Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 423 Palmerston: What a disgusting troublemaker! (Additional chapter 2)

November, 1856!
The temperature on the streets of London is very low in winter.

A gust of cold wind blew, and pedestrians on the street tightened their scarves.

As if this could bring them a little warmth.

The beggar, wearing only a thin shirt, was shivering in the cold wind and prayed to passers-by in a pleading voice.

"Sir, Miss, please be kind, I haven't eaten for several days..."

"Dear sir, would you please be kind enough to give me a little food? May God bless you."

"..."

There is no shortage of beggars on the streets of London these days.

Because, as the Industrial Revolution gradually began, the average life expectancy of the British people not only did not increase, but instead continued to decline.

According to statistics, the average life expectancy of British workers during the Victorian era was only about 30 years old, even lower than that of the Qing Dynasty during the same period.

No matter how bad the Qing Dynasty was, it did not let the average life expectancy of the people under its rule drop to thirty years old.

I can only say that Britain is even more inhumane than our Qing Dynasty!

Under the UK's current Child Labour Act, only children over the age of nine can work in factories in exchange for food.

As for those under nine years old, since they cannot work in factories, they can only beg on the streets.

And this is why there are so many beggars on the streets of Britain.

After his parents died, he could not work in a factory to burn himself for the happy life of the factory owner, so naturally he could only beg.

The streets are filled with the sound of carriages and horses.

The black sewage stuck to the wheels and spread all the way as they rolled.

Palmerston sat in the carriage, looking out the window at the street, his brows furrowed.

But he was not looking at the beggars praying in the cold wind on the street.

Instead, he was thinking about the war situation in Crimea!

The latest news from Crimea is that the new weapons purchased by Tsarist Russia from China have arrived in Crimea.

After obtaining the arms, the Russian army immediately launched a counterattack against the British and French forces.

The coalition forces were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses.

The battle line, which was about to advance to Kerch, was pushed back all the way to Yalta by the Russian army.

It’s not far from Sevastopol.

The coalition forces at the front had no choice but to ask for help from the rear.

Now, what Palmerston is considering is whether he should continue to increase his stake in Crimea.

The answer is yes!

Add it!

Must add!
When has the British Empire ever suffered such an injustice as being pushed back by the Slavs? !
Palmerston's carriage slowly moved outside the House of Representatives.

The carriage stopped and the guard at the House of Representatives came forward and opened the door for Palmerston.

Palmerston stepped down from the carriage, holding his hat in one hand and his cane in the other.

As soon as he got off the carriage, a group of newspaper reporters who had been waiting in front of the parliament building came forward and started asking questions.

"Mr. Prime Minister, what do you think of the war in Crimea?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, will the defeat of the coalition forces in Feodosia affect the Empire's decision on the situation in Crimea?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, when will the Crimean War end?"

"Your Excellency, the French Emperor has expressed his desire to end the Crimean War through diplomatic means as soon as possible. What is the attitude of the British side?"

"..."

Listening to the noise all around him, Palmerston stopped walking into the parliament house.

He turned around and said to everyone.

"No matter what the French say, the Crimean War is far from over."

"The British Empire will crush all enemies that dare to stand in its way!" "The brave Allied soldiers will continue to advance and capture Kerch, Rostov, and Preshov..."

"Even Moscow and St. Petersburg!"

"The war will not end until the barbaric Slavs beg for mercy from us!"

"Long live Great Britain!"

Palmerston made a very strong public statement.

He had his own ideas about the Crimean War.

He wanted to weaken Tsarist Russia's power in the Middle East as much as possible, thereby ensuring that Britain's interests in the Middle East were not harmed.

When Palmerston said this, the reporters interviewing around him couldn't help but cheer.

"Long live the British Empire!"

"Long live Her Majesty the Queen!"

"..."

The reason is simple: Palmerston's tough statement was very much in line with the appetite of the British people, whose national self-confidence had unprecedentedly expanded after entering the Victorian era.

After saying this, Palmerston walked towards the House of Representatives without looking back.

After entering the House, Palmerston walked to the front under the gaze of the members.

The walking stick in his hand slammed heavily on the wooden floor, making a dull thud.

After drawing all eyes to himself, Palmerston spoke.

"Gentlemen, the Crimean War is raging."

"The soldiers on the front line are fighting for victory. It's time for us to give them some support as much as we can."

Palmerston's words ignited the atmosphere in the House of Commons.

Amid the cheers of countless people, Palmerston successfully passed the new conscription bill.

Prepare to send more troops to Crimea.

After doing this, Palmerston left the House and drove to see the Queen.

Just now, a message came from Buckingham Palace that the Queen summoned him for an audience.

The carriages set off towards Buckingham Palace.

Palmerston sat in the car, but his expression was not as high-spirited as he had just appeared.

Because the current situation in Crimea is not as smooth as he appears.

On the contrary, it's a bit embarrassing!

After obtaining the arms from the Tang Dynasty, the Tsarist Russian army demonstrated quite good combat effectiveness.

The coalition forces actually lost miserably this time!
Otherwise, he would not have pushed a new conscription bill in the House of Representatives.

It was impossible for Tsarist Russia to retake Sevastopol.

However, it was not easy for the British and French forces to push back the counterattacking Russian army.

The reason is simple: machine guns are simply too advantageous in defensive operations.

Well, the reason why the Anglo-French coalition forces were pushed back by Tsarist Russia was because they were careless.

Thinking that they had the upper hand and that the Tsarist Russia would not dare to fight back, they did not put any effort into using the miniature machine guns to build a defense line.

As a result, loopholes appeared in the defense line, which was broken by the Tsarist Russian army.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible for the coalition forces to be pushed back so far by the Tsarist Russian army at once.

Palmerston understood that if Britain wanted to achieve the final victory in the Crimean War, it had to continue to recruit troops from Crimea.

The most crucial thing is to find a way to cut off the Tang Dynasty’s arms sales to Tsarist Russia.

Otherwise, there will probably be more trouble in Crimea!
Thinking of this, Palmerston couldn't help rubbing his brows.

The Tang Dynasty is really a troublemaker!
If it weren't for the Tang Dynasty, Britain's progress in the Crimean War would certainly have been much easier than it was now.

(End of this chapter)