When Palmerston and Raglan heard that the Foreign Secretary wanted to meet with them at the same time, they immediately realized that something unknown might be happening in the Near East.

A look of panic appeared on both Palmerston and Raglen's faces at the same time.

Could it be that the Russian Empire had already broken through Silistra and headed for Constantinople?

A ridiculous idea rushed into Palmerston's mind, and in an instant Palmerston vetoed it!

Because once Silistra was breached, the first to face the Russian Imperial army was not the Kingdom of Britain, but the French Empire.

The 40,000 (Palmerston's intelligence) French army in the Varna region would not have been defeated so quickly!

"Quick! Let him in! Palmerston hurriedly said to the chief secretary.

Now is not the time for speculation!

Immediately after receiving Prime Minister Palmerston's approval, the Chief Secretary turned and opened the door and invited the Foreign Secretary to enter.

When the Foreign Secretary entered, the Chief Secretary departed and closed the door with intimacy.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Baron!" Lord Clarendon greeted Palmerston and Baron Raglan in turn.

"Minister Villiers! You are so anxious to meet with me and Baron Raglan, has something happened in the Near East? Palmerston asked directly.

Lord Clarendon nodded, walked slowly to his desk and handed the telegram to Palmerston, and said in a deep tone: "Our army is suffering serious combat attrition on the Gallipoli Peninsula!" ”

Palmerston, who took the folded telegram, unfolded the telegram, and the content of the telegram made Palmerston, who had a smile on his face, immediately change his face.

Baron Raglan, who was sitting opposite Palmerston, saw Palmerston's gloomy face, and his originally relaxed heart also fell to the bottom all of a sudden.

Although Baron Raglan did not know the contents of the message, he already knew the answer from what Count Clarendon had just said and Palmerston's expression.

After reading the message, Maxton took a deep breath, handed the message to Baron Raglan and said in a deep voice: "You can also take a look!" ”

Baron Raglan took the telegram handed by Palmerston, and after reading it carefully, his face immediately turned the color of pig's liver, and finally he couldn't help but slap the telegram on the table and scolded: "What the hell did that guy Dundas do?" Even the little thing of logistics support can't be done well! And Airey (Quartermaster of the British Expeditionary Force, Major General), what the hell does he eat? If you can do it, if you can't do it, take off the army and get out of the army! ”

"Commander Raglan, I think our priority now is not to correct mistakes, but to reduce our non-combat attrition as much as possible! I don't want to lose more than half of our army to non-combat attrition before the war with the Russian Empire even becomes! Palmerston raised his hand to stop Baron Raglan's invective, calmly analyzing the current situation.

According to the contents of the message, the night before, when Ambassador Cowley had delivered the letter from Paris, a rare snowstorm had fallen in the area of the Gallipoli peninsula, which was rare once in several years.

At first, the Duke of Cambridge, who was the temporary commander of Britain, only thought it was a short-lived blizzard, so he didn't pay much attention to it, and continued to stay in Gallipoli as planned.

However, as the time passed, the snowstorm became heavier and heavier, and it was only 8 hours before the feet were submerged. It was only at this time that the Duke of Cambridge realized that the situation was going in a direction unfavorable to the British army, and that the bitter cold wind was blowing mercilessly against every thin tent.

The thin tent alone could not stop the biting cold wind, and the soldiers in the tent were huddled together shivering with the same thin quilts, and every moment the soldiers were frostbitten and even facing death.

To make matters worse, the Kingdom of Britain was not ready for winter supplies, and even the basic necessities could not be transported after a heavy snowfall, and the morale of the British army was already low before the war began.

When the weather cleared up and the Duke of Cambridge recounted the number of troops, he found that after only one night, nearly 50 British troops had frozen to death, and 200 frostbite patients needed treatment.

The Duke of Cambridge had no choice but to divide his troops into two routes, one to Constantinople to tell the news to the garrison in London in the hope that Ambassador Canning would report it to London, and the other to go to the British Fleet Command in Malta by boat to seek support from the Commander of the Maltese Fleet.

After receiving a request for help from the Duke of Cambridge, Canning immediately went to Topkapi Palace to seek Abdul. The support of Mejid I.

However, despite the fact that Abdul. Mejid I was the host of the Near East, but he was equally powerless about Britain's current situation.

Because the Ottoman Empire was unable to send supplies to the Gallipoli Peninsula when the snow was about to close the mountains, Abdul. Mejid I tactfully made a suggestion to Canning, suggesting that he seek help from the French army.

After all, the current Rhode Island is a transshipment warehouse for France, and the materials stored in it can fully meet the needs of the French army itself, as well as support the embarrassed British army.

It was enough for the British army to discard all their equipment and get out of the Gallipoli Peninsula alone.

Canning heard Abdul. After the suggestion of Mejid I, he left in silence.

Then such a telegram appeared in Lord Clarendon's Foreign Office.

"What to do? What can I do? Baron Raglan grimaced and said dissatisfiedly: "It's nothing more than Britain continuing to stay on the Gallipoli Peninsula, or asking France for help!" I don't really know why the War Department made such a stupid landing plan, didn't they just take a look at the terrain of Gallipoli and ......"

"That's it!" Before Baron Raglan could finish speaking, Prime Minister Palmerston snapped: "Now is not the time to hold anyone accountable!" The 20,000 army suffered 250 casualties in less than two weeks, and this is indeed a mistake on the part of our cabinet! So we have to make a decision as soon as possible! ”

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister! Actually......" Lord Clarendon hesitated for a moment, then spoke again, "I have here a letter from Ambassador Cowley!" ”

"Ambassador Cowley?" Palmerston was stunned for a few seconds, and then couldn't wait to ask: "Could it be that there is also a change on the French side?" ”

"Nope! No! Lord Clarendon shook his head, and handed Ambassador Cowley's letter into Palmerston's hand.

Palmerston looked at Ambassador Cowley's letter again, and then thought of the situation facing the British army, and could not help complaining to France: "Damn the French! They must have known about Gallipoli for a long time! ”

"What's wrong?" Baron Raglan looked at Palmerston with a puzzled expression.

"Look at it!" Palmerston delivered Ambassador Cowley's letter into the hands of Baron Raglan.

After reading the letter, Baron Raglan could not help but insult the behavior of the French Empire: "I'll just say that the damned French definitely don't really want to ally with us!" If they had told us earlier, we wouldn't be in this situation! ”

Lord Clarendon said calmly as if he had not heard anything of the angry speeches made by Prime Minister Palmerston and Baron Raglan: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, Commander Raglan, our army is suffering from this storm, and the Cabinet must come up with a charter as soon as possible!" ”

"If Britain had not given up its armaments and sought the help of France, it might have been a solution...... No! No way! Palmerston suddenly realized that in this expeditionary force, there were also Times reporters.

If they had known that the British Empire had sought help from France, the British, who had too much pride, would tear the cabinet to shreds.

But if left unchecked, the British army stationed at Gallipoli was likely to fall apart, and the British people would have an even greater wave of collapse.

Palmerston could not bet that the weather on the peninsula of Gallipoli would turn in favor of Britain in the coming days.

Therefore, once you sit in the position of prime minister, you must not only have the ability to do practical things, but also have the awareness of taking the overall situation into account.

What is the big picture?

The overall situation must not only take care of the emotions of the British, but also successfully rescue the British soldiers.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I don't think you have to care about the impact of letting the army lay down its current weapons and equipment!" Lord Clarendon advised Palmerston: "Now that all of Britain has been drowned by the anti-Russian wave, we just need to put some pressure on the Times!" Naturally, they don't report news that is bad for Britain. At the same time, government departments should ......"

Clarendon's method is very simple, more than 90 years in advance, that is, to render the Gallipoli retreat as a British army to overcome difficulties and complete the strategic transfer of victory!

As for France, Britain, with its deep pockets, only needed to seal the mouth of the French Empire with money.

"That's it!" Prime Minister Palmerston made up his mind and said to Lord Clarendon and Baron Raglan: "Isn't France standing all over the world for gold? (Jérôme. While stabilizing the market and limiting the outflow of gold and silver, Bonaparte actively searched (shorted) gold to maintain the stable issuance of paper francs)! The Kingdom of Britain can help them by discounting their British bonds! ”

The discovery of gold in Australia has also made Britain rich, and Britain, which holds nearly a third of the world's gold reserves, will not be afraid of a frenzied run by France.

"So who's going to make this happen?" Palmerston asked Baron Raglan and Lord Clarendon with a smile on his lips.

"I'll go!"

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