Britain in the 19th century was called the Victorian era by later generations. This was the most glorious period of the empire on which the sun never set. At that time, no country in the world could match it.
Hundreds of years of heritage have allowed this small island country to survive two world wars and still be one of the world's powerful countries. Even if the United States replaced the United Kingdom, the United States has always treated the United Kingdom as its teacher. In the 21st century, the United States Strategically, Britain is the most important country, even more than the entire European continent.
After the end of World War II, when Europe entered a period of rapid economic development, when European countries began to establish the European Community, and until the later period of the European Union and withdrawal from the euro, the United Kingdom, an old power, was independent in its own way.
The UK is not a founding member of either the European Community or the EU, and was one of the last countries to join. As for the Euro, the UK is too lazy to join, which fully reflects the pride left over from an empire on which the sun never sets.
Britain, which has already retreated to the second line, is still so proud, so we can imagine what it was like in the most glorious period of the Empire on which the sun never sets. The mentality of the British people at that time was definitely no less than that of the Chang'an people in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. The pride in his bones has been integrated into his blood.
It is impossible for Benjamin not to know the British national strategy. To him and the Earl of Derby, the rise of any country in the world does not matter, and the British even consciously support those countries that are ranked lower.
The reason is simple. The biggest threat to the first place is always the second place. If the Empire of the Sun Never Sets wants to rule the world for a long time, then the second place must be replaced frequently.
French Napoleon was so powerful that all of Europe had to unite to deal with him. Then Britain would vigorously support Russia, Prussia, Austria and other countries to jointly encircle and suppress Napoleon.
After Napoleon died of illness in Corsica, Britain suddenly discovered that Russia had been nicknamed the European Arbiter. The Czar actually relied on the residual power of his victory over Napoleon to begin to encroach on central and southern Europe, and even sought to attack Turkey to compete for hegemony in Central Asia.
Being too powerful in second place is not a good thing. Britain quickly formed an alliance with France, taught the Russian bear a lesson in Crimea, and returned the second place throne to France.
Now Napoleon III has captured huge national interests through his alliance with Britain. France's overseas colonies are expanding rapidly, and even the French can invade the capital of China. This is undoubtedly a huge improvement for France's national prestige.
Why did Britain not raise any objection when Prussia fought a Prussian-Danish War and a Prussian-Austrian War? Is it just because the Queen's eldest daughter married Prince Carl, the son of William I?
This is really a joke. In the face of national interests, family ties are nothing? Britain's purpose is very clear, it is to hope that the underachievers in Prussia's class... no, no, no, it should be said to be five or six.
Britain just hopes that Prussia, ranked fifth or sixth, will become stronger so that the expanded Prussia can contain Russia in the north, France in the south, and Austria in the east... It is in Britain's national interest to let these countries fight.
I will always be the eldest in the class, and you can grab the second runner-up position at will. I even encourage you to grab it. This kind of balance is the brilliance of British national strategy.
Now Benjamin actually said such childish words in front of the Earl of Derby, which simply subverted Derby's previous high hopes for him. Now he has to re-examine this successor. If Britain is handed over to his hands, will it be possible? Could it be a mistake?
"Benjamin... you are a mature politician. I really don't understand why you would say such a thing? Isn't it in our interests to go to war between Ryukyu and Russia? Isn't the conflict between Prussia and France not good for us?"
"Do you know that when I learned that Xiao Letian's army had a fierce fight at the French-Swiss border, I drank a large glass of dark beer in excitement..."
"Look at Xiao Letian's performance in the Austro-Prussian War. He successfully drove the arrogance maniacs on the opposite continent crazy. He was like a sharp wooden thorn, making those monarchs restless and even bewildered!"
"Look at Napoleon III's disastrous defeat in East Asia! Don't you feel happy watching the French fleet destroyed in Ryukyu?"
"I admit that the strange battleship in Xiao Letian's hand made me feel a little threatened, but please remember, it is only a slight threat! It is not the biggest threat..."
"To me, it's like a rising country ranking dozens of times suddenly got a rare pistol from nowhere... It looks very powerful but wants to challenge our number one position? Haha, he still needs to pass a lot of tests..."
Benjamin heard the joking tone of the Earl of Derby and said seriously, "Dear Prime Minister, I understand what you mean, and I know better what Britain's national strategy is... But I still hope that you can exert influence and push Britain to go to war with Ryukyu. !”
"If we really can't go to war, I also hope that we can use the power of the country to eliminate Xiao Letian!"
Benjamin's expression was very stern, "This is not my random nonsense, this is really a rigorous judgment that I have made after careful consideration for a long time!"
"This man is so mysterious. His seemingly unremarkable and misguided strategies always yield the greatest rewards. Originally, Prussia initially just used him as a rich oriental fat sheep to be slaughtered. All it needed was It was just Eastern funds in his hands, but after this guy came to Europe, he quickly got involved in the Austro-Prussian War..."
"Let's mix it together. No matter how idiot Bismarck is, he would never think of using his guests to die on the battlefield. I originally wanted him and his army to observe the Prussian-Austrian battlefield... But what happened in the end? They fought a A crazy bloody battle on Stone Bridge!"
"Not only that, this man is very good at deceiving people. Through this war and the Hamburg fire rescue operation, even his assassination can be used to make a fuss! When he left Hamburg, the whole city was empty to see him off, and everyone in the city The church bells rang collectively to see off these Eastern troops!"
"My dear Prime Minister, don't you think this guy is too evil? Is he still a human being? We can say it was luck once or twice, but since his rise, why has every step been luck?"
"There is an old Chinese saying that everything that is abnormal is a monster! His luck is so good, I can only believe that he is a monster from the east!"
"Our British national strategy is used to deal with normal people, not monsters! For such a character who is difficult for us to understand, the best choice is to eliminate him humanely!"
