Make France Great Again

The Duke of Newcastle spoke cautiously, which calmed Palmerston's overheated mind a little. He understood that France was not a small country after all, but an army power that could keep pace with the naval power of the Kingdom of Britain. Without conclusive evidence, he made random suspicions If so, it will easily cause a diplomatic crisis.

If it triggers a second confrontation between Britain and France, then he, as prime minister, will most likely have reached his end.

[The last confrontation between Britain and France was during the Orleans period. Thiers, then Prime Minister of Orleans, took the initiative to confront Britain over the Egyptian issue, and was dismissed by Louis Philippe. 】

"You're right!" Palmerston responded calmly to the Duke of Newcastle, "We really shouldn't be so arbitrary! Let's do this!

You now return to the Ministry of War immediately to deploy military operations against the Qajar Dynasty.

I will send ambassadors abroad to find out: Where is the French fleet planning to go! "

"Prime Minister, if this fleet is really preparing to head to Asia, should we continue to act?" the Duke of Newcastle whispered.

After Palmerston was silent for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said to the Duke of Newcastle: "Of course we must continue to act! You must be very clear about the importance of the Indian subcontinent to our country! If France really reaches out there, we must Take the risk of war with France and attack them decisively!"

"I understand!" The Duke of Newcastle nodded solemnly and responded to Palmerston: "I will return to the Ministry of War to make arrangements!"

After the Duke of Newcastle left, Prime Minister Palmerston once again called his cabinet secretary.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, what are your orders?" the Secretary-General of the Cabinet said to Palmerston with the same humility.

"Now you go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately and call the Foreign Secretary to my office!" Palmerston ordered the Cabinet Secretary-General coldly.

The Cabinet Secretary did not take action. Instead, he took out the small notebook he carried with him. After turning to the page of today's itinerary, he said to Prime Minister Palmerston: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I feel it is my duty to remind you to wait for a while." There is a meeting waiting for you to attend, can you postpone the meeting with the Foreign Secretary a little?"

"No!" Palmerston said firmly to the Cabinet Secretary: "I must see the Foreign Secretary as soon as possible. The meeting can be postponed appropriately!"

"Okay! Your Excellency, Prime Minister!" the Cabinet Secretary bowed to Palmerston and then left the office.

Palmerston took advantage of this time to continue to ponder the idea of ​​using the war to stabilize support.

"Perhaps the Qajar Dynasty is a good choice!" Palmerston murmured to himself.

After a while, the Earl of Clarendon, then Britain's Foreign Secretary, appeared in Palmerston's office.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister!" The Earl of Clarendon first bowed to Jérôme Bonaparte and then continued: "What brings you to me?"

Palmerston told the Earl of Clarendon in brief words the news conveyed by the Duke of Newcastle.

After the Earl of Clarendon pondered for a while, he politely refused to Prime Minister Palmerston: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, please forgive me! This matter of the French Imperial Fleet going to sea should not be inquired by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This matter should It should be left to the War Department!”

The Duke of Clarendon's behavior of shirking responsibility made Palmerston feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Thinking back more than a year ago, there was that cabinet minister who dared to refuse the task assigned to him!

Now that their prime minister is shaky, they have also begun to learn to shirk.

Thinking of this, Palmerston became more determined to use war to restore his endangered support rate.

However, now is the time when he needs the Earl of Clarendon to work for him, and he cannot offend the Earl of Clarendon yet.

Therefore, Palmerston said to the Earl of Clarendon in a cordial tone: "Villiers, of course I understand that this matter should be left to the Ministry of War for inquiry, but now the Ministry of War is deploying an attack on the Qajar Dynasty. military operations!

Therefore, I don't have time to answer other questions, so I bother you to ask them on your behalf. "

"Military war against the Qajar dynasty?" Earl Clarendon glanced at Palmerston in surprise.

Unexpectedly, such a short period of time has passed and Britain is going to fight another war.

It seems that Palmerston can safely sit in the position of Prime Minister again. He is really lucky!

Clarendon couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart. His dream of becoming Prime Minister was probably out of reach.

Since Palmerston had the possibility of continuing to serve as Prime Minister, Clarendon had no choice but to continue to follow Palmerston's orders.

After all, he still wants to remain in the position of foreign minister.

"Okay! I will send a telegram to Ambassador Coutts and ask them what is going on!" The Earl of Clarendon nodded and replied to Palmerston.

"Thank you for your hard work! Villiers!" Palmerston breathed a sigh of relief, half-coaxing and half-cheating Clarendon to obey his orders.

However, this also means that he must implement the war against the Qajar Dynasty.

After the Earl of Clarendon left, Palmerston ordered the Cabinet Secretary to call his private secretary.

Although the Cabinet Secretary was dissatisfied with Palmerston calling him his private secretary, he still obeyed Palmerston's orders.

After Palmerston's private secretary appeared in the office, Palmerston immediately asked the private secretary with a straight face: "Can I continue to trust you?"

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I am the person you personally brought to No. 10 Downing Street!" The private secretary decisively corrected his attitude and swore loyalty to Palmerston.

"Now I have a task for you!" Palmerston said in a low voice as he took out England bills from the drawer. "You go to the major newspapers immediately..."

Palmerston handed part of his plan to his private secretary, who looked surprised after hearing this.

"If this thing succeeds, I will most likely continue to be prime minister!" Palmerston patted his private secretary on the shoulder and said, "And you will continue to be my secretary! Do you understand?"

"Yes! Prime Minister!" the private secretary, who was originally uneasy about Palmerston's position, responded excitedly to Palmerston.

"Go!" Palmerston waved his hand and replied to his private secretary, "I look forward to good news from you!"

The Private Secretary left the Prime Minister's Office, where Palmerston was formulating plans.

However, Palmerston would never have imagined that his personal secretary would "betray" him after leaving the house.

The private secretary who walked out of the room met the Cabinet Secretary-General at a transfer. He hurriedly saluted the Cabinet Secretary-General and said: "Your Excellency Secretary-General, thank you for your hard work!"

"You have worked hard too!" the Cabinet Secretary replied to the Private Secretary with a smile, and then lowered his voice and said to the Private Secretary: "I am waiting for you here specifically. Can you find a place to talk!"

After hesitating for a moment, the private secretary responded to the cabinet secretary: "Okay!"

The private secretary and the cabinet secretary came to an empty room, and the cabinet secretary still looked at the private secretary with a smile.

However, in the eyes of the private secretary, the smile of the cabinet secretary really made people feel a sense of oppression.

After a while, the Cabinet Secretary Xiang said to the Prime Minister's Private Secretary in a friendly tone: "William (name of Private Secretary), you should know which side you are on!"

"Me!" The private secretary swallowed and said to the Cabinet Secretary-General: "Your Excellency Secretary-General, I don't understand what you mean!"

"I don't understand!" A smile appeared on the corner of the cabinet secretary's mouth. He shrugged his shoulders and said to the private secretary: "Then I won't ask any more questions!"

He paused, and then said earnestly to his private secretary: "However, you have to remember one thing! The prime minister of our country is not forever, his life span is only two to three years!

Once the Prime Minister's term ends, where will some of the secretaries go?

Sometimes, we have to think about our future! "

After that, the Cabinet Secretary glanced at the Private Secretary thoughtfully and continued: "Of course, I do not deny that some Prime Ministers continue to find a place in the Cabinet after leaving office, but Ministers do not have the power to be as arbitrary as Prime Ministers. Make assignments! Do you know what I mean?”

The private secretary swallowed again and whispered to the Cabinet Secretary-General: "Your Excellency Secretary-General, actually I don't know anything!

I just heard that there was going to be a war with the Qajar Dynasty, and Palmerston hoped that I could have close communication with the newspaper in advance.

"The Exotic Land Development of Vegetable-Growing Skeletons"

I don’t know the rest! "

After listening to the private secretary's report, the cabinet secretary also understood what Prime Minister Palmerston meant. He patted the private secretary on the shoulder and said to him: "We need secretaries like you!"

"Your Excellency, what do you want to do?" the private secretary asked the cabinet secretary in a low voice.

The cabinet secretary shook his head and revealed part of his thoughts to the private secretary: "I don't want to do anything! In fact, I am also happy to see Palmerston continue to be prime minister!"

"Then you just..." the private secretary hesitated.

"Sometimes, I have to master all the information!" the Cabinet Secretary said to the Private Secretary, "You will understand when you get to my position! Now, it's time for you to do the tasks assigned to you by the Prime Minister! "

The private secretary turned and left, but before he could walk out of the room, the cabinet secretary said to him again: "Part of the bonds you purchased are still stored with me. When you have time, you can come and pick them up!"

The private secretary immediately understood what the Cabinet Secretary meant. He turned to the Cabinet Secretary and responded: "Yes, Your Excellency!"