London, England.
The stubborn sunshine over the English Channel once again penetrated the dark and gloomy sky of London, the foggy city, and penetrated through the glass into the lifeless conference room of No. 10 Downing Street.
The voice of General Hugh Gough, who had just been appointed Chief of Army General Staff, was stiff and cold, as if he was reciting a eulogy at a sad funeral. Looking at the corners of his lips, everyone felt the sun of the British Empire. It is falling slowly.
"Viscount Beresford believed that the performance of the Indian soldiers was very disappointing, lacking in honor and dedication, and that unless there were enough white officers and non-commissioned officers to supervise them, they would not be able to participate in any real serious battle. He believed that if we To continue to use Indian soldiers, the proportion of white officers and non-commissioned officers in each British-Indian army company must not be less than 10%..."
"That means the United Kingdom must join the war!"
Before Hugh Gough finished speaking, he was interrupted by the words of Prime Minister Duke Wellington. The coalition government ministers in the conference room all looked at the imperial hero who once led the British army to defeat Emperor Napoleon.
Everyone in this conference room knew that Britain would join the war sooner or later, because this was originally the battle between Ming and Great Britain for world hegemony. However, everyone was afraid of the power of Ming and subconsciously avoided participating in the war, so they made a plan to let the world go. The policy of the Indian Empire was to act as cannon fodder from the front.
Originally, everyone thought that as long as India was packaged as an empire, her war potential could be tapped and India could fight for the British Empire to the last man. But now it seems that they overestimated the moral integrity of Indians. No one expected that Indians did not love the Indian Empire at all, and they all looked very powerful when they were not on the battlefield. But once on the battlefield, they either ran away or surrendered. The hundreds of thousands of Malayan Army troops collapsed without even a good fight. If we continue to fight at this pace, India will not be able to hold on for too long.
Once India is finished, Australia will definitely not be able to defend it, and the Middle East will definitely fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty. By then, the Ming Dynasty's navy will be able to break into the Mediterranean through the Su Yins Canal... This is simply the end of the Western world!
"Moreover, the entire Western world can no longer stay aloof!" Duke Wellington added, "People on the European continent must understand that if the British Empire is allowed to fail, it will not only be the United Kingdom that loses its wealth and glory, but also the United Kingdom. There’s the whole Western world.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Robert Peel again: "Robert, His Majesty the King proposed to invite Rakshasa, Jin Guo, and Austria to mediate together, and convene a Vienna Peace Conference attended by the great powers... This peace conference This meeting should also be a meeting where we unite all countries to fight against the Ming Empire! Countries must understand that if we cannot unite to contain the Ming Empire, then it will be their turn after the Ming Empire defeats us."
Robert Peel nodded: "Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely go all out to convince other countries!"
The Duke of Wellington shook his head, "Persuasion alone may not be enough! Since Napoleon was defeated by us, life in these countries has been too easy. Now, we need a Napoleon!"
In fact, Robert Peel has been traveling to the European continent these days, trying every means to bring European countries together to sanction the Ming Dynasty. However, all countries were just dealing with Britain, and no one wanted to really offend the Ming Dynasty.
And the British Empire seems to have nothing to do with those European countries that are subversive... because the British Empire, which is best at stirring up shit, now lacks a stick that can stir up the shit basin of Europe.
And Napoleon II was this stick!
But this stick is not in the hands of the United Kingdom, so the Duke of Wellington cannot use it to beat the disobedient France, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Robert Peel frowned, "But Prime Minister, Napoleon II has always been under the control of the Austrians. He is closely watched, and it is difficult for us to get him."
"It depends on people!" Duke Wellington thought for a while, "Maybe we can ask the Princess Regent and Grand Duke Alexander to come forward..."
"What? Duke, what did you say?" Viscount Melbourne, Victoria's teacher and Home Secretary, was startled by this suggestion and looked at the Duke of Wellington blankly.
The Duke of Wellington glanced at Viscount Melbourne: "Viscount, it is necessary for Her Royal Highness the Princess to attend the Vienna Peace Conference in person, and it would be best for Grand Duke Alexander to attend on behalf of the Rakshasa Kingdom... If the two of them work together to present to Archduke Joseph Karl The other party couldn't refuse the offer to meet Napoleon II. And Princess Sofia, the wife of Archduke Joseph Karl, was a Bonapartist. So as long as those three young people become friends, we will have a way to take Napoleon II away from Vienna. . As long as Napoleon II arrives in London, we will have a way to get the King of the Netherlands and the King of France to change their stance."
"Okay," Viscount Melbourne nodded, "Duke, I understand. I will convince Her Royal Highness to cooperate."
The Duke of Wellington nodded: "Robert, I want you to go to the Netherlands immediately. I need the Dutch to act as an intermediary for the handover of the Dammasi Fortress... and try to get the Ming army to release those in Damascus as much as possible." Even if we cannot release all the white officers and soldiers captured in the Battle of the Peninsula, the Battle of Malacca, and the Battle of Traeger, we must strive to release some of them.”
"Yes, Prime Minister."
The Duke of Wellington then told the Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Palmerston, and the Director of Munitions, Lieutenant General Somerset: "Before the end of May, 6 Cressy-class armored cruisers and 3 Dreadnought-class fast battleships must be put into service... .Before the end of August, these nine new warships must join the Australian fleet!"
There is also a Dreadnought in this timeline!
This first-class battleship is an enhanced version of the Victory class. The most important improvement is the use of four steam turbines that can generate a total of 26,000 horsepower. Therefore, its design speed is faster than the Victory class, and can theoretically reach 21.5 knots (it ran 23 knots in subsequent sea trials).
As for the Crécy-class armored cruiser, although it still uses a reciprocating steam engine, it can run at a very high speed because it has 21,000 horsepower. The theoretical maximum speed is 21 knots, but in fact, when the pressure is turned on After ventilation, 23 or 24 knots are possible.
With these two types of "high-speed ships", we have a little bit of confidence in breaking diplomatic ties in the Pacific.
"Yes, Prime Minister!"
"They will definitely be delivered before the end of May!"
The Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Palmerston, and the Director of Munitions, Somerset, also patted their chests.
Wellington thought for a moment and then said: "There are two more Blake-class ships that must be repaired and then join the Australian Grand Fleet. In this way, the Australian Grand Fleet will have 3 fast battleships and 8 armored cruisers... It should be possible It’s a battle.”
"Yes, Prime Minister!" Somerset, Director of Munitions, patted his chest again, "Our experts have arrived at the Hindustan Shipyard, and they will definitely be able to repair them this time."
Wellington nodded and said: "The handover of Danmaxi Fortress will be completed in April, and then the Chinese fleet should rest for three months... There may be a new war in August. ! And in the 12 months from August this year to August next year, our Royal Navy will be in trouble because of the lack of battleships that can fight the enemy. I hope everyone can unite to get through this difficult period, no matter what how......"
"Prime Minister," before the Duke of Wellington could finish his words, Cabinet Secretary Huck had already knocked on the door and walked in, interrupting him.
"What's the matter?" Looking at his secretary Huck, Duke Wellington felt a surge of emotion - but don't make any more mistakes, the British Empire can't afford it!
Huck showed a reassuring smile when he saw Duke Wellington's expression, and said: "Prime Minister, the news from the Americans is a good thing... They had an incident in Texas with the Japanese immigration group supported by Ming Dynasty and Mexico. The conflict broke out and the two sides exchanged fire in Dezhou City, resulting in over a thousand casualties!"
