The British army in Afghanistan is still struggling, the Central Asian battlefield has been decided, and the Russians have proved with their strength that they are still the awesome European steamrollers.

Of course, this victory was preached by the tsarist government, and the outside world still knows nothing about the specifics.

The only thing that is certain is that the Russian army has indeed defeated the main forces of the three Central Asian countries and seized the initiative on the battlefield, as for whether it will fall into the vast sea of people's war, only the Russians themselves know.

Although Franz was concerned about the situation in Central Asia, he did not send people to collect intelligence on the spot, and most of the information in the hands of the Vienna government was released by Britain and Russia themselves.

This point in time is too sensitive, and if Austria is too mixed, it is easy for Britain and Russia to mistake it for ambitions in Central Asia.

"How far have the Russians gone in their preparations for war, and when will they be able to launch an offensive in the Afghan region?"

In fact, the tsarist government began preparations for war a year earlier. However, the goal of the war at that time was only to seize parts of Central Asia.

Afghanistan was not part of the tsarist government's plans at all, and its highest goal was to prop up the guilty regime and act as a buffer between Britain and Russia.

As the battlefield progressed smoothly and the British army behaved poorly, the Russians had increased expectations and now wanted to swallow Afghanistan.

Against this background, the original preparations for war were naturally insufficient. About three months ago, Alexander III issued a national readiness order.

It is only "national preparation", not "national mobilization". The topography of Afghanistan limits the investment of troops on both sides, as long as the supplies are sufficient, and the hundreds of thousands of troops do not need to be mobilized by the Russians.

Foreign Secretary Wesenberg: "It's just a local war, and theoretically, after such a long time, the Russians should be ready for war."

However, if we analyze the situation of the Russian Empire's troop movements, material flows, railway transportation, etc., I am afraid that it will take some time to coordinate. ”

The war was the most important test of the government's organizational ability, and the Russian bureaucracy Franz did not have any confidence, and chaos was inevitable.

Preparing for war does not mean that materials are produced, but more importantly, materials must be delivered to the soldiers on the front line, so that they can really play a role.

The First World War was the pinnacle of Russian bureaucracy, with soldiers on the front line hungry and grain piled up in warehouses moldy in the rear.

Something similar happened during the two Russo-Prussian wars. In fact, in the First Prussian War, the Russian army was also killed by domestic bureaucrats.

"By the way, yesterday the British media also published the news of the massacre of cities by the Russian army in Central Asia, and it is said that photos were attached.

If the news is true, then the situation in Central Asia is not as peaceful as the tsarist government claims. ”

Hearing the news of the "slaughter of the city", Franz frowned. In the late 19th century, there was little news of a city massacre around the world.

However, with the style of the Russian army, it is not surprising that there have been several massacres of the city. After all, the three khanates of Central Asia still bear the name of traitors, and they will definitely take revenge on traitors to the Russians.

If this news was not released by the British, then the credibility is even higher.

No way, the British are really not high. Even if there is a picture and the truth, it can also be faked.

It was nothing more than a matter of changing into a military uniform, and as long as it was politically necessary, Franz believed that John Bull could do it.

Although the massacre of indigenous people was not a big deal in these years, it still hurt the country's image very much.

At the critical moment when the Anglo-Russian war was on the verge of breaking out, whoever had a better international image would be able to gain the support of international public opinion more easily in the war.

After pondering for a while, Franz said solemnly: "Send someone to verify the truth of the news as soon as possible, and the Propaganda Department will prepare for the work of channeling public opinion, so as not to let the massacre affect us." ”

Russia and Austria are allies, and if the massacre of the city by the Russians is hammered, Austria will also be scolded by public opinion.

It's just that he is scolded internationally, and even if Franz wants to manage, his hand can't be stretched that long.

However, domestic public opinion must be controlled, and there must be no strange incident in which public opinion hijacks the government's decision-making.

Throughout, Franz's focus was on Austria itself. As for the troubles of the Russians, can that count as trouble?

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't reach it, he would have acted as a zealous person to support the Central Asian people's anti-aggression war.

……

saint petersburg

"How do you think the British are smearing our international image internationally?"

It is clear from the tone that Alexander III did not take this seriously.

If you are scolded, you will be scolded, anyway, the Russian Empire also has a tradition of being scolded internationally, and the European world has scolded them for hundreds of years, and life is still the same.

In the opinion of Alexander III, it does not matter in essence whether the Russian army slaughtered cities in Central Asia or not.

The image of the Russian Empire in the European world itself, even if it is a barbarian, cannot be reversed in a few words.

The barbarians slaughtered the city, and it was completely normal operation. If the Russian army does not commit any crimes in Central Asia, there will be problems.

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez replied: "Your Majesty, the massacres that the British speak of took place in Central Asia, and the deaths were all indigenous pagans, and the attention of the European world will not be too high.

If we explain it directly, we will fall into the evil of the British, and no matter how much evidence we present, there will be people who have preconceived ideas that the massacre was real.

It is better to do the opposite, the British accuse us of slaughtering cities in Central Asia, and we can also expose their atrocities in Afghanistan, in India......

If it still can't stand it, then turn over the old accounts, drag all the colonial empires into the water, and disperse the pressure of international public opinion. ”

Perhaps other countries can accuse the Russians of slaughtering cities, but the British are not qualified, and what they do in Afghanistan is not much better than slaughtering cities.

In fact, in this era of worse than the worst, no one is much cleaner than the other. Every colonial empire is built on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, without any exceptions.

In recent years, there has been little news of the massacre, which does not mean that it has not happened.

It's just that everyone has learned to be obedient and knows to deal with it in a low-key manner. The impact of the massacre was so bad that it may have occurred less often, but the colonial massacres were still frequent.

Alexander III nodded and explained that it did not exist, his family knew his own affairs, and what was the military discipline of the Russian army, everyone was clear.

It may not be as exaggerated as the massacre of the city, but it is normal for a massacre to occur, and it is also tacitly approved by the tsarist government.

From the moment the three khanates of Central Asia stabbed Russia in their backstabs, the tsarist government decided to retaliate, and the Russian troops at the front were nothing more than carrying out this will.

"The problem of public opinion is a trivial matter that will not affect the next war, the key is the situation in Central Asia.

Marshal Ivanov, how long will it take for the military to clear the area and start the next operational plan? ”

Although he did not pay much attention to detail, Alexander III was aware of the precariousness of the situation in Central Asia.

The Russian army on the front line is not crazy, and will only resort to extreme measures when the social order is out of control.

Under normal circumstances, at most, it is a robbery of money and sex. There are not enough benefits, and only when you are full do you go to play massacre.

Marshal Ivanov, who had been bowing his head and was silent, wanted to lower his sense of existence, realized that he could not hide, and replied stubbornly: "Your Majesty, with the current situation, I can't give an accurate time.

The main reason is that the Central Asian region is too large, and after defeating the main force of the enemy, a large number of stragglers wander around and begin to cause trouble. For a while, it was difficult for us to find their hiding place.

The War Department plans to clear some areas first, open up a safe passage to Afghanistan, and then return to collect them after seizing Afghanistan. ”

This is a fact, the Central Asian region is indeed too big, with millions of square kilometers, and it is simply not something that hundreds of thousands of Russian troops can take care of.

If you really want to clear the place, you can't do it in a few years, and the Russian Empire is most lacking in time.

The British already took control of Afghanistan, and although there were still resistance groups, no one could guarantee how long these people would be able to hold out.

Once the British had cleared the guerrillas and gained a foothold on the ground, it would be difficult to take Afghanistan from them.

After a little thought, Alexander III said slowly: "That's it! However, the military should speed up and not delay the fighters. ”

……