London, Downing Street Residence.

"Happy Thanksgiving, George."

"Thank you for your greetings, Your Excellency Prime Minister, but I beg your pardon...... What is Thanksgiving? Gardener George asked, a little surprised.

Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil laughed happily when he heard this, reached out and patted the bewildered gardener on the shoulder, and said in a mysterious tone; "Oh...... It was a Yankee holiday, and don't you think it's amazing that these shameful betrayers, while pretending to be grateful to the Indians, mercilessly picked up muskets and slaughtered them? ”

"Oh...... God, it's really disgusting, I don't want to hear anything about those coarse Americans, they are shameful betrayers of the British Empire. ”

"That's right, George, I like it when you express your opinions so bluntly."

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil walked briskly through the atrium garden to the prime minister's office, picked up the desk and threw the Times on the table twice, and saw Evans, the leader of the House of Lords and the Lord of the Seals, walk in.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I hope I haven't disturbed your good mood."

"Please come in Lord Evans, and if you bring good news, I don't mind taking the time to chat with you about the good weather in Devon."

"The Empire has just agreed to sell two fast artillery cruisers to Fuso, and they reserve the right to continue to pursue two ships, is this good news?"

"Oh...... Two fast cruisers, it sounds good. ”

"I heard that in order to order these two new fast cruisers, the Emperor of Fuso and his courtiers tightened their belts, ate only one rice ball with a little pickled kelp every day, and spent all their money on British warships, and I think this spirit is commendable."

"Oh my God, don't believe those nonsense, Evans, the cunning Oriental will make a pitiful appearance, in order to reduce the purchase cost of a thousand pounds, and then go and enjoy the table full of delicacies of the mountains and seas as soon as he turns his face, these Fuso people are liars."

Prime Minister Robert grinned and sat down in the seat behind the table, and reached out to make a gesture of invitation for Evans, the Lord of the Seals, to sit down and have a few words.

There is nothing important, who is idle and runs to the Prime Minister's office to brag and fart?

Prime Minister Robert Gaiscoyne-Cecil was a traditional British nobleman with the title of Marquess of Salisbury, one of the trusted conservative leaders of Queen Victoria, who was appointed to form a cabinet between 1885 and 1886, his second term as prime minister.

As a conservative political leader who has pursued a policy of non-alignment, Prime Minister Robert has always believed that Britain is like a fish in the sea, which does not need allies, but only interests, and this is very evident in the decisions of his political career.

The current Cabinet is at the beginning of its term of office

In exchange for Germany's unanimous stance on Russia on the Bulgarian issue, the current cabinet tacitly allowed the German-Austrian-Italian Triple Alliance Treaty to expire and renew, thus pulling the Germans to stand behind the British, exerting greater strategic pressure on the French, forcing them to end the confrontation with Britain in the Suez Canal Zone, and obediently let go of the Suez Canal Zone's dominance.

meanwhile

In order to dispel the discontent of the British, the French put an end to their infiltration into Burma in Indochina, showing full sincerity in exchange for the British's support for the Franco-Russian alliance (proposed) on the European continent against a German-led military alliance.

This is a perfect diplomatic move by the current Cabinet, which has obtained the full benefits it expects without firing a single shot, and reflects Prime Minister Robert's governing style in one aspect.

That is, as long as the benefits are sufficient, betrayal is not a problem.

On the one hand, the British attacked and suppressed France, and on the other hand, they secretly supported the proximity of France and Russia, and took strong repressive measures against Germany in all aspects of trade and military industry to curb the expansion attempts of the German Empire.

Strategically suppressed, tactically relaxed.

This seemingly contradictory military and diplomatic goal is a difficult maneuver that cannot be accomplished by other countries, and London is familiar with it.

"Honourable Prime Minister, I beg your pardon for my presumptuous visit, I would like to talk to you about Australia, I spent a pleasant afternoon with Earl John Lawrence Bald in the suburbs of the castle the other day, tasting delicious apple pies, John's words are quite worried about the current situation in Australia, the development of the situation is out of control, is sliding into the abyss of the unknown, maybe we should do something......"

"Shouting...... Sorry for interrupting Lord Evans, this John is ......"

"As a political under-secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a former governor of Australia, I know the situation there quite well, and John is a true nobleman who devoutly serves God, and I am very confident in that."

"Oh...... Parliamentary Undersecretary, so why did John have the ability to influence the relevant policymaking of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through other channels? Prime Minister Robert spread his hands in displeasure and said in a puzzled tone; This is very perplexing to me, and I do not think that Sir Grofoundries would like anyone else to meddle rashly, so I am sorry that I am not able to give you a satisfactory answer. ”

"Prime Minister, but Australia's white ......"

"Well, dear Evans, you have come to report to me today a good news from the Admiralty, and out of concern for your friends in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you are ready to make irresponsible remarks about the affairs of the Colonial Department, I already know your intentions, please forgive me for not having much time to receive you, the door is behind you, remember to close the door when you go out."

The smile on Prime Minister Robert's face disappeared, and his words made Lord Evans feel rather embarrassed, oh...... No, there is no word "embarrassed" in the dictionary of politicians.

So Lord Evans could only smile and nod, and turned to leave the Prime Minister's office.

With the Times in his hand and slowly flipping through the pages, Prime Minister Robert simply ignored this stubborn conservative aristocrat and let him leave on his own.

Flipping through the newspaper, Prime Minister Robert said; "Nicol, don't tell me you're not there, bring me a cup of coffee when you come in, thank you."

The side door of the Prime Minister's office was pushed open, and Sir Nicol, the Cabinet Secretary, walked in with two cups of hot coffee in his hand, handed one of them over, and said; "Robert, are you really not ready to take action?"

In the system of the London government, the cabinet secretary is the highest-ranking affairs officer, whose status is equivalent to the chief of staff of the White House and the chief of staff, not a cabinet member who comes to power by popular vote, and is even more important than the prime minister in terms of specific affairs, and is known as the "most powerful person".

Due to the importance of the position of Cabinet Secretary, the position is generally the Prime Minister's most trusted political partner.

Prime Minister Robert did not answer in a hurry, took the coffee cup and took a sip of it, but asked interestingly; "Nicol, what is your impression of those Orientals?"

"Well, cautious and restrained, orderly, keep promises, have a unique oriental culture and a long historical heritage, and there are many of them."

"It seems that you have a pretty high opinion of the Orientals."

"That's right, when I was young, the Anglo-French army captured the city of Beiping, the ancient Oriental Dynasty was cowardly but still had a good reputation, at least the war reparations were not in arrears at all, and maintained good relations with the British Empire, as far as I know, the Strait Governor's Office has been vigorously introducing Chinese immigrants to make up for the shortage of Chinese labor, they are very good farmers."

"These Chinese in Australia are not like this, they are very restless!" Prime Minister Robert said with a feeling of emotion, and then raised his head and said with a serious expression;

"I rarely pay attention to the situation in Australia, just a few days ago I looked for some information, and I was surprised that the so-called Earl of Queensland has quietly run a huge force in Australia, and the Chinese immigrant population alone is as high as 10 million.

Moreover, it has developed a large number of territories overseas, and this is a rising new force, which cannot be taken lightly.

They beat the Dutch, they beat the Portuguese, and now it seems that there is a trend towards a unified Australia, which really poses a big problem for me.

Interfering in Australian affairs threatens to plunge the British Empire into another Boer War, which is much larger, at least 10 times larger.

Now the question is

What kind of voice should London have?

Whether our soldiers are worth the blood and fight for these abandoned untouchables is likely to cost tens of millions of pounds.

You know that the exiles to Australia were all robbers, thieves and prostitutes, and there were a lot of Scottish and Irish descent, as well as French, Italian and German descent, and it was a place that we often forget.

So, I'm going to find a reason that is enough to convince myself. ”

Nicol nodded frequently when he heard this, the British Empire has always been unprofitable, and those Australian native-born whites expect British soldiers to fight for them and enjoy the profits, but it seems that they are still too straight and have not been beaten!

"Australia is the glorious land of Her Majesty, and London has a responsibility to speak strongly."

"Maybe you don't know, Nicol, the Earl of Queensland, who formed the Ocean Kingdom, wrote a personal letter to Her Majesty, expressing enough humility and respect, and willing to lead the Ocean Kingdom to join the Commonwealth in the future, and respect Her Majesty the Queen, which is an official statement that the Ocean Kingdom can make public."

"This trick is powerful, like this...... Whether there is life or death within Australia, it has nothing to do with the glory of the British Empire, Australia is still a land bathed in the glory of Her Majesty the Queen. Nicol suddenly realized, and couldn't help but nod his head again and again.

"So, I had to find a reason to convince myself." Prime Minister Robert smiled wryly and took a leisurely taste of his coffee cup.

He is an experienced politician, who has served as Minister of Indian Affairs, Foreign Secretary and other important positions, and has a good understanding of the situation in the East, so he is hesitant.

This in itself should be a matter within the purview of the Colonial Office, but Sir Drofondre, the Minister of the Colonial Office, has not come up with a solution for a long time, and it seems that he is just preparing to thin the mud and watch for a while.

Prime Minister Robert was also inclined to this plan from the heart, war is not easy to fight, it costs money, first the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be firmly opposed, and then the Secretary of War will also strongly oppose this plan.

in the final analysis

Or is the British Army too small, only 276,000 men in 1890, but to colonize the whole world and maintain global interests, there are not enough manpower in any case.

Looking at the scale of the current civil war in Australia, both sides often invest three or four hundred thousand troops, how much should the British Empire invest?

If it is to transfer troops from India, whether it is 500,000, 1 million, or even 5 million, it is not a problem, the key is where to get so much military spending?

If the blood of the Indians is not shed, the British Empire will have enough confidence to launch an intervention war.

In the final analysis, it is a question of military spending, which is not a troublesome matter that can be solved by sending an army of 10,000 or 20,000, at least multiplied by 10 after this number.

So

The investment is much higher than Britain's intervention in the Russian-Turkish war, after all, so many troops and a large amount of military logistics materials have to be transported to Australia for thousands of miles, and there is no money to play with.

Refer to the virtues of the American GIs in later generations, and you will know what the British Imperial Army looks like now, the red military uniform on the body is dyed with expensive cochineal, and the mutton eaten must be Texel sheep or Charlotte mutton, as for the veal steak, it must come from Angus beef cattle, and it has Scotch whisky to drink poorly, after all, it is a familiar taste.

The officers and soldiers were out on the battlefield, and this small request could not be satisfied, and the British Empire, which was crisscrossing the seven seas, could find a piece of tofu and kill it head-on.

As for some people who will say that Australia itself is rich in cattle and sheep, why bother to transport it all the way from the UK?

This is not understandable, South Africa is also rich in beef and sheep.

During the First Boer War, the British army did not eat local beef and mutton, and used Charolais goats and Angus beef cattle sent across the Atlantic.

What people eat is not steak, but the indelible nostalgia and the pride of the British Empire.

Prime Minister Robert is now particularly well placed to understand the distress of Sir Globalfoundries, Minister of the Colonial Office;

Originally, I thought that the development of the Australian Dominion was quite good, and it was exporting wool and donating warships, and the annual taxes paid were never in arrears, and the increase was quite high.

Now I can't see it, the whole of Australia has almost been occupied by the Orientals, and it has become a big trend, which is really bad.

Prime Minister Robert wants to say that he is not disgusted in his heart, it is false, and the London government must take a tough stance, and the question is how to grasp this measure.

"Nicol, this matter still needs to be dealt with within the scope of the Colonial Department, please show your muscles to the Royal Navy and try to control it as much as possible."

"Well, then I am writing in the name of the Cabinet to urge the Colonial Department to properly handle Australia-related affairs, and ask the Royal Navy to cooperate if necessary, is that okay?"

"I think I can, so let's do it."

"If you want to use the Royal Navy, you have to pay an additional fee, which must be approved by Parliament, but it's the end of November, and it's Christmas recess soon, and when the MPs come back from leave, at least in late January next year."

"That's no way, I'm privately discussing with the leader of the parliamentary group to see if I can vote on the appropriation bill in advance, and try not to wait in line."

"Huh...... Unlikely. Nicol shook his head helplessly, he knew the temperament of those lords of the council, how could the council of the lower house be so efficient?

The bill to increase relief for the urban poor in England has been lying in Parliament for two years and has yet to pass it.

Other important bills awaiting a vote are piled up half a person high, and an additional appropriations bill wants to cut the line...... Why don't you die?

Is the prime minister very dicked, I'm afraid not.