Holy Roman Empire

Franz guessed correctly; behind the Mahdi Rebel Army indeed were forces from within Austria that were involved. No sooner had Friedrich intended to create trouble than he made contact with the Rebel Army.

It was proven that sponsors are always the most welcome. As a pioneer of the African independence movement, Mahdi welcomed the Austrian military mission team with the most ceremonious of rituals.

The two sides got along famously, the only regret being that the British also appeared here, which was very displeasing to Hutile and the others.

Fortunately, since everyone’s stance was aligned—namely, to cause trouble for the French—no unpleasantness arose.

After the welcome banquet came to a close, someone couldn’t hold back, "Leader, aren’t the Austrians a bit too perfunctory?"

Without a doubt, everyone was extremely dissatisfied with the Austrian military mission team.

The saying goes, "A smooth tongue may hide a wicked heart." Regarding the mere military school graduates, everyone genuinely lacked confidence.

Mahdi waved his hand with a smile and said, "This is not important. As long as Austria’s aid arrives, even if they send a bunch of gorillas, we must take care of them.

Moreover, don’t you think that the current situation is for the best? If they had sent a bunch of crafty old foxes, I’m afraid we’d have to worry about driving the tiger from the front gate while a wolf sneaks in through the back."

The Anglo-Austrian two countries are different; in the African Continent, the British are weak, capable of thwarting the French perhaps but seizing French colonies is simply impossible.

Austria is different; they are the sovereign of the African Continent. If not for the union of several major colonial empires in Africa, Austria would have swallowed the continent whole.

Against this backdrop, Mahdi naturally had to be wary of the Austrian threat.

Inside the Rebel Army there was no iron-clad solidarity; everyone had simply come together temporarily due to a common enemy.

Once international forces intervened, internal risks were easily magnified, leading to incalculable consequences.

He would rather Austria sent a bunch of good-for-nothing pests than face a group of cunning foxes.

A middle-aged man complained, "But looking at what these Austrians mean, they seem to want a hand in military command. Are these people up to it?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Mahdi shook his head, "No one can answer that question, but the troops trained by the Austrians are indeed very good.

If they want to command the troops, then let’s give them a chance to lead the forces we just incorporated.

It would be great if they win, but not much harm done to us if they lose. Truly, if they suffer a defeat, they’ll have no face to interfere with the command afterward."

Leading a group of unreliable subordinates, Mahdi only felt exhausted. He highly doubted that initiating this uprising would lead to an untimely demise.

But it was too late for regrets now. Withdrawing at this point would not only incur the wrath of the French, who wanted to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey," but neither of the Anglo-Austrian investors would spare him either.

...

Colonel Hutile, "The situation on the battlefield is very unfavorable for us, the French are sharpening their knives eagerly, and there is not the slightest sense of urgency among the Rebel Army’s higher-ups.

They are busy fighting over power and profit, fearing that our arrival will disrupt the balance of power, not realizing that without our support, they simply cannot withstand the French.

I probed Mahdi in private just now, and his attitude is steadfast. It’s impossible to obtain command over the Rebel Army.

Now that the British are involved, with the chips in our hands, we can at most get a ragtag army."

On the way here, we’ve already seen what the main force of the Rebel Army amounts to. What we’re going to command, I fear, is a rabble of the most disorganized kind.

"I don’t think they can execute orders meticulously, and most of the combat content learned in school is basically useless here."

The most important thing on the battlefield is execution. If an army lacks the ability to carry out orders, the best tactics will not be able to show their power.

The core of a military’s execution capabilities lies in the training of its junior officers. In this war, this is not an impossible problem to solve.

It’s already quite a feat to have trained this rabble into soldiers, let alone cultivate competent junior officers, which is basically unrealistic.

The French will not give them time; the counterattack of the French Army is not far off.

Given that Anglo-Austria cannot personally enter the fray, the chances of the Rebel Army’s victory are virtually nil, and our efforts can only slightly improve those odds.

The best outcome would be to inflict heavy casualties on the French, making the French government feel the war is not worth the cost, and then claim a remote and neglected area for themselves.

Fa Jinhan echoed, "That’s true. Leading this rabble into a decisive battle with the French, no wonder the higher-ups were pessimistic about us from the start.

Unless God were the commander, the Rebel Army has no chance of winning.

However, this doesn’t matter much to us; our current task is to trouble the French as much as possible, preferably taking the fight to the Nile Delta.

The British are likely to support us; they want the Rebel Army to make it to the Suez Canal, providing them with an excuse to interfere with the canal."

Although Fa Jinhan might not be the strongest in military capability, he undoubtedly has a keen political mind and immediately recognized the real objective of the British.

Botiolayek laughed, "What the British want is exactly what neither we nor the French are willing to give them, so they are doomed to fail.

The Rebel Army can’t possibly reach the Suez, and if there were even a hint of that happening, the French would go mad.

The Paris Government could easily deploy hundreds of thousands of troops here, and even if we armed all the able-bodied men and trained them into an army, it wouldn’t be enough to hold them back.

So if we manage to disrupt the Nile Delta Region, which the French have painstakingly managed, we will have completed most of our mission.

If we’re lucky enough to breach Cairo, we might all have the opportunity to become future commanders in the war against France."

Seeing the peculiar looks from everyone, Botiolayek quickly waved his hands: "Why are you looking at me like that? Can’t I make a joke? Is it that serious?"

Schtausenburg answered decisively, "Of course, it’s serious!"

"If we could achieve that, the French might as well give up. Perhaps the homeland would seize the opportunity to chase their victory and directly topple the French.

Discover hidden tales at empire

Why not take on the challenge, Major Botiolayek? I guarantee you, if you do it, you’ll become Austria’s youngest general."

Becoming a general in Austria is not easy; during peacetime, one can only climb the ranks step by step, and even under the best circumstances, it could take twenty to thirty years to get there.

But it’s different with military achievements. That could lead to rapid promotion. The rules are already set; if your military merits are outstanding enough, you can soar through the ranks, regardless of age or experience.

Botiolayek shook his head: "What if I only complete half the task?"

…

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