The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1471 A Telegram (Part )
John Russell was very disdainful of such remarks. He did not want such reckless and empty remarks, so he said casually.

"Blind confidence may destroy our navy just like the Spanish did in the past."

However, upon hearing these words, the Duke of Northumberland, the Minister of the Navy, immediately sat up straight. No matter how carefree he was in normal times, he had to stand up straight at this moment when the dignity of the British Royal Navy was at stake.

Even if it meant letting the Duke of Northumberland board the ship to fight, he had to follow the order for the sake of his family, himself, and the reputation of the Royal Navy.

The British Royal Navy was not in the best condition at the time, but since the words "fight every enemy" were spoken, he had no choice but to go ahead.

In fact, the British Navy was very dissatisfied with its defeat to the Austrian Empire. First of all, the Austrian Empire's several victories were based on sneak attacks, the army, or even aircraft, which were completely unfair victories.

Secondly, the Austrian Imperial Navy always participated in the battles with its full main forces, while the Royal Navy always sent out squadrons or even non-main fleets. The Royal Navy often had to face the situation of fighting with fewer forces against more.

Third, each battle was fought on the Austrian Empire's home turf, and the Royal Navy lacked geographical advantages and support from coastal artillery.

Fourth, the lack of intelligence. The Royal Navy had a serious lack of understanding of the Austrian Imperial Navy, which caused the Royal Navy to misjudge the battlefield situation due to incorrect intelligence and fall into the Austrians' trap every time.

Fifth, it was a matter of luck. The Royal Navy often had already suffered some losses or even large-scale casualties before encountering the Austrians.

For example, it was almost impossible for the French Grand Orient Fleet to mutiniate and the Austrian Navy to attack the Royal Navy together, but that tragedy did happen.

In addition, there were incompetent generals, soldiers were afraid of death, poor training, outdated equipment, insufficient logistics, etc.

The Royal Navy could list countless reasons for its defeat, but no one was willing to admit defeat.

As the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Duke of Northumberland naturally represented the navy. Due to the British naval tradition, it was impossible for him to make a statement that avoided or was cowardly about fighting.

However, the Duke of Northumberland knew very well that those proud soldiers could not really be defeated by a group of incompetent rats. The Austrian Empire must have considerable strength to win consecutive victories.

On the other hand, the Duke of Northumberland was more aware of the current situation of the British Royal Navy. Due to the impact of the economic crisis, the navy's funding was also affected.

There are frequent cases of reduced training, insufficient logistics, outdated equipment, and even some fleets failing to pay the salaries of low-level soldiers.

In particular, Irish naval officers and soldiers often showed a tendency to mutiny, and it was likely that they betrayed the British Navy's intelligence in previous wars.

Home Secretary Spencer Walpole had no idea what the Duke of Northumberland was thinking. He only knew that the latter looked very solemn and could not help but praise him.

"You are worthy of being the British Empire Navy! I believe that this time you will be able to avenge the previous shame and lead Britain to glory again."

Spencer Walpole looked back at John Russell.

“Mr. Prime Minister, we are not Spanish, not in the past and not now! Our enemy in the past was the Habsburg family, and it is still the Habsburg family now.

I believe that we, Britain, will achieve ultimate victory!"

John Russell didn't even look at the Home Secretary. He just lamented why these guys who could only shout slogans always got promoted faster than those who did practical work.

If the Royal Navy had not suffered repeated defeats, things would not have developed to the point where they are today. Although both sides always won and lost in the war with the Austrian Empire, it is also a fact that the Royal Navy had not yet exerted its full strength and failed to achieve its strategic goals.

The face of the Secretary of the Admiralty had to be given. John Russell also knew the other party's difficulties and understood that the other party did not want to take sides.

Moreover, John Russell's political wisdom did not allow him to act rashly at this time. "Mr. Spencer Walpoles, we have never doubted the victory of the British Empire, let alone the strength of the Royal Navy.

But we have to understand that we are British officials and we have to be responsible for our country, not to go to the United States across the ocean to safeguard their interests."

Spencer Walpole was a little embarrassed for a moment. His mistress was the wife of the American ambassador to London, and he had accepted gold bars worth $200,000, a total of 300 kilograms, from her.

Otherwise, Spencer Walpole would not have turned into a nationalist and argued with John Russell about whether to send troops to aid the United States.

However, for the sake of his mistress and the 300 kilograms of gold, Spencer Walpols still had to fight for his rights.

"Mr. Prime Minister, this is a rare opportunity. After all, the Austrians rarely fight outside the Mediterranean. The Americans have limited strength and are likely to retreat if they don't get our support."

No matter how well-mannered John Russell was, he became a little angry at this moment and banged the table hard.

"Mr. Spencer Walpole, are you aware that there is an armistice between us and the Austrian Empire?"

"Mr. Prime Minister, I think as long as our approach is beneficial to the UK, then we can make some adjustments."

John Russell took a deep breath.

"Mr. Spencer Walpole, if we put the interests of Britain first, why don't we wait until the Yankees and Austrians are both defeated before deciding whether to support the Americans?

In other words, what good would it do for the UK if we just went ahead and did it? "

John Russell deliberately put emphasis on the word "Britain", and Spencer Walpole did not want to really break up with the Prime Minister, so he said it.

"You've thought it through. I was the one who got carried away."

"Is it as simple as impulse?"

John Russell sneered, but did not pursue the matter any further. After all, they still had to work together, and the relationships among the families were involved and it would not be good to make things too awkward.

In fact, the reason why John Russell was unwilling to send troops was mainly due to the serious decline of Britain's finances. This economic crisis was much more serious than in history.

As domestic demand collapsed, overseas markets also encountered a cold winter. The rise of the Austrian Empire caused severe damage to the European market.

If it was just normal business involution, Britain could still bear it, but the problem was that the Austrian Empire made alliances everywhere and continuously raised tariff barriers, causing Britain's share of the European market to drop sharply.

This is also an important reason why Britain had to go to war with the Austrian Empire repeatedly. After all, Franz broke the rules of the game set by the British.

Besides, the cake is only so big. If the Austrian Empire eats one more bite, Britain will have one less bite.

However, after several years of struggle, the British suddenly discovered that their homeland, colonies, and the world market outside Europe could form their own cycles and did not necessarily have to join the European market.

On the other hand, after continuous failures, the British government also realized that it was too costly to achieve its goals through war.

Hence the idea of ​​the World Expo.