"Mr. Attlee, we have no opinion on the partition of Persia, according to the current sphere of influence, it is in everyone's interests to divide up the Persian region, but what about Afghanistan?

What are your country's plans? If you're interested in Afghanistan, hurry up or something might happen in the future!

Of course, if your country is not interested, just say nothing! Mejev kindly reminded

"What do you mean, Mr. Mejev? Are you going to do something to Afghanistan? British Foreign Secretary Attlee asked suspiciously

"I can't answer that question, Mr. Attlee, but you should know that there are radicals in every country, and these brains are often going to do something jaw-dropping, and we can't guarantee that they won't do anything in Afghanistan!" Metev hinted

Attlee nodded, this kind of British Empire also has this, it is completely self-serving, and he doesn't know how to take care of the overall situation at all.

"Mr. Metyev, thank you for the reminder, then we will divide the north and south of the Persian region, and the specific border line will be divided on the ground when we take Persia!" Attlee said

"Yes! But we want to do it right away, after all, the Persian ancestors were also strong, and the Persians are still full of arrogance, and the longer the time drags on, the worse it will be for us! Metev said cautiously

"In such a hurry?" Attlee asked, surprised

"There's no way, some people in the country can't sit still anymore, and if they don't solve it as soon as possible, they will have to act on their own!" Metev explained

Of course, this is just an excuse that the Bulgarian army is not capable of taking the following points. According to the Bulgarian military system, even if someone wants to do something, they can't do it.

However, it was a good excuse to make the British accept it, and they mistakenly believed that the radicals in the Bulgarian army were planning the operation and did not have the support of the government.

This happened in the history of the British Empire, and 180 years ago, this kind of thing was still a regular occurrence, and half of the colonies of the British Empire did this.

Resolving these disputed territories sooner rather than later would be a good thing for both countries, and on the face of it, this explanation is very logical!

……

London

At 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was worried about the Draft Partition of Persia signed by Britain and Bulgaria on March 28, 1926.

Frankly, he was also satisfied with the agreement, which was a good safeguard for the interests of the British Empire.

The only trouble was that Bulgaria demanded that they send troops as soon as possible. If nothing else, the Bulgarians are about to do it, and if the British Empire does not act immediately, then whether this agreement can be implemented is also a question mark.

"Is that really what the Bulgarians say?" Stanley Baldwin asked thoughtfully

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister! The Bulgarian government wants us to act as soon as possible, otherwise they can't guarantee what will happen later if their army occupies the Persian region first! Foreign Secretary Attlee replied

"Damn, are they going to follow in the footsteps of the Japanese and can't control the army at home?" Stanley Baldwin complained

"It's not as serious as in Japan, and at most in Bulgaria, the radical groups have grown, and the government doesn't want to turn against the radical groups, so that's why this request is made.

The radicalism in their country should not be so extreme, at least these people still have reason and do not have the courage to challenge the British Empire.

But in the face of Borderlands, the reputation of the British Empire alone obviously can't suppress these radicals!

We have also experienced this stage, as an emerging country, many Bulgarians have been carried away by the victory, and the Bulgarians at this time are the easiest to do stupid things.

The Bulgarian government's approach is understandable, they don't want to take on the pressure, so they can only urge us to act quickly! Secretary of State Neville Chamberlain explained

"Well, the question is how do we send troops now? You must know that military spending is not cheap, and the budget for 1926 has already been set, so how can we convince Congress to allocate funds for this sudden war? Stanley Baldwin said with a headache

"Hell, is it worth discussing such a small issue?

Who are we against this time?

Are the two small indigenous states of Persia and Afghanistan also worthy of the British Empire's cautious treatment?

If even two small indigenous nations can't do it, how can the British Empire convince the rest of the world? Churchill scoffed

"Very well, what Mr. Churchill said is very reasonable, then the financial problem is please!" Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin said

Everyone is an old fox, since your Chancellor of the Exchequer said that there is no problem, then it is good to do the Treasury to take care of the Congress, as long as you can solve the military spending problem, it is really not worth worrying about the British Empire to deal with two small countries.

Didn't Churchill understand this?

No, he knows this better than anyone else!

The problem is that as a representative of the hardliners, he simply cannot back down on this issue.

At the same time, he still lacks a victory in order to gain the support of the domestic hawks, and in the past, only the wars he led have not had satisfactory results, and now he also needs a victory to strengthen his position.

Against this backdrop, it couldn't be better to target these small countries. Don't look at the ferocity of his usual shouting, if he really lets the British Empire and several major powers tear apart, in fact, he has no bottom.

The Army is different from the Navy, the Royal Navy can despise the whole world, and the British Army can only be despised by others.

At least the French and Bulgarians, even the Russians and the Japanese, did not see the British Army as a threat!

Whether it is quantity or quality, the British Army does not have the strength to dominate the world, and Churchill is naturally very clear.

The brutal lessons of the First World War are there, and the tens of millions of casualties in a war are enough to discourage anyone.

It's not the same to deal with two small countries, even if they are difficult to deal with, for the sake of India's security, it is worth the British Empire's action.

It's a big deal to use the tactics of a sea of people, and it is very worthwhile to exchange the lives of hundreds of thousands of Indians for the British Empire to control two core locations.

"If we do it to the Persian region, we need to send at least 50,000 troops, and if we do it to Afghanistan, we need to send at least 100,000 troops, a total of 150,000 military operations, and it is expected that this war will last at least a year, and we will probably prepare 150 million pounds of war funds!" The War Secretary thought for a moment and said

"How can there be so much money for this war?" Churchill feigned shock

What is this number? Not necessarily, in the case of inland, transportation is a big problem, and how can military spending be small?

Moreover, Afghanistan is not easy to fight, it is mostly mountainous, and it is very difficult for the army to fight, otherwise the region would have become a colony of the British Empire!

"Can we reduce military spending, our finances are not so rich now, and the war budget of 150 million pounds is also a heavy burden for us!" Stanley Baldwin asked with concern

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this is calculated based on the minimum military expenditure required for the combat time of 150,000 people a year, and in reality it will only be more, not less.

The soldiers' salaries alone, based on an average of £300 per person per year, would have to pay £45 million, plus at least £15 million plus bonuses.

Given the poor transport problems in the area, we had to fight and build at least two or more temporary railways at the same time, which would cost at least £8 million.

The soldiers ate, drank, and slept at an average of £15 per person per month, and £180 a year, for a total of £27 million. (plus shipping costs)

After all this is deducted, we are left with only £55 million, and at least £20 million in pensions, and the rest of the money is the cost of weapons and ammunition, which we have saved! The Minister of War explained cautiously

"No, it's too expensive! Is your army made of gold? Salary expenses are about the same as those of the Navy! Churchill roared

"Mr. Churchill, pay attention to your words, our army is working the front, don't you even want to pay a measly £300 a year combat salary?" The Minister of War said with great dissatisfaction

"But I remember that the Army's salary was £8 a month, plus all kinds of benefits, it was only £100 a year, why is it now £300?" Churchill roared

"You're right, in peacetime the salary of our army's overseas garrisons is indeed £100 a year, but in wartime double the salary, otherwise who will give you your life!" The Minister of War said with a sneer

"Even if it's double pay, it's only £200, and what about £100?" Churchill continued to question

"Overtime pay, of course! Workers have to pay overtime for overtime, and soldiers have to pay overtime for overtime! Otherwise, our soldiers will also strike! The Secretary of War said with a look of disdain

That's right, these benefits are the benefits that the vast British Army fought for with practical actions after the end of the world war.

Now they are strictly following the eight-hour workday, and the government must pay overtime for all actions outside of working hours, otherwise they will go on strike.

Just look at the chaos in the colonies after the First World War, due to the inaction of the army, and now they are already giving money and selling their lives, and all patriotic feelings are exhausted in the First World War.

You can't just organize another foolish convention for the sake of a small-scale military operation, right? It was not a war for the defense of the homeland, and now there was nothing to motivate the soldiers except the pound.

I have to say that the British have a strong ability to accept overtime, so if you give overtime pay, you should pay overtime, anyway, the workers take overtime pay, and there is no reason why the soldiers don't take it.

"Can you guarantee a smooth end to the war within a year?" Stanley Baldwin asked with concern

As long as India's security problems can be solved once and for all, the money is still worth it!

"Unfortunately, no one can answer this question, Your Excellency, because things on the battlefield are unpredictable, and we don't know if we can end the war within a year.

According to the estimates of our War Department, if there is no interference from external forces, it should be possible to end the war in one year! The War Secretary thought for a moment and said

Stanley Baldwin nodded, the situation on the battlefield is inherently fickle, no one can say, if there is an external force interfering, then the problem is even greater.

"Alright then, Mr. Attlee, next your Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to get the Bulgarians and let them not cause trouble for us in this war!" Stanley Baldwin said

"No problem, Your Excellency Prime Minister! We will keep an eye on the Bulgarians and not let them come out and make trouble! Foreign Secretary Attlee said confidently

"If you have no questions, then today's meeting will end first! Mr. Churchill, your Ministry of Finance must allocate the war funds as soon as possible, so as not to delay the war time! Stanley Baldwin said

"Wait a minute, I still have a question! I think that the war budget can be reduced, for example, by replacing our main forces with colonial troops, which can save four-fifths of the salary expenses! Churchill said

"It's impossible, Mr. Churchill, to replace the colonial troops, the salary is saved, but the combat effectiveness is also greatly reduced.

We need to increase the number of troops by at least half, and there is no guarantee that the war will end within a year! The Secretary of War retorted

"Then double the number of troops, even if we double the number of troops, our war expenses will still be lower than they are now!

Even if the number of troops is doubled, we only need to pay half of the current salary, and the daily expenses can be reduced by one-third, and I can even pay the pension without paying it, and let the local colonial government take care of it!

At the same time, we can also reduce the firepower of our troops, anyway, we are dealing with two small indigenous countries, and we don't need so many machine guns and cannons, so even if the number of people is doubled, our consumption of weapons and ammunition will not increase significantly!

In this way, we can completely reduce the war budget to less than 100 million pounds, and we can do a lot of things with the 50 million saved! Churchill pondered

"However, the combat effectiveness of the colonial troops cannot be guaranteed, and the increase in troops also increases the difficulty of our logistical supply, and our War Department cannot guarantee that this war will be ended within a year!" The Secretary of War retorted

"It doesn't matter, even with 150,000 main troops, you are not sure that you will end this war within a year!

Now that we have replaced the colonial troops, we only need to send a main force as the overseer, which can not only save money, but also avoid domestic troubles.

Even if all these hundreds of thousands of colonial troops are dead, no one will make trouble for us, anyway, there are many Indians, so let's take human lives to defend India!

If the main force were to suffer 8,000 casualties, the government would be surrounded by anti-war demonstrations, and I don't think anyone would want that to happen! "Churchill is the analysis of the way

"Well, this is indeed a good proposal, to reduce the casualties of our main forces as much as possible, is the consistent national policy of the British Empire, you must know that the life of every English soldier is precious!"

Stanley Baldwin was apparently convinced that, as the boss of the moderates, his moderation was only aimed at the country, and it was politically advantageous to reduce the casualties of the main forces under the wave of national anti-war.

As for the casualties of the Indian colonial divisions, they were not on his radar. Even if the war were to be extended for a year or two, it would be acceptable, and in order to defend India, the British Empire could spend the last copper plate in its treasury!

Congress will definitely allocate funds, and no one can afford to lose India, even if it's just a possibility!

Before the annexation of the three North American countries, the loss of India was equivalent to the loss of four layers of national power of the British Empire. Even after the annexation of the three North American countries, India will not occupy less than a quarter of the new British Commonwealth.

……