Unable to Attend to Everything

London. Ever since news of the Prusso-Russian War had arrived, the British government had been busy.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "What? You want to expand the army again?"

War Secretary Fox reminded him solemnly, "Prime Minister, we have not expanded the army for many years. Other than during wartime, the army's establishment has not increased in nearly fifty years."

Benjamin answered with an embarrassed expression, "Sorry, I misspoke. Tell me the reason. Why do you want to expand the army?"

The British Army had far too little presence. It was usually the navy that requested expansion. Having suddenly received an army expansion proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin had habitually said "again."

Fox was already used to this. Such was the British Army's status. Other than when it was needed, it rarely attracted the government's attention.

"With the outbreak of the Prusso-Russian War, Europe is about to undergo a reshuffle. We need a powerful army to deal with unforeseen circumstances."

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield Bromley Anxilong objected, "No. The situation in Europe is still under our control. As long as the balance between France and Austria is not broken, there will be no problem.

"Besides, even if the continental balance is broken, I do not believe expanding the army would change anything."

Though harsh to hear, it was the truth. Austria maintained a standing army of over six hundred thousand, while France's standing army was also nearing five hundred thousand.

The warring Prusso-Russian forces had each mobilized more than a million troops. The combined forces the two sides had committed to the battlefield alone exceeded 1.2 million.

How many troops did Britain's standing army have?

136,000!

Of course, that was not the British Empire's entire armed force. Across its vast colonies, the British also had five or six hundred thousand colonial troops,