Chapter 1129: Recognized
Chapter 1108 – Breaking through
London.
“Your Excellency Prime Minister, has the Empire’s preparation to launch a war against the Holy Roman Empire been approved by Parliament?”
“Your Excellency Prime Minister, why are we starting this war? What can we gain?”
“Your Excellency Prime Minister, is the Empire ready? What are our chances of victory?”
……
Prime Minister Campbell, who woke up still in a daze, was mobbed by reporters just as he left the house.
The questions were all over the place, frantically sweeping towards him. The hidden traps are even more numerous, with the old experience, Campbell knows that this group of reporters are going to make things happen again.
For this group of unscrupulous media, as long as there was big news that could increase newspaper sales, it didn’t really matter if Britannia would fight with Shinra.
Having long been used to the media’s routine, after a slight pause, Prime Minister Campbell waved his hand and said: ”These questions, the government will hold a special press conference to answer them next.
For now, I can only tell you that the government is not prepared to launch a war against the Holy Roman Empire, but we are not afraid of war either.
Please don’t believe the rumors circulating in the market, Great Britain is a peace-loving country, and we are willing to work with peace-loving countries all over the world to maintain world peace.”
After getting rid of the reporter, Campbell’s face instantly became gloomy. The reporters had come so quickly, it was obvious that someone was organizing and planning behind the scenes.
If he hadn’t reacted quickly and muddled through in time, he might have been in deep trouble by now.
Britain’s system was already very perfect, and the government simply didn’t have the power to start a war against a large country without the approval of the parliament.
The parliamentarians have never relaxed in their defense of their power. If word got out, Campbell would not have a good time.
Campbell had no energy left to condemn his rivals’ shameless behavior. The biggest problem now is that the window has been broken and Britain is being pushed to the edge of the cliff.
“Sneak attack” and “baiting the enemy” were not even a thought. The reporters all knew that war was going to break out between Britain and Shinra, that would be the same as the whole world knowing about it.
……
Filled with rage, Campbell called an emergency cabinet meeting.
“The news has leaked out, and public opinion is very unfavorable to us. Some time ago, our proposal to strengthen the strategic material reserve is now also considered as evidence by outsiders.
The opposition parties will not let this opportunity pass, and according to the inherent routine, it usually starts with the press, followed by parliamentary questioning.
Without a reasonable explanation, we will have a hard time in the days to come. In order to avoid the situation continuing to deteriorate, we have to come up with a package today.”
Infighting is an integral part, in the politics of Britannia. The critical situation was only their experience, the opposition party could not feel it.
Unlike the top levels of the Shinra government, which climbed up the ladder one step at a time, the top levels of the British government all rose to the top one step at a time from the elections.
Even if there was excess, it was only a few days of being a spitfire in Parliament. Those who have experience of serving in the government are only a minority.
Even if they have had experience of holding office, it is more of a gold-plated significance than a practical one. Most of the time it’s just in name only, without performing specific duties.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the top of the government is an idiot. Winning complex political battles and making it all the way to the top of the electoral ladder is not possible without exceptional ability.
What is lacking is only experience in governance. Generally speaking, after being elected, there will be a team of professionals to help popularize the relevant knowledge, and there will also be a team of advisers to assist in handling political affairs.
How effective they are will be determined by the number of bizarre policies they implement during their term of office. Generally speaking, the worse the personal ability of a prime minister is, the greater the appetite of the interest groups, and the more chaotic policies will be introduced.
If one is a good learner, or has been exposed to the relevant knowledge in advance, there is equally no problem in getting rid of these advisory panels filled with interest groups.
However, anyone who wants to make a difference must get rid of the reliance on advisory groups and jump out of the circle drawn by interest groups.
However, these are things that happen after one is elected. When ordinary politicians are in opposition, they have no access to the relevant knowledge, so naturally they do not need to think about it that much.
This is also the reason why political families, are more likely to succeed. Everyone is not on the same level in terms of innate insight.
Now is no exception, in the eyes of most British people, the Royal Navy is still invincible across the four seas, the British Empire is still in the ascendant.
The rise of the Holy Roman Empire is indeed a problem, but only a problem. With the Royal Navy in place, Britain was not afraid of any enemy.
As for the deeper national power gap, industrial gap, population gap …… are not within the scope of knowledge.
It is not that there are no “knowledgeable people” out to do popularization, but now is the most glorious era of Britain, everyone immersed in the glory of the Sunset Empire, the crisis is simply blind to it.
Ignorant people have no fear. Do not know the gap between the two sides of the national strength, still think that Britain is once the awesome Sunset Empire, dragging up the rear leg of the natural pressure.
Foreign Secretary Adam: “The news of our preparations for war should not have leaked out, otherwise the opposition parties would have already made a scene and it wouldn’t be so peaceful out there at all.
Judging from the current state of affairs, it’s most likely that someone has deduced that we’re going to go to war with Shinra based on the current international situation.
Or perhaps the Vienna government sensed our intentions and deliberately released the news in an attempt to disrupt our strategic layout.
The opposition party is just utilizing this opportunity and using the power of the media to push the issue from behind. If they really had evidence that we were planning a war, they would have already gone to Parliament to impeach.
In a sense, this current situation is also a good thing for us.
By directly publicizing the conflict between the Empire and Shinra, we can also take the opportunity to promote the Shinra threat theory and prepare for the next war.
As of now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received letters of inquiry from many European countries, as well as a peace initiative led by the Dutch government.
On the surface, this is the European countries do not want this war to break out, and the deeper reason is not the fear of the Holy Roman Empire?
You should know that during the Continental War, the Vienna government was a call to arms and formed an anti-French alliance without much cost.”
Don’t look at Adam’s analysis, but he was actually panicking inside. Regardless of who put the news out, the enemy would be on the defensive.
He was already worried about how to fool the main force of the Shinra Navy into coming out, but now that the enemy was on the defensive, it would be even more difficult to achieve.
Unable to hit the Shen Luo Navy hard in the first hour of the war, their plan of a quick battle and a quick decision was declared bankrupt.
Once the war continued, Britain’s good days were over. Not to mention, the European market is completely gone.
Look at the reaction of the European countries know. People oppose the two countries to go to war, in addition to the fear of standing on the wrong side, more importantly, they are still worried about the war continues.
In the view of the outside world, the Holy Roman Empire has the advantage of land power, Britain has the advantage of sea power, really if the fight, for a while who can not help who.
Holland’s reaction is the most intense, in addition to the geographical location of the pit, the most important thing is that they rely heavily on maritime trade.
Once the war between Britannia and Shenluo is in a state of anxiety, mutual blockade is inevitable, and the interruption of maritime trade is inevitable.
If it is a short-lived three to five months of friendly competition, it does not matter, everyone will pass if they endure.
If the war lasts for three years and five years, there is no need to doubt that Holland, Portugal, such a serious dependence on overseas trade countries, want not to collapse is difficult.
In this context, everyone has only one way to go, that is, to help one side to win the war, as soon as possible to end the trade embargo.
Either the European countries follow Britain together, and jointly pull Shen Luo down; or we all follow in Shen Luo’s footsteps, and together desperately explode warships and dry out the Royal Navy.
There was no doubt that no matter who they mixed with, everyone would lose heavily. Especially Holland, the bitter enemy that would most likely be reduced to a battlefield, would lose money even if they followed the right person.
Don’t expect to make up for your losses with the spoils of war, that’s a pie in the sky. The previous war against France is an example, nominally everyone got a huge amount of reparations, the reality is that the French government does not have the money to pay.
No money is no money, no matter how much you can do, the French government still can’t change the money.
Like Belgium this bitter, if not after the war from France cut back a piece of land, it is simply blood money.
The volume of small countries is limited, the strength can not support the ambition. It is estimated that those who want to profit from the Anglo-Austrian war, besides the Czarist government, is the United States of America, which is 10,000 miles away.
Other countries have the same ambition or not, their stomach is not good, can not eat greasy food, meat to the mouth, but also can only smell the taste.
As Britain’s foreign minister, Adam’s personal ability is still very strong. Unfortunately, the reality is in front of the eyes, any how he can fool, but also do not have the certainty to pull people to their side.
Of course, they could also follow the flexible diplomatic strategy of the original time and space, allowing countries to remain neutral and engage in overseas trade.
Only this needs the opponent to cooperate, if the Vienna government does not buy, hard to pull people into the gang, everyone still must choose camp.
Can European countries withstand the diplomatic pressure of the Holy Roman Empire?
This question, no one can answer. Theoretically speaking, as long as the European countries together embrace the neutrality, the Vienna government can only hold their noses and admit.
But the chances are too low, not all countries have the courage. People’s hearts are not united, as long as there are a few countries took the lead and stood in line, the rest can only follow the line.
The situation is already very dangerous for Britain. If you make a mistake, you will be standing against not only the Holy Roman Empire, but the whole European world.
Minister of Finance Asquith: “Sir, European countries are all wallflowers, and their positions have never been firm.
Because of geopolitics, there is no way for us to compare our influence in the European continent to the Holy Roman Empire.
Purely relying on political means, we may not necessarily fall into a disadvantage; however, once the Vienna government adopts military means and directly threatens force, it will be difficult for us to compete with them.
Unless we are able to draw Russia and Spain together, only if they take the lead together, the European countries may be able to withstand the pressure of the Vienna government.
Considering our relations with Russia and Spain, I don’t think it is possible to bring them over now. It would be God’s blessing if we could get them to remain neutral in the war.”
It wasn’t that Asquith was pessimistic, it was just that the previous administrations had been so pitiful. Just got away with it and left them with too much of a mess.
There was no way around it, Britannia’s world hegemony was stepping on Spain to get to the top. Ten years ago in the Philippine Campaign, Spain was again scourged by Britannia’s little brother.
With the old and new grudges added together, and a dispute over the sovereignty of the Strait of Gibraltar in the middle, the Spanish government, unless it has a collective brain in its head, will not be able to follow them.
British-Russian relations, needless to say, the Indian issue is the two sides can not solve the dead knot. Now the Russo-Japanese War is also a new hatred on top of the old hatred.
Even if the tsarist government is jealous of Shen Luo, but if they let them sell their iron to aid Britain, it is still impossible.
There is no one to take the lead, and the European countries that are used to being wallflowers are naturally unlikely to jump out and go against Shinra.
Of course, there is still a Nordic Federation can be fooled, this also has the strength to remain neutral.
Unfortunately, this person’s political appeal is limited, so he can’t be the leading big brother, and he doesn’t dare to be the big brother.
The European world can’t count on, no one is willing to be a fighter at this time, want to win the war with God Luo, naturally it is difficult to add.
……
The war is still to rely on the military to fight, the complaints of the civil officials, Campbell can only pretend not to hear.
Now it was an arrow on a string that had to be sent. Is it possible to stop fighting a war when it is difficult and not well fought?
If we really stop the war now, I think the Vienna government will be crazy happy. Don’t do anything, delay for eight or ten years, the hegemony will be sent to the door.
“What are the plans of the Admiralty?”
Strategy is not enough, tactics come together. Since the comprehensive national power couldn’t be spelled out, the Royal Navy could only be allowed to explode and continue to work wonders for Britain.
Only to see Naval Minister Swindin pick up a baton and walk to the hanging world map and say, “Although the Holy Roman Empire’s main naval force is cowering in the Mediterranean Sea, there are still a few sub-fleets overseas.
Although there are very few main ships in these fleets, the number of tons in the fleet is not low, occupying almost forty percent of the total tonnage of the Holy Roman Navy.
Unable to lure the enemy’s main force into a duel, the Ministry of Navy planned to solve these overseas troubles first.
Several other fleets were not worth mentioning, mainly the Austrian Southern Ocean Fleet and the Central American Fleet. Not only were there dreadnoughts acting as flagships, but the other attached warships were mostly newer ones.
These warships all had one common feature – they were fast.
Obviously, the enemy this is early preparation. Attempting to use these high-speed warships to attack our merchant ships after the outbreak of the war.
We plan to attack these two sub-fleets of the enemy immediately after the war breaks out, eliminating the threat on the trade routes in advance.
The Japanese have done a good job in this regard, having successfully sneak-attacked Spain, the Far East Empire, and Russia, and we can fully follow suit.”
Modesty was non-existent, and as long as he could win the war, Swendin didn’t mind breaking convention for once.
The history books were written by the victors anyway, and as long as the Holy Roman Empire was defeated, all the behaviors that broke the rules could be whitewashed.
It was better to take out the enemy’s sub-fleet first than to wait for the war to break out and be attacked by the enemy’s merchant ships.
The Royal Navy, which started out as pirates, was all too familiar with these operations. So much so that with a cursory glance, Swendin understood the intentions of the Vienna government.
If left unchecked, I’m afraid that the war has just broken out and Britain’s maritime trade lines will be hit hard.
(End of chapter)