Chapter 561: British Old Tradition (Fifth Update, Please Subscribe)
"Los Angeles massacre! Overseas Chinese were brutally massacred!"
This is a headline in the newspaper, "20 compatriots brutally killed by thugs", this is another headline in the newspaper, and headlines like this flooded the newspaper.
In Ming Dynasty, almost all newspapers tried to report the tragedy that happened yesterday with big headlines. While mourning the misfortune of their compatriots, there was more anger in the text!
The anger is hard to conceal!
How can we sit idly by and watch our compatriots being massacred?
Just when millions of Ming Dynasty citizens were shouting angrily for revenge, at this moment in Linhai Bay, the "Alliance" ironclad ship, this "Ocean" class ironclad ship built by France was the most powerful warship of the Ming Navy. It was a symbol of the friendship between Ming and France. After returning to China for modification, it became the flagship of the Ming Pacific Fleet.
After the modification, the "Alliance" was not only equipped with Krupp naval guns, but its main guns were also more powerful - 4 280mm main guns, and the secondary guns were 4 210mm guns and 7 150mm guns.
Although its hull was made of wood and covered with iron armor, the thickest part of the armor was 203 mm and the powerful artillery still gave it extremely strong combat capability. The "Alliance" could even be called the most powerful battleship in the Pacific.
Today, it is being loaded with supplies. Sailors line up to load fresh meat into the cold storage, flour, rice, vegetables and fruits into the food storage, and most importantly, shells into the ammunition compartment. A steam locomotive spewing smoke and a train of carriages are parked on the side, and the carriages are filled with huge 280mm shells. The ship's crane is hoisting 240-kilogram shells into the air one by one, and then slowly lowering them through the decks and loading them into the ammunition compartment deep below the waterline.
After several hours of work, the loading work at the dock was finally about to be completed, and the officer supervising the loading of ammunition shouted.
“The last one!”
An officer on the deck waved a finger and responded.
“The last one!”
The crane then delivered the last black 280mm shell into the ammunition compartment, and the orderly soldiers who were busy at the dock began to disperse, and the steam locomotive slowly moved backwards.
Standing on the bridge of the "Alliance", Meng Qingen gazed at the sailors who were making final preparations for departure. He looked towards the two ironclad ships, the "Tianlong" and the "Qinglong", on the other side of the port. They were also preparing for departure.
Not far away, there was the coal carrier "Yingrui", and he was also incorporated into the fleet.
"Sir, the fleet is ready!"
"Let's go!"
When issuing this order, Meng Qingen sighed helplessly.
"These are truly troubled times!"
When he sighed, he was filled with more anger in his heart. The incident in Los Angeles made him understand a truth.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, if the Ming Dynasty cannot use force to protect its overseas Chinese, then the Chinese overseas Chinese will only face the fate of being slaughtered, abused, and beaten!
If you want to change all this, you must use cannons to speak!
Just as the task force led by the "Alliance" was sailing out of Linhai Port, a businessman of Hispanic appearance looked at the fleet sailing out of the harbor nonchalantly, and then walked nonchalantly on the street. After a while, he walked to the nearby telegraph office and wrote a simple message on the telegram paper to the waiter. The girl inside looked at the receiving address, which was a company in Santiago, Brazil. It was just a simple business telegram.
Soon, the telegram was sent out. A few hours later, the telegraph machine of the Atlantic Cable Company in London received a telegram. Soon the postman delivered the telegram from Brazil to the receiving address. The telegram was finally sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The telegram was immediately sent up layer by layer and finally handed to the Foreign Secretary Granville George Leveson-Gower. After receiving the telegram, he immediately said with surprise.
"Oh my God, this is just a blessing from God, I just knew, I knew, this will definitely work out!"
Then Granville gave another instruction to the secretary.
"Quick, prepare the car, go to Downing Street!"
Prepare a car, and the car must be a horse-drawn carriage. After all, Crown Prince Edward's BMW is still floating on the ship in the Atlantic.
The carriage was rumbling along the streets of London. Granville, sitting in the carriage, squinted his eyes as if he was thinking about something. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at his secretary John and asked.
"How do you think we should deal with this matter?"
"support!"
As the First Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, John is the legendary "Imperial Civil Servant". Compared with the changing ministers, they are the real policy makers of the British Empire.
"Now that the Ming Dynasty has dispatched their fleet, we must make appropriate statements to encourage them to take corresponding actions against the United States. It would be best if we could encourage them to bombard Los Angeles, which would further deteriorate their relationship with the United States. I believe that when their naval guns fire the first shell, the American continent will no longer be peaceful. After all, the United States... as an Anglo-Saxon country, they are also dignified!"
John said with a smug smile on his lips.
"Isn't this what we hoped to see? It's just that we didn't expect it to happen so soon!"
“What a pity!”
Prime Minister Gladstone sighed helplessly.
"If we had known that American thugs would kill Chinese people, we would not have sold British Columbia to the Chinese!"
Although everyone knew that the sale of British Columbia was intended to facilitate the confrontation between Ming and the United States, accusations against the Prime Minister never stopped in London's political circles and in newspapers, even though it would not have any impact on his position as Prime Minister.
But the sarcasm from the public still made him very annoyed.
After all, it was he who personally sold the British Columbia colony to the Ming Empire. Of course, the British Empire's reward was also generous - airship!
Whether it is an airship or an armored vehicle, it is what Britain needs.
It's all worth it.
But this kind of worthiness, in the face of the "Los Angeles Massacre", has been questioned. The American mob took the initiative to provoke the Ming Dynasty, which means that the land was sold in vain!
British Columbia...Gladstone couldn't help feeling a little depressed. Where are the stones of Stonehenge?
"Of course it is necessary, Mr. Prime Minister. The Ming Dynasty is now sending out their fleet. Once the two sides come to blows, the United States, a country that believes there is no longer any threat of war after the Civil War, will inevitably increase its military spending. They will expand their weak and insignificant army and navy. In response, the Ming Dynasty will also increase its garrison in British Columbia and send a fleet there."
With a smile on his face, Granville laughed.
"Mr. Prime Minister, just as we planned, the Ming Empire and the United States are now heading towards confrontation according to our plan. When the time is right in the future, this confrontation will evolve into a war!"
Granville's tone was relaxed and somewhat proud. Everything was going as smoothly as they had planned, and even smoother than they had imagined.
“By that time, all problems will be solved.”
"So, what do we need to do now?"
In response to the Prime Minister's inquiry, Granville, who had already received the plan from his secretary, replied.
"We don't need to do too much. We just need to light the fire and add fuel to the flames. In other words, we need to make the Ming Empire believe that even if they fire at the United States, Britain will not intervene. Only then will they fire without scruples."
Fanning the flames is a traditional British trick, and it is also what they are best at.
"Of course, Prime Minister, as a civilized country, the British Empire must stand up and condemn the atrocities, and we must also call for this issue to be resolved within the framework of the law! In short, we want to tell the world that this is a problem between the Daimyo and the United States, and has nothing to do with other countries!"
Why emphasize this point?
It is just to tell the Ming Dynasty - go ahead and fight, go fight the United States with confidence.
No matter how you beat the United States, Britain will not intervene.
"Even if their two countries declare war on each other, will we not intervene?"
Prime Minister Gladstone frowned.
"If the Ming Dynasty uses this opportunity to expand in the United States, it may create a situation that is not favorable to us."
"Of course if something like this happens, we will certainly intervene. At that time, we can mediate in the middle and end this war!"
Is it an old British tradition to mediate wars?
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
