Chapter 669

Kabul, ever since the arrival of the British and Russian representatives, was filled with tension every day.

Just now, the representative of Russia made an anti-British speech, which won bursts of applause from the Kabul citizens.

In contrast, the British delegation was much more low-key. As the head of the delegation, Waters knew how unpopular he was.

In just two weeks, they had been attacked by terrorists three times and besieged twice. If the Afghan government had not been worried about their safety and sent troops to protect them, the British delegation would have been wiped out long ago.

Even though he was here to cause trouble, Waters wasn't prepared to put his life on the line. After seeing the enthusiasm of the Afghan people, he began to live in seclusion.

A young officer said indignantly, "Mr. Waters, the Russians are making an anti-British speech again. This is a provocation to Britannia. We must teach them a lesson!"

Waters patted the young officer on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Henry, calm down.

This is Afghanistan. If we do anything drastic, we will fall into the trap of the Russians.

Don't forget our mission. Before the Government of Afghanistan has a clear position, we should fight for it first.

War is the last resort. If it's just to provoke a war, we can do it at any time. Why bother? "

This was the truth. His life was his own. In other people's territory, if he didn't keep a low profile, he would die in vain.

In fact, the Government of the United Kingdom had tried to rope in Afghanistan many times, but because of hatred and credibility, it had never been successful.

Of course, the colonists also took credit for this. The repeated tests made the Government of Afghanistan very wary of them.

With the strategic focus of the Russians moving south, Afghanistan's strategic position became more and more important.

This time's recruitment was also the last chance they had. The negotiations seemed to be a discussion, but in fact, it was to force Afghanistan to take a new side.

The young officer, Henry, shook his head and said, "I hope your plan works, but I'm not optimistic.

The anti-British sentiment of the Afghan people is too strong. Even if the government is willing to compromise, a treaty won't have much effect. "

In this era of the law of the jungle, the strongest fist was the most important. The British delegation seemed to be at a disadvantage, but in fact, they had the initiative in the negotiations.

In the end, Britannia was strong enough. British India was next to Afghanistan, while the Russians were separated by Persia and the Central Asian Khaganate.

Waters said confidently, "Don't worry, the conditions we proposed this time are not excessive. The right to garrison troops is only to help them resist Russia's invasion. The Government of Afghanistan knows what to choose."

…

In the palace, Lieutenant General Toletuov had just completed a treaty with the Afghan King Amir. The contents of the treaty were not many, only 11.

However, this piece of paper with 11 treaties placed Afghanistan under the protection of the Russian Empire.

The main content was: The Russian Empire supports the rule of the Emir, will help the Afghan government defeat enemies at home and abroad, will be responsible for mediating relations between Afghanistan and third countries, and will ensure the territorial sovereignty and security of Afghanistan.

There was no excessive request, as long as Afghanistan stood on the side of the Russian Empire at the critical moment.

Compared to the British request for a garrison, the Russian protection treaty was more reassuring to the Emir King.

The Austrian Minister to Persia, Redmond, was responsible for witnessing this history. A small country like Afghanistan had no interests and was not worthy of the attention of the Government of Austria. Naturally, there were no diplomatic envoys.

When something needed to be dealt with, the nearest envoy to Persia would do it. This was a characteristic of the times. Compared to randomly appointing a businessman as an envoy, this was very formal.

In a sense, Minister Redmond's position also affected Amir's judgment.

The mess between the Russo-Austrian Alliance was unknown to the people of both countries, let alone the outside world.

For a closed country like Afghanistan, Russia and Austria were a model of close allies. Since the beginning of the war against France, the friendship between the two countries had withstood the test of time.

Hugging the thigh of the Russians was equivalent to hugging the thigh of the Russo-Austrian Alliance. Individually, it might not be comparable to the British, but the combination of the two was definitely not inferior.

Minister Redmond said insincerely, "Congratulations to the two of you for opening a new chapter in the history of Central Asia. I believe that with the help of the Russian Empire, Afghanistan will soon become stronger.

To celebrate this great moment, the Austrian Empire is willing to sponsor the Government of Afghanistan with 10,000 rifles and some ammunition. "

There was nothing strange about it. The reason why Arcana equipment could beat many competitors and become the mainstream army equipment in the international arms market was because of the trial.

Usually, a batch of retired rifles with good performance would be sponsored first. After letting people use them, they would slowly promote the supporting weapons and equipment. Even if the promotion was unsuccessful, they could still sell the ammunition.

In recent years, it had developed into the warship business. As the arms race continued, similar gifts would continue to increase.

Hearing the good news, King Amir said happily, "Thank you for your generosity. This is the best gift I have ever received!"

This was the truth. In Afghanistan, where traffic was poor, weapons and equipment had to be changed hands many times. Even the cheapest weapons would become sky-high prices there.

With the difference in information, the value of weapons and equipment would also be judged differently.

In Austria, the average cost of a rifle produced on a large scale was less than 1 SD, and the retail price on the market was not more than 5 SD.

However, in Afghanistan, the price of these rifles had increased several times, and if one wanted to buy one, they had to order it in advance.

Redmond smiled and said, "You're welcome, we're all friends! Austria has always been generous to our friends. "

Seeing that Lieutenant General Toletuv's expression was a little unnatural, Minister Redmond did not continue the topic.

Afghanistan was Russia's little brother, and Austria had obviously crossed the line by promoting arms here.

However, in order to show the outside world that the Russo-Austrian Alliance was unbreakable, Toletuv's dissatisfaction was only fleeting, and he deliberately pretended to be indifferent.

After that, the three of them naturally had a good chat and even had dinner together before going their separate ways.

…

Late at night, Redmond returned to his residence and had a headache. Provoking a war between Britain and Afghanistan was not a simple task.

The key to deciding the war was not in Afghanistan, but in the Government of the United Kingdom. No matter how much they cheered for the Emir King, they would not take the initiative to provoke the British.

If a war between Britain and Afghanistan broke out, there could only be one result: The Government of the United Kingdom would send troops over.

Redmond knew his own limits, and he did not have the ability to make decisions for the Government of the United Kingdom.

Whether or not to send someone to kill the British diplomatic mission was a question worth considering.

It was not that he was morally clean and rejected assassination, but the key was that Austria did not have enough power here, and the Government of Afghanistan had sent troops to protect the diplomatic mission.

Ordinary assassins could not get close at all. If he took action rashly, it would not matter if he could succeed or not, but if he left a trace and was caught, then it would be big trouble.

The orders in the country were very clear, they had to find a scapegoat before they could take action, and they could not do anything that would bring trouble to themselves.

In order to provoke the British, Redmond had done a lot of things, such as encouraging the young members of the Russian delegation to run to make anti-British speeches.

But the British held back and did not show up at all. They could not encourage the Russians to kill the British diplomatic mission, right?

No one was a fool. Anti-British speeches could be said to mobilize public opinion and add bricks and tiles to the great cause of negotiations, but assassinating the British diplomatic mission was provoking a war.

No one would be able to shoulder such a huge responsibility.

A young man suggested, "Your Excellency, why don't we bribe the local religious group? They hate the British the most, and they have sent people to attack the British diplomatic mission before, but …"

Hearing the news of the local anti-British group, Duke Redmond suddenly became spirited and hurriedly asked, "But what?"

The young man replied, "But they reject all Western forces, including us."

Redmond's hanging heart suddenly relaxed. Rejecting Western forces was not a big deal at all, and Austria did not intend to expand in Afghanistan.

In a sense, religious extremists were good. Only these guys would not consider the consequences and dare to do anything.

After a pause, Redmond slowly said, "Send someone to contact them secretly. It can't be someone from the diplomatic mission, and we can't expose our identity.

As long as they are willing to act, they can name the price, money and weapons.

Money does not exceed 50,000 God Shields, weapons and equipment does not exceed 5,000 guns, we can directly agree. "

It was not that they could not name higher conditions, but the main thing was that if the price was too high, it would easily arouse suspicion.

It was just that Redmond did not realize that the price was enough to attract attention.

Money was fine, but the key was the guns. No force in Afghanistan was willing to take out so many firearms to hire assassins.

…