On the battlefield in Afghanistan, after a series of bitter battles, the British army successfully defeated the main force of the Afghan government army.

On July 16, 1888, the British army successfully captured Kabul after paying more than 3,000 casualties, and the remaining Afghan government was forced to withdraw to the Hinduk Mountains.

It was not easy to win this great victory, the British did not hide it, and the London government issued an announcement to the outside world as soon as possible.

Watching the British show off their achievements, Franz was also a little worried, this ending was so unexpected that the Afghan government did not hold on for even half a year.

The British occupied Kabul, the Russians were still fighting with the Central Asian khanates, and once the British army penetrated Afghanistan and directly connected with the Central Asian khanates, the Russians would be difficult to fight in the war.

This was completely different from the previous plan, originally Franz still wanted Afghanistan to delay a little longer, let the Russians push the front all the way to British India, and stimulate the British.

If it is not stimulated, the government in London will probably not be ruthless with the Russians, and it is very likely that it will take over Afghanistan and stop.

As for the three khanates of Central Asia, most of them can be saved, and if they can't be saved, it is not impossible to sell them and compromise with the Russians.

Perhaps in the years to come, Afghanistan would be a heavy burden for the British, but the Russians were not weakened too much.

It is better not to be too strong, otherwise it will be impossible to sleep.

After rubbing his forehead, Franz said helplessly: "The Russians have approved the war loan, and now the tsarist government needs our support." ”

There was no way, it could not influence the British government, so it could only agitate for the tsarist government. Now we can only hope that the woolly bear is greedy and can fight to the end for India and the British.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, this is not the right time to release goodwill, it seems too deliberate.

If the Russians want to get a war loan, it is better to go through the formal procedure and let them come up with the mortgage.

Lest it be discovered that we want to provoke an Anglo-Russian war and cause unnecessary trouble. ”

Politics needs to be framed. It is true that Austria wants to provoke a war between Britain and Russia, but if you think about it, it is absolutely impossible to say it.

From the very beginning, the Vienna government positioned itself as having no interest in the war in Central Asia, and was forced by the Russian-Austrian alliance to support the Russians.

Cheering up the Russians is out of the same hatred of the enemy, and there is absolutely no intention of doing things.

Whether others believe it or not, the Vienna government believes it anyway.

"Hmm!"

Franz nodded in agreement, the current situation is really not suitable for Austria to do too much.

But if nothing was done, the situation would continue to develop on its own, and Austria's strategic goals would not be realized.

Prime Minister Karl: "The British and Russian governments are not fools, and it is no longer possible to start from above to achieve our strategic goals at this point in the situation.

Perhaps we should change our mindset now, and in order to intensify the contradictions between the two countries, it is not necessary for the two governments to agree.

As the war situation develops, it is a matter of time before Britain and Russia come to the border, and once the two sides have no buffer, it will be much easier to create contradictions.

So far, the British have only invested five Indian colonial divisions and a small number of native troops, and the combat effectiveness of these troops is very limited.

It's okay to deal with the Afghan government, but it's simply impossible to deter the Russians. We just need to push it secretly and let the radicals of the Russian army do it. ”

After listening to the Prime Minister's explanation, Franz suddenly found himself in a misunderstanding, in this era of the jungle, everything must be spoken by "strength".

The British seemed to have the upper hand, but the Indian colonizers really couldn't hold back. Not only will it not be able to deter the Russians, but I am afraid it will also stimulate the ambitions of the Russians.

If you want to change this, you should immediately expand the army and send hundreds of thousands of regular troops from the mainland to confront the Russians.

It seems that it is not difficult to operate, but the problem is that the expansion of the army also costs money.

This is not a one-time expense, but a long-term expense, and as long as the Russian Empire does not fall, Britain will have to deploy heavy troops in Afghanistan.

Affected by this, Britain is no longer a simple sea power country, and it must also develop land power, although this "land" is not the mainland, but India's importance is less than the mainland.

The Army occupies a large amount of military spending, and if this continues, it will inevitably affect the development of the Royal Navy.

Franz had more to think about than just these questions. It seemed that the British had occupied Kabul, but the resistance of the Afghans did not stop.

In the short term, it is not obvious that the territory occupied by the British is not large, and after occupying the whole of Afghanistan, it is a question whether these Indian divisions can maintain local order.

Seeing a chaotic Afghanistan, there is no reason for the Russians not to be tempted?

As long as the Russians moved, there was no reason why the British government should not fight. It's a big deal to be a financier and spend money to make Britain and Russia PK.

Spend a sum of money now and weaken two competitors at the same time; It's better than spending more money in the future and playing in person.

"The Prime Minister is right, we really need to change our mindset now and go down the lower route. The matter of provoking the Anglo-Russian conflict was left to the intelligence services.

The Ministry of Finance is ready to take a look at the first, in addition to the current war loan of 50 million Aegis, to prepare 300 million Aegis funds for the Russians in the next three years, and this time we will support the Russians to fight to the end. ”

When the financier did not pay all the money, it was paid by Austria, and most of the cost of the war had to be solved by the tsarist government itself.

For example, the most common grain, there were a lot of them in the warehouses of the tsarist government, and they just had to be transported there.

Relatively speaking, gray livestock is still very economical, as long as the problem of food is solved, each person can go to the battlefield with a rifle.

The tsarist government's self-financing, together with this huge amount of money from Austria, was enough for the Russians to fight for several years.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "It's not just Central Asia that needs attention, but the European continent is now at a critical juncture of change.

Since the Anglo-French alliance, the French have become more and more rampant. Just last week, the French government bought off the British Coal Association.

The British Coal Association, in a departure from the International Coal Export Federation, has taken the lead in reducing the price of coal exported to France by 20%, which is on par with the average price of coal exports on the international market.

Now the French are pressuring Belgium and the North German Confederation to increase the total amount of coal exported to France by 30 percent and to reduce the price by 69 percent.

This price is not only much lower than the international coal price, but even lower than the local coal price in several coal-producing countries in Europe.

Coupled with the costs of all aspects, some coal mines that are difficult to mine may fall directly into a state of loss. ”

In fact, the average price of international coal exports has also been pulled up because of the sanctions imposed on the French by the International Coal Export Union.

Without calculating freight, it is about 20% higher than the average coal price in mainland Austria, while the price of coal purchased in France is about 50% higher.

The export price is so high, plus all kinds of miscellaneous expenses, and finally in the hands of the buyer, it is possible that the price will exceed half.

Coal is a product that is just needed, because it is a joint Anglo-Austrian team, and the French were unable to fight before.

After the Anglo-French alliance was formed, the encirclement network was broken, and the international situation improved, and the French government could not help but take action.

After bribing the British, they relied on their own fists to bully Belgium and the North German Confederation.

As for Austria, another coal-exporting ally, its share of the international coal export market is negligible, and it is simply ignored by the French.

Although he did not have a calculator, Franz knew that the aim of the French was to break the embarrassment of high domestic energy prices, and that the temptation of European countries could only be counted secondary.

Despite the lack of a calculator, Franz quickly came to the conclusion that the average retail price of finished coal in Austria was 1.5, while the previous purchase price in France was 1.5.

1.5*（1—0.69）=0.465

The French just want to buy at 46.5% of the retail price, and after all the miscellaneous taxes, freight, wholesale and retailer profits, this price can be basically on par with the energy price in Austria when it comes to French companies.

This is only to match Austria, in fact, the average domestic coal price of Britain, a major coal producer, is even lower, about three to five percentage points lower.

From these data, it can be seen that it is not for nothing that French industrial and commercial products are not competitive.

The coal industry is profitable, but there is no profiteering to this extent, and domestic suppliers cannot get such a low price.

According to the current pricing given by the French, unless Belgium and the Confederation of North Germany exempt coal producers from all taxes, the vast majority of companies will lose money.

The French have no problem with reducing their energy costs, but the problem now is that the French government wants Belgium and the German Confederation to pay for them.

Chancellor Karl was surprised: "The French are crazy, how can Belgium and North Germany accept such a price?"

Even if the two governments had chosen to accept the military threat from the French, I am afraid that the capitalists would not have agreed. ”

It's not that "I'm afraid" is definitely not going to agree, capital has begun to internationalize in recent years, taking the coal mines in the Rhineland region as an example, a large part of the mines have fallen into the hands of British and Austrian capital.

How can these capitalists accept such a price that harms their own interests?

It's a big deal not to do business with the French, and if you have a foreign background, you are not afraid at all. In the end, the real ones who are affected are probably those who have no background......

Franz nodded: "If you want to make it die, you must first make it mad." If the French are really so rampant, it will be a good thing for us too.

These conditions have already exceeded the bottom line of Belgium and North Germany, and it is impossible for them to agree to them.

If the French dare to use force, Belgium and the North German Confederation will fall to us, and I don't mind sending troops to fight them for the sake of my allies.

But the French are not so stupid, they are not ready for war, and it will not do them any good to turn the other cheek now, this is probably just a temptation for them.

The current lion's big mouth is just to test the bottom line of the two countries and lower the expectations of the two countries.

If nothing else, the French will show a little goodwill in the next negotiations, and the two countries will choose to compromise. ”

This is the helplessness of a small country and the sorrow of the weak......