There was no harm in going to the Persian Battlefield. In any case, they were all pushovers. Even if the quality of their battle merits was discounted, they could still rely on their numbers to rush up.
The problem was that they were not allowed to fight at the frontlines. This was awkward. Everyone had come out to build a career, make a fortune, and get gilded. How could there be no war?
If he just wanted to pass the time, why didn't he stay in St. Peter's Castle or Moscow? Why did he come to such a remote place?
The Tsarist government's military salary alone was not enough for the nobles to maintain a luxurious lifestyle.
If the war did not start, not only would the officers at the frontlines not be able to make a fortune, but the bureaucrats in the rear would also be affected.
There were rules to daily military expenses. No matter how much money was scraped, the officers and soldiers under them had to be given basic treatment. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if the people below started to make a ruckus.
Such a small amount of profit had to be distributed layer by layer. There was not much left in the hands of each individual, and it was not enough to satisfy everyone's desires.
Most of the resources in the rear had been deducted, and first-line officers like Colonel Seacrest were out of the question.
If they didn't start fighting, Colonel Seacrest wouldn't even be able to recoup the expenses he had spent after a few years in office.
Colonel Seacrest, whose career and fortune were not going well, was naturally in a bad mood. At this moment, he was looking at the Caucasian Mountains in the distance and sighing.
Behind the mountains was his home. It was an ordinary Russian aristocratic family that could fall into the mortal world at any time.
"Colonel, urgent message from the division headquarters."
The messenger's voice interrupted Colonel Seacrest's thoughts. Seacrest's frown deepened as he took the telegram.
He had no choice. The contents of the telegram were too much. He didn't even mention what he should do when he said the alliance was borrowing the road. It was obvious that he didn't want to take responsibility.
Similar things had happened too many times in the Russian Empire. Whenever they encountered a problem, they would push it away if they could and hide if they could. There were too few officials who were willing to take responsibility.
Such was the case with this telegram. It was merely a notice, without specific instructions or authorization, and the matter had been passed on to Colonel Seacrest.
"Colonel, the Austrians are crossing our defensive line. It is said that they want to join forces with us to attack Persia. Captain Hashpi asks if we should intercept them. "
The divisional telegram had just arrived, and the Austrians were already in their own defensive zone. If there were no problems, Colonel Seacrest would have written his name backwards.
"Intercept my ass, tell Captain Hashpi to do as he sees fit. Order the troops to assemble at once and prepare to attack Persia. "
Putting aside the question of whether or not he could stop them, Colonel Seacrest would not be able to shoulder the responsibility if a conflict broke out during the interception without orders from the country.
Of course, allowing the Austrians to cross the border and attack Persia without permission also required them to take responsibility.
It was just that the bureaucrats in the country and the senior officers of the Russian Army at the frontline were all trying to get credit.
If he took the initiative to stand up and take responsibility, he would at least be in line with everyone's wishes. In the future, when the matter of responsibility was pursued, at least someone would speak up for him.
In any case, the reputation of the Russo-Austrian Alliance had to be taken into consideration. The crime of cooperating with the Austrian army couldn't be brought up in public. Settling accounts after autumn would only be making things difficult for him.
If he were to make some more contributions on the battlefield, he reckoned that he wouldn't even be able to make things difficult for him in public. Otherwise, it would affect the morale of the troops, at least until the end of the war.
The troubles after the war were nothing at all. The senior officers of the government had been stable for so long, and it was time to replace them.
It was a taboo in any country to "intimidate the ruler". Nicholas II could be considered to have a good temper to be able to tolerate a bunch of old officials for so long.
If the war was won beautifully, the prestige of the government would rise, and it would inevitably arouse Tsar's fear. If the performance in the war was terrible, the government would have to take the blame, and the person would have to be replaced.
There were already so many troubles at home, and there was still a lot more on the international front. Colonel Seacrest didn't think that Tsar would care about a small fry like him.
…
On the battlefield, the enemy's machine guns fired wildly. Many black pillars of smoke from the explosions rose into the air like a whirlwind on the already pockmarked sandy ground a mile in diameter. The attackers scattered, tumbled, and scattered away from the craters like water.
Crawl, crawl … The black smoke from the exploding shells swept the ground more and more tightly. The shrill screams of the shrapnel flying out more and more frequently splashed on the attackers. The machine gun fire on the ground became more and more brutal.
Major General Chris roared, "Hurry up the air force, we need firepower reinforcements!"
There was no other way. Taking advantage of a road to attack was all about speed, and the heavy artillery troops were still on the way.
They had thought that the Russian Army's artillery could suppress the enemy's firepower, but reality was cruel. The Tsarist government didn't care about the Persians at all, and didn't deploy enough heavy artillery at all.
The Russian Army officers, including Colonel Seacrest, were all red in the face. They couldn't even suppress the Persians' firepower, and they really couldn't lift their heads in front of their allies.
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
…
In order to regain face and prove their strength, the Russian Army general had to urge the troops to speed up the attack after the Shinra air force arrived.
Now was not the time to preserve their strength. If they couldn't prove their strength in front of their allies, there would be no room for discussion later.
Everyone was participating in the war to get promoted and get rich, not to be a bystander. The battlefield was always the stage for the strong, and the right to speak and the distribution of benefits were all based on strength.
The Persian garrison could be proud that their line of defense was still standing despite the simultaneous attacks of the Shinra Empire and the Russian Empire.
However, this kind of pride couldn't last. Any line of defense had its limits, and the long front line constantly squeezed the Persian Empire's limits.
The British ally, who had high hopes for them, didn't play its role at all. The Indian colonial army that was sent out couldn't do anything except cause trouble.
Accompanied by the intense sounds of cannon fire and battle cries, the Persian defenders, who had been enduring the heavy pressure, finally collapsed.
Morale was something that could be drained a thousand miles if it collapsed. Facing the attacks of two empires at the same time, the Persians' morale collapsed.
…
Victory always brought people a good mood. As the war progressed smoothly, Franz's mood became better and better.
For the entire world war, the breakthrough in the Persian battlefield was only an interlude. But for the British, who regarded India as their lifeblood, it was definitely a blow.
Especially when the Russian Army appeared on the battlefield. Even though it seemed like they were being coerced, the Russians did participate in the war.
Regardless of whether the Russians would attack India from Afghanistan or not, the Government of the United Kingdom was now under a lot of pressure.
If the enemy wasn't comfortable, Franz would naturally be comfortable. In his spare time, he played "art" again.
Not only did he play by himself, but he also played with a group of grandchildren. Franz was too lazy to think about what kind of impact the art of the combination of East and West would have on future generations.
Perhaps it would be fiercely criticized by experts and scholars, or it might open up a new genre of art. Anyway, the future was full of uncertainty.
It wasn't art that determined all of this, but politics. The essence of art was public acceptance, but the premise of public acceptance required a social background.
If you opened a history book, you would find that in the course of human development, the popular art and culture were different in different periods.
Lowly people and elegant people were both part of art, and there was no difference in quality. It was just that the social status was different in different periods.
Today's lowly people might become upper-class people tomorrow; today's upper-class art might become marginal culture tomorrow.
If the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire could last for a hundred years, it would promote the great integration of Eastern and Western culture and the immortal great cause of human integration.
On the contrary, the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire was short-lived, and then there would be no then, and it would directly disappear in the long river of history.
As an emperor, especially an emperor who led a declining empire to the peak again, he was bound to be deeply interpreted by future generations.
Franz looked at his grandchildren, who could form a football team, and realized that he was really getting old.
With Franz's age, if it wasn't for the European royal family's habit of late marriage, the fourth generation would have already come out, and maybe the fifth generation would have come out.
Fortunately, his family was rich. If it was an ordinary family, raising so many children was not a blessing.
Although many families had more than a dozen children in a lifetime, if half of them could really be raised into adults, it meant that the family could still live.
"Father, the Russians have sent troops to India!"
Frederick The Great's voice sounded, pulling Franz out of the mood.
"Oh, it seems that the little guy Nicholas II is still not good enough. We haven't even agreed to their conditions yet!"
Franz, who had survived three generations of Tsar and became an antique of the European royal family, now had the right to tease the younger generation.
It seemed like an understatement, but in fact, Franz had already begun to ponder. The impact of Russia's invasion of India was not small at all.
In the short term, it did help speed up the pace of winning the war, but the Russians also needed to eat meat.
With the style of the Hairy Bear, once it was in his stomach, he would not spit it out again. If it was any other place, Franz would agree.
But India was different. It might be a burden in the future, but it was a rare rich place at the moment.
If left alone, who knew how much territory the Russian Army could occupy before the end of the war?
Although the Government of Vienna was not ready to colonize India, it did not mean that they would give up the Indian market. In particular, they could not let this market fall into the hands of the Russians.
Otherwise, the Tsarist government could rely on the wealth plundered from India to get out of financial difficulties, and at the same time rely on the Indian market to improve their own industrial system and grow stronger.
The Russian Empire without any shortcomings was too terrifying. Although "people are born in trouble and die in peace," Franz still did not want to leave a huge pit for the future generations.
After pacing a few steps, Franz seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Frederick The Great and asked, "How are you going to deal with it?"
It was obviously impossible to stop the Russians from sending troops to seize territory. The Russian Empire was only an ally of Shinra, not a follower. They were not so obedient.
As an ally, attacking the enemy was beyond reproach. Even if there were restrictions, for the stability of the Continental Alliance, the Government of Vienna could not use them indiscriminately.
If an ally was disobedient, the ruler would also have to worry, especially if the ruler had a competitor. They had to think twice before acting.
If they did not handle it well, they would violate the rules of the game and cause public anger. The Government of Vienna would also have to bear the consequences.
If they did not take any action and allowed the Russians to grow stronger, it would be even worse.
Even if it was not easy to deal with, it had to be dealt with. Franz threw the question to Frederick because he wanted to see how much his successor had grown in terms of his ability to adapt to changes.
"Speed up the pace of the war and end the war before the Russians occupy India. If necessary, we can also negotiate with the British.
In the long run, the British threat is far less than the Russians. As long as we take away their colonies, the British Isles can at most support a second-rate country. "
After a pause, Frederick The Great added, "In order to avoid direct confrontation with the Russians and affect the current war against the British, we can also form the European Allied Forces and advance from Persia to India under the banner of the Alliance.
In the future, take out the interests of India and share it with the European countries. When there is a dispute, we can encourage Europe.
If necessary, we can provoke the conflict between the European world and the Russians, and rope in the European countries to restrict the Russian Empire. "
The first part of the operation could only be regarded as normal. The later part of the plan was the essence of Franz's diplomacy.
Many people in the outside world only saw the diplomatic skills of the Government of Vienna, but they ignored how many interests the Government of Vienna had taken out to share with its allies along the way.
Regardless of whether there was a trap or not, the interests were taken out after all. If you ate it and had indigestion, that was your own problem. You could not blame the Government of Vienna for giving too much.
If they were not willing to share, there would not be the current Holy Roman Empire. However, the biggest feature of this sharing was to grasp the "degree."
For the sake of this "degree," many times, seemingly stupid things had to be done.
However, this operation was very complicated. If the hole was not dug in the right place, and others did not fall into it, but you jumped into it, then you would really be a fool.
Franz nodded, "It's not enough to just share. If you want the European countries to contribute, you must put in a lot of capital.
We can clearly tell them that the Empire will not seek colonies in India. After the war, we will rebuild the international order, clarify the sphere of influence of each country, and ensure that everyone's colonies are not threatened by foreign forces.
The distribution of the spoils of war is still the same, according to the contribution in the war. Those who are interested in India can now use their own means. "
Ambition was stimulated. If Shinra wanted to rob India, other countries had no chance except for the Russians.
Just a promise to share the benefits was too illusory and could not motivate people at all.
It was different to throw out the whole of India. With such a big cake, even if all the European countries ate it together, every one of them would be full.
Just look at the wealth that the British plundered from India every year. It was more than the combined revenue of the European governments except for Russia, Austria, and France.
With such a big benefit, the Government of Vienna was still willing to provide security and protection. If it could not stimulate everyone's ambition, then it would really be a salted fish.
Of course, it was understandable for small countries to be salted fish. For example, the small country of Monaco, even if it was taken care of by the Government of Vienna after the European War, it still only had a few towns.
Apart from shouting slogans, it was not even qualified to go up there and play a role, so there was really no other way.
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