Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

As Tongzhi governed the country, the Prime Minister, as the head of the family, no matter how his regime operated, it still had to provide more or less discretionary funds for his family.

The British prime minister has almost every year a series of debates with Congress, especially about the right to the use of the budget, which is not for the prime minister to do as he pleases, and his proposals have to be approved by a parliamentary vote before they can be implemented.

This was a very effective way to avoid dictatorship. By blocking the source of money, it also prevented the unrestricted right to be a family member.

As the Prime Minister of a country, he had to deal with some sudden incidents and deal with them flexibly. Many sudden situations required money, and if he followed the procedures of the council, he would not make it in time.

So successive governments would prepare some pocket money for the prime minister.

The total amount of money that Gladstone could use without congressional approval was around £4 million. This was a huge sum for many small countries, but it was not much compared to the power of the UK.

Upon hearing that the Prince had asked him to pay for his private property, Dryden's face turned bitter. "Oh …" My prince, you are cutting my flesh with a knife! War is a gold-eating beast. If I give too little money, I won't be able to play any role in it. If I give too much money, my government will probably not be able to function! "

"20 million!" You still have twenty million, right? " Edward extended two fingers out. "Twenty million pounds, this is only a short term use, I assure you, once the war ends, Prussia will give you priority in repayment for this twenty million, and will even give you a higher interest rate than the City!"

"Your Highness! I'm not greedy for that little bit of interest... Fine! "Since you've already taken out twenty million in private money, I'm afraid it'll be difficult for me, the prime minister, to pass if I don't pay a little bit of it. I'll take twenty million pounds!"

"But let me remind you, 4 million pounds won't change anything. If we can keep this war going for another month, I think that's it …"

Gladstone was right. Prussia only had £80 to 90 million in available funds, and with this £4 million, it was only about £120 million.

What was the effect of delaying the war from one month to two? Could it be that with one more month, Prussia would definitely be able to defeat the France?

The high-ranking officials present all sighed in their hearts. They all agreed that this matter was extremely suspenseful!

Prince Edward saw the doubt in everyone's hearts and generously declared, "There are no outsiders here.

Duke of Newcastle was the first to speak: "Mn … "If we have to borrow money, I think the Chinese will provide some to Prussia. If they can provide thirty to forty million pounds, I think the war will last for three months …"

Before he could finish his words, Duke of Newcastle shook his head and denied his own words, "No, no, the Marshal and the Prime Minister have already analyzed it. France will get stronger and stronger in this war.

"With all due respect, I am still pessimistic about this war. It will be difficult for Prussia to defeat France. We have to consider the risks of doing so!"

The Duke of Newcastle spread his hands and laughed bitterly: "Prince, Prime Minister, I'm afraid your money is going to go down the drain. I think even the 5 million that City of London has lent us would go down the drain, is this really okay?"

Duke of Newcastle's points of talent in life were basically all focused on business. He was a very rich aristocrat, but his political talent was far inferior to his talent in business. During the analysis of this war, he only used the thinking of merchants.

Once he found out that this business was too risky, he would immediately back off. He pursed his lips and spoke with a slightly angry tone.

"Why do we have to support Prussia? Of course, I know what is going on with the mainland's checks and balances policy, but has anyone ever thought about this? We spent so much money to support Prussia, allowing Prussia to defeat the France. Wouldn't we be able to raise a bigger enemy? "

"What if the powerful Prussia is more difficult to deal with than the France?"

Looking at Duke of Newcastle's pouting, everyone shook their heads. However, no one could say anything as his thoughts represented the true thoughts of a large portion of the business class in England at that time.

During the process of selling out the 5 million War bond, objections were constantly raised within the City of London. If the royal family had not stepped in to coordinate with them, then the financing of Prussia would have really died.

Once the merchant no longer wanted to spend money and no longer wanted to take the risk, he would naturally come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. It was just like how Duke of Newcastle had made a ridiculous comment today.

Prussia was going to be a nuisance to Britain. This joke was as cold as it could get!

Gladstone waved his hand. "Oh! My dear Duke, I'm afraid you misunderstand! "This war is destined to be a lose-lose situation. Even if Prussia managed to win, he will be severely injured. He will not be able to recover without 20 to 30 years of rest!"

"You say Prussia is a threat to Britain?" It's hard for me to agree, but don't forget, Prussia still hasn't even unified the Southern German Federation. Germany is just a loose consortium, and the ultimate goal of the Prussian Kingdom in the next hundred years is only to unify the Southern German Federation! "

"What if Prussia took advantage of this victory in the war to forcibly annex the Southern German Federation? What if he united the entire Germany? " The Duke of Newcastle asked.

Hahaha … The field marshal also laughed, "Your Grace, are you reading too many fantasy novels? How can Prussia forcibly unify the Southern German Federation? "

"Even if they win this war, do you know how high the casualty rate is? "When Prussia lost 100 thousand or even 200 thousand brave young men on the battlefield, when their home camps were filled with wailing soldiers, when all their armory was emptied, when the last of the civilian coins had been squeezed dry..."

"How does he unify the Southern Germany? Under this kind of background, do you really think that they can unify the Southern Germany? Ha ha-ha, you really like to joke around.

Everyone in the room started laughing. They all thought that the business man, Duke of Newcastle, was just too cute, to actually say something that went against common sense!