The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 983 Half lost, not enough won

Inside Room 1844 at Buckingham Palace, the heavy oak doors were closed, and the flickering fire in the fireplace illuminated the tense faces around the long table. The elderly Queen Victoria sat at the head of the table, her fingers lightly tapping the surface as her gaze swept over her wartime cabinet members.

Outside the window was a gloomy London sky, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if foreshadowing the current predicament of the British Empire.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Queen's voice was low and calm, yet carried an undeniable authority, "the letter from Pope Leo XIV has been delivered. He hopes that we will negotiate peace with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

Prime Minister William Eulter Gladstone removed his glasses, slowly wiping the lenses with a cloth, his brow furrowed. The nearly seventy-year-old Liberal Party leader looked weary, his eyes sunken. He took a deep breath and slowly began, “Your Majesty, we suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but it is not entirely hopeless.”

First Lord of the Navy Hugh Childs sighed: "A turning point? The Orion is sunk, two Dreadnought-class and two Majestic-class ships are sunk, and the Invincible has severely damaged the Australian fleet, almost paralyzing it! Meanwhile, the main force of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's South Pacific Fleet is still intact, and control of the Coral Sea has completely fallen into the hands of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Lord George Hamilton, the Secretary of State for War, frowned and retorted: "Mr. Childs, if the Admiralty under your leadership had paid more attention to torpedo boats and aircraft, it might not be in such a passive position."

“Pay attention?” Childes smiled wryly. “We have too many things to pay attention to. First it was speed, then armor and firepower, and now it’s torpedoes, submarines, and aircraft! No amount of funding is enough, and we’re always chasing after Luo Yaoguo! To get out of this passive situation, we’d have to be able to predict the future like him!”

Upon hearing this, the ministers in the 1844 Hall unconsciously turned their gazes to their Queen—who was the reincarnation of Jesus's own sister and possessed a "New Testament version"! How could she not have any precognitive abilities?

Queen Victoria immediately sensed the doubts of her followers, her face darkening. Just as she was about to speak, her cousin, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, quickly intervened to divert everyone's attention: "Gentlemen, arguing is pointless. The question now is—will we accept the Pope's mediation?"

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.

Sir William Harcourt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, adjusted his glasses and said in a hoarse voice, “Your Majesty, the treasury is already stretched thin. If this war continues, a war tax must be levied next year.”

"Imposing new taxes?" The Queen frowned. "With the war already at this point, to impose new taxes? The workers in London might revolt!"

“That’s still better than losing Australia!” Hamilton muttered. “That’s over 700 million square kilometers of white territory!”

“My lord, Australia and New Zealand are royal territories!” Undersecretary for colonial affairs, Joseph Chamberlain, whispered a reminder. “Moreover, for the Empire, these two wild lands are far less important than India and South Africa. India’s population and market, and South Africa’s gold, are the foundation upon which the Empire survives! If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom launches a major invasion of India and South Africa, then the Empire will be in serious trouble.”

Indian Affairs Secretary Randolph Churchill said with a bitter face: "Due to the fall of Malaya and Sumatra and the entry of the Tang army into Persia, the situation in India is currently unstable. Many former princes who have lost power and their ministers are restless and want to welcome a new master to India. I suggest that the Empire send more troops to India as soon as possible to stabilize the situation there!"

“But we also need reinforcements in North America and France,” said the Duke of Cambridge, Chief of the Imperial General Staff. “The Eastern Commonwealth is losing at least 1,500 men every day, and the North American front, the Mexican front, and the Nicaragua Canal front have all become quagmires! Our most ‘loyal’ allies are already bogged down. Including the wounded, they are losing more than half a brigade every day, and at least a million men a year! Moreover, due to labor shortages and excessive war costs, prices in the United States have risen dramatically during this period, and goods on the market are beginning to be in short supply. Even the supply of flour is starting to run out.”

As for the German forces in Red France, they have already captured Lille, Sedan, Nancy, and Verdun. Their vanguard has crossed the Marne River and is only thirty miles from Paris! If we don't send expeditionary forces in time, the Germans will likely occupy Paris within three months!

Silence fell over the meeting room once again.

Queen Victoria slowly rose, her gaze sweeping over each cabinet member. Her voice was soft, yet it held everyone's attention: "Gentlemen, I have only one question—is the British Empire no longer capable of simultaneously maintaining three battlefields: the Pacific, North America, and Europe?"

Gladstone remained silent for a long time before finally nodding slowly: "Your Majesty, it is time to consider peace. At the very least, we need to make some trade-offs."

Lord Hamilton jumped to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound: "Prime Minister! This is surrender!"

“No,” Gladstone shook his head wearily. “It’s about cutting losses and making choices. The empire cannot lose India and South Africa, nor can it stand by and watch another Napoleonic empire emerge on the European continent. And then there’s North America, which cannot be ruled by the American empire. As for Australia and New Zealand, they are not necessities for the empire.”

The Queen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her gaze was firm: "Inform the Pope that the British Empire is willing to negotiate."

Inside the military hall of the Berlin Imperial Palace, the elderly German Emperor Wilhelm stood before a massive European sand table, leaning on his cane, his gaze sweeping somberly over the black flags representing the advancing German army. On the table, the Western Front was covered by a dense array of small black flags—from Lille, Sedan, and Nancy, all the way to the Marne River and Verdun, the German Empire's army had pushed Red France to the brink of collapse. Although Red France had initially displayed unexpected tenacity at the start of the German offensive, its industrial strength was undeniable. Their initial resilience stemmed from thorough war preparations and the decade-long construction of the Karl Moor Line. Once the Germans breached the fortified areas and key strongholds of the Karl Moor Line, Red France began to crumble. Without British intervention, Paris would likely have fallen.

"Your Majesty," said Field Marshal Moltke, Chief of the General Staff, pointing his baton at Paris on a sand table, "our army has annihilated a large number of French main forces in the battles of Lille, Nancy, and Verdun. Paris is now wide open. With your order, the German flag can be raised on the Eiffel Tower within three months!"

Emperor Wilhelm remained silent, his gaze shifting to the eastern front—where the grey flag representing the Russian army still flew firmly in the lands of Poland, Lithuania, and eastern Romania.

"What about the Eastern Front?" The Kaiser's voice was deep and cold.

Marshal Moltke's expression stiffened slightly: "Your Majesty, although the Russian counter-offensive on the Eastern Front is fierce, their logistics are failing. If we commit two more army groups..."

Last autumn, the German army launched a winter offensive, seizing half of the Kingdom of Poland, advancing from Prussia into Lithuania, and capturing most of the United Principality of Romania. The situation was extremely favorable!

However, the German offensive was halted in the winter of 1885 due to blizzards in Eastern Europe. Subsequently, the Russians launched a winter offensive and recaptured some territory in Poland, Lithuania, and Romania. To this day, they continue to launch wave after wave of attacks on the Eastern Front!

Meanwhile, with tens of thousands of Tang troops joining the Anatolian battlefield, the Russian army is making good progress in Anatolia and is now almost at the Turkish Straits!
This greatly fueled nationalist sentiment within Russia, and also spurred the Russian army's morale on the eastern front.

"Deploy more?" Wilhelm I whirled around, his white beard trembling with rage. "We've already committed six army groups! And the Russians are still advancing!"

The meeting hall was deathly silent. The portraits of the Hohenzollern family on the walls seemed to be staring at them with bated breath, and the huge Prussian eagle emblem cast a shadow in the candlelight.

Prime Minister Bismarck stepped forward slowly, his fingers lightly tapping the edge of the sand table: "Your Majesty, we need to analyze this calmly."

He picked up a black chess piece representing a German army corps and placed it on the Paris position on the sand table: "Occupying Paris would certainly intimidate France, but we cannot annex the city. Moreover, the French will fight us to the bitter end on every inch of Parisian soil, just as they did in 1869."

The Kaiser snorted coldly: "Then let them fight! We can divide France in two, just like we did Poland—northern France will be under our control, and southern France can be handed over to Mathilde's Bonaparte dynasty."

Bismarck shook his head: "Your Majesty, dividing France would require a long-term military presence, which would drain our forces. Rather than that, we should extract tangible benefits from France." He pointed to Alsace-Lorraine, "formally ceding this region, along with the colonial rights in Algeria and a large sum of war reparations."

William I turned his gaze to the eastern front: "And what about the east?"

Bismarck's finger traced the East European plain: "This is where the real wealth lies." He pointed to Romania, "The Ottoman Empire has effectively collapsed; we can support a pro-German regime and effectively control the oil fields here." He then pointed to Poland, "The Kingdom of Poland, which Russia possesses, must be entirely ceded to us." Finally, he stopped at the Baltic coast, "Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia—these places can all serve as a bulwark for Germany. Furthermore, we can seize parts of Belarus and Ukraine. Their black soil is extremely fertile and can provide ample food for the future German Empire!"

Army Minister von Rohn couldn't help but interject: "But the Russians will not easily give up these territories!"

"So they need an even bigger defeat," Bismarck said coldly, "to pin all our reserves on the Eastern Front and launch a general offensive in Poland!"

After much deliberation, the Kaiser finally made his decision: "Immediately transfer three army groups from the Western Front to reinforce the Eastern Front! I want to see the Iron Cross of Germany planted on the soil of Ukraine and Belarus before negotiations begin!"

Marshal Moltke exclaimed urgently, "Your Majesty, this will allow the Paris offensive to continue!"

"Paris can wait!" Emperor Wilhelm looked at the vast plains of Eastern Europe. "The land on the Eastern Front is the real spoils of war! Enough to tell the German people that their blood was not shed in vain!"

He turned to Bismarck: "Tell the Pope that the German Empire agrees in principle to peace talks—but the negotiations must not begin until the delegation led by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's foreign minister arrives in Rome! Moreover, negotiations do not equate to a ceasefire!"

(End of this chapter)