As a result, Deng Shichang became the only senior officer to be punished in this naval battle, he not only lost the temporary command of the Ocean Fleet, but also was greatly demoted and demoted to the captain of the Yangwei, and the original captain of the Yangwei, Lin Luzhong, was promoted to the flagship of the Ocean Fleet, Haitian, as the captain because of his outstanding performance in the naval battle in the Indian Ocean, and the position surpassed Deng Shichang's old superior for the first time. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Yang Yonglin, as the most dazzling star in the naval battle at this time, was unsurprisingly reused after the war, and was soon promoted to deputy commander of the Ocean Fleet by the line of fire after the victory of the naval battle, and after the end of this war, he further became the supreme commander of the world's first fleet (Liu Buyun was recalled to the Central Committee as the Minister of Navy).

That's right, the current Chinese Ocean Fleet is already recognized as the strongest fleet in the world, because they have beaten the British Royal Navy, which was originally considered the world's first, to the ground again and again, especially in this naval battle in the Indian Ocean, the Ocean Fleet completely annihilated the British Expeditionary Fleet, which concentrated most of the capital ships of the British Royal Navy at a small cost, and proved its strength with indisputable facts, and for the first time made the entire West feel frightened, not just surprised.

Although Fisher had long expected the failure of the expeditionary fleet, he never imagined that they would be completely annihilated in any case, thinking of the consequences that this fiasco might cause, even if he was as calm as him, he couldn't help but be in a trance for a while, "The expeditionary fleet is completely annihilated, India must be difficult to protect, is the British Empire still the British Empire without India?" And after the strength of the Royal Navy has been greatly reduced, it will be difficult to deter the top three in Europe...... The era of the British Empire's dominance is over, and the world will enter an era of chaos in which the great powers stand side by side......"

"Yes, but China's revival is too fast, and its foundation is not strong, as long as their leaders are not too stupid, they will not swallow India, at most they will exchange it for us. Although now we have lost all chips, the Chinese's offer must not be low, but as long as we can get India back, the British Empire is still the first power in Europe! William White was a little more optimistic than his friend, but he spoke only of being "the number one power in Europe" rather than the former "world hegemon", and apparently aware of the enormous cost of Britain's defeat.

Fisher is not an ordinary talent after all, he quickly regained his composure, and then quickly grasped the crux of the problem, but this made him even more discouraged, "We must now immediately reach peace with the Chinese, no matter how harsh their conditions are!" Because every day this war drags on, more capital will flow out of Britain. Once the pound sterling can't hold the exchange rate, the British Empire won't even be able to maintain the first position in Europe! But the problem is that we simply cannot quickly cease war with the Chinese! ”

"Yes, such a big failure, the Marquis will definitely have to step down, the cabinet will have to be reorganized, and after these things are over, he can send people to China to start peace talks, plus the time required on the road, it will definitely be delayed until next year......", William White understood when he heard it, and suddenly showed sadness.

However, Fisher is Fisher after all, and he quickly had an idea, "Wait, maybe we can do this, now we can send a big man with enough prestige in the country to China, and then after the new cabinet is formed, he can be appointed as the ambassador plenipotentiary by telegram, and at the same time, because it has enough prestige, most of the terms should be decided by himself, there is no need to consult London on everything, the progress of the negotiations can naturally be further accelerated, and it is completely promising to save two months, or even a quarter!" ”

"It would be better if you had the status of plenipotentiary when you went and started negotiations immediately after arriving in the Far East, and with this status, personal safety is also more guaranteed, otherwise if there is an accident, you have to send someone again, and it will be troublesome." William White said unsatisfied, but this requires that this person must be able to be trusted and valued by both the current government and the new government, is there really such a candidate?

Not to mention, there really is one, Fisher immediately thought, "The current colonial minister, Joseph Chamberlain, there is no more suitable candidate than him!" ”

The current government in Britain is the Conservative Party, and after they fall because of the defeat in the war, the new prime minister must come from the opposing Liberal Party, and Joseph Chamberlain is an important figure in the Liberal Party. At the same time, Joseph Chamberlain was highly regarded by the current Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, so it was not difficult for the latter to appoint him ambassador plenipotentiary while he was still in power.

William White was a little worried, "The only obstacle is how to convince him personally, Joseph Chamberlain is nearly sixty years old, this trip to the Far East is not easy, if he is unlucky, he may die there." Would an imperial minister like him be willing to take such a big risk? ”

"Don't worry, he won't refuse." , Fisher smiled when he heard this, signaling that his old friend should not worry, although because of his personality, he has few friends at all and has no personal relationship with Joseph Chamberlain, but because the latter's political views are very good for his own appetite, Fisher still knows Joseph Chamberlain well, and knows that this person is a real politician with firm ideals, and this peace talks can gain great prestige, which will be of great help to Joseph Chamberlain in running for prime minister and practicing his political views, even if his life is in danger, He couldn't refuse either.

Having said that, Fisher knew that he had to entrust the work of persuasion to William White, but fortunately the interview went very well, and Joseph Chamberlain even volunteered to visit China to end the wrong war "at the wrong time, in the wrong place and on the wrong opponent" as soon as possible, and immediately won the support of the Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, and soon set out, which gave Fisher some more hope for the future of the British Empire.

However, what even Fisher did not expect was that Joseph Chamberlain would be so enthusiastic about this matter not only to increase his prestige in order to run for prime minister in the future, but also because he was acutely aware that the peace talks themselves would be of great help in carrying out some of the policies he had in mind: "Governors, if you continue to disagree, don't blame me for Chamberlain's unkindness...... " (to be continued). )