"Since it's the French who are in trouble, let them clean up their own hands. It is not appropriate for London to show a definite inclination on this issue, lest it be misinterpreted by all sides, and it will be a different person inside and out.

That one...... The supply ports of Chennai or Singapore can give the Orientals some trouble. Well...... Forget it, don't do it too much. ”

The Prime Minister, Lord William Jurte Gladstone, had just made his decision, shook his head and overturned it himself, simply because it didn't help.

The expeditionary fleet of the Tang Empire carried so many cargo ships and troop carriers, including coal carriers, but they only used the calm anchorage of the port to replenish fuel, and by the way, replenish some fresh vegetables and fruits and clean water.

If they were to be made difficult, it would not have contributed to the halfway of the expeditionary fleet, but at most it would have added some difficulties.

It's best not to do this kind of half-tone thing, and if you want to do it, you can do it absolutely.

"What do you think, dear Sir Cecil?"

The Prime Minister's question was thrown to William Cecil, the Minister of the Colonies, and William Cecil's answer was very crisp, saying; "They can be allowed to occupy the port of Suez, but they can't touch Cairo and Alexandria, and that should be our bottom line."

Sure enough, he is worthy of being an old colonist, and he hit the nail on the head to get to the essence of the problem.

The Suez Canal is the dividing line between Asia and Africa, and is also the most direct water passage between Asia, Africa and Europe.

To the west of the canal is the low-lying delta of the Nile, and to the east is the uneven and arid Sinai Peninsula, an almost barren land of arid desert and Gobi that has no value.

Before the canal was built, the only important settlement next to it was Suez City. Other towns along the coast basically developed after the canal was built, with more than a few thousand people, a few hundred, and relatively sparsely populated and desolate.

Egypt's wealthy and populated region, located along the Nile River in the south, has a long agricultural history of more than 3,000 years and many historical sites, making it the best part of Egypt.

The Suez Canal stretches from Port Said in the south to Suez City in the north, and becomes more and more desolate the further north it goes.

Topographically, the topography of Suez is composed of three shallow and water-filled depressions, namely Lake Manzara and Lake Timsach and Lake Ku, the latter forming a large and small continuous body of water, and the Suez Canal runs through the Suez Isthmus to connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

The ruler of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, insulted the Tang Dynasty and will pay the price, so the entrance to the Red Sea of the Suez Canal in the north is not an unacceptable situation for the Tang Dynasty to occupy during the war.

After all, Datang is the second shareholder of the Suez Canal, accounting for 22% of the shares, and occupying this city with a population of more than 100,000 is enough to vent its anger, both inside and face.

If greed is not enough, trying to get their hands on the traditionally rich and populated areas on both sides of the Nile would touch the traditional interests of the British and French powers, which is another story.

The British and French powers can be seen as lions on the Serengeti savannah in Africa, greedily eating flesh after hunting wildebeests, but they are very wary of the approach of their opponents, and will habitually protect their food.

The Tang Dynasty's temporary occupation of Suez City was tantamount to a piece of land far away in the desolate north of Egypt, which could not threaten the vital interests of Britain and France for the time being.

And it was the Egyptian Pasha Ismail who lost, and there was no need to make radical moves.

In time

There are ways to force the Tang Dynasty to leave Egypt, which is due to Egypt's proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and its important geostrategic value of connecting the Asia-Europe shipping lane. The proximity of competitors will make countries such as Britain and France nervous, and they will have to move away to be able to sleep soundly.

At the moment, there is no hurry.

Lord William Eult Gladstone, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, nodded in agreement, considered it for a moment, and commanded; "Tell the French through a suitable channel that the Datang is coming, and based on the transatlantic intimacy, we maintain a neutral and non-interventionist position on this. As for what the French want to do, we are equally neutral. ”

The cunning Englishman had not forgotten about the French by this time.

From the position of the French, they were the initiators, instigating Ismail Pasha to detain the Tang merchant ships in order to vent the evil anger in their hearts.

Now that Datang has made a tough counterattack, it is reasonable for the French to let it go, and this is tantamount to burying the last trace of incense.

Ismail Pasha was originally the master of the top bag, but now that he is in trouble with the tyrannical Tang Dynasty, France, the main envoy behind the scenes, will never do anything that does nothing and pats his ass as far away from this trouble, can he still stand in the international arena in the future?

Thinking of the calamities and hardships in France today, several people in the prime minister's office laughed in unison, smiling so happily......

Paris

It has been two days since President Thiers learned of the news that the expeditionary fleet of the Tang Empire had sent troops, and it was not that the French were slow to react. Rather, the core issue of France at present is to solve the problem of the German occupation forces and the huge war reparations, and to restore the sovereignty of France as a normal state.

Everything else has to stand on the back burner.

The smooth issuance of the 2 billion franc war bond finally made President Thiers breathe a sigh of relief, and a rare smile appeared on his face that had not been seen for a long time.

Five billion francs is indeed an astronomical amount for France.

According to the purchasing power of the present era, 5 billion francs is equivalent to about 1.25 billion taels of silver, or 1.25 billion Tang Yuan, which is equivalent to 250 million pounds sterling, which is enough money to overwhelm the French finances.

Thankfully

The humiliation of the occupation of the German Empire made the French people patriotic enthusiasm high, and they enthusiastically bought the public bonds issued by the government, and saw that the huge public debt of 2 billion yuan was expected to be completed ahead of schedule, and President Thiers' joy can be imagined at this moment.

He had already planned to issue another 3 billion francs of public debt next year, and after paying off the huge war reparations, those hateful Germans would leave French soil, and there would be no reason to continue the illegal occupation.

After recuperation, France will surely return to its former prosperity.

At this time

The news of the Tang expedition to Egypt came and made President Thiers lose his mind instantly.

Since he had been concentrating on domestic affairs in the past few months, he did not know the ins and outs of this matter, so he asked with a somewhat blank expression; "God, what is this for?"

The senior secretary of the presidential palace did not dare to conceal it, and explained it in this way, which immediately aroused the anger of President Thiers, who waved his hands a little frantically and asked;

"It's unbelievable, what a bunch of idiots, and no one has stopped this ridiculously clumsy little trick?

In addition to embarrassing those Orientals, does the seizure of Datang's merchant ships have a substantial effect?

Well, now it's an excuse to get caught and go crazy.

What is the most pressing thing in France right now?

It is imperative to get the barbaric Germans out of here, to stop the rampant mass smuggling, to rebuild the confidence of the people at home, and to restore order and complete sovereignty to France.

What the hell is wrong with this world...... Why doesn't anyone think about the country, do we still have the ability to help our Egyptian friends? ”

The president's senior aides could not answer any of these questions, so they could only look at each other and remain silent.

Fortunately, President Thiers did not need them to answer, but sat down in his chair with a tired expression, waved his hand and said; "Please let Marshal Bejou come to me, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fisher, I will wait here, go quickly!"

"Please wait, Mr. President." The senior staff members responded weakly, and then immediately trotted out to find someone.

It didn't take long

Marshal Berjou and Foreign Minister Fischer hurriedly joined forces, and when they saw President Thiers, who had returned to normal, their hearts relaxed.

"Mr. President, you ......"

"Don't say those useless words, you all know about the Tang expedition to Egypt, now talk about your thoughts, do you want to save poor Ismail?"

"The opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be to negotiate with the Tang Dynasty first, find out the ultimate purpose of their expeditionary fleet and the extent to which it is prepared, and then take targeted measures......

"Okay, I see, thank you, Minister Fisher." President Thiers interrupted him and nodded in reply; "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can do what is being proposed first, and now I would like to hear the opinion of Marshal Bejou, how many of us are in Egypt?"

Marshal Berjou glanced at Foreign Minister Fischer, who was speechless, and organized his words before replying;

"Mr. President, there are about 7,300 French merchants and adventurers living in Egypt, and we maintain a military presence of 13,500 men in the region, mainly in Port Said on the Mediterranean coast, which is the northern exit of the Suez Canal. This is a military force that is strong enough to influence the situation in the region. ”

"With the help of military instructors and arms from France, will Ismail, the governor of Egypt, be able to drag this impending war into a stalemate?"

"It's hard to say, it has to be judged in combination with the actual situation of both sides, as well as unexpected factors such as the commander's decision-making and on-the-spot response. Overall, even with our help...... Egypt has no more than a three-in-a-ten chance of dragging the war into a stalemate. Unless France sends the Foreign Legion to fight with Egypt, the likelihood of dragging the war into a stalemate doubles. ”

"No...... It doesn't make any sense that the French army will not be directly involved in the war. President Thiers shook his head flatly, rejecting the possibility.

President Thiers' prestige as president of the provisional government that pulled France out of the mire grew with the crushing of the Paris Commune and the successful issuance of a 2 billion franc public debt. It is expected to reach its peak after the withdrawal of the German Empire, and become a celebrity of the times who saved the French nation from peril.

It occupies a place among the well-known people of the starry Fran dynasties.

From the point of view of one's political career;

At this moment, President Thiers did not want to cause more trouble, and then affect the most important issue of next year's public debt of 3 billion francs, with the aim of withdrawing the German Imperial army from French land, completely putting an end to large-scale smuggling, recovering national sovereignty, and realizing the salvation of the entire nation.

Besides, I haven't taken care of my own, and I owe an astronomical amount of national debt, so how can I have the energy to take care of Egypt's affairs now?

Is it true that it doesn't cost money to fight?

If it is placed in the usual days

President Thiers really doesn't mind meddling in Egypt's war against Datang, in the past, France took the initiative to provoke colonial wars all over the world, and he was a bandit who caused trouble everywhere.

But not now, the timing, the situation in Europe, and the financial situation do not allow France to continue to waver, and it is necessary to restrain the habitual behavior of sticking out its claws outward, and live a life of self-control.

(End of chapter)