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In winter, London is shrouded in dense fog for most of the time. London under the fog looks strangely beautiful, which makes London known as the fog capital. In the suburbs of London, there are dense chimneys, from which a large amount of smoke is emitted, so that the air in London is always filled with the smell of soot.

As the country where the Industrial Revolution began, the industrialization of Britain was complete. The whole country is densely populated with factories, industrial cities like London, and many more. For the fog capital, the British praised it as a miracle created by the Industrial Revolution. However, it will not be long before these Englishmen discover that they are suffering from all sorts of strange diseases, and many of them are dying painfully as a result. The Industrial Revolution brought not only wealth, but also death! Of course, the British today don't know anything about it, and they are still basking in the joy of how many goods the factories can make every day.

Britain is now the most industrially developed country in the world, but the British domestic market is not large, so many industrial products to sell, you need a broad market. The European market has long been saturated, and although the industrialization development of European countries is not as good as that of the United Kingdom, there is no problem in satisfying the domestic market. Therefore, the UK urgently needs to explore overseas markets.

Overseas markets are not a problem for the UK. As the United Kingdom, which has the largest colony in the world, their colonies are spread throughout the world. The population of the colonies was more than ten times that of Britain itself. These colonies. It not only provided cheap raw materials for the UK, but also became a dumping ground for British goods. However, as industrial output continues to expand. The UK also needs a larger overseas market. After taking India, Britain began to look eastward. The Great Qing Kingdom in the East was a huge market that the British dreamed of. The country is larger than the whole of Europe, and the population is several times that of the whole of Europe. With such a vast market, there are huge business opportunities. The British dream of opening up the Chinese market! It's just that the foreign policy of the Qing Dynasty to close itself off from the rest of the country is for Britain. is a huge obstacle. It is very difficult for British goods to be sold to China. This, combined with China's self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy, made it impossible for British products to be marketed in China. and silk, porcelain, etc., produced in China. It is a commodity that the British crave. Therefore, in the trade with China, Britain has long been in a super position.

In order to reverse the trade situation, the British shamelessly exported opium to China, an evil commodity. A large number of Chinese in the coastal areas. Addicted to drugs. This also earned a lot of wealth for the British. However, this also aroused the vigilance of the Qing government, and the Qing government sent Lin Zexu, the minister of the Qin Mission, to Guangdong to ban smoking, and a large number of opium merchants of British opium were seized and then destroyed, causing them heavy losses. Similarly, British interests have been severely affected. British merchants demanded military retaliation from the government against the Qing State, however. The British government was slow to make up its mind whether to go to war with a powerful country. Or rather. The conservative members of the British Parliament refused to pass the War Decree.

The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is William. Lamb, the second Viscount of Melbourne, a kind, honest and selfless man, taught Queen Victoria a lot of political art as Prime Minister who mentored Queen Victoria to the throne. However, he himself did not achieve much during his tenure, which made him generally not highly regarded in the United Kingdom.

At the end of 1839 William. Viscount Lamb had a very difficult time, and almost every night, a councillor supported by the merchants would visit him, urging him to launch a war revenge against the Qing Kingdom in order to protect the interests of Britain. However, William. Viscount Lamb also has his own hesitation, although Britain has become the hegemon of the world through a series of wars. However, the Qing Kingdom was too far away from Britain, and the expedition spanned more than 20,000 kilometers, which was too risky, and if it encountered an accident and the expedition failed, it would be a heavy blow to Britain. In addition, William. Viscount Lamb has always been afraid of the mighty empire in the East, a country that has been the leader of the world for thousands of years. Even now, the GDP of the Qing Dynasty is much higher than that of the United Kingdom. Coupled with the huge territory and population of the Qing State, William. Viscount Lamb was even more worried. Will Britain be able to defeat the Qing halfway around the world? At least, he is not sure of victory!

However, in the face of pressure from the British bourgeoisie, he was about to lose it. He often complained to the people around him that those greedy capitalists would lead Britain to the abyss!

On December 12, 1839, under pressure from the bourgeoisie at home, William. Viscount Lamb convened a cabinet meeting to discuss whether to take war revenge on the Qing State! If the cabinet meeting can reach an agreement, it can be reported to the queen and the parliament, and the parliament will discuss and vote, and if the vote passes, then Queen Victoria can officially declare war on behalf of the United Kingdom!

"Gentlemen, the demands of the merchants are well understood! So, now are we going to declare war on the Qing Kingdom, which is thousands of miles away? If we do go to war, will we be able to achieve the ultimate victory? I hope you will think about it, because our decision is about the future of the British Empire! "William. Viscount Lamb said solemnly.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I believe that as a government elected by the people, we should be steadfast in defending the interests of the people. Now, our merchants have been brutally treated in the Qing Kingdom, their goods have been unreasonably confiscated by the Qing government, and their lives and property are threatened! This is a provocation by the Qing State against the British Empire, and we have reason to take military revenge on the Qing State and safeguard the interests of the British Empire! "Chancellor of the Exchequer Francis. Thornhill. Sir Baring was the first to jump out. He was the main representative of the bourgeoisie in the cabinet.

William. Viscount Lamb nodded, and then said, "What about other people's opinions?" ”

"Your Excellency, I also think that we cannot just do it lightly, otherwise it will be a great blow to the prestige of the British Empire. In addition, there is no benefit to the status of the cabinet in the eyes of the people! "Foreign Secretary Henry. Viscount Temple said that he was the third Viscount of Palmerston and had a great influence among the British aristocracy and even the entire high society.

See Henry. Viscount Temple also expressed his support for waging war against the Qing State. Viscount Lamb knew that the bourgeoisie had succeeded, and they had succeeded in convincing the main members of the Cabinet!

"Gentlemen, I see! But if there is a war, will we be able to win it? "William. Viscount Lamb asked.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, according to the information we have obtained, there are a total of more than one million people in the Qing Army, and the navy, which they call sailors, is probably only more than 20,000 people!" Secretary of War Samuel. Sir Hulse said.

"Millions? That's five times the size of the British Army! "William. Viscount Lamb exclaimed.

"No, Your Excellency Prime Minister! The millions of troops in the Qing State are stationed in too vast an area, and there are not many people we really need to deal with! In addition, the Qing Army was mainly equipped with cold weapons. Only a small number of troops were armed with backward carrying guns and shotguns, a gap of at least thirty years compared to the British Army! Therefore, to defeat the Qing State, it is not a big problem! "Secretary of War Samuel. Sir Hulse said confidently.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, most of the Qing navy is just small warships! They are still almost in the era of broadside battles! Our warships can easily ravage them! "Lord of the Admiralty, Charles. Sir Adam said. Compared to the army, the British navy has an advantage. The powerful British Navy only needs to send a small number of warships, which is enough to defeat the Qing Naval Division!

"So, if we start a war against the Qing Kingdom, we are sure of victory?" William. Viscount Lamb said. If the odds are so good, then he doesn't mind starting a war, which is also a great thing for him, and can further increase his popularity.

"Of course, Your Excellency the Prime Minister! I assure you, if there is a war against the Qing Kingdom, we will definitely win! "Secretary of War Samuel. Sir Hulse assured. After so many years of trade with the Qing State, the British have gathered detailed information. The Qing army was backward in equipment and lax in military affairs, and it was not an opponent of the British Army at all!

"But, gentlemen, do you consider another country threatening us?" William. Viscount Lamb asked.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, are you talking about Xinhuaguo? I think this problem can be solved! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received reports from the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Bonham, and from the local garrison, Brigadier General Allen, as well as Brigadier General Burleton. Xinhua has made a war against Vietnam! According to their estimates, Vietnam is no match for Xinhua in its ranks. However, it will take about two years or even more for Xinhua to completely pacify Vietnam! And this is our chance to defeat the Manchus! "Foreign Secretary Henry. Viscount Temple said.

William. Viscount Lamb nodded, if that's the case, then the last problem is solved!

"Well, in that case, I see what you mean! We have agreed that, in the interests of the British Empire, I will try my best to persuade Parliament to agree to war against the Qing Kingdom! "William. Viscount Lamb said.

"Great, Your Excellency, your decision is wise!" Chancellor of the Exchequer Francis. Thornhill. Sir Bahrain said.

However, William. Viscount Lamb doesn't have much confidence in the conservative members of the Toll Council! (To be continued......)