Wild North America 1846

Chapter 104, Decisions in London
London
In the office of Prime Minister William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne, in Downing Street, he was leisurely chatting with Foreign Secretary Sir Henry John Temple. Severe diarrhea and gastrointestinal diseases occurred, which aroused strong social repercussions after being reported by newspapers.

"This is too bad. The government has to do something about those profit-seeking factory owners. London cannot afford to lose the Thames. I have tasked the Secretary of State for Industry with drafting a report on this and regulating the behavior of business owners."

"I am not optimistic about this. Your Excellency, any bill that attempts to prevent industrial development will be difficult to pass in the House of Commons."

"I know that the damned capitalists have bought off the politicians, they have hijacked politics with money, and the global expansion of the British Empire does not exceed 1000 casualties a year, but the severe pollution of the Thames River and the winter smog alone cause More than 7000 people have lost their lives and 10,000+ people are suffering from various diseases, which is an absolutely unbearable status quo.”

"The best way to eliminate pollution is to relocate factories. The problem is that these factory owners have provided sufficient salaries and taxes to support the prosperity of the British Empire and the status of the world's factory. We must make a trade-off among them..."

At this moment

There was a light knock on the door, and the cabinet secretary, Owen Spacey, poked his head in and took a look, and said in a low voice; "Excuse me, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Lord Arthur Wellesley, Minister of the Colonial Department, is waiting outside. Said that there is an urgent matter and I need to see you immediately, I don't know..."

"Oh, let him come in Owen, and you come and listen together and make a meeting record."

"Understood, now."

Cabinet Secretary Owen Spacey shrank his head back and closed the door smoothly.

Not long
Lord Arthur Wellesley, Secretary of State for the Colonies, came in with an urgent mail in hand, followed by Owen Spacey, the cabinet secretary, notebook and pen, and found a chair on the edge of the prime minister's office Sit down, open your notebook and prepare to record the content of the meeting.

"My lord, should I stay away for a while?"

"No, no, no... Dear Sir Henry, this is an email about the newly established Datang Kingdom in North America requesting assistance. It involves the current US-Mexico-Tang war. I think it is very necessary to listen to your valuable opinions."

Lord Arthur Wellesley, Minister of the Colonial Department, gracefully made a gesture of asking to sit down, and then placed the mail in his hand on the table in front of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister William Lamb didn't ask too much. He opened the confidential diplomatic mail and looked at it for a while, then thoughtfully pushed it to the side of the table for Foreign Minister Henry to circulate.

There was a brief silence in the room. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister were digesting the newly received news and considering countermeasures.

A moment later
Sir Henry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, raised his head, closed the confidential diplomatic mail, and said thoughtfully; "It seems that the Datang Kingdom has already demonstrated a certain value. Moreover, a considerable gold mine was discovered in San Francisco. It means that they have a certain ability to pay. For example, the request to transport Chinese immigrants across the ocean can bear a considerable part of the cost. The question now is whether it is worthwhile to continue to increase investment?"

"That's the problem." Lord Arthur Wellesley, Minister of the Colonial Department, shrugged his shoulders, sat down on the chair next to him, and said;
"The value of Datang Kingdom lies in two aspects;
On the one hand, the existence of the Tang Kingdom can disintegrate the United States' appeal to the Oregon Colony, curb its ambitious expansion attempts, and reduce the pressure on Britain in North America.

tell the truth

If there is no Datang Kingdom to stand in the way and allow the United States to expand smoothly to the west coast of North America, it is impossible for us to keep the Oregon Colony. This is an unavoidable fact at present.

Second aspect
From the perspective of international strategy, a strong and unified United States has strong hostility towards Britain, which has undoubtedly been manifested in the "Monroe Doctrine".It is trying to strip the influence of the British Empire from South, North and Central America, which is absolutely unacceptable to us

A divided North America is more in line with the global strategic interests of the British Empire.

It is a pity that neither Canada nor Mexico can take on the heavy responsibility of confronting the United States, they are too weak. "

"Does the Tang Kingdom have such strength? Judging from the documents, they only have a population of about 10, so they can only be regarded as a relatively strong tribe." William Lamb took back the diplomatic mail and asked while reading it. .

"To be precise, I think it has such potential." Lord Arthur Wellesley, Minister of the Colonial Department, didn't mind saying a few good words for the Tang Kingdom. After all, he took a share certificate of the American River Gold Rush Company in private. .

As a refined gentleman, it is impossible to eat up and not admit it.

In case the Tang Kingdom was defeated, the stable income worth 2 pounds a year would be wiped out.

For Lord Arthur Wellesley, this is almost equivalent to 1/4~1/5 of the family's annual income, which cannot be easily given up due to emotion and reason.

He considered his words, and then said;

"Honorable Prime Minister;

The western part of North America is a vast and wild undeveloped area, sparsely populated, with harsh alpine desert and Gobi terrain, and almost zero roads and infrastructure, which is not suitable for large corps operations.

The developed area of ​​central North America is more than 2600 miles away from Los Angeles, which brought insurmountable difficulties to the western expedition of the US military.

Putting aside the appearance and looking at the facts, the army of the Kingdom of Tang was able to wipe out the more than 1700 US troops who invaded the Rio Rancho area with very little loss, which proved its combat effectiveness from the side, and it was enough to resist the large-scale invasion of the US military.

Now as ordered

According to all sources of information, the U.S. military has invested nearly [-] troops and tens of thousands of migrant workers in the west. It does not hesitate to pay a huge price, intending to crush the opponent with its powerful strength and destroy the Datang Kingdom in one fell swoop.

Why is this so?
The reason is that once the United States succeeds, it will enjoy the benefits of both oceans and obtain great strategic benefits.It can also take the Oregon colony lightly, threaten Canada to the north, and frighten Mexico to the south, establishing the hegemony of North America like a tiger coming out of a cage.

And all of this is exactly the situation that the British Empire is the last to want to see.

totally conceivable
After the United States succeeds, it will definitely implement the "Monroe Doctrine" national policy with all its strength, squeeze and attack the dominant influence of the United Kingdom in North, South and Central America, and actually harm the global strategic interests of the British Empire.

The weakness of the Tang Kingdom lies in its small population. They were able to resist and eliminate 10 US troops with a population of 2000 and a force of less than 1700.

If its population expands to 20 or more, and its army expands to 30 or even 5000, can it resist a large-scale invasion of tens of thousands of US troops?

This is a very interesting topic. No one dares to make such a guarantee, but I think that Datang Kingdom has such potential.

In fact

We don't have any more options, and the Canadian militia had a mediocre performance in the war with the United States many years ago, and we can't hope for more at all.

But now that the U.S. army is advancing triumphantly in Mexico, the Mexican army that it fought fell apart, which disappointed us greatly.

In today's North American chess game

The outstanding fighting power displayed by the army of the Tang Kingdom is undoubtedly eye-catching. Why don't we give them more opportunities?
The aid is not given all at once. Depending on its performance, I think it is time to strengthen the aid. "

The words of Lord Arthur Wellesley, Secretary of the Colonial Office, elicited frequent nods of agreement from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary.

The two thought for a moment, and Sir Henry John Temple, the Foreign Secretary, took the lead in expressing his opinion, he said;

"I recently communicated privately with the Secretary of the War Department that the British Army's strength has been used to the extreme. In order to deal with the increasingly serious Crimea issue, the British Army should rapidly expand its troops from the current 24.7 men to a target of 42 men.

Such a large-scale military expansion will undergo difficult bargaining in the parliament, and the future is uncertain.

under these circumstances
The British army was unable to support expansion in Southeast Asia and North America, and they could not even spare a company of infantry.

The rise of the United States has become the greatest enemy of the British Empire in the entire North and South America, bar none.

North and South America are an inseparable part of the global territory of the British Empire. In order to safeguard the global interests of the British Empire, I agree to increase the assistance to the Datang Kingdom. On this basis, it can be appropriately strengthened.

If things can be solved with money or some materials at the bottom of the box, don't risk the lives of British boys.

Judging from the previous performance, the Tang Kingdom's military is impressive.

Moreover, its national strength is weak and its population is sparsely populated. It is impossible to break away from the support of the British Empire in the tens or hundreds of years that can be expected in the future.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to compete with the North American powers.

As a valuable pawn, I am looking forward to seeing the amazing performance of Datang Kingdom. "

"So, do you agree to increase aid?" Prime Minister William Lamb asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, I agree."

"Well, the request of the Tang Kingdom has been supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Colonial Department. The reason is quite good. I am also curious... I want to see how amazing this small kingdom can perform?" Prime Minister William Lamb once again Flipping through the diplomatic mail in his hand, he picked up a pen and wrote a few words, with a smile on his face and said;
"Since it is supporting, just be generous. The Royal Navy has some sailing warships that need to be eliminated. I remember that there are two heavily polluting artillery factories in London. I just dismantle them and give them the equipment and equipment. Some cement factories and steel factories.

As for the immigration issue requested by the Tang Kingdom, it can be transferred to the Weihaiwei Colony in the Far East of the Empire. The cabinet will apply for a special fund support from the Parliament for this purpose.

Other than this
In terms of diplomacy, Sir Henry is asked to contact relevant friendly countries in Europe to jointly put pressure on the United States.

Don't forget to bring the French, I don't want to see those Frenchmen playing both sides on this issue, secretly taking pleasure in hurting the interests of the British Empire.

These damned Frenchies! "

Prime Minister William Lamb signed his name on diplomatic mail, then turned to Cabinet Secretary Owen Spacey;
"Owen, according to this document, quickly draft a special aid to the Tang Kingdom, and put it in the bill to be submitted to the parliament for voting next week. We must act as soon as possible. The situation on the battlefield does not wait for anyone."

"As you order, Your Excellency the Prime Minister." Irving Spacey stepped forward and took the document in his hand, stacked it with his notebook of meeting minutes, and then turned away immediately.

The matters ordered by the Prime Minister must be prioritized.

(End of this chapter)