Chapter 448 A road that the British never imagined

Chapter 448 A road that the British never imagined

Paris France.

The rebellion in Lyon was put down, which relieved Louis Philippe's brow. After all, this was the best news he had heard in recent days.

The agreement reached during the previous meeting with Victoria was actually detrimental to the French side. Because the French gained nothing, and the British, although they gained nothing on the surface, succeeded in actually bringing the Viceroyalty of La Plata into their sphere of influence.

As for the rebel forces that had previously announced their support for France, they were swept away by Rosas like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.

This is not because of how powerful the Argentine government forces are, but because his opponents are really bad.

Those so-called rebels thought that with the support of the French, they would go home to farm and herd cattle, and even the army was disbanded.

What's more, they even started doing business with Rosas and the British without any sense of crisis.

Rosas's strategy is a typical "neighbors stock up on food, I stock up on guns." The result of the collision between the two is naturally a complete victory for the warlord.

But at this time, Rosas also put away his previous arrogance and began to try to please the British. He began to consider changing his strategy. His routine of stimulating public enthusiasm by defying European powers seemed to be unworkable.

In fact, Rosas had a very strange brain circuit before, that is, he felt that he could improve his prestige by despising the strong, so as to implement his rule more effectively.

However, the reality is that his army is completely vulnerable to great powers like Britain and France. The so-called fleet cannot even get out of the port, and the brave people dare not even breathe.

It's just that this man coveted his next-door neighbor Uruguay but never gave up. He decided to bribe the British to support his war against Uruguay.

This sounds crazy, after all, Argentina at this time has just emerged from the shadow brought by the French. But now it seems a bit unbelievable to immediately want to attack the neighbor.

But the reality is that his behavior unexpectedly received a response from the British, because at this time the British also needed a breakthrough to vent their "prehistoric power."

The queen was assassinated, the prince's husband was injured, and France exposed its ambitions for Gibraltar. All this made the already troubled Robert Peel cabinet even worse.

Palmerston fought fiercely with the Americans in North America. In India, Earl Ellenborough and the Asans fought back and forth, and claimed that the Sikh Empire and Afghanistan were already huge threats to Britain.

On the European continent, Austria looks like the hegemon of central and southern Europe. The Russians dominate Eastern Europe and are ready to go south at any time. There are even rumors that the latter has decided what to plant there.

Fortunately, Sweden in Northern Europe has not done anything outrageous except occasionally snatching a few salted fish. As for Denmark, although it has always hated the British, it seems that the pro-British faction has the upper hand. On the contrary, it is the closest to the British at this time. power.

As for the German region, Hanover's land is as big as a palm and its bones are as big as a fist. At this time, Prussia was considered to be a silver-like pewter spearhead, which was of no use but good taste.

But what worried the British most at this time was Western Europe. The future of France and Spain's alliance was immeasurable in the eyes of Robert Peel.

It is also the only organization that can compete with Britain at this time, and it is not easy to recruit helpers to deal with France together. Civil strife continued in Austria and the German Confederation, and Russia was too far away to do anything.

At the same time, the current Holy Alliance seems to be determined to develop in one direction. Among them, Austria's enclosure race in Africa and Asia can be easily solved. After all, the British Empire's navy is invincible, but Russia's encroachment step by step will be difficult to deal with.

Robert Peel decided to temporarily change the direction of colonization and invade Latin America. After all, the French took the lead, and coupled with the decline of the United States, the Monroe Declaration was trampled like a piece of toilet paper.

In fact, in history, Britain's invasion of Latin America was mainly based on economic means, and there was naturally a profound reason why it did not end directly.

But at this time, Robert Peel has put all that behind him. All he wants now is to quickly get Britain back on track and keep its No. 1 spot in the world, that's all.

Latin America is rich in products, fertile land, and cheap labor, but it is not so easy to conquer. The concepts of winning a war and conquering a land are completely different.

Haiti, now one of the most backward countries in the world, was once the light of Latin America. Haiti was the first independent republic in Latin America and the first black republic in the world.

This small country located in the northern Caribbean and west of Hispaniola has defeated the French Republican Army, the Spanish, and the British. Even the arrogant Napoleon fell on this small island.

This forced the European powers to consider the cost of colonization. After all, everyone engaged in colonization to make money. The initial investment in colonization was huge. If the costs of war and stability maintenance were added, the gains might not be worth the losses.

This is also the reason why so many powerful countries in later generations were unable to win Afghanistan. Because the input-output ratio was inverted, it was difficult for people to be interested.

In fact, the living environment in Latin America at this time was not much better than in Africa. It was also full of diseases and poisonous insects.

During the ongoing Brazilian Civil War, Pedro II wanted to sell land to European countries in exchange for support, but no country bought it.

This is not because the land in Brazil is not fertile, but in areas controlled by the rebels, and even if they go deep into the interior, the cost of transporting local products back to the country is too high.

Unless a railway is built to the seaside port, but this cost is also very high. The European powers have not finished repairing their own railways, so how can they be in the mood to repair other people's railways?

However, with the support of Britain, Argentina's invasion of Uruguay went very smoothly.

Like a devastating force, Uruguay was quickly defeated, and the entire territory fell in less than a month.

Montevideo was generously leased to the United Kingdom by Rosas. Robert Peel was naturally not satisfied with a small port. What he wanted in his heart was to make Latin America a second India.

The victory at this time brought long-lost joy to Britain, and Robert Peel felt that he would guide Britain's future.

In fact, at this historical dividing point, the path chosen by Britain is not as easy as it seems. But once it succeeds, it will bring earth-shaking changes, more resources, more population, and stronger hegemony.

It's just that the British actions have aroused the vigilance of the Brazilian Empire and once again touched the bottom line of the French.

Although the former has little strength, it is no problem to support some Uruguayan guerrillas and provide some help when necessary.

The latter confirmed Britain's ambitions in Latin America. The French could not tolerate such endless expansion. Although both were unwilling to have a direct conflict, this did not mean that they would not continue to make small moves behind the scenes.

As a result, the strength of the Chartists in the UK once again strengthened, and groups of Swiss mercenaries even appeared.