What politicians fear most is not conspiracy, but the situation getting out of control. Now something happened that Benjamin didn't expect at all, and an extremely dangerous atmosphere began to hit him.
Ivan and Montauban were dragged out of the wine table by the Prime Minister's personal guards. On the way, they learned about the attack on the East Palace. At that time, they were stunned. When they saw Benjamin, they quickly shouted loudly. Unjustly accused.
"It's not us, we have definitely never done such a thing! Besides, even if we want to deal with Xiao Letian, we will not burn down the East Palace of your country! Aren't we afraid of the royal family's revenge?"
Benjamin was stunned. When he thought about it carefully, it really made sense. In this era, no country dared to challenge the empire on which the sun never sets. Even if the French and Tsarist Russians had a hundred courages, they would not dare to burn the royal family. The palace!
"Are they really those thugs who lost control of their emotions? Are there really such fanatical guys?"
Ivan murmured to himself, "It won't change. I personally selected these people. They will never act without my order... Could it be that the Chinese burned it themselves and then put the blame on others?" Let’s do it!”
"Nonsense! Those cowardly Chinese people value their own lives more than anything else. When I attacked the capital of the Qing Dynasty, those big shots ran faster than rabbits..." Montauban was the first to put forward a rebuttal. .
At this time, Benjamin's expression changed, "Well... it's not impossible. This liar is good at playing tragic scenes... Forget it, why are you thinking so much? Someone, please prepare a carriage for me. I want to go to the East Palace in person!"
"Prime Minister! If you take the initiative to meet the Chinese at this time, doesn't it mean that we have lost!" The two asked eagerly, "It is probably a scam by the Chinese. Maybe they really set the fire themselves?"
"That's enough, what can I do? Even if it is really the Chinese who set the fire, do we have evidence? Can we explain it to the people one by one? Can we make it clear... Damn it!"
Leaving behind the two unlucky envoys, the Prime Minister got on the carriage and ran quickly towards the East Palace. The road was full of fire hose carriages coming to support, and even groups of Imperial Guards could be seen moving forward.
As the future heir to the royal family, the Crown Prince still has the right to mobilize the Royal Guards at the company level, but if he wants to mobilize the regular troops outside the city, the Prime Minister and the Military Ministry must jointly issue an order.
Benjamin slapped his forehead and said that it was really a mistake in the busy work. "Come here, take my order to mobilize a battalion of the army to the East Palace to protect the safety of the envoy... Let the military department send people to the Hyde Barracks and the Zhiyuan to report to those Chinese They expressed condolences and told them that the mission was safe and that the British Empire would definitely protect their safety! Go quickly..."
When the Prime Minister arrived at the East Palace, there were no citizens watching the excitement on the street. The Imperial Guards and the police dispersed all the citizens. At this moment, everyone around the East Palace was surrounded.
The Crown Prince, the Duke of Newcastle, Gladstone... all the dignitaries gathered here at this moment, more than thirty nobles and senior officials.
But unexpectedly, no one entered the fence, not even the crown prince was blocked outside.
"Please report to the head of state, Prince Edward, please see... Could you please open the door and let the fire trucks in?" The Crown Prince's entourage yelled at his neck, but the other party ignored him completely, and the black hole of the gun remained open to the outside.
Fortunately, since most buildings in Europe are made of stone, the little kerosene on the marble surface cannot cause much fire. Through the efforts of the Chinese soldiers, the flames on the outer wall have been extinguished at this moment, leaving only a part There were still sporadic fires in the bushes, and the grass on the ground smelled of burning.
"Prince, how is the situation?" Benjamin jumped out of the carriage and asked quickly. Before the crown prince could speak, Gladstone growled angrily next to him.
"Is this the security work you arranged? Is this still London? The heart of the British Empire has been set on fire? I'm sorry, I want to impeach you, I must impeach you!"
"Now that the East Palace has been burned down, will not even Buckingham Palace be able to protect it tomorrow? When has this happened to the British Empire? How should we explain it to the world?"
Benjamin was also very angry. He couldn't hold it in any longer. "That's enough, Gladstone! If you want to impeach me, then go ahead! This fire started under strange circumstances. You can't pass the blame until the investigation is clear." On my head!"
"Isn't it over? Is it time to argue now? The most important thing now is to confirm the safety of the head of state!" Crown Prince Edward roared angrily.
The Duke of Newcastle quickly smoothed things over, "Okay, stop talking, I'm going to shout and see if I can see the other party..." But he didn't expect that even the Duke of Newcastle, who had a cooperative relationship, couldn't open the door.
Time passed minute by minute, and soon it was 12:30 midnight. At this moment, the flames had been completely extinguished, and the street was quiet, except for the occasional trampling sound of war horses' hooves.
"Xiao Letian is expressing his anger to us! There is nothing we can do. It seems that he will never see us today. Go back and prepare how to negotiate with the Chinese tomorrow!" Edward angrily got on the carriage and left. He gave Benjamin an angry look before.
"Whoever caused the trouble will be responsible! Let's go..."
The noble officials left one after another, and in the end only Benjamin was left standing at the gate. He looked at the high black wall and the vigilant soldiers inside, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Come here! Allocate two companies of troops to protect the safety of the East Palace, and let the police department drive away any protesters... We must not let any more accidents happen!"
Late at night, all the citizens near the East Palace were awake. They hid behind the curtains and watched as the soldiers on the street began to change their defenses. The Imperial Guards withdrew their barracks, and the army from the military headquarters began to take over the security here, with three steps to one post and five steps to one. The entire East Palace was surrounded by soldiers.
Even busier were the police. Countless police officers were angrily scolding their subordinates. You could even see several police officers having their shoulder garb removed. That was because the police officer in charge today was directly expelled from the police force.
Only the East Palace was silent. The Chinese seemed to be hibernating. No one spoke or made any movement.
After a peaceful night, Benjamin sent negotiators to see Xiao Letian the next day, but he didn't expect that these Chinese people still blocked the door and refused to let anyone in.
Even the Queen's envoys were blocked out. Not only the East Palace but also the remaining Chinese garrison were built with high sandbag walls. Except for the quartermaster purchasing a little food, any remaining soldiers were fully armed and under martial law.
The same was true for the Zhiyuan. The gangway was put away. The military officials who came to communicate and negotiate could not even see Xiang Ying. The entire Chinese people fell silent, without taking any action or even a word of protest.
The strange silence has left the entire British political arena at a loss. What on earth do the Chinese want to do? This question is on everyone's mind.
