The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 836: Daying: Haha, America, you are such a rebellious son, and this day has come.
On the evening of March 1868, 3, in the Cabinet Meeting Room at 18 Downing Street, London, the light of a kerosene lamp shone on the dark brown oak table. Prime Minister Earl Derby sat at the head of the table, tapping lightly on a telegram with a faint smile on his lips.

Foreign Secretary Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War Jonathan Peel, First Lord of the Admiralty Sir John Packington, Secretary of State for India the Duke of Argyll, Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli, and Home Secretary Walpole took their seats in turn, their eyes all focused on the telegram in the Prime Minister's hand.

"Gentlemen," Earl Derby began slowly, his voice low and calm, "Today we have two topics - the French Civil War, and..." He paused, the smile on his face deepened, "We will talk about this later, let's talk about France first."

The Earl of Derby put aside the telegram from the United States and looked at his eldest son, Foreign Secretary Lord Stanley: "How is the invitation to Queen Mathilde to Europe going?"

Lord Stanley bowed slightly, his voice clear and steady: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this matter is already moving forward. Our ambassador to Russia, as well as the German representative in Russia, have joined the Bonapartist, Orleanist, and Bourbon Legitimist delegations to travel to the capital of the Tang Empire, New Chang'an. According to the itinerary, they should be able to arrive in the next two days."

Minister of War Pierre interjected: "After all, Queen Mathilde is the cousin of Napoleon III, and she rules the Tang Empire in Central Asia with the support of Russia. She is indeed the most suitable person to restore the French Empire."

"Indeed." Earl Derby nodded. "As long as Mathilde ascends the throne, the French royalists will have a backbone, and the Red Paris regime will have a rival of equal strength."

The Minister of the Navy, Sir Parkinson, frowned and asked, "So, where will the Queen choose to ascend the throne? Now most of France is controlled by the Supreme Revolutionary Committee in Paris..."

"Corsica," said Minister of War Peel in a decisive tone. "It is the birthplace of the Bonaparte family and is most suitable as a temporary capital. Moreover—" he glanced at Parkinton, "with the protection of the Royal Navy, Queen Mathilde is absolutely safe in Corsica."

Earl Derby nodded with satisfaction. "Very good, it's settled. The Royal Navy must ensure that Corsica is completely safe and that the small fleet of Red France must not be allowed to get even a step closer."

After discussing the French affairs, the smile on Earl Derby's face became more obvious. He slowly pulled out another telegram from the folder and waved it gently: "Gentlemen, this is a telegram from President Lincoln of the United States for help."

There was a sudden murmur of discussion in the conference room.

"The North of the United States is asking for help again?" Finance Minister Disraeli raised his eyebrows. "Is the Confederacy counterattacking again? Aren't they already dying?"

"These useless Yankees must have been defeated again."

"Is it that Nicholas Zhao Si from Colorado has sent out troops again?"

"It's not the South." Earl Derby chuckled, "It's the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?!" The Duke of Argyll, Minister of Indian Affairs, sat up straight. "Haven't they been active in the western Pacific? How did they suddenly come to the west coast of the United States?"

Lord Stanley took over the conversation: "What the Prime Minister said is correct. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom recently formed a 'Warsaw Pact' - the Huaxia Alliance Treaty. They sent a fleet to Osaka Bay a while ago and forced Korea and Japan, which were controlled by Yang Xiuqing, to sign the treaty. Then they brought in the Korean-Japanese Combined Fleet and formed a very large fleet to leave Japan. This fleet even entered the Port of San Francisco in California, USA a few days ago."

"Not only that," added Lord Packington, the First Lord of the Admiralty, "thousands of Taiping infantrymen have landed with the fleet. Lincoln now formally asks us for help under the Treaty of the North Atlantic Alliance."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room, followed by a burst of gloating laughter.

"Ha!" War Minister Peel could not help but sneer, "These traitors from the New World have finally met their end!"

"Hey, what Monroe Doctrine? America belongs to the Americans! Are you dumbfounded now?" Finance Minister Disraeli narrowed his eyes and said in a playful tone, "Prime Minister, is Lincoln asking us at NATO to help him deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

"That's right." Earl Derby nodded and glanced at everyone. "The question is - do we need help? If we do, how should we help?"

The first to speak out was Lord Parkinson, the Secretary of the Navy. "Prime Minister, from a military point of view, our naval forces in the Pacific are not sufficient to confront the Warsaw Pact fleet. Our main ironclad ships are in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and cannot be transferred to the west coast of America in a short time."

Secretary of State for War Peel sneered, "Even if we can be transferred there, why should we shed blood for the Americans? They have called us 'tyrants' and 'colonizers' for the past seven years!" Lord Stanley pondered, "But if we completely ignore it, NATO's prestige will be damaged. Germany will definitely take the opportunity to jump out and compete with us for the leadership of NATO."

The Earl of Derby tapped the table lightly, his eyes full of British shrewdness: "Gentlemen, my idea is that what we should consider now is 'how to help the United States in the best interests of us'?"

He paused and said slowly, "Lincoln is now facing internal and external troubles. The Northern Union is exhausted, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's fleet is at the doorstep. If we take action at this time, the conditions can be very high."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Disraeli's eyes lit up: "The Prime Minister means... to take this opportunity to open up the US market? Lower tariffs?"

"Not only that." Earl Derby smiled slightly, "We can also ask the United States to fully cooperate with our strategy on Pacific issues, such as... supporting our special interests in Nicaragua and our lease of the Brito Estuary area and Corinto Port."

Nicaragua, the Brito River estuary and the Corinto Harbor mentioned by the Earl of Derby are important parts of the British Pacific layout. As Luo Yaoguo said to Gao Zi, the biggest difficulty facing Britain on the east coast of the Pacific is not the lack of sufficient ironclad ships, but the lack of ports to berth the large fleet.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom controlled the two major ports of San Francisco and San Diego through the Chinese states on the west coast of the United States, which could accommodate any number of ironclad ships. Moreover, San Francisco has been expanding its docks, forts, and shipyards since it was controlled by the True Covenant faction, and now has the ability to repair and even build large ships!

In addition, a few years ago, a British miner hired by the True Pact discovered a medium-sized coalfield in Washington State. Although it was only a medium-sized coalfield, it could only produce 300,000 tons a year at most. However, it was enough to supply the railways, mines, and steamships on the west coast, and also to feed the "Warsaw Pact Fleet" that came across the ocean.

On the other hand, although the British had established a base in the port of Valparaiso, Chile, this port did not have a shipyard capable of maintaining and repairing large ironclad ships, and fuel supply was also a problem, with only tens of thousands of tons of coal in the whole of Chile. The Chileans had to use it themselves, and it was impossible for them to give it all to the British fleet!

Therefore, Britain now has no way to deploy a large fleet on the west coast of America.

The British Admiralty's plan was to open up the Atlantic-Pacific canal line by digging the Nicaragua Canal, and at the same time build a military port, shipyard, artillery batteries, etc. near the western estuary of the Grand Canal, the Brito River Mouth, or in Corinto Port, the largest port in Nicaragua today (also very close to the Brito River Mouth).

However, this series of major projects cannot be completed without ten years!
At present, the naval power that the British Empire can deploy on the west coast of America is still very limited.

After some discussion, the cabinet ministers of the British Empire finally agreed on a plan to "resist China and aid the United States": 1. The Royal Navy will send a "huge fleet" with the Warrior as the flagship, consisting of more than 3000 ships of various sizes, to the port of Valparaiso, Chile. At the same time, an "incredibly powerful" expeditionary corps (with troops) will be sent to Chile to aid the United States.
2. Through a joint NATO statement, condemning the Warsaw Pact for "undermining the stability of the Americas" and demanding that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Inca Heavenly Kingdom withdraw their troops from the west coast of the United States and the Atacama Desert.

3. Privately convey a message to the Lincoln administration - Britain can broker peace, but the United States must accept the reality of "West Coast autonomy", fully open its market, and cooperate with Britain's actions in Nicaragua and Chile.

4. Deliver a message to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom through Yang Xiuqing - Britain can share the saltpeter in the Atacama Desert with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, splitting it % and % with Britain taking "%" and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom taking "%".

"As for whether the Americans will accept it..." Earl Derby stood up, walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky of London, and chuckled, "It depends on whether they are more afraid of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's fleet or our conditions."

After the meeting, Lord Stanley stayed quietly.

"Father," he whispered, "Will Russia and Germany... do something to sabotage us?"

Earl Derby sneered: "Alexander II doesn't bother to care about the New World. All his attention is on the Balkan Peninsula and Constantinople. As for Bismarck... Of course he wants to destroy us. He also covets the saltpeter mines in Chile, but his navy is no match for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy. He can only follow behind us and pick up some leftovers."

He turned around and patted Stanley on the shoulder: "But it doesn't matter. As long as Queen Mathilde successfully ascends the throne and the French royalists can cheer up, NATO can still control the chess game in Europe. As for America..."

He paused, a sly look in his eyes.

"Isn't it what we want to see most that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the United States consume each other?"

(End of this chapter)