Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

Seeing that Gladstone's attitude had reversed, Xiao Letian knew that his threat had worked. This move was actually a huge gamble, the gamble was that Gladstone was born a civil servant, hence she was less ruthless than the others.

If it was the old bastard Benjamin, this move would not have mattered. The old man was even crazier than Xiao Letian by 30%, making waging war as easy as drinking water. Even dead people wouldn't bat an eye, this kind of person wouldn't care about the principle of barefoot people like Xiao Letian.

However, Gladstone could not do it. On the surface, his power was merely that of a top civil servant. With less than a thousand British citizens dying in the Dublin rebellion, his heart was starting to ache.

Perhaps it was not heartache but balance of interests, considering problems like a businessman, accurately calculating the input and output ratio, and then there was still a trace of fear in his heart.

Yes, it was fear. Civil servants always had a sense of fear when it came to committing murder and arson, especially when it came to killing the commoners of their own country.

They were afraid of being disgraced if it came to light, and that scared him even more than death.

It was precisely because of this fear that caused him to react appropriately towards Xiao Letian, which was why he cursed. In the end, he was still afraid that the matter would be exposed, or that Xiao Letian would use this opportunity to secretly hide his power in Ireland.

After figuring out what Gladstone was thinking, Xiao Letian knew that it was impossible to play hardball with him, he would have to give him a sweet date after he gave him a slap. He had to think of a way to dispel the knot in the old man's heart, otherwise, it would start churning at any time.

"Respected Prime Minister, I can understand your feelings, because I can feel your love for the people of English. In your heart, every single soldier and civilian's life is incomparably precious …"

"I can understand the pain in your heart when you see the Dublin sacrificing his own blood. This is because during our rise to power, we of the Hua Clan also lost a lot of blood. Seeing my brothers, who I brought with me, die on the battlefield, made my heart ache …"

"But, you really have to open up a bit, because street and night battles are already very complicated. Because you can't fire heavy artillery, you can only rely on the soldiers' guns to provide the firepower to kill. But the firepower density is too weak, once the enemy gets close, they will fall into a cruel melee."

"Casualties are unavoidable. Actually, this number is not high at all. I really won't lie to you!" You should have seen the reaction of those generals today. Although you were angry, you did not become angry after hearing the news about Dublin, especially after hearing about the casualty rate. They did not even issue any orders to punish the commanders at the front lines … "

"What does this mean? This meant that the frontline military commander did not have any problems with his commanding. He was still very outstanding … To tell you the truth, the information that my subordinate has brought back proves this point. The calm level general of that Major Fayle is comparable to the victor of a hundred battles. No matter how chaotic the battlefield is, he will always be able to grasp the crucial point … "

"Really?" Gladstone's expression immediately calmed down. Listening to Xiao Letian analyzing the problem from a purely military perspective, the fear in his heart decreased by three points.

Indeed, it was as Xiao Letian had said. Today, the higher ups of the army were not overly angry, and did not immediately order for an investigation into the responsibility of defending the Dublin.

What did this mean? This meant that the army was satisfied with the whole rebellion. Dublin's rebellion of more than 200,000 people had caused no more than a thousand casualties among the army.

So the situation isn't as serious as I thought? He was truly gratified.

Xiao Letian leaned his back against the sofa and said in an incomparably relaxed manner, "Believe me, once the rebellion in Ireland has subsided, this Major Fayle will definitely be highly valued by the army …"

"Actually, the problem now is that you are only a quasi-prime minister and not a prime minister in a legal sense. That means that the detailed reports of the Intelligence and the military will still be sent to Benjamin …"

"If you could obtain first-hand information, I'm afraid you wouldn't be this angry. The intelligence agencies and the military will make some basic analysis and judgement of the situation, and will also take out data from all these years to compare. If you see these tables, you will naturally understand that I'm not lying …"

"Second, and also very important, is that the scale of the Dublin's rebellion is slightly larger. This will be a good opportunity for you to resolve the Irish crisis permanently …"

"After so many years of high pressure, those rebels with different intentions have already decided to hide under the water. Countless secret unions and farmers' societies, you all don't know the details, even the young Irish Party, which was the fiercest during the period of the Great Famine, has gone into hiding …"

"Don't think that you can easily wipe out these powerhouses. The roots of hatred are planted in the soil of Ireland. The dried grass you've burned is useless. You won't be able to find the rebels lurking below …"

"Isn't it a good thing that, through my unremitting efforts, hidden tumors have begun to surface one by one? "As long as they show their faces, you'll have a chance to suppress them …"

"After the military has cleared out most of these outspoken insurgents, the gentle policies that you advocated in the past will be implemented!"

"Allow the Irish to form local councils, expand the number of Irish self-built schools, appropriately lift the ban on light industry, and expand the range of Irish independent exports..."

"With the big stick in front of them, they didn't dare to move. Then, they would try to improve the lives of the Irish. With both sides working together, can the Irish really not solve this problem?"

"Think about it, the prime minister who really ended the Irish conflict in British history, this crown is what you deserve!"

Xiao Letian's glib tongue had finally untied the knot in Gladstone's heart. Through this matter, Xiao Letian was even more certain of his judgement, as long as Gladstone reigned in England, they would not face a war.

This person was born to be a civil servant. He was innately fond of gossiping at the negotiation table. As long as one could understand him by his veins and give him some benefits, the Chinese people would be able to obtain a peaceful chance to recuperate.

To be able to use money to buy time for peace, in exchange for the initial industrialization of the Chinese race and the accumulation of sufficient military power, he had spent too much money!

Xiao Letian laughed and said, "We've talked for half a day now, the food and wine are broken, I'll have the imperial chef prepare some fresh snacks, how about we drink and have a good time?"

"Crab yellow Soup Dumplings with red wine, have you tried it yet?"