Chapter 73 Yes, Prime Minister! (Please collect, vote monthly, recommend, and continue to read)

10 Downing Street, London, UK.

Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, who has been the owner of this increasingly dilapidated Prime Minister's Palace since 1812, is sitting in his narrow, dark, and somewhat messy office at this time, as usual, flipping through

reading a briefing sent by Sir Harker, his cabinet secretary.

As usual, Sir Harker always puts good news at the top of his briefing, so that the Prime Minister can have a positive attitude when facing bad news later.

Today's good news mainly comes from Petersburg. That idiot Nicholas I finally couldn't resist the temptation. After the British King George IV verbally agreed to the marriage contract between Grand Duke Alexander and Princess Alexandra Victoria, he agreed to sign a contract with Britain and France.

The Entente jointly intervened in the Greek War of Independence. With the participation of Rakshasa, the investment of the British banking industry in the Greek War of Independence will finally not be lost. Moreover, the defeated Turkish Empire will also completely crawl at the feet of the British Empire to seek help.

Asylum. If the Turks did not do this, sooner or later the ambitious Nicholas I would completely tear the Turks, who were severely injured and isolated after the defeat, into pieces!

Turkey's surrender means that the Suez Canal and the oil fields in Wallachia can be completely controlled by the British Empire!

With the oil from Wallachia, the British Royal Navy will have more powerful power, and controlling the Suez Canal means that the British Empire controls the throat of Eurasian trade, and also has the ability to quickly move fleets from the mainland or the Mediterranean.

The ability to mobilize bases along the coast to the Indian Ocean.

Finally, the success and prestige of Rakshasa in supporting the Greek War of Independence will frighten Austria and Prussia. This will help Britain draw them to its side and form a five-nation alliance of Britain, France, Prussia, Austria and Turkey.

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With the alliance of these five countries, the British Empire can not only suppress the Rakshasa in the direction of Europe and the Middle East, but also possibly contain the powerful Ming Dynasty in the direction of the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific.

The bad news that made Prime Minister Jenkinson very worried, of course, came from Ming Dynasty!

The British Embassy in Ming Dynasty sent a telegram today, once again reporting on the progress of the Ming Dynasty Navy's "One Thousand Ship Plan"!

Not long ago, the Ming Dynasty Council approved the "Dockyard Subsidy Plan" proposed by the Ming Dynasty, and planned to provide high subsidies to encourage domestic shipyards to build no more than one hundred 20,000-ton shipyards. This is true.

The gold and silver were taken out, indicating that the Ming Empire was determined to provoke a shipbuilding competition for ironclad ships!

This is a challenge to the world’s maritime hegemony that the British Empire has controlled for nearly two hundred years!

Although the revival and miraculous rise of the Ming Dynasty became the world's leading industrialized country, Britain's maritime hegemony became very unreliable. But in the era when sail battleships and motor sail battleships dominated the world, the wise politicians of the British Empire still

They found a way to stabilize the behemoth of the Ming Dynasty, which was to use the European market and American gold and silver to win over the Ming Dynasty, which had a huge industrial capacity, so that Ming Dynasty's capital could profit from the maritime trade ruled by the British.

Over the past hundred years, most of the gold and silver produced in the New World flowed into the Ming Dynasty, making the Ming Dynasty the country with the most gold and silver in the world!

Of course, Britain does not suffer in this process. Because on the one hand, Britain can absorb the industrial technology of the Ming Dynasty (the most advanced cannot be absorbed, but there are still sub-advanced ones). Even if the Ming Dynasty does not transfer technology, the British will not copy it.

?) to accelerate its own industrialization process; on the one hand, Britain also has its own private territory of India.

But as the steam ironclads completely eliminated the sail battleships and the sail battleships, the rules of the game on the sea have fundamentally changed!

In the era of sailing battleships, because Ming merchants were accustomed to using hard sailing ships, Ming's shipyards had difficulty with warships using soft sails. The Ming Navy had no place to recruit sailors who could skillfully use soft sailing ships.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's navy has been in a position to catch up with the West during the Age of Sail, and has never been able to catch up.

But in the era of steam ironclads, the situation was completely different!

The Ming Dynasty’s machinery and metallurgical industries are world-leading, so building steam ironclads is just the right match!

Therefore, Lord Nelson, the "God of War" of the British Navy who was based in India, sent a message of more than 10,000 words from India when the Ming Dynasty Admiralty proposed the "Thousand Ship Plan", warning the British government that the British Empire would

Sea power is encountering unprecedented challenges. The advantages established in the past based on sail and motor-driven ships have disappeared with the emergence of steam ironclads.

Therefore, Lord Admiral Nelson strongly suggested that the British Empire come up with a corresponding shipbuilding plan as soon as possible - the Ming Dynasty had a "Thousand Ships Plan", why does Britain have to have an "Eleven Hundred Ships Plan"?

But the problem is, the British Empire can’t afford to keep up!

Not to mention 1,100 ships, even if a 20% discount on 1,000 ships was used to build 800 ships, it would not be enough for the British Empire to spend every last penny in its pocket.

But if the Ming Dynasty completes the "Thousand Ships Plan", the maritime hegemony of the British Empire will be gone!

Of course, between "not following" and "following", Prime Minister Jenkinson has a third option, which is to immediately assume a war stance and threaten Ming Dynasty with force to force Ming Dynasty to abandon their "Thousand Ships Plan".

But the question is once Ming Dynasty refuses to give up, can the British Empire defeat Ming Dynasty now?

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Jenkinson, who once led the British Empire to fight against Emperor Napoleon, fell into deep anxiety.

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door of the Prime Minister's office, and Sir Huck's voice came from outside the door: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, it's me."

"Oh?" The Prime Minister put down the briefing in his hand, "Huck? Come in."

Then I saw the door of the office being pushed open, and a very upright-looking gentleman with black-rimmed eyes and a gentle manner walked in, "Your Excellency, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are asking for an audience. Something strange seems to have happened.

matter."

"Something strange?" The Prime Minister scratched his bald forehead, "Okay, please invite them in."

"Yes, Prime Minister." Baron Harker nodded, then turned and left the Prime Minister's Office. Not long after, he led a pale bald man and a dignified-looking fat man in.

The Prime Minister glanced at the bald man and asked with concern, "George, how are you? Do you want me to give you some Yapian tincture?"

This man, whom the Prime Minister calls George, is the biggest thorn in the side and drug addict in the Jenkinson cabinet, Foreign Secretary George Canning. His favorite Yupian tincture! It is said that he has been taking the medicine for a long time because he suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.

It relieves the pain and becomes addicted.

I don’t know if it’s because of his frequent banter, but he, the foreign minister, would get into trouble from time to time, which gave Prime Minister Jenkinson a lot of headaches. For example, when the Spanish colonies in the Americas were gaining independence, he, the foreign minister of the British colonial empire, actually did not support Spain.

, and colluded with US President Monroe to support the rebels who wanted independence!

As a result, European powers such as France, Austria, Prussia, and the Rakshasa Kingdom were all dissatisfied with Britain.

The ongoing Greek War of Independence was almost caused by this George Canning. When the Greeks first started to riot, Metternich of Austria supported the Turkish suppression, and Alexander I was hesitant. As a result, George Canning did not notify Austria.

In the face of the situation with European powers such as Rakshasa, they suddenly announced their recognition of Greek independence and also facilitated the British banking industry to lend money to the Greeks.

Although George Canning liked to mess around, he had great influence in the Tory party, so Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, had to regard him as the second-ranking figure in the government.

"Okay, let's refresh ourselves a little." As he spoke, George Canning had already sat down on a chair opposite the Prime Minister's desk.

The Finance Minister Robinson, who came with George Canning, sat down and handed a copy of the telegram to the Prime Minister, the Earl of Liverpool. Then he took the small glass of pornographic films handed to him by Huck, drank it in one gulp, and then

He said excitedly, "Count, someone is threatening to attack India!"
Chapter completed!