On January 12, 1855, a merchant ship flying the French flag docked in the port of London, and a polite man in a black tweed coat stepped off the ship with a cane. Because of the fiasco of the British Navy, the whole of Britain was very panicked. What was once a busy port is now deserted. Light warships of the Chinese Navy have already appeared in the English Channel. It is foreseeable that it will not be long before the Chinese Navy will completely blockade the British mainland. At that time, Britain will be completely cut off from the European continent.

The man who disembarked from the French merchant ship was none other than the French Foreign Secretary, Duke Valewski (Napoleon III had already canonized him as Duke of the French Empire). He came to London this time as a plenipotentiary envoy to the French Emperor Napoleon III. Because of the present situation, the French side needs to have a secret meeting with the British side to ensure that the two countries adopt the same strategy in the future war and the world situation. In this way, it may be possible to ensure the interests of the two countries in a greater way.

When the Duke of Walewski came ashore, he was picked up by the French embassy in England. His meeting with British Prime Minister Earl Stanley and British Foreign Secretary, Earl Granville, was scheduled for this evening. The time for this meeting was very tight, because they got the news that the Chinese navy would soon go north and blockade Britain completely. At that time, the communication between the two countries will probably have to be completed by guò telegram.

That evening, Duke Valewski arrived at the Prime Minister's House on Downing Street. The British Prime Minister, the Earl of Stanley, and the Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Granville, are already waiting here. Tonight's meeting will take place in a secret room in the Prime Minister's Office. The content of the meeting is known to the three of them. Just to their respective monarchs, the others. There will be no knowledge of this.

"Your Excellency, welcome to England!" Both the Earl of Stanley and the Earl of Granville had a smile on their faces. But. The smiles on their faces looked worse than crying at the moment. After all, the British Navy has just suffered a crushing defeat, and the fate of the entire British Empire will be very tragic. Who can laugh at this time?

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, hello!" Duke Valevsky said. He can understand the other party's feelings, in fact, it won't be long. France is expected to suffer the same thing. Once the army of the Chinese Empire has completed its build-up in the Iberian Peninsula, it will quickly launch a counterattack. When the time comes, the flames of war will burn on the territory of the French Empire.

The three of them did not exchange too many pleasantries and went directly to the Prime Minister's Office. After entering the secretly prepared conference room, the secretary brought coffee and left, leaving only the three of them in the room.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary. The French Empire wants to know what Britain is going to do next? The Duke of Vallefus asked.

Earl Stanley and Earl Granville glanced at each other, and they also looked a little confused at the moment.

"Your Excellency, this war. We don't want to admit it, but we're on the verge of losing! After losing the navy, the British Empire would be completely blockaded by the Chinese. Isolated. It was foreseeable that by the time the Chinese army had defeated France and other allies in Europe, their army would land on the British Isles. And without the protection of the Navy. The English Channel will not be a graben, and the Chinese can land on the British Isles lightly. When the time comes. The whole British Isles will sink! "Earl Stanley was somewhat pessimistic.

"Yes, the previous wars have undoubtedly proven it. The Chinese's army and navy are very powerful, so strong that no country in the world can confront them. It is foreseeable that when the Chinese Army lands in the British Isles, it will be when we are defeated! The Earl of Granville also said. Obviously, they have little hope of winning this war.

Count Wallewski nodded, he knew that Count Stanley and Count Granville were not lying. However, the fate of the French Empire seems to be the same as that of the British Empire. And, as traitors, they will be punished even more severely.

"Perhaps, we can take the opportunity to sue for peace with the Chinese Empire. Although we are now completely at a disadvantage, we are not without the strength to fight. The French Empire also had three million more land forces, and the British Empire had more than two million more than two million land forces. With the addition of other allies, our army strength can still reach 10 million. If the Chinese Empire wants to defeat us, it will still not be easy. Therefore, if we use this to enter into peace talks with the Chinese Empire, perhaps they will agree! Duke Valewski said.

If you continue to fight, you will inevitably lose. If the war can be ended at a certain cost, it will be a great thing for the North Atlantic military alliance. Of course, the precondition is that the Chinese Empire and other countries of the Eurasian military alliance are willing to accept peace talks. Otherwise, their peace talks would not have succeeded.

Both Count Stanley and Earl Glenville nodded. They also wanted peace talks with the Chinese Empire, even now that India had lost and the British Empire was doomed. However, this is also much better than the landing of the army of the Chinese Empire on the British Isles and the complete destruction of Britain. At the very least, Britain's powerful industry can be preserved. Even with the loss of overseas colonies, the development of British industry would be very difficult. However, this leaves at least one hope for the British.

"However, the Chinese will not agree to peace talks with us lightly. The goal of the Chinese is to become a world hegemon! Earl Stanley said. As the prime minister of the British Empire, he knew very well that the root of this war was actually the struggle between the British Empire and the Chinese Empire for world hegemony.

"After the end of this war, the Chinese have become a well-deserved world hegemon, and no country can stop them!" Duke Valevsky said.

"No, what the Chinese want, more than that. They want to completely consolidate their world hegemony, and they want no country in the world to challenge them. Therefore, they will not leave a chance for Britain and France! Earl Stanley continued.

Count Valewski's face suddenly became a lot more gloomy. In this case, France really has no chance of turning the tables.

"You two, we might be able to work on it. As long as the Chinese are not willing to suffer huge casualties, then we may still have a chance! The Earl of Granville also said.

"Of course, if the Chinese really want to completely eliminate the Qiē crisis, then we have to fight to the death." In addition, we can think of other ways that may be able to solve the current crisis. Even if we can't guarantee that the interests of the two countries will not be damaged in the slightest, we can at least ensure that our interests will not be damaged too much! The Earl of Granville continued.

Both Count Stanley and Duke Walewski were stunned and looked at Count Granville. They didn't know what the Earl of Granville was thinking. Of course, perhaps this will really be beneficial to Britain and France.

"Let's assume that if the Asian-European military alliance wins the war. Both Britain and France were completely defeated. Then, the Chinese Empire will undoubtedly dominate the whole world. And now the number two power in the Asia-Europe military alliance, the Kingdom of Prussia, what will they think? The Prussians must not have been willing to watch the Chinese Empire dominate the world. It is foreseeable that the main world conflicts in the future will focus on the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. If we can convince the Kingdom of Prussia, perhaps, they will support us to end this war! Said the Earl of Granville.

"Prussians, will they promise?" Duke Valevsky frowned. The relationship between the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire was not very good, and it was precisely because France controlled the four southern states of Germany that it hindered the unification of Germany and made the Kingdom of Prussia have to move closer to the Chinese Empire.

"All of them are in the interests of the country. I think that King Wilhelm I and Otto. Feng. Prime Minister Bismarck was not a fool. They should know who the real winner of this war will be. Therefore, they will accede to our request. After all, the Prussians would certainly like to see the entire Western world unite against the Chinese Empire. If we fall completely, the Prussians will have to face the Chinese Empire alone! Said the Earl of Granville.

Both Earl Stanley and Duke Valewski had a glimmer of hope in their eyes. In this case, perhaps Britain and France can continue to exist. Although there will be a certain price, as long as the country can be retained, then they still have a chance to rise again.

In this case, of course, England and France would have to be subordinated to the Kingdom of Prussia. However, there is no way around it. It's better than being wiped out completely.

"I'll send a telegram to the country immediately and ask for instructions!" Valewski said.

"Hmmm! If His Majesty Napoleon III had no opinion, then, while the Chinese navy had not yet blockaded Britain. We could go to Berlin and have a trip to Berlin with King Wilhelm I and Otto. Feng. Prime Minister Bismarck has a good talk. In this case, maybe our two countries will have a future! Said the Earl of Granville.

As important ministers of the British Empire, for the sake of the country, they can be said to have done their best. But even so, can it really change their fate? Britain and France want to end the war now, and end it with dignity, it depends on the meaning of the Chinese Empire! (To be continued......)

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