Chapter 746

When the Government of London chose to wait and see, war was bound to be inevitable. The decision of Britain and France was not unexpected by the Government of Sudan. After all, the enemies this time were Austria and Russia. Without enough benefits, how could Britain and France risk their lives for them?

According to the original plan, Abdel Aziz I thought that Prussia would restrain Russia from behind. They only needed to face Austria, ask Britain and France to intervene, and give up some of their interests, and Austria would most likely give up.

There was a basis for this. As early as ten years ago, the Government of Vienna proposed to the Government of Sudan to buy sovereignty over the Arabian Peninsula, and three years ago, they proposed to buy sovereignty over the Palestinian area.

Naturally, the deal was not reached. The Government of Sudan was worried that after Austria obtained these areas, it would have greater ambitions and continue to encroach on the Osman Empire.

Even if the deal failed, it was not applicable in politics. After the failure of the purchase, the Government of Vienna did not stop and continued to infiltrate these areas, forcing the Government of Sudan to make concessions.

Because of the involvement of Jerusalem, the Government of Sudan, which was heavily influenced by religion, did not dare to compromise at all. The relationship between the two countries continued to deteriorate.

In the Ankara palace, since receiving the news of the diplomatic failure, Abdel Aziz I became angry. In the past two days, three maids had lost their lives, and many people had been punished.

"Why aren't you talking? Didn't you promise that the European countries don't want to see Austria continue to expand?"

Listening to Abdel Aziz I's sarcasm, everyone lowered their noble heads and looked like they were listening to his teachings.

This did not appease Abdel Aziz I's anger at all. In recent years, the reform of the Osman Empire had not been smooth. Although the conservative forces suffered heavy losses in the previous internal strife, a new conservative was born.

In this situation, it was not that Abdel Aziz I did not think of ways to change it, but that he was really powerless. This was the fault of the former sultan. He did not change the system in time and gave birth to new vested interests.

In fact, the former sultan was also forced. After losing the war in the Near East and losing the The Balkans, the Osman Empire suffered heavy losses, and internal rebellions broke out. In order to stabilize the domestic situation, they had to make compromises.

The Minister of War, Koksaar Toptan, stepped forward. "Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, we should prepare for war!

The current situation is very serious. Unlike any previous war, the enemy not only comes from land, but also from the sea.

Any port could become the enemy's landing point. We can't make accurate judgments and can only defend passively. The military pressure is very great. "

The Ottoman Empire had already begun preparing for war, but the efficiency of the Sultan's government bureaucrats was not very high. Even now, they were not ready for war.

Koksaar Toptan's words were very subtle. He was just short of saying that this war was unwinnable and that they should quickly prepare to deal with the aftermath!

On land, the border of the Caucasus, Palestine, Palestine, Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula.

On the sea, however long the coastline was, the enemy's attack route would be as long. The Empire for the Empire was the sea. the enemy. of the sea. "

Abdul Aziz I suppressed his anger. "Mobilizing all the people for a holy war, regardless of age or gender, they must fight against the enemy. This is …"

.

The news that the Ottoman Empire was going all out caught Franz's attention. Once a religious country erupted, it would be very crazy.

For the sake of safety, on February 16, 1874, Franz ordered the cessation of commercial trade between the two countries, the withdrawal of embassies and expatriates in the Ottoman Empire, and the expulsion of the Ottomans in the empire.

The evacuation was not compulsory, and those who wanted to stay would not be forced. The war was about to break out, and the relationship between the two countries was already very tense. At this time, Franz did not have the time to think about who.

Frankly speaking, the fiercer the Osman Empire resisted, the more advantageous it was for Austria. If they collapsed at the first touch, then it would be difficult to continue the show. They couldn't let the Austrian army pretend to be useless, right?

Pretending to be useless was actually very simple. Organize an Italian army and send them in. Any kind of result could be achieved.

In this war, Franz had a similar plan. If the Osman Empire was too ruthless, he could try it.

But this was not necessarily reliable. According to the military, any army sent by the Osman Empire could sweep the battlefield.

Especially when it came to religion, or when it came to winning battles, the Italians might not necessarily be unable to fight. The Austrian Regions of Italy had been influenced by German culture. They had undergone military training since young, so they could not be generalized.

The upper echelons of the government knew that the purpose of this war was not to kill the Ottoman Empire, but to put on a show and lay out a plan for Europe.

Compared to killing their competitors in Europe, the fallen Osman Empire was not worth mentioning. The best choice was to control the rhythm and fight steadily.

Vienna Palace, Military Conference.

War Minister Albrecht: "Your Majesty, considering our strategic needs, the Ministry of War recommends launching an attack from the Middle East.

This war can be divided into two routes. One will attack from the Arabian Peninsula, and the other from Palestine.

A total of four infantry divisions, four artillery regiments, and a native army of eighty thousand men were recruited from Africa, and they advanced steadily all the way.

The Osman Empire's rule over the Arabian Peninsula is only nominal. It is impossible for the enemy to deploy a large number of troops. They only need an infantry division, an artillery regiment, and 20,000 native cannon fodder.

The rest of the troops will be concentrated in Palestine. The religious status of Jerusalem is very important. The Osman Empire will not let it go easily. It is the main battlefield of this war. "

The plan looked good. They only needed to mobilize 60,000 regular troops. The war cost was not high, and there was no need to hurt the finances.

The 80,000 cannon fodder troops had been decisively ignored by Franz. This level of troops did not cost money at all.

The soldiers' pay was all snatched, and the welfare was to eat their fill. In addition, each person had two sets of military uniforms. The equipment could be retired rifles, broadswords, and spears.

Foreign Minister Wesenberg questioned, "General Albrecht, do you think the Russians will agree to such a military deployment?"

The answer was obvious. The Tsarist government was not stupid. Austria's military deployment was to fight for territory. They did not fight the Osman Empire's main force. Most of the pressure fell on them.

Albrecht explained calmly, "This problem is very simple. We have the advantage of the sea and can land at any location.

There is no need to fight head-on at the beginning of the war. Our navy will be in charge of escorting and covering the Russian Army's tentative landing at various ports. This will completely disrupt the Osman Empire's military deployment.

The transportation in Asia Minor is very bad. Once the enemy has deployed their troops, it will take more than a day or two to mobilize them.

We can completely avoid the enemy's main force and find the weakest point of the enemy's deployment to complete the landing plan.

After landing, we do not have to advance all the way. We can wait for the enemy's troops to be mobilized. We can also rely on the advantage of the sea to change the location of our attack.

Every time we attack, we will use the scorched earth strategy. We will destroy all the facilities that can be destroyed and drive the local people inland to cause trouble for the Government of Sudan.

In at most a year's time, the coastal areas of the Osman Empire will be destroyed by us. These areas are the last essence of the Osman Empire. Preliminary estimates show that they will lose half of their industry, more than 60% of their economy, and millions of war refugees.

At that time, the Government of Sudan will either compromise or collapse. There is no third way. To complete this plan, the 150,000 Russian Army is more than enough.

No matter if it is us or the Russians, we do not need to pay a huge price. I think the Tsarist government has no reason to refuse. "

Franz was shocked. He had to admit that this strategy was very ruthless. There was no need for a major battle. The Osman Empire would be dragged down.

That's right, they would be dragged down. How would it be easy to settle the millions of war refugees? The Osman Empire was not a country that produced food. They were barely self-sufficient. How would the Government of Sudan have so much food?

It must be known that most of their food production was in the coastal plains. Destroying the coastal areas would also destroy the agricultural production of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, in theory, the Osman Empire could not be completely blocked. They could still import food from the Persian region.

Looking at the map of the Middle East, Franz knew that this was an impossible task. There were no railways. If they relied on ox-carts and carriages to transport food from Persia to Ankara, it would probably be eaten halfway.

Even Britain and France, the two financial backers, could not afford this terrifying consumption. The Osman Empire could only last for a year because of God's blessings.

Franz frowned. "If this is the case, the Osman Empire will be greatly weakened. How are we going to continue?"

This was the crux of the problem. If the Osman Empire was destroyed, how could Britain and France believe that Austria's rear was unstable and that they did not have the ability to dominate the European continent in a short period of time?

Albrecht's face darkened. He slowly spat out two words. "Hatred!"

"Only when the Russians caused the Ottoman Empire's wrath and made the Ottomans want to eat their flesh and crush their bones, were they able to persevere.

It does not have to be the Government of Sudan. It will be the same with a new government. There are serious internal conflicts in the Osman Empire. Once the situation worsens, there is a high possibility of a revolution.

The emergence of a new regime will reform the country's political system and make them stronger on the surface. This result should cause Britain and France to misjudge. "

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, Albrecht added, "War is not a game. If we deliberately show mercy to the Osman Empire, anyone will be able to see that there is a problem.

This battle plan is not difficult. The Russians can also think of it. When the time comes, they will take the initiative to propose it. We will not have a reasonable excuse to refuse. "

Franz nodded, indicating that he agreed with this statement. Such a simple battle plan could probably be thought of by anyone with a little military knowledge. It was only a matter of time.

They obviously had the advantage of the sea, but they did not use it. Instead, they foolishly fought head-on. Franz could not afford to lose face.

"Communicate with the Russians first and see if the Tsarist government has any different opinions. If everyone's plan is similar, then let's do it this way! "

Franz was at ease leaving the task of attracting hatred to the Russian Army. He did not need to do anything and just let them act as they were.

The aftereffects brought about by the blood feud had been ignored by Franz. Too much debt was not a burden. Both sides had accumulated hatred for hundreds of years. What was there to be afraid of?

According to the established strategy, even if the Osman Empire was lucky to survive, it was destined to be a small country in the future. Under the watchful eyes of Austria, they had no chance of recovering their HP.