There is no surprise that after Austria took over the black pot, relations between France and Austria deteriorated sharply, and the foreign ministries of the two countries fought every day.

For a time, there were many suspicions in Europe, Britain and Russia were facing each other on the Central Asian issue, and France and Austria were entangled for the sake of Central Europe.

Rounding it up is about the same as the Anglo-French alliance and the Russian-Austrian alliance.

The division of the world into two is clearly the prelude to the outbreak of the European War.

The most apprehensive are the two countries, because of the aggressive relationship of the French, they have been sided.

It seems that Austria has stepped in to relieve them, but in fact it has also pushed them to the opposite side of France.

Originally, it was hoped that the three countries would have reached an agreement on coal exports to avoid escalating conflicts. It's a pity that it was mixed by Austria, and there is no possibility of easing.

Because of their interests, the French capitalists will not tolerate government concessions; The two countries, where nationalism has risen, are now equally unable to budge.

The problem has been stuck in an endless loop, and no matter how it is handled, it will not satisfy all parties. The contradictions are suppressed for the time being, and they are only accumulating strength for the outbreak.

……

In the Afghan region, the British army, which swept all the way, finally ran into trouble.

I don't know when the guerrillas in Afghanistan began to emerge and constantly attack the logistics of the British army.

Especially in the past month, not only the logistics transport team has been attacked, but even the main force has been attacked dozens of times.

The damage caused by a single attack is not large, but it cannot withstand the number of attacks launched by the Afghans!

As a result, the British army did not dare to act alone at all, but anyone with less than one company would be ambushed when they went out.

It's not that I don't know, but I'm shocked. In the last month alone, 112 British soldiers were killed and 313 wounded in attacks by Afghan guerrillas.

And that's just the losses of the British soldiers, the Indian soldiers, and that's not even counting.

If all added up, the British lost a regiment of troops in the last month alone.

This casualty figure is in no way inferior to the casualties in the decisive battle with the Afghan government army, and the daily losses are slightly exceeded.

Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Lieutenant General Patrick was on the verge of collapse, and he had no idea how to write a report to London.

Kabul, General Headquarters of the British Army

A middle-aged officer with a bandaged arm indignantly proposed: "Your Excellency, the guerrillas are too rampant, we must take the initiative. ”

There is no doubt that this officer was the unlucky guy and lucky one who was wounded in the guerrilla attack.

Generally speaking, high-ranking officers like him are under layers of protection, and the guerrillas cannot get close.

Unfortunately, Makau's bad luck was hit by an Afghan home-made artillery that hit the temporary headquarters, and a shrapnel hit him in the arm.

Compared with the many officers who died collectively at the scene, his only remaining seedling is undoubtedly lucky.

Lieutenant General Patrick nodded and said slowly, "Colonel Macau, calm down. Everyone knows the importance of exterminating the guerrillas.

However, we took the initiative to attack dozens of times, but we did not achieve the expected results.

The enemy doesn't fight us at all, and every time the encirclement and suppression war just begins, these guys go into the mountains.

By the time we withdrew, these guys were sticking like psoriasis again. As soon as we turned around, the guys ran away again.

If you don't find the weakness of the guerrillas, no matter how much you attack, you will end up in vain.

Judging by the news coming from Central Asia, most of our allies, the three khanates of Central Asia, will not be able to hold on, and at most we will become neighbors with the Russians by the end of the year.

Before that, we have to get rid of these rats hiding in the ground, or let them hook up, which will be a big problem. ”

In fact, Patrick's words are not finished, and the hidden dangers in Afghanistan are not just guerrillas.

The bigger problem is, in essence, religious fanatics. These people were the main force of the attack, relying on the local religion to exist, and most like to attack the lone British soldiers.

The newcomers of the British have not yet figured out the twists and turns in this, and most of the accounts are recorded on the guerrillas.

Of course, this is not wrong, they are all one family - the Afghan resistance group.

The nominal leader of everyone is the emir king, although the unlucky king hides in the mountains and forests, and does not dare to come out.

Another officer suggested: "I think it is better to capture the king of Afghanistan first, without the leader of the emir, these resistance groups are scattered." ”

Colonel Makau didn't buy it and said, "Come on, Hudes." The Afghans are extremely hostile to us, and we have no roots on the ground.

Who knows where the cave of the rat is located in the emir, and he can't go over the mountains and fight one by one, right?

Moreover, the Afghan resistance group is already scattered, and it does not have much impact with or without the leader of the emir.

This is evident from the fact that they attacked us, and there were many of them, but they were limited in number at a time.

Since defeating the Afghan government forces, who has encountered more than 3,000 resistance?

All of them are a group of stragglers, vulnerable on the frontal battlefield, and can only hide behind and shoot black guns. ”

This is the difficulty of the problem, although the resistance group is a rabble, but this rabble is not slippery!

Hedes sneered: "So what, these rats also have to eat, it's a big deal that we pull the net to block them and trap them in the mountains."

If we are in a hurry, we can also set fire to the mountain and burn it all the way through.

If it really doesn't work, they will lean heavily on the local population, so that they will have no food to support the guerrillas.

It is also possible to implement the joint sitting method, but if there is a collusion with the guerrillas, all residents within a five-mile radius will be executed.

I don't believe that Afghanistan has been wiped out by us, and there are guerrillas who cannot be exterminated. ”

It sounds great, but when it comes to implementation, it's not that simple.

Dragnet blockade, as soon as you hear it, you know that it requires a lot of troops.

Afghanistan is not a small area, and it is covered with mountains and forests, which is simply not something that these infantry divisions can blockade.

It seems that setting fire to a mountain is very simple, but in fact, not all mountains can be burned at a moment, and a large amount of fuel oil is needed to start the fire.

Not to mention the heavy taxation, it is necessary to establish a local government first, and count on the British soldiers to collect taxes, and it is estimated that the local people will have to defect to the guerrillas.

The real deterrent effect is probably the method of sitting together, but it is not easy to operate, and if it is not good, it will allow more people to participate in the guerrillas.

Seeing that no one objected, after weighing the pros and cons, Lieutenant General Patrick said slowly: "If you don't have a better way, then let's give it a try!"

I will seek reinforcements from home, but this will require everyone to speak in unison. The Afghan guerrillas alone cannot attract the attention of the old men in London. ”

Passing the buck is a traditional skill that bureaucrats have learned on their own. The Afghan guerrillas are not enough, so they can only be directed to the Russians.

After some artistic processing, the results of the Afghan guerrillas' attack on the British army fell to the Russian army.

……

The black cauldron that fell from the sky, I don't know how the Russians feel, anyway, the London government is angry.

If the Russians were to do things in secret, this kind of righteous and bright attack on the British army would have violated the rules of the game.

After receiving the news, Prime Minister Gladstone immediately roared: "The Russians are provoking Britain, and we must retaliate." ”

Without the slightest doubt about the authenticity of the front-line war report, is Prime Minister Gladstone a fool?

The answer is: no!

Pretending to be confused with understanding is an essential skill of politicians. Knowing that it was impossible for the Russians to fly to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Gladstone could only pinch his nose and admit it.

Otherwise, there would be no way to account for the losses of the British troops at the front. Although the main responsibility lies with the military, as a cabinet they also cannot escape.

The arrogant British people could tolerate hundreds of thousands of losses in the event of a war with the foreign powers, but they could not tolerate the killing of thousands of people by the indigenous guerrillas.

This pot can only be carried by the Russians, so that the political impact can be minimized, and by the way, it can also make Congress allocate funds and send reinforcements to reinforce the Afghan region.

As for wronging the Russians, that's not a matter at all. Anyway, in Central Asia, Britain and Russia are destined to be enemies, and if relations deteriorate a little more, how bad can they be?

……