Chapter 478

In London, news of victory came one after another in the Egyptian region, but Prime Minister Gladstone was not happy.

The rebels did not fight all the way to the Suez Canal area as they had expected, threatening the safety of the canal. They did not even touch the edge of the canal.

There was no other way. The senior leaders of the rebels were not all fools. At least the leader, Mahdi, was very clear-headed and knew that it would be fatal to run to the canal before the French were driven away.

Coupled with the French's strict defense, they would rather watch the cities of Egypt fall one by one than prioritize the safety of the Suez Canal.

This made the Government of the United Kingdom, which wanted to intervene in the Suez Canal, very hurt.

The canal was not threatened, and the British naturally had no excuse to intervene in canal affairs. No matter how powerful Britannia was, the United Kingdom and the FAO would not buy it.

Now that the French reinforcements had arrived in Egypt, even if the rebels wanted to fight to the canal, they would not have the chance.

The ultimate goal had not been achieved. No matter how much they weakened the French, it would be useless. After all, France was no longer the primary target of the Government of the United Kingdom's suppression.

Gladstone: "The Egyptian plan has failed, and we have lost the opportunity to intervene in the Suez Canal. If we continue, we will directly confront the United Kingdom and the FAO.

Given the current situation, we must now consider the aftermath. Continuing to weaken France is only helping Austria, which is not conducive to the balance of Europe. "

Although he did not want to admit it, the truth was the truth. The name of Lieutenant General Jareth was very loud. In fact, he was able to command the troops mainly based on Mahdi's trust.

However, this trust was not without conditions. At the very least, letting the rebels block the Suez Canal was rejected by Mahdi.

No one was a fool, and Mahdi was very clear about the consequences of blocking the Suez Canal. It would not only offend one or two countries, but all the countries that benefited from the canal.

Even the Englishman did not dare to cause trouble, much less Mahdi. Even if he was a chess piece, he was a chess piece with thoughts and would not be controlled by the flag bearer under all circumstances.

Foreign Minister George: "The Prime Minister is right. The French reinforcements have arrived, and our plan has failed.

If we continue, it will be difficult for us to gain more benefits apart from increasing our losses.

But we can't let go now. If we miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult for us to intervene in the canal affairs in the future.

Based on the current situation, with the support of us and Austria, it is not necessarily impossible for the rebels to be independent.

Planting a nail in Egypt is necessary for our future Suez Canal.

Besides, even if we let go now, the Austrians will not stop.

Based on their strength on the African continent, it wouldn't make much difference if we didn't participate.

As for the French, since we've already offended them, we don't mind offending them even more. "

This was very much in line with the British diplomatic code, where everything was aligned with the interests of the people. As for offending potential allies, it wasn't a big deal. John Bull, who could even screw over his allies, didn't care about such things.

Hearing this answer made Prime Minister Gladstone very uncomfortable.

The intention to recall Lieutenant General Jérez was already very obvious, but he was mercilessly rejected by the Foreign Affairs Minister. Anyone would feel uncomfortable.

Gladby's intention to recall Lieutenant General Jérez was obvious, but he was mercilessly rejected by the Foreign Minister. Anyone would feel uncomfortable.

If they gave up on the rebel army and allowed the Austrians to take advantage of the situation, Great Britain would become the biggest victim of the rebellion.

At that time, the opposition would definitely take the opportunity to make things difficult for him. The people's spittle could force them to step down.

To put it bluntly, there was no so-called friendship between Britain and France. There was only hatred.

This was already the consensus of the people of the two countries. Whether the Government of London was willing to admit it or not, this idea had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Gladby frowned and said with great dissatisfaction, "Sir, don't forget that Fao's strength is already out of balance.

Continuing to weaken the French will only make Austria's advantage more obvious. In the long run, the fragile balance of Europe can easily be broken. "

Foreign Secretary George shook his head. "Prime Minister, these are only possibilities. They are not guaranteed to happen.

In essence, Austria's advantage is limited to economics. Militarily, they do not have much advantage over the French.

This can be seen from the Government of Vienna's German Unification Plan.

If they were strong enough, they would have taken action a long time ago. There was no need to wait until now.

Although Russia and Austria were allies, they also had strategic conflicts. If Austria really had the strength to overwhelm the French and dominate the European continent, the Russo-Austrian Alliance could also become a Franco-Russian Alliance.

Before the unification of the German Region, Austria did not have the strength to fight one against two. It is impossible for the Government of Vienna not to know this, so the balance of Europe is still stable. "

This reason made Prime Minister Gladby speechless. On the surface, Austria did have an advantage on the European continent, but its terrible strategic position offset part of this advantage.

If there really was a monopoly, then Austria would not only face the Franco-Austrian Alliance, but also the British, French, and Russian Alliance, and even North Germany.

Seeing that the scene was awkward, Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers reminded, "You two, this issue can be put aside for the time being and discussed later.

Right now, we must seriously consider a food self-sufficiency plan. Recently, the domestic voice for food self-sufficiency has become louder and louder.

If we continue, the probability of the proposal being passed by parliament is as high as 95%. At that time, it will be difficult for us to oppose it. "

There was no doubt that the Government of London most opposed to the "food self-sufficiency plan" was the Ministry of Finance. Britannia was indeed a big business, but high income was accompanied by high expenses.

The Royal Navy was the biggest gold-swallowing beast, and the annual expenditure was no less than the sum of the Austrian Army and Navy's military expenditure.

Now that the food self-sufficiency plan was implemented, it would be another huge loss. And it was not a loss in one or two years, but a loss that would accumulate over the years.

For a business that was bound to lose money and could not see a return, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was naturally unwilling to waste money.

Colonial Secretary Primrose retorted, "Sir, you are too pessimistic. There are two sides to everything. Although the food self-sufficiency plan cannot be recovered in the short term, its collateral value is not low.

This plan is not only about agriculture, but also involves many infrastructure construction, including water conservancy projects and road transportation.

Once the supporting facilities are completed, the attraction of the colony to immigrants will be greatly increased.

A large influx of labor will further promote the development of the colony's economy, and the colonial government's finances will be greatly improved.

Many of the colonies that were originally losing money will also turn losses into profits. All in all, our investment is not a loss. "

It sounded good, but in fact, it was limited to theory. The colony's economic prosperity would increase government revenue, but it would also attract messy ideas.

There was no doubt that national independence would definitely be rampant in the shortest time possible.

Although everyone agreed not to spread revolutionary ideas, it was fine to listen to it. Perhaps in order to avoid getting burned, everyone would be restrained on the European continent, but the colony was definitely not in the scope of consideration.

Once nationalism spread, the colonial government's rule was bound to increase greatly.

High income was accompanied by higher expenses, and it was difficult to say whether it was a loss or a profit.

However, the spread of national independence took time, and it was still beneficial in the short term. This meant that the trouble was for later, but the political achievements were immediate.

Minister of Finance Xiaozhi Childes reminded, "The Russians have made their position clear. Once we implement the food self-sufficiency plan, they will withdraw from the free trade system.

We have to consider the possible chain reaction of Russia's withdrawal. If all food-exporting countries withdraw from the free trade system, the consequences will be serious. "

There was no need for all food-exporting countries to withdraw. As long as Russia and Austria withdrew from the free trade system, the system would not work.

In this era of the law of the jungle, the free trade system relied more on force in addition to political and diplomatic means.

Many small countries joined this system in order not to be ostracized by everyone and to avoid being suppressed by the big powers.

This was also the reason why no one could do anything about the French withdrawal. France was a big country with its own strength. If they wanted to suppress it, they would have to pay a high price.

The benefits were not proportional to the costs, so naturally, no one wanted to stand out.

If Russia and Austria also withdrew, the land force of the free trade system would be directly abolished. No matter how powerful the Royal Navy was, it couldn't go ashore. The deterrent force was simply not enough.

Foreign Minister George said, "There is never a perfect thing in this world. Where there is gain, there is loss.

If we compromise just because the Russians threaten to withdraw from the free trade system, where would Britannia's face be?

What would he do if something similar happened in the future? Should we continue to compromise or reject it outright? "

Britannia also wanted face. Compromising and making concessions couldn't hurt their face. It was a pity that the Russians didn't realize this.

They should have negotiated and communicated in secret, but they were brought to the table, making the Government of the United Kingdom have to think twice before compromising.

If the fragile nerves of the people in the country were stimulated and the opposition parties refused to let go, then things would be big.

In a sense, the strong stance of the Tsarist government had strengthened the decision of the Government of the United Kingdom to a certain extent.

Prime Minister Gladstone sighed and said helplessly, "Our trade with Russia is limited. It is best to keep this market.

If it doesn't work, then there is no need to be polite with the Russians. Austria has a vested interest in the free trade system anyway. It is impossible for the Government of Vienna to withdraw. "