Shadow of great britain

After the blizzard stopped, Druisk, which was grayish white all year round, did not become much brighter.

The clay of the houses on the street was peeled off by the melted snow, and the white walls became mottled and ugly. The roofs were mostly covered with reeds, which became more cumbersome after absorbing enough water. As for the orchards, for the sake of the appearance of the town, the mayor had already ordered them to be cut down one by one.

There was no one on the street. Occasionally, a few roosters crossed the road. The road surface was more than an inch thick with dust, as soft as a pillow. As long as it was stained with a little water, it would become a muddy ground. If you stepped on it, you would be splashed with mud. But whenever the mud was rampant and people dared not to enter the road, it was time for the animals to have fun.

Piglets rolled around in the mud, swishing their tails, foxes ran from one end of the street to the other, and wolves with gleaming eyes also liked to stroll here at night. They stretched out their serious faces from this natural "bathtub" one by one, humming and making a fuss. Passers-by had to drive their horses away as soon as possible, and occasionally uttered a few low curses in their mouths, but they dared not let anyone hear them.

Only when you get close can you understand what the passers-by are saying, such as "That pig is Bakalkin", "That fox looks like Hestingov", "Don't compete with the wolf Barkov for the road" and so on.

However, in this weather where the snow has just melted, it is very difficult to see pedestrians in the small town.

You have to squat in front of the inn at the city gate for a long time before you can occasionally see a landlord with 11 serfs, wearing a casual dress made of homespun cloth, driving a cart that is used as both a carriage and a cargo carrier, slowly crossing the road. The fat landlord leaned out from a pile of flour bags, and his red nose looked like a red cherry on a cake.

When he arrived at the city gate, the fat landlord jumped off the carriage, moved with earth-shaking steps, rubbing his hands and asking the innkeeper: "Is there a big shot in the city? The mayor suddenly sent someone to my house today to order a few large bags of mountain products. I have never seen him pay so quickly in my life."

Perhaps seeing this, some people can't help asking: Why order mountain products instead of buying them at the market?

Then you have to look at the market square not far away, which can be described as desolate.

The tailor shop in front of the square does not open its door to the square, but faces the square at the corner. Opposite it, there is a brick house with two windows. The house has been built for about 15 years and is still unfinished. A little further away, there stands a fashionable wooden wall painted in a mud-like color. It was built as a model house when the mayor was young and had not yet developed the habit of taking a nap after dinner and drinking herbal juice made from dried currants at night.

In other places, it is almost all fences. There are a few small shops in the center of the square. There is always a string of doughnuts, an old woman with a red headscarf, a load of soap, a few pounds of bitter almonds, lead bullets for hunting, half a piece of damask cloth, and two shop assistants who always play the ring-tossing game in front of the door.

However, the visit of the Cossack cavalry has obviously made this square, which was sparsely populated in the past, a lot more lively.

The warrant officer with a hat tassel respectfully bent down to light the major's pipe and asked in a low voice about the promotion.

The garrison soldiers surrounded a few Cossacks, listening to them brag about the best West Indian tobacco they bought in Kiev, how heroic they were in the Caucasian War, and how beautiful the Chechen slaves they were rewarded with as spoils of war after the war.

The young soldiers were fooled around by the Cossacks, and they were envious and jealous of the good treatment they received.

They said, "Oh, you are so lucky!"

But in their hearts, they cursed secretly, "Sleeping in the same bed with a pagan woman, you don't have to worry about waking up at night to find that she wiped your neck."

As for the bearded old-timers in the garrison, they didn't envy the Cossacks' remarks at all.

The old-timers thought that these Cossacks were just bragging, and even if they got the rewarded slaves, those slaves might not be that beautiful.

Because the old hands found that whenever the housewives gathered in the market with long-handled spoons, these Cossacks would look over their shoulders, just like the local garrison in Druisk.

On the high platform not far away, there was another Cossack scolding an honest countryman. The countryman did not dare to contradict the soldier. He could only stare with his eyes wide open, lower his head and hum his agreement.

The Cossack reprimanded the countryman majestically, looking like an emperor, but he seemed to have rheumatism in an instant, his straight back hunched down, and his face squeezed out a smile brighter than a flower: "General! Colonel! Good morning!"

Arthur heard the Cossack's attentive greeting and habitually planned to take off his hat to return the greeting, but he changed his mind and thought that this did not seem to fit his personality, so he followed Barkov's example, put his hands behind his back, and nodded slightly without any expression on his face.

But even when he nodded, his raised chin never dropped below 90 degrees.

General Barkov had the same calculations as Arthur. Arthur wanted to feel the bottom of this Cossack general, and Barkov also wanted to discuss with Colonel Hastingov to prevent offending someone he shouldn't offend.

The general really hated the dog spies in the third bureau, but he never looked down on them.

Because since the establishment of the Third Bureau, more than one local governor has fallen into their hands, and most of the military police who overthrew the local governors are not as high as Hestingoff.

Arthur took the lead in asking based on the information he got from Gogol: "Sir, it stands to reason that letting someone like you serve as an imperial envoy is really overqualified. Investigating the history of Pugachev's rebellion, this This kind of thing can be handled by the clerks in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so why bother you? "

Barkov glanced at Arthur, took off his gloves and said: "I am a soldier, and soldiers must obey orders. Let me investigate the history of Pugachev's rebellion. It was the Ministry of Internal Affairs through Zaporozhye Superintendent Prince Korsakov." The order was given directly. The order is in my suitcase. Do you want me to show it to you? "

Barkov's tone was very cold, because in his capacity, he could not treat Arthur with the Russian word "you".

Although Arthur has only learned two swords in Russian, he still knows that 'you' in Russian not only expresses respect, but also represents an alienated and indifferent relationship.

For such people, Arthur is generally too lazy to put his hot face against his cold butt.

But ever since he learned Barkov's unit number, the British spies' desire to pry for information made him tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep.

2nd Ukrainian Cossack Cavalry Regiment, participant in the Caucasus War.

Generally speaking, the British have little interest in the Caucasus. Apart from the high mountains and large forests, there are not many noteworthy places there.

But the problem is that the Persians don't think so.

Several small countries in the Caucasus originally submitted to the Qajar dynasty of Persia for a long time. However, starting in the 19th century, Russia's sphere of influence began to enter the Caucasus. In 1801, Russia annexed Georgia, and in 1804, the Russian army occupied Gonza.

In order to defend their suzerainty over the Caucasus, the Persians declared war on Russia as a matter of course.

In the early days of the war, due to the supply difficulties of the Russian army and slow progress, the Persians fought fairly smoothly. But soon after, Russian reinforcements arrived, and the situation immediately took a turn for the worse. It didn't take long for the Russians to occupy large areas of the South Caucasus. In 1812, the Russian army finally achieved a decisive victory at Aslanduz on the banks of the Arras River, defeating the main force of the Persian army.

Persia was unable to fight back, so it could only cede Derbent, Baku, Gonza, Kubin, Shirvan, Sharki, Karabagh and northern Talish, and gave up all its claims to Georgia and Dagestan. and promised not to station troops in the Caspian Sea area.

Logically speaking, a war between the Russians and the Persians is none of the British business.

But the problem is that Persia is in a very critical position.

If the Russians controlled Persia, they would have access to the Afghan plateau, thus posing a threat to India, Britain's largest and most important overseas colony.

Therefore, in order to protect this most shining pearl in the crown of the British Empire, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs also chose to deploy in Persia early.

The defeat of Persia in the Russo-Persian War was a heavy blow to Britain, which was trying to conquer Iran and militarily control the Caspian Sea region.

In order to prevent Persia from completely surrendering to Russia and thus damaging Britain's strategic interests, Britain "forgave" the previous alliance between the Persians and Napoleon and the expulsion of the British agent, regardless of past grudges.

In 1809, Britain re-signed an alliance with Persia. The treaty required Persia to sever all relations with France and other countries that were enemies of Britain, and promised that Britain would provide cash, weapons support, etc. to Iran during Persia's war with Russia.

After Napoleon stepped down for the first time, the treaty re-signed in 1814 was also updated, which stipulated that Persia must not allow the armies of any European powers to attack India through Iran, and must enable Persia's servant countries such as Khwarezm to also attack India. The armies of any European powers must not be allowed to attack India through their own routes, etc.

At the same time, the treaty also reiterated that when Persia goes to war with any European country, Britain will provide financial and other support or directly send troops from India to support Persia.

With the support of Britain, the call for revenge against Russia in Persia was rampant.

Finally, in July 1826, the Shah of Persia, Fateh Alisha Qajar, ordered the country to launch jihad (holy war) against the Caucasus and officially declared war on Russia.

At the beginning of the war, the new Persian army trained by British instructors launched a surprise attack. The Russian army was caught off guard and retreated, and Persia successfully recovered a large area of ​​lost territory.

But after regaining consciousness, the reorganized Russian army quickly showed its strength on the battlefield. The Cossack artillery team, which had experienced the Napoleonic War and came from Crimea and other places for reinforcements, was on the sand near Gonza. The Mkar Highlands taught the Persians a hard lesson, allowing them to understand "why artillery is the god of war." The new Iranian army, which had been training hard for several years, was almost completely annihilated.

With the war situation determined, Iran was forced to sign an armistice agreement with Russia in February 1828. In the new agreement, the Persians not only did not regain territory, but also required consular jurisdiction and military reparations.

You mean the agreement signed between Persia and Britain?

Yes, Britain did sign an agreement with Persia.

The agreement does stipulate that when Persia fights any European country, Britain will provide financial and other support or directly send troops from India to support Persia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did provide funds, but the specific amount is uncertain.

As for sending troops directly from India to support Persia, didn’t you see the “or” in front?

The British government does cherish its long-term relationship with Persia, but due to its traditional friendship and economic ties with Russia and the common enemy of Britain and Russia, France, Britain must carefully consider and make cautious decisions when facing Iran to boycott Russia.

The Persians who did not understand this lost their territory, and a former senior police officer of Scotland Yard who did not understand this opened people’s eyes in Liverpool.

Of course, on the other hand, there is nothing wrong with the Russians taking some land and paying some compensation from Persia.

However, if the Russians are more ambitious, for example: completely annexing Persia, or turning Persia into a Russian colony, then the British government, which symbolizes freedom and progress and once liberated the people of the North American colonies, will not be able to stand it.

The British Foreign Office firmly opposes the long-term interference of certain countries in the internal affairs of other countries and the pursuit of hegemony, firmly opposes any country to achieve its political goals through military threats, intimidation or armed intervention, and firmly opposes certain countries to use their international status, relying on their strong military and economic power to interfere in the affairs of other countries and impose their own will.

In order to prevent such a situation from happening again, the British Foreign Office decided:

First, strongly condemn the perpetrators and express sincere condolences to the victims. The British government expresses deep sympathy to the people of all countries that have been violated by hegemonic behavior and supports their efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Second, strengthen the strategic partnership of mutual trust and mutual benefit between Britain and Poland. Specific measures include but are not limited to:

1. Open the export of British standard weapons and sign a new batch of export weapon orders. In order to enhance the defense capabilities of the Kingdom of Persia and ensure the long-term stability of the region, the British government decided to expand military cooperation with Persia. The new batch of weapons orders will involve Britain's advanced light and heavy weapons and equipment, aiming to enhance the self-defense capabilities of the Kingdom of Persia. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly stated that the export of these weapons will follow strict international laws and arms trade agreements to ensure that they are only used for the defense needs of the Kingdom of Persia and are not targeted at any specific third country.

2. Increase the size of the British military corps in Persia to help the Kingdom of Persia complete the transformation and innovation from a feudal army to a modern army. As an important part of the Anglo-Persian strategic partnership, the United Kingdom will increase the number of military advisers and instructors stationed in Persia to assist the Kingdom of Persia in military reform. This cooperation will cover military training, tactical guidance, modern equipment operation and optimization of the military organizational structure, helping the Kingdom of Persia to build a more efficient and modern military force and ensure that it has sufficient capabilities to deal with any external threats.

3. Promote the deepening of economic and trade relations between the two countries. Britain and Poland will strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, promote more unilateral investment and project cooperation, especially in raw materials, infrastructure construction and technology exchanges.

4. At the same time, the two sides will strengthen intelligence exchanges, strive to establish a normalized intelligence sharing mechanism before the 1940s, and carry out comprehensive cooperation in counter-espionage, regional security and other aspects to ensure that the common interests of the two countries are effectively protected.

Third, the intelligence content on Russia in the Anglo-Polish intelligence exchange mechanism was supervised by Earl Daramore, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Russian Imperial Court, and implemented by Sir Arthur Hastings, Cultural Counselor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Russian Imperial Court.