Chapter 646

Before the first wave subsided, another wave arose.

As the arms race between the UK, Fao, and Russia reached its climax, there was another storm in Central Asia.

On July 11, 1887, Britannia's governor in India, Lytton, suddenly informed the Government of Afghanistan to send a delegation to visit Kabul.

A weasel paying a New Year's greeting to a chicken was naturally not a good intention.

Although many years had passed since the last Anglo-Afghan war, the British colonial activities in Afghanistan had never stopped. There had never been a so-called friendship between the two countries.

The anti-British sentiment in Afghanistan had always been very strong. Considering that the safety of the delegation could not be guaranteed, and the reaction of the Russians.

In order not to cause trouble, Abdur Rahman Khan Emir declined the British's request.

However, Governor Lytton was not a person who would admit defeat. He repeatedly made requests, and it seemed that he would not give up until the British agreed.

Unable to resist the British's pestering, in September, the Emir was forced to agree to the British's request.

The British went, and the Russians naturally couldn't watch their little brother be bullied. Then the Tsarist government also sent a delegation.

Franz didn't know what happened after that. In any case, the United Kingdom and Russia fought over Afghanistan.

Franz asked, "How do the Russians want us to support them?"

Austria and Afghanistan were thousands of miles apart, and there was also the Persian Empire in the middle.

The Government of Vienna didn't like to reach out. There was no benefit in this kind of place, and it was out of reach. Naturally, there would be no Austrian power.

In the Regions of Afghanistan, only the British and Russians had the right to speak.

In this context, the Tsarist government wanted to get Austria's support, which didn't seem right.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied, "The Russians hope that we can help distract the British's attention, and it would be best if we can find something for the Government of the United Kingdom to do."

Carefully recalling the fight between the British and Russians over the Regions of Afghanistan in the original time and space, Franz finally found something wrong. The second Anglo-Afghan war was gone.

After realizing that something was wrong, Franz signaled everyone to rest for the time being. He hurried to the secret room, took out the memoirs written at the beginning of his time travel, and read them.

Soon, he figured out the cause and effect. Affected by the Prussian war, the Russians didn't care about expanding into Central Asia in the past few years.

Without the threat of Russia, and with the heavy losses in the first Anglo-Afghan war, the British naturally didn't have a strong desire to occupy the Regions of Afghanistan.

Right, the "Anglo-Afghan War" that broke out between the British and Austria in South Africa also played a key role.

Hundreds of millions were spent, but the end, and the result was nothing. This directly affected the Government of the United United United.

Due to various factors, Afghanistan, which did not have many benefits, was very lucky to escape.

Now that the Russians had made a comeback, they once again set their sights on the Central Asian region. Afghanistan, a small pro-Russian country, was an eyesore.

Seeing that no one reacted, Franz ordered his servant, "Bring me the map of Central Asia."

…

"Look at Afghanistan. To the north is the Khaganate of Central Asia, to the south is British India, to the east is the Empire of the Far East, and to the west is the Persian Empire. It can be said to be the heart of Asia.

"Whoever controls this place will have the strategic initiative in Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia. This is very important to both Britain and Russia.

In the past, Russia was busy with European issues and had no time to care about Central Asia. As a result, the British were able to slowly penetrate into the Regions of Afghanistan.

"Now, the Russians have turned around and re-focused on Central Asia. The pro-Russian Afghanistan has put the British in a difficult position.

"If the Russians act out of line, do you think the British will be at ease after their diplomatic efforts to win over Afghanistan fail?"

Prime Minister Carr: "Your Majesty, it's not difficult to let the Russians provoke the British, and it's not difficult to destroy the British's plan to win over Afghanistan.

It's just that, at the critical moment of the arms race, the Regions of Afghanistan are not as important as the Royal Navy's hegemonic position.

Even if the Government of the United Kingdom feels deeply, they will not provoke a second Anglo-Afghan war before the arms race is over. "

This was the most realistic problem. In the face of the two challengers of the Fao, no matter how big the British were, they still had to weigh the pros and cons.

Franz nodded. "That's right! Under normal circumstances, the British will not start a second Afghan war in the arms race.

I don't expect the war to break out immediately. We can also achieve our goal by delaying the time.

What we have to do now is to cheer the Russians on and tell the Tsarist government that this arms race will last for several years, so that they can rest assured and confront the British boldly.

When necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can also directly help the Government of Afghanistan to strengthen their confidence. For example, by sponsoring some guns and ammunition.

With the two great powers standing behind them, it should be able to intimidate them. If it really doesn't work, we can simply send people to kill the British envoy and intensify the conflict between the two sides. "

Bottom line, moral integrity, and so on, they could all be abandoned at critical moments. In order to create conflict, Franz even thought of assassination methods.

Of course, the assassination was one thing, but they still had to get rid of the blame. Either the Afghans did it themselves, or the Russians did it. Either way, it had nothing to do with Austria.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, Afghanistan is now surrounded by the British. Once the war breaks out, neither we nor the Russians will be able to help.

Without our support, Afghanistan won't be able to hold on for long with its own strength.

If the British occupy the Regions of Afghanistan, it won't be easy for the Russians to go south. "

He had to admit that the current international situation in Afghanistan was really bad.

The south was directly bordered by the British; the north was the Central Asian Khaganate, which was the British's little brother; the west was the Persian Empire, which was also pro-British, or was forced to be pro-British; the east was safe for the time being, but this route was not easy to follow.

Once the war broke out, Afghanistan would immediately fall into a situation of isolation and helplessness. Even if there was international assistance, it would be difficult to transport it in.

As an agricultural country, the chances of winning against the British were slim if they were to lose the support of the international community.

Afghanistan's strategic location was very important. Once the British occupied it, with the terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, it would be difficult for Russia to go south.

The British could even turn the tables and coordinate with a few of their little brothers in Central Asia to cause trouble for the Tsarist government.

Franz shook his head: "As long as we want to provide them with support, we will definitely be able to send it in.

If worst comes to worst, we can send airships to airdrop them. If the voyage is not enough, we can directly land in Persia on the way back.

Even if the Persian government is more inclined to the British, they can only pretend that they didn't see anything on this issue.

Don't underestimate Afghanistan. As long as they have enough weapons, they can make the British suffer. It won't end in a short time.

Even if the situation really gets out of control and the British really occupy Afghanistan, we can support Russia to fight all the way through Central Asia.

As long as the British don't have time to manage the place, I believe that the Russians still have the ability to defeat the British. "

This was the truth. Franz really had confidence in Afghanistan. The Imperial Cemetery was not an undeserved reputation.

Even if they couldn't win, the Afghan people could still win. If the city was lost, there was still the town. If the town was lost, there was still the mountains.

Anyway, as long as the people were alive, the war would not stop.

Several empires in the original world had been defeated in Afghanistan one after another. They were all dragged down by heavy military expenses.

Unless the British went on a killing spree and carried out a genocide, it would be difficult to win.

In contrast, Franz didn't have much confidence in the Russians. The main reason was that the three wars in recent decades had hurt the vitality of the Russian Empire.

Not to mention, just looking at the population, the Russian Empire was more than 30 million less than the same period in history. The proportion of the young and middle-aged population was at least five percent lower than the same period in history.

The seemingly powerful Russian Empire was actually in its weakest state. It was fine for a short period of time, but it really couldn't withstand a protracted war.

If the British really didn't care about the cost and used the Indians to fight against the Russians, the Tsarist government really wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Franz didn't have confidence in the Russians, but it didn't mean that others didn't have confidence in the Russians. The cabinet was convinced.