St. Petersburg, receiving the news of the murder of Minister White in London, Alexander III was directly angry.

Had it not been for the last shred of sanity that restrained the idea of killing the British minister in retaliation, the biggest political scandal of the century would have happened.

"That's the British explanation, it's clear that they're taking us for fools!"

After saying that, Alexander III directly tore up the paperwork and proved that he was really angry with practical actions.

There is no way not to be angry, according to the British, the main responsibility is that Minister White is open-mouthed, angering the British people, and the accident happened.

The dead man could not speak, all the parties involved were controlled by the British, and it was impossible to discern the truth of the matter.

Whether others believe it or not, Alexander III would not believe it anyway. Minister White was appointed by him personally, and he may have had many faults, but he was definitely not a fool.

If it is sent to some small countries, it may really be arrogant. But as a minister to the United Kingdom, where did White get the confidence to be arrogant?

In particular, admitting that the Russian army attacked the British troops in Afghanistan is even more nonsense.

Not to mention that this is a non-existent thing, even if it really happened, it is impossible for the foreign ministers to admit it when the tsarist government firmly denies it.

Field Marshal Ivanov, Minister of War, advised: "Your Majesty, calm your anger. There's no need to get angry for the damned British.

When the war in Central Asia is over, we will slowly settle accounts with them. ”

Having become the boss of the main battle faction, Marshal Ivanov still did not change his usual steady style.

It is necessary to take revenge on the British, and that will have to wait until the fight is over.

Turning the other cheek with the British in advance, except for shouting a few voices, is not really effective, and may even increase the difficulty of the war.

The systems of Britain and Russia were different, and the tsarist government controlled all the state rights and could prepare for war at any time; The British government, however, must be at the mercy of Parliament.

Before the start of the war, the government could not go beyond parliament and directly order the mobilization of the whole country. Even if they are preparing for war, they can only be done on a small scale.

If you don't take advantage of the advantages in front of you, you're stupid.

After a pause, Alexander III nodded: "Since the British want to fight, then fulfill them."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has done a good job in the work of France and Austria, and has cooperated with the Ministry of Finance to raise as much funds as possible. This war will not end in a short period of time. ”

The decision was made, but Alexander III still had no bottom in his heart. There was a lesson from the Russo-Prussian War, and Alexander III was reluctant to go to war with any of the great powers.

However, the general trend is not something that can be controlled by personal will. The repeated provocations of the British have touched the bottom line of the Russian Empire.

……

On the battlefield in Afghanistan, the disturbances from the outside world have not yet arrived, and Lieutenant General Patrick does not know that a telegram that he shirks his responsibility can become another turning point in Anglo-Russian relations.

At the moment, Lieutenant General Patrick is still worried about the mounting number of casualties.

In particular, two days ago, the headquarters of the 7th Indian Colonial Division was attacked by guerrillas, and there was also a battalion roar.

"Hearst, what about that idiot, why didn't you use it for a meeting?"

This meeting was supposed to be accountable, and the parties did not come, so it is understandable that Lieutenant General Patrick was furious.

A young officer in front of him replied: "Your Excellency, Major General Hurst was bombed on his way to the headquarters, and he is currently being rescued. ”

This answer made Patrick's heart half cold.

During the mutiny two days ago, many high-ranking officers of the 7th Colonial Division went to see God, and if Hirst, the commander of the major general, also saw God, things would have gone bad.

In general, the dead are not responsible. On the way to a meeting, he was attacked to see God, which was also a death in the line of duty.

The officers who can take responsibility are dead, and the officers below are not qualified to take responsibility, so this black cauldron can only be carried by Patrick, the commander-in-chief.

You must know that in Britain's foreign wars, there has not been a major general officer killed in battle for many years.

Even if the officers of the Indian colonial divisions were one rank lower than the regular army, the major general was still a major general.

The fate of the person concerned is unknown, and Lieutenant General Patrick has no intention of continuing to be held accountable.

"Got it, read the casualty report of the Seventh Division."

The young officer, who was holding the document behind him, immediately replied: "Yes! ”

"After the battalion roar, the 7th Division suffered 786 casualties, 565 casualties, and 1,218 missing on the spot, including 76 dead and 94 wounded officers.

Seven other warehouses were burned by the fire, and an explosion occurred in one ammunition warehouse......"

Listening to the casualty report, Lieutenant General Patrick's heart felt like it was dripping blood, the enemy's shadow was not touched, and the strength of a regiment was just tossed and lost.

Forget about defeat and losses, anyway, this is a colonial division, soldiers can be recruited again if they die, and the last thing India lacks is people.

The loss of officers was different, and the top brass of the 7th Colonial Division was almost wiped out. You must know that the middle and senior officers of the colonial division are also British, and they have lost them on the battlefield, but there is no way to replenish them immediately.

Once reported to the country, it is another fatal stain on Lieutenant General Patrick's military career.

As for the missing soldiers, because they were all Indian colonies, this kind of cannon fodder was worthless, and was directly ignored by Lieutenant General Patrick.

"I heard it all, what happened in the 7th Division was a wake-up call for all of us.

No one knows better than you what kind of soldiers you are bringing. All give me a good look at the troops, and I don't want something like this to happen again.

Now the 7th Division has suffered heavy losses and must be withdrawn to rest. In the next encirclement and suppression battle, it is up to you to transfer troops to fill this gap. ”

Hearing that the troops were going to be divided, everyone's expressions suddenly became nervous.

Afghanistan is not a small region, and in this encirclement and suppression plan, the defense area of each army is very large, and the number of troops will inevitably be somewhat insufficient, and the pressure on everyone to divide the troops will be even greater.

A slightly older officer spoke and said, "Your Excellency, our 11th Division has a defense area of more than 100 Londons, and if we divide our troops, I am afraid it will be difficult to complete the task of encircling the guerrillas.

It is said that not only the 11th Division's defense area is large, but the situation faced by all units is similar.

The war has been raging for so long, and everyone has not rested, and the morale of the army has dropped to the lowest point since the beginning of the war.

Now it is no longer suitable to continue to go into the mountains to encircle and suppress the guerrillas, so it is better to withdraw the troops and rest for a period of time, and then carry out the encirclement and suppression after the reinforcements have arrived. ”

The facts are in front of us, since the outbreak of the war, these troops have not had a good rest.

The outbreak of the Seventh Colonial Division was not unrelated to the decline in the morale of the troops and the high nervousness of the soldiers in the past few days of fighting.

"Your Excellency, Major General Winston is right when he says that the troops really need to rest. If the fight continues like this, the troops will mutiny. ”

"Your Excellency Commander, the troops really need to rest......"

……

As Lieutenant General Patrick said, only he knows best what kind of soldiers he brings, and it is precisely because he knows too well that everyone has no confidence in dividing his troops.

The sound of persuasion sounded in twos and threes, and Lieutenant General Patrick came to his senses, and now the troops were indeed tired.

You must know that these troops are not elite divisions, and they can fight for several months in a row, which is already a super-level performance.

No, the use of "continuous combat" seems to be a bit exaggerated. However, on average, there are still combat missions once every 10 days and half a month, and most of them are to encircle and suppress guerrillas.

For elite troops, this may not be much different from an outing. But for the Indian colonists, this was already approaching the limit.

But just giving up like this, Lieutenant General Patrick was a little unwilling. It was with great difficulty that the main force of the guerrillas was surrounded, and at this time all the efforts made in front were completely wasted.

The next chance, now that I have retired from the army, I am afraid there will be no next chance.

The government in London was already very dissatisfied with the poor performance of the British army on the battlefield, and if it could not achieve results, it would be a matter of time before the commander was changed.

Lieutenant General Patrick did not want to go back in disgrace, and now he must hand in a passing answer sheet to allow his ability to be recognized at home.

"Reinforcements will arrive next week, you've been working hard for so long, I'm sure you don't want to go back in vain!

Hold on for another week, and someone will replace you. Everyone, work hard, and I'm sure you'll be able to overcome the difficulties......"

After receiving the good news of the arrival of reinforcements, everyone reluctantly accepted the result. After all, your arms can't reach your thighs, and you can't disobey on the battlefield!