Chapter 814

In the Vienna Palace, ever since the news of the war between the United Kingdom and Russia came, Franz relaxed.

After being the emperor for so many years, he had always been cautious in order to avoid being besieged like in the original world.

Austria's national policy was also established around this center. First, they split the United States on the other side of the ocean, then they nipped the budding Italy.

Then, they destroyed the powerful Prussia and weakened the Russian Empire. It wasn't until the war between the United Kingdom and Russia broke out that Austria truly got rid of the situation of being besieged.

Although the Government of the United Kingdom pursued the policy of "only eternal interests, no eternal enemies", it didn't mean that they could immediately become allies after fighting each other to the death.

The government could be shameless, but the people couldn't accept this shocking reversal. Even if the interest groups suppressed the people, they needed the cooperation of the Russians.

If the Russians won the war, going south to India would be the future national policy of the Tsarist government, and no one could stop it.

Unless the British could back down, the two countries could only fight to the death.

It was impossible for the Russians to lose the war. Franz had already made up his mind to support the Tsarist government.

At worst, in the later stages, Austria would provide money and supplies, and the Russians would send troops to fight against the British.

If one year didn't work, then two years. If two years didn't work, then three to five years. The war wouldn't stop until blood flowed like a river.

By the time the war was over, Britain and Russia were almost exhausted. For a long time in the future, they wouldn't be able to intervene in the affairs of Europe.

…

Franz: "Sell the mortars we just equipped to the Russians. The Regions of Afghanistan are mostly mountainous, and they need a light artillery."

The British Empire had a solid foundation and hadn't been hit hard. To make both sides suffer, Franz had to find a way to increase the strength of the Russians.

Originally, Franz was going to give the Maxim machine gun to the Russians, but when he thought about the terrible logistics of the Tsarist government, he didn't want to trouble them.

Most of the advanced technology was reserved for the Austrian enemy, and it couldn't be exposed for the time being.

The only thing that could be used in advance was the mortars that didn't require much technology. The original world was created by the Russians, and they were modified on the battlefield.

Minister of War Fislav awkwardly reminded, "Your Majesty, as early as three years ago, the Russians introduced the production line of mortars. Many troops are now equipped."

The Russian-Austrian alliance was not simply an alliance. Ever since the First Near Eastern War, Russia's military had begun to be influenced by the Austrians.

After a long period of adjustment, the Russians had learned their lesson and brought in all the weapons that the Austrians were equipped with on a large scale.

The mortar was a low-tech, easy-to-operate, and versatile weapon. It wasn't classified as a secret armament from the very beginning, and the military had long been equipped with it.

The military had been equipped with the military, Russia, Empire, Kingdom, and Empire.

After all, weapons and equipment needed time to be used before they could unleash their full power. It was not something that could be immediately used in battle after being given to the soldiers.

The Maxim machine gun wasn't installed immediately because the Austrian army was already equipped with Gatling guns. It didn't take long for similar weapons to be upgraded and replaced.

In fact, the Austrian secret weapons were airplanes, tanks, and armored vehicles. More accurately, airplanes weren't kept secret.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but they couldn't do it. Tanks and armored vehicles could be secretly developed in a corner, but airplanes couldn't be tested in the sky, right?

The test flight of airplanes was a few hundred miles away. It would be a dream not to be seen.

Instead of hiding it and attracting attention, it was better to put it out for people to see. They could even collect admission tickets.

After all, it was only the first generation of airplanes. All the major industrial countries could make it. No in-depth research and development was because people didn't realize the value of airplanes.

As for the tanks and armored vehicles, they were the true products of the laboratory, and they were labeled as the Automobile Research and Development Center.

They were purely private enterprises and had nothing to do with the military. Even the research and development funds were paid by Franz himself. It didn't come from the military budget.

Not to mention the outside world, even the top officials of the Government of Austria didn't know about it. Only a few people in the military knew.

…

Franz asked doubtfully, "Do the Russians value armaments so much?"

In his subconscious, the Tsarist government didn't value the upgrading of armaments.

Because of the military budget, the Russian military wasn't very active in this aspect. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would save as much as they could.

In the past two decades, the Russian Army had purchased a lot of second-hand equipment from Austria. Especially during the Prussian War, the Russians directly bought all the equipment.

It was to save money. After all, second-hand weapons were cheap enough. Generally speaking, it was only 30 to 40 percent off the price of new equipment. Some weapons could even be bought at 10 percent off.

Although it was a bit old, as long as it was maintained well, it could be used for many years. It was most suitable for the penniless army.

The Foreign Minister Wesenberg, who understood the Russian Empire the most, explained, "Your Majesty, the Tsarist government's lack of money and the introduction of weapons production lines are not contradictory.

In fact, every time we signed an arms purchase contract with the Russians, there was a huge rebate.

In order not to be discovered by the Tsarist government, the officials in charge of procurement even required all contracts to be taxed according to the transaction price.

The rebate returned to them wasn't directly given in cash, but through the transfer of benefits in the dark.

Relying on this covert bribery method, the Russian Army's International Procurement Department became the cleanest department in the Tsarist government. It even set a historical record of no one being prosecuted for corruption and bribery in the past ten years. "

After hearing this explanation, Franz rolled his eyes. Sure enough, the Tsarist government was still the Tsarist government he was familiar with. The officials were still as impolite when it came to making money.

The change now was nothing more than being in contact with Austria for a long time and learning the Austrian officials' money-making skills. They had improved compared to their counterparts in China and knew how to do things quietly.

One could imagine how terrifying the fighting power of the evolved Russia's officials would be.

With the Tsarist government's supervision ability, the Russian Army's International Procurement Department most likely couldn't be monitored. Otherwise, it wouldn't have become the cleanest department in the Russian government.

Because of the imperfect laws, many obscure money-making methods couldn't be considered a crime in the Russian Empire.

Making money was one thing, but the officials also played a role. At least, they helped the Russian Army upgrade their weapons and equipment.

No, they contributed to the upgrading of the Austrian Army's weapons and equipment.

Because of industrial technology, the Russians' weapon production cost had always been high. Not only was the rate of defective products high, but the performance of the products was also not stable.

Whether it was the officials in the state-owned military factories or the capitalists in the private military enterprises, they all focused on maximizing profits.

The purchase of the production line was only for show to deal with the inspection by the higher-ups in order to snatch the order from the government.

The cost of organizing the production was too high. In order to reduce the cost and reduce the risk of accidents, everyone tacitly chose to smuggle.

Don't think that the Russian Army wouldn't be held accountable if there was a problem with their weapons and equipment. But compared to other countries, the Russian Army's endurance was higher. If the failure rate was too high, they would still be held accountable.

In fact, during the Prussian War, many capitalists lost their heads because of this. Most of the state-owned military enterprises in the hands of the Tsarist government were confiscated during that time.

In the beginning, everyone still followed the rules and imported new equipment. But later, in order to get more profits, everyone tacitly chose to use cheaper second-hand equipment instead.

Anyway, they just had to say that second-hand equipment did not exist. They were all pure products of the Russian Empire.

It might look a little old, but that was because the factories were serious and responsible. Every weapon had gone through hundreds and thousands of quality tests.

If they weren't satisfied, they could still choose new weapons and equipment. But without performance tests, the quality couldn't be guaranteed.

This was an easy question to answer. After testing, everyone knew what to choose. Even if they knew there was a problem, they didn't have any problems because of Rubles.

In order to meet their customers' needs, the Austrian Army upgraded their weapons in advance to ensure that the Russian Army didn't look too old.

In fact, even if the weapons were sold at a discount according to the international market price, the price was enough to cover the production cost, and some of the weapons were still profitable.

In a sense, this was a win-win choice. The Austrian Army saved their military expenses, the Russian Army guaranteed the quality of their weapons, and the Russian bureaucrats and capitalists got money.

If this happened in Austria, Franz would surely start a massacre. But since it happened in the Russian Empire, he chose not to see it.

After all, the Russian bureaucrats were playing this game, and it was beneficial for Austria. If Austria and Russia fell out one day, the Russian Army's military system would immediately show its true colors.

… …

It had been a week since the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan. The Tsarist government's expected sneak attack had failed.

The British Army's general wasn't someone to be trifled with. He had built a line of defense at the border, and his scouts were scattered everywhere. He didn't give the Russian Army a chance.

However, it was still strength that determined the outcome of the war. After a week of fighting, An Dui was already on the verge of collapse.

This wasn't the core of the British Army's defense. Strategically, the Russian Army's best attack route was to attack Herat along the Hari River, and then follow the river into the heart of Afghanistan.

However, General Ozienets wasn't an ordinary person. Herat was naturally part of the attack range, but the breakthrough point was in An Dui.

In the temporary command center of the Russian Army, General Ozienets asked with concern, "Have you contacted the Afghan resistance groups?"

There was no doubt that the Afghan resistance groups were an important force in his strategic plan.

In his opinion, the Afghan resistance groups were definitely not weak, since they could render hundreds of thousands of British soldiers helpless. It would be a pity not to make use of them.

The young officer in charge of the communication, Colonel Loznisa, replied helplessly, "Sir Commander, we have contacted them.

However, the number of resistance groups in Afghanistan is unexpectedly high. We have contacted 27 resistance groups.

According to the information we have gathered, there are no less than a hundred resistance groups in the Regions of Afghanistan, and there might even be more than two hundred.

Nominally, they are under the leadership of King Amir, but in reality, these groups have long been acting on their own and are not restricted at all.

Due to religious reasons, the relationship between these resistance groups isn't very harmonious. It's almost impossible to integrate them. "

"A hundred", "two hundred", these numbers directly refreshed General Ozienets's worldview. According to his estimation, there were at most two or three Afghan resistance groups.

After all, too many groups would cause their strength to be scattered. It would be difficult for them to cooperate with each other, and they would not be able to unleash their greatest combat power.

The reality was exactly the opposite. The Afghan resistance groups were scattered, without any coordination. They were all acting on their own, and the British still had trouble dealing with them.

"If they were integrated, wouldn't it be possible …"

This tempting idea had just been born when it was extinguished by General Ozienets. The purpose of the Russian Army's visit this time was not to send warmth to the Afghans.

In essence, both the British and the Russian countries were invaders. However, the British were now occupying the Regions of Afghanistan, so the Russian Army naturally did not mind raising the banner of liberating Afghanistan.

Once the British were driven away, the Russian Army would also occupy the Regions of Afghanistan. This was the national policy that the Tsarist government had set.

In this context, the Afghan resistance groups could only be used as cannon fodder. They would still have to be cleaned up in the future. Increasing their strength would only cause trouble for themselves.