Chapter 676

After the signing of the Russian Secret Treaty, King Amir was only temporarily relieved. In fact, he didn't trust all the western countries. He had no choice but to ally with Russia.

With the beginning of the struggle between Britain and Russia in Central Asia, Afghanistan, as a small country, didn't have the strength to remain neutral.

Frankly speaking, the United Kingdom and Russia were not good choices. Both of them were eyeing Afghanistan's territory.

Russia was friendly because their tentacles couldn't reach that far. Winning over Afghanistan could not only cause trouble for the British, but most importantly, it could increase the success rate of their southern strategy.

It was precisely because they couldn't reach that Emir could boldly ally with Russia. If they really became Russia's neighbor, Emir wouldn't dare to sign this treaty.

This wasn't an empty promise. Looking at the many neighbors of the Russian Empire, except for the powerful Austria, which of them hadn't been invaded by Russia?

Just this alone was enough to explain the problem. Therefore, while getting closer to Russia, King Amir also didn't give up on easing relations with the British.

Even though Emir knew that the British were always thinking about Afghanistan, there was no other way. If a small country wanted to survive, the politicians couldn't hold a grudge.

…

The King of Amir righteously refused, "Mr. Waters, your country's request is too much. We can protect our own safety, and we don't need your troops.

No sovereign country in the world can tolerate another country stationing troops in their territory. "

After days of probing, Waters was very clear that this was the bottom line of the Government of Afghanistan. There was no room for negotiation.

"Your Majesty, if your country doesn't agree to us stationing troops, then open up a path for our troops to go north and help the Bulaha Khaganate, which is being invaded by Russia."

Borrowing a path was more acceptable than stationing troops, but Emir was suspicious of the British's intentions. After all, their credibility was like toilet paper.

After hesitating for a moment, King Amir refused again, "If your country wants to help the Bulaha Khaganate, there are two other paths available. Why do you have to pass through the Regions of Afghanistan?

You know, the traffic here is very bad, and the people in our country are very hostile to your country. It's easy for accidents to happen when troops pass through. "

Regardless of whether the British had a trick or not, since they had already chosen a side, it would be hard to explain to Russia if they let the British troops pass through.

The snake and the mouse died the fastest. Emir understood such a simple truth, so he directly chose to shift the blame to Jiangdong.

As long as the British could be sent away, Emir didn't care which country the British would take the last route through.

Waters' heart sank. He knew that this excuse wasn't perfect. There were three ways to send reinforcements to the Khaganate of Braha.

If they had a choice, there was no need for the British government to force their way through Afghanistan, where anti-British sentiment was the strongest. That would be asking for trouble.

Knowing was one thing, but there was no way he could admit it. Waters, who had a strong mental fortitude, replied calmly, "Of course it's because of the friendship between Britain and Argentina.

Although there were some unpleasantness between our two countries in the past, that is in the past. Now the London government wants to repair the relationship between our two countries.

Borrowing from your country is an opportunity to break the ice between our two countries. As long as this is done, our two countries may become true allies in the future. "

He managed to come up with a plausible reason in the shortest time possible. Even Waters was impressed by his wits.

However, the last part was a bit scary. Britannia didn't have many allies in name, and they probably couldn't find any real allies in the history books.

If anyone believed it, then they must be out of their minds. Emir wasn't stupid. After hearing this explanation, he completely lost hope in the British.

He didn't reply and just stared at Waters, looking him up and down with obvious disdain.

Waters wasn't surprised that Emir wasn't fooled. It would be a joke if a king who had fought his way out of political struggles could be so easily swayed by a few words.

After staring at each other for two minutes, Waters slowly asked, "Did your country sign a secret agreement with Russia?"

Emir's expression changed drastically when his thoughts were exposed, but he immediately realized what was going on.

There weren't many people who knew about the Russian-Australian secret agreement, and the possibility of it being leaked was almost zero. So, Waters' question was a test.

He hurriedly denied, "Of course not. How could we have dealings with the evil Russians?"

Emile wasn't a qualified actor, and the panic between his brows exposed a lot of problems.

After understanding the truth, Waters knew that he had failed in his mission to rope Emir in. He didn't continue to pester Emir. After a few more words, he left.

The carriage slowly drove out of the palace. Waters, who was in a bad mood, had already closed his eyes and was thinking about how to destroy the Russian-Australian secret agreement.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped. With his experience of going in and out of the palace many times, Waters knew that it was impossible to return to his residence so quickly. He immediately asked, "What happened?"

Before the guards could reply, a series of deafening explosions erupted. The carriage was flipped over, and Waters lost his consciousness.

The guards who were lucky enough to escape only then realized that they had been assassinated again.

Unlike the previous assassinations, this one was clearly well-prepared. From the initial roadblock to the subsequent suicide attack, it was all done in one go.

Murderer?

If the guy who rushed up with a bomb on his back counted, then all that was left now was a pile of rotten flesh.

Without high-tech identification technology, who would know who the real murderer was?

Even if they were lucky enough to deduce the identity of the murderer, it would be useless. The dead wouldn't speak.

After receiving the news, King Emir fainted. He really couldn't bear the blow.

At this moment, Redmond was already on his way back. He had facilitated the Russian-Australian alliance. His mission on the surface was completed, and the rest had nothing to do with Austria.

…

In the government building in Calcutta, Governor Lytton, who had just stepped into his office, received this news that he didn't know whether it was good or bad.

From the perspective of the Governor of India, this assassination was very timely. It provided Britannia with an excuse to invade Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, Britannia was engaged in an arms race with the Fao, and now was not a good time to start a war.

"Bang!" The boiling hot coffee splashed everywhere. Although Waters was sent by him to cause trouble, as an envoy, he also represented the face of Britannia.

Now that he was killed, it was difficult for Lytton to restrain his emotions. He immediately rebuked, "This is a provocation to Britannia. Order the Government of Afghanistan to hand over the murderer within a week. Otherwise, they will bear the consequences."

As the Governor of India, Lytton's power was enormous, including launching wars.

In fact, most of the territory of British India today was expanded by colonial governors. If they waited for the Government of London to decide everything, then they wouldn't be able to do anything.

Overall situation?

Not in position, not in politics. Considering the overall situation of the country was the job of the prime minister and the cabinet. The Governor of India only needed to consider the "overall situation of the Indian region."

After a pause, Governor Lytton ordered again, "Order all troops to prepare for battle. The humiliation inflicted on Britannia by the enemy can only be cleansed with blood!"

What the truth was was no longer important. Anyway, Governor Lytton was committed to the Government of Afghanistan.

…

In London, it was already evening when the news of the assassination came.

Upon receiving this bad news, Prime Minister Gladstone could no longer rest. In all honesty, he really didn't want to cause trouble in Central Asia at this time.

Gladstone knew nothing about sending a mission to Afghanistan.

It wasn't that Prime Minister Gladstone was lazy, but mainly that such trivial matters didn't require the Prime Minister's attention at all.

It was just sending a mission. If it weren't for Waters' assassination, which slapped Britannia in the face, no one would have reported the news to him now.

Prime Minister Gladstone asked, "Have you found the murderer?"

Prime Minister Gladstone wasn't interested in knowing who the murderer was. As a qualified politician, his first concern was what Britannia could gain from this incident.

Questioning the murderer was more like a routine matter. Generally speaking, how could Britannia's interests be maximized? In the end, the real murderer would be pointed to as needed.

Foreign Minister George shook his head. "It is suspected to be related to a local religious extremist organization. As for who did it, there are too few clues left at the scene. It will be difficult to find out in a short time."

This wasn't the answer to the question. Those who could send men of sacrifice to carry bombs were either extremist organizations or extremist organizations.

Even if the average person wanted to assassinate, they wouldn't have the courage to carry a bomb and launch a suicide attack.

Whether or not to take the opportunity to invade Afghanistan became Prime Minister Gladstone's biggest problem right now.

The arms race had just begun. Attacking Afghanistan now would undoubtedly increase the financial pressure on the government.

However, he was unwilling to give up on this opportunity. After all, this kind of persuasive excuse for war was not easy to find. If he missed it, he would miss it forever.

The assassination of the mission involved the bottom line that the great powers jointly maintained. Using this as a reason to make a fuss, no one in the world could say anything.

Even if the Russians wanted to intervene, they could only do it in the dark and not in the open.