The sun never sets in America

Chapter 348 Egypt Conflict

Egypt is a place you don’t know, but you can think of it just by looking at the pyramids.

At present, Egypt is mainly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, which has an Egyptian governor there.

Although this so-called "Governor" has more symbolic meaning, it can even be regarded as "dispensable".

But in today's "turbulent moment" where Britain and France are fighting, Egypt has become a "crucial" bargaining chip, or the "bottom line."

The Suez Canal, which is still under construction, has become a real "wind outlet" without any accident.

"Crack!!"

The large steam crane purchased from the Han Dynasty lifted the huge boulder that seemed "barbaric" just now with a power that the Egyptians could not imagine. It was like a god in ancient Egyptian mythology, full of "magic power".

Malho is an engineer at the Suez Canal. His usual job is to direct the excavation of the river channel, as well as "dredging" the relationship with local labor.

Among them, the relationship is the simplest and the most difficult.

It's simple because the locals can play the game as long as they give money. The difficult thing is how to give money.

"We cannot let the French successfully dominate the Suez Canal. If the French dominate here, it will be no less than controlling the Mediterranean, or even worse!!"

And because Egypt is special, it is difficult for the French to make an effective "response." Therefore, making certain compromises has become something that everyone has to do.

There is only the old enemy of France, "England" across the sea.

Mario even summed up an experience for this, that is, you should not give too much money at one time, then these Egyptians will become more greedy, and they should spit it out little by little to let them be dominated by money.

It seems that without the British system, there would be no empire.

So naked, so "cruel".

More than two thousand tons entered the Tulip, like a cunning jackal, constantly driving along the coastline.

Compared with the British cruiser armed with naval guns like a hedgehog, the French patrol boat opposite is like a lonely child, pretending to be calm in the face of bad guys.

The entire Suez Canal has cost more than 200 million pounds so far, of which at least 30 million have been spent on "Egyptians".

As for the pirates there, he didn't say, but presumably they were "in the book."

As far away as North America, the ideas of Han and Russia are roughly the same, but there is a fundamental difference. That is, Han not only hopes that France and Britain will be in chaos, but that the whole of Europe will be in chaos. As long as there is total chaos, Han will You can "do things" boldly with confidence.

When the time comes whether to join the war, it will not be France that has the final say, but Russia. If there is no benefit, Russia will never abide by the alliance. This is the relationship between countries.

But the British captain Steven on the opposite side obviously did not take the French's words seriously, and directly stated that he would go in to "search" for the pirates.

It can be said that the Three Emperors Alliance was called the most intrigued alliance in later generations, and it is not without connection.

The twenty-four-pound gun on the bow, just like its name, is full of British style.

"Tell them that according to the treaty, this is not where they should come, and let them leave immediately!!"

The entire Three Emperors Alliance is full of "conspiracies" and "turbulence".

(France and Britain have a private agreement that Britain cannot cross the center line. As for what the center line is, it is actually the part close to the Suez Canal.)

Compared with the world's navies, which have entered the millimeter era, the British Navy is obviously still living in its own world and still uses imperial units in its own way.

As for who prevented France from dominating Egypt, you don’t need to think about it.

When this message was sent out, there was an unimaginable "roar" on the French patrol ship.

On the Tulip, Steven said directly in front of his subordinates:

"The French don't have the courage to be enemies of the royal family. They will definitely get out of the way. They will be kicked away by us like cockroaches in the corner and eventually trampled into mud!!"

When this cunning fox was constantly testing along the coastline, a patrol ship flying the tricolor flag came from the opposite side. The reason why it was a patrol ship was because it was too small. It had a steam patrol of more than 600 tons. The ship's largest caliber artillery is only two 75mm naval guns.

It even affects the situation in Europe, so European countries, even Russia, which has signed a contract, hope that the French and the British will fight over Egypt. As long as they fight, the Three Emperors Alliance will no longer be a simple agreement, but a blackmail. French "Debt Collection Letter".

Like an enraged beast, its anger is only shown in private.

"British??"

This is not only true for Maro, but also for the entire Suez Canal. The Egyptians are much more demanding for money than their ancestors who built the pyramids.

France also regards the Suez Canal as a "heavy hammer" to break Britain's maritime hegemony.

Although he was very angry at the British "interference", he still maintained the "etiquette" that a French gentleman should have and did not "swear" like a shrew.

A British warship is sailing in the Egyptian sea. As a Royal Navy, even a "cruiser" is full of the unique arrogance of the British Navy.

As the British Foreign Secretary said:

In response to such an almost insulting behavior, the French major showed unimaginable forbearance and replied, "There are no pirates."

The French major on the patrol boat looked at the proud and fluttering Union Jack flag on the opposite side, and his tone was a little unkind. After all, meeting the British here meant that they had increasingly "crossed the line."

As Le Pen, the French minister in charge of Suez, said: "I have had enough of the demands of the Egyptians. Whenever I want to refuse, rejection appears in my mind, because reality tells me that France cannot dominate here, or that , we cannot completely dominate Egypt!!”

"Ha ha!!"

It's like a song called "House of Flying Daggers."

Therefore, the local churches and local snakes have become the targets that must be cured. Even though this is a French project, the people on the site are all Egyptians.

But the "politeness" of the French was replaced by Steven's more unscrupulous demands.

…………

In this way, the Suez Canal has become the source, and even the main purpose, of the conflict between Britain and France in the past two years.

Another one is to give money to the right person, but there are not many people, so it is not possible.

"We owe it to the French to let us in by invitation."

"Ha ha………"

There were jeers and "scorn" about France.

This is the case with the British. They always think that England is higher than other countries in Europe, even higher than the Scots and Irish within themselves, and even higher than the whole world.

On the French patrol ship named "Courage", Rocha, as a major, was very calm, even terrifyingly calm. He hesitated for a moment and issued the "give way" order.

When this order was issued, everyone felt humiliated and even refused to execute it, but Rocha still forced it through.

On the Tulip, there was thunderous applause, and jokes about "coward", "French pig" and "Napoleon III's clown" were heard from time to time.

As the commander of the Tulip, Steven, who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, seems to see himself being promoted to colonel and being appointed "general" in a few years.

In such a "sweet dream", Steven quickly forgot the "traffic rules" and directly announced: "Pass by the French and let them feel the heroic appearance of the Royal Navy of the British Empire!!"

Even to show "respect", Steven asked the sailors to dress up and salute their French counterparts.

When the British sailors in neat uniforms passed by the French patrol boat, everyone smiled so happily, as if they had "won the jackpot."

But on the French patrol ship Courage opposite, all the French felt extremely humiliated and even felt they had no shame to go back.

It was also at this time that Rocha seized the opportunity of the British cruiser to change direction and shouted:

"Full right rudder, approaching the British warship at full speed!!"

Boom boom! !

When the entire patrol boat moved, the steam power even trembled a little, making people shudder.

Steven, who was on the cruiser Tulip, still didn't realize the "terrible" incident.

He even brags about his glorious achievements to his subordinates.

Until the sailor ran in in a panic and said "The French are following", scaring everyone.

"Boom!!" Before she could react, the two-thousand-ton Tulip cruiser was rammed through the side string by the Courage, which was only one-third or even less. If the tonnage hadn't been enough, just that moment, It would be strange if a smaller warship didn't turn over.

"what!!"

"Farkle!!"

"Damn French guys..."

On the Tulip, there were curses everywhere, and the sound penetrated the warship and reached the Courage on the opposite side.

Luocha looked at the crumbling British cruiser expressionlessly, and directly issued the final order:

"Full speed ahead, tell the British."

"Our ship is ordered to ram and sink your ship!!"

boom! ! !

As the power of the patrol boat was increased, the British cruiser, which had just been so arrogant, collapsed in the warm sea off Egypt.

On the sea, Steven, who was wearing a lifejacket and holding a lifebuoy, had just swam out when he met the eyes of French Major Rocha on the deck, as if it was fate.

"Boom!!!"

The Tulip sank, completely sank, and plunged into the sea in front of survivors like Steven.

Only then did Rocha, who was aboard the Courage, issue the order to "rescue" the British friends, as he told the Paris Journal afterwards:

"Everything we did was in accordance with the prevailing guidelines. When the Tulip sank, we did our best to rescue our British colleagues..."

Although it is "nonsense", there is no doubt that it is a good reason.

Although the British didn't believe it at all and even asked for "inspection".

.............................................

London, London is particularly "bright" in the summer. For the British people who are "eroded" by rain, summer is the best time of all their seasons, because at this time, there is relatively little rain.

On such a peaceful afternoon, the sound of newspaper sales broke the calm on the street.

"The French HMS Courage conspired to destroy our navy, the HMS Tulip, resulting in the death of three hundred Royal Navy warriors in Egypt..."

“The French say they don’t know, but we know, and God knows: the British Lord of the Admiralty.”

"It is reported that the Tulip was already separated from the French warships at the time. All this was completely a French conspiracy and an act of war against the British Empire!!"

In newspapers, all kinds of "exaggerated" headlines and "venting" articles fill all the pages today.

The words were sharp, full of "hatred" for the French, and even included some "declaration of war" comments, which made those British who were still enjoying the sunshine furious.

All over London, as long as they read the newspapers and heard the news, they sent out "greetings" and deep "resentment" to France.

The Hundred Years War between Britain and France has once again entered the mainstream, and even Napoleon was ridiculed and insulted.

In the Han embassy, ​​Luo Ning, the Han minister in London, looked at several newspapers in his hands and the abuses on them, and couldn't help but sigh:

"I originally thought that children like to dig up old scores and expose their brothers when they quarrel, but I didn't expect that Britain and France are like this too. Countries are really like people!!"

Other countries even directly expressed "neutrality" after learning about the "sinking under orders" incident that just occurred.

Yes, neutral, not making any statements, although some so-called "peace appeals" have been added.

But it was more of a "pretend". Even a country like Russia, which didn't even pretend, sided with France directly after the conflict, and seemed to be in the same boat as the French.

Napoleon III was very moved, and even thought this was an "action" by the Russians to comply with the Three Emperors Alliance.

But in fact, the real situation is that Russia is already waiting for France and Britain to go to war, and then selectively joins the war to gain benefits.

The same is true for other countries in Europe. After all, as the two most powerful countries in Europe, the British Empire and the French Empire are so overwhelming that people can't breathe.

Just like William asked Bismarck, whether the war between Britain and France would have any impact on Prussia.

Spimai's answer was:

"We should pray that France and the British will fight in the Mediterranean, or even that the war will break out in the English Channel, so that Prussia will have enough time to prepare to unify Germany."

The same is true for other European forces. The Italian regions controlled by Austria are also pampered. They hope that when the situation in Europe is chaotic, they can instigate the Austrians and strive for the so-called "Italian independence."

The Balkans are a well-known "flash point" in Europe. Although many places still belong to the Ottoman Empire, they have already been de facto torn apart, and what is missing is a war.

Even in the Americas, which seemed to be "indifferent" to the world, as one of the few powerful countries in the Americas, Han and the United States were paying close attention to the situation between Britain and France.

After all, this conflict between European countries also involves the Americas.

In fact, the United States does not want the war to break out the most, because once the war breaks out, at some foreseeable moment, once the war is imminent, those damn Han people will definitely take the opportunity to go to war with the United States, and this is currently something the United States cannot afford. Started.

After all, Chinatown's funds were not yet "safe" and Franklin had not yet launched an army.

The Army has not completed comprehensive reorganization. It can be said that, as US President Lincoln said at the White House meeting:

"We cannot pray whether the situation in Europe is stable. We must use the courage and strength of Americans to deal with the possible conflict between Russia and Russia!!"

The situation in the Han Kingdom was much more complicated. They wanted the French and British to fight so that they could start the plan to destroy the United States in advance, but they were afraid that if they started in advance, they would be underprepared and fall short.

After all, the reorganization of the army has just begun, and it will take at least a year. Starting a war at this time is no less than fighting a war of this era with the army from a few years ago. It is hard to say whether to win or lose.

It is also for this reason that Liu Peng "persuades peace" from the perspective of national interests.

As for how to persuade, there is a way.

.........

Paris, ever since the news of "being ordered to sink" came, the whole of Paris has been plunged into "excitement."

Even the opera house urgently arranged an opera "Courage vs. the Evil British Cruiser", which was sold out.

Even Rocha, who ordered the ramming and eventually sank the British cruiser, became a hero to a new generation of French young people, even children.

According to later statistics, in 1860, at least new boys were born with the name Rocha, so much so that the joke "Rocha everywhere" appeared.

Compared with the excitement of Paris, the atmosphere in the Palace of Versailles is very "confused".

After the news came, Napoleon III was "happy" for the bravery of the French soldiers, but at the same time he had a headache about how to deal with the relationship with the British.

It was not that Napoleon III was afraid of the British, but that the crucial "Napoleon"-class battleships were still in the dock, and the keels had just been laid. The army had just completed its reorganization and had not yet fully adapted.

Going to war with the British at this time would be tantamount to "suicide", and might even lead to a repeat of the tragedy of Emperor Napoleon.

As the heir to the Napoleon family, Napoleon III understood this truth very well.

So after learning about this incident, his first reaction was neither happiness nor fear. Instead, he asked the French Minister to the United Kingdom to maintain communication with London. As for how to communicate, it can be imagined that it was nothing more than a "smooth" solution.

As Napoleon III said to Foreign Minister Dulusay:

"While France is not completely ready for a showdown with the British, it is best not to provoke them and let the situation de-escalate until we are ready!!"

The reaction of the British was not unexpected by the French. They were "angry".

He even directly proposed an unreasonable compensation of "100 million pounds".

Although this request was rejected, the British demands for the handover and apology of the mastermind were still unacceptable to the French.

Therefore, the current situation is "stalemate".

And this is not a good thing for both countries, because the war faction is "restless" and how to properly solve the problem will test the wisdom of London and Paris.

Even the wisdom of Napoleon III and Queen Victoria.

After all, war can be a choice, but it is not the first choice! !

(End of this chapter)