Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 445: Bahadur Shah II Wants to Become the Great Khan (8.2K)

As the negotiations in the capital city progressed, the parties wrangled back and forth, and the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty were sent to mainland Europe via telegram.

Unlike laying cross-sea cables, the cost is extremely high and the technical requirements are relatively high.

The costs and risks of laying telegraph lines over land were manageable.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty has built a telegraph network connecting all state capitals and provincial capitals across the country.

When the British sent the message, they first borrowed the Tang Dynasty's telegraph to send the message from the capital to Kunming, Yunnan.

Afterwards, it was sent to Bangladesh and India via Burma, and then transferred to Britain from India.

Well, at this time, Burma also received telegrams.

In fact, at the beginning, the King of Burma did not agree to the establishment of the telegraph network because he did not want to pay for it and was also afraid that foreign forces would use it to infiltrate Myanmar.

But on this matter, the Tang Dynasty and Britain reached a rare consensus.

The Tang Dynasty and Britain jointly put pressure on Myanmar. The Tang army held military exercises and parades on the Yunnan border, and the British fleet sailed off the coast of Myanmar, eventually opening up the telegraph network in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

As for the telegraph connecting India and Europe, it had already been completed by then.

Historically, a major uprising broke out in India in mid-May. By early June, London had received the news and began to make decisions to prepare to suppress the rebellion.

If the telegraph connecting Europe and India had not been built, London would not have been able to receive the news so quickly.

Even if I haven't mastered all of it, I should have mastered most of it.

At most, some parts still require human communication!
Tsarist Russia also used the Tang Dynasty's telegraph network to send messages to Europe via Myanmar and India.

How to say it, although India is now British territory.

But Tsarist Russia also frequently infiltrated India through Central Asia.

I can’t say how much more, but it is still possible to send a message through India’s telegraph network.

……

London!

Buckingham Palace!

Queen Victoria of England is discussing matters with Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I heard that an uprising broke out in India. Is this true?"

Queen Victoria's face, which used to be full of confidence and sharpness, now showed a rare look of worry.

Having had a smooth life, she rarely felt passive.

The reason is simple: India is so important to Britain!

Palmerston nodded and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is unfortunate news, but it is true."

"Foolish Indians chose to betray Britain and become Britain's enemy!"

Victoria slowly exhaled a breath, her plump chest rising and falling slightly, and then she asked.

"So, Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, how do you think Britain should deal with the Crimean War next?"

Victoria knew that the Indian rebellion must be suppressed.

But the question is, what about Crimea?
As Britain, France and Tsarist Russia continued to increase their investments in Crimea, most of Britain's elite troops are now gathered in Crimea.

It is even a bit exaggerated to say that Britain transferred almost all of its elite troops to Crimea to participate in the war.

Now that something is happening in India, even if Britain wants to send troops to quell the rebellion, it cannot spare any troops!

Unless, there is a ceasefire in Crimea!
Palmerston heard this and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I don't think there is a need for an armistice or peace talks in Crimea."

“We just have to try to convince the French to invest more in Crimea.”

"I think Napoleon III will definitely not refuse Britain's request!"

"As long as France can increase its investment in Crimea, Britain can withdraw troops from Crimea to suppress the Indian rebellion."

The British colonized India for so many years, so they naturally know how lame the Indians are.

Therefore, Palmerston did not take the Indian rebellion too seriously.

In his opinion, Britain only needed to send a few elite infantry regiments to successfully suppress the Indian rebellion.

Also, although Britain wanted to suppress the Indian rebellion, it still did not want to withdraw from Crimea.

Because they did not want to see Tsarist Russia completely take the initiative in the Middle East and the Black Sea.

Therefore, we have no choice but to ask France to do more!
As for whether France is willing?
The global hegemon, the British Empire, didn't care about this.

Having said this, Palmerston continued.

"Also, the British troops stationed in the Straits Settlements can be deployed nearby to suppress the rebellion."

Upon hearing this, the queen nodded slightly, and then spoke in a firm and unquestionable tone.

"Okay, let's do it!"

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, please make arrangements to send troops to quell the Indian rebellion as soon as possible."

"India, no mistakes are allowed!"

Palmerston nodded.

……

Paris!

Napoleon III received news from London.

"What? The British still want us to send more troops to Crimea?"

"Are these Brits crazy?!"

Looking at the foreign minister in front of him, Napoleon said very unhappily.

As for Crimea, he actually wanted a ceasefire a long time ago.

It was just that Britain kept putting pressure on the peace talks with Tsarist Russia, so they could not go on.

Now, seeing the rebellion in India, Britain has to withdraw to quell the rebellion, and it is almost impossible to continue fighting in Crimea.

Napoleon III thought he could negotiate peace immediately and extricate himself from the quagmire of Crimea.

Unexpectedly, the British are real dogs. When they couldn't continue the fight, they actually wanted France to continue to increase its stake in Crimea and fight to the death with Tsarist Russia for the interests of Britain!

Damn, this is simply a beast!

French Foreign Minister Charles heard this and spoke.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this may be an opportunity for peace talks."

"Now, the British can no longer fight in Crimea, and Tsarist Russia is probably about to collapse. If France sends a signal that it wants to negotiate with Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Russia will most likely not refuse."

"Maybe there will be a ceasefire in Crimea!"

To be honest, the main reason why France participated in the Crimean War was to break free from the restrictions of the Holy Alliance.

However, they did not want to weaken Tsarist Russia excessively, so that Britain would become the only superpower in the Near East.

Under the current situation, peace talks are the best option for France.

Anyway, France has achieved its goal of getting rid of the restrictions of the Holy Alliance. As for the final outcome of the Crimean War, it has little to do with France.

On the contrary, it was Britain that cared more about the outcome of the Crimean War.

Because, as the global hegemon, Britain could not accept the consequences of losing the war.

If Britain fails in Crimea, other countries will see its weakness.

In this case, it will not be so easy for Britain to maintain its global hegemony.

It’s not easy to be the global hegemon!
Napoleon III pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"How about this, Charles, you prepare to go to Vienna and ask Olli to mediate the Crimean War."

"Also, we should go to Berlin and try to get Prussia to stand on our side and put pressure on Britain together."

Historically, it was Austria that mediated the Crimean War.

As for Prussia, it was actually forced into the negotiations by Tsarist Russia.

Because the situation faced by Tsarist Russia in the diplomatic arena was too passive, they wanted Prussia to speak for them, so they forced Prussia to join.

The entry of France and La Prussia was also intended not to weaken Tsarist Russia too much.

In addition, there is also the intention of increasing Prussia's international influence, supporting the fight between Prussia and Austria, and thereby increasing France's voice in Europe.

……

Red Fort, Delhi, India.

Xiang Yuquan walked along the cobblestone path.

On both sides of the road, there are green trees, flowers and plants, and the scenery is exquisite and beautiful.

An Indian soldier wearing a turban and carrying a musket.

However, when these Indian soldiers were walking on patrol, they were obviously loose and slack, and did not have the sharpness of elite soldiers.

Leading the way for him was a personal attendant of the Indian emperor named Ali.

According to Xiang Yuquan's understanding, he was the chief eunuch beside the emperor.

Although it may not be accurate, it should be roughly the same!

"Mr. Xiang, please come this way. His Majesty the Emperor and the leaders of the rebels are waiting for you in the palace."

Ali said with a flattering smile on his face.

Today, India is facing tremendous pressure as it launches an uprising to break free from British colonial rule.

They urgently need external support to share the pressure on themselves.

Under such circumstances, facing Xiang Yuquan, the envoy from the Tang Dynasty, his attitude would naturally be very correct.

Xiang Yuquan also smiled warmly and answered in English.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, Your Excellency."

The British colonized India for such a long time that English has basically become the common language among the top leaders in India.

Therefore, when Xiang Yuquan communicated with them, he naturally used English.

However, the Indians’ English accents were so obvious that Xiang Yuquan felt a headache.

Soon, Xiang Yuquan was taken to a palace by Ali.

The contemporary Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, sits in the center.

Beside him were Prince Mirza, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army, Bahd Khan, and several leaders of the rebel army who had first led the uprising, including Andar, Amir, etc.

The Indian side put a lot of thought into receiving the Tang envoys.

Xiang Yuquan stood in the center of the hall and bowed slightly.

"Xiang Yuquan, the Tang Dynasty's special envoy, greets the Khan!"

Although Bahadur Shah II was the emperor of the Mughal Empire, it was not wrong for Xiang Yuquan to call him the Great Khan.

How to say it, the Mughal Empire can actually be called the Mongol Empire.

Babur, the founding emperor of the Mughal Empire, was a descendant of Timur, the Great Khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

Yes, that’s Timur, who was born in the same period as Zhu Di and was preparing to march eastward to attack the Ming Dynasty, but died of illness on the way.

From the Mongolian perspective, it would definitely not be wrong for Xiang Yuquan to call Bahadur Shah Khan.

Well, the reason why he is not called the emperor is mainly because according to the traditional Chinese thinking, all under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects, and there can only be one emperor in the world.

That is the Emperor of Tang Dynasty!
In any case, it is impossible to call Bahadur Shah an emperor. Calling him Khan is already the limit.

Bahadur Shah heard this, nodded slightly, and spoke very politely.

"The messenger is polite!"

"I'd like to ask the envoy to convey my greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

Bahadur Shah II had no objection to the Tang envoy calling him Great Khan.

Because he knew that if he insisted on calling himself emperor in front of the Tang envoy, he would not be able to get support from the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty might even kill him!

Chinese people attach great importance to reputation!
He bowed to Yuquan and said hello.

"I understand, my lord!"

Upon seeing this, Bahadur Shah looked expectantly in his eyes and went straight to the point.

"I wonder why your Excellency has come to Delhi this time?"

Seeing this, Xiang Yuquan didn't waste any more words and spoke directly.

"In reply to the Khan, I am here on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor to discuss the sale of arms with the Khan."

"The Khan led the army in uprising and led the Indian people to resist the British colonization. This is a great cause. Now is probably the time when they are short of weapons and ammunition."

"And our Tang Dynasty is willing to provide the Khan with a batch of weapons to help your country resist the British colonial rule."

Bahadur Shah was a little excited when he heard this and nodded quickly.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"I'd like to ask you to convey my gratitude to His Majesty the Emperor."

Although the anti-colonial uprising in India is in full swing, the rebels are spreading everywhere, constantly attacking cities and strongholds, and at one point they were suppressing the colonial army.

The situation is very good!
But in Bahadur Shah's view, the situation they faced was far from as good as they had imagined.

Because the British army they are facing now is not the main force of the British army at all.

The main elite forces of the British army had been withdrawn to Crimea long before the uprising broke out!

To put it bluntly, the reason why the Indian uprising is progressing so smoothly today is that they took advantage of the absence of the main force of the British army and caught the British off guard.

Once the British react and transfer their elite troops to Crimea to suppress the uprising, the outcome will be hard to predict.

Bahadur Shah was not optimistic about the outcome of the war.

This is also the reason why he was unwilling to stand up and express his support for the rebels when the uprising just started.

However, now that he had been forced to join the rebel army, all Bahadur Shah could hope for was that the rebels would achieve final victory.

If the rebels could win and India could successfully gain independence, then as the rebels' poster boy, even if he had no real power, his life would probably not be bad.

However, if the rebels were defeated, the consequences would be serious.

Bahadur Shah couldn't imagine how he would be treated if he was defeated and fell into the hands of the British!
Such a result would be too tragic!
However, given the current situation of the rebel army, it is definitely too late to train troops.

If Bahadur Shah wanted to enhance the fighting power of the rebels, then obtaining a batch of advanced weapons would definitely be the simplest and fastest way.

Therefore, it is no wonder that Bahadur Shah was very enthusiastic towards Xiang Yuquan.

Xiang Yuquan said with a smile.

"The Tang Emperor is not only the emperor of the Han people, but also the emperor of the Mongolians."

"There are also many Mongolian people living under the rule of our Tang Dynasty. They are also the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor."

"Now that our Mongolian compatriots living in India want to resist colonial rule and fight for their independence, it is only natural for our Tang Dynasty to provide you with some help within our capacity."

Bahadur Shah's face became even happier when he heard this.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"The Tang Dynasty is indeed worthy of being called the Celestial Empire. It truly has the aura of a Celestial Empire!"

Although Xiang Yuquan's words implied that his Mughal Empire should also be under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, it didn't matter!
Bahadur Shah had been under house arrest by the British for such a long time and had been humiliated by them many times. He no longer cared about his face.

As long as the arms can be obtained, let alone the fact that the Tang Dynasty is just taking advantage of him verbally, even if they really want him to surrender and even call themselves the Khan, Bahadur Shah will not have any hesitation.

Bahadur Shah even wished for it.

In his opinion, submitting to the Tang Dynasty is better than being hanged by the British after being defeated!
Suddenly, Bahadur Shah II's eyes lit up and he asked.

"I wonder if the Tang Dynasty still wants vassal states?"

"If the Mughal Empire is willing to be a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, can the Tang Dynasty send troops to help the Mughal Empire fight against Britain?"

Bahadur Shah is now trying his best to get support.

When Xiang Yuquan heard this, he couldn't hide the surprise on his face.

My goodness, he originally came here just to sell arms, but why does it seem like he is going to get some unexpected gains?

If he could really turn the Mughal Empire into a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, then this would be a truly great achievement!
However, in the end, Xiang Yuquan was not overwhelmed by the surprise.

He did not make any promise to Bahadur Shah II, but just spoke.

"Great Khan, this matter needs to be reported to the court."

"As an outsider with little influence, I dare not take charge of such an important matter."

Bahadur Shah was obviously disappointed when he heard this, but he finally spoke.

"Your Excellency is right."

"In that case, let's talk about the arms trade first!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yuquan submitted a quotation to Bahadur Shah without hesitation.

Bahadur Shah took the quotation sheet and started reading it.

Looking at the words and contents on the quotation, Bahadur Shah couldn't help but frown.

[Military trade single product quotation:]

[Zhaowu Year 45 Breech-Loading Rifle: Price per piece: silver dollars. ]

[Zhaowu Year 500 Rotary Machine Gun: Single gun price 0.2 silver dollars (matching metal bullet price silver dollars per round)]

[75mm infantry gun: 700 silver dollars per gun (10 silver dollars per shell)]

[100mm field gun: 1000 silver dollars per gun (15 silver dollars per shell)]

[120mm howitzer: 1500 silver dollars per gun (20 silver dollars per shell)]

[150mm howitzer: 2000 silver dollars per gun (30 silver dollars per shell)]

In addition to these guns and cannons, there are also rockets, grenades, land mines, sea mines, helmets, bayonets and other weapons.

Of course, this price is only the price at which the Tang Dynasty sells its weapons to other countries. The cost of the arsenal itself is only about one-fifth of the selling price.

Well, it can be seen how huge the interests are in the military trade.

Over the years, Li Yi has rarely allocated special support funds to Datang's arsenal.

The development and expansion of the Tang Dynasty Arsenal was almost entirely driven by the profits brought by military trade.

Among them, Britain, France and Tsarist Russia were the biggest contributors, and Japan also made a lot of contributions to the Tang Dynasty.

The new army of the Tokugawa shogunate now uses all Tang weapons and equipment, and even many officers are recruited from retired Tang army soldiers.

Looking at the military trade quotation sheet from the Tang Dynasty, Bahadur Shah II had a complicated expression, but before he could speak, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army, Bahd Khan, could not help but speak.

"Your Excellency the Envoy, is this offer too high?"

Today, there are actually quite a few countries around the world that have the ability to produce breech-loading weapons, including Britain, France, Prussia, and even the United States.

However, the only country capable of exporting breech-loading weapons on a large scale is the Tang Dynasty.

There is only one such store, no other!

To put it bluntly, this is actually a monopoly product.

Since it is a monopoly, the price must not be low, and it is normal for the profit margin to reach several hundred percentage points.

Xiang Yuquan just shook his head.

"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, you get what you pay for. The weapons of the Tang Dynasty are expensive for a reason."

"I might as well tell you that the price we offer you is the same as the price we offer to Britain, France and other countries."

"Moreover, if you take this price directly, you can get the spot goods in the shortest possible time."

"But if Yingfa wants spot goods, he has to pay more!"

Is India rich?
The answer is yes!

Very rich!
India at this time had the second largest population in the world, second only to the Tang Dynasty. It had vast tracts of fertile land and minerals, and its production of gold and silver was also very high.

To put it bluntly, if India is not rich enough, how can Britain maintain its global hegemony by exploiting India?
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty felt no psychological pressure at all when it came to slaughtering India.

Moreover, this is not actually a big cut. At least the offer made by the Tang Dynasty to India was lower than that made to Britain, France and Tsarist Russia.

Well, in many things, military trade not only represents business, but more importantly, it represents political attitudes.

Prices will naturally fluctuate!

Bahadur Shah heard this and asked again.

"If the Mughal Empire becomes a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, I wonder if the price of arms can be reduced?"

As far as Bahadur Shah knew, the arms prices offered by the Tang Dynasty to its own vassal states were lower.

When Xiang Yuquan heard this, his face twitched and he was in trouble again.

In this matter, he really has no say!
"Great Khan, matters concerning the vassal states must be decided by the imperial court."

"However, if your country can become a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, you can indeed enjoy a certain percentage of preferential treatment in military trade."

Take Japan as an example. The price offered by the Japanese shogunate's new army to purchase Tang Dynasty weapons was 15% lower than that offered by Britain, France and Tsarist Russia.

The Tang Dynasty gave a 15% discount to its vassal states!
Bahadur Shah heard this and nodded thoughtfully.

Xiang Yuquan bowed and took his leave, preparing to report the matter to the court.

……

Tsarist Russia, St. Petersburg!
Winter Palace!

Alexander II held a telegram sent from the Far East in his hand, his face gloomy.

This telegram was sent back by Gorchakov.

According to what Gorchakov said in the telegram, the Tang Dynasty was willing to agree to an alliance, but demanded that Russia give up Lake Baikal in exchange for the alliance.

Moreover, if Tsarist Russia did not agree to this military trade, the Tang Dynasty threatened to cut off military trade with Tsarist Russia.

"Damn it!"

Alexander transformed into a desktop cleaning master and angrily swept away everything on the desktop.

"These greedy yellow monkeys all deserve to die!"

"I must kill them all!"

"They must pay the price for their arrogance today!"

In the past, it was always Tsarist Russia that forced other countries to cede territory and pay compensation. When was there a time when Russia was forced to cede territory by other countries?
If it were some other place, it would be fine. There are plenty of wastelands in Siberia, so it wouldn't be a pity to give some away.

But Lake Baikal, that’s really not possible!
Once Lake Baikal is lost, the entire Siberia will be lost.

The consequence is really too serious!

Once Siberia is lost, it will mean that most of the achievements of Tsarist Russia's eastward expansion since the 16th century will be lost.

This is something that the Tsarist Russian high-level officials absolutely cannot accept!
"Everyone, tell me, how should we respond to the request from the Tang Kingdom?"

After venting his anger, Alexander II gradually calmed down and asked the ministers in front of him.

Including a series of senior officials such as Finance Minister Tovasiv, Navy Commander Alexi, Army Commander Menshikov, Minister of Industry and Commerce Igor, and State Minister Maxim.

After Alexander finished speaking, Menshikov was the first to speak.

"Your Majesty, I think we absolutely cannot agree to the Tang people's request!"

“The Empire cannot lose Lake Baikal any more than Europe can lose Jerusalem.”

"If the Empire loses Lake Baikal, it means we will lose Siberia. It also means that the double-headed eagle policy that the Empire has pursued for hundreds of years will be completely declared a failure."

"That means that the achievements of the empire's hundreds of years of eastward expansion will be wiped out!"

"This is something that the great Russian Empire absolutely cannot accept!"

Although after the Battle of Balaklava and the Battle of Sevastopol, Prince Menshikov was dismissed from office.

However, he still had considerable influence in Tsarist Russia.

Menshikov was a soldier and he could not accept surrender without a fight.

But upon hearing this, Tsarist Russia's Finance Minister Tovasif spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I have to tell you that the empire is facing a serious financial problem right now."

"The daily expenditure in Crimea is an astronomical figure. The empire's finances have already experienced a large-scale deficit and are unable to make ends meet."

"I think if we still want to continue fighting in Crimea, then exchanging territory for allies and arms might be a good option."

As the Minister of Finance, no one understood better than Tovasif how tense the financial situation of Tsarist Russia was at the moment.

As soon as Tovasif said this, the Russian Minister of State Maxim spoke.

"What Tovasif said does make sense."

"However, I don't think we need to be too pessimistic about the current situation."

"A large-scale uprising has broken out in India. The British will inevitably draw troops to quell the rebellion in India."

"In other words, the war in Crimea is almost over."

"The threat from the Tang Kingdom does not apply to us!"

After these words were spoken, everyone began to think about it.

Upon seeing this, Alexander II asked.

"You guys mean that the Empire should end the Crimean War as soon as possible, and then go to Siberia and fight with the Tang Kingdom for Lake Baikal?"

Alexander was indeed very angry when he first heard the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty, but now he has calmed down.

It is true that the Russians are a fighting nation, but no matter how tough they are, no matter how much of a fighting nation they are, they can't keep using it like this, right?

The army has just withdrawn from Crimea and now has to go to Siberia to fight a life-and-death battle with the Tang Kingdom. If this is really the case, will there be a 100% mutiny?
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Everyone looks very unhappy!

Menshikov said tentatively.

"Your Majesty, do you mean to agree to Tang's impolite request?"

Alexander II said with a serious expression and shook his head.

"it's not true!"

"What I mean is that we must not only end the Crimean War as soon as possible, but also avoid going to war with the Tang Kingdom."

"The most urgent thing for the empire now is reform and developing industry like Britain, France and Tang, rather than continuing to fight a meaningless war."

"Our empire is on the brink of collapse. We can no longer fight!"

"My idea is that we should negotiate with Britain, France and Tang at the same time."

“When negotiating with Britain and France, we must take advantage of the situation in India as much as possible to reduce the loss of our interests in Crimea.”

"With the Tang Kingdom, we can make appropriate concessions and try to avoid conflict."

"On the one hand, the empire can no longer fight."

"On the other hand, if the empire wants to carry out reforms, it will inevitably need to seek help from the Tang Kingdom..."

"The Near East is where the core interests of the empire lie!"

"One hundred or a thousand Siberias are not as important to the Empire as Crimea and the Black Sea!"

Alexander's meaning was clear.

Although the unreasonable demand of Tang Dynasty for Lake Baikal would not be agreed to, the other conditions could be appropriately compromised.

It is true that the Russian Empire is a double-headed eagle, but the western head is far more important than the eastern one.

Because the roots of Tsarist Russia have always been in Eastern Europe. Their population, political, economic, and cultural centers are all in Eastern Europe, not in Siberia.

Even though Siberia was lost, Tsarist Russia remained Tsarist Russia.

If Eastern Europe is lost, Tsarist Russia will be destroyed!

As a qualified ruler and a famous monarch in the history of Tsarist Russia, Alexander would naturally not confuse priorities.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but nod in approval.

Obviously, they all agreed with the Tsar.

Just then, a servant came in from outside and came to Alexander to report.

"Your Majesty, Count Esterhazy of the Austrian Empire is here!"

"The Count said that Austria wants to mediate the Crimean War..."

……

On the other side, London, 10 Downing Street.

Palmerston also received telegrams from the East.

Looking at what Baldwin reported in the telegram, Palmerston's face became terribly gloomy.

"How dare these damned yellow monkeys make such excessive demands on Daying!"

"I think they want to have a taste of war!"

Palmerston was a warmongerer. Historically, during his tenure as British Prime Minister, Britain launched several large-scale wars against other countries.

Now, Palmerston naturally could not accept being attacked by the Tang Dynasty.

Opposite him, British War Secretary Reinhard Booker frowned and said.

"Mr. Prime Minister, given the current situation, we may have to agree to Tang's rude request."

"Otherwise, they might support Russia in continuing to fight us in Crimea."

"And this will undoubtedly affect the Empire's efforts to reinforce the war in India!"

Reinhart Booker knew that for Britain, India would always come first.

Palmerston gritted his teeth after hearing this.

"The House will not accept the Empire making concessions to the yellow monkeys in the Far East, or even ceding overseas colonies."

The reason why Palmerston became a warmonger was not only because of his strong personality.

One of the reasons was that after entering the Victorian era, the national self-confidence of the whole of Britain had almost swelled to the point of exploding, and everyone was seen as garbage.

Without public support, rulers, no matter how warlike they are, will not be able to keep waging wars.

……

PS: After finishing this chapter, I only owe one chapter.

Finally almost finished...

(End of this chapter)