It was always easy to start a war, but difficult to end it. This time was no exception. As the disadvantaged party, Britannia was bound to pay a price if they wanted to withdraw from this war.
The bombardment over the past few days had indeed lowered the expectations of the British people, but no matter how low their expectations were, it was impossible for them to sacrifice their own homeland.
Not to mention independence for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, even the Government of the United Kingdom did not want to give up India.
Even if they didn't want to, politicians had always had low moral integrity. When necessary, they could still compromise.
India's current situation was already deteriorating. Facing the siege of millions of coalition forces, it was only a matter of time before it fell.
If he couldn't keep it, then there was a possibility of compromise. Of course, this was only a possibility. The arrogant John Bull would not lower his head until the very last moment.
In order to force the British to surrender as soon as possible, on October 17, 1905, Franz ordered the Allied Fleet to leave the Indian Ocean and launch a full-scale battle in India.
…
Indian Minister Hill: "Since August of this year, the enemy has launched a fierce attack on India from the east and northwest. The situation is very critical.
On the northwestern front the enemy has already occupied Islamabad and the greater part of Pakistan has fallen. On the eastern front the enemy has occupied Burma and is now advancing towards the Bay of Bengal.
The colonial government had tried everything, even promising the Indians independence after the war in exchange for the support of the local people.
However, in the face of the enemy's ferocious attacks, it was still very powerless. In particular, the enemy's navy had already gone east, and it wouldn't be long before they opened a third front from the sea.
Based on the current development of the situation, if there are no reinforcements, we can only abandon the rich Indus River Plains and Ganges River Plains and retreat to the Malva Plateau to defend. "
The Indus Plain and the Ganges Plain were the essence of India. What was the difference between abandoning these areas and abandoning India?
Defending the highlands was even more of a joke. No matter how solid Britannia's foundation in India was, colonists were still colonists.
When he was strong, he could naturally command the masses. But once he showed signs of being dispirited, he would instantly be in trouble.
In fact, India was no longer peaceful. If it wasn't for the British Empire's long accumulation of power and Governor Robert's unyielding methods, there would probably be smoke everywhere.
However, no matter how high their prestige was, it could not withstand the erosion of defeat. As long as they lost a few more times, the situation would immediately collapse.
First Lord of the Admiralty Swindin: "Sending reinforcements is impossible! The Suez Canal is in the hands of the enemy, and the Cape of Good Hope has fallen. If we want to go to India, we have to take a big detour. We don't have enough time. "
Reality was cruel. The Royal Navy had to travel tens of thousands of nautical miles more than the Allied Forces to reach the Indian Ocean.
If they were led by the nose by the enemy, the enemy would turn around and attack the British Isles as soon as they arrived in India.
Without the obstruction of the Royal Navy, Britannia would not be able to stop the enemy from landing. Once the British Isles fell into enemy hands, they would really lose their underwear.
In essence, losing India meant losing money, the empire, and the future; losing the homeland meant losing one's life.
"Sending reinforcements to India is indeed unrealistic. The situation has developed to this point, and Britannia is already the enemy of the entire world. What we can do now is to reduce the losses for the Empire.
For the great Britannia, we must not give up hope until the very last moment.
Even if we can't hold India, we can't let the enemy take advantage of us. Didn't Governor Robert promise India independence? Then let the Indians take up arms to defend their country! "
It could be seen that Adam's occupational disease was acting up. As the Foreign Minister of the British Empire, Adam was also best at being a "sh * t stirrer."
Being able to pull together the Oceanic Alliance when Europe was the enemy was enough to prove his ability. Even if this alliance collapsed in the end, it was not a diplomatic problem.
His own strength was not good enough, and diplomacy alone could not reverse the decline of Britannia. However, Adam was still a professional at using diplomatic means to cause trouble for the enemy.
"You're crazy!
"Once India becomes independent, we will completely lose the subcontinent, and the British Empire will fall!"
Chancellor of the Exchequer Asquith roared.
The "Jewel on the Queen's Crown" was not an undeserved reputation. India contributed hundreds of millions of pounds of wealth to the British Empire every year. Without this income, Britannia was just an ordinary power.
Foreign Minister Adam said, "Sir, please calm down. No one said to give up India. It's just that we can't protect the subcontinent with our own strength. "
Only by letting the enemy realize that India was not only a "cream cake," but also a hedgehog could they dispel the greed of the hungry wolves.
India is in the hands of the Indians, and we still have a chance to take it back. But once it falls into the hands of the enemy, there will be no hope at all.
Our top priority now is to find a way to survive this disaster. History has proven that no alliance can be sustained for long.
Right now, the enemy is like the sun in the sky, and we are powerless to fight against them. We need to lie low temporarily and wait for the enemy to split.
If the Empire can survive this disaster, we can naturally return to India in the future …
Perhaps it was because he had entered the state of speech, Adam became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, as if he was already intoxicated.
Everyone tacitly did not expose him. People always needed hope. No one was willing to be a failure, and the people present were no exception.
Now that they were betrayed by their allies, Britannia was unable to win the war. They were about to become failures, and everyone was naturally unwilling.
No matter how low the probability of success of Adam's plan was, it was better than no plan at all.
Prime Minister Campbell did not join the war of words around India. When everyone was almost done discussing, Prime Minister Campbell said coldly.
"Restart the negotiations!"
…
Another year of cold winter arrived, and St. Peter's Castle had been approved for silver equipment. Compared to before the war, Nicholas II seemed to have aged ten years at the moment.
Up to this point in the war, if the British Empire was the biggest failure, then the Russian Empire was the second biggest failure.
The Russo-Austrian Alliance, which had lasted for nearly a hundred years, finally came to a turning point. In essence, it had become the world's hegemon. The Government of Vienna finally could not hold back and made a move against its ally.
It was just a restriction on the supply of goods, and the Russian Empire, which was already full of war, was immediately on the brink of collapse.
It had to be known that this restriction was not only implemented by the Holy Roman Empire, but almost all the member states of the Continental Alliance were involved.
The Government of Vienna still wanted to save face. Even if it restricted the supply of goods to Russia, it only reduced the amount of goods imported and did not completely cut off the supply. It even helped the Tsarist government to keep the army at the front line.
The other allies did not give face to the Russian Empire.
Driving up the price was considered mild. Banning the export of strategic goods to Russia was only a regular operation. The most ruthless thing was not only the ban itself, but also the confiscation of goods imported into Russia through its own country.
It was called "temporary requisition." Since they were all allies, it was not a big deal to borrow some goods. It was all for the needs of the war, and it would definitely be returned after the war.
"Returned after the war" sounded like a joke. The war was over, why would they still need strategic goods?
In the face of such shameless behavior of his allies, Nicholas II was so angry that he gritted his teeth.
If this happened during the peak of the Russian Empire, there would be no doubt that they would retaliate.
Unfortunately, this was not the era of the Russian Empire. In the face of such shameless provocation by his allies, Nicholas II could only choose to temporarily forgive them.
As for revenge, he could only think about it in secret. The Russian Empire, which was full of war, did not have the ability to retaliate against the European countries.
Not to mention the confiscation of goods, even when retired officers of the allies appeared in the rebel army, Nicholas II chose to pretend to be ignorant.
He had to be muddle-headed. If he was too clear-headed, he might not face the "retired officers" of his allies, but "active soldiers."
"What did the Austrians say? After so many things happened, don't they need to give us an explanation?"
Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that the countries dared to unscrupulously trap the Russian Empire because they must have received the tacit consent or even support of the Holy Roman Empire.
Nicholas II did not have the confidence to directly seek justice from the Holy Roman Empire.
The fact that the supply of goods had not been completely cut off proved that the Government of Vienna only wanted to take the opportunity to weaken the Russian Empire, not to destroy the Russian Empire.
Allies were used to trap, and the Tsarist government had also done a lot of things to trap their teammates. Thinking back to the time when the Government of Vienna wanted to unify the German Region, the Tsarist government also played small tricks.
Now the tables had turned. The one who caused trouble was the Holy Roman Empire, and it was the Tsarist government's turn to suffer.
Foreign Minister Mihailovich replied helplessly, "The explanation given by the Government of Vienna is that it is still under investigation.
At the same time, they suggest that we reflect on our past actions and repair the relationship with the allies to avoid unnecessary trouble. "
"Warning," a blatant "warning."
At this moment, the little brother who used to follow behind the Russian Empire no longer existed, and it was replaced by the rejuvenated world overlord.
Since it was the overlord, it was inevitable to show its dominance. Nicholas II was unlucky and happened to be in this "special period."
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