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

Chapter 1674 A false alarm

At this time, Palmerston was wreaking havoc on the island of New Zealand. Behind the seemingly glamorous facade, however, lay a great deal of hardship, since no one really wanted to fight the natives in the colony.

Palmerston only wanted to return to London with the credit for suppressing New Zealand, but the Maori were still very tough. Although they could not defeat the British, they could fight guerrilla warfare to maneuver around them.

The suppression process was far more time-consuming and laborious than Palmerston had anticipated, which was undoubtedly extremely agonizing for a man in his seventies.

Murad V's sudden whims had already given the British a major headache, but the sudden activity of the Austrian military was the most dangerous thing.

"The British Navy will be the first to be affected," Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty, immediately remarked.

"I request that the North Sea Fleet be deployed to the Mediterranean immediately, otherwise there is no guarantee that Austria will not resort to a surprise attack again. If the new Mediterranean Fleet is destroyed again, it will shake the foundation of my British Empire."

Everyone knew this was not an exaggeration, after all, the Austrian Empire had a history of such actions, and there was also intelligence indicating that the Austrian Empire might have similar plans.

If the new Mediterranean Fleet is indeed destroyed again, then Britain should carefully consider whether to deploy another standing fleet in the Mediterranean.

The enormous losses in recent years have made it difficult for the British treasury to bear. At this time, the British Navy has exhausted all its resources to maintain its current size and is showing signs of fatigue in the field of ironclad warships.

However, this does not mean they will support the navy's actions. After all, if the navy were to launch a large-scale attack at this time, there might be no room for maneuver.

Moreover, the entry of the North Sea Fleet into the Mediterranean would inevitably leave the country vulnerable. What if someone attacks London at this time?
Don't forget that France hadn't yet entered the war at this time, nor had it decided which side to support. Given the century-long enmity between Britain and France, it was quite difficult for the British to entrust their backs to the French.

Furthermore, what if the North Sea Fleet is lost?

Who will fill the void in the North Sea Fleet? And who can fill it? Whether it's recalling fleets from other sea areas or building a new fleet, Britain's naval power will face a prolonged vacuum.

This vacuum period is enough for many countries to do a lot, and if they were in Britain's shoes, they certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity pass them by.

Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Navy, immediately met with a chorus of opposition to his proposal.

"I oppose your gambler's strategy!"

"Has your navy considered the consequences of such a desperate strategy?"

"That's right! The navy is the source of the deficit!"

"Why can't we send a portion of our ships to form a flotilla to provide support, just like before?"

The various uninformed attacks caused the Navy Minister's blood pressure to rise sharply, but he still patiently explained.

"The worst thing in naval warfare is to divide your forces. If you don't commit enough troops, it becomes a piecemeal tactic, which is exactly what the enemy wants."

"Then why did you send the Mediterranean Fleet there?"

Sir James Graham was speechless. He hadn't made the decision, but he had supported it in the internal naval decision. After all, the Mediterranean Fleet was like a wedge that could stabilize Britain's maritime hegemony, deter enemy countries, and facilitate the projection of power.

This was supposed to be the foundation of Britain's hegemony, but who knew that the Austrian Empire would play by its own rules, fighting naval battles with land forces, laying mines, and then being betrayed by the Greeks and local natives.

After a while, the situation changed. The Mediterranean Fleet not only failed to play its due role, but was also constrained at every turn, and now it has become somewhat of a liability.

"Of course we're after British maritime supremacy!"

Sir James Graham, after much deliberation, managed to utter only this one sentence. He was, at heart, a soldier, and in a battle of wits, he was no match for these politicians. "Then where is your hegemony? All we see are repeated cries for help, and flames of war everywhere!"

"Yes! Have you forgotten the great fire of 1667?"

During the Anglo-Dutch War of 1667, the Dutch launched a surprise attack on London and burned Medway Harbour.

"We must not fall for their trick of luring us away from our base!"

Why haven't the French made a statement? It's said that there have always been secret deals between Napoleon III and Joseph I.

If Louis Napoleon could betray the French Republicans, wouldn't he betray us too?

A group of members of parliament were talking at once, and some of their suggestions sounded like sarcastic remarks to the Secretary of the Navy. He finally couldn't take it anymore and roared.

Are you abandoning the Mediterranean Fleet?

Sir James Graham's voice was so loud that it brought a brief silence to the entire Parliament. Just as he was about to break into a triumphant smile, members of Parliament suddenly shouted out as well.

"Since the Mediterranean Fleet is so troublesome, why not just abolish it altogether and withdraw it back to the mainland? Wouldn't that save us all this trouble?"

Sir James Graham could no longer contain himself and roared in anger.

"You short-sighted fools, Britain will be ruined by you sooner or later!"

The First Minister of the Navy looked at his cabinet colleagues, but no one responded to him.

At this time, everyone in the British cabinet was in a bad situation. Murad V's unexpected actions, the Austrian Empire's sudden major moves, and France's watchful eye from the sidelines completely destroyed the original situation, and Britain was now at a disadvantage.

Risking the nation's fate to contain Russia? No one can make that decision.

Members of Congress are more pragmatic; it's simply impossible for them to support a war with no guarantee of victory. Without tangible benefits, so-called national strategies simply cannot sway them.

Although Britain, as in history, has been frantically condemning and smearing Russia and inciting anti-Russian sentiment, even more so than in the same period in history.

However, since Britain's targets also included the Austrian Empire, the two sides frequently engaged in debates. Under Franz's leadership, the Austrian Empire's ability to wage propaganda war greatly increased, causing Britain to often suffer setbacks, and the negative image of the British government was exposed one after another.

Furthermore, the internal contradictions in Britain at this time were very sharp, which made the British people have no mood to worry about foreign affairs. After all, they were struggling to make ends meet, so who had the mind to care about whether others were being oppressed?

As for the middle class, under the pressure of the economic crisis, they were not in the mood to act as saints in the Near East. John Russell's few assumptions alone could not support the so-called war.

By this time, the pro-war John Russell and his Whig party had been branded as warmongers, and their reputation in Britain was even worse than that of the Russians.

George Hamilton Gordon thus returned to the political center of Britain, without withdrawing or reinforcing his troops.

But everyone knew that Prime Minister Gordon was anti-war, so everyone thought that Britain would mediate, thus avoiding the direct losses caused by the war and also getting a share of the spoils after the war.

However, a month passed, and the Ottoman Empire did not declare war on Russia, nor did Russia launch a southward attack on the Ottomans.

In reality, Prince Uvarov and many high-ranking Russian officials felt that it was not the right time to start a war, so they did not hand over the so-called evidence to Nicholas I.