Late June 1856.
A transport ship carrying Governor Jero Patterson of Gabon and 5,000 Croatian Foreign Legion soldiers set sail from Toulon Port, under the escort of the French diterranean Fleet, heading toward Central Africa, Gabon.
The commander of the British garrison at Gibraltar, seeing this scene, thought that the French Army was dispatching troops for an overseas expedition.
Thus, the commander swiftly sent a steam frigate to London to deliver the news.
[Note: At this ti, Gibraltar was not yet equipped with telegraphs, whereas Malta, influenced by the Crian War, had them.
It must be said, this was a "great achievent" of Britain!]
By the ti the steam frigate reached London, it was already early July.
At this mont, Pri Minister Palrston, who had gained prestige from the Crian War, still held the office of the Kingdom of Britain’s Pri Minister, yet his position was already precarious.
Criticism of Palrston from both inside and outside the Parliant was increasing, and the third force he had high hopes for (public opinion) had also begun to backfire against him. So newspapers openly referred to Palrston as a "Cromwell entrenched in the position of Pri Minister."
Even worse, the Royal Family was also expressing dissatisfaction with Pri Minister Palrston’s autocratic behavior in the Cabinet.
Just waiting for an appropriate mont, Palrston, the war hero, would directly fall from power.
As Pri Minister, Palrston was also aware that he was currently in a perilous position.
If things continued like this, he would inevitably be ousted.
Therefore, Palrston must find so way to break the deadlock.
However, Palrston could think of no solutions other than war.
In Palrston’s view, only war could restore his support to the level it had been during the Crian War.
However, choosing whom to go to war with was a great challenge.
If the opponent was much weaker than the Kingdom of Britain, the public would only feel that Britain’s victory was a matter of course.
If the opponent was of similar strength to Britain, the public might consider replacing him as Pri Minister altogether.
It was essential to find an opponent who was neither too weak nor too strong.
However, such an opponent was truly difficult to find.
Just as Palrston was contemplating how to find a suitable opponent for Britain, a knock on the door ca from outside.
Coming back to his senses, Palrston hurriedly flipped through a few pages of the files spread over his desk, then called towards the outside of the door, "Co in!"
The door to the Pri Minister’s office slowly opened, and the Cabinet Secretary appeared at the threshold.
The Cabinet Secretary, upon entering the room, briefly tidied his clothes and then reported to Palrston in his standard London accent: "Uh... Respected Pri Minister, the Minister of War hopes to have a brief eting with you, he said it won’t take up much of your ti..."
The Cabinet Secretary, babblingly, conveyed the key information to Palrston while surrounded by a heap of unnecessary words.
"Where is the Minister of War now!" Palrston imdiately asked the Cabinet Secretary.
"The Minister is waiting outside the room!" the Cabinet Secretary clearly responded to Palrston: "If you need, I can call him in for you!"
"Of course, I do!" Palrston nodded in response to the Cabinet Secretary.
"Then I’ll go over right away!" The Cabinet Secretary turned to leave.
Before the Cabinet Secretary had even stepped out the door, Palrston’s voice reached his ears once again, "Wait a mont!"
The Cabinet Secretary stopped, showing a professional smile once again, and said to Palrston, "Your Excellency, do you have any other instructions?"
"Uh..." Palrston hesitated for a mont and then asked the Cabinet Secretary, "We’ve been working together for almost two years, what do you think of ?"
The Cabinet Secretary’s expression tightened, but after a few seconds, he smiled again and replied to Palrston: "Your Excellency, there’s no doubt you’re an excellent Pri Minister!"
"In your mouth, every Pri Minister is probably an excellent Pri Minister!" Palrston responded to the Cabinet Secretary with a hint of sarcasm.
The Cabinet Secretary, adept at dealing with people, replied: "Every Pri Minister has been jointly endorsed by both Parliant and the Royal Family to beco Pri Minister, and a mber of Parliant is elected by the responsible gentleman of Britain (landowners and capitalists), so I believe every Pri Minister is an excellent one!"
"My duty is to assist every Pri Minister in accomplishing what they wish to achieve!"
The Cabinet Secretary replied with impeccable clarity, making Palrston feel as if he’d thrown a punch into cotton. He nodded and said to the Cabinet Secretary, "I understand! Now you may go and invite the Minister of War over!"
"Yes, Pri Minister!" The Cabinet Secretary bowed to Palrston once again and then left the room.
As Palrston watched the Cabinet Secretary leave, a bitter smile crept onto his lips. He lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling, murmuring to himself, "Loyalty is such a luxury for a career bureaucrat, yet I long for it!"
After a while, Duke Newcastle, the Minister of War, appeared before Palrston.
"What’s going on, Duke?" Palrston asked curiously, sitting across from Duke Newcastle.
"Pri Minister, I have two pieces of news: one concerns France and the other pertains to the Kaijia Dynasty (the 19th-century dynasty of Iran). Which one do you wish to hear first?" Duke Newcastle said to Palrston solemnly.
"Let’s hear about France first!" Palrston decisively chose France, harboring so suspicion about the neighbor across the channel.
After all, the hatred between France and Britain has lasted nearly a thousand years.
The wars between the two countries in recent tis were just a few decades ago.
Palrston didn’t believe that a Crian War could completely reverse the relationship between the two countries.
Not to ntion the various alliances (Currency Union, Customs Union) the French Empire has ford on the European Continent in the past two years.
However, until the French Empire decides to thoroughly shatter the European balance system, Britain will not act against the French Empire.
The Kingdom of Britain is unwilling to bear the costs of a second Napoleonic Wars.
Currently, while the French Empire dominates the discourse in Europe, other nations still hold a voice.
Although the Austrian Empire is allied with France, it doesn’t an Austria follows France blindly.
The Kingdom of Britain doesn’t need to worry excessively about Europe.
"Our troops stationed in Gibraltar reported: In late June, a large fleet from France sailed out of the diterranean!" Duke Newcastle told Palrston word by word.
"How large is the fleet? How many personnel?" Palrston inquired of Duke Newcastle.
"Gibraltar reports that the French Fleet is personally led by the ironclad ’Friendship’... According to the number of transport ships, it’s estimated to be at least 3,000 n." Duke Newcastle replied to Palrston.
"More than 3,000 n?" Palrston furrowed his brows, murmuring, "What is France planning to do?"
"I don’t know either!" Duke Newcastle shook his head in response to Palrston.
"Logically, this force shouldn’t be a fleet sent to Arica; 3,000 n can’t decide the outco of a war..." Palrston ntally eliminated various possibilities.
After contemplating for a mont, Palrston decided to put the issue of France aside and asked Duke Newcastle again, "What’s happening with the Kaijia Dynasty?"
"According to intelligence transmitted by governnt officials in the Kaijia Dynasty inclined toward us, King Naser al-Din Shah has decided to launch an offensive on Herat in October! Currently, the Kaijia Dynasty is likely in a state of military preparation!" Duke Newcastle responded to Palrston.
"Is the Kaijia Dynasty crazy?" Palrston couldn’t help but exclaim, unable to imagine how much false courage Naser al-Din Shah had consud to provoke the great Kingdom of Britain.
The Russian Empire that originally supported them is now caught in a two-governnt situation; how dare they dispatch troops to Herat directly.
[PS: Herat is located in the northwest region of Afghanistan, at the strategic center of the entire area between the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, and the Yaksa River in the west and north, and the Indus River in the east.
The competition between England and Russia in Central Asia previously revolved around Herat.]
"I don’t know either! What is the Kaijia Dynasty thinking!" Duke Newcastle shook his head in response to Palrston.
At this mont, Palrston suddenly thought of a possibility and hurriedly voiced his thoughts to Duke Newcastle: "Do you think this French action could be connected to the Kaijia Dynasty?"
"Impossible!" Duke Newcastle swallowed and shook his head in response to Palrston, "If France were truly going, how would they handle supplies along the way?"
"How do you explain France dispatching troops at this ti, where are they going? Why would the Kaijia Dynasty insist on attacking Herat?" Palrston spoke firmly to Duke Newcastle.
"What is France’s goal?" Duke Newcastle followed Palrston’s line of thinking, "Even if he dispatches troops to assist and successfully captures Herat! It seems to offer him no benefit, surely he doesn’t wish to support the Kaijia Dynasty!"
"It’s not entirely impossible! Perhaps the French Empire wants to fill the vacuum left by the Russian Empire in Central Asia! Jero Bonaparte resembles his uncle in certain aspects!" Palrston continued along the mistaken line of thought. He had already decided in his heart that France was connected to the Kaijia Dynasty. (Actually, the Kaijia Dynasty was misled by the South Russia Empire, leading to a suicidal decision to march on Herat.)
"I think it’s better not to be too hasty!" Duke Newcastle said cautiously.
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