The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 817 Let "Greater Germany" fight "Red France"!

On August 1867, 8, London, the capital of the British Empire, which was separated from the chaotic European continent by the English Channel, was still prosperous and peaceful. Except for No. 27 Downing Street and the masters in Parliament, I am afraid that not many people would care about the earth-shaking changes taking place on the European continent.

At the long table in the Cabinet Meeting Room in the Prime Minister's official residence, Edward Smith-Stanley, the 14th Earl of Derby, who had been Prime Minister three times, was puffing on his pipe. The thick second-hand smoke filled the whole room with a dull sense of oppression.

The world map on the wall was cut into pieces by the oblique light. India, Canada, Australia and southern Africa, the colonies that supported the glory of the British Empire, were looming in the shadows, while the European part of the map - especially France and the German states - was densely circled with red and blue pencils. And the two huge red arrows, one pointing to Vienna and the other to Paris, made everyone look a little scared!
"Gentlemen," Earl Derby tapped the table with his pipe, his voice low and tired, "Prague is burning, Vienna has been declared an undefended city, Emperor Joseph Francis has retreated to Hungary, and Paris -" he paused, his eyes swept over every cabinet member present, "Paris is now controlled by a group of radical workers' associations and Bonaparte remnants, and they are still shouting 'no cession of territory, no indemnity'."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli, frowned slightly, as if thinking about how to turn this European crisis into political capital - the more chaotic Europe is, the more prosperous Britain will be! Especially now that not only is Europe in chaos, but the American Civil War is also still going on endlessly, the funds and talents on the European continent cannot go to the vast New World, and the British Isles are their most ideal safe haven.
"The Prussians have already crossed Bohemia," said Army Minister Garthorne Hardy, flipping through the leather-covered troop strength comparison table, in a dry voice. "Moltke's army should soon take over all of Austria. As for Hungary and Venice, it all depends on the intentions of William I and Bismarck. The Paris Workers' Association has just announced the formation of a 'National Guard' - it is said to have 30 men, but they are poorly equipped and have not received much training."

Admiral George Ward Hunt sneered, his eyes obscured by the reflection of his glasses: "30 peasants with pitchforks can stop the Prussian Krupp cannons?"

"They still have the barricades in Paris," said the Colonial Secretary, Earl Carnarvon, coldly, "and 120 tons of gold in the vaults of the Bank of France! We can let the Paris Defense Government pay for the arms with gold, and then sell them all the old Enfield rifles in the warehouse."

War Secretary Hardy frowned: "And then watch them being crushed by the Prussians?"

"No," Earl Derby said slowly, "We must make sure they hold out long enough - long enough to exhaust the Prussians, but not long enough to let 'Red France' really win. At the same time, we must ensure the absolute safety of the British Isles. Especially the last point, which is particularly important!"

What a great demand! You want this, this, and more.

"The army is too small," the Minister of War immediately saw an opportunity to increase the army budget from the Prime Minister's words, "It is simply not enough to defend the British Isles. If we want to ensure the absolute security of the British mainland, we need to expand the army to at least 30."

Navy Minister Hunt quickly interrupted the Army Minister and said, "The Royal Navy is strong enough to defend the British mainland. If the Army Minister is worried about the strength of the Royal Navy, I have a suggestion that will satisfy both sides. France still has 36 ironclad ships sitting in the port doing nothing! In addition to the 6 Alma-class shallow-water heavy gunboats that can sail along the Seine to Paris, the remaining 30 ironclad ships can be mortgaged to us in exchange for army equipment. The total cost of these 30 ironclad ships is about 1.6 million gold francs, equivalent to 51.6 tons of gold! Including this gold, the Paris National Defense Government will have 171.6 tons of gold to purchase British arms, and the number of ironclad ships of the Royal Navy will be as many as 82, enough to dominate the world's oceans!"

82 ironclad ships
War Minister Hardy said coldly: "To maintain 82 ironclad ships, the annual naval expenditure will probably have to increase significantly, right?"

"In order to defend the British Empire," Hunter nodded, "it is necessary to increase naval spending!"

The Minister of War wanted to say something else, but Earl Derby blew out a puff of smoke and said, "And Russia. Edward is in St. Petersburg right now, trying to persuade the Tsar and Britain to stand together again!"

The Edward that the Earl of Derby was talking about is his son, and also the Foreign Secretary of this Derby Cabinet, Lord Edward Henry Stanton - his father is the Prime Minister, his son is a minister, and his second son is now the Governor General of Canada. The whole family is outstanding talents!
Upon hearing this, Lord Northcote, the Minister of India, sneered and said, "The Russians are now hoping that Europe will be in chaos so that they can take advantage of the opportunity to annex Constantinople. I bet that Bismarck's representatives must be in St. Petersburg now! He has the Austrian legacy that Prussia cannot eat, and he can also throw out Constantinople of the Ottoman Empire as a gift to win over the Tsar!"

"So we need those 30 French ironclad ships even more." Navy Minister Hunter tapped his fingers on the table. "With those 30 French ironclad ships, we can deploy a powerful navy in Türkiye!"

"Yes, we really need those 30 ironclad ships!" Lord Derby's voice suddenly rose. "At the same time, we have to appease the Russians. They can now support Prussia's unification of Germany for the sake of the Balkan land. But when a real Greater Germany emerges, they must stand with us. In addition, we should find a balance between 'Workers' France' and 'Greater Germany'."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Disraeli finally spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice: "Gentlemen, have you ever calculated? For every month of delay, more than 200 million pounds of capital will flow into the UK from continental Europe? Along with this capital, there will also be talents from continental Europe."

Earl Derby took a puff of his cigarette and said, "I would rather these funds and talents continue to stay in Europe. It would be better if everything remains unchanged!"

Just as the cabinet fell silent again, Chief Secretary Harker pushed the door open silently. This bureaucrat, who graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, placed a secret telegram in front of Earl Derby with his slender fingers: "There is an accident in the saltpeter mine in the Atacama Desert - the army of the Inca Kingdom has just occupied the territory claimed by Chile."

The Navy Minister's pupils suddenly contracted: "75% of the world's saltpeter is there. Without Chile's saltpeter, no one can fight the war. Is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom trying to support France in this way?"

Lord Derby's pipe finally went out: "It seems that we need to deal with many troubles in the Mediterranean and the Pacific. We don't have the extra energy to take care of Europe. Let 'Red France' and 'Greater Germany' bleed each other under the walls of Paris! Tell the French not to worry about the supply of arms. Britain will pay enough for the 30 ironclad ships left by Napoleon III - there are too many places that need ironclad ships now!"

Paris City Hall Conference Hall.

Friedrich stood at the long table, holding a telegram in his hand, and his eyes swept over everyone present - Prince Napoleon, Varlin, Blanqui, Trochu, Thiers, and the representatives of the Workers' Self-Defense Force wearing red soft hats. "Gentlemen," Friedrich said in a low and firm voice, "the British have made an offer."

Varlan looked up suddenly: "How much?"

"51 tons of gold worth of ammunition." Friedrich unfolded the telegram, "in exchange for our 30 ironclad ships."

Prince Napoleon sneered: "They know how to pick the right time."

“But it was a good deal,” Friedrich continued. “The British promised to provide 20 Enfield rifles, 500 Mitreus multi-barreled guns, 150 Armstrong breech-loading guns, 7.5 rounds of artillery shells, 5000 tons of gunpowder, 1000 million meters of barbed wire, and 2000 boxes of medical supplies.”

Blanqui frowned: "Can these things be worth 51 tons of gold?"

“Yes,” Friedrich nodded, “but we have to accept that those are spot goods—the Prussians won’t give us time to bargain.”

Trochu drummed his fingers on the table. "How are these weapons to be distributed?"

"Seventy percent for the Workers' Guard," Friedrich looked him straight in the eye, "and the remaining 70 percent for the regular army and the Guards."

Thiers stood up suddenly: "This is not in accordance with the rules!"

"Rules?" Varlan sneered, "The National Guard has 30 men, but the Regular Army and Guards only have 3."

After the meeting, Trochu stopped Thiers in the corridor.

"Do you see?" Trochu lowered his voice. "The workers' guard have begun to take over the arsenal!"

Thiers stroked his gold pocket watch, his eyes gloomy: "Let them be proud for a few days... When the Prussians come in, they will know what reality is."

Downstairs, the chorus of "La Marseillaise" was heard, and the workers were using the old-fashioned smoothbore rifles they had just received as firewood to burn the portrait of Louis XIV moved from the Tuileries Palace. Prince Napoleon stood in front of the stained glass window, watching all this coldly.

"Let the Japanese mercenaries guard our arsenal in the San Antonio district," he whispered to his adjutant, "Don't let those rabble take away our lifeblood."

Six Alma-class shallow-water heavy gunboats were sailing upstream towards the city of Paris. Captain Pierre stood on the deck and scanned the riverbank with a telescope. On the Montmartre Hill, the Workers' Self-Defense Force had set up the Armstrong guns sent by the British, but the operators were all workers in work clothes.

"Damn it," he muttered to the chief engineer, "these guys were still tightening screws in the workshop last month..."

The chief engineer shrugged. "At least they learn quickly."

Late that night, Moore spread out a secret letter in his command post in the center of Paris. Hu Wansheng, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's ambassador to France, wrote in Chinese: "The saltpeter mines in Chile have been controlled by the Inca Heavenly Kingdom. The supply has been temporarily interrupted. The Germans can only rely on their inventory to maintain their supply."

Moore handed the secret letter to Friedrich, who read it and burned it on an oil lamp. The flames reflected a red slogan on the wall: "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains!"

(End of this chapter)