It had always been easy to start a war, but difficult to end it. This time was no exception. As the disadvantaged party, Britannia was bound to pay the price if they wanted to withdraw from this war.
The bombardment of the past few days had indeed lowered the expectations of the British people, but no matter how low the expectations were, it was impossible to sacrifice the mainland.
Not to mention independence for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, even the Government of the United Kingdom didn't want to give up India.
Even if they didn't want to, politicians had always had low moral integrity. When necessary, they could still compromise.
The situation in India was already deteriorating. Facing the siege of millions of coalition forces, it was only a matter of time before it fell.
If it was doomed to fail, then there was the possibility of compromise. Of course, this was only a possibility. The arrogant John Bull would not bow his head until the last moment.
In order to force the British to surrender as soon as possible, on October 17, 1905, Franz ordered the joint fleet to leave the Indian Ocean and launch a full-scale battle in India.
…
London
Indian Minister Hill: "Since August this year, the enemy has launched a fierce attack on India from the east and northwest. The situation is very critical.
The enemy has occupied Islamabad on the northwest battlefield and most of Pakistan has fallen. The enemy on the east has occupied Burma and is now marching to the Bay of Bengal.
The colonial government has tried everything and even promised the Indians that they would be independent after the war in exchange for the support of the local people.
But in the face of the enemy's fierce attack, it was still very powerless. Especially when the enemy's navy has already left the east, it won't be long before they open a third front from the sea.
Based on the current development of the situation, if there are no reinforcements, we can only abandon the rich Indus Plain and Ganges Plain and retreat to the Malwa Plateau. "
The Indus Plain and Ganges Plain were the essence of India. What was the difference between abandoning these areas and abandoning India?
Defending the plateau was a joke. No matter how solid Britannia's foundation in India was, colonists were colonists after all.
When they were strong, they could naturally command the heroes. Once they showed signs of decadence, there would be smoke everywhere in an instant.
In fact, India was no longer peaceful. If it wasn't for the British Empire's long accumulation of power and Governor Robert's tough hand, there would probably be smoke everywhere.
But no matter how high the prestige was, it couldn't withstand the erosion of failure. As long as they lost a few more times, the situation would immediately collapse.
Lord of the Admiralty Swindin: "It is impossible to send reinforcements! The Suez Canal is in the hands of the enemy and the Cape of Good Hope has fallen. We have to take a big detour to go to India. "
Reality was cruel. The Royal Navy had to travel tens of thousands of nautical miles to reach the Indian Ocean.
If they were to be led by the enemy, the moment they reached India, the enemy would turn back and attack the Islands.
Without the Royal Navy, Britannia wouldn't be to stop the enemy. Once the British Isles fell into enemy hands, they would really lose their underwear.
In essence, losing India meant losing money, the empire, and the future; losing the homeland meant losing one's life.
"It's unrealistic to send reinforcements to India. The situation has developed to this point, and Britain has become the enemy of the entire world. The only thing we can do now is to reduce the losses for the Empire.
For the sake of the great Britain, we must not give up hope until the very last moment.
Even if India cannot be defended, we cannot let the enemy take advantage of us. Didn't Governor Robert promise India independence? Then let the Indians take up arms to defend their country! "
It was obvious that Adam's occupational disease was acting up. Being able to pull together the Oceanic Alliance when Europe was the enemy was enough to prove his ability.
To be able to pull up the Oceanic Alliance when Europe was the enemy was enough to prove his ability. Even if the alliance eventually collapsed, it would not be a diplomatic problem.
Without his own strength, diplomacy alone would not be able to reverse the decline of Great Britain, but using diplomacy to cause trouble for the enemy, Adam was still a professional.
"Once India is independent, we will lose the subcontinent and the British Empire will fall!"
"Once India becomes independent, we will completely lose the subcontinent, and the British Empire will fall!"
"The Queen's Crown Jewel" was not an undeserved reputation.
India contributed hundreds of millions of pounds to the British Empire every year. Without this income, Britannia would be an ordinary power. India contributed hundreds of millions of pounds to the British Empire every year. Without this income, Great Britain was just an ordinary power.
It's just that we can't protect the subcontinent with our own strength. " It's just that we can't protect the subcontinent with our own strength. "
Only by making the enemy realize that India was not only a "cream cake" but also a hedgehog could the hungry wolves be dispelled from peeping at it.
"But once it fell into the hands of the enemy, there would be no hope. "The most important thing now is to find a way to get through this.
"History has proven that no alliance can last for a long time. History had proven that no alliance could be sustained for long.
Right now, the enemy is like the sun in the sky, and we are powerless to resist. We need to lie low for a while and wait for the enemy to split.
"If the Empire can get through this, we can naturally return to India in the future."
Perhaps he was in his speech mode, Adam became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, as if he was intoxicated.
Everyone tacitly didn't expose him. People always needed hope. No one wanted to be a loser, and the people present were no exception.
Now that they were betrayed by their allies, Britannia was powerless to win the war. They were about to become losers, and everyone was naturally unwilling.
No matter how low Adam's plan was, it was better than no plan at all.
Prime Minister Campbell didn't join the war of words around India. When everyone was almost done discussing, Prime Minister Campbell said coldly.
"Let's restart the negotiations!"
…
Another year of cold winter arrived, and St. Peter's Castle had been approved for silver equipment. Compared to before the war, Nicholas II now seemed to have aged ten years.
Up to this point in the war, if the British Empire was the biggest loser, then the Russian Empire was the second biggest loser.
The Russo-Austrian Alliance, which had lasted for nearly a hundred years, had finally come to a corner. It had essentially become the world's hegemon. The Government of Vienna finally couldn't stand it anymore and made a move against their ally.
It was just a restriction on the supply of goods, and the Russian Empire, which was already full of war, was immediately on the verge of collapse.
This restriction wasn't just imposed by the Holy Roman Empire, but almost all the member states of the Continental Alliance were involved.
The Government of Vienna still cared about their reputation. Even if they restricted the supply of goods to Russia, they only reduced the amount of goods imported and didn't completely cut off the supply. They even helped the Tsarist government to keep the army at the front line.
Other allies didn't give them face.
Driving up prices was considered mild. Banning the export of strategic goods to Russia was just a normal operation. The most ruthless thing was not only the ban itself, but also the confiscation of goods that were imported into Russia through their own country.
It was called "temporary requisition." Since they were all allies, it wasn't a big deal to borrow some goods. It was all for the needs of the war, and it would definitely be returned after the war.
"Returned after the war" sounded like a joke. The war was over, so why would they still need strategic goods?
In the face of such shameless behavior of their allies, Nicholas II was so angry that he gritted his teeth.
If this happened during the peak of the Russian Empire, they would definitely retaliate.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the era of the Russian Empire. In the face of such shameless provocation by their allies, Nicholas II could only choose to temporarily forgive them.
Revenge and whatnot, they could just think about it secretly. The Russian Empire, which was full of war, didn't have the ability to retaliate against the European countries.
Not to mention the confiscation of goods, even when retired officers of their allies appeared in the rebel army, Nicholas II chose to pretend that he didn't know.
If he was too clear-headed, he might not face the "retired officers" of their allies, but the "active soldiers."
"What did the Austrians say? After so many things happened, don't they need to give us an explanation?"
To capture the bandits, one must first capture the king. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the countries dared to unscrupulously trap the Russian Empire must have obtained the tacit consent or even support of the Holy Roman Empire.
Nicholas II didn't have the confidence to directly seek justice from the Holy Roman Empire.
The fact that the supply of goods hadn't been completely cut off proved that the Government of Vienna only wanted to take the opportunity to weaken the Russian Empire, not to destroy the Russian Empire.
Allies were used to trap, and the Tsarist government had also done a lot of things to trap their teammates. Thinking back to the time when the Government of Vienna wanted to unify the German Region, the Tsarist government also played small tricks.
Now the tables had turned, and the Holy Roman Empire was the one who caused trouble, and it was the Tsarist government's turn to suffer.
Foreign Minister Mihailovich replied helplessly, "The explanation given by the Government of Vienna is that it is under investigation.
At the same time, they suggest that we reflect on our past actions and repair the relationship with the allies to avoid unnecessary trouble. "
"Warning," it was a blatant "warning."
At this moment, the little brother who used to follow the Russian Empire no longer existed, and it was replaced by the revived world hegemon.
Since it was the hegemon, it was inevitable to show its dominance. Nicholas II was unlucky and happened to be in this "special period."
