Make France Great Again-Chapter 854 - 845: Palmerston’s Thirst for War
Late June 1856.
A transport ship carrying Governor Jerome Patterson of Gabon and 5,000 Croatian Foreign Legion soldiers set sail from Toulon Port, under the escort of the French Mediterranean Fleet, heading toward Central Africa, Gabon.
The commander of the British garrison at Gibraltar, seeing this scene, thought that the French Army was dispatching troops for an overseas expedition.
Thus, the commander swiftly sent a steam frigate to London to deliver the news.
[Note: At this time, Gibraltar was not yet equipped with telegraphs, whereas Malta, influenced by the Crimean War, had them.
It must be said, this was a "great achievement" of Britain!]
By the time the steam frigate reached London, it was already early July.
At this moment, Prime Minister Palmerston, who had gained prestige from the Crimean War, still held the office of the Kingdom of Britain’s Prime Minister, yet his position was already precarious.
Criticism of Palmerston from both inside and outside the Parliament was increasing, and the third force he had high hopes for (public opinion) had also begun to backfire against him. Some newspapers openly referred to Palmerston as a "Cromwell entrenched in the position of Prime Minister."
Even worse, the Royal Family was also expressing dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Palmerston’s autocratic behavior in the Cabinet.
Just waiting for an appropriate moment, Palmerston, the war hero, would directly fall from power.
As Prime Minister, Palmerston was also aware that he was currently in a perilous position.
If things continued like this, he would inevitably be ousted.
Therefore, Palmerston must find some way to break the deadlock.
However, Palmerston could think of no solutions other than war.
In Palmerston’s view, only war could restore his support to the level it had been during the Crimean War.
However, choosing whom to go to war with was a great challenge.
If the opponent was much weaker than the Kingdom of Britain, the public would only feel that Britain’s victory was a matter of course.
If the opponent was of similar strength to Britain, the public might consider replacing him as Prime Minister altogether.
It was essential to find an opponent who was neither too weak nor too strong.
However, such an opponent was truly difficult to find.
Just as Palmerston was contemplating how to find a suitable opponent for Britain, a knock on the door came from outside.
Coming back to his senses, Palmerston hurriedly flipped through a few pages of the files spread over his desk, then called towards the outside of the door, "Come in!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
The door to the Prime Minister’s office slowly opened, and the Cabinet Secretary appeared at the threshold.
The Cabinet Secretary, upon entering the room, briefly tidied his clothes and then reported to Palmerston in his standard London accent: "Uh... Respected Prime Minister, the Minister of War hopes to have a brief meeting with you, he said it won’t take up much of your time..."
The Cabinet Secretary, babblingly, conveyed the key information to Palmerston while surrounded by a heap of unnecessary words.
"Where is the Minister of War now!" Palmerston immediately asked the Cabinet Secretary.
"The Minister is waiting outside the room!" the Cabinet Secretary clearly responded to Palmerston: "If you need, I can call him in for you!"
"Of course, I do!" Palmerston nodded in response to the Cabinet Secretary.
"Then I’ll go over right away!" The Cabinet Secretary turned to leave.
Before the Cabinet Secretary had even stepped out the door, Palmerston’s voice reached his ears once again, "Wait a moment!"
The Cabinet Secretary stopped, showing a professional smile once again, and said to Palmerston, "Your Excellency, do you have any other instructions?"
"Uh..." Palmerston hesitated for a moment and then asked the Cabinet Secretary, "We’ve been working together for almost two years, what do you think of me?"
The Cabinet Secretary’s expression tightened, but after a few seconds, he smiled again and replied to Palmerston: "Your Excellency, there’s no doubt you’re an excellent Prime Minister!"
"In your mouth, every Prime Minister is probably an excellent Prime Minister!" Palmerston responded to the Cabinet Secretary with a hint of sarcasm.
The Cabinet Secretary, adept at dealing with people, replied: "Every Prime Minister has been jointly endorsed by both Parliament and the Royal Family to become Prime Minister, and a member of Parliament is elected by the responsible gentleman of Britain (landowners and capitalists), so I believe every Prime Minister is an excellent one!"
"My duty is to assist every Prime Minister in accomplishing what they wish to achieve!"
The Cabinet Secretary replied with impeccable clarity, making Palmerston feel as if he’d thrown a punch into cotton. He nodded and said to the Cabinet Secretary, "I understand! Now you may go and invite the Minister of War over!"
"Yes, Prime Minister!" The Cabinet Secretary bowed to Palmerston once again and then left the room.
As Palmerston watched the Cabinet Secretary leave, a bitter smile crept onto his lips. He lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling, murmuring to himself, "Loyalty is such a luxury for a career bureaucrat, yet I long for it!"
After a while, Duke Newcastle, the Minister of War, appeared before Palmerston.
"What’s going on, Duke?" Palmerston asked curiously, sitting across from Duke Newcastle.
"Prime Minister, I have two pieces of news: one concerns France and the other pertains to the Kaijia Dynasty (the 19th-century dynasty of Iran). Which one do you wish to hear first?" Duke Newcastle said to Palmerston solemnly.
"Let’s hear about France first!" Palmerston decisively chose France, harboring some suspicion about the neighbor across the channel.
After all, the hatred between France and Britain has lasted nearly a thousand years.
The wars between the two countries in recent times were just a few decades ago.
Palmerston didn’t believe that a Crimean War could completely reverse the relationship between the two countries.
Not to mention the various alliances (Currency Union, Customs Union) the French Empire has formed on the European Continent in the past two years.
However, until the French Empire decides to thoroughly shatter the European balance system, Britain will not act against the French Empire.
The Kingdom of Britain is unwilling to bear the costs of a second Napoleonic Wars.
Currently, while the French Empire dominates the discourse in Europe, other nations still hold a voice.
Although the Austrian Empire is allied with France, it doesn’t mean Austria follows France blindly.
The Kingdom of Britain doesn’t need to worry excessively about Europe.
"Our troops stationed in Gibraltar reported: In late June, a large fleet from France sailed out of the Mediterranean!" Duke Newcastle told Palmerston word by word.
"How large is the fleet? How many personnel?" Palmerston inquired of Duke Newcastle.
"Gibraltar reports that the French Fleet is personally led by the ironclad ’Friendship’... According to the number of transport ships, it’s estimated to be at least 3,000 men." Duke Newcastle replied to Palmerston.
"More than 3,000 men?" Palmerston furrowed his brows, murmuring, "What is France planning to do?"
"I don’t know either!" Duke Newcastle shook his head in response to Palmerston.
"Logically, this force shouldn’t be a fleet sent to America; 3,000 men can’t decide the outcome of a war..." Palmerston mentally eliminated various possibilities.
After contemplating for a moment, Palmerston decided to put the issue of France aside and asked Duke Newcastle again, "What’s happening with the Kaijia Dynasty?"
"According to intelligence transmitted by government officials in the Kaijia Dynasty inclined toward us, King Naser al-Din Shah has decided to launch an offensive on Herat in October! Currently, the Kaijia Dynasty is likely in a state of military preparation!" Duke Newcastle responded to Palmerston.
"Is the Kaijia Dynasty crazy?" Palmerston couldn’t help but exclaim, unable to imagine how much false courage Naser al-Din Shah had consumed to provoke the great Kingdom of Britain.
The Russian Empire that originally supported them is now caught in a two-government situation; how dare they dispatch troops to Herat directly.
[PS: Herat is located in the northwest region of Afghanistan, at the strategic center of the entire area between the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, and the Yaksa River in the west and north, and the Indus River in the east.
The competition between England and Russia in Central Asia previously revolved around Herat.]
"I don’t know either! What is the Kaijia Dynasty thinking!" Duke Newcastle shook his head in response to Palmerston.
At this moment, Palmerston suddenly thought of a possibility and hurriedly voiced his thoughts to Duke Newcastle: "Do you think this French action could be connected to the Kaijia Dynasty?"
"Impossible!" Duke Newcastle swallowed and shook his head in response to Palmerston, "If France were truly going, how would they handle supplies along the way?"
"How do you explain France dispatching troops at this time, where are they going? Why would the Kaijia Dynasty insist on attacking Herat?" Palmerston spoke firmly to Duke Newcastle.
"What is France’s goal?" Duke Newcastle followed Palmerston’s line of thinking, "Even if he dispatches troops to assist and successfully captures Herat! It seems to offer him no benefit, surely he doesn’t wish to support the Kaijia Dynasty!"
"It’s not entirely impossible! Perhaps the French Empire wants to fill the vacuum left by the Russian Empire in Central Asia! Jerome Bonaparte resembles his uncle in certain aspects!" Palmerston continued along the mistaken line of thought. He had already decided in his heart that France was connected to the Kaijia Dynasty. (Actually, the Kaijia Dynasty was misled by the South Russia Empire, leading to a suicidal decision to march on Herat.)
"I think it’s better not to be too hasty!" Duke Newcastle said cautiously.
