The remaining princely states simply lacked the strength to stop the British. Even if they were willing to wage guerrilla warfare, the extent to which they could tie down British attention was extremely limited.
Even if the princes of the native states, such as the Rani of Jhansi, set aside their past grievances and sought to unite once more, their defenses were no longer so impregnable.
Britain took Delhi without the slightest effort. Bahadur Shah II was captured and brutally exiled; the fate awaiting the rebels was already basically sealed.
Fortunately, Franz still had a card up his sleeve. In this life, the Sikhs had not completely submitted to Britain, much less joined the British camp out of hatred for the Mughal Dynasty.
The Sikhs had always been regarded as excellent soldiers, and their military strength was formidable. Even after suffering defeat in three wars, they could still raise an army of over a hundred thousand.
In Franz's original plan, he had hoped that the Sikh Empire and the Mughal Dynasty could join forces. That way, they could swiftly spread the flames of war across the Indian Subcontinent.
However, after conducting actual investigations, Franz discovered that such an idea was simply impossible. The Sikhs' hatred for the Mughal Dynasty was even stronger than their hatred for Britain, and it even carried a trace of contempt.
But the Sikhs could not possibly stand against Britain alone either. The three previous Sikh Wars were the best proof of that.
So Franz found them a powerful ally—Akbar Khan.
As the greatest contributor to the restoration of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, he enjoyed immensely lofty prestige throughout Afghanistan.
Imprisoning his biological father had not damaged Akbar Khan's reputation. On the contrary, it made people fear and revere him even more.
After all, Akbar Khan's