I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 549: Britain's Strategic Direction

The Marquis of Wellesley's expression also became solemn.

He continued to flip through the pages in silence, only to see that the next paragraph of the report was about France's diplomatic situation.

Also very amazing.

As a country with the same surname as Bourbon, Spain has always had very good relations with France.

It goes without saying that the United States has been an ally of France since its independence.

Because of the great help France had given to Austria in the previous Silesian War, the two sides now seem to be on good terms.

The southern German states and France signed the Treaty of the Rhine and the Seine, and trade flourished.

The Dutch Patriot Party had received help from France, and although it was somewhat dissatisfied with the affairs of the Southern Netherlands, it generally lived in peace with France.

The Italian countries have been trying to find a balance between France and Austria, and dare not offend either side.

Russia is cooperating with France to develop the Donbas region. Catherine II is very satisfied with France's investment there. In addition, the trade volume between the two countries continues to grow. There are even rumors that she plans to marry her eldest granddaughter to the French prince.

Wellesley's heart sank.

Franco-Russian Alliance?!
That would create a terrifying giant on the European continent. With the current strength of Austria, Prussia and other countries, they are simply unable to compete with them.

In other words, France’s current diplomatic situation is as good as heaven.

Apart from Prussia, there are almost no hostile countries, and it is very likely to get strong support from Russia.

Wellesley narrowed his eyes. He knew that France's international situation must be destroyed as soon as possible, otherwise, when France established hegemony over the European continent, Britain would never have a chance to rise again.

This is the "continental balance" policy that the United Kingdom has always adhered to - the European continent must be broken into pieces and the emergence of a hegemon must never be allowed.

He looked at Little Peter and said in a deep voice:

"It seems that we must take action to maintain the balance."

The latter nodded:
"Indeed, we don't have much time to waste."

He glanced at the position Wellesley had turned to and continued:

“Then it also mentioned the various reforms that France has carried out over the past two years.

“I have to admit, they did a pretty good job.”

"They first solved the tax problem and cracked down on those restless nobles. Then they promoted banking reform, streamlined the financial system, and set up an 'Industrial Development Fund', which successfully stabilized the nobles' dissatisfaction.

“After doing all this, their precarious finances began to stabilize. This also guaranteed that they could develop their industry rapidly in the future.

"Then they carried out land reform, which won a lot of support from the people. Oh, and recently they also took back the right to collect taxes. I heard that although there was a conflict with the tax farmers and hundreds of people were killed, the support in the country was even greater.

"The Duke of Leeds predicts that after taxation is improved, France's industry will develop more rapidly, which will have a huge impact on our products in the European market."

Little Pete glanced at the report again:
"The Duke of Leeds rarely mentioned the French military situation before, but you have just added to it. It is also not optimistic.

"In fact, His Majesty the King has basically agreed that the country should shift to a strategic path toward France." "At present, I have ordered the cabinet ministers to make strategic plans for their respective areas of responsibility. There will be several more discussions later. Oh, you may also have to submit a report on the military side."

"Once all the plans are finalized, they will be submitted to His Majesty for signature and implementation."

He never mentioned Parliament from beginning to end. Although Britain was nominally ruled by Parliament, in reality, those members of Parliament who were only good at grandstanding could only make decisions on taxation. For such major strategies involving the fate of the country, it was basically decided by the elites of the House of Lords and the king.

Little Pete let out a long sigh and said, "The peaceful life will probably end soon."

As the two were talking, the carriage stopped in front of St. James's Palace.

When the Marquis of Wellesley got out of the car, he saw his mother and brother waiting here with more officials. There was another round of cheers from all around:

"Our hero is back!"

"It's the guardian of the Far East, the great Marquis of Wellesley!"

Wellesley found these compliments rather harsh, and after a brief hug with his mother and brother, he quickly followed little Pitt into the ballroom to celebrate his triumphant return.

He gave a speech with a forced smile, performed an opening dance, and then shrank into an inconspicuous place, thinking about his next strategy against France.

A graceful figure in a white dress floated towards him, standing not far away with a wine glass in her hand, expectantly waiting for Wellesley to ask her to dance.

This noble lady named Catherine Kitty Parknam was Wellesley's pursuit object, but she had not been very interested in him before. It was not until he won the battle in India and became famous that she finally changed her mind.

However, she waited for more than ten minutes, but the young officer who had been so passionate about her before just lowered his head blankly and said nothing, with no intention of dancing with her at all.

She was a little discouraged and was about to move closer, but she saw Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville walking towards him, so she had to stop in disappointment.

"Congratulations." Grenville smiled and raised his glass to Wellesley, "To the great victory."

"To victory."

The latter clinked glasses with him and exchanged a few casual pleasantries, and the topic soon turned to Britain's current grand strategy.

"It is indeed as you said. The current international situation is very favorable to the French." The Foreign Minister nodded, "But it is not that we can't do anything."

Wellesley had also worked in a diplomatic position and knew very well that it was very difficult to launch a diplomatic attack on France. He was immediately surprised:
"Have you come up with a solution?"

"I have some general ideas that I was just about to discuss with you." Grenville had always admired Wellesley very much and often said that he was far less intelligent than him.

“I have always believed that you should not be too greedy when doing anything. If you don’t want to give up anything, you will end up with nothing.”

Wellesley nodded: "Please continue."

"We have always disapproved of Russia's claims against Poland in order to better control trade with Russia."

Grenville raised his glass and said: "However, this not only offended our ally Prussia, but also invisibly caused discord between Prussia and Austria."

Wellesley thought for a moment and said, "You mean that our protection of Poland has blocked the expansion of Prussia and Austria?"

"That's true. Without Russia's participation, it would be difficult for Prussia and Austria to expand eastward, especially Austria, which would even prefer to focus its strength on Romania. This is the situation that the French would like to see most."

(End of this chapter)