According to newspaper reports, Sir Ergin, the minister to China, and Ignatiev, the Russian commissioner to China, were attacked by a gang of gangsters in the capital of the Chinese Empire. The two were driven out of the Chinese Empire and rushed from Shanghai to Europe on a British-owned trading ship.

What makes Deby angry is not only that the Chinese Empire in the East is so bold, but this excuse is too blatant! Even the usually mild derby was furious. What made him even more angry was that the newly formed empire in the east was so rampant, disobeying the wishes of Great Britain and cutting off the tongue of the British envoy, which was a serious insult and provocation. On the contrary, his old rival, Count Palmerston, will definitely seize this opportunity to cater to the wishes of more people and take the opportunity to ascend to the throne.

Derby guessed well.

The next day, the whole of London was in a stir, and a large crowd began to rally at the Hanjin White House, shouting for a declaration of war on the Chinese Empire. Derby knew that war was inevitable. Originally, his idea was to recover those places through diplomatic means, salute first and then soldiers, and then forcibly occupy them by force. But he didn't expect that the Chinese Empire would completely ignore the rules and shoot directly, and at this time, he was caught off guard for a while.

In desperation, Derby wanted to convene a parliament to discuss the issue of sending troops. But what he didn't expect was that after the parliament was convened, he was directly reproached by more than half of the parliamentarians for conniving at the strength of the Chinese Empire, which led to the humiliation of the British Empire today, and dismissed him on the pretext of his sympathetic policy since he became prime minister. Although Derby did not attach much importance to the position of prime minister, he was so embarrassed that he simply offered his resignation to Queen Victoria.

Five days later, Parliament elected a new prime minister, the former Earl of Palmerston, and after the handover of the old and new prime ministers, Queen Victoria invited both to Windsor Castle.

"I specially explained that I invited the two knights into the palace. I'd like to ask you two some questions about the Eastern Empire! "Queen Victoria, who is short and obese, has surprisingly smooth and white skin, and she can't tell that she is a mother of nine children who is over 40 years old. The corners of the rose-red eyes revealed a strong desire, which made the two prime ministers who had read 60 years old feel a pang in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, please speak!" Both were very gentlemanly men, and although their noses were filled with the disgusting smell of strong perfume, they were polite and did not show it at all.

And next to the queen, there sat a fat and bald old man, if it weren't for Derby's closer look, he really wouldn't have recognized it, this was the graceful, well-proportioned, radiant beautiful man Prince Albert more than 10 years ago, and behind the queen was her mysterious veiled manservant John Brown.

Derby thought maliciously that this fat Queen Majesty was really unhappy without a man for a day, and in 20 years, he had squeezed the beautiful man Prince Albert into a bloated and incompetent old man, and apparently the mysterious manservant named John Brown had become the Queen's new love. Thinking about the few tastes he had more than ten years ago, Derby, who had never reacted, felt the impulse and vitality of the man who had lost it for a long time, and couldn't help but sigh: "This demon woman! ”

The Count of Palmerston next to him also seemed a little embarrassed.

"Sir Derby, I can't stop those councillors from doing this, I'm sorry! Thank you for your efforts and contributions to Great Britain over the past year or so. Victoria first said to Derby: "You and Sir Palmerston have been handed over, enjoy your old age in peace." ”

Derby naturally expressed his gratitude.

Victoria then said to Palmerston: "Sir Palmerston, I am very happy that you have taken over as Prime Minister. While Sir Derby is also here, I would like to ask, what do you and Sir Derby think of the empire in the East? After saying that, he smiled back at Derby, which made Derby shiver, which made the mysterious manservant behind her, John Brown, jealous, put his hands on her shoulders and began to tap and pinch her back.

Palmerston's face changed slightly, but he didn't see it, and Prince Albert, who turned to the side, saw that he closed his eyes and ignored him, so he had to reply: "Your Majesty, although the Chinese Empire has not been established for a long time, its development is very rapid, and it should not be underestimated!" ”

Palmerston then spoke carefully about his views on the Eastern Empire: "The Chinese Empire was born out of the Qing Dynasty. As early as 20 years ago, the reason why I advocated a war against the Qing was that I saw that the strength of the Qing Dynasty had threatened the position of the British Empire. It was the most populous, the most expansive, and the richest country in the world, and even with the strength of our British Empire, it still ran a trade deficit for many years, so I had to wage a war for the purpose of dumping tobacco to reverse. Now, the newly established Chinese Empire has not only inherited all the wealth of the Qing Dynasty, but has also developed more rapidly through the vigorous development of industry and commerce, the development of industrial factories and mines, the establishment of education and the opening of people's wisdom, and the country's strength has risen year by year, to the point where it has to be highly vigilant. They possessed great wealth, and today they also trade internationally through the Nanyang Company, which is an ocean-going company, earning huge profits to develop their military and industrial industries. Through military reform, it has eliminated the military shortcomings of the Qing Dynasty and trained elite soldiers, and now it has four powerful naval fleets and nearly one million land forces, and the degree of sophistication is second only to our European powers, and some artillery is even inferior to the Armstrong cannon newly developed by our British Empire. ”

Hearing this, Derby also nodded heavily, and said with deep sympathy: "Your Majesty, John is right. This Chinese empire in the east is indeed powerful, and it is no longer comparable to the original Qing state. I even think that its land forces are so strong that they can catch up with European powers such as Austria and Prussia. It is precisely for this reason that when I was prime minister, it was precisely because of the rebellion in India that I put up with it again and again and did not rush to start a full-scale war. ”

Victoria's face was no longer good-looking, and she said a little anxiously: "Then what should we do to the British Empire?" ”

Palmerston replied: "I still have the same sentence I used to treat Qing Guo: 'Beat it first, and then explain'!" This is the only way to deal with the countries of the East! Whether it is India, or the Qing Dynasty, or today's Chinese Empire, it is all the same! ”

Victoria nodded, but there was a hint of hesitation: "Sir Palmerston, although I agree with your opinion, but I am still a little worried, the other party's military strength is not weak, and the army is even more than a million, oh my God, is this the same ant tactic as Tsarist Russia, I am worried that once the British army invades the other party's territory, it will fall into the quagmire and never be able to pull it out." ”

Derby hesitated for a moment, and then persuaded: "Yes, John, although I agree with our British Empire to send troops to extinguish their arrogance, I do not agree with sending troops directly. Immediately after the Crimean War, there was an Indian rebellion, which had just been put down, and the British warriors had not yet relieved themselves, and sent a large army to the far east, just for fear of ...... Your Majesty, I think it is necessary to make adequate preparations for the soldiers who pacified India to return to their homeland for rest, and then to send troops from within the country to fight. During the preparations, a proclamation was sent to the Chinese Empire to force it to submit! ”

Palmerston sneered: "Don't you know the efficiency of the British Imperial Parliament? If it weren't for the fact that the British army took advantage of the pacification of the Indian rebels to march directly from India, and waited for them to return home to rest and then send native soldiers, how many quarrels would they have to go through? Will a decision be made in a year or two? Issuing notices? How did Elgin not have his tongue? That Chinese empire is a barbarian, and they will still take your proclamation in their eyes? I still think that a few words can make the other party succumb, don't talk in my dreams, and send troops directly is the best choice! I, the British Empire, have always relied on our own warships and artillery to speak! ”

Derby was not good at words, and was suddenly speechless, and only said in a half-loud voice: "John, you are in a hurry to send troops, you will regret it!" ”

Palmerston said categorically to Victoria: "Your Majesty, you must send troops as soon as possible, and you can't give this eastern bandit more opportunities to develop!" They have grown to the point where we have to face them squarely! Let's see, they have only been established for a few years, and not only occupy all the territory of the Qing State, but also expand their territory from all directions: in the east, half of Korea, Ryukyu and Japan are occupied by them, in the south, in the East Indies, and the Malay Peninsula, our British Empire's territory in the East Indies is gradually disappearing, and in the west, several Kazakh khanates, the entire Central Asian region has been occupied by it, and in the north, the vast and sparsely populated territory of Tsarist Russia is almost completely divided into spheres of influence. This is an insatiable lion of the East, and he must be wounded when he has just awakened and is not strong enough! Otherwise, if it is allowed to become stronger, our position in Great Britain will soon be lost! ”