Chapter 770

At the same time, the Russo-Austrian Alliance could also be called the Scapegoat Alliance. However, there was a difference between scapegoats and scapegoats.

Austria willingly jumped out to be the scapegoat.

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Austria spread rumors and smeared France's national image. Compensation for economic losses.

Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: No, we just stated the facts to let the European people know the truth.

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The Tsarist government was different. They were sitting at home and the scapegoat fell from the sky.

The Government of Vienna was willing to take the blame. The quarrel between the two countries of Fao was more like a political game.

The scapegoat thrown by the British was different. Sending troops to attack the British troops in Afghanistan was no different from a declaration of war.

Although they were not afraid of going to war with the British, the Russians were naturally unwilling to be the scapegoat for the enemy when there was no benefit to be gained.

St. Peter's Castle

Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez: "Your Majesty, the matter has been clarified. After the British troops occupied the Regions of Afghanistan, they encountered fierce resistance from the local people and suffered heavy losses.

The Government of the United Kingdom slandered us for sending troops to attack the British troops in the Regions of Afghanistan in order to not bear the responsibility of the heavy losses on the front line and to give the domestic people an explanation. "

What did a war between the United Kingdom and Russia mean?

Opening the map, they knew that this was not a big deal at all. Except for the possibility of war in Central Asia, the other regions were out of reach.

In theory, the Royal Navy could indeed block the coastline of the Russian Empire, but it was impossible in practice.

Russia's shipbuilding industry was not developed, and domestic ocean shipping companies were rare. Most of the shipping business for overseas trade was handled by international shipping companies.

Including Britannia's shipping companies, they took a big piece of the cake. The Royal Navy could not possibly detain their own ships if they wanted to embark on an embargo, right?

To put it bluntly, the main ports of Russia were concentrated in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Even if the Royal Navy blocked the door, they could still pretend to be trading with the Nordic Federation and Austria.

There was no satellite monitoring in this day and age. Who knew the real starting point and destination of these ships. Randomly detaining a ship would cause international disputes.

Hearing this answer, Minister of War Ivanov said angrily, "Your Majesty, the British constantly challenge the bottom line of the Empire. We can no longer tolerate it.

We must use the toughest means to give them a strong counterattack. Let the world know that the great Russian Empire is not to be trifled with! "

There was a reason for it to be "tough". In fact, after Marshal Ivanov became the Minister of War, the Russian military became relatively conservative.

If it weren't for the British government's action of shifting the blame and exposing the weakness of the British army, Marshal Ivanov would never have jumped out to declare war.

Alexander III hesitated. A tsar who didn't dare to fight wasn't a qualified tsar.

A Tsar was as as as they could. Now that the British had exposed their weakness, it would be unreasonable if they did not take the opportunity to hit them while they were down!

Alexander III was deeply skeptical. He knew very well that the Indian colonial army did not represent the true combat power of the British army.

Most of the troops attacking Afghanistan were from the Indian Colonial Army. Less than one-fifth of the total number of troops were transferred from the mainland.

Seeing Alexander III wavering, Ivanov continued to persuade, "Your Majesty, the British are strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

After so many years, they have not improved at all. "The combat power of the British army is not as good as during the First Near Eastern War.

The Afghan War was a proof. The earlier South African War was also a proof.

"At that time, the British sent out all their main forces, but they could not even win against a group of militia temporarily assembled by Austria. The combat power of the British army can be imagined.

"Now is the best opportunity. The three Khaganates in Central Asia have been defeated. It won't be long before we arrive in Afghanistan.

"Although the British occupied the Regions of Afghanistan first, their foundation in the area is not stable, and there are guerrillas causing trouble.

We can take advantage of the weakness and seize the Regions of Afghanistan to lay the foundation for the south to India. "

The law of the jungle was the nature of this era. The original goal of the Tsarist government was to seize the Central Asian region.

As for the Regions of Afghanistan, ever since they fell into the hands of the British, the military no longer had any expectations and was ready to wait for the next opportunity.

However, the plan did not change quickly. After discovering that the British army occupying the Regions of Afghanistan was weak and could not even deal with the Afghan guerrillas, Marshal Ivanov immediately changed his mind.

"If you don't take what the heavens give you, you will be punished."

It would be a crime to miss such an opportunity. As the leader of the military, he rejected this kind of soft persimmon that was sent to his door. Was he going to find a hard bone to bite?

Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez added, "Not long ago, we secretly contacted the French. The Government of Paris does not object to us entering the Indian Ocean.

If we fall out with the British at this time, the French will not send troops to intervene, and Austria will support us.

The diplomatic obstacles have all been cleared. The remaining problems are in the military. As long as the military is sure of victory, the south strategy can be implemented. "

Hearing the news, Alexander III was shocked. "The French sold out their teammate so quickly?"

Then he reacted. It seemed that the Government of France did not want to sell out their teammate, and they could not help the British now.

Because of the problems in Central Europe, the Fao and the Soviet Union were fighting. At this time, wouldn't sending troops to help the British give Austria an opportunity?

"Are there any problems with the finances?"

According to convention, almost every time before the outbreak of a war, the Ministry of Finance would routinely oppose it.

It was not that the Minister of Finance did not see the big picture, but the main thing was that the Tsarist government was poor. If they did not prepare in advance, what if they ran out of money in the middle of the war?

No one was willing to be the scapegoat, so the Minister of Finance of Russia had always been the leader of the anti-war faction. As long as they said in advance that they had financial difficulties and ran out of money in the middle of the war, it would not be the Ministry of Finance's problem.

The Ministry of Finance opposed it every time. It was not easy to meet someone who did not oppose it, so it was no wonder that Alexander III was surprised.

The Minister of Finance, Alisher Gurov, replied with a smile, "There are indeed some financial difficulties, but with the efforts of my colleagues, we have raised a sum of war funds.

Just a month ago, we signed a loan contract with the Austrian National Bank of 50 million SNR. In addition, we have reached an agreement with a French consortium to issue 270 million francs of bonds with industrial raw materials as collateral.

As long as the total number of troops we put in is less than 500,000, and the war does not last more than a year, the finances will be able to support it. "

(1 pound = 2 SNR = 25 francs)

In fact, it was not only the military that wanted to go south to seize India. The Ministry of Finance's desire for India was not inferior at all.

Because of the sale of the spoils of war after the Third Near Eastern War and the large amount of funds for the resettlement of Austrian immigrants, the Tsarist government offset nearly 30% of the debt.

Coupled with the debt that was paid off in recent years, the total debt of the Tsarist government decreased by nearly 40%.

In addition to the reduction of the debt pressure, Russia's economy had also made some progress in recent years. Although it was still at a snail's pace, it was still moving forward.

With self-financing and borrowing, the war funds for hundreds of thousands of troops for a year were paid.

Alexander III was surprised. "The French are willing to issue bonds for us?"

He could not help but be surprised. Because of the credibility issue, the bonds issued by the Russian government could only be sold in Russia. Even if it was sold to their ally, Austria, it could not be sold.

No matter how good the relationship was and how high the interest was, financial institutions that had suffered losses before were not willing to do it a second time.

In contrast, France's financial regulations were much more lax. Bonds were risky investments. If there was a default, the buyer would bear the consequences. There was no need for the issuer to bear joint liability.

Capitalists, as long as the profits were high enough, there would naturally be people who would do it. What surprised Alexander III was that the Government of France did not intervene.

One had to know that Britain and France were allies. For the French to issue bonds for Russia at this time was completely stabbing their ally in the back.

The Minister of Finance, Alisher Gurov, nodded. "Yes, the Government of France did not intervene!

However, the interest and fees are very high, and the amount of bonds cannot be too large. It can only be carried out in the form of private enterprise fundraising. "

For the Tsarist government, the process was not important. The most important thing was the result. As long as they could get the money, there was no substantial difference between corporate bonds and government bonds.

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