"Prime Minister, are we not going to issue an ultimatum?" Foreign Secretary Robert Peel was stunned. "Are we going to let the Indian Empire fight alone?"
"Well..." Duke Wellington frowned slightly, "If the Ming Empire does not submit an ultimatum to us, then we should not take this step... because currently we still have a group of people in Europe. There is a large and decisive war to deal with, and we should concentrate first on resolving the troubles in Europe."
Foreign Secretary Robert Peel still didn't understand the Duke of Wellington's thoughts, so he just frowned and looked at the Duke.
The Duke of Wellington said: "Robert, now is not the best time to involve the United Kingdom. Just like when we opposed Napoleon's ambitions, we always let the brave Germans, Rakshasas, and Spaniards go first. And We sit back and provide financial and weaponry support to everyone. Although we have declared war on Emperor Napoleon and sent our powerful and capable army to the battlefields of the European continent. But it is undeniable that We were not the main force opposed to Napoleon's imperial ambitions.
At that time, we provided money, guns, fleets, and a little army. However, few of the soldiers who fought against Emperor Napoleon's million-strong army on the vast European battlefield spoke English. Our United Kingdom has not carried out comprehensive mobilization. We have only sent a small number of mercenaries. So when Emperor Napoleon completely collapsed, although the European continent was devastated, France, Prussia, Austria, and Rakshasa were all severely damaged, our United Kingdom was stronger, richer, more stable, and more attractive than ever before. Talent and funding from across the continent.
And this time, in order for the United Kingdom to still have the last laugh and bear the least losses...the brave and fearless people of India are willing to sacrifice everything! This is their glory, their mission, and the expectation of Emperor William to whom they are loyal! "
"But are Indians willing to make such sacrifices?" Robert Peel asked.
The Duke of Wellington nodded and said: "Of course they are willing! I know India very well. I have stayed there for many years, and my brother was also the Governor-General of India."
This Duke is a master of India! The blessed place that really made him prosperous was not the European battlefield, but India!
He continued: "So I firmly believe that those Indians resolutely defend their country...I am talking about the princes and big landowners in India, there are about 10 million people, they are the real Indians. As for other , nothing more than a humanoid creature!
In India, most of the wealth created by those humanoid creatures will be owned by 10 million Indians, and they will give a small part of it to Emperor William in exchange for the emperor's protection. If the Ming Dynasty occupied India, based on their past performance, they would definitely liberate those humanoid creatures and give them human status and land so that they can have enough to eat. And this will literally kill Indians!
Therefore, these 10 million Indians firmly stand with Emperor William and the United Kingdom. Even if they sacrifice their own country, they will not betray us. Even if all of India falls, they will come to the United Kingdom or Canada with the wealth they have collected for generations and continue to serve as subjects of His Majesty the Emperor or His Majesty abroad. In fact, they were the most loyal subjects of the British Empire.
With the loyalty of these 10 million Indians, we don't have to worry about India as a country turning away from the United Kingdom because it cannot bear the pain of war... As long as we do not abandon them, they will remain loyal to the end. And they are one of our two biggest trump cards in defeating the Ming Empire. "
The Duke of Wellington obviously wanted to use the experience of defeating Napoleon to defeat the Ming Empire... The reason why Britain was able to defeat the seemingly invincible French emperor was because it could always spend money to find people on the European continent who were willing to fight for Britain. A country that shed blood and sacrificed its life for the interests of the country.
Without the sacrifices of these countries, it is difficult to imagine that the British alone could have endured millions of casualties to bring down Emperor Napoleon. In the Duke of Wellington's calculations, India will play the role of "human shield" and "quagmire" for Britain to defeat powerful enemies. So she is one of the trump cards of the British Empire.
And the other trump card mentioned by the Duke of Wellington is of course the rebellious United States!
However, the rebellious son of the United States is not as obedient as the filial son of India. After all, India cannot be independent - her independence is false, and everything is still under the control of London.
And the traitorous son of the United States is still a truly independent country. It will still take a lot of trouble to get them to sacrifice themselves for the British Empire.
The Duke of Wellington thought: "If the Royal Indian Navy can defeat the Ming Dynasty Navy fleet that broke into the Indian Ocean, maybe the Americans will be bolder..."
...
West coast of India, waters near Mumbai.
A huge fleet was slowly moving south along the coastline. Indomitus-class battleships, 2 Trafalgar-class battleships, 2 Ajax-class ironclads, 2 Goliath-class ironclads and 5 Minotaur-class sailing ironclads, 2 Shannon-class armored cruisers, 4 Silk-class armored cruisers Xihe-class second-class protected cruisers and 6 Surprise-class notification cruisers.
There were a total of 25 warships, and the billowing smoke almost obscured the sky. Such a spectacular scene made the British and Indian sailors on the deck very excited. Coupled with the three cutting-edge Blake-class fast armored cruisers that left Mumbai early, the main force of the entire Indian fleet, except for a group of shallow-water heavy gunships that could only wander offshore, was almost deployed. Many Indians who have only joined the Indian fleet in recent years are so excited that they are almost dancing, and even look forward to running into the Ming Dynasty naval formation that has rushed into the Indian Ocean...
However, on the flagship Revenge (the Sovereign-class ship whose turret was knocked off in the Battle of Kii Channel, and has now been refitted), Vice Admiral Edward Codrington and his British staff did not The Indian sailors below were so looking forward to a battle with the Ming Navy. Standing in front of the chart, he even prayed not to collide with the Ming Navy.
Yeah, better not to hit it!
This is actually what Earl Nelson meant... Now is not the time for a decisive battle with the Ming Navy. Even if the Ming Dynasty navy formation wandering somewhere in the Indian Ocean did not have those two terrifying hero-class ships, he would not want to fight with them. This time, if it were not to show the determination of the Royal Indian Navy and to show its presence when the Ming Dynasty fleet attacked somewhere in the Indian Ocean, he would rather hide in the Mumbai port and serve as a fleet presence.
In fact, the home port of the Indian Grand Fleet was moved from Calcutta on the east coast of India to Mumbai on the west coast just to be farther away from the Ming Dynasty... But he still didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty navy actually acted contrary to common sense and did not attack Malacca first. The Indian and Dutch strongholds on both sides of the strait rushed directly into the Indian Ocean!
To make matters worse, because the Malacca Squadron came and "fleeed at the sight of the enemy", it hid in Temasek Port as soon as it saw the huge Ming Dynasty naval formation. Not even a fast cruiser was sent out to follow... Of course, the fastest fast cruiser in the Indian fleet is definitely not as fast as the hero class, so following the Ming fleet is basically a narrow escape, no one dares to go Dryness is also normal.
However, the Malacca Squadron did not send an airship to follow the investigation due to "poor weather conditions", which may be a bit derelict in their duties. Due to their dereliction of duty, Vice Admiral Edward Codrington, commander of the Royal Indian Navy's Grand Fleet, had no way of knowing the exact location of the Ming Dynasty naval formation that broke into the Indian Ocean.
Where did they go?
Lieutenant General Codrington, who was standing on the edge of the chart, was really confused. If their target was Ceylon, Chennai, Male, or Chittagong near Myanmar, they would have arrived by now.
But now there is no news. Where has he gone?
