As it turned out, allies were not easy to find either. In these years, there are not many countries that are qualified to be allies with France, and even fewer can be allies with France because of interests.

If the difference in strength between the two sides is too large, then it is not looking for allies, but for the younger brother.

From the bottom of his heart, Napoleon IV was naturally willing to accept his younger brother. The question is that no one is stupid, why should he be a little brother to France for no reason?

Theoretically, once France shows signs of defeat, the British will most likely support them for the sake of continental balance, and European countries will stop dragging their feet.

Unfortunately, this only exists in theory, and the premise must be that the top levels of governments remain absolutely rational and do not mix any personal feelings.

Obviously, this is not possible. Politicians are also human beings, and they also have the seven emotions and six desires of ordinary people. Since there are feelings, they will be more or less affected when making decisions.

With the relations between France and other countries, there are so many people who want to kill them that they may really die if they show weakness and pretend to be dead.

Napoleon IV did not dare to gamble that even if the situation in Africa deteriorated and France gradually became strategically inferior, he could only cover the lid and pretend to be very strong to intimidate the European countries.

"Allies?"

"Who can be our true ally?"

This is definitely a torture from the soul. Now France's ally is one Britain, and unfortunately this ally is unreliable.

To sum it up in one sentence: the chance of stabbing a teammate with a knife is slightly higher than the chance of stabbing an enemy.

Of course, if the French government were a little thicker-skinned, Monaco could also be counted. But it doesn't make any sense, a seaside park doesn't affect the balance of power between the warring parties.

Under the expectant gaze of his colleagues, Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec replied stubbornly: "Your Majesty, in order to break the situation of political passivity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conducted an in-depth study.

The British have formed an alliance with us, and although this ally is not very reliable, it is still necessary to stabilize them.

Since the outbreak of the war, nearly one-third of our strategic materials have been imported from Britain, and it is of great significance to win over the British.

Strategically, if you want to change our unfavorable situation, it is better to win over the Russians.

However, this is difficult to do, the Russian-Austrian alliance has been going on for many years, and it is simply unrealistic to expect a sudden defection of the tsarist government.

In order to break up the Russian-Austrian alliance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a lot of efforts, but unfortunately it has achieved little success.

Although there is no definite evidence, through the analysis of some clues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that an agreement has been reached between Russia and Austria. Most likely, the Austrians promised the benefits of India to the Russians.

We ......"

Before Karel Kadlec could finish speaking, Napoleon IV interrupted impatiently: "My Foreign Secretary, stop talking nonsense.

It is an open secret that there is a trade of interests between Russia and Austria, and people all over the world know about it.

After the Austrians occupied the Ottoman Empire, they stopped their eastward expansion, and if there was no insider trading between Russia and Austria, it would have been problematic.

As for India, that is for the British. You just have to tell me if it is possible to pull the Russians over.

If the Russians cannot be our allies, then who else can be?

It doesn't have to be a great power, even a second-class country. Even if you bring Switzerland over, I will hold a celebration banquet for you. ”

This is true, Napoleon IV is really not a picky eater now. The bloody lesson had taught him that it was better to have more allies.

Just look at Austria next door, as soon as the European Continental War broke out, it pulled a group of younger brothers and formed an anti-French alliance.

Although most of them are made of soy sauce, there are a large number of people, and they directly crush France in terms of momentum.

After hesitating for a moment, Karel Kadlec replied with a slight indifference: "Your Majesty, divide Russia and Austria... Alliance... It will take time, and it will not be done overnight.

We're trying to woo Switzerland, it's just... Outcome... It's not very optimistic, but we have stabilized the Swiss government, and they are neutral in the war.

In order to reverse the situation, the Foreign Office was working on the work of the Allied States and Colombia, who had always been interested in Austrian America, but were afraid to act rashly because of Austria's strength.

And the Japanese, after the Meiji Restoration, the strength of that small country in the Far East grew very fast, and it was about to catch up with Belgium.

They had a conflict of interest with the Austrians in the South Seas, and the Foreign Office was ready to win them over to carve up the Austrian South Seas.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also courting the Far Eastern Empire......"

In the face of the emperor's questioning, he came up with a response plan in a short time, and Karel Kadlec admired his wit a little.

On the face of it, as long as these allies are co-opted, France can get out of the embarrassment of fighting alone, and its strategic situation will be greatly improved.

In fact, everyone present knew that these were just beautiful paintings.

Theoretically, the co-optation of the Confederates and Colombia would not only be able to combat Austria's colonial system in the Americas, but would also help France import agricultural products from both countries.

It is a pity that these countries are not the only countries in the Americas, and although the strength of the Allied States is not weak, it is a pity that there is a feuding United States next door to contain it.

Regardless of whether the war is won or not, the expedition of the laborers to Austrian America is sure not to create opportunities for the enemy?

Not to mention Colombia, even if they enter the war, it will be a matter of two infantry divisions at most. More, the Austrians are going to sweep through Colombia again.

The Americas can't break the picture, and the same is true in Asia. The Japanese in these years are in the stage of groveling, and they are not as arrogant as later generations.

Until the European War was decided, they would not have been able to fight for France.

The most important thing is that they are not strong, although Karel Kadlec wants to brag for them, but he really doesn't know what to brag about, and in the end he can only compare Belgium.

Although Austria was not the center of gravity of the Vienna government, there were still tens of millions of people in the area, and it was possible to arm hundreds of thousands of troops. If there is a fight, it is still unknown who will beat whom.

As for the Far Eastern Empire, let's wash and sleep. People are still busy with infighting, and they are neither in the mood nor the courage to join in the fun.

"Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a plan, let's implement it as soon as possible, I am here waiting for your good news!"

At this point, Napoleon IV's expectations have long since hit rock bottom. Although these potential allies are all chicken, who makes France lack allies now?

Regardless, something is better than nothing. They are not expected to contribute much to the defeat of Austria, at least to help wave the flag and cheer and disgust the Austrians.

After a pause, Napoleon IV added: "The core of our strategy is still on the European continent. The focus of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also be on the European continent.

Whether it is the British or the Russians, as long as they can pull one family into the water, the embarrassing situation we are facing will be completely reversed.

If you really can't, you can still go and agitate for the Nordic Federation. Didn't the Danes have a longing for the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, so give it to them.

And the states within the German Confederation, you can also go and do the work, and don't ask them to turn against them, just ask them to be passive and slack off. ”

No matter how low the success rate was, Napoleon IV didn't mind giving it a try. Who let the French army not show the combat effectiveness it deserved?

The autumn wind swept the fallen leaves, but the wind blew, but the wind was not quite right, and the fallen leaves were rolled into the house.

……

France is on the move, and Austria is not idle. At the instigation of the Vienna government, the Russian army launched attacks on the Afghan region again and again.

The temptation to occupy Afghanistan and open the gateway to India before the end of the European war is too great.

Many high-ranking members of the tsarist government were addicted to it and could not extricate themselves at all.

Visible benefits are not comparable to vague promises. Allowing Britain and France to talk about it, the Russians felt that it was more reliable to seize India.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Afghan region has been occupied by the Russian army for most of it, and victory is about to be won.

As long as the Afghan region is occupied, the battle will be easy to fight. There is no need for the government to agitate, and the officers and soldiers will happily enter India.

If the tsarist government was willing, it could follow the example of Austria and open up overseas colonies, so that the nobles could solve the problem with their private army.

When robbing for himself, the combat power of the hairy bear can definitely burst, and it is not something that the lobster soldiers can stop at all.

It is not an exaggeration at all, as long as the Russian army annihilates the main forces of the British army in the Afghan region, the British will not be able to replenish it in a short time. Without the British army, the Indian colonial army was a joke.

……

"To occupy the Afghan region before Christmas, which idiot gave the order?"

In the command of the Russian army, General Oginets looked at the order in his hand and scolded in disbelief.

It is true that the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical moment, but the more times like this, the more fierce the enemy's resistance becomes.

In addition to being willing to take human lives to fill the front, the Russian army was able to advance smoothly, but more importantly, the British army's logistics supply line was too long, and it was attacked by Afghan guerrillas every once in a while.

According to the results of the Russian army, nearly two-thirds of the strategic materials of the British army will disappear in transit.

Whether it was killed by the Afghan guerrillas or divided among the domestic bureaucrats is a question of whether the wise will have to be heard.

In short, this is a good thing for the Russian army. Limited by logistics, the British troops on the front line had strong firepower, but they could not break out with all their might.

In this context, even if there was a natural danger to rely on, the British army was still beaten back.

In order to maximize the merits of the battle, it is naturally impossible for Admiral Oginets to report the specific inside information.

In the eyes of the tsarist government, all the Russian troops were not afraid of sacrifice, hardships and obstacles, overcame difficulties along the way, and composed a triumphant song of victory with blood.

There are two sides to everything, and a series of victories stimulated the ambitions of the tsarist government, but also consumed their patience.

Some people can't help but want to occupy Afghanistan before Christmas and add luster to the annual ceremony.

Hearing the curse of Admiral Oginets, the middle-aged officer who delivered the telegram hurriedly reminded: "Your Excellency, Commander, this is an order from the War Department. The opinions of the Cabinet are also attached to it, which is equivalent to the consensus in the country. ”

There is no calamity, this is. Admiral Oginets dared to scold the domestic bureaucrats, because his own status had risen to the same level as the domestic bigwigs.

If nothing else, after winning this war, Colonel-General Oginets will be promoted to marshal.

And it's not like that, and after Marshal Ivanov, another big guy in the Russian army.

No emperor likes to be monolithic, and the more hard Admiral Oginets scolds, the happier Alexander III will be.

Admiral Oginets can scold, but it doesn't mean that everyone can listen. In case something happens later, causing a high-level conflict, maybe the scolding is okay, and the guys who listen to them are likely to be affected by the pond fish.

In a sense, this is essentially taking sides. If there is no opening to stop it, it means agreeing with Admiral Oginets's point of view.

It doesn't matter if there is a backstage, but if there is no backstage, they may fall victim to political struggles at any time.

"Humph!"

After a cold snort, Admiral Oginets decisively cut off the idea of continuing to curse. There is no way, there are too many people involved, and I really can't afford to offend.

It doesn't matter how much you scold when you don't know, if you know, you must pay attention to self-cultivation, this is politics.

"Call back to the War Department, we will launch a final offensive as soon as possible, but the logistics can't keep up.

If we want to occupy the whole of Afghanistan by Christmas, we need at least 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition and 3 million artillery shells......"

The typical lion has a wide opening, but there is no way. Admiral Oginets was not confident of occupying Afghanistan before Christmas and had to make excuses so that he could shirk responsibility if the mission failed.

This is also the basic skill of the Russian generals, and almost every high-level commander of the Russian army is a master of shirking responsibility.

The shortage of strategic materials has always been the only way for the Russian army to deal with domestic urging. As long as this killer move is brought out, the government will have nothing to say.

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