Holy Roman Empire

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

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

This great victory was finally won, the British did not hide, the London government issued an announcement to the outside world for the first time.

Watching the British show off their record, Franz was also a bit worried. This ending was too unexpected. The Afghan government did not hold on for even half a year.

The British all occupied Kabul, and the Russians were still fighting against the Central Asian Khanate. Once the British army penetrated Afghanistan and directly connected with the Central Asian Khanate, the war behind the Russians would be difficult to fight.

This is completely different from the plan in advance. Originally, Franz also wanted to spend more time in Afghanistan to allow the Russians to push the line to British India all the way to stimulate the British.

Without being stimulated, the London government will certainly not be ruthless and the Russians will die, and it is very likely that they will take over when they occupy the Afghan area.

As for the three Khanates of Central Asia, most of them can save, but if they cannot, it is not impossible to sell them and compromise with the Russians.

Perhaps in the coming years, the Afghan region will become a heavy burden for the British, but the Russians have not been greatly weakened.

This aggressive ally of the Russian Empire should not be too strong, or it will make people sleepless.

After rubbing his forehead, Franz said helplessly: "The Russian war loan is approved. Now the tsarist government needs our support."

If there is no way to influence the British government, it can only encourage the tsarist government.Now we can only hope that the bears are greedy and will die for the Indians and the British.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, this time is not suitable for releasing goodwill, it seems too deliberate.

Russians want to obtain war loans, it is best to go through the formal procedures, let them take out the mortgage.

Lest people find out that we want to provoke the Anglo-Russian War and cause unnecessary trouble."

Politics needs to be framed.Austria wants to provoke the Anglo-Russian war to be true, but to think about it, it is impossible.

From the beginning, the Vienna government gave itself the position that it was not interested in the war in Central Asia and was forced to support the Russians by the Russian-Austrian alliance.

Cheer for the Russians, it is out of the same enemy, absolutely no meaning.

Believe it or not, the Vienna government believed it anyway.

"Ok!"

Franz nodded in recognition, Austria is really not suitable for doing too much.

However, nothing can be done, and it is impossible to allow the situation to develop on its own, and Austria's strategic goals cannot be achieved.

Prime Minister Karl: "Both the governments of the UK and Russia are not fools. It is now impossible to start from the top to achieve our strategic purpose at this stage of the development of the situation.

Perhaps now we should change our mindset. To intensify the contradiction between the two countries does not necessarily require the consent of the two governments.

With the development of the war situation, the border between Britain and Russia is sooner or later. Once the two sides have no buffers, it is much easier to create conflicts.

Until the war, the British have only invested in five Indian colonial divisions and a small number of local troops. The combat effectiveness of these troops is very limited.

It is okay to deal with the Afghan government, it is impossible to deter the Russians.All we have to do is push in secret and let the Russian militants start."

After hearing the Prime Minister's explanation, Franz suddenly found himself in a misunderstanding. In this era of weak meat and strong food, everything must be spoken with "strength."

The British seem to have the upper hand, but the Indian colonial division really can't help it.Not only can it not deter the Russians, but it may also inspire Russian ambitions.

It is not impossible to change this. Immediately expand the army and draw hundreds of thousands of regular troops from the homeland to confront the Russians.

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

This is not a one-time expense, but a long-term expense. As long as the Russian empire does not fall, Britain must deploy heavy troops in the Afghan region.

Affected by this, Britain is no longer a pure sea power country, and it must also develop land rights. Although this "land" is not local, India's importance is even worse than that of the mainland.

The Army occupies a large amount of military expenses, and if it goes on, it will inevitably affect the development of the Royal Navy.

Not only are these problems, Franz thinks more.It seemed that the British occupied Kabul, but the resistance of the Afghans did not stop.

In the short term, it is not clear that the British occupation of the territory is not large. After occupying the entire Afghanistan, whether these Indian divisions can maintain local order is a problem.

Seeing a chaotic Afghanistan, the Russians have no reason not to be tempted?

As long as the Russians started, the British government should not be allowed to fight.It's a big deal to be a gold lord and throw money to make the UK and Russia pk.

Spending a sum of money now weakens both competitors; it is better than spending more money in the future and playing the game in person.

"The Prime Minister is right, we really need to change our minds and take the lower line. Provoking the British-Russian conflict is the responsibility of the intelligence department.

The Ministry of Finance is prepared to start with the fact that, in addition to the current 50 million Aegis war loan, the Russians will be prepared with 300 million Aegis funds in the next three years. This time we will support the Russians in their fight."

Not all the money is paid by Austria, and most of the cost of war is still to be solved by the tsarist government.

For example: the most common food, there are many in the warehouse of the tsarist government, just shipped it.

Relatively speaking, gray cattle are still very cost-effective, as long as the problem of eating is solved, each person can go to the battlefield with a rifle.

The self-financing of the tsarist government, together with this huge sum of money from Austria, has been enough for hundreds of thousands of Russian troops to fight for years.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

...

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "It is not only the Central Asian battlefield that needs attention, the European continent is now at a critical moment of change.

Since the alliance between Britain and France, the French have become more rampant.Just last week, the French government bought the British Coal Association.

The British Coal Association has departed from the International Coal Export Alliance and has taken the lead in reducing the price of coal exported to France by 20%, which is comparable to the average price of coal exports on the international market.

The French are now putting pressure on Belgium and the Federal Republic of North Germany to increase the total amount of coal they export to France by 30%, and to reduce prices by 69%.

This price is not only much lower than the international coal price, but even lower than the coal price of several European coal-producing countries.

Coupled with all costs, some coal mines that are difficult to mine may be directly in a loss."

In fact, the average price of international coal exports was only raised because of the sanctions imposed by the International Coal Export Union on the French.

Without calculating the freight, it is about 20% higher than the average coal price in 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, the price may be more than half.

Coal is a product just needed, because the British and Austrian joint team led the action, the French were unable to fight before.

After the British-French alliance, the siege network was broken and the international situation improved, and the French government couldn't help it.

After buying up the British, he used his own fists to bully Belgium and the Commonwealth of North Germany.

As for Austria, another coal export alliance, its share in the international coal export market is so small that it is ignored by the French.

Although there is no calculator, Franz also knows that the French aim to break the embarrassing situation of high domestic energy prices, so that the trial of European countries can only be followed.

Despite the lack of a calculator, Franz quickly concluded that the average retail price of finished coal in Austria was 1, and 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, accounting for the miscellaneous taxes, freight, wholesale and retail profits. This price has reached the hands of French companies and can basically achieve the same energy prices as Austria.

This is only equal to Austria. In fact, Britain, a large coal producer, has a lower average domestic coal price, about three to five percentage points lower.

From these data, it can be seen that French industrial and commercial products are not competitive, and there is no reason.

The profits of the coal industry are not false, but there is no such thing as profits. Domestic suppliers cannot get such a low price.

According to the current pricing given by the French, unless Belgium and the Federal Republic of North Germany waive all taxes on coal production companies, most companies will fall into losses.

The French want no problem in reducing energy costs, but the problem now is that the French government wants Belgium and the German Federation to pay for them.

Prime Minister Carl said in surprise: "The French are crazy, how can the price be accepted by Belgium and North Germany?

Even if the two governments opted to accept the military threat of the French, I am afraid the capitalists will not agree."

It is not "I'm afraid" but I will definitely not agree. This year, capital has begun to be internationalized. Taking coal mines in the Rhineland region as an example, a large part of mines have fallen into the hands of British and Austrian capitals.

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

The big deal is not to do business with the French, and you are not afraid of having a foreign investment background.In the end, those who are really affected are probably those without background ...

Franz nodded: "If you want to make it dead, you must make it crazy. If the French are so rampant, it is also a good thing for us.

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

If the French dare to use force, Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany will fall back to us. I do n’t mind sending troops to fight allies for their allies.

But the French are not that stupid. They are not ready for war. It is not good for them to flip their faces now. This is probably just a temptation for them.

The current opening of the lion is just to test the bottom line of the two countries and lower the expectations of the two countries.

If there is no accident, in the following negotiations, the French will release a little kindness, and the two countries will choose to compromise."

This is the helplessness of the small country, the sorrow of the weak ...