Holy Roman Empire

Kabul, ever since the delegates from Britain and Russia arrived, there has been a daily air of gunpowder here.

Just now, the Russian Delegation openly gave an anti-British speech, winning waves of applause from the citizens of Kabul.

By comparison, the British delegation was much more low-key. As the head of the delegation, Walters was well aware of how unwelcome they were.

In the short span of two weeks, they had been subjected to three terrorist attacks and had been surrounded twice; had it not been for the Afghan Government's concern for their safety and the dispatch of troops for protection, it was likely that the British delegation would have been annihilated.

Although he was here to stir trouble, Walters had no intention of risking his life. After experiencing the enthusiasm of the Afghan people, he started to keep a low profile.

A young officer, filled with righteous indignation said, "Mr. Walters, the Russians are once again giving an anti-British speech. This is a provocation against Britannia, and we must show them some color!"

Laying a hand on the young officer's shoulder, Walters spoke earnestly, "Henry, be calm.

This is Afghanistan, and any overreaction on our part will play into the Russians' schemes.

Do not forget our mission here, we should be trying to gain favor until the Afghan Government makes a clear stand.

War is the last resort, if it were just about starting a war, it could be done at any time without all this trouble, couldn't it?"

He spoke sincerely, life was his own after all. In someone else's territory, if one didn't keep a low profile, death would be meaningless.

In fact, the British Government had tried many times to win over Afghanistan, but due to hatred and issues of credibility, they had never achieved success.

Of course, there were also the contributions of the colonists. Repeated probes had made the Afghan Government very wary of them.

As the Russians shifted their strategic focus southward, Afghanistan's strategic position became increasingly significant.

This attempt at forming an alliance was also a final ultimatum. What seemed like consultative negotiations were actually forcing Afghanistan to reconsider its allegiances.

The young officer Henry shook his head, "I hope your plan works, but I'm not optimistic.

The anti-British sentiment among the Afghan people is too strong. Even if the government is willing to compromise, a treaty would not be very effective."

In this age of survival of the fittest, having a strong fist was paramount. Although the British delegation seemed at a disadvantage, they in fact held the initiative in the actual negotiations.

In the end, it was Britannia's strength that was significant; British-India was right next door to Afghanistan, while the Russians were separated by Persia and the Central Asian Khanate.

Walters confidently said, "Rest assured, the conditions we are proposing aren't excessive this time. Asking for troop deployment rights is simply to help them fend off Russian invasion; the Afghan Government knows how to choose."

…

Within the Palace, General Stoletov had just concluded exchanging treaties with King Amir of Afghanistan, totaling only eleven articles.

Yet this eleven-article document placed Afghanistan under the protection of the Russian Empire.

The main contents were: the Russian Empire supported the rule of Amir, would help the Afghan Government defeat internal and external enemies, was responsible for mediating relations between Afghanistan and third countries, and guaranteed the security of Afghanistan's territorial sovereignty.

There were no excessive demands, just that Afghanistan should stand with the Russian Empire when it mattered most.

In contrast to the British's request for troops, this protection treaty clearly provided more reassurance to King Amir.

Bearing witness to this history was the Austrian Envoy to Persia, Redmond. For a small country like Afghanistan, with no significant interests involved, it wasn't worth the Austrian Government's attention, and naturally, they didn't send an envoy.

Whenever there were issues needing to be dealt with, they had the nearby Persian Ambassador take care of them. This was characteristic of the era. Compared to randomly appointing a merchant as an envoy, this was already quite proper.

In a sense, the stance of Envoy Redmond also influenced the judgment of Amir.

As for the scandals of the Russian-Austrian Alliance, except for the high echelons of the governments of both countries, neither of their populations knew, and the outside world knew even less.

For such an isolated country as Afghanistan, the Russian-Austrian was the epitome of close allies, a friendship that began with the anti-French wars and had stood the test of time.

By clinging to Russia's coattails, it was essentially like holding onto the coattails of the Russian-Austrian Alliance. Though individually they might not match the British, a joint effort would definitely not fall short.

Envoy Redmond disingenuously said, "Congratulations to you both, for turning a new page in the history of Central Asia. I trust that with the help of the Russian Empire, Afghanistan will soon grow strong.

To celebrate this great moment, the Austrian Empire is willing to sponsor the Afghan Government with ten thousand rifles and a quantity of ammunition, free of charge."

There was nothing surprising about it; Austrian equipment managed to defeat many competitors and become the mainstream of the international arms market for land forces precisely through trial usage.

Usually, they first sponsored a batch of decent-performing decommissioned rifles. Once people used them and were satisfied, they would slowly push the sale of matching weapons and equipment. Even if the sales were unsuccessful, they could still sell ammunition.

In recent years, it has become even more intense, with the business expanding to military ships. As the arms race continues, such acts of giving will keep on increasing.

Upon hearing this good news, King Amir exclaimed joyfully, "I thank Your country for its generosity; this is the best gift I have received!"

It was a sincere statement. In the isolated Afghanistan, getting weapons required multiple handovers, and by the time they arrived, even the cheapest weapons would cost a fortune.

The asymmetry of information led to different valuations of the weapons and equipment.

In Austria, where there was large-scale industrial production of rifles, the average cost of each rifle was less than 1 Divine Shield, and the retail price wouldn't exceed 3 Divine Shields.

But in Afghanistan, the prices of these rifles were multiplied several times over, and purchases had to be made through preorders.

Redmond smiled and said, "Don't mention it, we're all friends here! Austria has always been generous to its friends."

Seeing that General Stoletov looked somewhat uncomfortable, Envoy Redmond did not pursue the topic further.

Afghanistan was under Russian influence, and Austria's arms trading there was clearly overreaching.

However, in order to display the unbreakable Russian-Austrian Alliance, General Stoletov's discontent flashed by quickly, and he deliberately pretended not to care.

Subsequently, the three of them enjoyed pleasant conversation and had dinner together before going their separate ways.

...

Late at night, upon returning to his residence, Redmond was struck by a headache. Instigating an Anglo-Afghan war was not an easy task.

The key decision for this war was not in Afghanistan, but in the British Government. No matter how much he encouraged King Amir, they would never provoke the British on their own initiative.

The only way for an Anglo-Afghan war to erupt was for the British Government to send troops to attack.

Redmond was aware of his limitations. Making decisions for the British Government was beyond his capacity.

Whether or not to have the British mission assassinated was a question worth considering.

It wasn't that he had a moral aversion to assassination; the issue was that Austria did not have sufficient power there, and the Afghan Government had dispatched troops to protect the mission.

Ordinary assassins couldn't even get close, and hasty action could lead to uncertain outcomes. Should any trace be left behind, it would be quite troublesome if someone used it as leverage against them.
Enjoy new chapters from empire

The orders from home were very clear: they could not take action without finding a scapegoat. Getting burnt themselves was out of the question.

Redmond had already done quite a bit to provoke the British, such as encouraging the younger members of the Russian Delegation to deliver anti-British speeches.

But the British held back and didn't show their hand, and surely he couldn't incite the Russians to kill the British mission, could he?

Everyone was not a fool. Anti-British speeches could be framed as swaying public opinion, to assist in the negotiations, but assassinating the British mission would mean instigating a war.

This major responsibility was too heavy for anyone to bear.

A young man suggested, "Your Excellency, how about we bribe the local religious groups? They despise the British the most, and have already attacked the British mission before, but…"

When Envoy Redmond heard about the local anti-British groups, he perked up immediately and asked anxiously, "But what?"

The young man answered, "But they reject all Western powers, including us."

Redmond's concerns dissolved. Rejecting Western powers was not an issue at all, for Austria had no intentions of expanding in Afghanistan.

In a sense, religious extremists were perfect; they were the ones who acted without regard for consequences, daring to do anything.

After a pause, Redmond slowly said, "Send someone to contact them secretly. It can't be anyone from the mission, and our identity cannot be exposed.

If they are willing to take action, the price is up to them, whether it's money or weapons.

Money can be up to fifty thousand Divine Shields. For weapons and equipment, up to five thousand quick-firing rifles can be agreed to right away."

A higher offer was not out of reach, but too high a price might raise suspicions.

However, Redmond was yet to realize that this price was already conspicuous enough.

The money was one thing, but the guns were the key. No power within Afghanistan was willing to part with so much military hardware simply to pay for an assassination.

...