I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1155 The "House of Cards" of the Eighteenth Century

Pete Jr. appeared cautious and did not directly respond to Grenville's suggestion to form a government.

That evening, as the outgoing prime minister dragged his weary body home, still pondering how to handle the conflict between Duncan and Jarvis, his wife Anna greeted him, helped him take off his coat, and said:
"At today's charity sale, I met Lady Melville. As you know, we don't usually keep in touch."

Glenville keenly sensed that this was no ordinary matter—Lord Melville had served as Home Secretary and Logistics Warehouse Officer of the Naval Council, and was currently Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, making him a powerful figure in politics.

He hurriedly asked his wife, "What did she say to you?"

“Yes, the weather, the fashion,” Anna recalled. “Oh, and she also mentioned that the Portsmouth shipyard had built a new battleship, the ‘Prince,’ which used a lot of new technologies, like sails and ropes, and even the smallest cannon was 24 pounds…”

Glenville's doubts were immediately resolved.

He had always wondered why Lord Duncan was launching such a fierce attack on Chatham Shipyard, after all, he was an underling of Admiral Jervis.

It now appears that he is working for Lord Melville. The latter is qualified to serve as Minister of the Navy, so Jervis needs to make room for him.

Anna continued, "Oh, she also talked about Lord Melville and the Earl of Temple when they were in college."

Glenville nodded slightly.

The meaning is quite clear—the Temple family wields immense influence in British politics, and having their support would greatly increase the chances of surviving a vote of no confidence.

However, the problems he now faces go far beyond a vote of no confidence, and it will be difficult for him to accomplish anything if he remains in the position of prime minister.

He pulled his wife down to sit and earnestly instructed her, "You need to meet with Mrs. Melville tomorrow and tell her that the corruption case will definitely be thoroughly investigated. However, I have already decided to support your cousin, so I hope the other members of parliament will also remain consistent."

Anna's maiden name before her marriage was "Peter".

……

When Sir Hope's body was pulled from the Thames, it was already swollen and deformed.

The police found a suicide note wrapped in oil paper in his pocket. The note stated that he had embezzled a large amount of shipyard funds, which caused problems in the construction of the steam warship, and that he would take full responsibility.

Bolton, Watt, and Falkner were all arrested, and the company was seized by the Naval Commission.

In the Naval Council's banquet hall, Jervis stared at Lord Duncan with a grim expression: "What exactly do you want? Now that Hope is dead, it's all over."

The latter produced a slip of paper and pushed it next to Jervis's teacup: "Since the beginning of the year, I have commissioned Lloyd's of London to investigate Chatham Shipyard. These are your accounts."

"By the way, Lord Middleton has chosen to cooperate with us."

In fact, Lloyd's of London did not find much evidence. Instead, they recently received a letter that pointed out a large amount of questionable financial flows at Chatham Shipyard.

Yes, when Bolton-Watt was "working" with the shipyard, Frank often volunteered to bribe Jervis or Middleton on their behalf. Sir Hope was quite grateful to him.

These shady accounts have now been handed over to Lloyd's of France by the French security services.

Jervis froze for several seconds, then gritted his teeth and said with a ferocious expression, "State your conditions."

Lord Duncan nodded: "First, you should apply to the Naval Commission for funding to order eight new battleships from the Portsmouth Shipyard."

Portsmouth Shipyard was within Lord Melville's sphere of influence, and applying for funding required leveraging Jervis's political resources. What appeared to be a debate within the British Navy about upgrading the Battleships or building new steam-powered warships was, in essence, a power struggle over the flow of interests.

"Secondly, you declare that you take responsibility for this disastrous defeat in the Mediterranean and resign from your position as Minister of Naval Warfare."

Duncan gave a friendly smile: "In return, everything at Chatham Shipyard will be out of your hands. You can take a sinecure on the Naval Committee and live out your days in peace."

……

A court official bowed to young Pete, saying, "Mr. Pete, His Majesty the King invites you to St. James's Palace."

Little Pete paused for a moment, then asked, "You just said St. James's Palace, not Windsor Castle?"

"Yes, Mr. Pete. His Majesty has recovered and returned to St. James's Palace two days ago."

The court official then whispered, “The Prince of Wales has been sent to Buckingham Palace. Sir Stewart asked me to tell you that His Majesty may entrust you with an important task.”

The Prince of Wales is the eldest son of George III and the current heir to the British throne. Two years ago, George III suffered a porphyria attack, and the Prince of Wales began ruling as regent.

King George III, however, disliked his son so much that as soon as his condition improved, he immediately sent him to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lived.

The Prince of Wales supports the Whig Party, and he is Fox's backer.

King George III, however, was a staunch supporter of Pitt the Younger, and upon regaining his senses, immediately summoned him.

That evening, Pete Jr. left St. James's Palace with a somber expression.

A few hours earlier, His Majesty the King had told him that he had decided to accept Grenville's resignation, that Parliament would be dissolved next month and a new general election would be held, and that he hoped Grenville would form a government.

Grenville is outwardly a Whig, while Pitt Jr. is a Tory; both would need a new election to become prime minister.

Faced with the king's sincere request, little Pete had no choice but to agree.

The helm of the empire was once again in his hands, but the usually confident man now seemed unsure of how to steer the ship out of the storm.

Sir Stewart escorted him all the way to the palace gates and gave him a loving hug.

Little Pete gave him a reassuring smile, then resolutely turned and walked into the vast rain.

He wiped the rain off his face, already pondering how to defeat Fox in the election.

First, efforts should be made to win over Catholics, who number in the hundreds of thousands. Second, it would be best to push for the abolition of "rotten constituencies" and allow emerging cities like Manchester to gain seats. The so-called "rotten constituencies" refer to the fact that Britain's 200 or so constituencies were established during the Glorious Revolution, or even the Middle Ages.

After so many years of development and changes, more than 50 constituencies have a population of less than 2000 people, and the Danweci constituency has even sunk into the North Sea.

The newly acquired cities that won seats would become his strongholds. This would require Grenville's cooperation.

But what Pete Jr. didn't expect was that his election process would go very smoothly.

First, infighting within the Whig Party siphoned off a large number of votes. Then, the Temple family gave him their full support.

(End of this chapter)