Chapter 845: Declaring No War
The messy news reports not only aroused the patriotic sentiment of the people, but also affected the British government.
The police department was the first to be affected. Looking at the crowd outside who wanted the government to announce the truth, the Minister of Police, James Mulder, was bewildered.
After reacting, James Mulder immediately ordered: "Quickly send someone out to explain that the assassination of Waters took place in Afghanistan and is not within the scope of the police department's management.
If you want to know the truth of the assassination case, let them go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask. "
No matter how powerful the police department is, it is only responsible for local security issues. The assassination cases that occur abroad have nothing to do with them. James Mulder does not want to bear this unwarranted disaster.
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The Police Department is reluctant to walk in this muddy water, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also reluctant. The unlucky Sir George was blocked as soon as he left.
A memorandum asked: "Dear Sir George, we need to know the truth of the matter, and we must not let the blood of the hero go in vain."
There is nothing wrong with Walters being portrayed as a hero by the media overnight. Under the coercion and enticement of the enemy, he still insists on safeguarding the interests of Britain.
The assassination case seems to have nothing to do with coercion and inducement, but this is not a problem. The editors of the entertainment news section completed the supplement in the shortest time.
If the time is not too short, it is estimated that these guys can make up a heroine and add a romantic love story.
The question is from a reporter from the London Daily. As a news media of current affairs, it is relatively fair, but there is no brain-damage plot.
In the face of a group of reporters, in order to maintain his good image, Foreign Secretary George had to bite the bullet and stand up.
"Sir, the truth of the incident is still under investigation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received relevant information. In fact, we have not established diplomatic relations in Afghanistan, nor do we have a diplomatic embassy there.
Waters' visit to Afghanistan this time was commissioned by the Governor of India. For details, you can go to the Colonial Department to find out.
We will pay close attention to the progress of the case, and we will make an announcement when we have the result. "
Although what George said was true, England and Afghanistan have not established diplomatic relations, and Walters is not an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can do nothing but pay attention, but this answer does not satisfy the reporters, it is too official .
A reporter asked: "Sir, don't you think this is another shirk?
The police department said it couldn't control it, because the assassination happened outside the country, and the police department had no right to intervene, so it was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We believe this explanation. After all, the police department's purview is only in the mainland, which is expressly stipulated by law.
Now you say that you have not established diplomatic relations and that the Governor of India has appointed us as an excuse to let us go to the Colonial Department to find out the truth, which seems reasonable.
Well, do you know that when we passed by the Colonial Department just now, we asked about it, and some officials said that the foreign affairs affairs were the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
So who is responsible for this assassination? If the people want to know the truth, who should give the answer? "
The Assassination of Waters is too involved, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, and the Ministry of Police can all intervene, and they all have reasons to shirk.
Now blocked by reporters, in addition to scolding his colleagues for black heart, Sir George can only admit that he is unlucky.
After some thought, Sir George replied solemnly: "Sir, your question is very valuable.
But we must also consider the particularity of the Walters assassination. Britain is a country with a rule of law, and the responsibilities of various departments are clearly defined.
Prior to this, we had no experience dealing with similar events. Now that I have encountered a problem, it is inevitable that I am a little panicked.
The case took place in Central Asia, thousands of miles away. No one knows the specific circumstances. In fact, so far, the government has only received a telegram from India.
Please give us a moment to send someone to investigate. If you are worried that someone will shirk the responsibility, I will propose that all forces jointly form an investigation team. "
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It took a long time for Sir George to get rid of the reporter. As for the joint investigation team, that's a joke.
Waiting for the formation of the investigation team to set off from the United Kingdom and rush to Central Asia, it will take two months at the earliest.
After all this time, what is there to check? The mastermind behind the scenes has already dealt with the beginning and the end, and it has become a headless koan.
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In line with the principle that pain alone is worse than the pain of others, Sir George did not choose to bear the pressure alone, but decisively chose to share it with everyone.
"The assassination of Walters was apparently done by a religious extremist organization, but we don't know if there were any black hands behind the scenes.
There are too many suspects. In theory, the Russians are the most suspect. The assassination of Waters can cut off the possibility of Afghanistan falling to us.
However, such extreme measures are likely to lead to the outbreak of war. Now that the Russians are beyond the reach of the Afghan region, provoking a war will not benefit them.
The second is Austria. Not long ago, the Austrian ambassador to Persia visited Afghanistan, the main purpose of which was to bring Russia and Afghanistan into an alliance.
It's a bit too coincidental that the assassination case broke out just after the Austrian envoy left. The problem is that planning this assassination exercise is not good for Austria.
Once the war breaks out, Austria has no power to prevent us from occupying Afghanistan, and the only value is probably to be able to interrupt the arms race.
Only from this aspect, the suspicion of the French has surpassed that of Austria. After all, the French government has the weakest financial resources and the most pressure.
Of course, other countries also have a lot of suspicion. In order to provoke confrontation between major powers, many countries have the motive to make a bad move.
It is also not ruled out that there is no black hand behind the scenes, that is, the handwriting of indigenous religious extremist organizations in Afghanistan. After all, Walters has been assassinated many times before.
We have too little information in our hands to pinpoint the identity of the enemy. The people want the truth, but the investigation simply cannot go on.
The anti-British sentiment in Afghanistan is serious. If someone is sent to investigate, I am afraid that even the safety of the members of the investigation team cannot be guaranteed.
How can the Afghan government investigate and finally give us an answer? "
Sir George showed all the possibilities, definitely not to track down the real murderer, but to let everyone choose the "real murderer".
Britain pursues the interests of the first, and whoever is the murderer is most beneficial to Britain, then whoever is behind the scenes.
Colonial Minister Primrose sneered: "Sir, we have no choice at all, right?"
The multiple-choice question is correct, it is just a multiple-choice question for which the answer has been published.
It is not just a matter of picking an enemy at random to gain the approval of the people. A bunch of reporters are chasing the government for the truth. If there is no pusher from the opposition party behind this, no one will believe it.
Really enough weight, can be convincing, in fact, Russia and Austria, and a weak Afghanistan.
The Royal Navy can't go to court. If the blame is placed on a big country, then it will only be a slap in the face, and it will be impossible to explain what the domestic people want.
For Gladstone's cabinet, that was asking for trouble.
Lord Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key warned: "This is an enemy plot to provoke a war in Central Asia and sabotage our plans to bring down Fao."
The Admiralty's opposition was inevitable, and once war broke out, the government invested less money in the arms race.
The final result is likely to be a compromise with France and Austria to end the arms race.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaoji Childers: "It is not terrible to sabotage our plans, the trouble is that we want to stop, and France and Austria may not appreciate it.
If the second Afghan war breaks out, France and Austria will not be alone, and will continue the arms race while encouraging the Russians to confront us in Central Asia.
We are under a lot of pressure! "
More than just pressure, it is clearly exhausted. Both sides are important, and if either side goes wrong, Britain's hegemony will be shaken.
Foreign Secretary George: "There is no if, but it will happen. It is uncertain whether the French will support the Russian minister's expansion in Central Asia, but the Austrian will certainly.
If possible, the foreign ministry wants to suspend the arms race before a second Afghan war breaks out. "
Admiralty Astley Cooper Key hurriedly objected: "This is impossible! We can stop, but the French and Austrian countries will not stop.
If you don't want to see the world's No. 1 naval power change hands after the war, don't make such a joke. "
International competition has always been "taking advantage of your illness to kill you", but there is no such thing as showing mercy.
Don't let the Fao navy surpass the British, even if it's just flat, it's enough to shake their maritime supremacy.
In the final analysis, there are three countries that are capable of competing for maritime supremacy, and any two of them will be cheap to watch.
Once the Royal Navy loses its absolute dominant position, it will only have a deterrent effect, and it is impossible to provoke a lose-lose war.
In fact, the Royal Navy's deterrent power has been on the decline since a decade ago. In the face of the French and Austrian navies catching up, the British government did not have a good solution.
Seeing the quarrel escalating, Prime Minister Gladstone waved to stop it: "Stop, this is not the time to quarrel. The situation seems to be against us, but it's actually not that bad.
The Afghan region was originally what we wanted to win, and this assassination just brought the time forward and did not affect our established strategy.
As for the issue of the naval arms race, unless Faoken goes out of the way, we must continue to follow up.
Everyone's concern is nothing more than a financial problem, but it is not impossible to solve it.
The purpose of launching a war is to seek justice for Britain, and it is up to us to decide when to fight and to what extent.
We can even declare war on the Afghans first, and give an explanation to the people at home. We don't need to send troops for the time being, and we can launch an attack when we are ready for war. "
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