1890 King of Southeast Asia

Nanhua's "loan restriction" behavior did not make the British hesitate too much. After the news reached London, they almost immediately agreed to the mortgage model.

After all, what Britain lacks the least is useless encumbered assets. Important colonies such as the Indian colonies, the Straits Settlements, and the southern African colonies are certainly not within the scope of loan mortgages.

Some areas that have never been heard of, such as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, became Botswana after the colonies were broken up.

There are also British Cameroon, or various strange islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and so on.

Although the British agreed to the mortgage plan, they were undoubtedly cautious, taking the Bechuanaland Protectorate as an example.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate is an inland country, with the former Cape Colony in the south, German West Africa in the west, and the British South Africa Company's territories in the east and north, such as Southern Rhodesia.

Southern Rhodesia was called Zimbabwe after the collapse of the colonial empire.

In short, the most valuable land that the British took out - the Bechuanaland Protectorate of about 600,000 square kilometers, is an inland country surrounded by other countries, especially British territories.

In this way, even if the British used him as collateral, it would be difficult for China to exert influence on him.

But at least there is collateral, right? And it is a piece of land of nearly 600,000 square kilometers.

The Chinese generously gave a quota of 15 million pounds. As for the other scattered islands, Tian Rui gave a quota of 5 million pounds, a total of 20 million pounds.

…………

In mid-November 1915, the first batch of materials from China was unloaded in Egypt. This was a batch of rifles and bullets, 8mm Chinese standard.

After the rifles were unloaded, they were immediately transported to the barracks by the British and distributed to the army.

British Egyptian colony, Suez Canal.

"General Hamilton, how are the boys training? Can you pick up the gun and shoot at the enemy?" Winston rubbed his eyebrows.

The long journey made him a little tired, but he thought it was all worth it and he would be rewarded soon.

"Your Excellency, I'm afraid I'm going to spoil your fun. These idiots can't fight yet. They can only form a square formation. Once they disperse, they can never gather again." Admiral Hamilton looked helplessly at the soldiers in the camp.

There are British and French in this barracks.

The British are divided into native British, Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, Indians, and Africans.

The native British are divided into English, Scottish, and Welsh. Australians are divided into city dwellers and country people. As for India, it is even more complicated.

And considering the British conscription system, the complexity may be higher.

The French are actually as complicated as the Indians. There are colonial troops, foreign legions, and everything.

Moreover, more than 80% of the recruits are new recruits. Here we are not talking about those who have transferred from the reserve, but new recruits who have just come into contact with the military.

It is very difficult to manage such a complex army, even if it is just to sort them out.

Just like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the reason for its decline is that the domestic composition is too complicated. Just putting them under the framework of an empire for management has consumed most of the energy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

"General Hamilton, how long will it take for them to have combat capabilities?" Winston was a little unhappy when he heard this.

But it's useless to be unhappy. Admiral Hamilton has a rich resume and deep qualifications. He has participated in the First Anglo-Boer War, the Mahdi War, the Second Anglo-Boer War, etc.

Hamilton has a high prestige within the army, which is not something he can move.

"Three months, at least three months, they can become a barely qualified soldier and will not panic and run away in battle."

"If they are to be used to implement the plan, these recruits are undoubtedly unqualified. If they must be said, at least one year of training is required, and landing training must be carried out for at least half a year."

Hamilton knew what his mission was. To be honest, he was a little disgusted with this mission.

Yes, taking Istanbul can make the Ottoman Turkey withdraw from the war, and it can also directly attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire and relieve the pressure on the Russians.

It can also open up the transportation channel of the Black Sea, provide continuous blood transfusion to the Russians, and even send troops to fight in eastern Germany.

But Admiral Hamilton, who served in Burma, knew that the more tempting the mushrooms are, the more poisonous they are, and they are not so delicious.

If the war is really that easy, then Hamilton would strongly recommend sending an army directly to Berlin or Vienna to end the war directly.

It's just a thought, who wouldn't?

"No, we don't have so much time, General, our allies can't wait so long." Winston shook his head hurriedly.

He had decided on this plan when the Ottomans joined the war, but both the navy and the army rejected this good-looking plan.

In addition, the Germans attacked fiercely, the French urgently needed support, and the British needed to protect the English Channel, so the discussion of this plan was shelved.

Until not long ago, the Russians asked London for help.

The Germans fought on two fronts, and Tsarist Russia fought on three fronts.

Not only did they have to deal with the Germans, but they also had to fight with the millions of troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and they also had to deal with the new army of the Ottoman Empire.

Tsarist Russia did not have as strong an industrial foundation as Germany, and was depleted by three fronts and could not hold on.

The war had been going on for more than ten months, and the tsarist Russia's munitions reserves had been exhausted and its production capacity could not keep up.

From July to August, the soldiers of the tsarist Russia were still attacking, and by September, the gray animals could not move.

There was no way, because the corrupt government was inefficient, and the war destroyed imports and exports, so the army could not get sufficient supplies.

It was not just about weapons and ammunition, but even the food that could fill the stomach was insufficient - the food of the gray animals, black bread.

Even the army was like this, not to mention ordinary civilians, St. Petersburg had already begun to lack food.

Countless hungry people took to the streets, further exacerbating the damage to production, and the tsar was on the front line and could not "rationally" deal with this matter.

The queen ordered a suppression. Although there was no bloodshed, it successfully turned the soft head of public dissatisfaction from targeting the nobles, capitalists, government, and emperor into a soft shield against the political system.

Seeing that the revolution was about to break out, the tsar had to ask his allies for help - threatening to withdraw from the war.

What a big deal Britain heard about this? Start negotiating the issue of aid immediately, and let the British squeeze out a batch of materials and money. The British can squeeze out, after all, they have a strong foundation.

But the problem is, how to transport?

Tsarist Russia's European and Near East regions were all blocked by the Allies. There was no suitable road from India to Tsarist Russia, and many places were not accessible even by car.

There is a Siberian Railway in the Far East, and materials can also be purchased and transported from China nearby, but only a Siberian Railway with weak transportation capacity is of little use, just hanging on to life.

Even if the railway section of Lake Baikal is opened, it will take more than half a month for the Siberian Railway, which can only run on a single line, to carry goods once to complete the journey.

Single-line travel, if properly dispatched, of course, can still be barely acceptable, but Tsarist Russia is rotten from top to bottom at this time, just like the Qing Empire, rotten from the root.

However, Britain and France still need it, need its millions of troops, even if they do nothing and pile up on the Eastern Front, they can put enough pressure on the Allies.

Imagine that if Tsarist Russia withdrew from the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire among the Allied Powers would be completely liberated at once.

Not to mention more, at least the British and French coalition forces would face an additional army of three million troops, thousands of cannons, and the combined strength of the two ancient countries.

Withstanding Germany alone has exhausted the British and French coalition forces. Britain and France dare not imagine the consequences of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottomans.

Therefore, when the Tsar's request for help was placed in Asquith's hands, Asquith immediately agreed and asked the cabinet to come up with a solution.

Winston's plan was not unexpectedly selected. After all, according to his idea, this method is efficient, cost-effective, and effective quickly.

This is a pleasant surprise for Winston. Once the plan succeeds, he can at least climb to the position of a member of parliament or even a minister.

At present, he is only the second or third naval minister in the Admiralty, I forgot.

And the plan has been delayed again and again, and if something goes wrong, he will be the person in charge.

He didn't know how long Tsarist Russia could hold out, but he didn't dare to wait any longer.

"Even if it's just to equip the soldiers with weapons, we have to wait until the end of next month when all the weapons are delivered."

"I can't let the soldiers go to the battlefield empty-handed, can I?"

Hamilton wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief and said softly.

He knew that Tsarist Russia was not in a good state, but the British were not much better, especially the British troops in the Mediterranean.

Losing would be even worse, so Hamilton hoped to launch the war after sufficient preparation.

"General, you know, this is not what I mean, this is what London means." Winston nodded slightly, agreeing with this statement.

"If the attack cannot be launched as soon as possible, the Tsar may withdraw from the war due to the situation, just like he did before. There is news that the Germans are drafting a preferential treaty for the Tsar."

"If we lose Tsarist Russia, we may fail in this important war, which is not allowed by London."

Winston changed the subject and pressed again.

"I know." Hamilton said stiffly with a solemn face.

After Winston left, Hamilton complained in his little room.

"Without weapons, without logistics, and without adequate training, the soldiers have to carry out such a difficult mission. This is like going to die."

"The politicians in London are really old..."

"I must be responsible for the soldiers and the British Empire. As a general, the battle cannot be launched in 1915 at least..."