Whatever the true purpose of the Russians, the impact of the Andhouy offensive and defensive battles was terrifying.

A bunch of experts and scholars who are not even as good as Franz jumped out to point out one after another, as if the flames of war would burn to India tomorrow.

The advent of the telegraph narrowed the distance between the world, and the unfavorable attitude of European public opinion also affected British public opinion, and the pressure on the British government increased greatly for a time.

"What happened at the front, why did Andhouy fall, and what did Patrick eat?"

A series of three whys is enough to prove that Prime Minister Gladstone is in a very bad mood right now.

Afghanistan is not a small area, and Andhouy is not a core strategic location, just losing the tens of thousands of square kilometers around Andhouy, which is not worth mentioning for the entire battlefield.

It is also the loss of the city and the loss of land, and the loss of a large area of land just after the start of the war, which is completely different from the loss of the city and the loss of land after a long period of fierce battle.

Anderhouy was lost as soon as the war began, and public opinion in the outside world questioned the combat effectiveness of the British army, and the opposition parties also took the opportunity to make things difficult and embarrassed Prime Minister Gladstone.

War Minister Rosario replied with anger on his face: "It's all the Russians who are too despicable, and they launched a sneak attack before the news of the declaration of war reached the front."

Our troops in Afghanistan are busy exterminating the guerrillas, and Andhui's strategic value is not high, and the limited number of troops deployed there gives the Russians an opportunity to take advantage of it.

However, you can rest assured that Lieutenant General Patrick has abandoned his previous plan to encircle and suppress the guerrillas and sent troops to reinforce the front line.

If nothing else, now that the front line has been stabilized, we can launch a counteroffensive just waiting for our reinforcements to arrive. ”

It's okay not to explain, but after listening to Patrick's explanation, everyone present felt more and more uneasy.

Abandoning the encirclement and suppression of the guerrillas also means that the besieged guerrillas can go out of the mountains. How can one be reassured that there is a Russian army attacking outside and partisans plundering inside?

When the reinforcements arrived, they counterattacked, and it was okay to fool ordinary people when they said this, but everyone present did not have so much confidence in their own army.

Suspicion to suspicion, Prime Minister Gladstone still did not pour cold water. The war has broken out, and it must be fought.

"The situation on the battlefield is changing very quickly, the War Department has to take responsibility, it's been almost a month since the start of the war, why haven't the reinforcements set off yet?"

In the face of the Prime Minister's accusations, Rosario stubbornly explained: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, there is a lot of preparation work that needs to be made for the expedition of the troops.

The vast majority of soldiers have never been to sea, and the Atlantic Ocean is stormy and rough, and if there is no training, there will be a lot of non-combat attrition.

If possible, it is better for troop carriers to go through the Suez Canal, which is not only short in time but also light in wind and waves. ”

There is no way, even if it is a maritime people, it does not mean that every British is not seasick, and most of the army soldiers have never left the British Isles.

From the British Isles to India, it will take two or three months at the earliest, and many people will not be able to hold on without professional training.

If you forcibly send untrained army soldiers onto the ship, the death rate will be very alarming, and the morale of the army will be lost halfway, how can you still fight?

Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has communicated with France and Austria many times, and the results are not optimistic.

At the beginning of the opening of the Suez Canal, an announcement was issued: the Canal Company would maintain absolute neutrality in times of war, and would prohibit the navigation of any military ships of the belligerent countries. ”

Not to mention the wartime, in normal times British warships could not sail together from the Suez Canal, and every time they had to make a detour from the Cape of Good Hope.

Much effort has been made by the British Foreign Office to this end, but nothing has come of it.

On this issue, the French and Austrian governments did not come forward at all, and blamed the problem on the canal company.

The initial funds of the Canal Company were provided by the governments of France and Austria, and theoretically belonged to all the people of the two countries, and there were many strange regulations at the beginning of the listing.

For example, stocks can only be circulated in France and Austria; Major changes in the company's operating philosophy must be agreed by the people of France and Austria......

These clauses directly blocked the possibility that the British wanted to meddle in the canal, and even if they had money, they could not buy shares.

The principle of "absolute neutrality" is the core operating philosophy of the Canal Company, and in order for the Canal Company to allow it to be approved, the people of France and Austria must first agree.

This is simply an impossible task.

Anglo-Austrian people-to-people relations are okay, but unfortunately government relations are bad; Britain and France were politically allied, but people-to-people relations were a mess.

It can be said that the Suez Canal is an eternal pain for Britain, because it was not taken seriously at the beginning of the canal's opening, and then it has been in a passive state.

After a pause, Prime Minister Gladstone asked: "Can you convince the French government to help, even if it is at a certain cost?" ”

The rules are also set by people, and it is not impossible to circumvent them. The fact that troop carriers are not navigable does not mean that ordinary merchant ships are also unnavigable.

The big deal was that the weapons and equipment were all on the Cape of Good Hope, and the soldiers took off their military uniforms and boarded merchant ships, pretending to be escorts.

However, this is only for a small force, and tens of thousands of reinforcements will be mobilized, unless someone within the canal company cooperates, otherwise it will not work at all.

Foreign Secretary George frowned and replied: "I'm afraid this is difficult, even if the French government is willing to help, it is difficult to guarantee that it will not be discovered."

Russia and Austria are allies, and if they find a problem, they will most likely detain our soldiers.

The French are unreliable, and once the matter is exposed, the Paris government will not support us. ”

There is no way, Britain and France have been pitting each other for hundreds of years. Even if the alliance is formed now, no one can guarantee that the French will not deliberately trap them.

What if the front foot makes an agreement with them, and the back foot sells them?

Eating the upper house and eating the next home is originally a characteristic of the times. In the event that British soldiers were detained in the Suez Canal, the Afghan battlefield would be over.

In addition to wanting the French to contain Austria, the Anglo-French alliance was more important to prevent Russia, France and Austria from coming together.

Although the odds of such a thing happening are slim, the British government does not dare to take the risk, after all, there is hatred that affects national policy.

Britain and France are feuding, and if the French government is hot-headed and runs to join the Russian-Austrian alliance, Britain will be finished.

One only has to think about the fact that the French financial community issued war bonds on behalf of the Russians before you can see how unreliable Anglo-French relations were.

After weighing the pros and cons, without waiting for the Prime Minister to make a statement, War Minister Rosario decisively chose to give up.

"There is no room for accidents on the battlefield in Afghanistan, and the reinforcements are still on the Cape of Good Hope. It is hard to put your hopes in the hands of the French. ”

……

At the new Versailles Palace in Paris, watching the two annoying ghosts of Britain and Russia pinching each other, Napoleon IV was in a very good mood.

In order to provoke the Anglo-Russian war, the French government also made a lot of efforts. It's just that it's done in a more subtle way, and many people ignore the role of the French government in it.

The Anglo-French alliance and the issuance of war bonds on behalf of the Russians were only part of the story.

Without the efforts of the French government, the British government would not have made up its mind to send troops to Afghanistan so quickly, the Russians would not have sent troops to Central Asia-for-tat, and naturally there would not have been the current Anglo-Russian war.

Foreign Secretary Karel Kadlec: "Your Majesty, both Britain and Russia are urging us to fulfill our obligations as allies. ”

The French government actually played infernal affairs with the British and secretly had a secret agreement with the Russians, and if this news spread, it is estimated that the whole world will be shocked.

It is not completely without clues, and the fact that the French financial community issued war bonds on behalf of the Russians proves that there is a connection between France and Russia.

It's just that the French government is not involved, and it is the French consortium that undertakes the business, and it is not big news that the capitalists do some strange things for the sake of profit.

Napoleon IV sneered: "Tell the British that as long as Austria does not object, we will agree to their free navigation in the Suez Canal."

We can also send troops to Afghanistan if needed.

Considering that the logistics system is different, we have to take care of the logistics ourselves. In order to facilitate supplies, let them provide us with an outlet to the sea in the Indian Ocean.

Tell the Russians that we will block the Suez Canal and ban the navigation of British warships.

As for the question of sending troops, let them first convince the Vienna government. As soon as Austria declared war on the British, we immediately followed. ”

The French army sent troops to Afghanistan, and the British government welcomed it. But it would have been impossible to provide the French with an outlet to the sea in India.

It is easier to please God than to send God, but once the French are put into India, it is difficult to expel them.

Britain's rivals in India will not only be the Russian Empire, but France and Russia, and perhaps Austria.

In the face of interests, nothing is impossible. As long as the British government didn't have water in its head, it wouldn't have done this.

The reply to the Russians was equally perfunctory, not allowing the British to use the Suez Canal to transport troops, mainly in order to give the Russians a greater advantage on the battlefield.

The Anglo-Russian war will only continue if the Russian army occupies the Afghan region and threatens the security of India.

Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec stubbornly said: "Your Majesty, would it not be good to reply like this?" ”