Make France Great Again-Chapter 923 - 914: Britain’s Dilemma
After reading the letter from the Governor of Algeria to Jerome Bonaparte, Ambassador Cowley suddenly felt a mysterious dizziness. At this moment, he truly didn’t know how to explain to Emperor Jerome Bonaparte.
He couldn’t possibly tell Emperor Jerome Bonaparte that all of this was the Kingdom of Morocco’s own doing, having nothing to do with Britain!
Although the content of the letter was indeed caused by the Kingdom of Morocco’s reckless behavior, to say they didn’t rely on Britain’s power to act would be false.
Not only would Emperor Jerome Bonaparte not believe it, but even Ambassador Cowley himself didn’t want to believe it.
To make matters worse, now Britain still has demands from France.
The actions of the Kingdom of Morocco are simply throwing cold water on England and France relations.
Thinking about this, Ambassador Cowley was filled with the desire to fiercely beat Sultan Abdul Rahman of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Why did you provoke France for no reason!
As Ambassador Cowley pondered how to explain that these matters truly had nothing to do with Britain, Jerome Bonaparte spoke again to Ambassador Cowley: "Mr. Ambassador, since you said these matters have no involvement from the Kingdom of Britain, I want to ask you a question!"
"Your Majesty, please say!" Ambassador Cowley responded promptly.
"If France decides to punish the Kingdom of Morocco, would the Kingdom of Britain adhere to your agreements with the Kingdom of Morocco and declare war on us?" Jerome Bonaparte solemnly asked Ambassador Cowley.
Ambassador Cowley instantly understood that all of Jerome Bonaparte’s previous arrangements were for this sentence.
Now there are two choices in front of Ambassador Cowley. The first is to maintain protection of the Kingdom of Morocco, in which case Britain can only travel from the home country to the Cape of Good Hope, then train for some time at the Cape of Good Hope before heading to India.
This method requires spending a lot of time and money!
Meanwhile, relations between Britain and France might experience turmoil.
The second choice is to abandon protection of the Kingdom of Morocco, agree with Emperor Jerome Bonaparte to take action against the Kingdom of Morocco, and exchange for a quicker time to the Cape of Good Hope.
After all, the time to reach the Cape of Good Hope from the Mediterranean is faster.
In this way, Britain might very likely lose the interests in the Kingdom of Morocco.
Because the French Empire might very well completely occupy the Kingdom of Morocco, just like they did with Algeria.
Once the French Empire occupies the Kingdom of Morocco, all the privileges of the Kingdom of Britain in the Kingdom of Morocco will be abolished.
The Kingdom of Morocco under the control of the French Empire certainly wouldn’t allow the presence of British privileges.
After briefly weighing the pros and cons of both, Ambassador Cowley replied to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, Britain has not signed any military alliance agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco. We only have trade agreements with the Kingdom of Morocco!
Whatever the French Empire wants to do to the Kingdom of Morocco, it’s all the freedom of the French Empire!
As long as the French Empire can ensure the interests of our country’s merchants in the Kingdom of Morocco during their actions!"
Ultimately, Ambassador Cowley chose to ensure the interests of India, even if Britain might lose its interests in the Kingdom of Morocco, and partial control over the Mediterranean.
For the Kingdom of Britain, India is fundamental, as a large portion of Britain’s trade is conducted with India. British textiles with low tariff advantages are transported to India, crushing the local textile industry.
The entire India is filled with British products, and the money Britain plunders from India through colonization is several times more than that of other colonies.
Losing India for the Kingdom of Britain is akin to losing a cow that can produce milk at any time.
Though it wouldn’t immediately cause the downfall of the Kingdom of Britain, it would similarly weaken the Kingdom of Britain greatly.
Mediterranean hegemony is trivial compared to global hegemony.
"I can guarantee you that when the French Empire launches punitive actions against the Kingdom of Morocco, it will try to avoid affecting British merchants!" Since Ambassador Cowley chose to silently agree to the French Empire’s sale to the Kingdom of Morocco, Jerome Bonaparte naturally reciprocated.
"Furthermore! We hope that after the French Empire has punished the Kingdom of Morocco, the northern part of the Kingdom of Morocco, especially the area near the Gibraltar Strait, can be demilitarized.
This can effectively avoid some unnecessary conflicts!" Ambassador Cowley again gently "suggested" to Jerome Bonaparte.
Jerome Bonaparte naturally understood what Ambassador Cowley meant by "unnecessary conflicts."
He merely assumed that France would deploy warships in northern Morocco, which would put British troops in Gibraltar in a precarious situation.
Although Britain and France are not currently at war, it is always necessary to guard against the unexpected.
"Rest assured! There will be a proper way of handling in the northern part of the Kingdom of Morocco!" Jerome Bonaparte responded with a smile to Ambassador Cowley, "After all, I wouldn’t want to see conflicts arise either!"
"Then that would be excellent!!" Ambassador Cowley smiled and replied.
After the agreement between the two sides was reached, Jerome Bonaparte enthusiastically asked Ambassador Cowley how many people Britain plans to dispatch to cross France!
Ambassador Cowley told Jerome Bonaparte that they plan to dispatch troops across French territory to head to Cape of Good Hope in early July.
He hoped that Jerome Bonaparte could provide logistical support for their journey to Marseille as much as possible!
"Rest assured!" Jerome Bonaparte patted his chest and said to Ambassador Cowley, "We will certainly ensure your logistics support as much as possible along the way!"
"Thank you very much!" Ambassador Cowley expressed his gratitude to Jerome Bonaparte once again.
Then, after a brief conversation with Ambassador Cowley, Jerome Bonaparte watched him leave.
Now gazing out of the window at Ambassador Cowley’s departing carriage, Jerome Bonaparte’s expression became solemn.
Consequently, he summoned Bashirio and ordered him to quickly gather Minister of State Guizot, Minister of Foreign Affairs De Luyis, Minister of War Vayan, and Chief of Staff Nie’er.
This lineup was practically a miniature version of the Imperial Council.
Upon hearing a series of names, Bashirio immediately realized that Jerome Bonaparte might be planning something significant. He quickly responded, "At your command," and left the study.
Shortly after Bashirio left, Jerome Bonaparte also left the study.
Then, led by a servant of the Tuileries Palace, Jerome Bonaparte arrived at a meeting room specifically used for conferences within the Tuileries Palace.
Sitting at the round table, he closed his eyes and waited quietly for the ministers to arrive. Twenty minutes later, the first "guest" appeared.
It was Minister of State François Guizot, a "master" of diplomacy, known as a contemporary of Metternich.
Of course, being considered contemporaneous here only refers to their joint portrayal as antagonists in the Communist Manifesto.
Lumping Metternich and Guizot together is actually inappropriate!
The former was a brilliant foreign minister from the Napoleonic era and the chief architect of the post-Napoleonic Austrian Empire, while the latter was merely a relatively outstanding foreign minister.
Guizot’s rise to prominence was due not only to his abilities but also to his policies.
Guizot advocated that the monarch should participate in politics, not just rule without governance.
Compared to Thiers, this viewpoint was practically the opposite extreme.
During Thiers’s time as Prime Minister, King Louis Philippe’s presence was largely overshadowed by Thiers, which made Louis Philippe uncomfortable.
After all, Louis Philippe himself was a somewhat ambitious monarch.
That is why Guizot could become the Prime Minister of the Orleans Kingdom.
While Guizot’s achievements in the field of diplomacy were not as illustrious as Metternich’s, he was still above average among diplomats.
And his capabilities in the field of education far surpassed his diplomatic skills.
"Your Majesty!" Upon entering the room and seeing Jerome Bonaparte, Guizot quickly bowed and spoke.
"Minister Guizot, please come in!" Jerome Bonaparte opened his eyes, nodded slightly, and then extended his right hand to invite Guizot, "Have a seat beside me!"
Guizot walked slowly to Jerome Bonaparte and took a seat.
After a while, Minister of Foreign Affairs De Luyis appeared at the meeting and greeted Jerome Bonaparte and Guizot as he entered.
"Have a seat!" Jerome Bonaparte pointed to the position on his left and said to De Luyis.
De Luyis sat in the first position on Jerome Bonaparte’s left side.
Next, Minister of War Vayan and Chief of Staff Nie’er arrived together, and Jerome Bonaparte had them sit opposite him.
After everyone had arrived, Jerome Bonaparte began to recount his previous conversation with Ambassador Cowley to everyone present and then asked for their opinions.
Minister of State Guizot was the first to speak, analyzing, "Judging from Ambassador Cowley forsaking the Kingdom of Morocco in exchange for passage rights and France’s support, I conclude that the situation for the Kingdom of Britain in India might be rather uncertain!
However, there’s a significant chance that Britain will suppress the rebellion in India!"
Sitting beside him, De Luyis also expressed agreement with Minister of State Guizot’s perspective, and he too did not believe that Britain would lose the fertile land of India.
It’s just that the time it might take to quell the rebellion could be prolonged. From De Luyis’s current position, he certainly hoped India would become another Spain (referring to Napoleon’s Spanish expedition).
Since India is destined to be suppressed, De Luyis deemed it unnecessary to consider further,
therefore, De Luyis addressed the issue of the Kingdom of Morocco, asking, "Your Majesty, the agreements with Ambassador Cowley are merely verbal, correct?"
"How could such matters be written down in black and white!"
