Chapter 563

Constantinople

Abdul Mejid I's face was gloomy. The Balkan War might be a small interlude for Britain and France, but it was fatal for the Government of Sudan.

For this war, the Osman Empire had done its best. There was no doubt that they only had this little strength.

They had mobilized a million soldiers in total. Regardless of their combat power, the Ottoman Empire had invested all of its resources in this war.

As a result, the situation on the battlefield made Abdul Mejid I very disappointed. Originally, the allied forces should have had a slight advantage. Unfortunately, this advantage disappeared without a trace after the battle between Britain and France for the command.

Eliminate the conflict between Britain and France? Stop dreaming. The two world wars in history were related to life and death. Britain and France could drag each other down. Now, they still expected them to cooperate sincerely?

Abdul Mejid I said in a deep voice, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Government of London and Paris. Tell them that if they continue to preserve their strength on the battlefield, we will lose this war."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Foreign Minister replied.

Although the war was fierce, in fact, Britain and France did not have many casualties. The main casualties on the battlefield were the Osman Army.

Since the British put a gun on the Osman Army's neck and forced them to consume the strength of the Russians on the battlefield, the French naturally did not mind doing the same.

In the Sliven area, the Russians started to beat up the French. In order to preserve their strength, the French naturally used the Osman Army as cannon fodder.

Anyway, it was the Osman Army that was begging Britain and France for help. No matter how much they went, the Government of Sudan could only endure.

Up until now, the British and French had lost less than 15% of their men. This included non-combat casualties, while the Osman Army had lost more than 25% of its men.

Under normal circumstances, with such a large number of casualties, the Osman Army should have collapsed long ago. However, it was different with the supervision team.

To a certain extent, the fact that the British and French put guns on their necks and forced them to go to war had a positive effect. At the very least, they had caused a lot of casualties to the Russians.

War Minister Mudra suggested nervously, "Your Majesty, let the British and French send more troops. According to the current situation, they will not cooperate well. If they wanted to win this war, the only way was to rely on absolute strength to crush the enemy.

We are already at a disadvantage. Even if the British and French are willing to fight, it will only end in a lose-lose situation. "

Abdul Mejid I sighed and said with a bitter smile, "It's not that simple. This battle is not that important to England and France. Even if we lose, it doesn't matter.

Perhaps for the British and French, the cost of the war will be lower if they fight in the coastal area or defend Constantinople.

Furthermore, due to the lengthening of the battle line, the logistical pressure on the Russians will increase greatly. The number of troops that can be sent to the front line will inevitably decrease, and the coalition army's chances of winning will increase.

The British and French could do this, but the Osman Empire could not do it. If the Russians were to engage in a decisive battle along the coast, the most important part of the Ottoman Empire would become a battlefield.

Even if they won the war, the foundation of their rule in the The Balkans would be destroyed. Not to mention recovering the lost land, it was already very difficult to maintain the actual area under their control.

The reality was cruel. Britain and France only joined forces to attack Russia. The survival of the Osman Empire was not in their consideration.

They had paid such a high price for this war, but there was no gain. They might even lose half of the The Balkans. It would be strange if Abdul Mejid I was not angry.

But the conflict between the Osman Empire and Russia was too deep. Even if the Government of Sudan wanted to admit defeat, Russia would still attack them. They could only follow Britain and France.

…

London

The war in the The Balkans was in a stalemate. The Government of the United Kingdom was having a headache. Don't think you can ignore it just because you are rich.

From the perspective of interests, ending the war as soon as possible was the best choice for the British Empire to focus on colonial expansion.

After more than half a year, the troops promised by Britain were finally in place. The last batch of reinforcements had left the British Isles for the The Balkans.

This reinforcement was strongly requested by Lieutenant General Montes. He no longer believed that the Osman Empire could destroy the guerrillas. He was also not sure when the French could defeat the Russians.

The British Empire could not afford to lose face, nor could the Army. For the sake of face, for the Army's position in the country, and for the future military expenses, the British Army's bureaucrats were unusually efficient.

In theory, the arrival of the 30,000 British troops could break the stalemate, but the Government of the United Kingdom was not confident.

Since the war against France, the Russian Empire was the most powerful country in Europe and the world's largest army.

The Government of London had no confidence in their army. They did not think that this small number of troops could break the stalemate. Even the Government of London had not asked the Army to take the initiative to attack.

In the view of the British Cabinet, Britain was not a strong army. As long as they did not lose face in the Balkans, it would be fine. The important task of defeating the Russians should be left to the French and the Osman Empire.

Prime Minister John Russell asked, "The war in the The Balkans is in a stalemate. Unless the Allied Forces send more troops, they will not be able to win in a short period of time. What do you think?"

The Foreign Affairs Minister Palmerston suggested, "Your Excellency, the main reason for this situation is that the Russians have been preparing for this war for more than two years. The Allied Forces are rushing to fight.

Also, the position of the Government of Austria is beyond our expectations. The Government of Vienna actually gave up on the restrictions on the Russians and even provided them with logistical supplies.

We have already sent people to contact the Government of Vienna, and their attitude is very firm. They did not even listen to our conditions and directly expressed their neutrality.

We asked them to refuse to provide strategic supplies to the Russians, but they rejected us with the excuse of free trade. "

The "free trade" was proposed by the British. They did not expect that they would take revenge on them so quickly. However, they could not oppose it. This was the national policy of the British Empire.

In this day and age, there were no restrictions on the export of strategic supplies to neutral countries. At least there were no mandatory restrictions. Austria was now openly doing business with the Russians.

Palmerston wanted to go to the Austrian market and cut off the Russians' supply. After thinking about it, he gave up. The capitalists in the country were not to be trifled with.

If the government in London were to buy Austrian goods instead of their own, the uproar of these people would be fatal.

As a political ally, the Secretary of the Navy, James Graham, came to the rescue. "Mr. Palmerston is right. The reason for this situation is that we made a mistake in the relationship between Russia and Austria.

However, it has already happened, and it is useless to reflect on our mistakes. The most important thing now is to defeat the Russians. Let the past be the past!

The Russians are not without weaknesses. From the information we have, more than 80% of the Russian Army's combat supplies in the The Balkans are provided by the Austrians. The rest are the supplies stored by the Russians.

The strategic supplies in the Caucasus are basically provided by the Russians themselves.

Most of these strategic supplies are hoarded along the coast of Ukraine. If we can raid these areas, it will also be a heavy blow to the Russians. "

Of course, it would be a heavy blow. The results of the Russians' two years of preparation were all here. They originally planned to use the Black Sea Fleet to transport the logistical supplies for the frontline army.

In the end, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The British and French navies came in and the sea traffic was cut off. They could only rely on ox-carts and carriages to slowly transport to the frontline.

If the British raided these supplies, the economic losses alone would make the Tsarist government cry.

With the greed of the Russian bureaucrats, even if the British just fired a few cannons, they would dare to destroy most of these supplies.

Palmerston suggested, "Not only can we destroy these supplies, but we can also open up a second battlefield along the coast of Ukraine.

The Russians have sent their main forces to the The Balkans. We can use this opportunity to destroy the Black Sea Fleet's nest.

Without these annoying flies, our people can land on the Black Sea Coast at any time. The Russians will have a headache.

They can abandon other places, but the Crimean Peninsula is not something they dare to lose.

The military power of the Russians is not unlimited. After we open up a new battlefront, they won't be able to support for long. "

The Government of London misjudged the relationship between Russia and Austria. This was caused by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Palmerston must find a way to make up for it.

Opening up a new battlefront was the strategy that his think tank came up with. As long as they defeated the Russians, all the previous mistakes were not worth mentioning.

Anyway, with the advantage of the navy, they could fight however they wanted along the Black Sea Coast.

The Russians had to take care of three battlefronts at the same time, which was obviously not enough. Not mentioning the Caucasus, it was impossible to give up the The Balkans. The Russians had already paid too much, and they were only one step away from Constantinople.

But the Crimean Peninsula couldn't be lost either. If they lost it, the British and French navies would block their doorstep every day. It would be impossible for the Russians to develop a navy in the Black Sea.

Without the navy, continuing to attack Constantinople would only have political and religious significance. Even if they conquered it, it would be difficult to defend it.

The Home Secretary, Henry John Temple, questioned, "Mr. Palmerston, opening up a second battlefront is very good in theory, but don't forget, we are also on a long journey. The Russians have consumed a lot, but our consumption is even greater.

Just like the current war in the The Balkans, the Allied Forces' military expenditure is double that of the Russians. The Russians directly purchase supplies from Austria, and the cost of our supplies is also a quarter higher than theirs.

The Osman's financial resources have been exhausted, and all the expenses of the Kingdom of Sardinia's army are borne by us. The Government of France's financial resources aren't optimistic either.

If we open up a new battlefront like the Crimean Peninsula, most of the military expenditure will fall on us. We don't have the budget for this, so how can we convince the Parliament? "

No one liked to be at a disadvantage. Now that they wanted to open up a new battlefront, the British had to be the sponsor. This meant that it would cost millions, or even tens of millions of pounds.

Palmerston explained unhurriedly, "Mr. Henry, you worry too much. If the war breaks out on the Crimean Peninsula, we will actually have more of an advantage.

As long as we destroy the supplies that the Russians have stockpiled on the Black Sea Coast, the Russians can only transport supplies from the rear if they want to.

The cost of this is much higher than purchasing from Austria. With the Tsarist government's ability to react, they won't be able to adjust in a short period of time when they suddenly encounter such a situation.

At this time, the more flustered they are, the easier it is for them to make mistakes. The Russians have made the wrong decision, and our opportunity has come.

Even if they don't make mistakes, fighting on three battlefronts is beyond the limits of their national strength. We are facing an enemy that lacks soldiers, money, and supplies. It won't be a problem for us to win this war.

As for the increased military expenditure, compared to defeating the Russians, what is a small price to pay?

After such a huge defeat, the social conflicts that the Tsarist government has suppressed will erupt. With internal and external troubles, the possibility of the Russian Empire splitting up is very high.

At that time, we can completely slaughter the Russian Empire according to our will and completely eliminate this threat. "

In this era, the Russians were the British's primary enemy. If it was just to defeat the Russians, it would not be enough for the British Parliament to agree to spend a lot of money.

If there was the possibility of completely defeating the Russians, then it would be different. No parliament member could resist this temptation.

Seeing that no one continued to oppose, John Russell said, "If no one has any other opinions, then let's vote now. Those who agree with Mr. Palmerston's proposal, please raise your hand."

After that, John Russell raised his hand first. He also could not resist the temptation of defeating the Russians. As long as he completed this task, he would be one of the greatest prime ministers in the history of the United Kingdom.

After glancing around, John Russell continued, "Pass. Next week, I will submit the bill to the Parliament in the name of the cabinet.

Mr. Palmerston, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will immediately communicate with the French and strive to reach a consensus on this issue as soon as possible.

It is best to do it before the Parliament votes, in case there is another problem. "

No matter how good the strategy was, there must be people to implement it. The British Army was so small, and even if they sent all of them, it would not be enough to defeat the Russians. Therefore, they could only rely on the French.

Since Napoleon Iii wanted to use this war to gain political prestige, how could he not pay a price?

John Russell was not a fool. If the French did not contribute, they would not be able to break out.