The ferocious French army came to London, which caused a great shock to London and even the whole of Britain. A large number of civilians devoured the novel, in order not to be affected by the flames of war, they migrated to the north of England one after another.
However, what surprised everyone was that after the French 4th Army arrived in London, instead of launching an attack immediately, they put on a defensive posture. This left others a little dazed.
"Why do we have to wait for orders? Although there are hundreds of thousands of British troops in London, I believe that we can easily take London." The head of the French 4th Army said a little unwillingly. During the battle at Maidstone, the strength of the British team was completely exposed, and it was simply vulnerable. Although there are hundreds of thousands of British troops defending London, he believes that with the strength of the French 4th Army, London will be captured. That was a breeze. [bsp; "Don't worry. The General Staff has their own intentions!" Bride wasn't in a hurry.
"It won't be long before the 7th Legion and the 12th Legion will be here." The deputy head of the 4th Legion was obviously unwilling to share this credit with the other two legions.
Brad shook his head and didn't say much. He seemed to have guessed why the General Staff would issue such an order. I heard that Palmerston, the British foreign minister, has been active in Paris. Thinking about it, the British should be unable to hold on. So want to sneak attack. It depends on how much they will pay. It is best to be able to win without fighting. After all, although the strength of the British army is low, once the battle starts, people will always die. In addition, he thought of another meaning. The General Staff, I am afraid not only consider the British. Also consider the American and Canadian forces entrenched near Bristol Bay. Otherwise, the 7th Army and the 12th Army would not have been ordered to speed up. To deal with the British, so many troops are not needed at all, only the Americans and Canadians are counted together. That's about the same.
The French army stopped attacking, which made the British king and cabinet ministers breathe a sigh of relief. This shows that Foreign Minister Palmerston's activities in Paris have achieved some results. Before long, I am afraid that the war will be over.
In fact, the situation is not as optimistic as they imagined. Palmerston's treatment in Paris, at least, wasn't very good. On July 14, the French Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Campbell, told Palmerston that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gregor, agreed to meet him. This made Palmerston ecstatic.
The meeting was held in a reception hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here Palmerston meets Gregor.
But the opening of the meeting was not pleasant. Gregor clearly told Palmerston that His Majesty the Great Emperor of the French Empire was very angry and wanted to severely punish Britain. This made Palmerston couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Your Excellency Gregor, please also tell His Majesty Andresi that our country did not take the initiative to abandon the covenant and fall to the United States. It was entirely under pressure from the United States." Palmerston explained.
"Hehe! Under the pressure of the United States, you can turn your back on our country and turn to the United States. This time, under the pressure of our country, you can turn your back on the United States and turn to us? So what about next time? Who is your country going to turn to? ?” Gregor sneered.
Palmerston turned blue and white. If it was in the country, I'm afraid he would have been angry long ago. But he dared not face Gregor. "Your Excellency, our country really wants to form an alliance with France. After all, we are all European countries!"
"The United States and Canada have a deeper relationship with your country." Gregor replied coldly. The United States was once a British colony, and most Americans today are descendants of the British. As for the Canadians, even the king is the former king of England.
Palmerston let out a long breath. He tried his best to calm down, and then said: "Your Excellency, is your country determined to push us to the United States? Don't forget that we still have millions As long as we are willing, we can arm more troops. Please don't underestimate our determination to defend our country." Palmerston looked determined, as if if France did not agree to peace talks, Britain would fight Do your best, just like the French die with stones.
"Okay then! Let's meet on the battlefield. I forgot to tell you that our army is almost approaching London. Well, Lord Palmerston, I have something to do, so I won't keep you here. Someone , see off!" After finishing speaking, Gregor returned to the office.
"Your Excellency! Please wait a moment, I have something to say!" Palmerston was in a hurry, and chased after Gregor. But Gregor didn't give him a chance, and at the same time, the staff of the Foreign Ministry also stopped him.
Xiao Jie said: "The British are still so arrogant, let them hang out for another two days, then they will be in a hurry." He believes that now France has the upper hand and takes the initiative. If the British don't want to be wiped out, they will make a real choice.
On the evening of July 16, Gregor agreed to Palmerston's request for dinner. Finished at a prestigious hotel on the Champs Elysees. Throughout the evening, Palmerston kept his posture rather low. Gregor could guess that he must have received a lot of pressure from the UK during these two days.
During the dinner, both sides mainly talked about European art, from the Renaissance to the French Revolution and the rise of France. They didn't mention a word about Britain's desire for peace talks.
At the end of dinner, Gregor told Palmerston that he would go to the foreign ministry tomorrow morning, and that he would hold a formal meeting with Palmerston on the issue of the war between the two countries.
On the morning of the 17th, Palmerston arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs early in the morning, waiting for Gregor's summoning. From eight o'clock in the morning until eleven o'clock. It was Gregor's secretary who brought Palmerston into Gregor's office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Gregory said.
"Where, Your Excellency is busy with affairs, as it should be." Palmerston was very humble.
"Your Excellency Palmerston, on behalf of the French Empire, I would like to convey to you the decision of His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Government. First, the Empire is very angry at your country's abandonment of the alliance and to the United States. Second, your royal family tore up Bo The marriage contract between Crown Prince Erchart and Princess Victoria has greatly hurt the face of our royal family. Third, your country brazenly attacked our ally, the Kingdom of Scotland. Fourth, your country joined forces with the United States and Canada to attack our country stationed on the Isle of Wight The above four points, your country must give us a clear explanation. Otherwise, our country does not mind conquering London and changing a king and government." Gregor said. Although there was still a smile on his face, it made Palmerston feel extremely cold.
"Your Excellency, I am deeply sorry for this. First of all, it is not our country's initiative to break the covenant. We were also forced to do so. Regarding the tearing up of the marriage contract between Crown Prince Borchardt and Princess Victoria, it was all under the pressure of the United States ’” Palmerston explained hastily. Put all the responsibility on the head of the United States. Anyway, they decided to betray the Americans, so naturally they don't care about throwing a few more **** pots on their heads.
"The attack on the Isle of Wight was also advocated by General Davis of the United States, and our country can only cooperate. As for the attack on Scotland, Scotland is our territory, so how can we invade?" Palmerston continued.
Gregor listened to Palmerston's defense with a smile all the time, and did not argue with him. Palmerston was a little bit uncertain about what Gregor was going to do.
"In that case, is there nothing wrong with your country? Then I don't think there is any need for us to talk today." Gregor immediately changed his expression and said coldly.
Palmerston barely reacted. In a cold sweat, he quickly said: "No, no, our country has made some mistakes in these processes. We are willing to make compensations for this!"
"It's good to admit your mistakes. According to the results of discussions between His Majesty the Emperor and the government cabinet, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com I will formally inform you. In order to make up for the losses of the royal family and the empire, your country must compensate us with 2 billion francs. Cut off the relationship with the United States and All relations with Canada, expulsion of the American and Canadian troops and all others, etc. Restoration of the Kingdom of Scotland. In addition, in order to ensure our interests in England, we will garrison troops in London. At the same time, Britain is not allowed to develop a navy, and the army is only allowed to retain 10 divisions. "Grigoro said slowly.
Palmerston shuddered. France is obviously trying to swallow Britain in one gulp. 2 billion francs in reparations, where is Britain going to get so much money, and the successive wars have seriously affected the British economy. Don't say 2 billion francs, even 200 million Britain can't afford it. It is no problem to sever ties with the United States and Canada. As for the expulsion of the US and Canadian troops, this may require France to do it itself. How can the British ** team have this ability. It is even more impossible to restore the Kingdom of Scotland. At the beginning, it took huge casualties to regain Scotland. Whether it's the royal family or the government. Neither will agree to the restoration of the Kingdom of Scotland. In addition, restricting the British army and stationing troops in London is obviously to control the UK. If this is the case, I am afraid that the future situation of Britain will be very miserable. Can never escape the control of France.
Palmerston is very aggrieved, France obviously regards the UK as a cattle and sheep that can be slaughtered at will. Although both the royal family and the government have authorized him to handle the peace talks with full authority. But if he agreed to these conditions, he might be torn to pieces by the angry people when he returned to England.