Chapter 1351 Cutting Off the Polar Bear's Claws (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
What do the Russians want to do?
Soon the Persians and the British figured out what was going on. The Russians invaded because they were sheltering rebels who were “rebelling against Rome.”
"The Roman Empire will never allow any country to hide rebels who rebel against the empire!"
10 Downing Street, London, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.
"The Russians claim that they are crossing the border in pursuit of the insurgents, who they claim have not only been harboring them but even supporting them for decades."
Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, with a livid face, folded his hands, and stared with sallow eyes at Foreign Secretary Kimberly, who had just finished his report.
"What are the facts?"
Prime Minister Archibald Primrose asked instead.
Even though he knew that what was true was not important, what was important?
It was the Russians who had invaded Persia.
"According to the Persian side, they have almost no control over the Kurds and tribal people in the border areas, and they guarantee that they will never, ever, or ever support anyone in rebelling against Russia. After all... for the Persians, what they fear most is that Russia will find a reason to invade them like it is doing now..."
Kimberly's answer was the same as Prime Minister Primrose's speculation. He thought about it and then said.
"Why now? Since for the past few decades, the rebels have been fleeing to Persia for refuge?"
"Because we... the British Empire has become weak! Our concessions on the "Boer Question" made the Russians see our weakness and gave them an opportunity, so they ignored the fact that Persia was our sphere of influence and invaded Persia!"
Although this sentence sounds a bit harsh, Prime Minister Primrose knows that it is also true. The fact is that the British Empire did make concessions in South Africa, but there was no other way but to make concessions. Should the British Empire be allowed to bleed to death for a small country like South Africa?
"In other words, it was our concessions in South Africa that were seen as our weakness by the outside world. So our interests in Persia are not respected?"
Kimberly spread his hands and said:
"That's right, Prime Minister."
Primrose fell into deep thought, and the room suddenly became deathly quiet.
Half a year ago, the death of South African Field Marshal Roberts directly led to the fall of the previous cabinet. After taking over as prime minister, he immediately adapted to the situation and chose peace talks.
Peace talks!
For the British Empire, peace talks were an inevitable choice. On the one hand, the heavy casualties caused dissatisfaction among the people, who were unwilling to bleed for the gold mines in South Africa. On the other hand, the failure on the battlefield and the persistence of the Boers made Britain see no hope for the future. Moreover, even if it won, what would it gain?
Britain's patience has long been worn out.
In this situation, peace talks seemed to be the only option, although they knew that the negotiations would likely deal a blow to the prestige of the British Empire. But who could have thought that everything would happen so quickly? In just half a year, the greedy polar bears could no longer control their ambitions.
What now?
Is the British Empire going to war over Persia and Russia?
As Prime Minister, Primrose did not expect that in just a few months he would have to face such a painful choice again.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister..."
The First Lord of the Admiralty, Frederick Richards, broke the silence.
"I believe that the Foreign Secretary has done his best. Things have come to this point and there is no chance of recovery. If we allow other countries to challenge the world order established by the British Empire, then we will soon have to face challenges from all over the world. Your Excellency, in the past few decades, the prestige of the British Empire has not been strengthened, but has suffered unprecedented shocks amid constant challenges. If we cannot respond decisively and revive the reputation of the British Empire, then soon the British Empire will become a second-rate country that is not worth mentioning."
"Deal decisively?"
Primrose sneered:
"General, are we going to war with Russia?"
"Start a war? Who knows?"
General Richards said.
"But if we don't respond, they will occupy all of Persia, and then the whole world will only see the indifference of the British Empire. At that time, the whole world will only see our weakness!"
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we must intervene."
Kimberly thought for a moment and said:
"In my opinion, we must give a direct answer to this incident, otherwise no country will pay attention to the international order and rules established by Britain. Moreover, the Russian invasion of Persia is more of a test. If we do not respond, their ambitions will inevitably expand. By then, they will inevitably get involved in the whole of Persia."
"War... For now, the most sensible thing for the British Empire to do is to avoid war. After all, we have just ended a war that did not bring any benefits."
The worried look on Primrose's face was impossible and unnecessary to fake. He was genuinely worried about Britain's future.
"The Russians have taken advantage of our vigilance against France and the Ming Dynasty, and have gained many benefits with our acquiescence or even cooperation. But we can never satisfy the greedy appetite of that polar bear. They want everything. They are eager to own everything, and they are not even limited to Persia. They even desire to obtain almost all the colonies of the British Empire. Our concessions will only make their ambitions continue to expand. Now they are finally unwilling to pretend. Persia is just the beginning. Prime Minister, the British Empire can no longer endure it!"
Admiral Richards became more and more excited as he spoke, and he almost slammed the table. The reason why he was so excited was that as an imperialist, he could not ignore others' offense and disregard for the British Empire.
After a pause, Admiral Richards continued:
"Although I am a naval officer, I know very well what will happen if we lose Persia. Not only will we lose the oil that is extremely important to Britain - it will replace coal as the most important fuel in the future, but the Russians will also reach out to India from there! India may face an invasion from Russia at any time! If we do nothing now, then all of us will be sinners of the British Empire!"
Something must be done, otherwise no one knows what will happen next. What is certain is that if they don't do it, the Russians will continue to move south and eventually occupy the whole of India.
"We have to do something..."
Primrose, who knew the importance of India, nodded and said.
"Send our fleet over there. We must let those Russians know our determination. We will never allow them to expand in Persia, occupy Persia, and threaten our interests in India."
After thinking about it, he continued.
"Of course we don't want to go to war with them, but we must make them understand that the British Empire will never compromise or give in. Only in this way can we defend the interests of the British Empire."
The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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