Chapter 783 France in action

It sounds like a coincidence. Just when the British were trying to find trouble for the French, the French were actually not idle either.

The matter of the Lone Star Republic has almost become clear. Although the French are very worried about this, they have no good solution.

After all, France had no territory in North America at this time. Although it controlled three republics, it was still difficult to station troops in these three republics.

After all, the United States was the second largest power in the world at that time, and the countries that split from the United States also had a certain degree of pride.

Knowing their own shortcomings but being unable to solve them, the last thing the French could do was actually create a flaw for Britain.

Although the British Empire is the world's largest power, it has the most powerful navy and the most extensive colonies in the world.

But this huge colonial empire was not as glamorous as it appeared on the outside. The inside was already like an old tree, full of decay.

As we all know, the strength of the British Empire originated from the first industrial revolution. It was that industrial revolution that caused the British Empire's industry and economy to surge by leaps and bounds, and it quickly became one of the most powerful countries in Europe.

Coupled with the acquisition of a large number of colonies from Africa and India through colonization, the British Empire accumulated more and more heritage, creating the famous Victorian era.

If we talk about the prosperous times of 1, then people from 1 country have become the protagonists of the world stage.

Although other important players, including Germany, have appeared in this show, no one can obscure the glory of the British Empire as the protagonist.

I have to admit that the British Empire has been the world hegemon for too long. Over such a long period of time, many problems have arisen within the British Empire, which have become an important reason for hindering the development of this country.

Externally, Indians were increasingly dissatisfied with British imperial rule. Indians desperately wanted to pursue independent status and launched many attacks on the rule of the British Empire.

In addition, the British Empire had a large number of competitors all over the world.

Although the United States was defeated, this did not mean that the British Empire could rest easy on its throne as the world's hegemon.

Although individual problems alone will not affect the strength of the British Empire, if all the problems are added up, it will still be a huge challenge to its dominance for this country that has been tyrannical for hundreds of years.

Because of the previous rebellion in India, the French's first choice if they wanted to cause trouble for the British was the well-deserved choice of India's Gandhi.

This well-known mass movement leader in India is also considered a pawn worth using in the eyes of European countries.

Although Europeans generally look down on Indians, this still cannot prevent the French from recognizing Gandhi's status in the hearts of Indians.

So far, the second non-violent non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhi has not ended.

However, under the brutal suppression of the British, the flames of this movement have gradually been extinguished, and the British are very likely to win.

In order to cause some trouble for the British, the French decided to give Gandhi some help. To be precise, it is to provide some help to the Indians participating in this movement.

The non-violent non-cooperation movement this time gradually failed. In addition to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress gradually retreating to the British, another important reason was Gandhi's extreme non-violent stance.

The meaning of non-violent non-cooperation is simply to refuse all cooperation with the British without using violence at all.

Such a request is too dreamy, at least at this time point, it cannot be completed.

Although it attracted many Indians to follow, the British's brutal suppression was not so easy to solve.

Especially when Gandhi asked all Indians participating in demonstrations and movements not to use violence, this movement was actually a passive beating of Indians.

It is precisely for this reason that historically Gandhi had serious differences with the Congress Party, which even led to Gandhi quitting the Congress Party.

The French intention was not to support Gandhi directly, but to confuse the movement in India through Gandhi's popularity and by supporting other members of the Congress party whose positions differed from Gandhi's.

Yes, the French did not expect the Congress Party to eliminate British rule in India. Judging from the current strength of the United Kingdom, it is quite difficult for Gandhi and the Congress Party to create some difficulties for the British.

After all, India is the brightest jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Unless the British Empire is really at the end of its rope, no British official will allow problems to arise in the UK.

1. Indian Empire.

The British colonization of India can be traced back to more than 300 years ago. At the beginning, the British territory in India was called the East India Company.

With the development of time and endless rebellions in India, the East India Company eventually withdrew from the stage of history, and the Indian colonies began to be directly controlled by the then British Queen Victoria.

Since the establishment of the Indian Empire in 1877, Queen Victoria was officially crowned the Queen of India, ushering in the true imperial era.

It is worth mentioning that the Indian Empire was not a puppet government without any power. Like Canada, the Indian Empire was an original member of the World Federation and has participated in many Olympic Games as an independent country since 1.

It can also be seen from this point that the long-term resistance of Indians is not without any results. Although most of the senior officials in the Indian Empire were British or a mixture of British and Indian blood, the country was still called India, and it was not empty talk to have a certain degree of autonomy.

After careful preparations, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, accompanied by intelligence agents, disguised themselves as ordinary French businessmen and successfully arrived in the Indian Empire.

Because of India's huge wealth, there are still many businessmen from various countries traveling to and from India. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials were carefully disguised and were not noticed by the British stationed in India.

After rushing for nearly a week, French representative Norman McKellen finally arrived at a stronghold of the Congress Party.

As Gandhi's party, the Congress Party is still quite famous in India. After all kinds of hardships, the French delegates finally met an important figure in the Congress Party and the main representative who disagreed with Gandhi within the Congress Party.

If Gandhi was an extreme non-violent person, then Prabati Ram Patil, who was approached by the French representative Norman McKellen, was a violent person on the other side.

Prabati believed that if the Indian Empire wanted to achieve true independence, it had to use force to defeat the British rule.

The non-violence pursued by Gandhi was destined to fail to defeat the British. The best example was the step-by-step compromise Gandhi faced from the British.

Although it seems that the Indian Empire has gained certain autonomous rights, the British privileges in India have not disappeared, and India still has not obtained independent diplomatic and military rights.

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Before, Prabati's men almost started a war with the British. If Gandhi had not blocked it many times, I am afraid that this so-called non-violent non-cooperation movement would have turned into India's war of independence.

"Mr. Prabati, please forgive us for coming uninvited. We have a business that we want to talk to you about, and I believe you will definitely be interested." At Prabati's private residence, French diplomatic representative Norman Mai Karen walked in with her two subordinates with a smile on her face, and spoke to Prabati straight to the point.

"A business?" Prabati frowned, looking at the European faces of the three of them, and didn't have much favorable impressions: "If you want me to reach a compromise on sports, I'm afraid I can't do it."

"That's not the case, Mr. Prabati." Norman McKellen smiled, adhering to the good tradition of diplomatic representatives: "I come from the great France, not the United Kingdom you call me. And the purpose of my arrival is not What you say is that you want to compromise on this movement, eh. But on behalf of myself and the McKellen family, I would like to express my support for the movement that you and Mr. Gandhi are persevering.”

As a diplomat, McKellen also knew that his actions would trigger conflict between Britain and France, and even a war was possible.

After all, everyone knows that Britain attaches great importance to India. This behavior seems to be trying to pry the British into the corner, and it is not surprising that the British are furious.

Because of this, McKellen did not explicitly say that he represented the French government, but instead invented a fictional family.

Even if the British discover it in the future, the blame can be placed on this non-existent family, so that the French will not be at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion.

"The McKellen family?" Prabati was a little interested when he heard that the visitor was not British, and asked slightly curiously: "What do you mean by business?"

"Of course it's the arms trade, Mr. Prabati." Norman McKellen smiled, but what he said surprised Prabati opposite: "Honestly, all the weapons you can see on the market , the McKellen family can get it for you.”

Can all weapons be obtained? Prabati was stunned when he heard this. First he was extremely surprised by the other party's confidence, and then he felt ecstatic.

If there is something missing from India's independence, it is definitely lacking weapons and equipment that can compete with the British.

Although India can create a lot of wealth for the British Empire every year, this does not mean that the Indian Empire is very financially wealthy.

On the contrary, because most supplies and income, including food, were transferred to the British Empire, the Indian government was actually very poor.

Even if the income remained in India, a large part of it would be divided among the British in the government.

The remaining small head will be divided up by the mixed blood of Britain and India, as well as the upper castes of India. Ordinary people in India have very little income left in their hands, and even having enough to eat is a luxury.

Under such circumstances, many anti-British parties, including the Congress Party, could not be opponents of the British even if they received the support of a large number of Indians.

Because they have neither money nor weapons in their hands. Apart from India’s already abundant worthless manpower, they really have nothing in their hands.

"But we don't have much funds at the moment, so I'm afraid we can't afford the weapons you talk about." Prabati said tentatively.

In addition to testing the other party's support for him, he also wants to use his bare hands as much as possible and buy some weapons and equipment for free.

Although he is Indian, this does not mean that Prabhati is not smart. Prabati still understood the simple truth, and he also understood that the French would take the initiative to find reasons for him.

Although it seems that the French are suffering from supporting themselves, as long as the French give themselves a batch of weapons and equipment, they will create a lot of trouble for the British.

Under this situation, the French may not necessarily suffer a loss, but at least they can achieve their strategic goals.

For Prabati, if he can get the support of France, even if it is just some weapons and equipment provided by a small French family, it can give him firm support for his violent ideas.

In addition to opposing the non-violent non-cooperation proposed by Gandhi, we can also use our own way to achieve independence for India. At least let the British take the initiative to reach compromises in some aspects instead of waiting for Gandhi, a hypocritical guy, to take the initiative to negotiate with the British. .

"Funding is not a problem." Norman McKellen said with a smile on his face: "I believe that when India succeeds in independence and gets independent financial power, the Indian government will not lack funds to repay our loan."

"So, your family is willing to provide us with a loan?" Prabati directly caught the word "loan" in Norman McKellen's words and asked pretending to be happy. .

"Of course." Norman McKellen, true to his true nature as a diplomat, showed a very sympathetic face and said very seriously: "The French do not want to see Indians being overused by the British. Exploitation. Although we are all Europeans, France is a more civilized country and will not remain indifferent to such cruelty.

Even if there is no reward in the future, we are willing to provide you with appropriate assistance and fulfill France's responsibility as a world power. "

"That's great, Mr. Norman." Prabati continued to pretend to be happy and said impatiently: "With the weapons provided by your country, we will definitely win this movement and drive away the British. The brutal rule of the Indian Empire allowed the Indian Empire to achieve true independence.”

Prabati understood that what Norman wanted was for them to take up arms and fight the British, and he did not say such things in accordance with the expectations of the French.

On Norman's side, after hearing the answer he wanted to hear most, he naturally nodded with satisfaction and immediately began to discuss the loan figure and interest with Prabati.

No matter how nice Norman says it, the loan to India is still paid. Although the interest rates have been low, it is impossible for the French to really make no money from the Indians.

After discussing everything, the two old foxes who had maxed out their disguise skills shook each other's hands in a friendly manner and ended the unexpected meeting with great satisfaction.

Both of them thought that they had achieved their goals, and the corners of their mouths slowly raised when they couldn't see anyone else.

"Mr. Norman, shall we report the news to the country now?" The intelligence officer following Norman couldn't wait to ask Norman after the negotiation was completed.

"Don't worry yet." Norman said with a smile on his face: "I am more curious about whether the Indians will stand together to resist British rule after obtaining weapons and equipment?"

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