Chapter 392

The uprising in Rome allowed many people to see an opportunity and hit them when they were down. International public opinion was even more critical of the French government, including the French media.

There was no other way. This was the aftermath of confusion. Some people supported the Reformation, while others opposed it. Most of them opposed it for the sake of opposition.

Perhaps Napoleon Iii was used to it. The domestic public opinion did not affect him much, and he continued to suppress the rebellion step by step.

This disappointed the British. The uprising in Italy could not shake the foundation of France. As long as Paris was not in chaos, the Great French Empire was difficult to defeat.

As expected, the massive Roman uprising lasted less than a week before it was suppressed by the French. To be exact, after resisting for a morning, the rebels were defeated.

A motley crew was a motley crew. The hastily launched uprising seemed powerful, but the internal organizational relationships were chaotic.

The revolutionaries were not able to control the situation from beginning to end. Although the church participated in the uprising, they were afraid of the strength of the French and had no confidence in the revolution.

If he made a fuss, the crying child would have milk to eat. They wanted to show their strength to the French and fight for more favorable conditions for themselves. They were not prepared to fight to the death with the French.

The French counter-insurgency army arrived quickly. Seeing that the situation was not good, these people quickly changed sides and betrayed the revolutionary party.

Without waiting for the British to take action, the Italian independence movement fell into a low tide. Except for some scattered guerrillas who still persisted in resistance, the rebel-controlled city once again returned to the hands of the French.

In London, Prime Minister Benjamin was very distressed recently. The situation in South Africa was critical. Three telegrams for help arrived on time.

It was not easy to plan an Italian independence movement, but it came to an end just as it had begun. The independent spirit of the Italians was very strong, but there was nothing they could do about their actual combat ability.

There were many revolutionaries who talked and shouted slogans very well. On the battlefield, these people were usually the first to run.

Of course, it was not without results. After the failure of the uprising, the Italian cultural industry developed greatly, and a large number of artists emerged.

The artistic creation of the Italians was not a concern for Prime Minister Benjamin. Now he was busy thinking about the aftermath.

So many bad things happened during his term of office. He could almost announce that he did not need to participate in the next election to avoid losing too badly and losing face.

If he could not participate in the next election, then so be it. Prime Minister Benjamin did not care. But the current problem must be dealt with. Otherwise, he would not wait for the election.

Queen Victoria, who did not interfere in politics, had summoned him three times this week and asked him to come up with a plan to solve the immediate problems.

…

Foreign Minister Macklin frowned and analyzed, "Prime Minister, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. The situation is very unfavorable for us.

The government in Vienna had acquiesced to the annexation of Italy by the French and did not intervene from the beginning to the end. Otherwise, the Italian independence movement would not have failed so quickly.

In the Mediterranean they combine to keep us in a corner; in South Africa they combine to take the Cape of Good Hope.

Judging from the strategic layout, the alliance between France and Austria was not only to expand on the European continent, but also to seize maritime supremacy.

"We are losing the Mediterranean Sea. If we lose the Sea of Africa, of of India are also. are of the European.

This is not an exception. Our control over the Indian region, including our control over the Far East, will be affected. "Austria's tentacles have penetrated deep into the Arabian Peninsula and are very close to India.

"For the time being, the Royal Navy can suppress their ambitions. But in the context of Fao's alliance, it is unknown how long they can suppress them.

"Now it is time to change our foreign policy. I propose to recognize France in exchange for them to let us join the alliance."

Joining the alliance was not as simple as it sounded. Now that the French had annexed the Regions of Italy, Austria had not gained anything. At this time, the Government of Paris had made a compromise. The Government of Vienna would definitely be dissatisfied.

Although he could not determine the specific content of Fao's alliance, Macklin was sure that Austria had not yet obtained the benefits of the treaty.

In his opinion, the little profit from South Africa was not enough for Austria's appearance fee. After all, Austria had invested a lot in the war in South Africa. It was very difficult to recover the cost.

From the perspective of interests, if the two partners did business together, one would make a lot of money and the other would lose money. This kind of cooperation was destined to not continue.

Prime Minister Benjamin rubbed his forehead and fell into hesitation. It was easy to recognize the Great France Empire, but the repercussions were very serious.

This meant that their old enemy, France, had once again grown stronger. On the surface, after the annexation of the Regions of Italy, the France Empire's comprehensive national strength had directly increased by one-third.

If the internal integration was completed, the strength of the French would continue to grow, and Britannia would lose many advantages over France.

Unlike Austria, there was France and Spain in the middle, so the Government of London did not feel much pressure.

France, which was separated by a river, was different. The British had to face this pressure, and the Government of London had always been the most vigilant.

"Then let's try it. The Fao's alliance is too big a threat to us. We must break them up. There are also many people in the Government of Austria who oppose the Great France Empire. These people can be used. "

After making this decision, Prime Minister Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Royal Navy had always vowed to protect the safety of Britannia, he still felt the pressure when facing two big countries at the same time.

He could be considered unlucky. Looking at the history of British diplomacy, this should be the era when they were most isolated.

After the tireless efforts of their ancestors, the European countries that had paid the expensive tuition fees were no longer so easy to fool.

Seeing that the two countries of the Fao Empire had the inclination to form an alliance, everyone chose to protect themselves. It was true that they opposed the establishment of the Great France Empire, but they only talked about it. In reality, they were still in a wait-and-see state.

This made Prime Minister Benjamin very distressed. The anti-French alliance became only in name, not to mention the anti-Austrian alliance that was secretly playing tricks. They did not dare to bring it up at this time.

If they were provoked, the two countries of the Fao Empire would simply tear off the last disguise and openly divide Europe. That would be shooting themselves in the foot.

The two countries of the Fao Empire would have a war for the supremacy of Europe. This concept was proposed by his predecessor, Prime Minister John Russell. In order to drive a wedge between the two countries, they even publicized it.

Plans could never keep up with changes. The two countries of the Fao Empire would have a conflict for the supremacy of Europe. This was the consensus of everyone, but it was hard to say when this conflict would erupt.

For example, now the two countries of the Fao Empire had another idea that was more widespread, and that was to clear the field first to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.

This was difficult. Both sides deliberately restrained their conflict. They wanted to get rid of the fisherman first before the final battle. This put the fisherman in a difficult position.

When one problem is dealt with, another old one comes to the surface. The Colonial Secretary, Louis, said, "Everyone, the situation in the South African battlefield is critical. Everyone has seen the telegram asking for help.

If you don't want to lose the Cape of Good Hope, then send reinforcements as soon as possible! The casualties at the frontline are very high. If we react slowly, they might just surrender to the enemy. "

Using surrender as a threat to force the government to send reinforcements. This was not a good plan. The Government of London would indeed compromise now, but they would also settle accounts in the future.

There was no doubt that this was not the doing of Governor Delphi. As a politician, he would not put himself in danger.

However, there were still people who were not afraid of the Government of London. The Colonial Company was not afraid. They were also an important part of the South African armed forces. They were not involved in politics and still had a backer. They did not care about offending the cabinet.

Not only the Colonial Company, but the middle and lower level bureaucrats in the colonial government also did not care about the Government of London. They were not soldiers and did not have the responsibility to defend the land. Even if they were to be held accountable after the war, they could not be blamed on small shrimps like them.

This telegram, which was not a threat, appeared in the Government of London. If the reinforcements did not arrive and there was no hope of victory, these people might really surrender in order to save their lives.

The atmosphere was awkward. Everyone had seen the casualty data reported by the Governor's Office in Cape Town recently.

If ordinary people saw it, it would be a set of data. On average, there were seven to eight hundred casualties a day. Coupled with more than ten times the glorious results, this loss was not worth mentioning at all.

The layman watched the show, while the expert knew the ropes. These people still had a little bit of military common sense and were well aware of the consequences if this went on.

It had to be known that those who were attacking now were the enemy's cannon fodder troops. There were as many of them as they wanted, and the enemy would not be distressed no matter how heavy the losses were.

One could imagine the blow to the morale of the army in this situation. The best choice was to launch a counterattack and fight the enemy. Otherwise, they would be at a disadvantage if this continued.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Governor Delphi had fought with the opponent more than a dozen times and all ended in defeat. All his ambitions had been worn down, and he did not dare to go out of the city to fight.

The Government of London also did not dare to give this order. Everyone was afraid of taking responsibility. Although there were many British troops in Cape Town and they were not powerless to fight, unfortunately, no one had the courage to do so.

Governor Delphi expected the Government of London to send more troops and crush them with absolute strength, but the Government of London had no troops to send.

The British Army was so small. If all the troops were sent out today, an independence uprising would break out in Ireland tomorrow. The Government of London was well aware of the Irish people's desire for independence.

If the army wanted to expand, the navy would be the first to object. It was easy to expand the army, but difficult to disarm.

Once the army was expanded, it would not be so easy to reduce the size. Even if one thought with their fingers, everyone knew that the army would have enough excuses to keep the size of the army.

Everyone present knew that although the situation in South Africa was in crisis, it was not to the point of being lost immediately. Britannia still had so many troops, and as long as there were no internal problems, the enemy would not be able to take Cape Town for a while.

Behind the crisis, what role did the Army play? This was also a difficult question to answer.

Although the Minister of War did not say a word, in fact, the Ministry of War had made a lot of efforts to promote the expansion plan.

The war in South Africa had provided them with another great opportunity. If the Government of London wanted to continue sending reinforcements, they had to expand the army first.

Minister of War Fox waved his hand and said, "Don't look at me. You all know that Britannia's army is very small. Right now, the officers and soldiers are very busy and have no spare troops to reinforce the front line in Cape Town.

Doesn't Delphi need 100,000 reinforcements? As long as the cabinet also expands the army by 100,000, I can send the reinforcements within a month. "

No one would believe it if they did not prepare in advance to send reinforcements over in a month.

Of course, it could also be a braggart. This was not the first time something like this had happened. When the time came, there would be all kinds of accidents that could be used as a reason to delay the dispatch of troops.

Minister of the Navy Robert said sarcastically, "I remember that the Boer Republic army in South Africa was 30,000 or 40,000, less than half of the garrison in Cape Town.

The war has already been fought to this extent, and they still have the nerve to expand the army. Isn't this a waste of Britannia's resources? "

Without waiting for Fox to refute, Robert said, "Don't be in a hurry to explain. I know you want to say that the enemy has a bunch of servants, but can a bunch of able-bodied men, natives who charge with wooden sticks, be considered an army?

Although not all of our colonial troops are elites, the enemy is also a motley crew. From the outbreak of the war until now, the Austrians have not had any regular army on the battlefield.

The composition of the Boer Republic's army is clear to everyone. It's a group of civilian armed forces that recruited a group of able-bodied young men and fought all the way from Transvaal to Cape Town.

You should reflect on why our army's combat power is so poor.

The army has been a joke enough over the years. If we don't think about improving the combat power of the army and only think about expanding the number of troops, we can only give the enemy achievements on the battlefield. "

Robert and Fox did not have any personal grudges, but their identities determined their positions. When it came to the fight for military funding, Robert, as the Minister of the Navy, directly opened the scars of the army.

Fox angrily slammed the table and retorted, "Nonsense, the army's combat power is not as good as the Austrians, that is due to the lack of military funding.

Just a comparison of the military budget of both sides is enough to explain all the problems. Since the outbreak of the war in South Africa, our firepower has always been suppressed by the enemy. Otherwise, we would not have suffered so many defeats! "

Who was afraid of who? There were thousands of reasons. To be able to reach their current positions, they had all been arguing with people along the way.

Almost every country had a land and sea war, and Prime Minister Benjamin had to come out to smooth things over. Now that both sides had their reasons, he was the only one left.

"Enough, this is not the place for you to argue. If you want to argue, go outside and argue."

The two looked at each other and fell silent. The issue of the army's expansion was also put on hold. Robert did not have the joy of victory, and Fox did not have the dissatisfaction of defeat.

Obviously, this kind of thing had happened many times. Almost every time, the government would support the navy and then appease the army by slightly increasing the treatment or slightly expanding the size of the army.

The issue of reinforcements to Cape Town was soon solved. If they were to compare cannon fodder troops, John Bull would not back down until the Indians were all dead.

The only problem was that the finances could not bear it. The battle mission that 10,000 British troops could complete might not even be completed by 50,000 Indian troops.

On the surface, it looked cheap, but in reality, whoever used it would know. If the quality was not good, then they would make up for it with quantity.

In the World War of the original time and space, the British army had to personally go to the battlefield, which was enough to show that the cost-effectiveness of the Indian colonial army was not good enough.

Otherwise, the Government of London would have used the Indian colonial army to kill the enemy.