Chapter 751 Britain starts playing cards (third update, please subscribe)
How to get Britain out?
In fact, Britain had lost the initiative ever since the Ming Empire's army entered Tokyo with a tough attitude and the envoys of France, Russia and Austria-Hungary issued declarations of support for the Ming Empire in a tough manner.
In fact, this is also why Parkes certainly hoped to prevent the Ming army from entering, but he had no choice, not because of his strength, but because he could not make a decision in the first place.
For front-line diplomats, they have no autonomy at all.
This is also the reason why Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army to fight.
After all, in this era, communications seemed to have made progress, but wireless telegraphy was still top secret of the Ming Dynasty, and wired telegraphs had not yet spread all over the world. As a result, it was impossible for diplomats at the front to quickly inform the headquarters in the rear of the current situation, and the latest instructions from the headquarters could not be quickly informed of the front. It was the information lag that not only made many simple problems extremely difficult, but also lost the initiative.
Just like Tokyo today, with the entry of the Ming army, the initiative is completely in the hands of the Ming.
On the day Emperor Zhu arrived in Tokyo, an urgent telegram was sent from Tokyo via an submarine telegraph line through Haizhou, Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore, India and the Suez Canal to the British mainland.
Just a few hours later, in the Prime Minister's office at 11 Downing Street, Benjamin Disraeli, the British Prime Minister who had been vigorously promoting colonial expansion since taking office, was sitting together with the First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Alexander Milne and the Foreign Secretary Edward Henry Stanley with a serious expression. They were discussing only one topic - the Tokyo Crisis.
"Gentlemen, you have learned what happened there. Now how should we deal with this matter?"
In response to the Prime Minister's question, Stanley answered directly.
"Your Excellency, the 'Tokyo Crisis' is no longer just a problem between us, the United States, and the Ming Dynasty. It is the first time that we have truly faced the threat of the 'Four Emperors Alliance'. Your Excellency, in the past, we had various speculations about the 'Four Emperors Alliance'. We once suspected that the Four Emperors must have their own ulterior motives and that cooperation between them could not last long. But now it seems that we are so naive!"
Stanley's face was full of bitter smile.
"Now we can see that they are moving in unison. When the Ming Empire was expanding in Japan, France, Russia, and Austria all stood on the side of the Ming Empire. If we declare war on the Ming Empire or have a conflict with it because of the Tokyo incident, then..."
He turned his gaze to the Navy Minister standing beside him.
"Admiral, if a war breaks out, do you think we can defeat them?"
In response to the Foreign Secretary's question, Sir Alexander Milne spoke in a helpless tone.
"In the past few years, Ming, France, Russia, and Austria have all been constantly strengthening their naval armaments. Before the Four Emperors' Alliance, our navy was equal to the sum of the second and third naval powers. But now, we need to face four empires. In addition to France and Ming constantly strengthening their naval armaments, Russia has built four "Catherine II" class, which is an improved version of the "Nanhua class" battleships, with a larger tonnage and thicker armor. Austria hopes to introduce Ming's "Linhai class armored ships". In short, the maritime forces we face are no longer a challenge, but will surpass us in all aspects in the next few years!"
After giving such an answer, Alexander Milne had a bitter expression. As the Secretary of the Navy, as soon as he came to power, he determined the urgent need for trade protection during the war based on the experience of the "Civil War" - the incident in which the American warships intercepted the British cruise ship "Trent". He required the construction of new cruisers to protect British merchant ships during the war.
However, the emergence of the "Four Emperors Alliance" changed everything.
"In the past, the Royal Navy considered how to defend the sea transport lines during wartime, but now, the most pressing issue facing the Royal Navy is how to defeat the challenges from the four countries in a decisive battle at sea! It can be said that the challenges facing the Royal Navy now are unprecedented, even far exceeding those in the Napoleonic era."
Taking a deep breath, Alexander Milne frowned.
"As we all know, in the past few years, relying on its advantages in industrial technology, the Ming Dynasty has built a powerful naval fleet. Their warships are more reasonably designed, more powerful, and have stronger firepower. Now they have also spread their technology to France, Russia, and Austria. This kind of threat is something we have never faced before."
The answer from the Secretary of the Admiralty made Benjamin a little confused. When had the British Empire ever been in such an embarrassing situation?
Let’s fight.
What needs to be considered is not just the Ming Dynasty, but the extremely powerful "Four Emperors Alliance".
Let’s not fight. Is the British Empire just going to give in?
"Sir, I think the most important issue for Britain right now is not Japan at all."
Facing the silent prime minister, Stanley spoke directly.
"Now we all see the threat that the Four Emperors' Alliance poses to the British Empire. This threat does not exist only on paper as in the past, but is in reality. It can be said that to some extent, the Tokyo Crisis is not a bad thing for Britain. At least it fully exposes our enemies, and they have formed a close alliance. A close alliance that will pose a threat to Britain."
"Indeed, after the Tokyo incident, the Four Emperors' Alliance has become the most pressing issue facing the Empire. If we cannot establish a new alliance or disintegrate this alliance, it will inevitably become the biggest obstacle to the Empire's global interests. What we need to do now is to disintegrate their alliance while establishing an alliance belonging to Britain."
For Benjamin, who has been vigorously pursuing a policy of foreign aggression and colonial expansion since he became prime minister, he clearly saw the threat posed by the "Four Emperors' Alliance" to the British colonial empire. In the past, this threat was potential, but now this threat has been put on the table.
British politicians have always been extremely sensitive to external threats. Since the establishment of the "Four Emperors' Alliance", Britain has been trying to establish an alliance against the "Four Emperors' Alliance", but with little success.
This is due to many reasons. On the one hand, the UK has not fully realized the threat of this alliance to the UK, and on the other hand, the UK has not been able to offer a suitable price. After all, the so-called "alliance" seems to be based on friendship, but in essence it is based on interests. The alliance itself has a price.
When the UK is unable to offer a suitable price, naturally no country will be willing to join in.
"Disintegrating this alliance is the most important thing right now."
The Prime Minister's decision made Stanley frown.
"Their alliance is based on closely linked interests. How can we break them up, Prime Minister?"
Facing Stanley's inquiry, Benjamin said after a while.
"Austria-Hungary!"
(End of this chapter)
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