Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

UK. Buckingham Palace.

Queen Victoria, Crown Prince Edward, Prime Minister Gladstone, Foreign Secretary Greville, Leader of the Opposition Tory Party Disraeli, Opposition Party Whip Robert Gascoigne Cecil.

Many people may not be familiar with Cecil. But if you know that his other title is the third Marquess of Salisbury, you will be familiar with it. The first Marquess of Salisbury obtained this distinguished title during the British Duze Dynasty. It has been more than two hundred years since then.

This family is very powerful. He is an aristocratic British Conservative politician who is also a tech geek. Honorary President of the University of Oxford and President of the Royal Society, he was also appointed by Disraeli and the entire Conservative Party as the candidate for prime minister in the 1885 election. In other words, if Disraeli lost this election, then In the next general election, Disraeli should relinquish his position as leader of the Tory Party to the people in front of him. This is the consensus of the majority of the entire Tory Party.

Facing such a person, even Queen Victoria did not dare to look down upon him. Gladstone's eyes were solemn and he observed him from time to time.

Although Disraeli was unwilling to give in, he could only work hard to win this term, and he could still seek re-election in the next term.

At most, the immediate "enemy" within the party will be brought into the cabinet to become the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This is the consequence of the politics of compromise.

Queen Victoria stared at the third Marquess of Salisbury, who was 11 years younger than her. This guy had learned some of his family's abilities and knew how to be patient.

Born in Hertfordshire, England in 1830, he was the only surviving second son of the 2nd Marquess of Salisbury. He studied at Eton College and entered the Christian Party of Oxford University at the age of 18. In 1853, at the age of nearly 23, he was elected as a member of the British House of Commons (House of Representatives), which caused a sensation throughout the country.

From then on, his 13-year career as a parliamentarian began to lie dormant.

From 1866 to 1867, he briefly served as Secretary of State for India. Edward Smith Staley, the Conservative Prime Minister who formed the British cabinet at that time, was also the only person who opposed Viscount Palmerston at the time. Stanley was also the teacher Disraeli personally brought into the political arena.

Therefore, Cecil can be regarded as Disraeli's junior disciple from the same political teacher.

In 1868, Disraeli was elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the first time. This was the Cecil family's reward for Staley and their recognition of Disraeli's abilities.

However, Cecil did not agree with this political deal. Ostensibly he quit the government because he was dissatisfied with the Conservative government's support for the 1867 reforms and distrusted the new conservative leader Disraeli, and was unwilling to serve as Secretary of State for India.

In 1868, he inherited the throne and became the third Marquess of Salisbury. He often wrote articles for the "Saturday Review" and "Quarterly Review" and became interested in science, especially botany and electromagnetism. These gave him the title of Frankenstein and a small reputation in the British literary world.

In 1874, Gladstone, a Whig party, crazily suppressed the Tories, which touched the interests of their family. In addition, Disraeli put aside his prejudices and paid a visit to him. With many promises, he chose to cooperate with Disraeli. . That year, Disraeli successfully ran for office and formed a new British cabinet government. Cecil was invited to join the cabinet and became the Minister of India. One year later, he changed his position and served as the British Foreign Secretary from 1875 to 1878. He worked there for 4 years before giving up. Past suspicions.

In 1880, Britain clashed with the Russian Empire over the issue of controlling Istanbul. He used clever methods to force the Russian Empire to attend the conference hosted by London, and finally forced the Russian Empire to amend the Treaty of San Stefano to replace the Treaty of Berlin. , for which he was awarded the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria.

He attended this meeting as the second-ranking figure in the Conservative Tory Party and the second-ranking member of the party's shadow cabinet in next year's general election.

Faced with such a figure, the Queen also gave him enough respect. After all, the Cecil family is really the mainstay of the old nobility. Even compared to the royal family, their family has many supporters among the nobility.

Robert Gascoigne Cecil was dissatisfied and questioned Prime Minister Gladstone: "The Mexican War has caused huge changes in the world situation. The German Empire has recently been pushed to the forefront by the Netherlands because of intelligence collection. The British and Austria-Hungary has also become a country that has been dragged out to bask in the sun. Your cabinet government is indifferent to the criticism of the Netherlands. This is unimaginable. When did the UK become so easy to talk to? Our British dignity is almost at the end of the line under your leadership. My face is touching the floor.”

Foreign Secretary Greville: "I don't agree with what Sir Cecil said. Britain has always been the best user of balance of power diplomacy in the world. At this time, Britain's main purpose is to let the German Empire replace us as the object of hatred of the Netherlands, rather than The Netherlands is keeping an eye on the target. If you say what you said, the UK may become the target of global attention this time. Many of our policies will be threatened, such as intelligence collection. If the Netherlands keeps a tight grip, we in the United States will Will Washington discover anything from clues from the Dutch side through its intelligence channels?

The Tsarist Empire in Europe and even Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries also have our secret intelligence sources. These will become traceable things. Our intelligence network for many years may be dismantled around the world, and then the gains will really outweigh the losses. . "

Cecil shook his head and said sarcastically: "Britain has always relied on hard power, rather than cover-up, to increase its own security. As Foreign Secretary, we do not agree with the attitude of Lord Greville, because it will always be at a disadvantage. You will need to look at other people's faces and situations.

As the honorary president of the University of Oxford, the way I educate my children is to attack the opponent's weaknesses erratically, rather than allowing the opponent time to find our own weaknesses, using fast to control the slow, and using fast play to disrupt opponents such as the Netherlands. Deployment, then we will find out where the opportunities we need are."

It has to be said that the third Marquess of Salisbury is worthy of being the honorary principal of Oxford. The skill with his words shocked both Gladstone and Disraeli, and Queen Victoria's satisfied expression made them both It kept sinking.

Apparently this guy's performance, which the Queen recognized, would end the Tory disfavor during the Disraeli period for the Whigs.

For Disraeli, this meant that if Cecil himself lost this election, then in the next general election, perhaps if the Queen does not exclude him, his chances of being elected will greatly increase. There are more supporters in the party, and the door to the next general election is closed.