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Volume 3 The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Prime Minister Enter

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    London.  It's already early October. After two weeks of cold, humid and dense fog, winter is here. The biting cold wind blows through Downing Street, dispersing the remaining fog from last night, and then picks up the withered yellow leaves on the ground, whistling.  Flying over St. James' Park not far away, and then scattering these leaves on the dirty surface of the Thames River.  In such weather, it was 7 o'clock in the morning on a Sunday. There were no pedestrians on the street at all. Only the occasional ghostly four-wheeled taxis passing by added a bit of life to this dead morning.  As soon as the Marquis of Salisbury poked his head out of the carriage door, a gust of cold wind blew from the corner of the street. He couldn't help shivering and quickly wrapped the collar of his upturned coat tightly.  Two policemen wearing round hats by the guardrail at the door of No. 10 saw the Prime Minister, stood up straight and saluted him.  The Marquis awkwardly moved his somewhat fat body out of the carriage, stretched out his right hand and touched the brim of his hat in return. Then the Marquis walked up the steps, entered No. 10 Downing Street, and began his day's work.  .  The full name of the Marquess of Salisbury is Robert Gascoigne-Cecil. He is the third Marquess of Salisbury. Since entering the House of Commons in 1853, he has served as Secretary of State for India and Foreign Secretary.  He also achieved great achievements as Foreign Minister, successfully containing the Russian advance on Constantinople, ensuring the balance of power in Europe, and was regarded as a diplomatic genius.  In Benjamin.  After the death of Disraeli (a famous British Conservative politician), he became the leader of the Conservative Party and not long ago reached the pinnacle of his political career, defeating the great Gladstone (a famous British Liberal Party politician).  home), became Prime Minister of the British Empire¡ªone of the most powerful men on earth.  Like most British aristocrats at that time, the Marquess of Salisbury had many eccentricities: he did not go to the horse racing, but stayed at home and read; he had a unique appreciation of clothing, and he dressed like his own gardener.  , he felt, this was the only way to be graceful; a man who dawdled in the laboratory, a man who wrote important articles on foreign policy for money, a noble who hated social interaction and went to church first thing every morning.  But for the vast majority of ordinary British people: For a person with a title, this kind of eccentricity does not matter. They have the right and the qualification to live according to their own wishes. The social rules that are effective for ordinary people are not suitable for these noble people.  It makes no sense.  In terms of political opinions, he was a typical Conservative. He voted against allowing Jews to enter parliament and against abolishing religious examinations for university entrance, in order to ensure the consistency of beliefs among the future elites of the British Empire.  On the other hand, he believed that the London Workhouse was too harsh on the poor.  He protested against Gladstone's attempt to levy income tax on philanthropic support.  In addition, he also made great achievements in science. He had his own laboratory in Hatfield and was elected as the honorary president of Oxford University.  All in all, Robert Gascoigne-Cecil was a Conservative aristocratic politician, Frankenstein, honorary president of Oxford University, president of the Royal Society, and of course, he was the Prime Minister of the British Empire at the time.  The Marquis of Salisbury walked into the office. According to his habit, before starting work every day, he began to read several of today's or yesterday's journals or newspapers placed on the table, starting with The Times and ending with The Economic Times.  Scientist" ended and never changed.  When he saw the "Daily Telegraph" today, he began to read it in a low voice, and at the same time there was a sneer on his face, which was very common when he was alone in the official residence.  At this time, the door was pushed open without knocking. The Marquis of Salisbury raised his head in annoyance, but the expression on his face changed immediately when he saw who came in. This man was fat and had a cheeky face.  The bearded old man stood up awkwardly from his chair, stretched out his right hand and said with a smile: "Belfort, my dear nephew, glad to see you!" Arthur Balfour is a very handsome middle-aged man.  He succeeded his mother Blanche Gascoigne.  Cecil, the sister of the Marquis of Salisbury, has a handsome appearance. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Marquis likes him very much. The already old Marquis can vaguely see the shadow of his younger sister in the young man.  .  Although he looks a bit weak on the outside, he is actually a very good lawn tennis player, and he hides a very strong heart under his weak appearance. Historically, he once served as the Governor-General of Ireland and was praised by Irish nationalists.  Called "Belfort the Cruel."  "Me too, glad to see you, uncle!" Belfort reached out and held the Marquis's hand, and diligently supported the other person's elbow, helping the Marquis back to his seat.  As the son of a member of Parliament, Balfour inherited a fortune worth four million pounds and 10,000 acres of real estate from his father. He entered the House of Commons at the age of 26. He often discussed politics, religion and politics with his uncle.  There is diplomacy.  Belfort glanced at the newspapers on the table and picked up "?"The Times", smiled and asked while reading the newspaper: "Uncle, what's the new news? Oh! The Chinese attacked one of our small squadrons in Bagan, Myanmar, killing twelve people and wounding  Twenty-two of them were captured, including four officers. They also captured the 'Pharaoh', the 'Priest', and the 'Thebes'!" At this point, Balfour put down the newspaper: "This is amazing.  "Yes, it's like poking a hornet's nest!" the Marquis sneered disdainfully: "The Graystonian newspaper immediately jumped on the lion of Britain (the national emblem of the United Kingdom is the lion, "mounted on the lion of Britain"  That means justifying the armed invasion under the guise of national and national interests, and unanimously roaring for massive revenge. Of course, the Times was somewhat pretentious when it inspired the bloodthirsty instincts of the old English people.  style, and those inferior newspapers played the role of Crazy Roland in a ridiculous way!" At this point, the Marquis pointed to the front page of the "inferior newspaper" he was reading just now.  "Oh?" Balfour picked up the "Daily Telegraph" and read aloud in a low voice: "Great Britain should attack all along the Chinese coastline, invade Hanking, expel the emperor from the palace, and obtain material guarantees to avoid future problems.  If we are invaded by barbarians again, we should use a nine-tailed whip to beat every python official who dares to offend our country's majesty. We should treat all Chinese generals as pirates and murderers and hang them from the mast of British ships.  Hanging a dozen or so of these yellow-skinned dwarfs with buttons on their bodies, murderous faces, and harlequin costumes on the mast and letting them flutter in the wind is a happy and helpful situation.  In any case, a bolder policy should be adopted. We have been too lenient! Excessive lenience is tantamount to weakness. The Chinese should be taught to respect the British. The British are superior to the Chinese and should be their masters, just like India and New Zealand.  , South Africa, and Canada are the same. The least we can try is to capture Hanking. If we adopt a bolder policy, we can then take Guangzhou into our country and add it to Hong Kong to become the largest anchorage of the Far East Fleet.  . We will keep Canton in our hands as we did Calcutta, making it our easternmost commercial center in the East, so that we can compensate for the power Russia has gained in imperial Afghanistan and establish a new territory for ourselves.  "Basic." Balfour finished reading this murderous editorial in the Daily Telegraph, threw it aside, and said to the Marquis of Salisbury with a smile: "Dear uncle! Let's leave Grace behind.  Let¡¯s talk about the facts instead of these nonsense written by the Ton faction! I think it will be more beneficial to us!¡± The Marquis snorted and pointed to a detailed map of Asia hanging on the wall: ¡°  The fact is that the attack took place on the Irrawaddy River hundreds of kilometers away from Rangoon, the empire's only stronghold in southern Burma. This troublesome consul stretched his hand too far and sheltered a Burmese prince chief in himself.  Under their wings, they only sent three flat-bottomed gunboats and a battalion of Indian soldiers. The Chinese punched him hard in the face. It was that simple. Now the gentleman screamed in pain.  The entire empire must be held responsible for his failed adventure!" Belfort said nothing. He knew in his heart that the reason why his uncle was angry was not entirely because of the consul's petty behavior.  In the second half of the nineteenth century, European powers were expanding throughout the world with their strong military and economic strength, carving up remaining territories and establishing their own colonies, of which the British Empire was the leader.  This consul protects the chiefs of the feudal states who support the British Empire in order to expand their power. This is really normal.  The Marquis was angry that the failure of the consul's adventure gave Gladstone, the leader of the Liberal Party who had just been defeated by him, a lot of ammunition to attack him.  As a newly established Conservative leader, he does not have a solid majority in the House of Commons. Once he is fiercely attacked by hostile parties, the newly established cabinet is likely to fail through a vote of confidence and collapse.  As the leader of the Conservative Party, the Marquess of Salisbury must first consider whether his cabinet can survive before considering the interests of the British Empire. This is the key issue.  "Dear uncle! No matter how untimely this failure comes! But we must make appropriate responses!" Balfour chose his words carefully: "As for the House of Commons, we should believe in the wisdom and wisdom of the members of the House of Commons.  Judgment, I think they know the difference between what is weakness and what is real prudence!" The Marquis glanced at Belfort, with joy in his eyes. The fat old man stood up and gave Belfort a gentle hug.  , smiled and whispered: "My child, I hope your colleagues in the House of Commons can be as wise and fair as you!" Then, he walked back to the desk and sat down, and said in a deep voice: "Now let us start working, the empire needs us!  " Balfour looked at the Marquis of Salisbury sitting behind his desk preparing for the House of Commons questions that were about to begin in the afternoon.There are so many thoughts in my mind.  Compared with his uncle who is more scholarly, he was born in the second half of the 19th century and has richer experience. He is more realistic and less aristocratic.  As the most beloved nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Arthur Balfour accompanied him to the 1878 Berlin Conference, which was attended by European powers and the Ottoman Turkish Empire.  The powerful powers attempted to re-establish order in the Balkans after the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1888). At the meeting, the Marquis of Salisbury cleverly used diplomatic means to isolate the Russians and divide the declining European territories of Turkey.  They have become many small countries that are hostile to each other and unable to protect each other.  Romania, Serbia and Montenegro gained independence; Bulgaria gained autonomy; Bosnia and Herzegovina was placed under Austrian administration.  The security of Tš¹rkiye's Asian territories was guaranteed by the British Empire.  This forced the Russians to give up their attempt to establish the Slavic country of Great Bulgaria and extend their influence deep into the Balkans.  There is no doubt that the British Empire was the biggest winner at the Berlin Conference. It gained the island of Cyprus, an important port in the Mediterranean, without any effort, as well as the support of the Turks. More importantly, it thwarted the Russian invasion of the Balkans.  The conspiracy ensured the balance of power on the European continent.
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