shadow of britain

Chapter 499: Changes in Europe
"Miss Clara, I don't want to disturb your interest in this situation. But please don't forget that we are not really here to have fun. Remember the script I gave you before? There are many successful gentlemen here with a lot of francs in their pockets, and we have to think of a way to get them to transfer the money to our bank account, or to invest in our project."

Arthur's serious look in his explanation not only failed to make Clara serious, but made the girl laugh out loud.

She poked Arthur's chest with her fan. "Look at you. You talk like a real knight."

Arthur took out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped his wine-stained hands: "You're right, real knights probably do the same job as me. It's just that most of them have subordinates, so they don't need to do this kind of dirty work themselves."

Clara nodded in agreement: "Well, I hope you can live a life like this one day, dear."

Clara had just left the front hall and returned to the banquet hall. Before Arthur could even breathe a sigh of relief, he felt something cold, cylindrical, pressing against his waist.

"Brother, we meet again. How have you been during this period?"

Arthur calmly lit the fire, took a puff and exhaled the smoke. He did not rush to speak, nor did he move around.

At this distance, he had no hope of escaping. Even if he drew his gun quickly, he could not complete the action of taking the gun out of his arms and firing before the other party pulled the trigger.

"There's no need to be so secretive. I can't run away and I don't plan to run away. Instead of making me guess here, why not just tell me what you want."

As soon as Arthur said this, he heard a hearty laugh and German swearing behind him: "You bastard, you deserve to be lying in a coffin."

Arthur turned his head and saw an unexpected person standing behind him, a senior from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a regular customer of Nightingale Mansion, Mr. August Schneider.

As for the thing on his waist, it was not a pistol, but Schneider's cane.

"Auguste? Why are you in Paris?"

Schneider patted the dust off his pants and complained with a raised eyebrow, "Isn't this all thanks to our wise and powerful Foreign Minister Viscount Palmerston? If it weren't for his misjudgment, why would I have to travel all over the world like this?"

"Misjudgment?"

If there were any mistakes in other departments, with Arthur's information network, he would be able to get some information more or less.

But the trouble caused by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very different.

To put it more nicely, Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston has always done a good job of keeping secrets.

To put it bluntly, Palmerston built the Foreign Office into an iron barrel that was impenetrable even to the point of being impenetrable to needles and impenetrable even to water.

Even the Prime Minister, Earl Grey, might not be fully aware of the Foreign Office's actions, and even the people within the Foreign Office could not fully understand what the ministers were doing under the table.

In this respect, Viscount Palmerston adopted almost the same working style as his predecessor, Lord Canning, so much so that the diplomatic officials in Whitehall privately called him George Canning, who was more meticulous, tougher and more irritable. They also gave him the nickname "Lord Pumice".

This time, before Arthur could ask a question, Schneider started to complain to him: "Do you remember that last year, the Governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, declared war on the Ottoman Empire?"

Arthur recalled: "My memory still stays at the stage when Ali's son Ibrahim led his army to conquer Syria. After that, I was made a mess under the Tower of London. After that, there were coffin boards, honors, internal reviews and recuperation. I really didn't have time to care about the Egyptians and the Ottomans."

"Well...you don't have to worry about it, because the results are already out."

Schneider sighed.

"At that time, we thought that although Ali, the governor of Egypt, was a big shot, he was just a governor of the Ottoman Empire after all. Even if the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II was not a good person, he would not be unable to handle the domestic vassal states.

But what we didn't expect was that in the Battle of Konya that broke out last December, the Egyptian army, led by Ibrahim Pasha, defeated the 12-strong army led by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Reshid Pasha with only 3 troops.

After the Battle of Konya, the Egyptian army quickly invaded the Anatolian Peninsula like a tiger out of a cage, and captured Kushitayya, which was only three days away from the Ottoman capital Constantinople, at the end of February this year.

It was only at this time that Viscount Palmerston realized that something was not right. When the Ottomans sent us a distress signal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was focusing on dealing with the Portuguese Civil War.

And if we intervene, the French will certainly use it as an excuse to intervene in the war between the Ottomans and Egypt. London and Paris are watching each other, and in the end, everyone loses more than they gain, and in the end, the Russians get the upper hand. "

"How do you say this?"

Schneider curled his lips. "When the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II saw that London and Paris were reluctant to rescue him, he turned to St. Petersburg. The Russians were very efficient. Mahmud II only asked the Russians for help in January this year, and the Black Sea Fleet carrying 1.8 Russian soldiers arrived in Constantinople on February 2.

At this time, Viscount Palmerston and Talleyrand both realized that something was wrong, so the two guys who had refused to meet last year held a meeting in London overnight, and the next day sent messengers to inform the Ottomans and Egyptians that Britain and France were willing to contribute to the realization of peace in the Middle East. "

Arthur leaned against the wall. "The Russians have already entered the toilet and their pants are halfway taken off. If we ask them to hold it back now, they probably won't agree, right?"

"Hmm... I like this metaphor. Although it sounds unpresentable, it is actually true."

Schneider said: "Although Ali of Egypt is very considerate of the face of London and Paris, and Mahmoud II of the Ottoman Empire is unwilling to make enemies with us, the Russians have come all the way from the Crimean Peninsula by ship. If we don't give them some compensation, Mahmoud is also worried that the more than 10,000 Russian soldiers will directly cause trouble in Constantinople.

Therefore, although Egypt and the Ottoman Empire finally made peace, in the "Quhitayya Agreement" signed by both parties, the Ottoman Empire not only recognized Ali's rule over Egypt, Hejaz, and Crete, placed Syria and Adana under Egyptian jurisdiction, and appointed Ali's son Ibrahim as the governor of Jedhra, Damascus, Aleppo, and Adana, but also gave the Russians a compensation treaty that we could not tolerate. "

“What did they give the Russians?”

Schneider took a puff of his cigarette. "The Ottoman government agreed to close the Dardanelles and prohibit foreign warships from passing through it if Russia is attacked by another country."

When Arthur heard this, his originally calm expression became very interesting: "August, this is not a misjudgment, this is simply a misjudgment. If the Admiralty and the Mediterranean Fleet knew about this, wouldn't the generals of the Royal Navy be furious?"

Schneider waved his hand and said, "This is not an accident. This is a mistake."

"If this isn't an accident, then what kind of incident is an accident?"

"It's an accident if everyone knows about it, otherwise it's just an unfortunate little mistake, a temporary setback."

Schneider added: "Besides, Arthur, didn't you also say that the admirals in the Navy would make a fuss if they knew about it? But the problem is that they don't know that the supplementary agreement signed by the Russians and the Ottomans is a secret agreement and has not been published in the newspapers."

At this point, Schneider couldn't help but complain: "Those rough guys in the Admiralty always think that the ocean is their territory. Even if I just pee, that pee bubble belongs to the free navigation of the Royal Navy. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have been sent to the European continent!" Arthur rarely disagreed with Schneider when he heard this. After all, he had a good relationship with the 'Yellow Navy' in the pee bubble, and at this moment he had two friends who were taking a piss in it and were getting angry.

"August, I have a question. Since the Russians and the Ottomans signed a secret agreement, how did you know about it?"

Schneider didn't shy away from this question. After all, most secrets were public to diplomats. Even if he didn't tell them, Arthur would be able to find out from others after a while. In this case, he might as well do Arthur a favor and teach him the job of a diplomat.

"It came, of course, from our legation in Constantinople."

"And how did the Legation know this?"

Schneider glanced at Arthur. He seemed to want to test this rookie in the diplomatic world: "Guess? Friendly reminder, the person who leaked the information is from the Ottoman court."

"The Sultan sent someone to tell the legation?"

"Oh, my God!" Schneider patted Arthur's shoulder in surprise. "Brother, you are really suitable for this job. New idiots usually can't guess the truth, but you hit it right away, just like the bullet under the Tower of London."

Arthur lit another one and tasted it carefully. "It's the same whip as the one in Nightingale Mansion."

The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Schneider explained: "As you guessed, although we cannot confirm that it was the Sultan himself who leaked the secret, according to convention, it was most likely done by Mahmud II. On the one hand, he was afraid of offending the Russians by leaking the secret agreement, and on the other hand, he was afraid of offending us if he did not leak the secret, so he secretly asked his Grand Vizier, who was also the leader of the Ottoman pro-British faction, Reshid Pasha, to secretly leak the news to us."

"Then this information was sent to the Foreign Office without delay, and then was pushed to the bottom of the table by Viscount Palmerston? In the entire cabinet, no one except him, not even the Prime Minister knew about it?"

Schneider nodded and said, "I think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should recruit more people from Scotland Yard in the future. Detectives are not only good at investigating criminal crimes, but also diplomatic crimes."

"Won't the diplomats be in trouble then?"

"No, on the contrary, you were brought here to cover up for us. It would be too dangerous for diplomats to keep you in Scotland Yard."

"Well," said Arthur jokingly, "I now understand what has happened to Lord Palmerston. But what are you doing in Paris? Is it a hit-and-run or a fugitive?"

When Schneider heard Arthur mention Palmerston, he let out a breath of disdain. "Even if they have to flee, it should be the minister. I came to the continent to mend his pants. If I don't do something about his crotchless pants, the thing that the Viscount is so proud of will be exposed to the whole of Europe. This is a big target. What's worse is that the Royal Navy, with its superb shooting skills, may fire at this target at any time."

At this point, Schneider paused and said, "Arthur, if you calculate the time, you will have to go to Hanover in a while, right? It just so happens that we are going the same way. I am going to Munich this time."

"Munich?" Arthur frowned. "You're going to Bavaria? If I remember correctly, you hate it there, don't you?"

"No, I don't hate Bavaria, I just simply discriminate against Bavarians."

"Then it looks like you're going to be in big trouble this time. Bavaria is full of Bavarians."

"No, it's worse than that."

Schneider sighed.

"The people I'm meeting in Bavaria are the Austrians. The German Confederation Conference will be held in Munich in September this year. This conference will naturally be chaired by the President of the German Confederation, or to put it more bluntly, by the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, Metternich.

According to the news and notices we received, the purpose of this meeting is to coordinate the policies of the German Confederation to deal with the tension between France and the Ottoman Empire and to prevent the spread of revolutionary forces in Europe. In addition to the member states of the German Confederation, Russian Tsar Nicholas I will also be present.

Viscount Palmerston was very worried that Metternich would propose to restore the Holy Alliance between Austria, Prussia and Russia at this conference. If Metternich succeeded, with the support of Austria and Prussia, the Russians would be even less likely to make concessions to us on the Ottoman issue.

Schneider couldn't help but sneer at this point, "Although Britain has always been outnumbered, the Viscount seems to want to give in this time. Just because he listened to Mrs. Leven's deception, it led to a series of strategic mistakes and put himself on the fire. This guy avoided Talleyrand last year, but this year he is as affectionate as unmarried lovers. The two old men are just about to hold hands and dance a square dance. You may not imagine that an anti-French element like Viscount Palmerston would actually propose to establish a four-nation alliance consisting of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal to fight against Metternich's Holy Alliance."

Schneider was merely complaining about Lord Palmerston's inconsistent foreign policy, but Arthur heard an opportunity to show off in his words.

Arthur guided the conversation: "It seems that between Talleyrand and Metternich, Viscount Palmerston has finally chosen the one he hates more."

Schneider nodded as if it was a given. "Isn't it? He and Metternich had a big quarrel at the London Conference a few years ago over the Belgian issue. Metternich mocked him, saying: 'Palmerston is useless without France, and his foreign policy is all mistakes. His words and deeds imitate George Canning's toddler steps, and as a result, Britain has become an isolated country, helpless when facing the continental countries.'"

"Well... now it seems that Metternich's prediction came true."

"Isn't it?" Schneider laughed. "If Metternich hadn't been right, the minister probably wouldn't have hated him so much. Seeing Metternich so popular at various international conferences is almost more painful than killing him. There is a well-known secret in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As long as you can feed him some dirty laundry about Metternich, I guarantee that the work of the ministry today will be much easier."

Arthur casually mentioned: "If the minister knew that there was a fire in Metternich's backyard, he would probably have a smile on his face for several months."

"Huh?" Schneider quickly grasped the key words: "The Metternich family's backyard is on fire? Did you send someone to set it?"

"No, no, August, I mean Italy under Austrian control."

Arthur put his arm around Schneider's shoulders and led him to the smoking room. "I learned by chance about an organization called 'Young Italy'. They seem to have a close connection with the 'Carbonari'. And they are currently planning an expedition against the Italian states."

"what……"

Schneider's eyes sparkled when he heard this: "Brother, I never thought that you have just arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for such a short time, and you have achieved such a great feat."

Arthur smiled and replied, "August, it's not me who has accomplished such a great feat, but you and I. I wonder if you are interested in participating in it and playing a key role in the smile of Viscount Palmerston, no, in the important diplomatic work of Britain?"

Schneider looked at Arthur deeply. He never expected that this boy would be so friendly.

"My dear brother, you are so kind. When we return to London, I will definitely treat you to two cigarettes."

Arthur smiled and dimples appeared on his cheeks. "No, that won't work. The whip must be dipped in water."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

(End of this chapter)