African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 528: Chapter 206: Dog Bites Dog

The next day.

The British Governor stationed in Kabul looked at the collected British corpses from the previous day, his face ashen, and even more were from the puppet army.

”How many died yesterday?”

”Our side lost only 385 men, with total casualties amounting to 2,407, while the Afghan government forces lost over 200, with casualties around 500.”

”Why are our losses so much higher than the Afghan government forces?” the Governor asked in astonishment.

He didn’t care much about the Afghan government forces’ losses, but seeing so many soldiers of the British Empire dead gave him a headache, especially since Afghan government forces suffered fewer casualties than the British.

Understanding the Governor’s doubts and eager to shirk responsibility, the British military leader quickly said, ”Your Excellency Governor, it’s evident the Afghan government forces didn’t exert themselves. They might have sympathized with those terrorists or were simply afraid of dying, so they weren’t fully committed in battle.”

This was undeniable. After all, the government forces were seen as traitors in Afghanistan for aiding the British in suppressing the country. Naturally, these soldiers were just trying to make a living and saw no need to fight bloodily for Britain’s imperial ambitions.

The Kabul Governor sighed, ”It’s fortunate Kabul didn’t fall, or explaining this at home would be difficult!”

Losing more than three hundred men was a significant defeat for the British forces. During the previous Zulu War, only over 1,300 Britons had died. With various Afghan resistance groups likely to stir up trouble, casualty numbers might still rise.

”Your Excellency Governor, the rebels colluded with people inside the government, catching us off guard. Many soldiers reacted too late, and without a clear numerical advantage, we had to rely on our own against the terrorist militants, leading to these high casualty figures.”

The British forces in Kabul were relatively few because Britain had not fully conquered Afghanistan. The Central Government had surrendered, but local powers did not necessarily align with it; most opted to wait and see.

Some distant regional powers even declared the Afghan Central Government treacherous and illegal, choosing to establish their own autonomy, forcing the British main forces to be scattered across the country to deter Afghan dissenters.

Had the main British forces been concentrated in Kabul, even giving Mutilla ten times the courage, he wouldn’t have chosen Kabul as his target.

The British still demonstrated good combat capability. Amidst the chaos, they quickly regrouped and entered combat mode, preventing Kabul from falling into enemy hands, or the Kabul Governor would face significant trouble.

In reality, the Governor was already facing considerable difficulty, having to deal with post-conflict issues while bracing for a bigger storm.

However, had the British Governor in Kabul known that in another timeline, he had been killed by the Kabul insurgents, he might have felt a certain solace.

”Immediately investigate all suspicious figures in the city, and enforce a citywide curfew for three days. Those who do not comply are to be arrested. I don’t want a repeat of yesterday’s events.”

Though the British had conducted a city-wide sweep following the previous day’s fight, the Kabul Governor remained on edge after the assassination attempt.

Suddenly recalling something, he added, ”Right, the Mayor of Kabul courageously sacrificed himself yesterday. Allow his family to appoint someone to fill the position.”

The late Kabul Mayor, a scapegoat, might have found some solace in the Governor remembering him. At the very least, the Governor showed some decency by not forgetting those who took the bullet for him.

”Notify the troops everywhere to tighten defenses, ensuring the Afghan resistance doesn’t find an opening, and confirm the identities of those bandits from yesterday?”

”Confirmed. Their leader’s name is Murat, a former religious leader in Kabul City. He vanished after we occupied Kabul, only to join the terrorist armed group.”

”Be sure to capture this Murat terrorist. I want him hanged from the walls of Kabul City.”

...

News from Kabul could not be concealed; so many had died, and in Kabul no less. With uprisings, once someone fired the first shot, others were bound to follow. As it’s said, a single spark can start a prairie fire.

As expected, there were numerous uprisings in southern Afghanistan, severely troubling the British forces stationed there. The Afghan terrain made it difficult for the British to operate, leaving uprising areas uncontained, causing Afghanistan to erupt in flames suddenly, reversing what was previously a favorable situation.

The Kabul Governor had to call for reinforcements from home, gathering more forces, after all, Afghanistan had already been taken into the British fold. To lose it now would be a disgrace, and giving up was not an option, forcing Britain to press on.

Downing Street.

The Benjamin government also had to focus its attention on Afghanistan. Having faced setbacks under his administration in East Africa the previous year, further failure in Afghanistan would question the entire colonial enterprise.

Being a proponent of colonialism, Benjamin had considered the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak with Afghanistan mid-year one of the major achievements of his current tenure. In less than two months, his accomplishment seemed to slip away. Naturally, he couldn’t let it go.

”What’s the current situation in Afghanistan? Why has it suddenly become dire?”

”Your Excellency Prime Minister, the situation in Afghanistan is still under control, but due to the negative impact of the large uprising in Kabul, many smaller groups have resurfaced. The Kabul Governor has informed us that due to Afghanistan’s fragmented terrain and large area, more troops are needed to stabilize the region.”

”Hmph, he still has the audacity to speak? He should have been killed by the rebels back then!”

”Please, Prime Minister, calm down. He also has no other options. As for Afghanistan, it is genuinely difficult to govern, or else the rebels wouldn’t have received weapon support.”

”Hm, speaking of weapon support, where did the rebels’ weapons come from?”

”We suspect Russia is the main suspect; they are the closest to Afghanistan and were previously allies.”

”Are you sure? Then why did the Russians not stop us from entering Afghanistan back then, only to act up after we occupied it?”

”Your Excellency Prime Minister, you may have forgotten that back then, the Russians were occupied with the Ottomans and naturally wanted to appease us. Now it’s different. The Russians and the Ottoman Empire are in a stalemate, and there’s a good chance they will negotiate, especially with Bismarck trying to mediate. The Russians might have started contacting the Germans to end the war, and with free time, they naturally want to cause us trouble.”

”Could this just be your speculation?”

”While collecting the rebels’ weapons, we noticed that the Afghan rebels had a rich variety of weapons, including a considerable amount of our own weapons; yet, there was a conspicuous lack of Russian weapons. This anomaly suggests that the Russians are covertly aiding the Afghans, not wanting to openly antagonize us while the Russo-Turkish War continues, so they have to resort to underhanded tactics.”

Thinking carefully, Benjamin found this plausible. The Russians were indeed upset about Britain’s easy capture of Afghanistan, but due to their circumstances, they couldn’t fully support Afghanistan, hence their clandestine backing.

”Your suspicion seems likely. In that case, we can’t afford to let the Russians be too idle. When they are free, they stir up trouble for us. If they meddle in Afghanistan now, all our previous efforts could be in vain.”

”What should we do then?”

”Contact the Ottoman Empire, disrupt any peace talks, and provide some assistance to keep them engaged with Russia. As long as we keep Russia locked in a state of war, they won’t have the leisure to meddle.”

Benjamin also ordered, ”As for Afghanistan, gather more Indian troops from India and disperse some from the Cape Town army to engage in Afghanistan. Under no circumstances can we allow things to escalate there.

While the British were discussing ways to trouble Russia, a report on the large-scale Kabul uprising by Ilya was being sent home. As its planner and commander, Ilya claimed significant credit for the success despite having limited influence in the Afghan resistance where suggestions to Mutilla were his only real contributions. Nevertheless, he inflated his role in his report to his home country.

The Russian government quickly responded to Ilya, urging increased efforts to continue harassing the British while providing additional weapons to bolster Ilya’s standing within the resistance.

Amidst the East African conflict’s influence, the earlier initiation of tit-for-tat hostilities between Britain and Russia meant that even forces meant for East Africa from Cape Town had to be redirected, leaving Britain temporarily unable to bother East Africa.