The 21 battleships under construction by the French (the Greater Texas fleet) could not satisfy the ambitions of France, and both Louis Philippe and the soldiers of the Bonapartist faction felt that France deserved better.

Great Eastern Fleet Expansion Plan, Great Western Fleet Expansion Plan, New Paddle Steamer Plan, Greater Texas Fleet Renovation Plan. A series of jaw-dropping plans were put on the agenda.

All the French, from the popular population to the upper echelons, wanted to build a strong navy to wash away the humiliation inflicted on them by the British.

In the face of this monstrous hatred, Kizo couldn't do anything, he could only approve the large-scale shipbuilding plan. But now France needs money everywhere, and it is true that the country is thriving, but all kinds of expenses are also rising.

At the same time, the problem of corruption in the Guizot government began to surface, and there was no problem with the corruption in French politics before, but only the small players of Spain, Mexico, the United States, and the Central American Federation.

But at this time, it is facing the powerful Britain, such a huge shipbuilding project is already costly, if it is corrupted at all levels like before, then the cost will be an astronomical black hole.

But it is also difficult to punish corruption, not to mention that he himself is the biggest mastermind, the workers' strike uprising in the country (the Lyon workers' strike), the agricultural crisis, the republicans who want to violently overthrow Louis Philippe and the increasingly restless Bonapartists.

If all these "corrupt officials" are dealt with, who will defend France? François Guizot comforted himself in his heart.

Viceroyalty of La Plata, South America.

Viceroy Rosas is still planning his great cause, if Argentina wants to unify South America, it must eliminate Brazil, the first step to eliminate Brazil will naturally control Uruguay, and if you want to take Uruguay, you must first conquer Montevideo, so as to cut off its support.

(Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, was the most important port at the time and a serious competitor to Buenos Aires.) ）

However, Rosas's men did not know the governor's ambitions, and they felt that Rosas had betrayed Buenos Aires by getting too close to the Brazilians, so the radicals, led by Juan Manuel, contacted the French in the hope of ousting Rosas as a puppet of the British.

Of course, no one will speak directly like this, and the reasons they give are that Rosas is cruel and tyrannical, indiscriminately kills innocents, violates the principles of free trade, and is authoritarian and reactionary.

In fact, they really didn't say nonsense, although Rosas was a republican, he was far more reactionary than ordinary emperors.

In order to win over the church, Rosas restored the privileges of the church, and closed a large number of schools, with 114 schools in Argentina at the beginning of his tenure, and only 35 schools remained in the country by the end of his reign.

Rosas also revived the Jesuit organization, using the power of the church to carry out deceptive propaganda and trick many gauchos, blacks, and Indians into working for him.

(It's almost the outrageous claim that Rosas went to heaven, when the level of education was very low, and what now seems ridiculous scams can often fool many people.) ）

In the name of maintaining order, Rosas implemented a policy of terror, during which more than 20,000 people were killed and property confiscated during the reign of Argentina, when the total population of Argentina was only a few hundred thousand.

His rule led to the mass exodus of the elite and the establishment of anti-Rosas organizations in other countries, which historically set the stage for his demise.

But in this life, Rosas could not wait for that time, and an expeditionary force of 15 warships and 5,000 French soldiers was ready to leave for Buenos Aires, where he would seek justice.

Originally, the regime change in Argentina was not about British personnel, because no matter who was in power, the money owed to Britain had to be repaid.

London received a secret message that the French were not only going to overthrow Rosas, but also to establish their own puppet regime, which they would then turn into a French colony.

This kind of thing was absolutely not allowed on the British side, so they sent people to negotiate with the French side, but this arrogant English gentleman deeply hurt the fragile heart of the French.

Because of the previous Spanish Civil War, the Turkish-Egyptian War, the Civil War of the Central American Federation, and the issue of agency in Mombasa (East African ports), every time the British had to stab the French in the head.

At the outset of this expedition to the Viceroyalty of La Plata, the British followed him like bloodhounds.

This made it almost unbearable for the French, because the Viceroyalty of La Plata (Argentina), which was originally a Spanish colony, now did nothing more than return things to their rightful owners.

So a French diplomat of low rank answered sternly when confronted with aggressive questioning by British diplomats.

"The act of the French expedition to La Plata is just, it is not an invasion, but a rescue operation to drive away thieves, robbers, tyrants. I advise you and the British government not to confuse black and white if you are not willing to contribute to saving your fellow whites, at least not to confuse black and white to make it difficult for us! ”

The irony in the words of the French diplomat is self-evident, and when did the British "gentleman" at that time suffer such a big loss, he immediately asked.

"Why do you say that? Is it not an invasion that can be judged by your words alone? And what right do you have to judge the actions of our government? ”

The French official straightened his shirt and cleared his throat.

"The same words, I give it back to you. Can you judge whether our country is an invader or not by your words alone? And on what basis do you judge the actions of our government? ”

The two officials did not let each other go back and forth, and seeing that the atmosphere was getting more and more wrong, the other entourages on both sides separated the two.

Since the two people in dispute were relatively low-level, the heads of the missions on both sides did not pay much attention to it, after all, politics is not such a child's play of arguing with each other.

In the eyes of professional diplomats, there is nothing that cannot be discussed, Spain is the former suzerainty of Argentina, and England is now the creditor of the Viceroyalty of La Plata, and both sides can take what they want, and even dividing the country in two is not a big deal.

Britain and France can make the Viceroyalty of La Plata independent from Spain, and naturally it can be returned to Spain, or half of the two sides, in short, it is just a deal that can be negotiated.

As for the Viceroy of Rosas, it was a completely insignificant thing in comparison with the interests of England and France.

However, the content of the quarrel soon appeared on the front page of the London Times, and the editor-in-chief wrote a highly inflammatory article about it, accompanied by a photo of a French official with his teeth and claws, and for a time the bars and cafes in the streets and alleys were full of talk of war with France.

Similarly, the people of Paris took to the streets to protest against the British interference in the internal affairs of France and Spain, and the angry crowd even threw torches and stones at the British embassy, and the hotel where the British mission was staying was also besieged.

But the call for war has not died down.

Although both sides had some difficulty in riding tigers, Franz did not feel that because Britain and France could go to war in this way, he needed to add another fire.

(End of chapter)