Chapter 823 The British are also afraid

Chapter 823 The British are also afraid

London, England.

In order to prevent France and Spain from coming together, at this critical juncture before Isabella II's accession to the throne, the British were prepared to support Carlos again.

It's just that old Carlos has given up his right to inherit the throne, and he is an extremely superstitious and stubborn guy.

So the British chose his son, Roberto Carlos, and it happened that there were both natural and man-made disasters in Spain.

As mentioned before, natural disasters include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fungal diseases, etc. in Catalonia and other regions.

The so-called man-made disaster is the repeated tyranny of Queen Regent Christiana and the military government. The formulation and execution of policies by both parties have reached the level of inappropriateness.

Moreover, many policies of both sides are contradictory, and the chaos in the entire Spanish region can be imagined. Although the French later forcibly replaced the military government, the power of the military government was not eradicated.

The most important thing is that Spain's national fortunes are declining at this time, coupled with the impact of the Industrial Revolution and the entry of French goods, it is not something that Christiana, a bad woman who only knows how to fight in the palace, can solve it.

What's more, Queen Regent Christiana doesn't want to solve the problem. She just wants to get enough pension before her daughter reaches adulthood.

Christiana's lovers took turns on the stage, and these people, like the Queen Regent, did not care about the life or death of the Spaniards.

So when Prince Carlos, who was supported by the British, decided to provoke a civil war, he immediately received a wide response, especially the remaining forces from the military government period who hit it off.

So the Carlos War 2.0 was about to be staged with great fanfare, and at this time the Germans suddenly found out that the Boers had German ancestry.

What the hell is this? The first reaction of almost all British politicians was the same. They didn't quite know what was going on in Austria. To actually do such a stupid thing.

Across Africa to start a war that has no chance of winning? This should be the case, but now Britain itself has a little problem.

The Spanish Civil War was about to begin, and the British were most likely going to fight the French. This was originally a guaranteed war, but what if a war started with the German Confederacy at this time?

What about Americans? Although John Russell had just convinced Polk not long ago, the latter is known as the toughest president in American history. Will he add insult to injury?

There are great differences within Whitehall. Some people feel that the British Empire is invincible and fully capable of facing any challenge. Others feel that no matter how powerful Britain is, it is still too risky to go to war with the whole world.

But more British politicians believe that it is not worthwhile. Even if it wins a war with the whole world, it will do more harm than good to Britain. Factories will be depressed, trade will shrink, and many financiers' investments abroad will be in vain.

And how long will this war last? Ten years, twenty years, or thirty years like the war that collapsed three empires?

As for the so-called Boers, many senior British officials had never heard of them, and the Transvaal was a barren land. Many people had heard of them for the first time.

Palmerston spoke directly. He could not stand the shrinking look of his colleagues.

“Whether it’s Germany or Austria, if they want it, just give it to them.

The so-called Boers as a whole are no more than 20,000 people. The Transvaal seems to be called this, and it is just a piece of pasture that has just been leveled.

It is not cost-effective to go to war with the entire German Confederation just for such a small amount of land and population. "

"Humph, you put it lightly. What if the German Confederation's appetite is not just the Transvaal, but the entire Cape Colony?"

The Colonial Secretary, Earl Henry Gray, said very unhappily that he hated that his Colonial Office was being looked down upon, so he retorted.

But Earl Gray ignored one problem: Palmerston was not an easy person to deal with.

"My dear Earl, let me ask you, is it along the coast of the Transvaal?"

"No, the Transvaal is landlocked."

"Then how can the 20,000 Boers counterattack the Cape Colony, which has a population of 100,000?"

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"The Namibia colony next door to Austria is rich in gold and diamonds. Why don't you capture it together? It will not only solve the Cape Colony's worries, but also open up territory for our British Empire. What do you think?"

The port of Namibia is not difficult to conquer, but the Austrian colony of Namibia is built on the mountains in the interior. What is even more terrifying is that if you want to attack the interior, you must first cross a large desert.

After the soldiers cross the desert, they only have half a life. Let alone attacking the city, it is hard to say whether they will surrender directly at that time. The so-called Gate of Hell is not called for nothing.

As for the 20,000 Boers, most of them were old, weak, women and children. Because wars often broke out and they had to deal with a lot of labor, the adult men suffered a great loss. The number of people who could carry guns was probably only three to five thousand.

The British Cape Colony was used to house veterans of the war. It not only had sufficient manpower, but also had a large number of trained soldiers and descendants of soldiers.

Note: There were nearly 100,000 white people in the Cape Colony, while the number of black people was about half that of white people.

The Colonial Secretary, Earl Henry Gray, just snorted and did not answer, but Palmerston was unwilling to give up.

"Why don't you take down Austria's East African colonies and the Oman Empire as well?"

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"That's enough!" John Russell stopped the quarrel among the cabinet members. He hated Palmerston, but he couldn't do anything to ruin the overall situation because of such a small thing.

"The Transvaal can be ceded to them, but they must promise to remain neutral for the rest of the war."

When the Prime Minister speaks, the cabinet members still have to show some respect. And this method seems to be the most reasonable approach at this time.

However, before the British could send a messenger to the German Confederation, the latter's messenger arrived first, hoping that the two sides could negotiate to resolve the issue.

This was a relief to the British, and it seemed that the Austrians did not want to fight. In fact, it is not difficult to think that Austria has just offended France on the Swiss issue, and it would be very unwise to start a war with Britain at this time.

So negotiation became the most reasonable choice for both parties.

In fact, the monarchs of the German states also opposed war with the British, so the German Confederation held its first expanded conference (including the Swiss states).

Except for Luxembourg, which abstained from voting, almost all states voted against it.

However, in order to take care of national sentiment, the German Confederation would not abandon its compatriots in southern Africa, so it planned to solve the problem through redemption.

However, it was okay not to talk about money. When it came to talking about money, the monarchs of various states were a little reluctant. However, domestic nationalists were making a big fuss, so they had no choice but to compromise.

Fortunately, the Transvaal is a barren land, and most of the land is still in native hands, so the price should not be very high.

But the words of British Foreign Secretary Palmerston made people dumbfounded.

"Ten million pounds."