Chapter 810 Reaction

Good news from London and Egypt was frequent, but Prime Minister Gladstone was not happy.

The insurgent army did not reach the Suez Canal area as they expected, threatening the safety of the canal, and did not even touch the edge of the canal.

There is no way, the top of the rebel army are not all fools. At least the leader Mahdi was very clear-headed and knew that running to the canal would be fatal before the French were driven away.

Coupled with the strict defense of the French, even they would rather watch the fall of cities in Egypt, and give priority to ensuring the safety of the Suez Canal.

This hurts the British government that wants to intervene in the Suez Canal.

The canal was not threatened, and the British had no excuse to interfere in canal affairs. No matter how powerful Britain is, France and Austria will not buy their account.

Now that the French reinforcements have arrived in Egypt, at this time, even if the rebels want to fight by the canal, they have no chance.

The ultimate goal has not been achieved. No matter how much we weaken the French, it is useless. After all, at this time, France is no longer the primary target of the British government's suppression.

Gladstone: "The Egyptian plan has failed, and we have lost the opportunity to intervene in the Suez Canal. If we continue, we will face France and Austria directly.

Given the current situation, we must now consider the aftermath. Continuing to weaken France is just helping Austria and not good for continental balance. "

Although I don't want to admit it, the truth is the truth. Lieutenant General Jerez's reputation is so loud that he is actually able to command the troops, mainly based on Mahdi's trust.

But this trust is not unconditional. At least the rebel army blocked the Suez Canal, which was rejected by Mahdi.

No one is a fool. Mahdi is very aware of the consequences of blocking the Suez Canal. It is not one or two countries that offend, but all the canal beneficiary countries.

The British did not dare to end up doing things in person, and Mahdi did not dare. Even if it is a chess piece, it is a thoughtful piece, not under the control of the flag bearer in every situation.

Foreign Secretary George: "The Prime Minister is right, the French reinforcements have arrived and our plan has failed.

Going on, it's hard for us to get anything more than an increase in our losses.

But we can't let go now. If we miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult for us to intervene in the canal affairs in the future.

Judging from the current situation, with the support of us and Austria, the insurgent army may not be able to separate from one side.

Burying a nail in the Egyptian area is still necessary for our future Suez Canal land.

Besides, even if we let go now, the Austrians will not.

With their strength on the African continent, with or without our participation, there is not much difference in essence.

As for the French, they've already offended them anyway, and they don't care if they offend more deeply. "

This is very much in line with Britain's diplomatic norms, and everything is aligned with interests. As for offending potential prospective allies, that's not a problem. John Bull, who even pits allies, doesn't care at all.

Hearing this answer made Prime Minister Gladstone very uncomfortable.

The intention of wanting to note Lieutenant General Jerez was very obvious, but it was ruthlessly rejected by the Foreign Secretary, and it would be uncomfortable for anyone to change it.

However, the Cabinet is not Gladstone's opinion, and the Foreign Secretary's opinion must also be carefully considered.

In case the rebels were given up, the Austrians were allowed to take advantage of the situation, and finally part of the rebels were saved, and Britain would have taken advantage of it.

At that time, the opposition party will definitely take the opportunity to attack. The spit of the people can make them step down.

To put it bluntly, there has never been a so-called friendship between Britain and France, but only hatred.

This has been the consensus of the people of the two countries. Whether the London government is willing to admit it or not, the concept has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Gladstone frowned and said very dissatisfiedly: "Sir, don't forget that Fao's strength has been out of balance.

Continuing to weaken the French will only make Austria's advantage more obvious, and the fragile continental balance in the long run will easily be broken. "

Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, these are just a possibility, not an inevitable occurrence.

In essence, Austria's advantage is also limited to economics. Militarily, they didn't have much of an advantage over the French.

This can be seen from the German unification plan of the Vienna government.

If they were strong enough, they would have already started, and they would not have to wait until now.

Even though Russia and Austria are allies, in fact they also have a strategic conflict. If Austria really has the strength to overwhelm the French to dominate the European continent, the Russian-Austrian alliance can also become a French-Russian alliance.

Before the unification of the German region, Austria did not have the strength of one enemy two. It is impossible for the Vienna government to be unaware of this, so the continental balance is essentially stable. "

For this reason, Prime Minister Gladstone has nothing to say. On the surface, Austria does have an advantage on the European continent, but the poor strategic position offsets this part of the advantage.

If there is a dominance, then Austria will not only face the Franco-Austrian alliance, but may also become a three-nation alliance of Britain, France and Russia, and may even add North Germany.

Seeing that the scene was embarrassed, Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers reminded: "You two, this issue can be put on hold for the time being and the discussion can be postponed.

Right now we must seriously consider food self-sufficiency plans. Recently, the domestic voice for food self-sufficiency has become more and more

Come higher.

If it continues, the odds of parliament passing the bill are as high as 95 percent. At that time, it will be difficult for us to oppose it any longer. "

Undoubtedly, the most opposed to the "food self-sufficiency plan" in the London government is the Treasury. Britain is indeed a big business, but high incomes come with high expenditures.

The Royal Navy is the biggest beast of gold, and the annual consumption of funds is no less than the sum of the military expenditures of the Austrian Army and Navy.

Now to engage in the food self-sufficiency plan, it is another huge deficit project. And it is not a loss for a year or two, but a loss for many years.

For a business that is doomed to lose money and see no return, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is naturally reluctant to waste money.

Colonial Secretary Primrose retorted: "Sir, you are too pessimistic. There are two sides to things. Although the food self-sufficiency plan cannot pay back in the short term, its attached value is not low.

This plan is not just agriculture, but also involves a lot of infrastructure construction, including water conservancy projects, road transportation.

Once the supporting facilities are completed, the colony's attractiveness to immigrants will be greatly increased.

The influx of a large number of laborers will further promote the development of the colonial economy, and the finances of the colonial government will be greatly improved.

Many colonies that were losing money will also turn their losses into profits because of this. Overall, our investment is not a loss. "

Sounds great, but in reality this is only in theory. The colonial economy prospered, while increasing government revenue, it also attracted messy thoughts.

There is no doubt that national independence will definitely spread in the shortest possible time.

Although everyone agreed not to spread revolutionary ideas, just listen to it. Perhaps in order to avoid getting burned, everyone in the European continent will be restrained, but the colonies will never be considered.

Once nationalism spread, colonial government rule was bound to increase considerably.

Higher incomes come with higher expenses. Whether it is a loss or a gain is hard to say.

However, the dissemination of the idea of ​​national independence will take time, and it will be beneficial in the short term. This means that troubles are latecomers, but achievements are now.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaoji Childers reminded: "The Russians have taken a position that they will withdraw from the free trade system once we implement the food self-sufficiency plan.

We have to consider the possible knock-on effects of the Russian withdrawal. If all grain exporting countries withdraw from the free trade system, the consequences will be serious. "

There is no need for all grain exporting countries to withdraw. As long as Russia and Austria withdraw from the free trade system together, the system will be useless.

In this era of the law of the jungle, the free trade system relies more on military support in addition to political and diplomatic means.

Many small countries joined this system in order not to be rejected by everyone and to avoid being suppressed by foreign powers.

That's why everyone can't do anything about the French exit. France is a big country with its own strength, and if it wants to suppress it, it will inevitably pay a high price.

The income is not proportional to the pay, so naturally no one is the first bird.

If Russia and Austria withdraw again, the land force of the free trade system will be directly abolished. No matter how powerful the Royal Navy is, it can't go ashore, and its deterrence is simply not enough.

Foreign Secretary George: "There is never a perfect thing in this world, there is something to be gained and something to lose.

If we compromise because the Russians are threatening to withdraw from the free trade system, where do we put Britain's face?

What if something similar happens in the future? Is it to continue to compromise, or outright refusal? "

Britain also wants face, and compromises can't hurt their face. It's a pity that the Russians didn't realize this.

It should have been negotiated and communicated secretly, but it was brought to the table to negotiate. If the British government wants to compromise, it must think twice.

If it stimulates the fragile nerves of the domestic people and is held on by the opposition party, it will be a big deal.

In a sense, the strong statement of the tsarist government has, to a certain extent, firmed up the British government's decision-making.

Prime Minister Gladstone sighed inwardly and said helplessly: "Our trade with the Russians is limited, and it is best to keep this market.

It is really not possible, then there is no need to be polite to the Russians. Anyway, Austria is also a vested interest in the free trade system, and it is impossible for the Vienna government to withdraw. "

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