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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 689: Her Majesty the Queen

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    London Borough of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, the warm winter sun shines lightly on the lawn of Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert are smiling broadly as they look at a group of children running on the lawn.  .  ¡ê¡Ø

    Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gave birth to a total of nine children. It is rare for the whole family to be together today.  Prince Albert has been in poor health recently, and Victoria has been by his side and asked the children to come back and spend some time together.

    But the happy time is always short-lived. Soon, several black carriages stopped outside Buckingham Palace. After passing the Royal Guard checkpoint at the door, several people wearing black tuxedos and top hats appeared not far from the Queen's family.

    Albert recognized these people, Prime Minister Palmerston, Foreign Secretary John Russell, Lord of the Navy Malmoth Whiteley, Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone, Secretary of War Sydney Herb  Special person, the last one is a stranger.

    Seeing Palmerston arriving with several heavyweight cabinet members, Albert smiled at Victoria and said: "Go, they must be so anxious to see you, there must be something very important. The children and I will discuss it together."  That¡¯s it.¡±

    Victoria nodded gratefully, shook Albert's hand with her bare hand, then leaned over and kissed Albert, then turned around and dragged her purple dress towards a few people.

    Seeing the Queen coming, Palmerston and others hurriedly took off their politeness and gave a long bow to the Queen. The Queen nodded slightly towards them and said: "Let's talk while walking. I don't want to go to the reception room to talk.  It¡¯s a rare good day today. Isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Palmerston and others followed Victoria as they walked along the tree-lined path of Buckingham Palace. Victoria said, "Has Mr. Wytoma returned to London?" Palmerston replied, "Yes. Your Majesty, this is  The bit is Vetoma.¡±

    The stranger whom Albert did not recognize was Wytoma.  He stepped forward and bowed to the Queen again, and Victoria said softly: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Witoma, can you tell us in detail the situation in the Far East? Why did the heroic 18,000 British Empire soldiers suffer?"  To a shameful failure?¡±

    Witoma responded. Although it was not the first time for him to see the Queen, it was the first time for him to talk to her at such a close distance. Now he began to tell the whole incident. He was a little nervous at first, but as the narrative progressed,  It becomes more and more smooth.

    When Wetoma finished speaking.  Everyone came to a rest area with wooden tables and chairs on the grass. Victoria did not react at all after hearing this. She just asked Palmerston and others to sit down, and then the maid brought refreshments.

    After taking a sip of tea, the Queen said: "If the enemy did not use sneak attacks, would our army be able to defeat them?"

    This question made War Secretary Sydney Herbert a little embarrassed. He carefully worded it: "Your Majesty, the red shirts are not afraid of any enemy. I think we will definitely win the next confrontation."

    Witoma shook his head inappropriately and said: "No offense. Your Majesty, I personally think that if another expedition is launched, even if it can win, Britain will pay a very heavy price. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom controls most of China's territory, with a population of nearly 300 million, but  The number of troops mobilized is more than one million"

    Palmerston interrupted him and said: "Mr. Waitomart. There is no need to say more. If you need more, please speak again." Waitomar blushed.  Lowering his head, Palmerston turned his head and said: "Your Majesty the Queen. We have defeated Russia, which has just as many people. Compared with us in Britain, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is still a backward and ignorant country. We will definitely be able to win, and then let them know  The British Empire cannot be insulted!"

    Victoria¡¯s jade hand stroked the edge of the tea cup, and then asked: ¡°What kind of support do you hope to receive today, Prime Minister?¡±

    Palmerston said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the debate between the two houses has not yet begun, and public opinion seems to be very unfavorable to expanding the war. I hope that Her Majesty the Queen can stand up and give a speech again, just like the 20th  Just like the speech you delivered in Congress many years ago, you can use your influence to promote the expedition of the expeditionary force again."

    Victoria glanced at everyone, lowered her head and said: "Everyone, I want to think about it alone for a while. You can wait in the reception room for a while." Palmerston and others stood up and bowed to leave, but at this time Queen Victoria said: "Mr. Wytoma  Stay for a while." Witoma had to stand aside. After Palmerston glanced at Witoma, he nodded meaningfully to him and left with everyone.

    "Mr. Witoma, can you tell us in detail the deeds of the legendary leader of the Taiping Rebellion, King Xi?" Victoria asked Witoma to sit down again and said, "I am very curious about this man. He dares to fight with three of the world's most powerful people at the same time.  Strong national allies?Declaring war, he is either a madman or a genius.  "

    After Wei Tuoma made a sound, he said: "There are indeed many stories about this King of the West. When I met him for the first time, I felt that he was different from other Qing people. He seemed rude.  But he acted extremely wise and calm. He is a legendary leader who grew up in actual combat. The army under his leadership has never been defeated"

    Witoma began to talk about the character of King Xi, and Victoria interrupted and asked from time to time. Finally, she even told the story of King Xi's wife Hong Xuanjiao. Finally, Victoria asked curiously: "How old is this King of the West?"  ?¡±

    Witoma was slightly startled and said with some embarrassment: "I heard that he is forty years old, but I don't know whether it is true or not, but his long military career makes him look like he is in his forties." Victoria snorted.  He smiled slightly and said to himself: "If you are really forty years old, you are still one year younger than me."

    When Wetoma was still a little stunned, Victoria asked again: "Mr. Wetoma, do you support sending an expeditionary force to the Far East again?"

    Although Witoma remembered the look in Palmerston's eyes just now, he still gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, from an emotional point of view, I am very unwilling to see the empire's army suffer defeat, and I also very much want to take revenge on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but from an emotional point of view, I  Rationally speaking, expanding the war is not good for the long-term interests of the empire. Sending out an expeditionary force again requires a huge scale. His Excellency the Western King of the Far East has adopted a war emergency system. He has mobilized a large number of reservists and can be used at any time.  Expanding his army, it is conservatively estimated that his army can reach millions in a short time. Even if we send 100,000 troops to the Far East, it will be difficult to win in a short time."

    Victoria hummed and said: "His Majesty Emperor Napoleon of France once said that China is a sleeping lion, and it seems that the lion has woken up now. By the way, what is the attitude of our compatriots in the Far East?  ?¡±

    Witoma said truthfully: "Your Excellency Elgin hopes that more troops will come to the Far East to wash away the shame, but the merchants do not want to expand the war. They hope to conduct peaceful trade with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" At present, Witoma will bring the Far East to Britain.  Having said everything about people's attitudes, Victoria fell into deep thought.

    Later, Victoria raised her head and asked: "How is the war between the Russians and the Taiping Rebellion in the Far East going?" Witoma said: "In fact, since the end of the Crimean War and the Far East conflict, the Taiping Army has not stopped fighting the Russians.  In the war in Northeast China, they occupied strongholds such as Sakhalin Island and Temple Street, and often launched clearing operations along the Heilongjiang River, mainly to attack the settlements built by the Russians there. Nor did the Russian Governor of the Far East Muravyov  What a great idea. The Russians suffered successive defeats in the Far East. Now their Far East fleet no longer exists, and their military strength and power have shrunk to the Nerchinsk area. Unless Russian Tsar Alexander II is willing to deploy troops from the country to the Far East, otherwise  It¡¯s hard to turn the situation around.¡±

    Victoria nodded slightly, and after silently reciting the name of Alexander II Nikolayevich several times, a faint blush appeared on her face. Although Queen Victoria was already forty-one years old at this time, she usually took good care of herself.  , the years have not left many traces on her face, she looks like a mature young woman in her thirties, and the blush on her face adds to her charm.

    Seeing Her Majesty the Queen's appearance, Witoma's heart skipped a beat, remembering that there were rumors among the people that Russian Tsar Alexander II was Her Majesty the Queen's first love, which seemed very reliable.

    Just when Witoma was thinking wildly, Victoria stood up and said, "Thank you Mr. Witoma for your wonderful talk. Let's go back to the reception room now." Witoma was slightly embarrassed, but fortunately he hurriedly lowered his head to cover it up and followed.  The Queen walked to the drawing room behind her.

    When he arrived at the reception room, he could only hear Palmerston and others having a fierce quarrel inside. Waitomar thought to himself that it seemed that the cabinet members were not monolithic, and there were many people who had opposing opinions.

    After the attendant opened the door, the room fell silent. Everyone stood up and bowed. The Queen walked to the center of the reception room and said loudly: "Everyone, the dignity of the British Empire must be defended with blood. I support the opinions of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and must be respected."  The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will take powerful revenge!"

    Hearing this, Palmerston and other cabinet members who supported the expansion of the war showed smiles on their faces, and followed Her Majesty the Queen and said: "However, we must see the current situation clearly. The power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is very powerful, and we must be careful.  In response, given that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, France and Russia are all at war, I must remind the cabinet and the foreign minister that you must seriously consider the possibility of uniting these two countries to act together. This is necessary and necessary. If the foreign minister and the cabinet cannot reach an agreement with  With Russia's temporary understanding, we will go to the Far East together, then I will notWilling to go to Congress and give any speech.  Without the unanimous consent of these two countries to send troops, I will not agree with the UK sending troops alone!  "(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!
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