Wild North America 1846

Chapter 641 Interest Exchange
Cuban problem?

Lord James Cleveland, Queen's Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Minister of the Colonial Department, looked back at Lord Palmerston suspiciously, and saw him shake his head silently, expressing that he did not understand the relevant situation at all.

But Emperor Li Cha of the Tang Empire would not bring up meaningless topics on such a solemn meeting occasion, there must be deep meaning in it.

Think again

Lord James Cleveland is also an old politician who has been in London politics for a long time, and he understands it in his heart;
Do you dare to believe that His Majesty the Emperor intends to get involved in Cuba?

Just at this time, it was proposed that the underlying meaning is the exchange of interests. Now that Britain has a lot of requests from Tang, Tang raised the issue of Cuba.

If it can get a positive response from the British side, then the British appeal should be able to achieve satisfactory results, which is essentially an exchange of interests.

After guessing in his heart, Lord James Cleveland responded cautiously;

"Your Majesty, the UK respects your country's leading role in the Americas, which is indispensable to maintaining peace and stability in the current world and is part of the puzzle of today's world.

Specific to Spain's colonial areas in Central America, this is a regional issue left over from history. It is indeed a bit regrettable that it is not perfect, but this is part of the real world.

The London government is wary of altering the status quo in the region as it would trigger a cascade of reactions leading to regional instability.

It's just too bad that the world is so fragile today, with wars everywhere. "

Take a closer look, he is equivalent to talking nonsense, without any substantive meaning.

The emperor Li Cha, who was sitting at the top, darkened his face and said;

"Datang deeply regrets the current war in Europe, expresses strong condemnation of the unilateral change of the regional situation by the Tsarist Empire, and maintains a high degree of consistency with the UK in European policy, because of our common philosophy of maintaining world peace and stability.

We urge Tsarist Russia to abandon the brutal practice of using force to change the status quo, and hope that they will return to the negotiating table and resolve their differences in a civilized way.

For the request made by the special envoy, Datang can provide as much help as possible in terms of materials and contribute to the promotion of peace in the European region.

As for issues in the field of military and East Asia policy, the British side can maintain close communication with the imperial government, which requires further in-depth research.

my opinion;

When it comes to changing the regional situation, you should be cautious and careful, and make a decision after careful consideration.

Alright, I'm tired today, so let's stop here.

In the future, your envoy will communicate with the government more about the situation, so it is inconvenient for me to participate. "

After speaking, he stood up, walked away with a flick of his sleeves, and drove back to the palace.

This time, the Queen's special envoy, Lord James Cleveland, was directly put aside.

In desperation, Lord James Cleveland could only stand up and meet Prime Minister Dong Jie. He just asked;
"Honorable Prime Minister, look at this..."

"Hahahaha...Since Mr. Special Envoy has come all the way to Datang, he should give him a good reception. What...Minister Luo Fengxian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, this important mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is duty-bound, and it falls on you. "Prime Minister Dong Jie made a haha, and after saying a few words on the scene, he slipped away.

over there

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Luo Fengxian also laughed aloud, and then accused him of "crime", saying that he was in poor health, and handed over the Queen's special envoy to Zhu Yaqing, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and slipped away after a while.

The diplomatic treatment took a sharp turn for the worse, apparently being left out in the cold.

Lord James Cleveland and Lord Palmerston looked at each other with wry smiles, and their hearts were like mirrors;
To say that this Great Tang really didn't have any benevolence, righteousness and courtesy of the Eastern countries. Everyone from the emperor to the ministers was an interestist, and they walked away without speculating.

But the situation also made them understand;
There is no room for negotiation on the Cuban issue. How London treats this issue will directly affect the success or failure of this trip.

After leaving the palace, I got into the black "Apache" car of the British mission, and looked out the window at the bustling urban street scene receding, and the atmosphere was a little quiet for a while.

for a while
Only then did Lord James Cleveland break the silence, and asked in a cautious tone; "Dear Lord Palmerston, you are an authority on Eastern issues. You have served in the North American continent for more than ten years, and you must have unique knowledge on the Cuban issue. I want to hear your opinion?"

"Oh... Your Majesty raised this topic very suddenly today, and I was completely unprepared." Lord Palmerston replied with a frown. He thought about it carefully and continued;

"Based on my understanding of the Tang Empire and His Majesty the Emperor, this is a newly expanding colonial empire, and it is also a growing industrial and agricultural country with a strong aggressiveness.

Since its establishment 31 years ago, it has never stopped the pace of foreign colonial expansion.

It was like this yesterday.This will still be the case today and even in the future. As long as this energetic and dictatorial emperor is still in power, the pace of expansion and colonization will not stop.

From the perspective of a monarch, His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has done a very good job. His brilliant achievements have already surpassed the emperor Napoleon who was promoted to the altar, and he has directly caught up with the respected Majesty the Queen.

This is a great thing for his subjects, but it is bad news for all forces in North America, Central America and South America.

From the history of the expansion and colonization of this empire, it can be seen that there seems to be a soft spot for the traditional Spanish colonies.

California, New Mexico, Kansas, and Texas more than 20 years ago, as well as Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama, were basically old Spanish colonies.

It is now expanding to Colombia and Ecuador, as well as Cuba, which is now trying to get involved.

As for when the pace of expansion will stop, please forgive me, I can't answer this question.

But I know with certainty;
The dictatorial emperor of the Tang Dynasty is like a very patient wolf on the grassland, always attacking quickly when the prey is weak.

After a successful blow, he will flee to another place, find a quiet place to enjoy the gluttonous feast silently.

It's safe for now until he's hungry again.

Fortunately, Datang has not set its target on Canada for the time being. I thought that the country of America (North) deserved attention, but now it seems that my judgment was wrong.

Datang's next target is Peru, Bolivia, or Venezuela. The current intelligence is difficult to support an accurate judgment, and further observation is needed. "

"This is really..." Lord James Cleveland hesitated for a moment to consider his words, and then he said in a strong London accent; "What a trouble to make people scratch their heads!
Each of our partners is such a big appetite, and this is the source of the unrest in the world today.

London can only work hard to support the world situation and balance the interests of all parties. Regrettably... this difficult situation will continue.

The Germans defeated Austria, defeated France and unified the German nation, and now they want more.

We have to be wary of Germany's ambition to dominate the European continent, and we have to admit that they have an outstanding prime minister and many excellent generals, and this is where the trouble lies.

The French have just recovered some vitality, and are preparing to colonize Indochina and Africa on a large scale.Based on common interests, Britain had to turn to support France to counter the rising ambitions of the German nation.

Now that the situation in Europe is tense, and the Tang Dynasty wants a Spanish colony, I just want to say;

It's a crazy world!
Considering the severe situation in Europe, Britain cannot lose the strong support of the Tang Dynasty, and the Ottoman Empire, as the eastern barrier of the whole of Europe, must not be torn apart in the war.

This is related to the fundamental interests of Britain and Europe. We need a weak Ottoman Empire to stand in front of us, so as not to face the huge threat of Tsarist Russia's tide of gray cattle.

from a practical point of view

London is bound to make concessions, who cares about those Hispanics in Central America? "

Lord James Cleveland's remarks had a very obvious tendency, which made Lord Palmerston sigh unceasingly. He had already foreseen the decision of the London government.

If the Special Envoy's trip to North America is to be rewarding, he cannot avoid the exchange of interests with Datang.

Not every British politician has a long-term strategic vision, adopts a timely containment attitude, draws a red line against Datang's colonial expansion, and cooperates with powerful measures.

With everyone looking ahead, Lord James Cleveland had to make compromises if he didn't want to go home empty-handed.

Conceivable
He will inevitably have tendentious opinions in his report to London. Considering the current situation in the Balkans, London is the most concerned and most in need of support.

The opinions of the special envoy are the main ones that push the boat along the way, and they are almost inseparable.

The iron-fisted dictator of the Tang Dynasty was like a demon who knew people's hearts well. He could always propose some slightly excessive exchange conditions at the most appropriate time, but London had to accept them.

As the outgoing governor of Canada, who is about to return to London, Lord Palmerston sighed inwardly, and said, "This may be the best solution, after all, our core interests are in Europe."

"In your opinion, can Tang State provide more than 20 expeditionary troops?" Mr. Special Envoy asked again.

Lord Palmerston answered quickly this time, saying, "War mobilization must be carried out, otherwise there will not be more than 10 people."

"This is really a pity. There is a big gap with our expectations. The number of Tang's troops is only 367 million so far. Compared with its huge territory, the total number is still too small."

"This country has no rivals in the Americas, has the benefits of both oceans, and invests much less in military affairs than European countries. This is in line with basic logic."

"Yes, you are right, but if the British Empire wants more reinforcements, it will have to pay a greater price in exchange." Lord James Cleveland also felt a headache at this time.

before this trip
London's conservative estimate is that the Tang Empire can send 20 troops, but optimistically, 30 or even more is possible.

In this way, the British Army only needs to deploy tens of thousands of people symbolically to the Balkan front, plus the Ottoman Empire's more than 40 troops, it will be able to deal with Tsarist Russia.

The abacus is pretty good, but the reality is shocking.

The Tang State has never let go of its willingness to send troops. Even if it is forced by its allies, the troops that can be sent to Europe are very limited.

After all, this is a war that has no direct relationship with Tang. Whether you win or lose, it is a loss-making business no matter how you look at it.

Tang will not acquire an inch of land in Europe, and will have to bear huge military expenditures on its own. The benefits of the trade of three melons and two dates after a meal are limited.

Even if Datang's wishes were fulfilled, would he really fully support it unconditionally?

(End of this chapter)