The news of Xiao Letian's assassination spread quickly throughout Europe like a storm, not even 24 hours later. That night, all the kings and politicians in Europe knew the shocking news!
Queen Victoria in Buckingham Palace got the news during dinner. When Prince Edward told the news with a look of horror, the queen's hand slipped and the silver knife and fork fell on the dinner plate with a clatter.
"Are you kidding me? Xiao Letian is dead? He was assassinated?"
"Now it can only be said that life and death are unknown. We have only obtained the first report of the assassination scene. We do not know the results of the subsequent cleanup. This will take a certain amount of time... I estimate that it will take at least 24 hours for the final results to be confirmed!"
"But according to intelligence, the assassin used more than 100 kilograms* this time. The steel structure railway bridge was completely blown to pieces. The drop in the valley was as high as a five-story building..."
"So... so we can only judge whether it is more serious than bad!"
Queen Victoria rubbed her temples in pain, and she did not say anything for ten minutes. "Be prepared, let our navy and army be ready to intervene... It seems that the scale of this war between Prussia and France is huge." It’s going to be bigger than we thought!”
"There will no longer be any small-scale border conflicts, and there will no longer be those medieval gladiatorial wars. Once Xiao Letian dies, Bismarck's Eastern strategy will be completely ruined!"
"Can I guess what that guy is thinking? He will definitely fight to avenge Xiao Letian! Don't look at me with that doubtful look..."
"Actually, the reason is very simple. If Xiao Letian is alive to rule the East, he can bring a very vast market to Prussia, and he can do it in a peaceful way. This will greatly relieve the pressure of Prussia's lack of overseas colonies!"
"If Xiao Letian didn't help them open up the Asian market, what would happen if Prussia alone won the war against France?"
"You must know that Prussia now does not have a powerful navy at all! He cannot swallow France's overseas colonies. At that time, the Prussians will have to spend decades to build a capable navy. Navy out!"
"Only after a few decades can his naval power grab some overseas colonies for them. Do you think Bismarck will allow Prussia to waste these decades?"
"Absolutely not. He can only build a navy while slowly expanding his colonies. In this process, the Chinese are a very good buffer for them!"
"Before the navy and colonial system are established, if the Chinese help them support the Asian market, the industrial and commercial owners in Prussia will not live too miserable! Only their industrial products have the purpose of selling. land!"
"This is the core of the strong alliance between Bismarck and Xiao Letian. Otherwise, why would the relationship between them be so close? You have to remember that friendship does not come in vain!"
"Once Xiao Letian dies, he must fight against the French under the banner of revenge and try to win the support of Xiao Letian's successors. Only then can he ask the Chinese to continue to perform the contract!"
"But we in the UK absolutely do not want the war to escalate. Our purpose is not to kill anyone, nor to let Napoleon III die, or to let William abdicate. What we want is for the two countries to fight to the death and lose both sides, but we cannot allow either of them to do so. The country will perish!”
"What the UK wants is a mainland policy of checks and balances, and what the UK wants is for two vicious dogs to bite us all over, so that no one can challenge our UK's number one position. This is what we want!"
"Child, please remember to pay close attention to this war. Once the war starts, who will we in the UK help? We must help the weak side, and only the weak side. Only then can this war shed more blood!”
"If enough blood is shed, the national strength of both sides will be depleted even more. Now we are helping the Prussians, but if once the Prussians are about to wipe out the French, we will have to change our strategy and immediately protect France. people!"
"After all, what we want is the process of the war, not the result of who wins and who loses after the war! After this war is over, I hope that France and Prussia will continue to hate each other. I hope that it is impossible for both of them to Another overlord like Napoleon I appears!"
Prince Edward stood in front of his mother, bowing his head respectfully and listening to the teachings. "Yes, mother, I understand. Now because of Xiao Letian's incident, it is very likely that the Kingdom of Prussia will lose its mind and choose to invest all its strength regardless of anything!"
"This will cause a serious escalation of the war, and it will become protracted. Once it reaches the conclusion of consuming national power, France's stamina will continue to increase!"
"By that time, Prussia's final result must be a disastrous defeat, a very serious defeat, and even the country will be taken away by the French... This is not something that has never happened before. Napoleon I once ceded half of the land of the Kingdom of Prussia. Now, Napoleon III will not show any mercy!"
"Such a result is unacceptable to us in the UK. If such a result occurs, then Napoleon III may really transform into Napoleon I. The man who made the whole of Europe tremble cannot appear again. This is what we Britain’s bottom line!”
"Very good, your understanding is very correct. Go down and talk to Gladstone and the people in the military department to come up with a specific plan!"
"Yes mother..." Crown Prince Edward turned around and prepared to leave the palace.
"Wait a minute, before you leave, go and see His Majesty Emperor Tongzhi... Xiao Letian is his teacher after all, he should get the news as soon as possible!"
"Then mother, if Emperor Tongzhi takes this opportunity to ask to leave England and go to Prussia to express his condolences, should we agree or not, should we continue to control him, or should we let him out?"
Queen Victoria pondered for a moment, "The dead are the most important. Let Emperor Tongzhi send his master off for the last journey. Let the Royal Navy prepare the best warships to escort His Majesty to Prussia!"
At this moment, most people in Europe do not know that Emperor Tongzhi did not accompany his master to Prussia but stayed in London. It was not because the young emperor wanted to continue to stay in this foggy city.
In fact, the real reason is that Queen Victoria, the grandmother of the European royal family, was very shrewd in her calculations. She kept Emperor Tongzhi by her side because she actually wanted to be a matchmaker!
In the past few months, Emperor Tongzhi has almost become Jia Baoyu. Every day he attends various banquets and is surrounded by a group of European princesses. How happy he is!
