Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 505: The Decision of Britain and France

Qian Hui picked up the coffee cup in front of him and took a sip.

The bitter taste of coffee with a hint of sweetness exploded on his tongue. Qian Hui pursed his lips and drank it. It turned out that these were coffee beans produced in North Africa.

Putting down the coffee cup, Qian Hui then said.

"Your Majesty, I am here today on behalf of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to discuss with you the matter of jointly sending troops to North America and intervening in the American Civil War."

Napoleon III raised his eyebrows when he heard this, crossed his legs and asked.

"Has the Tang Dynasty decided to intervene in the American Civil War?"

Qian Hui nodded.

“Times, indeed.”

"The Tang Dynasty hopes that France can stand with the Tang Dynasty and jointly intervene in this war."

Napoleon III chuckled and asked directly.

"It's not impossible to intervene in the American Civil War, but what can France gain from it?"

"If there are not enough benefits, and I rashly intervene in the war, I will not be able to explain to the parliament."

France was not opposed to intervening in the American Civil War.

Historically, the reason why Britain and France did not intervene in the American Civil War was that they only supported the South in trade or secretly provided some arms.

Apart from the fact that the United States is a strong nation, if it rashly intervenes in a war it will likely get hurt and suffer no good consequences.

The more important reason was that Britain and France had just joined forces to launch the Second Opium War, which destroyed the Qing Dynasty's gold coins and took over China, the world's largest commodity dumping market.

A market with a population of 300 to 400 million is more than enough to temporarily fill the stomachs of Britain and France.

Therefore, Britain and France have no motivation to use military force against the United States, a tough country with thorns all over its body.

But things are different now. With the rise of the Tang Dynasty, East Asia and Southeast Asia were integrated together by the Tang Dynasty through the traditional tribute system, becoming commodity dumping markets and resource production bases exclusive to the Tang Dynasty.

It is almost impossible for the West to gain access to the markets in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

There are only a few large markets in the world that can support the development of an industrial power, namely China, Europe, India and North America.

Other places are terrible!
It’s not that there is no market, but that the market is not big enough to support the development of an industrial power.

Today's France has not been able to gain any advantage from China; India is Britain's private territory, and even the Tang Dynasty only managed to get involved in India through the Battle of the Bay of Bengal; and the European market has long been saturated.

Although France has a certain influence on Africa, Africa is poor and the market is too small.

To put it bluntly, France now lacks a huge market for dumping goods to support the development of French industry.

Under the current circumstances, North America is almost their best option.

It is impossible to say that Napoleon III was not interested in North America.

The reason why he said this was just because he wanted to gain some benefits from the Tang Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Qian Hui just smiled and said confidently.

"Doesn't His Majesty the Emperor want to restore France's glory as the most powerful country in Europe?"

"The current situation on the European continent is that Britain and Tsarist Russia are deeply involved in the Crimean War and have no time to spare for other matters."

"If France steps forward at this time and organizes a European coalition to intervene in the North American Civil War, then France, as the leader of the coalition, will have the hope of replacing Britain's position on the European continent after this war."

Qian Hui was sent to Europe as the French ambassador, so he naturally knew about European history.

He was even more familiar with the century-old conflict between Britain and France.

He didn't believe that France would be willing to be inferior to Britain and become Britain's younger brother.

When Napoleon III heard this, he was immediately interested.

As the saying goes, take the lead!

What is Big Brother?

The one who takes the lead is the boss!
If France wants to be the big brother, it must take the lead at least once!

"But the coalition forces intervening in the North American Civil War this time were led by the Tang Dynasty, not France."

Napoleon III continued.

Qian Hui chuckled.

"It could be France!"

"How far is the Tang mainland from Europe?"

"The Tang Dynasty is powerless now, and has no intention of intervening in the European situation. It will not steal the limelight from France in this incident."

Napoleon III was obviously moved when he heard this.

Seeing this, Qian Hui continued to increase his bet.

"Your Majesty, there are already enough industrial powers in the world."

"I guess France doesn't want to watch a new country emerge in North America, right?"

"What's more, this emerging country was once a member of the Commonwealth!"

"To put it bluntly, the conflict between Britain and the United States is actually like the separation of a father and son. Even though they are quarreling now, if something happens one day, the two can easily be linked together..."

"And France is a real outsider to them."

Upon hearing this, Napoleon III's expression became somewhat complicated.

Nodding subconsciously.

Well, even though the founding father of the United States, Louis XVI, helped the United States gain independence from Britain.

However, after independence, the largest trading partner of the United States is still Britain.

To put it bluntly, France's behavior is like a neighbor whose father and son have a conflict, and France spends money, effort and manpower to help the son divide the property, but in the end the father and son reconcile again.

His neighbor Zhu Bajie looks ugly when he looks in the mirror!

It’s bad enough that I’m not popular either, but all the money, effort and manpower invested before have been wasted.

This is really heartbreaking!

Thinking of this, Napoleon III laughed.

"Intervening in the American Civil War is fine."

"What's the benefit?"

Qian Hui said immediately.

"The Tang Dynasty can share the North American commodity dumping market with France."

Napoleon III rolled his eyes and then said.

"Haha, that's fine too!"

Although Napoleon III agreed verbally, he had other ideas in his mind.

In his opinion, the Tang Dynasty was too far away from America, but France was quite close to America.

If everyone wants to compete for American interests in the future, the Tang Dynasty will definitely not be able to compete with France.

Napoleon III had already figured it out. In the early stages, he would use the Tang Dynasty to organize a coalition, interfere in the civil war, and seize the North American market.

After we get the North American market, we will find a way to kick Datang out...

This way, it’s a win-win situation!
He won twice!

What a win!

Soon, the Tang Dynasty and France reached a consensus.

The envoys of the Tang Dynasty and France traveled together in various European countries, persuading them to work together to organize a coalition force.

Although the Netherlands, Spain, Prussia, Austria and other countries did not agree directly, they all expressed their intentions one after another.

Well, these countries are also developing industries now.

They need markets too!
Today's North American market is undoubtedly a big piece of fat meat.

Everyone who sees it wants to rush up and take a bite.

……

London, England.

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

Inside the official residence, the new British Prime Minister John Russell sat behind his desk, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, handling official business.

Britain is now at war with Tsarist Russia in the Crimea.

Battle reports, as well as military reports requesting supplies and support, were constantly sent back from the front line.

There are many things that require him to review and approve.

Finally, the official business on the desk was gradually finished. John Russell picked up the coffee cup, took a sip, stretched, and enjoyed the rare leisure time.

Just then, there was a knock on the door outside his office.

John Russell replied without even looking up.

"Come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open with a creak.

An old white man with a swallowtail and his hair combed back walked in from outside. He looked very imposing, but now he seemed a little flustered.

It is none other than Sir Henry, the current British Foreign Secretary.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, something has happened!"

John Russell raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

"Sir Henry, what has happened? Why are you so flustered?"

Henry said with an ugly look when he heard this.

"The latest news from the intelligence personnel deployed by our Great Britain in various European countries."

"It is said that Tang and France are lobbying European countries together to form a coalition to interfere in the North American Civil War."

John Russell frowned subconsciously when he heard this, and then said.

"The French want to show up?"

As the saying goes, the one who takes the lead is the big brother.

France wants to take the lead and naturally wants to be the big brother.

This is naturally unacceptable to the United Kingdom, the current big brother.

Sir Henry heard this and nodded solemnly.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister is right!"

John Russell couldn't help but look thoughtful when he heard this.

Henry saw this and asked.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, what should I, Daying, do?"

John Russell did not directly answer Henry's question, but frowned.

"Sir Henry, do you have any suggestions?"

Sir Henry was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"In response to the Prime Minister's words, in my opinion, Britain currently has three strategies to deal with the current situation."

"First, we will sit back and watch as Tang and France organize a coalition to interfere in the North American Civil War."

"In my opinion, this strategy is absolutely unfeasible. We cannot sit idly by and watch Tang and France increase their influence in Europe."

Upon hearing this, John Russell simply nodded slightly in approval.

Then he raised his hand and motioned Henry to continue.

Henry saw this and said directly without any hesitation.

"Second, Britain intervened to disrupt the Tang and French attempts to form a coalition army."

"However, although this method can prevent Tang and France from increasing their influence in Europe, it will cause the American Civil War to develop in a direction that Great Britain does not want to see..."

You have to know that from a standpoint, Britain actually supports the American South.

John Russell still just nodded.

Henry continued.

"Third, Great Britain will also participate in this coalition and try to seize the leadership of the coalition from Tang and France." "But Great Britain now has to focus its main energy on Crimea, I'm afraid..."

Henry didn't say the rest of his sentence, but John Russell knew what he meant.

The simple fact is that Britain is currently unable to extricate itself from Crimea.

Thinking of this, John Russell couldn't help but want to curse.

After a series of victories in Sevastopol, Yalta, Sudak, Feodosia, etc., John Russell originally thought that the Crimean War would end soon.

Under the military pressure from Britain, it won't be long before Tsarist Russia will take the initiative to surrender to Britain!

Unexpectedly, Alexander II made a big move and used a trick to liberate the serfs, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of troops being deployed to reinforce the front line in a short period of time.

Even though these hundreds of thousands of people were serfs, they had almost no military skills and their level of training was so low that they couldn't even march in step, let alone anything else.

However, they are numerous and are all stubborn and fearless.

These old Russians relied on human wave tactics to firmly hold Kerch and even prepared for a counterattack.

This has caused some trouble for Britain as well!
I can’t hit you!
But if we don't fight, the Russians will not admit defeat!
Damn it, John Russell really couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for him as the Prime Minister to do this.

It’s obvious that the previous prime ministers had an easy job. Britain was invincible and the prime minister was very powerful.

How cool is that?
Unlike now, it’s really fucking uncomfortable!
But after thinking for a long time, John Russell finally spoke.

"The Crimean side must continue to increase the stakes!"

"I want to see how long Tsarist Russia can last!"

"As for the fact that Tang and France are planning to form an alliance to interfere in the North American Civil War..."

"Well, I, Da Ying, have to mess with this matter for them."

John Russell would rather allow the unification of the North and the South of the United States than allow France to increase its influence in Europe.

Compared with the United States, which is far away in the New World, France, which is right under Britain's nose, poses a greater threat.

John Russell made the arrangements.

"How about this, Sir Henry, you go there in person and contact the Netherlands, Spain, Prussia and other countries, and try to persuade them not to get involved in the North American situation."

"I want to see what kind of storm France and Tang can stir up!"

Henry heard this and nodded in agreement.

In his opinion, this is not a problem at all.

With Britain's current influence in Europe, this kind of thing is a piece of cake!
Foreign Secretary Sir Henry took his leave.

And John Russell began to continue his official business.

Suddenly, John Russell seemed to see something, and his hand movements paused.

[Britain's first 10,000-ton steel battleship Queen Victoria was officially launched and outfitted...]

Ever since the disastrous defeat at the hands of the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, Britain has been trying every possible means to get back at the table.

Therefore, Britain began to imitate the Tang Dynasty's battleships.

I can only say that Britain is worthy of being Britain, and its industrial capabilities are quite strong.

Now, there are results!

Britain finally had its own steel battleship.

John Russell looked at the report sent back by Plymouth Shipyard and a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

He greeted the secretary who was waiting outside the door.

"Quick, prepare the car, prepare the car!"

"This Prime Minister wants to ask for an audience with Her Majesty the Queen!"

John Russell couldn't wait to report the good news to Queen Victoria.

John Russell's motorcade set out from 10 Downing Street and headed towards Buckingham Palace.

John Russell looked out the car window at the scenery outside.

The sky in London is still foggy and the air pollution is very serious.

In response, the beggars and marching workers who were everywhere in the past few years have now disappeared.

As Britain regained India, factories in Britain began to resume operations, and naturally the workers had jobs.

Once the workers have jobs, naturally there will be fewer parades and beggars.

As for the workers and beggars who were unable to be employed by the factories, most of them have now been sent to Crimea to be used as filler babies.

So, the streets of London are so clean today.

This is in stark contrast to when Palmerston was prime minister.

The car drove all the way to the outside of Buckingham Palace and stopped. John Russell got out and was allowed to leave after a body search.

Soon, he met Queen Victoria in a tearoom.

Victoria was having afternoon tea. When she saw Prime Minister John Russell asking for a meeting, she chose to meet him directly in the tea room.

Seeing John Russell come in, Victoria picked up the white porcelain teacup, took a sip of black tea, and then said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please take a seat!"

Seeing this, John Russell first bowed, then walked over and sat down on the sofa opposite Victoria.

Queen Victoria glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and asked.

"How come the Prime Minister has time to see me today?"

John Russell took a deep breath and then said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the latest news came from Plymouth Shipyard. Britain's project to copy Tang's 10,000-ton steel battleship has begun to show results."

"The first test ship has been launched and outfitted. I believe it will soon be combat-ready!"

When Queen Victoria heard this, the calm expression on her face suddenly disappeared.

Instead, there was a smile that came from the heart.

"Oh, God!"

"This is really good news!"

Ever since Britain suffered a loss at the hands of the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, it has been secretly trying to get back at the Tang Dynasty.

Now that I finally see hope, how can I not be excited?

Thinking that Britain would be able to get back at the hands of the Tang Kingdom in the future, Victoria couldn't help but ask with a smile.

"Mr. Prime Minister, what is the current capacity of our British shipyard for the new 10,000-ton battleship?"

The 10,000-ton steel battleships from the Tang State have apparently been mass-produced and equipped to the fleet.

If Britain does not have enough production capacity, how can it get its place back?

John Russell heard this and responded.

"Your Majesty, Britain has already mobilized several shipyards in the country to build new warships at full capacity."

"The current production capacity can probably reach a rate of five ships in three years, unless Her Majesty the Queen can convince both the House of Commons and the House of Lords to increase funding for the shipyard and increase the Royal Navy's ship purchase funds..."

Five ships in three years means that it takes three years to build a 10,000-ton steel battleship. If five 10,000-ton dry docks are built at the same time, naturally there will be five ships.

Currently, the UK has only five dry docks capable of building 10,000-ton ships.

Don’t underestimate Britain, it’s the overlord of the ocean.

But he is the overlord of the ocean in the era of sailing battleships!

But now, times have changed!
When it comes to building 10,000-ton steel battleships, the Tang Dynasty actually came from behind and was ahead of Britain.

Therefore, Britain’s battleship production capacity is also very limited today.

Queen Victoria heard this, thought for a while, and then said.

"Well, that's fine!"

"I will persuade both the House of Commons and the House of Lords to increase the Royal Navy's ship purchase funds and increase investment in shipbuilding..."

"Daying, we must regain our maritime advantage from the Tang Kingdom!"

Britain is a maritime country.

Britain's hegemony is almost entirely maritime hegemony.

Victoria could not accept that Britain had lost its maritime hegemony and was overtaken by the Tang Dynasty, a typical land power.

Therefore, the shipbuilding arms race is about to begin!

Seeing this, John Russell immediately nodded to show that he understood.

……

Kingdom of Prussia, Berlin!

In the palace, William I stood by the window, looking out at the garden scenery.

The expression on his face made it very clear what he was thinking about.

Previously, France and the Tang Dynasty sent envoys to contact Prussia, hoping to win over Prussia to form an alliance and interfere in the North American Civil War.

Originally, I was tempted by William I.

However, not long after, the British side also sent envoys to persuade Prussia not to participate in the coalition organized by the Tang Dynasty and France.

He also explained the situation to William I, saying that if France became stronger, it would certainly want to revive the glory of the Napoleonic era, and at that time, Prussia would be the first to bear the brunt.

Then William I hesitated.

He coveted the North American market, but was more afraid that France would become bigger, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while.

Just at this moment, there was a sound of footsteps.

A servant came to report.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Bismarck is outside seeking an audience."

William I withdrew his gaze from the garden outside and nodded slightly.

"Very good, bring the Prime Minister here!"

Upon hearing this, the attendant nodded to show that he understood.

Soon, the servants brought Bismarck in from outside.

"Meet His Majesty the King!"

Bismarck came before William I and saluted by touching his chest.

William I nodded and invited Bismarck to sit down on the sofa.

Then, he lit his pipe, took a deep puff, and then asked.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you should know why I asked you to come here today, right?"

Bismarck nodded, his beard trembled, and then he spoke.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

William I continued to ask.

"Then I wonder what suggestions does the Prime Minister have for this?"

Bismarck took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, if Prussia wants to develop its industry, then a market for dumping goods is essential."

"But Prussia has a limited domestic market and no overseas colonies, which means that Prussia's industry lacks a dumping market and is difficult to develop."

"And this civil war in North America may be an opportunity for us!"

"The North American market is a blue ocean!"

Why did Germany start World War I and World War II in history?
To put it bluntly, it is because the scale of Germany's industry is extremely mismatched with the size of its market.

Relying on the first-mover advantage of the Age of Discovery and the Industrial Revolution, the great powers such as Britain and France carried out large-scale overseas colonization around the world and divided up the world's commodity dumping market.

By the time latecomer countries such as Germany developed, their overseas colonies had already been divided up.

Germany could not obtain overseas colonies, and their domestic market could not absorb the industrial products they produced, so goods were unsalable.

Then, didn’t the economic crisis come?
In order to alleviate the economic crisis and to seize overseas colonies and markets for commodity dumping, Germany at the time had no better choice than to start a war.

(End of this chapter)