The third more

What the French did was indeed a threat to Great Britain, and although the British took the initiative to attack France, Great Britain's arrogant tradition made it unbearable for them to bow to the French. Even if they took the initiative to attack, they had to blame the French for not wanting to take advantage of the British, and also took the initiative to attack the British cavalry, causing heavy casualties.

The Prime Minister Gladstone and the Duke of Cambridge were deliberating on the matter, and they saw it as an opportunity to crusade against the Tuileries Palace, to justifiably accuse the French of the atrocities committed against the British army, and to blackmail them, to preemptively force the Franco-German alliance not to enter into the civil war in Egypt easily, thus ensuring that they would win the first place.

"At present, the French only want to keep the interests of the Suez Canal, and do not want to have a direct conflict with the British, so we can use this to force the French government to settle the defeat at the negotiating table. We can use military force to coerce the other side, and if France is unwilling to back down, then what they will face next is not the problem of tens of thousands of troops, but hundreds of thousands of troops thrown into the Egyptian battlefield, so that they will not even be able to protect the interests of the Suez Canal. ”

The Duke of Cambridge was a hawk in the British Army, who advocated being tough on the French and was one of those who would do it if they didn't accept it. He was tired of the French adopting a tough foreign policy in order to cover up the fact that they were in decline, especially what was happening in the Transvaal, which made him eager to go to war with the French army at once.

The Duke of Cambridge waved his cane, walked slowly to the map, pointed to the location of Egypt on the map, and said, "As long as the British army can continue to enter the Strait of Gibraltar, the threat to the French can be regarded as the wind in the ear." Just a French army trying to get the British fleet is a fool's dream. Although the Mediterranean coast was largely French territory, they were also in need of supplies. We blockaded the entire Mediterranean, and the French could only be taken with their hands tied. ”

Prime Minister Gladstone, however, had political concerns that the blockade of the entire Mediterranean by the British fleet would cause opposition from all countries. After all, this is not the backyard of the British, and there are also French, Italian, and even distant Russians who are eyeing it. If Britain rashly makes such a move, I am afraid that it will be politically disadvantageous to itself.

"But if the Mediterranean region is blocked, it is more likely to lead to the scruples of other countries. The British had not yet intended to make a dangerous move to challenge the whole of Europe, no, half of Europe. Your Excellency, Duke of Cambridge, you should know that even if we blockade the entire coast of North Africa, what we have done will be enough to arouse the suspicions of others. What's more, there is a Germany behind the French, who are also watching the British every move. Recently, the Germans have been expanding their naval forces, and the combined military power of France and Germany is enough to rival that of the British. If we go to war rashly, it will not be a colonial war on land, but a war at sea and on land at the same time. ”

"So what?"

The Duke of Cambridge, still basking in the glory of Great Britain's past, looked down on the naval power of France and Germany, and firmly believed that a strong navy and the necessary logistics were the key to victory in a distant colonial war.

"The British could actually supply from the colonies closest to Egypt with their great fleet strength, and our detachment was already in the Mediterranean, and the French had lost the opportunity unless they defeated our detachment first and cut off the Strait of Gibraltar, but this was an impossible task. We have the confidence that we can win this war, just like the previous Crimean War, forcing the Russian fleet to not even go out of port to meet it. ”

The Duke of Cambridge has already said this, he wants to tell Prime Minister Gladstone not to hesitate any longer, and if he hesitates, he will lose the opportunity.

"And we can assure the rest of the world that this war is only against the French, and not against other countries, so they can rest assured as much as possible that Britain will not do anything out of the ordinary."

"Let's get off the war book, Prime Minister, this is our last chance. Perhaps Germany, intimidated by the great military might of Great Britain, would eventually abandon the idea of an alliance with France. ”

The last vestiges of the English affection for France had been lost, and it seemed to them that the Tuileries were far more aggressive than the silent Germans. And most importantly, they wanted to show France their military prowess in order to force them to make concessions to achieve Britain's strategic objectives.

"Let me think about it again, it's not a trivial matter after all, I need to think about it carefully."

The last time war broke out, it was during the anti-French coalition, and now Gladstone wants to challenge France during his term, and he does not know whether this choice is good or bad, let alone what the next outcome will be.

British Foreign Secretary Granville burst into the room, still with a telegram in his hand, and looked anxiously at the Duke of Cambridge and the Prime Minister Gladstone in the room.

"What's going on? Panicked? ”

Gladstone frowned, and he asked coldly, "Don't you see that we're discussing things now?" ”

"No, no, no, Your Excellency, Prime Minister, you have to look at this first."

"What is this? Is it more important than what we're talking about right now? ”

Gladstone took the telegram, but his eyes were still on Granville's face. The Duke of Cambridge approached curiously, but when he saw the contents, he immediately frowned.

There is only a short sentence on it, but it makes people feel uneasy and frightened.

The panicked Granville couldn't even speak clearly, and he stammered, "The French, have declared war on us." Just now, the Tuileries Palace declared that Britain had violated the treaty on the neutrality of the Suez Canal by taking the initiative to attack France. They had the right to fight back in self-defence, including the expulsion of British troops from Egyptian soil. Prime Minister Gladstone, we have all fallen into the trap of Napoleon, who from the very beginning intended to enter the events of the coup d'état in Egypt. ”

"What? You mean......"

"Yes, the Tuileries declared war on Great Britain."

Granville was afraid that Prime Minister Gladstone would not hear clearly, so he said again, "It's really a declaration of war!" ”