At a time when the international community is in turmoil, the Franco-Austrian dispute over Egypt has also come to an end. Facts have proven once again that modern warfare can no longer be won by relying on numbers alone.

Looking at the ever-increasing telegrams for help on his desk, Governor Jacob had begun to despair. Reinforcements were impossible, and from the beginning of the fall of the port, the French army in Egypt was left to rely on itself.

Originally, Governor Jacob also planned to use his forces to entangle with the Austrian army for a year and a half to buy time for the decisive battle on the European continent. Now it's not even a month, and it's gone.

There was no way, from the beginning of the launch of the armored forces of Austria, all the strategic plans of Governor Jacob were broken.

Faced with this strange enemy, Jacob was completely confused. The fortifications that the French had painstakingly built in Egypt were completely vulnerable to the torrent of steel.

Originally, it was only to block the enemy's infantry attack, but now the enemy is facing planes, airships, and armored tanks on the ground, and the infantry is assisted by these iron bumps.

Needless to say, flesh and blood can't resist the torrent of steel, but all field encounters end in tragedy for the French army. The original army of more than 800,000 people has now been shattered.

Even if the rout was collected, Governor Jacob did not dare to order the troops to assemble, because the build-up would only make the French army lose faster.

In order to delay as much time as possible, Governor Jacob was forced to order his troops to find nearby cities and camp in dangerous terrain to avoid a head-on confrontation with the enemy's torrent of steel.

Avoiding the torrent of steel does not mean that the matter is over. The French troops who entered the city were fine, the colonial government had stockpiled supplies in advance, and they could not go hungry for a while; The French troops scattered outside were tragic, but the difficult terrain limited the enemy's armored forces, but they had to eat!

The enemy's air force was keeping an eye on it, and how to get supplies into the hands of these French troops became a huge problem.

In a sense, this is not a problem, after all, Governor Jacob does not have much supplies in his hands, and in the absence of local support, it will only last for a few months at most.

Now that there were fewer people, the French troops stationed in the cities were able to hold out for a longer time. It has to be said that this is also a sarcasm.

If it was only the collapse of the Egyptian battlefield, it would not actually cause Governor Jacob to collapse, after all, this was also expected, and he had already been mentally prepared. Even the country only asked him to stall for time, and did not fantasize about defeating the enemy.

What really broke Jacob was the loss of hope, not only for the Egyptian battlefield, but also for France.

The power of armored forces, Jacob has personally learned. Not only did they slaughter infantry in the field, but they also worked wonders when storming fortresses.

There may be a way to restrain yourself, but it has nothing to do with Jacob, who is trapped in Cairo. By the time the war had progressed, the French army in Egypt had lost its strength to fight a war.

"Did our people arrive in Ethiopia?"

Governor Jacob asked.

Perhaps out of duty, or perhaps out of patriotism, in short, after encountering the armored forces of the Austrian army, Governor Jacob immediately sent someone to deliver the news to the country.

The telegraph network to the outside world had long been cut off by Austria, and even the telegraph network between the cities of Egypt could have been cut off if the Austrian army had wanted to.

The only way to communicate with the outside world now was to cross the Austrian blockade into British Ethiopia and use the channels of the British to deliver information.

The African continent is so big, densely jungled, and sparsely populated that it is theoretically not impossible for a man to avoid the Austrian blockade as long as he is careful.

What really limits the spread of news is the distance, which is thousands of miles from Cairo to British Ethiopia, and now that these regions are in turmoil, the chance of accidents is too high.

Major General Aristide, Jacob's close confidant and the specific executor, replied: "In terms of time, the heralds we sent should have entered the territory of the British by now.

To be on the safe side, I have sent more than 200 heralds, and even if there is an accident on the way, someone will complete the mission.

But Your Excellency, does this really work? The enemy is able to use these secret weapons in the Egyptian region, and only more will be deployed on the European continent.

Not to mention whether the news we reported can attract the attention of the country. Even if you know it in advance, I'm afraid you won't be able to solve it for a while. ”

It's a fact that finding a problem doesn't mean solving it. If this threat can be solved by simply discovering armored forces, then armored forces will not be able to shine in the original plane.

"Alas!"

Governor Jacob sighed and said helplessly: "There is no way, this news is too important. The power of these iron lumps of the enemy is not known at home, and our troops in Central and Southern Europe are still looking for a decisive battle with the Austrians.

You have experienced it firsthand, if you are not prepared in advance, and suddenly encounter these iron bumps in the field, how big the impact will be.

Now one can only hope that the Austrians are not ready, and there are not enough armored forces deployed on the European continent. After receiving the news provided by us, we can pay attention to it.

Otherwise, this European war will be a battle of bones in France. Losing this war, the great French Empire will be history. ”

Jacob was able to stand out from many competitors and become a high-ranking governor, not only because of his personal ability, but also because of Napoleon IV's trust.

Cronies are not easy to be, in other words: his personal fate and the fate of his family are tied to the Bonaparte dynasty.

The defeat of France in this continental war may not have lost the country, but the Bonaparte dynasty would certainly be doomed. As a die-hard supporter of the Bonaparte dynasty, Jacob naturally couldn't please good fruit to eat.

If it weren't for the deep binding of interests, after the general trend in Egypt had gone, Governor Jacob would not have chosen to resist stubbornly, after all, there was only one life.

"Woo woo woo ......"

The air raid siren sounded again, and the mood of everyone in the headquarters became heavier and heavier. Air defense is about equal to nothing, the main forces of anti-aircraft artillery in Europe are not enough, and the colonial troops that are raised as queens are naturally even less.

The anti-aircraft weapons assigned to the Egyptian theater of operations were mainly based on anti-aircraft rifles. Although domestic arms dealers boast of anti-aircraft rifles very much, the real value is not even comparable to chicken ribs.

Except for the long range and direct aerial shooting, the rest are all disadvantages, such as: low hit rate, high recoil, and easy to blow up......

The air raid sirens sounded, but the expected bombardment did not come. The familiar explosion was not heard, but a sense of unease spread through the command.

Time seemed to fall silent, no one spoke, and the atmosphere in the room was extremely tense, and the depression was about to collapse.

"Your Excellency the Governor, this is an enemy from outside dropping leaflets, please take a look."

The guard's voice broke the silence, and after taking the leaflet and glancing at it, Governor Jacob's eyes widened, and the look of horror on his face betrayed his inner thoughts.

After half a sound, Governor Jacob, who had come to his senses, said bitterly: "The enemy has begun to coerce and lure, and the price has begun to be clearly marked.

Ordinary soldiers surrender voluntarily before the engagement, and each is rewarded with an Aegis; Officers surrendered with their units in formation, and the company platoon increased by 20 percent, the battalion level by 30 percent, and the regimental level by 40 percent......

The increased rewards were freely distributed among the officers, and the preservation of personal property was guaranteed, and all surrendered officers and soldiers were entitled to the corresponding prisoner of war preferential treatment.

If they resist, they will no longer accept prisoners after the outbreak of war. There is only one chance: live or die. ”

There is no doubt that this leaflet was intended to break the last morale of the French army and force them to surrender.

No one wants to die, and it's not fashionable in Europe to fight to the end. If there is still a chance to win, Jacob still has a way to motivate everyone to give it a go.

Now that I am trapped in a lonely city, and there are no reinforcements outside, I can't see any hope at all, and it will be difficult for everyone to work hard.

Hearing this bad news, everyone in the command had different expressions, but they quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Major General Aristide fearfully proposed: "Your Excellency the Governor, we must order the collection of leaflets at once, for if the news spreads, we will be very passive. ”

There is no way, everyone present is sure that even if the war breaks out, the Austrian army will also accept prisoners, or it will force people to work hard, but the officers and soldiers at the bottom will not think so.

By the time the war had been going on, the mood of defeat had long since spread among the French army, and many people did not want to continue this hopeless war.

According to the tradition of continental Europe, the surrender of nobles must be preferential, but the officers and soldiers at the bottom are different, coolies and starvation are routine operations, and if they don't do well, they will be directly wiped off.

Even the Austrians will take prisoners later, but if they provoke the enemy, do they still want good fruit to eat?

You don't have to use a knife to kill someone, and working hard day and night can also tire people to death.

The morale of the French army was already in a low state, and the Austrian leaflets at this time were likely to become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Anyway, now that the overall situation has been decided, sooner or later he will have to surrender, instead of meaningless desperateness, surrender early and receive a sum of money, isn't he fragrant?

Jacob shook his head: "It's too late, we all got the leaflets, and the soldiers outside will only get the flyers sooner."

At this time, the news had already spread, and to collect the leaflets again made no sense except to intensify the contradictions.

The promises of the enemy, very deceptive. We will not be deceived, which does not mean that the officers and soldiers at the bottom will not be deceived. The most urgent task at the moment is to find ways to stabilize the morale of the military. ”

"Fooled" and "deceived", Jacob himself would not believe it. The enemy did offer the lure, but the problem was that the price was not high.

At full cost, the current French army in Egypt is only four or five hundred thousand, and even if it surrenders collectively, the so-called purchase fee is only 1.8 million Aegis, and such a small amount of money is not worth the Austrians to breach the contract.

Besides, prisoners of war were not collected in vain, and they were just added to the ransom. In the end, all the expenses will have to be paid by the French government.