Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 472 Explode

Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence, London.

Prime Minister Gladstone, who went to Buckingham Palace for his weekly audience with Queen Victoria, had just returned in his carriage when he was blocked in the corridor by Colonial Secretary Chamberlain, First Lord of the Admiralty James Wilhelm and Cabinet Secretary Lawrence, who looked quite anxious.

Prime Minister Glaston knew what they were concerned about, and he just shrugged helplessly. Seeing that several people subconsciously made way for him, he walked forward.

As he walked, he said, "Unfortunately, Her Majesty the Queen's attitude is: the sacred royal authority cannot be offended.

I hold the same view. Joey has crossed the line this time and must bear the consequences. The Colonial Office should recall him urgently.

The position of the new chairman of the Suez Canal has been included in the cabinet meeting agenda, and I believe there will be an appropriate solution.

And that reckless commodore, what was his name?"

"Your Excellency, this is Commodore Knorr-Townsend, a loyal and experienced veteran, a valuable asset to the Royal Navy."

"Let him retire. Perhaps this is a decent solution. The Royal Navy does not lack such valuable assets. So be it."

"Your will will be carried out unconditionally, Your Excellency, Prime Minister."

"We must understand... It's less than two years until Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Preparations for this grand occasion must begin now. Buckingham Palace hopes to have a large gathering of distinguished guests, making it a grand occasion of international diplomacy and a showcase of the might of the British Empire. We don't want anything to interfere with that, do you understand?"

Prime Minister Granston stopped in the corridor on the second floor, turned around and looked at these important cabinet ministers, and spoke in a serious tone.

James Wilhelm, the Secretary of the Admiralty, flinched. He turned to look at Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and seeing his composed demeanor, he had no choice but to respond, "Your Majesty's will will be unconditionally carried out. The Royal Navy will ensure that similar incidents never occur again. The new Commander-in-Chief of the Red Sea Fleet will be in place soon."

"Very good. We don't need to create more trouble right now. The Boers in South Africa are enough of a headache. The government should now focus more on priorities and further promote open and free trade policies in the international arena. I hope everyone will not forget that Chu is our close partner in this regard."

"I am willing to serve you, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

"Oh, dear Mr. Chamberlain, I need you to personally call the Chu State to solemnly apologize for this unexpected incident and cordially invite the King of Chu to continue his visit to Europe. Her Majesty the Queen and I are very much looking forward to meeting with the King of Chu. This will be a milestone event in bilateral diplomatic relations."

"As you wish, Your Excellency." Colonial Secretary Chamberlain was a hardliner within the Liberal Party and the leader in trying to reverse the severe punishment of Suez Canal Chairman James Joy.

But when he saw that things were not going well, he resolutely sacrificed his pawns to save his king.

There are hardliners in the Liberal Party and moderates in the Conservative Party. This is a normal political ecology that covers the widest possible range of voters.

The unprecedentedly powerful British Empire, like the once powerful Celestial Empire, hoped to see the four barbarians come to pay tribute and the world submit to it, which further demonstrated the strength of Britain.

This is a common problem in almost every great empire, including the Roman Empire and Genghis Khan on the grassland.

After a few days of fermentation

The incident of the British fleet illegally intercepting the King of Chu's visiting European fleet in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was first exposed by the French newspaper "Lyon Daily News" and was also reprinted by the British "Times", causing an uproar for a while.

If there is anyone in the world who is most willing to see the British make a fool of themselves, it must be the French.

The British warship HMS Perseverance is still stuck on the rocks on the Red Sea coast. The entire hull has tilted severely to the right and no method of rescue has been tried.

After all, this is a warship of more than 3,000 tons. Judging from the current scientific and technological means, either the ship or the reef can be blown up. In an era without super-heavy offshore crane ships, there is almost no solution.

There are dozens or even hundreds of ships from various countries traveling back and forth on the Red Sea, the Eurasian route, every day. Anyone with eyesight can see such a large warship stranded on the shore.

Various discussions ensued, and details of the confrontation were revealed.

The British Red Sea Fleet lost more than it gained, and lost both face and money. It was also widely criticized, and public opinion in Britain and France was very intense.

The French news media, in particular, were keen on digging into the details and ridiculing the "Perseverance" rover's panic escape, acting as if they were just watching the fun and not afraid of trouble.

The British top leaders must respond formally as soon as possible, welcome and look forward to the official visit of His Majesty the King of Chu, and deal with the relevant personnel quickly. This is the answer given by London.

In London's words, this was just a regrettable "accident" and did not represent London's official position.

Make a big thing small, and a small thing nothing, it's obviously a perfunctory attitude.

Prime Minister Granston opened the door and said, "Come in, gentlemen, and we can have a drink while we discuss these international issues."

"Excellent, I'd be happy to help you."

London's climate is cold and damp most of the year, so drinking a drink can make people feel much more comfortable. Most British men have the habit of going to bars, and the upper political elites are no exception.

Several powerful British government officials each held a wine glass in their hands. Depending on their taste, some contained champagne, and some contained Scotch whisky with ice cubes. They drank and chatted.

Prime Minister Granster's first concern was the British Royal Navy fleet stationed in Istanbul, keeping an eye on the movements of Tsarist Russia. This was a military force that deterred Tsarist Russia. The British Royal Navy has always maintained a garrison in Istanbul, the size of a battle squadron, currently the 4th Battle Squadron, which will be rotated after the stationing period expires.

The atmosphere became cheerful when we learned that Tsarist Russia had been relatively stable recently.

Every face in the room showed an expression of overwhelming pride, a trait of the British, and it was more pronounced in the upper echelons of society.

They talked for a while about the US trade tariff barriers, which have been a decades-old problem and the biggest obstacle to transatlantic free trade.

The previous cabinet paid no attention to this and was keen on expanding colonial development and suppressing and restricting regional powers.

The policies of this Granster Cabinet are different. The core policy is to comply with the needs of European capitalists and vigorously promote the process of global free trade. This is the main demand of the Granster Cabinet.

On the contrary, there was less interference in the colonial expansion activities of regional powers.

The best that can be done is to express serious concern, send the Prime Minister's special envoy or regional affairs commissioner to get a deeper understanding of the situation, or issue a warning, express opposition, or acquiesce, and that's about it.

This does not mean that the Granster government is weak in its policy of restricting regional powers. It can only be said that the core policies and demands of the political parties that take turns in power are different, which leads to differences.

The previous government put great pressure on the State of Chu, and this Granster cabinet puts great pressure on the United States.

Discussed for a while
These bigwigs in the British cabinet have listed four policies to restrict US trade, further suppressing US industry and commerce in order to force change. Now it is the Americans' turn to have a headache again.

Britain's influence is not limited to Britain, it represents the whole of Europe or most of the world.

Just as the United States in later generations is not simply the United States but represents the Western world, the unilateral introduction of policies to restrict transatlantic trade and industry and commerce is enough to cause trouble for the Americans.

In sharp contrast
The previous British cabinet did not pay attention to issues in the field of free trade, which allowed the United States to live comfortably for several years. It took only six years to double the total trade volume with Europe and still turned back.

It’s not possible now, as we are restricted everywhere.

Every trade restriction policy introduced by the UK will affect the US trade volume by tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. That is really painful and heartbreaking!

On the other hand, the State of Chu was much more prosperous. It can only be said that times have changed.

After discussing the American trade issue for a while, Prime Minister Gladstone saw that it was getting late, so he ended the day's topic and said, "Well, gentlemen, let's stop here for today. Oh, and by the way, dear James, if all else fails, let's blow up that ship in the Red Sea. It's really embarrassing to have it stranded there forever."

James Wilhelm, the Lord High Admiral, blushed and quickly nodded in response, "As you wish, Your Excellency, Prime Minister."

"Well, don't let this happen again."

"I will keep a close eye on them, I can guarantee that."

"Uh-huh, please close the door after you go out, thank you!"

Colonial Secretary Chamberlain, Lord First Lord of the Admiralty James Wilhelm, Cabinet Secretary Lawrence, and Chancellor of the Exchequer John, who interrupted, left one after another and closed the door behind them.

The armored cruiser "Perseverance" ran aground on the coast of the Red Sea, becoming the clown in the standoff in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. French newspapers kept mocking it, and it turned into a national carnival of gloating.

Every day, cargo ships passing through the Red Sea can see the stranded British warship.

The key point is that the mission it carried out was not glorious and was not recognized by the British government.

Given London's pride-conscious nature, it would never tolerate the "Perseverance" being stranded on the Red Sea coast for years. How could that be acceptable?

If it is really impossible to rescue the ship, then the only option is to blow it up, which is also the more feasible method at present.

Blowing up reefs is even more dangerous. Divers have to be sent down to find the crevices in the reefs, place explosives and blast the reefs.

The problem is that the sea conditions near the reef are complicated, and there is a 3,000-ton ironclad ship pressing on it. Not to mention the effect of the explosion, this is a dangerous job with a high risk of death.

Moreover, it is impossible to successfully blast the reef in one go; it requires repeated blasting.

If the ironclad ship above tilts and falls, or moves or slides, it would be a disaster.

The safest option is to blow up the ship.

Commander Craven, the captain who brought shame to the Royal Navy, will be court-martialed and his fate will not be good.

In the eyes of these bigwigs in London, the reputation of the British Empire is much more important than a mere armored cruiser.

(End of this chapter)