Schönbrunn Palace, Franz's study.

"Okay, let's put this thing aside for a moment. Is there anything new on the British's side? ”

"As you might expect, the Red Shirts are spending almost astronomical amounts in Kabul. And the Afghans are not trustworthy at all, no matter how many times the British pay protection money, they will be plundered by local tribes. ”

Adjani still admires Franz's judgment, after all, Britain can be described as a harvester of backward civilizations, and almost no country can get benefits from them.

This set of "pull a faction, fight a faction" and "open the door, free trade, send civilization!" I don't know how many countries and nations have been destroyed or how many markets have been knocked on, and it can be said that they have been tried and tested.

And this time, the emir supported by the British not only could not control the situation in Afghanistan, but even his own security depended on the protection of outsiders.

As the Anglo-Afghan War progressed, the Redwood Army, which had wrestled with Napoleon, who had shocked Europe, had completely lost the momentum of the early stage of the war.

At first, the British succeeded in capturing Kabul and even arresting Dost Mohammed (the king of Afghanistan) and placing him under house arrest in India, with few casualties.

Because the victory came so easily, most of the British officers and soldiers quickly reveled in pleasure and pleasure. They even arrange cricket and horse races, as well as hunting and other entertainment in the city.

One night, the officers of the East India Company attended a lively evening with their wives, as usual, enjoying the delicious taste of Madeira white wine while watching theatrical performances, including A Midsummer Night's Dream.

At this time, however, the other side of the world.

Central Asia, the capital of an ancient kingdom.

An officer in a white shirt and black shorts climbed out of bed late at night and walked to the study, then stared at the giant map on the wall in a daze.

Yes, they had already captured all the major cities, and only 200 men had been sacrificed to take the capital. Thinking back on the past makes me feel like I'm in an ice cave when I'm now trapped in this former palace.

Who would have thought that the situation would take a turn for the worse after the conquest, and that at least 2,000 casualties would be paid in the three months after the occupation alone, so much so that the supply lines could be restored by paying "road money" to the robbers not long ago.

It sounds ironic that there is no winner coerced by the loser to make huge concessions.

A convoy of 300 men was easily ambushed along the Böll Pass, losing all 150 of its baggage, and the soldiers accompanying it were executed.

And now the British Empire is actually going to do business with their enemies. But even so, the indigenous tribes that collect protection fees do not take the money, and the transportation team is still completely unsecured. Every day someone reports to God that it may soon be their turn.

After thinking about it, the officer had a headache, so he simply threw the map and battle report into the brazier, opened the wine bottle, and woke up the dancing girl who had fallen asleep on the bed to continue to get drunk and die.

"Continue to be happy with Lao Tzu!"

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, Franz's study

"Very well done. The next thing we need to do is to fight a war without gunpowder. That's right, it's a propaganda war. Remember, this time it is important to highlight the fact that the Afghans took the initiative to attack the British convoy and brutally murdered the hostages. ”

Adjani did not fully understand Franz's directive, because the former had stressed the importance of Afghanistan's geographical location more than once; It is located at the crossroads of Central Asia and is a strategic place that can be attacked and defended.

"Aren't you doing this to promote the British? The old men in the upper and lower houses of parliament will surely put pressure on Whitehall, and there will be no reason to withdraw troops from Afghanistan? When the time comes, they will come to their senses and use Afghanistan as a springboard, so that they can invade the Qing Kingdom in the east, pass through Persia in the west, and directly threaten the Russian hinterland in the north."

Franz did understand Adjani's concerns, but none of the conquerors in history who tried to annex the mountain nation came to an end, not even the Mongol Empire.

Afghanistan is a veritable graveyard of empires, starting from Alexander's empire, the Persian Empire, the Tang Dynasty, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States and other world hegemons could not help it in the end.

Of course, the main reason is not the tenacity of this nation or the steep terrain, in fact, there is only one word at the core - that is, poverty. The barren land in its territory and its low carrying capacity often required invaders to bring their own supplies to supply their armies.

And most importantly, there is an extreme lack of valuable goods in the region, which means that there is nothing worth plundering at all. In summary, the cost of maintaining the occupation after the capture of this place is too high.

Although it has always been regarded as a strategic location, the topography and climatic conditions in Afghanistan are extremely complex; Defects such as mountainous and desert conditions, and the inconvenience of transportation have weakened the core dominance, making it difficult to form a tradition of centralization. Infrastructure construction is almost non-existent, making it difficult for the invaders to effectively carry out armed sweeps.

"If conditions permit, I would really like the British to be stuck in the swamp of Afghanistan forever, so that we can free up enough time and energy to deal with their lackeys."

Not long ago, Miloš Obrenovic, the "Balkan Lub," with the help of the British, basically calmed down the chaos in Serbia, and now it has become the biggest trouble in eastern Austria.

"Grand Duke Franz, I can't understand why you are so jealous of the Serbs? They had been depleted by the civil war, and had deployed a full 80,000 troops in the Belgrade region.

And those guys on the other side had less than twenty thousand soldiers, they had almost no artillery, and they were even shabby to the point where several soldiers shared a gun. ”

"Miss Adjani, perhaps you have heard the fable that when a mosquito bites, it only makes his arm wrap up; And ending the life of a mosquito is just a slap in the face, but will anyone not take the initiative to fight it because of this?

What's more, this pest may also be a carrier of deadly germs, and no one wants to be bitten by it while walking in their back garden, don't you think? ”

Adjani has never been very interested in Franz's overly vivid metaphors. Wallachia, Moldavia, Sardinia, the Papal States and the Ottomans were all mosquitoes around him, so why didn't he take the initiative against them?

Thinking about it, as a qualified subordinate, she still hides this question in her heart. "Well, I hope you don't get your hands dirty when you fight mosquitoes. The editors-in-chief of the Times should enjoy the news, after all, it will not go against their conscience. ”

"And how much pounds is their conscience worth?" Franz, who has rarely relaxed recently, quipped.

"Maybe between 50 and 100. If it's Thomas. Mr. Barnes' words would be more, worth about £200. Adjani couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Thomas. Barnes was one of the most important editors-in-chief in The Times' history. Delane is also known as the two editors-in-chief of the newspaper.

During Barnes's tenure, The Times managed to become one of the UK's most important mainstream media outlets. He attaches particular importance to editorials, believing that they have the dual function of leading and reflecting public opinion.

Not only that, but he was also very good at directing editorials, so the Times gained great authority, even to the point of influencing official promotions and party elections.

Because of this, many individuals and groups often pay bribes to the editors of the newspaper in order to establish a better image and a more open career.

At that time, the status of journalists was not high, their salaries were low, and it was naturally impossible to keep their hearts in the face of the rolling temptations, so it became one of the traditions of The Times to write articles by accepting bribes.

They can even ignore the facts and disregard the interests of their own country for the sake of money, such as the famous "Gao Sheng Incident" in the First Sino-Japanese War.

(End of chapter)