"Until the navy does not have enough strength to break the blockade of India by the Chinese, we can only suspend support for India, and we can only rely on the Marquis of Dalhousie and our army in India." In India, in addition to the 200,000 native troops, there were also a million Anglo-Indian troops, a number that could be further increased if the Marquis of Dalhousie wished. Of course, we may not be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese. However, if the war dragged on until the European battlefield was decided, Britain would have no problem. Henry. Viscount Harding, you should have faith in the Marquis of Dalhousie and our army in India! Said the Earl of Granville, the Foreign Secretary.

Henry. Although Viscount Harding's face was a little unpleasant, he didn't say much. He also knew that India was too far away from the British mainland. At present, the Royal Navy of the British Empire is not sure of victory, and the Chinese blockade of India cannot be broken by the British at all. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to provide support to India.

"Your Excellency, what we need to do now is to contain the Chinese attack as much as possible. Therefore, we absolutely cannot give up Russia. Once the Russians are defeated, then the Chinese can draw a large number of troops and use them in other battlefields. Whether it is the Indian battlefield, the American battlefield, or the European battlefield, it is very disadvantageous for us! The Earl of Granville continued. He did so so that Britain could win this vital war.

British Prime Minister Earl Stanley nodded: "Do you have any other opinions?" ”

"I am in favor of supporting Russia. Russia is a major country that contains the military power of the Chinese. If Russia loses, it will be very bad for us! "Lord of the Admiralty, Charles. Sir Adam said. Though. A fleet of the British Royal Navy was annihilated, but, for him, it was nothing. The Indian fleet was originally a weak fleet, and the main combat power of the Royal Navy has been concentrated in the Mediterranean Fleet and the Home Fleet, which is the foundation of the British Navy.

"I agree. Russia cannot be defeated. Otherwise, where are we going to find allies with so many troops? The Marquis of Anglesey, Minister of War, also said. Most of the British, like him, only used Russia as a tool to hold China down. Now, the mission of the Russians has not been completed, and they cannot be allowed to fall. Otherwise. Britain's previous efforts have been in vain.

Other Ministers. There were no objections either.

"Well, with my fate, send a telegram to the Marquis of Dalhousie, asking him to do his best to resist the attack of the Chinese until we achieve the final victory. As for reinforcements to India. It will be necessary to wait until after the Royal Navy defeats the Chinese Navy. Earl Stanley said.

Hear this. Secretary of the Navy Charles. Sir Adam was a little embarrassed. For hundreds of years. The British Navy has always been a world hegemon and has never been surpassed by other countries. But now, the Royal Navy has been overtaken by that empire in the East. This is an absolute shame for him.

"Next, I'm afraid we'll have to put pressure on those shipyards. In any case, the 'Admiral-class' battleships must be commissioned as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Royal Navy would not even be qualified to confront the Chinese. "Charles. Sir Adam thought to himself.

Now the Royal Navy of the British Empire has only 12 battleships, while the Chinese Navy has 16, four more than the Royal Navy. Judging by the performance of the battleships, the two sides are even more incomparable. Charles. Sir Adam knew that if the Royal Navy wanted to win, it would have to rely on numerical superiority. Now, the slipways of the major shipyards in Britain are filled with the warships of the British Royal Navy. For example, the British Admiralty directly placed an order for 8 'Nile-class' battleships of the next class, and the 'Admiral-class' battleships also placed an additional order for four in addition to the four that will be commissioned. In addition, the construction of the next class of battleships of the British Navy has also begun. It can be said that in order to catch up with the Chinese Navy, the British Royal Navy has already done its best.

It's just that what the British Navy needs now is time. If you give them two years or more, Charles. Sir Adam believed that the British Navy must have the strength to defeat the Chinese Navy. But will the Royal Navy have two years? Charles. Sir Adam didn't know, and he could only try to buy as much time as he could.

"The War Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, let's discuss how to support Russia!" Earl Stanley said.

Soon, the British War Office and the Foreign Office came up with a plan that Britain would provide Russia with a war loan of 20 million pounds. However, the loan will be used entirely to purchase British army equipment. Britain will supply Russia with 1 million rifles, 2,000 heavy machine guns and 1,000 artillery pieces in the next six months.

In the same way, France will supply Russia with so many weapons. Of the North Atlantic military alliances, only Britain and France are strong enough to provide Russia with such large-scale support. With the loans of the Russians to develop their own military industry, Britain and France actually did not suffer. Of course, the premise is that the Russians will be able to repay the loan. If the Russians lose the war, or even be destroyed, then the loan will be lost.

With the support of Britain and France, Russia was finally able to settle down. Coupled with the war on the front line, it is gradually stabilizing down, and the heart that Tsar Alexander II has been hanging on has finally been put back in his stomach.

Compared with China and Russia, which are already fighting on the battlefield, Europe is a little calmer. Neither the member states of the North Atlantic Military Alliance nor the European members of the Asia-Europe Military Alliance have yet to complete their war mobilization at this time. Even the Kingdom of Prussia, which had the most mature mobilization system, would have taken a full month to complete the mobilization. Not to mention other countries.

However, now that the war has begun, it will not end unless the winner is decided. Both the member states of the North Atlantic Military Alliance and the member states of the Eurasian Military Alliance have abandoned illusions of peace and have begun to devote all their national strength to preparing for war. Since the war has begun, it is in the best interest of the country to find a way to win the war. Otherwise, once defeated, they will inevitably pay a very heavy price.

In Paris, the capital of France, at the Elysée Palace, Napoleon III, Emperor of the Second French Empire, is deliberating the situation with his ministers.

"Your Excellency, how long will it take for my army to complete its mobilization?" Napoleon III asked. Before the war, the strength of the French army was only 700,000, and this was due to the expansion of the army of the Kingdom of Spain, the enemy in the south, and the Kingdom of Belgium, the enemy in the north. According to the commitments made at the London Conference, France would need to commit at least 1.5 million troops to the war. Of course, this is only a preliminary goal. If the war does not go well, the strength of France will be further increased.

"Your Majesty, we are mobilizing and a large number of young people are being conscripted. It will take time, though. It is expected that in a month we can expand the total strength of the army to a million. In three months, the total number of troops will be raised to 1.5 million! French Minister of War A.J. Saint-Arnault replied.

Napoleon III could not help frowning, that is, for at least a month, France did not have enough forces to attack. Leaving aside the great enemy of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Spain in the south had at least half a million troops. Originally, before the war, the army of the Kingdom of Spain had expanded to 700,000 men. But 200,000 of them are deployed in North America, and only 500,000 are on the mainland. Now, the Kingdom of Spain is also frantically mobilizing, and with the support of the Chinese Empire, its military strength has swelled very much.

The Kingdom of Belgium, a small country north of France, is also frantically clamoring to expand its army to 500,000 men. You know, the total population of the Kingdom of Belgium is just over 4 million! But to expand the strength of the army to 500,000, this is simply a desperate force!

Of course, Napoleon III believed that the armies of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Spain could not be compared with France at all. But even so, France did not dare to act rashly until the mobilization of the army was completed, at least preliminarily.

Another important ally within the North Atlantic Military Alliance, Austria-Hungary. Although, at the London Conference, Austria-Hungary promised to mobilize two million people for the war. However, with the backward industrial level and mobilization system of Austria-Hungary, it may take half a year or even more to mobilize two million people to fight the war. Now, the total strength of the Austro-Hungarian army did not exceed half a million men. In the face of pressure from the Kingdom of Prussia and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, Austria-Hungary could only defend itself for the time being.

Under the influence of a combination of factors, the whole of Europe is still in a state of calm. Of course, everyone can smell that the smell of gunpowder has accumulated over Europe and is getting stronger, and it only takes a little spark to detonate the whole of Europe. When the time comes, it will be a protracted war.

It has become the consensus of all countries to devote all human, material, and financial resources to the war of arms expansion. Everyone is making final preparations for war. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thanks to the book friend "Morning love has not passed, the world is bottomless 007 injury!" Thank you for the monthly pass of the Tiger family in the world!