Chapter 9： What the British Empire is best at

But even if he is so wise, the Prime Minister of the British Empire, Henry John Tapper, has been troubled recently, because the European continent seems to be turbulent recently, as if preparations before a huge storm are brewing. It was like a monster that devoured him, which made him feel worried, so he couldn't help it. He ran to Buckingham Palace and reported his worries to Queen Victoria. This is his usual style and what he has insisted on for so many years. The effect is good, Victoria County Lord has long since broken away from immaturity and has become a female overlord who has become a woman in the world today, but she still supports him as always and never guards against that, which makes the Tories sigh and take over Downing Street has nothing to worry about.

"Your Majesty, there seems to be a gust of wind blowing in Europe recently. Our situation is a bit delicate," Henry John Tapper said worriedly.

"The rise of Bismarck is too fast, especially the reuse of William I, and after years of baptism, Mao Qi served as Prussia's chief of staff, which also made Prussia complete a sharp change. I worry that the rise of Prussia will be more than we imagined. Faster and stronger."

Queen Victoria, who was born in 1819, is now 43 years old. It is when a woman is most charming. Although Henry John Tapper is 78 years old, she is still amazing. Think about it, they have worked together for 33 years. It went so fast!

Thinking again that the 18-year-old county lord had become a female monarch who has become a woman in power in the hegemony countries of Europe, he couldn't help but sigh that time not only makes people old, but also makes people change.

Since Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert passed away last year, the Queen's face has been covered with frost and mourning for more than a month. Even for this reason, members of the royal family are now far away from Buckingham Palace and are all on the Isle of Wight. mourning their husbands, their fathers,

"The rise of Prussia is the national policy we formulated at the beginning. Only its rise can take over from the weakening of the Kingdom of Austria, causing the restlessness of France and Tsarist Russia, to create scruples between the two countries, to stabilize the balance, and to make the two countries Energy cannot be put into the sea."

In the end, Queen Victoria said sadly: "Princess Victoria is not having a good time in Prussia today. According to her letter to me, William I of Prussia and Bismarck are now somewhat dissatisfied with following the British Empire too closely, and they advocate more closely with the Russian Empire. To be more intimate, therefore, we need to make Tsarist Russia feel the threat of Prussia. For this reason, the British Empire can tolerate the continued rise of Prussia to make the relationship between Tsarist Russia and Prussia more rigid, especially in the dispute over the Pod Plain, I know you are worried What is it? Your Excellency Viscount Palmerston, Bismarck is powerful, but can he surpass Metternich in Austria? Even if Metternich is reborn, it will only be your defeat."

Queen Victoria comforted that, looking at Europe, she really couldn't find Palmerston's opponent. Perhaps as Queen Victoria said, she also thought that masters were lonely. The leaders of these countries, especially those in power who are subordinate to power, have been completely despised in the overt and covert battles.

Henry John Tapper listened and nodded. However, Queen Victoria, who was now in mourning, noticed that the worry in Henry John Tapper's eyes had not diminished. For some reason, he always felt a little Uneasy, but the reason for the uneasiness is unknown. This feeling is the first time since he entered the political arena that he has felt an incomprehensible and uncontrollable sense of unease, which is really uncomfortable.

"Princess Alice in 1843 was 19 years old. It's time to choose a mate for her. I wonder if Her Majesty has a favorite candidate?" Since he couldn't find the source of his worries, Viscount Palmerston simply put it aside. , but turned to other issues.

Queen Victoria was taken aback for a moment, but thinking about it, if it weren't for the death of Prince Albert, he and she would both be discussing choosing a mate for Alice.

For Alice, Albert's favorite child, they decided to marry her for love, but they also did not agree that Alice could choose someone other than the European royal family.

In order to improve the status of the royal family of the British Empire, from 1860, they listed some high-ranking candidates, but they were disgusted by the political propositions of the British Empire, and they were unwilling to disrupt the alliance between the British Empire and the major European powers and affect the balance of the European continent. , to balance the British Empire's own setting out of the outside world, but to encircle itself in, the gain outweighs the loss. Especially with the lessons of Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria is even more reluctant to marry a big country.

Therefore, Alice's mate choice, she is most willing to be members of the royal family outside the major European countries, especially the heirs of the kingdom.

So last August, she and her husband Prince Albert even asked Princess Victoria to make a list of eligible Continental princes.

After their husband and wife watched it, there were only two suitable candidates, namely, the husband of Prince William of Orange and Princess Victoria of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Prince Albert of Prussia, the cousin of Crown Prince Frederick of the Kingdom of Prussia.

For this reason, the Prussian Prince Albert also personally traveled to Windsor Castle, but in the end, the Queen realized that the prince was not a suitable candidate, because Queen Victoria and his wife, who had read countless people, found that this person was very ambitious. It is not the life object of Alice seeking stability, so it was rejected.

Only William, Prince of Orange, was left, but just as she and Prince Albert were about to invite each other to visit Windsor Castle, Albert died in December, too suddenly, so the plan was suspended, even the original Arrangements for a blind date between Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra of Denmark have also been delayed.

It was only when Henry John Tapper mentioned it that she remembered this matter.

But what she never expected was that William III himself announced his abdication, he was downgraded to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and ran to Luxembourg, hundreds of kilometers away from the mainland of the Netherlands, separated by Prussia and Belgium. This made Queen Victoria do not know how to describe it. , which is also too.....

Thinking that William, the Prince of Orange, has unexpectedly become the new king of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, she originally thought that Alice's marriage was a good idea, but now she is a little shaken. After all, marrying a prince is the same as marrying a king. are two different things.

Although the prince has the right of inheritance, his position at least remains there. He gets married and sends his wife to live the life of a prince, a prince and a concubine together. The relationship is naturally deep, but when he married, he became a king and immediately became a queen. The Prince's original intention - Alice can be contradicted by marriage for love.

Henry John Tapper knew this, and looking at the way he was hesitant to say anything, Queen Victoria didn't have to think about it, and knew that the 78-year-old Viscount, who was born in 1784 and is now known for his old and firm political circles, thinks about it again. It was the idea of ​​political and national interests, but Queen Victoria was helpless, because her position was destined to make it impossible for her to reject the viscount's idea, at least on the surface.

Henry John Tapper also knew that he was a strong man, but he was only a suggestion. As for whether to implement it or not, it had nothing to do with him.

Queen Victoria sighed and nodded.

Henry John Tapper said: "The change of the Dutch throne was so fast that even I didn't react. William III has always been known for his ambition, great ability, and little ability. He was attacked one after another by Tolbek, which ruined his ambition. So when Tolbek was re-elected, he was disheartened and left Holland for Luxembourg."

"Your Majesty, the situation in Europe is very strange. I don't need to mention the importance of the geographical location of the Netherlands. The Queen also knows that a Belgian kingdom is not enough for one eye. We should add the Netherlands to our camp to form two eyes, so that it will be normal and more standardized. sex"

"But Your Excellency Viscount, don't you think that if we do something wrong, we will probably fall into the quagmire of internal struggles in Europe, and it will be difficult to extricate ourselves?"

"Speaking of which, there is also a conflict between Belgium and the Netherlands. I'm afraid my eyes will fight with myself first."

Henry John Tapper's eyes gleamed, UU reading www. uukanshu.com said: "This is what I want to say, Your Majesty, the Netherlands has developed rapidly recently, especially in terms of economy. The originally developed financial industry has begun to revive again. No one dared to question Amsterdam as the European financial capital. The legend of the tulip has been talked about by people since the founding of a financial country.

However, since the status of this financial capital after the four Dutch-British wars at the end of the last century, after the defeat of the Netherlands, many of the treaties we set were signed, especially the huge debt we borrowed from Amsterdam. After we forced the other party to return it cheaply, Amsterdam's financial turmoil, and eventually its decline, was replaced by the rise of our London.

For decades, Amsterdam has only ranked third in Europe, after London and Paris, and its service targets are only the Tsarist Russia Empire and the surrounding countries of the Baltic Sea.

However, after decades of development, especially with the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia and rapid industrial development, financial financing in Amsterdam has begun to slowly spread across borders, increasing its influence, which makes Paris feel threatened, but our Why not London? Therefore, I think we can harvest the leeks of the Netherlands through marriage and peaceful means, and help London’s financial status to rise to a higher level. Internationalization, then, is when our British Empire diplomacy exerts its influence on the country.

Completely complete the extension of our foreign policy, instead of the current one, relying solely on gunboat diplomacy. "

The more she listened, the more Queen Victoria's heart sank, because even she had to admit that the bait that Viscount Palmerston threw was too big, so big that she was moved and unwilling to refuse.

What the British Empire likes to do the most and is the best at doing it is: plundering others and becoming their own!