When St. Petersburg received a signal of peace released by the British, Alexander III sighed helplessly.

This Afghan war was a big start. For the Russian Empire, the king almost achieved a bronze record in the end.

At the beginning, with the cooperation of Afghan guerrillas, the Russian army beat the British all the way. Unfortunately, the Afghan area was not smooth. As the front continued to move forward, the logistics pressure on the Russian army became increasingly greater.

In addition to the continuous arrival of British reinforcements, the Russian army lost its military advantage, and the situation on the battlefield gradually changed.

By now, the Afghan war has turned into a war of attrition. Faced with the powerful British, the poor Tsarist government was obviously unable to withstand it.

It seems that the Russian army has the upper hand in the battlefield in Afghanistan, but in fact the Tsarist government is also suffering.

Since the war has been underway, the Russian army has paid nearly 500,000 casualties and billions of rubles of war funds, but the legendary India is still out of reach.

The casualties are just a small problem. After all, the Central Asian region was recovered and three quarters of Afghanistan was occupied. The exchange ratio between the two sides even reached an astonishing 1.1:3.7, which can be said to be the best record of the Russian army in the past 50 years.

Of course, this is a record that adds the Central Asian Khanate and the Indian colonial army. Just pk the main force of the British army, the Russian army still doesn't have much advantage.

It doesn't matter if there is moisture, and it doesn't affect the Tsarist government's political propaganda. In short, the performance of the Russian army on the battlefield has explained the past to all parties.

What made Alexander III a headache was finance. Not only did he spend all the money accumulated by the Tsarist government since he ascended the throne, but he also owed huge debts. What's more important is that he failed to make it into India.

If the Russian army had already entered India, then he would sell the blame and Alexander III would continue the war.

Unfortunately, the reality is not as good as it should, and the British have already reacted. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of main troops sent by the local government, there are also two million Indian colonial troops cannon fodder waiting for cannon fodder.

According to the intelligence from the front line, the main British army rarely came out to fight to the decisive battle. Most of the time they supervised the war in the rear, using colonial troops to entangle with the Russian army. British generals even didn't care about casualties at all.

If the Indians continue at this pace, the British will not admit defeat if they do not die.

No matter how valuable the gray animals are, they are more expensive than the colonial indigenous people. No matter how the exchange ratio is, the Russian army is at a disadvantage. After all, there are 300 million Indians on the opposite side.

"Prepare to negotiate with the British!"

After making this decision, Alexander III was completely depressed. The closest opportunity for the Russian Empire to India was missed.

"yes!"

"Your Majesty, do we want to inform the Austrians, after all..."

Before Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez finished his words, Alexander III interrupted: "You can do it! Anyway, the British don't want to fight anymore, and we don't have the ability to fight."

After saying that, Alexander III turned around and left.

There is no doubt that the Russian Empire is not able to continue this war. After all, Austrian nurses are still replenishing blood behind, and they can hold on for a while.

The key is that if India cannot be seized, continuing the war has dragged the British down, and it will only be cheaper to Austria, which is advancing on the African continent, is not in the interests of the Russian Empire.

No matter how good an allies are, they cannot withstand the temptation of interests.

According to the prior agreement, the Vienna government supported the Tsarist government to take over India in exchange for Russia's support for Austria to dominate Africa. After the war, the two countries shared continental hegemony together.

The Tsarist government is now in a standstill with the British, and is also cheating on teammates. But there is no way. The Tsarist government has confirmed that it cannot get India, so it cannot watch Austria dominate Africa.

Otherwise, the strength of the two countries will be further expanded after the war. In this era of the strong prey on the weak, once the strength imbalance occurs, the so-called sharing of continental hegemony is a joke.

Alexander III's political mind was still very smart. He knew the importance of the Russian-Austrian alliance and decisively chose to turn the blame in order to reduce political influence.

...

Since the decision to support the French, the British Foreign Ministry has taken a series of actions, and the British-Russian armistice is only one of the measures.

After all, the Russians are Austria's allies, and it is impossible for them to turn against each other in a few words. Not to mention anything else, the British-Russian conflict alone cannot be resolved in a short time.

I just fought a war and then formed an alliance. These operations exist in theory, and perhaps it could be done in the Middle Ages.

But today when nationalism is rising, anyone who dares to play like this must have a revolution.

Tokyo, Hirofumi Ito was in a bad mood after sending away the uninvited British ambassador.

It was difficult to coordinate the interests of all parties, barely suppress the voices going south, and continue to implement the previous northward strategy. Now that the British have mixed up, the situation has changed again.

Needless to think about it, the British even visited him, the opposition leader, let alone the political leaders who had originally supported the southward movement, must have been lobbying.

Just as Hirofumi Ito was thinking about countermeasures, the attendant's voice suddenly rang.

"Prime Minister, the palace called and asked you to attend the imperial meeting immediately."

With a "bang", the water cup in Ito Hirobuki's hand fell to the ground. It came too fast and he didn't leave any preparation time for him.

There is no doubt that there must be domestic political forces behind this, otherwise the British minister would have held a meeting of imperial fronts as soon as he left.

Such a move was nothing more than a demonstration to him and the opposition who went south to retreat.

There is no way, all the "three heroes" of the Meiji Restoration have passed away, and there is no longer a stabilizing force that can suppress all political forces. The means of political struggle have become more and more extraordinary.

For example, now, these guys are hiding the situation as prime minister, and have contacted the British privately, and have even reached an agreement.

Even if you know, Hirobuki Ito is actually powerless. Although he is famous in later generations, he has never been able to do anything.

In other words, Japan has not yet taken strategic adventures, and the military has not had time to grow bigger in the war, and the government can barely suppress them.

If the military has grown stronger, if anyone dares to fight against them, a mutiny will occur in minutes and a new government will change.

...

Navy Secretary Saigo took the lead in speaking: "The British have already made their position to support the French, and the international situation has undergone a fundamental change.

The end of the Continental War has become clearer, the risks we were originally worried about no longer exist, and all the conditions for implementing the strategy of moving south are met."

If possible, Saigo Congdao didn't want to be the first to be a leader. But there was no way, as the Minister of the Navy, he couldn't even be able to do so.

The Nanyang region is full of powerful powers and the situation is complicated. Once Japan extends its power, it will inevitably expand its navy significantly.

As the biggest beneficiary of the southward strategy, the top naval leaders have unified their opinions and cannot allow him, the Navy minister, to retreat at all.

Minister of Rural and Commerce Inoue: "Sigo, the situation in the so-called European War is clear, and it is probably too early to say it.

As we all know, the strongest British people are the Royal Navy, and their army is relatively ordinary.

Even if the French gained support from the British, it would not make much sense for the decisive battle in the continental region unless the Russians supported them too.

In fact, this is impossible. As we all know, the Russian-Austrian alliance is very stable, and the Russians cannot do without Austria.

Unless the Tsarist government has a brain, it will betray its allies and run to support its enemies."

There is nothing wrong with that. The negotiations between Britain and Russia have just begun and are still in a confidential state. The Japanese government's intelligence capabilities are limited and its tentacles have not yet reached the top leaders of Britain and Russia.

According to the normal thinking mode, Britain and Russia are going to war, France and Austria are going to war, and the enemy is friends. Moreover, Russia and Austria have an alliance, but now Britain and France are leaning together, Russia and Austria will naturally stand together.

Britain and France have almost no chance of winning when they are pk-k with Russia and Austria on land. Against this background, it is not reliable to accept the invitation from Britain and France to declare war on Austria.

Army General Oyama Iwa: "Kun Inoue, you're over-concerned. Not to mention whether the Russians are willing to send troops to help Austria, what if they win in Europe?

As long as the British are willing to support France, the anti-French alliance in the overseas colonies will be at an absolute disadvantage. If Austria wants to retaliate against us, they must also have the ability to overcome the blockade of the Royal Navy.

As far as I know, not only are we, but also several American countries, will participate in the goal of seizing Austria's overseas colonies.

We awakened too late, missed the colonial era, and now we have masters in the land around the world.

Fortunately, the European powers are full of contradictions, and this continental war is our best opportunity. As long as we seize the Austrian Nanyang, we will have everything we want, including coal, iron ore, rubber, and food."

Looking at the self-intoxicated Oyama Rock, Hirofumi Ito couldn't help but interrupt: "The British are not ready to form an alliance with us and invite them to participate in the attack on the Austrian Nanyang, just because the situation requires it.

No matter how much they promised, they seized the Austrian Nanyang, most of the interests were from Britain and France, and what belonged to us was just some leftovers.

Everyone has studied European history and should be clear about their rules. Even if Austria was defeated in this war, they are still a great power.

For some benefit, offending a European power is not worth the effort. When retaliation comes in the future, the British will not stand up for us."

The window paper was pierced, and everyone was stunned. The survival of the jungle was the essence of this era, and the weak were not qualified to compete with the strong for the spoils.

The gap in strength is too great. No matter how many promises Britain and France make, the Japanese government will not be able to ask them to fulfill it after the war. In the face of interests, breach of contract is really normal.

If the Austrian Nanyang cannot be exclusively occupied and just the soup that was picked up by Britain and France, then starting this war will be completely meaningless.

Although the Japanese military is a little radical, they are not stupid. The Showa General Staff, which is a middle-aged man, has not yet been launched, and everyone present is the owner of IQ online, so naturally they will not jump into the pit.

Saigo Congdao smiled slightly, pointed to the map on the wall and said, "Kun Ito, we naturally considered this issue. The British have their plans, and we also have our plans.

Our neighbors don’t have an old saying called “fake the way to attack Guo”. Everyone knows that Austria is not easy to mess with. Their power in the Nanyang region is not something we can eat.

From beginning to end, Austria's Nanyang is not our goal. Our real goal is still here - the fertile Philippine Islands.

The choice to cooperate with Britain and France is just to use them as a cover to confuse the Spaniards and create opportunities for seizing the Philippine Islands.”

Hearing this explanation, Hirobuki Ito's solemn expression was slightly slower. Compared with attacking the Austrian Nanyang, it is obvious that bullying the Spaniards is more acceptable, at least the risk is within a controllable range.

"Although the plan is good, have you considered the consequences?

Britain and France are not good friends. If we know that we are using them, we will definitely retaliate in the future.

If one does not operate well, it will put the empire in a state of doom. After all, our power is still too weak to withstand the toss and troubles."

Saigo Congdao nodded: "We the military has discussed this issue long ago. If there was no continental war, we would not dare to do this no matter what.

But now it is different. The European powers are divided into two camps: Britain, France, Russia and Austria. The British's continental balance strategy is shaky, and these powers will not care about us for a while.

Judging from the data collected, the total force mobilized by both sides of the war has exceeded 10 million. If you continue to fight like this, it is difficult for the participants of the European War to have a real winner, and the final outcome is mostly both sides.

As long as we are more flexible and join the winner in time on the eve of the victory of the European War, this game will be stable.

No matter who wins the war, they are busy licking their wounds after the war, and they will not fight against our ally for such a trivial matter.

If you are lucky, you can also get some spoils and improve our international status.”
Chapter completed!