On May 20, Benjamin was giving a speech in the London Parliament to apply for funding. He passionately explained to the Parliament the significance of the Great White Fleet's tour of the world.
"Dear gentlemen...the core interest of the empire on which the sun never sets is the ocean. Without the ocean, we would have nothing..."
"But unfortunately, in recent years, the influence of the British Navy has been declining... Yes, I am not alarmist, it is declining..."
"The design style of the new warship was actually determined by the Chinese! The international military experts unanimously called this new warship the Zhiyuan series..."
"Isn't this a shame? When can the naming rights of the navy be decided by the Chinese? Shouldn't this be the natural divine right of our British Empire?"
Benjamin roared with a sharp voice, his thin body trembling and spraying saliva from his mouth, which made other congressmen dizzy.
"Is this old guy crazy? Why is he so angry?"
"I don't know... There are rumors that his family's investment business in Asia seems to have lost money, so he hates Xiao Letian!"
"Ah! No wonder, the Chinese Palace is closed... God, I really love the Kung Pao Chicken and Bazhen Tofu there..."
"Hey... tell me, is this source of freshness poisonous? Have we all eaten so much poison before?"
"Haha... Those are all excuses. Benjamin wants to attack the Chinese... As far as I know, the supply of fresh food in Buckingham Palace has never stopped!"
"In Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire... Fresh Origin has not been discontinued at all!"
Many congressmen in the audience muttered their own small talk. These people are all old foxes in the political world, but they are not like the people who will be deceived. Except for his direct descendants, Benjamin's impassioned speech was really not shared by many others.
"I got a piece of news from an extremely hidden channel. It is said that the purpose of Benjamin's global cruise fleet this time is to start a war with the Chinese! Have you heard of it?"
"Oh God! How dare he? How dare he start a war without the authorization of Parliament?"
Benjamin Disraeli was a member of the Conservative Party, and their opponent was the Liberal Party, the party led by Gladstone.
The two largest political groups in the UK at the moment are the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party!
Most of the people in the parliament who made small talk and laughed at Benjamin were members of the opponent Liberal Party. When these people heard Benjamin's gossip, they would naturally become disgusted.
"The Constitution is above all else. Even the Queen must respect the Constitution! How dare Benjamin skip the Constitution? War authorization must be voted by the Parliament. Without the consent of the Parliament, no one can initiate a war!"
"Is he crazy? It's impossible, it must be impossible..."
Someone on the side sneered and said, "Everything is possible! Take a closer look at the size of the Great White Fleet. This is completely for actual combat!"
"Of course Benjamin will not declare war on his own initiative, but our navy of the British Empire did not say that it would not fight back after being attacked? What if we were actively attacked by the Chinese in Asia?"
"Haha... I'm afraid that when the time comes, everyone here will have to vote in favor! Which of you dares to vote against the war when the Royal Navy is attacked?"
"That's what Benjamin had in mind! The method he used is not new, it's very old, but it's very effective..."
The people who were discussing fell into a brief silence. They looked at Benjamin, who was foaming at the mouth on the stage, and listened to his impassioned military expansion plan with a taste of chewing wax.
"Are we just going to watch like this? Are we going to let him go to war with China unscrupulously?" someone said angrily.
Several other congressmen said coldly, "I still agree to teach the Chinese a lesson. The life and death of the Chinese have nothing to do with us... However, it is absolutely not okay to allow the conservatives to use this war to expand their power!"
"After a while, we voted against all his proposals... After the meeting, we went to see the former prime minister. We must take some action!"
Benjamin really came with a purpose today. After his impassioned spitting, there was a proposal to increase the budget of 4 million pounds for the Great White Fleet!
As soon as this number was exported, the surrounding MPs were in an uproar. Countless Liberal Party MPs booed on the spot, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
The Speaker banged the table with his gavel and ordered: "Quiet, quiet... Gentlemen, please be quiet... If you have any objections, you can apply to speak..."
"Silence, silence!"
Soon a member of the Liberal Party stood up and expressed his objection, "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I don't know why you want to invest more. When you established the cruise fleet, the Parliament had already allocated 1.5 million pounds..."
"Coupled with the Navy's own funds, how can it not be enough? What exactly do you want this fleet to do?"
"I wonder if your Excellency, Prime Minister, is suffering from amnesia? In 1840, our British fleet went on an expedition to the Qing Dynasty and fought a war that was related to the fate of the country!"
"We only spent a total of 12 million pounds. That was a national war against the huge Qing Empire!"
"The military expenditure for the second war against the Qing was slightly higher and did not exceed 20 million pounds..."
"And this time it's just a global tour of the Navy, relying on deterrence. Do you want to take away 5.5 million pounds before and after?"
"The lion opens his mouth. This money is British taxpayers' money and cannot be wasted like this!"
"Here, I would like to ask the Prime Minister, what is your real purpose for asking for so much military spending? Or, is the money enough? Will you ask Parliament for money again?"
"Please answer my question, and the question of the British people!"
The Liberal MPs in the audience immediately burst into warm applause, while the Conservative MPs booed. Some people stood up and shouted, "The Great White Fleet is cruising around the world. It is a shock to the world from our empire on which the sun never sets!"
"This is in line with our British national interests! Do you want our navy to be embarrassed in front of the whole world like a beggar?"
"Who will fear us then! Funds must be allocated, funds must be allocated..."
"Objection! We object!"
The House of Commons was noisy. Benjamin stood on the stage with a livid face and looked at the chaos in front of him. At this moment, his secretary suddenly walked in quickly and whispered a few words in his ear.
Benjamin's expression changed but he soon put on a smile. He didn't say anything but chose to leave. This time the bill could only be shelved.
The MPs didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling, so they dismissed the meeting and left the House of Commons. However, as soon as they walked onto the street, they felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
They found that there were various resting places along the Thames River, and countless people gathered together to read newspapers, as if something new had happened.
"Position...Position...Leo's editor's column...denounces the militaristic policy of the Benjamin government...strongly opposes the war conspiracy of the Great White Fleet!"
"Peace-loving European people... please unite... oppose war! Maintain peace!"
