises in the hands of the tsarist government were confiscated at that time.

At first, everyone still abided by the rules, and imported new equipment, but later, in order to obtain greater benefits, everyone tacitly chose to replace it with cheaper second-hand equipment.

Anyway, let's put it another way, second-hand equipment does not exist, it is pure Russian Imperial products.

It looks a little old, but it is the Arsenal that is serious and responsible, and has undergone thousands of quality tests on each weapon.

If you are not satisfied, there are weapons and equipment that have just left the factory to choose from, but they have not been tested for performance, and the quality cannot be guaranteed.

This multiple-choice question is very easy to do, and after trying it out, everyone knows how to choose. Even if you know that there is a problem, for the sake of the ruble's face, there will be no problem.

In order to meet the needs of customers, the Austrian military has advanced the replacement time of weapons to ensure that they do not look too old in the hands of the Russian army.

In fact, even if it is sold at a discount at the international transaction price, this price is enough for the cost of weapon production, and some weapons still have to be profitable.

In a sense, it's a win-win option. The Austrian military saved military spending, and the Russian bureaucrats and capitalists made money for the quality of weapons guaranteed by the Russian army.

If such a thing happened in Austria, Franz would definitely go on a killing spree, but when it happened in the Russian Empire, he chose not to see it.

After all, it would be good for Austria for the Russian bureaucracy to play like this. If Russia and Austria turn their faces one day, the military-industrial system of the Russian army will immediately show its original form.

……

On the battlefield in Afghanistan, a week has passed since the outbreak of war, and the tsarist government's expected sneak attack has naturally failed.

The British generals were not idle, they had already built a defensive line on the border, and the scouts were scattered everywhere, not giving the Russian army a chance at all.

But it was strength that would decide the outcome of the war, and after a week of fighting, Andehouy had become shaky.

This was not the core of the British defense, and strategically the best route for the Russians to attack Herat along the Hari River and then go up into the heart of Afghanistan.

However, Admiral Oginets was not an ordinary person, and Herat naturally belonged to one of the offensive ranges, but the breakthrough was placed in Anderhui.

In the temporary command of the Russian army, General Oginets asked with concern: "Is the Afghan resistance group in contact?" ”

There is no doubt that the Afghan resistance is also an important force in his strategic plan.

In his opinion, the Afghan resistance group can make hundreds of thousands of British troops helpless, and its own strength is definitely not weak, and it is a pity not to use it.

Colonel Lozniza, the young officer in charge of the liaison work, replied helplessly: "Your Excellency, the commander, the contact is connected.

It's just that there are unexpectedly many resistance groups in Afghanistan, and there are 27 resistance groups that we have contacted.

Judging by the intelligence we have gathered, there will be no less than 100 resistance groups in Afghanistan, and possibly even more than 200.

Nominally they were under the leadership of the emir king, but in reality these organizations had long since left themselves on their own, and were not bound at all.

Because of their religion, the relationship between these resistance groups is not very harmonious, and it is almost impossible to integrate them. ”

"One hundred", "two hundred", such numbers directly refreshed the three views of General Oginets. According to his estimates, there are only two or three resistance groups in Afghanistan at most.

After all, too many organizations will lead to the dispersion of forces, and it will be difficult to cooperate with each other, and it will not be able to exert the maximum combat effectiveness.

The reality is the opposite, the Afghan resistance groups are scattered, without any co-ordination and fragmentation, which makes the British tired of coping.

"If it were integrated, wouldn't it be possible to ......"

No sooner had this seductive idea been born than it was extinguished by Admiral Oginets. The purpose of the Russian army coming this time is not to send warmth to the Afghans.

In essence, both Britain and Russia are aggressors. It's just that now it is the British who occupy the Afghan region, and the Russian army naturally does not mind erecting the banner of liberating Afghanistan.

Once the British were driven out, the Russian army would also occupy Afghanistan, which was the national policy of the tsarist government.

In this context, the Afghan resistance groups can only be used as cannon fodder, and they will still have to be cleaned up in the future, and to strengthen their strength is to cause trouble for themselves.