March 11, 1855

reported by the "World Observer" newspaper of the Tang Kingdom;

An expedition from the Royal Pacific United Shipping Company recently landed on the deserted island of New Guinea and found that it was an unclaimed desert island.

In accordance with the tradition of the Age of Discovery, which originated in the 15th century, the principle of "whoever discovers first belongs to whom", the Royal Pacific United Shipping Company claimed ownership of the "New Guinea Island" and will present the island to the Tang royal family as a special gift before the grand celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Kingdom......

This report was quickly reprinted by the British "Times" with a keen sense of smell, and said sourly in the comments; "In the process of the great discovery of world geography, the Tang people caught the last train."

The focus of mainstream public opinion in Europe today is the sudden death of Tsar Nicholas I and the accession of Crown Prince Alexander to the throne.

The shock to the whole of Europe was so great that everyone's eyes were fixed on the East, and there was no time to pay attention to such a trivial matter.

It's just a desert island, what's so strange?

From the 15th century to the present, there are more than 200 desert islands discovered by British, French and Spanish explorers in Europe.

Year 1768

In order to observe the transit of Venus and calculate the exact distance between the Sun and the Earth, the British sent astronomer Charles Green to the South Pacific at great expense, accompanied by the famous geographer and ethnographer James Cook.

Cook's expedition laid the foundation for the British occupation and colonization of the South Pacific, capturing vast areas of the Australian continent, including Tasmania. Shortly after Cook's arrival, the original inhabitants of Australia and Tasmania were wiped out.

March 18th

After a simple and solemn donation ceremony, the Royal Pacific United Shipping Company dedicated the sovereignty of the island of New Guinea to the Tang royal family as a special gift for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and to express its admiration for the great king.

King Richard attended the donation ceremony, officially named the island "Paradise Island", and praised Li Yuanqing, chairman of the Royal Pacific United Shipping Company, and awarded the title of Viscount of the Kingdom as a token of honor.

This news spread widely in North America, and mainstream newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times published it one after another, and made different interpretations.

The Washington Post pointed out in a skeptical tone that the Spaniards had landed on the island in the seventies of the eighteenth century, and that the lack of gold in the first discovery was probably debatable.

The New York Times, with the headline "The Shining Pearl on the King's Scepter", focused on the new geographical discovery of the Pacific Ocean, saying; The "island of New Guinea (Paradise Island)" is one of the most significant geographical discoveries of the century, enough to go down in history.

In a way, the New York Times was an exaggeration to win the attention of Europeans, but they miscalculated.

In the midst of the turmoil in Europe, the newly enthroned Tsar Alexander II brought back the commander of the Russian army, Prince Menshikov, in the form of Prince Mikhail Gorchakov, who was reused by the new tsar after the defeat at the Battle of the Danube.

Every minute of the Tsarist Empire's movements involved the sensitive nerves of Europeans, and given its terrifying military mobilization capabilities, no one dared to take it for granted.

Prince Mikhail Gorchakov has always been known for his tough style, and he openly declared it from the beginning of his tenure;

This war must be carried out to the end, victory will eventually belong to His Majesty the Great Tsar, and the Tsarist side will once again carry out a national military mobilization to raise an army of 1.6 million men......

These appalling news filled mainstream European public opinion, and across the entire vast Atlantic, the news from North America could not be put on the table at all, and a wave was swept to the periphery without a single wave, and few people paid attention to it.

Downing Street, London

The official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

On February 5, 1855, the British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, who had just come to power to form a cabinet, looked very good, he had a cigar in his mouth, and the thumbs of both hands were in the bags of his tuxedo jacket, and he walked a few steps around the office with great ambition.

Speak; "Guys, we're doing a good job, Tsar Alexander won't fight the coalition forces in the Crimea, it's not in Russia's fundamental interests, and Foreign Secretary Sir Pashington should have new information to share with you."

As a decision-maker with the power to influence the direction of the world, London's sources of information are not comparable to ordinary people, and they can obtain many hidden information that the general public does not know.

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With that, he made a gesture of please.

Several cabinet ministers and cabinet secretary Schmidt-Pearce were in the prime minister's office, sitting or standing, drinking coffee and smoking cigars, and the mood seemed relatively relaxed.

The new Foreign Secretary, Pastington, gracefully made a chest salute and said in a haughty and confident London accent; "Suffering the crushing defeat in the Battle of Sevastopol, coupled with the violent death of the Tsar, internal and external troubles, the Russians could not hold on. When Alexander II came to power, he found himself in a mess, and he was now faced with a situation of rebellion and a major financial crisis. So authorized the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Alexander Mikhayinovich Gorchakov, to try to start the process of peace talks, and our diplomats in Vienna have already begun negotiations with the Russians. Gentlemen, we are about to reap the fruits of victory. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room burst into applause.

Everyone's faces showed a heavy look of joy, and against a super-heavyweight like Tsarist Russia, whether it was Britain, France, or the Ottoman Empire, it would not be easy, and the suffocating pressure was always there.

In the second year of the war, the huge casualties on the frontline battlefield had already made the British unbearable.

Now in this day and age

Britain's native population is just over 20 million, and it has lost more than 70,000 troops in the war, which is by no means a small number.

As a result, the previous Aberdeen government collapsed, and the new British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, was very lucky, and the Battle of the Chernaya River launched by the previous Prime Minister was a great victory, which established the victory of the entire war in one fell swoop.

As a result, Palmerston's cabinet has secured its position, and has gained universal support and prestige at home, and how can it not be happy to see that the whole war is about to be won?

"Oh, by the way, how's Lord Raglan doing?"

"It's a pity that the news from the front line is very unoptimistic, I'm afraid it's only a matter of one or two weeks."

"God, poor Lord Raglan......"

"There is no doubt that he is a hero of the British Empire, and this call by the Lord cannot erase the great deeds of His Excellency, and will be remembered by the people forever."

"Seconding, Lord Raglan led the valiant Continental Army to a glorious victory that will go down in history, and should be given a word to Her Majesty and give it sufficient glory."

"Seconded, this is the ...... he deserves"

"Second, God willing, but unfortunately Lord Raglan does not see the victory for which he is fighting, and we should send the news of Russia's prayer for peace to the front as soon as possible, so that Lord Lord can rest in peace."

"Seconded, it's just the Lord's desire to form the British Overseas Legion......"

In the midst of secondment, the cabinet proposal to give Lord Raglan high honor was passed, and at this time, Lord Raglan's proposal to form a British Overseas Corps was raised.

This kind of time

Lord Raglan's deathbed proposal became extraordinarily sensitive and of a posthumous nature.

As a revered hero of England and a noble nobleman, Lord Raglan led the LinkedIn Army to create great achievements and historical significance, no less than the Duke of Wellington, who commanded the 7th Anti-French Alliance to defeat the French Emperor Napoleon, and deserves special mention.

As for the Tang Expeditionary Force, which played a decisive role in the war, the British gentlemen present tacitly ignored it.

There is nothing wrong with the fact that the British mercenaries were also part of the power of the British Empire, and the vassal states of Britain were also part of the power of the British Empire.

All eyes were on the face of Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, after all, a British foreign mercenary group of 30,000 men was also a major decision for the British Empire, and it had to be discussed in Parliament and presented to Her Majesty the Queen's royal approval.

Britain's rigid and corrupt efficiency has been able to accomplish well in the current Cabinet's term.

It is only with the full promotion of the Cabinet that it will be possible to finally implement it.

Among them, the attitude of Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, was of paramount importance, and he replied with a solemn expression; "This foreign mercenary corps has shown enough strength to be respected and taken seriously, and this Cabinet will be committed to pushing forward with the Standing Appropriation Act for the British Foreign Legion, and God bless Great Britain."

"May God bless Great Britain." The crowd echoed in unison.

The cabinet approved the proposal without any objections from the present, and then the proposal was drafted and sent to the parliament for discussion on the matter of going through the procedure, and naturally the cabinet secretary arranged for his subordinates to do it.

As for the parliamentary vote, there is no need to discuss the power game of various parties for the time being, and it is certainly not something that can be reached this year, and it can be discussed in the long run.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I learned through the newspaper that Tang Guo has discovered a desert island in the Pacific Ocean, ...... you see," Schmidt-Pearce, the cabinet secretary, suddenly interjected.

Some cabinet ministers knew about this, while others didn't know and didn't care, and they just laughed when they heard it.

In the middle of the 19th century, almost no one in the British Empire knew what the island of New Guinea was.

How big is it? How many resources are there?

Even if you know, you don't know anything about it, you only know that it is a desert island with no human civilization, inhabited by some cannibal tribes that are still in a primitive state, and that's it.

Lord Palmerston didn't care, and replied casually; "Oh, there seems to be one thing, and I have the impression that the discoverer has dedicated the island to the Tang royal family, so send a congratulatory telegram in the name of the British Cabinet to congratulate him. After all, King Richard has brought us an excellent army, and he should be blessed with it. ”

"As you wish, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I will soon arrange for this congratulatory message to be sent." Cabinet Secretary Schmidt-Pierce replied respectfully.

This is not a simple congratulatory message, but represents the official attitude of the United Kingdom, recognizing the island of New Guinea as the sovereign territory of the Tang Kingdom, which can affect the official attitude of most European countries.

Such was the powerful influence of Britain as the "arbiter of Europe", a position of authority that was further strengthened after the crucial victory in the Crimean War.

In the same way, the influence of the Tsarist Empire, once the "steam steamroller of Europe", has declined sharply, and the fear of European countries has gradually faded, and all kinds of ridicule and hostile remarks have increased.

This is an unimaginable blatant offense in the "era of the alliance of the Three Emperors", in which the Tsarist Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Kingdom of Prussia formed good friends.

A few words determined Britain's attitude towards the island of New Guinea, a neglect that would be deeply regretted by the British 10 years later.

But at this time, no one realizes the significance of a huge island with an area of 786,000 square kilometers.

The world's second-largest island will form the cornerstone of the Tang Empire's strong hegemony in the Pacific and serve as a springboard for expansion into the Philippines and beyond, turning the Pacific Ocean into a small pond for the Tang Kingdom.

That's for later.

"Sir Pashington, what's new in the Kingdom of Sardinia?" Prime Minister Lord Palmerston asked.

What he meant was that as a speculative country, the Kingdom of Sardinia had just declared war against Russia and sent 15,000 troops to the war to usher in a decisive victory in the war against Russia.

The British don't mind that the Kingdom of Sardinia takes advantage, but to see what they offer?

Sir Pastington, the Foreign Secretary, smiled slightly, and said in a mocking tone with a haughty expression of disdain on his face;

"Cavour, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, had a lot of ideas, and it was indeed full of the enthusiasm and fantasy of southern Europeans.

Unfortunately, he was going to be disappointed.

The Kingdom of Sardinia is a little late to betting, but wants to win a lot of chips that are not commensurate with its investment, as all the gentlemen here must know;

Prime Minister Cavour had always dreamed of the unification of the Italian peninsula by the Kingdom of Sardinia, the creation of a powerful kingdom whose subject would rival France and Austria-Hungary.

They first faced two great obstacles, one was the inclination of the French Emperor Napoleon III, whether he would like to have a hairy and turbulent southern European strong man sleeping next to him?

The other is Austria-Hungary, is it willing to cede Austria-Italy and let Prime Minister Cavour's dream come true?

on this issue

The Kingdom of Sardinia hoped to have the full support of the British Empire and to use its influence to help the Kingdom of Sardinia realize its dream of unifying the Italian peninsula. ”

Speaking of which

Sir Pashington, the Foreign Secretary, shrugged his shoulders helplessly, regretting the Italian lion's wide opening.

Some people always can't tell their own weight, Prime Minister Cavour of the Kingdom of Sardinia is the most vivid example, only show a little effort, and hope to get ten points in return, how can there be such a good thing in the world?

"What did the Foreign Ministry say?"

"Our reply is unequivocal to the side of the Kingdom of Sardinia; London understands the demands of your country, is willing to see the beautiful vision of the unification of the Italian peninsula, and is willing to provide some diplomatic assistance if necessary, specifically involving France and Austria, and your country should make specific representations with the countries concerned, and wish the Kingdom of Sardinia good luck. ”

"Hahaha...... This Italian idiot. ”

Hearing Sir Passington's answer, everyone present laughed in unison.

This kind of empty diplomatic rhetoric, lacking in substance, is in fact tantamount to not saying.

The only decent words are; "Willing to provide certain diplomatic assistance when necessary" has two qualifications, "when necessary" and "certainly", so when is "when necessary"?

How much is "some diplomatic assistance"?

The right to interpret this lies entirely with the British Foreign Office, and when you have free time, you can help it out and pass the time.

Throw it aside when you don't have time or time, and the British Empire is not the Kingdom of Sardinia, so it's a shame to pull these things on your body.

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