Chapter 991 Backstab

The remaining soldiers of the British New Mediterranean Fleet rowed small boats together to form a small fleet. Since most of the officers died on the ship, the remaining sailors soon fought for leadership.

Some people suggested going to Gibraltar, and some suggested going to Cyprus, but the distance between the two places was too far, and it was unknown whether they could reach their destination alive.

So some people suggested going to Sicily or returning directly to Malta, but the previous robbery of Austrian merchant ships and the high price of selling food to Sicilians had offended the other party. Now they would definitely be retaliated if they went to Sicily.

And returning to Malta was not a wise move. They would most likely be regarded as spies by the Austrians patrolling the coast or directly captured and killed by the enemy who tried to land on the island. After all, they did so before.

The remaining option was France, but they didn't know why the Great Eastern Fleet, which was originally an ally, suddenly attacked them.

However, they didn't have much time to discuss, and suddenly another fleet appeared on the sea.

This fleet was all Arab-style clippers, and after discovering them, they approached them at a rapid speed.

The remaining British sailors were somewhat confused, but they were not panicked. After all, the Ottomans were allies of the British most of the time.

But the Arab sailors did not lend a helping hand to the British, but aimed their cannons and muskets at the latter's small dinghy.

At this time, the British sailors had no power to fight back, and they were not prepared before, so their small fleet was soon wiped out.

And those Arab sailors did not seem to let them go. Various harpoons and spear guns greeted the water, and soon the nearby sea was dyed red.

The strong smell of blood attracted a large number of predators hidden deep in the ocean, and the British New Mediterranean Fleet disappeared mysteriously again.

Also missing was the Grand Orient Fleet of the Second French Republic, while Austria made a big fuss about the great victory of its Adriatic Fleet in Malta.

After that, Friedrich led the fleet to Cyprus. The British troops here did not have the courage of the elite North Sea Fleet, and they chose to surrender almost immediately.

The British and French governments did not believe the Austrians' great naval victory.

But it was an indisputable fact that Malta and Cyprus fell one after another and the whereabouts of the New Mediterranean Fleet were unknown.

The Second French Republic was also unable to contact its own Grand Orient Fleet, and it seemed unlikely that two of the world's top fleets would disappear together.

London, 10 Downing Street.

John Russell slammed the Times on his desk.

"Gentlemen! I want to know what's going on? Who is lying?"

Admiralty Secretary George Eden and Foreign Secretary Palmerston looked at each other and saw suspicion in each other's eyes.

Because neither side could be sure that the intelligence in their hands was true, but they only had this intelligence.

"Prime Minister, I think we should give our intelligence officers more time."

Admiralty Secretary George Eden's words ignited John Russell's anger.

"When? The Austrians' newspapers have been sent to Britain! And what about our intelligence personnel? What are they doing?

If their news comes later than the newspapers, then I think there is no need for our intelligence agency to exist!"

John Russell's words made George Eden speechless.

After all, it is a bit embarrassing that the intelligence of the intelligence agency, which costs a lot of money, always lags behind the gossip in the media.

But Palmerston has a different opinion. He cleared his throat and said.

"The Times can always get intelligence before our intelligence agency. This must be because they are colluding with foreign forces. I propose to investigate the Times strictly and formulate new regulations to rectify the newspaper industry."

In fact, the Times, which takes money to do things, has indeed offended many people, so a series of new regulations on the newspaper industry were passed by the British Parliament without any resistance.

However, the Times was not closed. Who said that they have a strong backing?

The problem of public opinion is easy to solve. After all, what the British are most concerned about at this time is the economic crisis and the spreading famine.

Due to the shrinking European and North American markets, the Qing pirate problem, the rise of new forces in Southeast Asia, the rebellion of Indian princes, and the decline in the global share of British goods and lack of competitiveness, the economic crisis of the British at this time was more serious than the same period in history.

The British Isles were hit by natural disasters, and the impact of potato late blight was no longer limited to Ireland.

Farms in Scotland, Wales, and England were also suffering from the same problem. However, in history, the British government imported a large amount of grain from the United States and squeezed Ireland to the extreme, so the disaster in the UK did not seem to be serious.

However, at this time, because the border dispute had been unresolved, the US government put pressure on Britain through food and cotton issues.

Britain had thought about solving the problem in other ways, but the war with Austria disrupted all order.

At this time, it was impossible for the British to send an army to put pressure on the Americans.

In Ireland, there were constant rebellions and anti-tax riots, and a large number of people began to flee with their families. The overpopulated island of Ireland was actually in a labor shortage dilemma.

At the same time, the problems of the Chartists in the UK were never solved, which led to the radicalization of the Chartists, workers went on strike, and miners refused to go down the mines.

Since the establishment of the London Workers' Association in 1836, workers' associations have sprung up all over the UK.

In early 1848, representatives of the British Workers' Association went to Paris to meet the two pioneers and witness the February Revolution in France.

And some British trade union representatives felt that Britain could also follow France, because Britain had more workers and lived a harder life than French workers.

On April 6, 1848, a large-scale Chartist movement broke out in Britain.

John Russell didn't have any good solutions, he could only catch it.

Although the Chartists seemed to be more peaceful after that, there was still a lingering ghost in the heart of the British government.

At this time of internal and external troubles, the disappearance of the New Mediterranean Fleet was not so conspicuous.

But in any case, the British Empire could not afford to lose Malta and Cyprus. And they all knew that the New Mediterranean Fleet was probably doomed, but no one wanted to take the responsibility.

The Austrians' record was indeed amazing, but fortunately, the British Empire was a large country, and it was not a problem to organize another expeditionary fleet to completely destroy the Austrian Navy.

The only problem was that they did not know how and at what cost the Austrians won.

However, they soon received even worse news. The French Grand Orient Fleet did not disappear, but chose to betray the Second French Republic.