A show of force

Author: Seven Years Period

A show of force

Austrian Empire, Vienna.

Viscount Stratford (Canning's cousin, also named Canning) was sitting alone in the carriage. He had no intention of looking at the scenery outside the window.

Because the heavy burden on his body almost crushed him, during this trip he not only had to persuade Austria to side with Britain and suppress Egypt with all his strength to prevent Ali's comeback, but he also had to get Austria to support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. At the same time, the land operations also required Austrians

cooperation.

The British army cannot afford another defeat, otherwise even having all the cabinet members resign en masse to apologize would not be enough to bear such a huge blame.

If Russia's hegemony across the straits can be eliminated, then the mission of this Near East crisis will be considered a success.

In fact, Viscount Stratford's ambitions are not that big. If it were Palmerston, he would definitely involve Russia and France and solve Austria as well.

In fact, the situation of the war is far less severe than these politicians imagined.

At this time, the British lobster soldiers could be said to be invincible. Historically, 2,000 lobster soldiers, under the cover of seven warships, drove Ibrahim's 30,000-strong army out of Beirut.

Although Ibrahim is now leading an army of 20,000 to besiege Beirut, the British soldiers in Beirut are not timid at all. Instead, the navy held a banquet, and the lobster soldiers (army) also received support from the locals, making the defense effortless.

Ibrahim sent troops to attack three times, and each time they were defeated. In one case, the Anubis army even rushed into the city.

However, this army, which was considered to be the servants of Death, was driven out by the British with bayonets.

(The Anubis Army is a slave army that worships the God of Death and regards Ali as the incarnation of Anubis, the God of Death. But its combat effectiveness is just that.)

Ibrahim did not dare to continue the siege if he could not capture it for a long time. Because Beirut, as a sea channel, was cut off, and the supply lines on the road were constantly harassed.

Once the British cut off the supply line to the Red Sea, the 130,000 Egyptian troops remaining in Syria will be in a desperate situation.

However, in the eyes of politicians in London, it is extremely dangerous. The British army only has 2,000 troops in Beirut. Although the Royal Navy has more than 7,000 troops, they refuse to participate in the war and spend every day living and drinking near the port.

You can ask them to join the war, but you will have to pay more.

William Simond's resume can be described as glorious. He was once a crew member of the Victory, and then started as a frigate captain. He experienced countless wars. Some people even proposed to let him be the commander of the North Sea Fleet, but he was rejected.

He himself refused.

But William Symond was also a troublesome general. He would only complete the tasks within his scope of responsibility, and often asked the government to reward his soldiers or allow him to loot.

Naturally, the British government will not be threatened by a general and order his removal, and will continue to send reinforcements to Beirut.

However, the rising anti-war sentiment in the country, coupled with the previous disastrous defeat of Helmut, made the British government unable to bear another defeat.

Viscount Stratford must persuade the Austrian Empire to join the war as soon as possible in order to ensure victory in the war against Egypt.

Viscount Stratford finally arrived at the meeting place, but Metternich seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Hello, Mr. Metternich. Stratford Canning, British Ambassador. I would like to first congratulate your country on its first naval victory in the history of your country."

At this time, the accompanying British officials whispered to Viscount Stratford.

"Mr. Ambassador, the Austrian Empire has won many naval battles before."

"Oh? Really? That's so embarrassing. I always thought that the Austrian Empire had no navy." Viscount Stratford said a little apologetically, but his expression was a bit artificial.

Metternich understood that British diplomats always like to give others a show of strength first. The British, who control the world's maritime hegemony, always like to point their nostrils towards the sky.

Originally, this level of provocation would not work on someone like Metternich, but Franz has been brainwashing him, saying that the British bully the weak and fear the strong, and your kindness and politeness will be regarded as a sign of weakness by the other party, who wants to keep Austria.

To achieve the fruits of victory, we cannot blindly compromise.

"Did you know? Pirates are very annoying. If you don't take the initiative to provoke them, they will provoke you. To deal with these annoying guys, countries usually hang them."

Viscount Stratford certainly understood what Metternich meant by pirates. He was the one who started it, and it was understandable that the other party would fight back hard. But he was not ready to give up, after all, his opponent was just a bad old man.

"Did you know? Pirates are actually very respectable, because they are the pioneers of democracy and freedom, and they are the most fair-minded people in the world. We have never had pirates in the UK, only a group of maritime gentlemen with privateering licenses.

"

Due to the influence of modern film and television works, our inherent impression of pirates is that they smell of alcohol, have dirty and torn clothes, constantly greet other people's families with a hoarse voice, wear iron or wooden prostheses on their legs, and hold in their hands

He held an old musket and a noisy parrot on his shoulder.

But in fact, pirate leaders are usually elected democratically, and every pirate participates in voting, which truly achieves full participation.

In addition, pirates not only rob homes, but also participate in trade, and usually have more decent clothes.

Viscount Stratford felt that he had a chance to win, so he took out an expensive Cuban cigar and put it in his mouth. The entourage beside him quickly took out a box of the latest luxury matches.

With a "click" sound, the match was lit, emitting a faint aroma. Each match was made of olive branches, which can be said to be very expensive.

However, these early matches had many problems. First of all, they tasted bad. The gases produced by the simultaneous burning of antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum and starch could often make people choke and cough.

So much so that matches at that time usually had a slogan like this: "Please try not to inhale the gas. People with sensitive lungs should not use this product."

Mixing frankincense and myrrh into it will greatly reduce the odor produced when burning, but the price is a little...

At the same time, this kind of match also has a huge problem, that is, it is very flammable and may ignite with just a slight bump. Therefore, Viscount Stratford must hand over such a dangerous thing to someone else.

A box of such matches cost 5 pounds, equivalent to 4-5 months' salary of a British worker at this time.

Viscount Stratford blew out a long smoke ring, and just as he was about to show off, he heard a "pop" sound, and as the metal box lid was opened, a flame burst out.

Prince Metternich used the lighter given to him by Franz and lit his cigar. With a crisp metal collision, the flame was extinguished, and then he carefully put the lighter into his pocket.

"Legitimate pirates are still pirates, and true nobles will not become maritime gentlemen."

Viscount Stratford knew that he could not get any benefits from Metternich, so he simply changed the subject.

"Your Excellency, what did you just use?"

"It's called a lighter, and it was given to me by my student, a small toy." Metternich knew what the other party meant, and he didn't want to make things too tense. Rather than such a tense, tit-for-tat dialogue, he preferred to let both parties immerse themselves.

In the midst of dancing and wine.
Chapter completed!