Vienna, Austrian Empire.

Viscount Stratford (Canning's cousin, also known as Canning), sat alone in the carriage, and he didn't bother to look out the window.

Because the burden on his body almost crushed him, he not only had to persuade Austria to side with Britain and suppress Egypt with all his might to prevent Ali's resurgence, but also to get Austria to support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, and at the same time to cooperate with the Austrians in his land operations.

The British army cannot afford another defeat, otherwise it will not be enough for all cabinet members to resign en masse to apologize.

If Russia's hegemony in the straits can be eliminated as well, then the Near East crisis will be considered a successful mission.

In fact, Viscount Stratford's ambition was not too big, and if it was Palmerston, he would definitely pull Russia and France to settle Austria together.

In fact, the state of war is far less severe than these politicians imagined.

At this time, the British lobster soldiers can be said to be invincible in the world, and 2,000 lobster soldiers in history drove Ibrahim's 30,000 troops out of Beirut under the cover of seven warships.

Although Ibrahim now led an army of 20,000 to besiege Beirut, the British soldiers in Beirut were not afraid at all, and the navy held a banquet instead, and the lobster soldiers (army) also had the support of the locals, so it was easy to defend.

Ibrahim sent his troops to attack three times, and each time they were defeated. At one of these times, the Anubis regiment had even stormed the city.

However, this army, which was considered to be a servant of death, was driven out by the British with bayonets.

(The Anubis Legion is a slave army that worships the Grim Reaper, seeing Ali as the embodiment of Anubis, the god of death.) But combat effectiveness, that's all. ）

Ibrahim could not be attacked for a long time, and he did not dare to continue the siege. Because Beirut, which is a sea route, has been cut off, supply lines along the way are being harassed.

And once the British cut off the supply lines in the Red Sea, then the 130,000 Egyptian troops left in Syria would be in a state of no return.

But in the eyes of politicians in London, it is extremely dangerous. The British army had only 2,000 troops in Beirut, and the Royal Navy, which numbered more than 7,000, refused to go to war and spent every day near the port.

It's okay to ask them to go to war, but you have to pay more.

William Symond's resume can be described as glorious, he was once a crew member of the Victory, then worked as a frigate captain, went through countless battles, and even proposed to make him commander of the North Sea Fleet, but he himself refused.

But William Symond was also a problematic general, who would only do what he was doing in his duties, and often asked the government to reward his soldiers or allow him to plunder.

Naturally, the British government would not be threatened by a general, ordered him to be removed from his post and continued to send reinforcements to Beirut.

However, rising anti-war sentiment at home, coupled with the previous defeat in Helmut, made it impossible for the British government to afford another defeat.

Viscount Stratford had to convince the Austrian Empire to enter the war as soon as possible in order to guarantee victory in the war against Egypt.

Viscount Stratford finally arrived at the meeting place, but Metternich seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Hello, Mr. Metternich. Stratford Canning, British Ambassador. I would like to congratulate your country on its first naval victory in history. ”

At this time, the British official accompanying him whispered a reminder to Viscount Stratford.

"Mr. Ambassador, the Austrian Empire has won many naval battles before."

"Oh? Is it? That's embarrassing, I always thought that the Austrian Empire didn't have a navy. Viscount Stratford said slightly apologetically, but his expression was a little contrived.

Metternich understands that British diplomats always like to give others a dismount first, and the British, who hold the hegemony of the world's seas, always like to turn their nostrils towards the sky.

Originally, this level of provocation would not have worked on a person like Metternich, but Franz had been brainwashing him, saying that the British bullied the weak and feared the hard, and that your kindness and politeness would be regarded as a sign of weakness by the other side, and that if you want to hold on to the fruits of Austria's victory, you cannot blindly compromise and retreat.

"Did you know? Pirates are very annoying, you don't take the initiative to provoke them, but they come to provoke them. For these nasty guys, countries generally resort to hanging. ”

Viscount Stratford, of course, understood what Metternich meant by pirates. It's just that he picked it up first, and it's understandable that the other party will fight back strongly. But he wasn't ready to give up, after all, the opponent was just a bad old man.

"Did you know? Pirates are actually very respectable, because they are the forerunners of democracy and freedom, and they are the most fair people in the world. We in England have never had pirates, just a bunch of maritime gentlemen with privateering licenses. ”

Due to the influence of modern film and television production, we often have the stereotype of pirates, full of alcohol, dirty and torn clothes, a hoarse voice constantly greeting other people's families, iron or wooden prosthetics on their legs, an old musket in their hands, and a noisy parrot on their shoulders.

But in fact, pirate leaders are usually democratically elected, and every pirate participates in the vote, which is truly full participation.

In addition, pirates do not only raid houses, they actually participate in trade, and usually have a decent outfit.

Viscount Stratford felt that he had won the battle, so he pulled out an expensive Cuban cigar and put it in his mouth, while his entourage hurriedly pulled out a box of the latest luxury matches.

With a "bang", the matches are lit, exuding a faint aroma, and each match is made of olive branches, which can be said to be very expensive.

However, there were many problems with this early match, first of all, the taste was not good, and the gas of antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum and starch burning at the same time could often choke people with coughs.

So much so that matches at the time usually had such a slogan: "Please try not to inhale gas." People with sensitive lungs should not use this product. ”

And mixing frankincense and myrrh into it will greatly reduce the odor produced when burning, but the price is a little.

At the same time, this kind of match has a huge problem, that is, it is very flammable, and it may be ignited at the slightest bump, so such a dangerous thing, Viscount Stratford must be handed over to someone else.

A box of such matches costs £5, which is equivalent to 4-5 months' wages for a British worker at this time.

Viscount Stratford let out a long smoke ring, and was about to show off when he heard a "bang", and as the lid of the metal box was opened, a flame erupted.

Prince Metternich lit his cigar with the lighter given to him by Franz, extinguished the flame with a crisp metal crash, and carefully placed the lighter in his pocket.

"A legal pirate is still a pirate, and a true nobleman does not become a gentleman at sea."

Viscount Stratford knew that he could not get any benefit from Metternich, so he simply diverted from the topic.

"Your Excellency, what did you just use?"

"It's called a lighter, and it's a small toy given to me by my students." Metternich knew what the other party meant, and he didn't want to make too much of a fuss. Rather than such tense,-for-tat dialogue, he prefers to immerse both parties in the dance and the wine.

(End of chapter)