Chapter 291 Palmerston's Plan

Canning still insisted on his own ideas. In his view, the threat of an Austrian Empire that spanned Central Europe and was in the rising stage was more terrible than Tsarist Russia, and the existence of the European chancellor also made him feel like a thorn in his throat.

Of course, the reason why Canning spared no effort to sell his private goods to the cabinet members present was that the new labor law enacted by Austria a year ago caused the cost of importing Italian indentures for British indenture traders to soar.

In order to avoid the risk of being arrested, these gray traders bribed the foreign minister.

"The Austrians' economic strength is not strong, and their government is always on the verge of bankruptcy. For example, if a person with huge debts really goes bankrupt one day, it will not be a good thing for his creditors or guarantors.

So it is inevitable that the desperate Austrians will turn to the Russian side, and then it will be difficult for us to sanction the Russians. The population of these two countries combined exceeds 100 million, and the territory is connected. It is almost impossible to defeat them on land.

What we need is a weak Central European stitched monster and an isolated Eastern monster. I think the best way is to let the Russians and Austrians go to war."

Viscount Palmerston, who had just returned to London from India, made a shocking statement at the first cabinet meeting.

"Let the Russians and Austrians go to war? How is this possible?" Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne questioned. Although this was also his idea, he gave up because the two countries belonged to the Holy Alliance and it was not in their own interests to go to war with each other.

"Given the Russians' endless desire for land and their consistent short-sighted behavior, as long as they believe that we will support this war, those barbaric Slavs will most likely attack their allies. As long as their two families are seriously injured, we can concentrate on dealing with the French."

Palmerston is a staunch supporter of the Russian threat theory, but he has no good feelings towards Austria. In his opinion, the best outcome is to make both Russia and Austria lose, and a weak Europe is what Britain needs most.

Palmerston is tough, but not reckless. There is no reason to sacrifice the interests of the country for problems that can be solved by the Russians.

Especially this trip to India and the difficulties encountered by the British army in Afghanistan, made the former foreign secretary particularly aware that the cost of fighting deep inland is not proportional to the benefits.

The cost of maintaining the occupation alone is already astronomical, not to mention launching a war of equal strength. Thinking of this, he began to admire the Iron Duke Wellington a little.

"You said it very well. This is in the interests of the British Empire!"

"If Russia and Austria can be turned against each other, then the Strait issue can be easily resolved! This is a genius idea!"

"That's right! In this way, the Holy Alliance will be completely disintegrated, and no one can shake the world hegemony of the British Empire!"

Palmerston's proposal was unanimously supported by the cabinet members, because if this plan succeeds, it will be a hundred benefits for Britain without any harm. Palmerston, who was striking while the iron was hot, made a new suggestion at this time:

"Gentlemen, in order to save Her Majesty's brave and fearless soldiers, we should withdraw our troops from the quagmire of Afghanistan. It is meaningless to continue to waste time there. If we can promote the internal conflict between Russia and Austria, then in the short term, we don't have to worry about the Russians going south to the Indian subcontinent."

However, this proposal was immediately refuted by Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne.

"No, we must not withdraw our troops from Afghanistan. If the Russians are unable to break out of the Black Sea, they will definitely find another way. There are only a few backward grassland civilizations between them and Afghanistan. When the Cossacks break out of the Hindu Kush Mountains, it will be too late for us to defend."

"Yes, current public opinion does not allow us to do this. The damn Times, they published the tragic death of the Afghan transport team, and I don't know where they got the treaty signed between the troops stationed in Afghanistan and the local natives."

The Marquis of Normandy added that he really wanted to stop fighting in Afghanistan, because everything was just as Palmerston said, the only benefits of the war were the bodies of soldiers and the sky-high supply bills.

But the damn Times didn't know where they got some sensational photos, as well as evidence that the British army paid protection fees to the Afghan natives.

The news in the newspaper spread throughout Britain immediately, and even newspapers on the European continent published this news one after another. The great British Empire was actually beaten to a loss by a group of Central Asian natives, and even had to pay protection fees.

This news was enough to embarrass the cabinet and even affected the general election. The support rate of the Whig Party dropped rapidly. If it were not for John Russell's personal relationship with the Queen, it would probably be the Tory Party's turn to govern.

"These damn reporters, and that damn photography technology! Now Britain has to continue to pay for this meaningless war."

When it comes to the fate of the party, even Palmerston is somewhat helpless, and he also has a fluke mentality, thinking that at worst, he can spend more money and conquer this land in a few years.

"We should close down that damn newspaper and shut up those idiots!"

Palmerston was as tough as ever. He thought that people like Thomas Barnes should be hanged on London Bridge. However, the influence of The Times in Britain was too great, and there were complicated interests behind it, which led to the fact that every time it ended up in vain.

Viscount Melbourne did not expect Palmerston to compromise so easily. He thought it would be another difficult battle.

At this point, the British top leaders reached a consensus to support Serbia and try to get Russia and Austria to go to war.

Milosz was naturally ecstatic when he heard that the British decided to support him in retaking Belgrade, but there were 80,000 Austrian troops in the Belgrade area.

Even if all Serbians were soldiers, it would be difficult to get benefits. The 20 cannons and 5,000 rifles promised by the British had not yet arrived.

At this time, the whole of Serbia had only 12 cannons and 12,000 rifles, and the Austrians, in addition to 80,000 troops, also built many fortresses in the Belgrade area, the largest of which was Belgrade itself.

If you look at it this way, then the Serbs will never win, but the British pointed out a clear way for Milos, that is to rely on the power of the Russians.

"Grand Duke Milos, you can completely rely on the power of Russia to defeat the evil Austrian Empire. You don't have to worry about independence at all. With our British Empire as your solid backing, no one can enslave you. Just look at Greece."

British envoy Mills said with a little temptation.