Chapter 548 Britain's Strategic Direction

Chapter 549 Britain's Strategic Direction

The Marquis of Wellesley also looked solemn.

He continued to read the report silently, and saw that the next paragraph talked about France's diplomatic situation.

It was also very surprising.

As a Bourbon, Spain has always had a very good relationship with France.

It goes without saying that the United States has been an ally of France since its independence.

Austria is now quite harmonious with France because of the great help France gave them in the Silesian War.

The countries in the southern German region signed the Rhine-Seine Treaty with France, and trade was booming.

The Dutch Patriot Party had received help from France. Although it was somewhat dissatisfied with the affairs of the Southern Netherlands, it generally lived in peace with France.

The Italian countries have been looking for a balance between France and Austria, and no one dared to offend either side.

Russia cooperated with France to develop the Donbass region. Catherine II was very satisfied with France's investment there. In addition, the trade volume between the two countries continued to grow. There were even rumors that she planned to marry her eldest granddaughter to the French crown prince.

Wellesley's heart sank.

Franco-Russian alliance? !

That would make a terrifying giant appear on the European continent. With the current strength of Austria, Prussia and other countries, they can't compete with them at all.

In other words, France's current diplomatic situation is as good as heaven.

Except for Prussia, there are almost no hostile countries, and it is very likely to get strong support from Russia.

Wellesley narrowed his eyes. He must destroy France's international situation as soon as possible, otherwise when it forms a hegemony on the European continent, Britain will never be able to stand out again.

This is the "continental balance" policy that Britain has always adhered to-the European continent must be broken into pieces, and the hegemon must not be allowed to appear.

He looked at Little Pitt and said in a deep voice:

"It seems that we must take action to maintain the balance."

The latter nodded:

"Indeed, we don't have much time to waste."

He glanced at the position where Wellesley turned to, and continued:

"It also mentioned the various reforms that France has carried out in the past two years.

"It must be admitted that they have done a very good job. "

"They first solved the tax problem and cracked down on those restless nobles. Then they promoted banking reform, straightened out the financial system, and set up an "industrial development fund" to successfully stabilize the nobles' dissatisfaction.

"After doing all this, their precarious finances began to stabilize. This is also a guarantee for their rapid development of industry in the future.

"Then, they carried out land reform and received support from a large number of people. Oh, they recently took back the right to tax. I heard that although there was a conflict with the tax farmers and hundreds of people were killed, the domestic support was even greater.

"The Duke of Leeds predicts that after the tax is improved, France's industrial development will be more rapid, which will have a huge impact on our products in the European market."

Little Pete glanced at the report again:

"The Duke of Leeds rarely mentioned the military situation in France before, but you have supplemented it just now. It is also not optimistic.

"In fact, His Majesty the King has basically agreed to the country's shift to a strategic path against France.

"At present, I have ordered the cabinet ministers to make strategic plans for their respective areas of responsibility. There will be several discussions later. Oh, you may also have to submit reports on the military.

"Once all the plans are confirmed, they will be submitted to His Majesty for signature and implementation."

He never mentioned Parliament from beginning to end. Although Britain is nominally ruled by Parliament, in fact, those members who can only sensationalize can only make decisions on taxation. For such a major strategy involving the fate of the country, it is basically decided by the elites of the House of Lords and the king.

Little Pitt sighed for a long time after saying: "The peaceful life will probably end soon."

As the two were talking, the carriage stopped in front of St. James's Palace.

When the Marquis of Wellesley got off the car, he saw his mother and brother with more officials waiting here, and there was another cheer all around:

"Our hero is back!"

"It's the guardian of the Far East, the great Marquis of Wellesley! "

Wellesley felt that these compliments were rather harsh. After a simple hug with his mother and brother, he followed little Pitt into the ballroom celebrating his triumph.

He gave a speech with a forced smile, danced an opening dance, and then shrank into an inconspicuous place, thinking about the next strategy against France.

A graceful figure in a white dress floated towards him, holding a wine glass and standing not far away, expectantly waiting for Wellesley to ask her to dance.

This noble lady named Catherine Kitty Parknam was Wellesley's pursuit object, but she was not very interested in him before, until he won the battle in India this time and became famous, she finally changed her mind.

However, she waited for more than ten minutes, but the young officer who used to be passionate about her just lowered his head blankly and said nothing, and had no intention of dancing with her at all.

She was a little discouraged, and was about to get closer, but saw Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville walking towards him, so she had to stop in disappointment.

"Congratulations. "Grenville smiled and raised his glass to Wellesley, "To the great victory."

"To the victory."

The latter clinked glasses with him and exchanged a few words casually, and the topic soon turned to the current British grand strategy.

"Indeed, as you said, the current international situation is very beneficial to the French." The Foreign Secretary nodded, "However, there is nothing we can do."

Wellesley had also worked in a diplomatic position and knew that it was very difficult to launch a diplomatic attack on France. He was surprised and said:

"Do you already have a countermeasure?"

"It's just some general ideas that I just wanted to discuss with you." Grenville has always admired Wellesley very much and often said that he was far less smart than him.

"I have always believed that you can't be too greedy in anything. If you don't want to give up anything, you will get nothing in the end."

Wellesley nodded: "Please continue."

"In order to better control trade with Russia, we have always disapproved of Russia's claims on Poland."

Grenville raised his glass: "However, this not only offended our ally Prussia, but also created a situation of disharmony between Prussia and Austria."

Wellesley thought for a moment and said: "You mean, our protection of Poland blocks the expansion of Prussia and Austria?"

"Indeed. Without Russia's participation, it would be difficult for Prussia and Austria to expand eastward, especially Austria. They would even prefer to put their power in Romania. This situation is what the French are most happy to see."