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The British Governor of the Straits Settlements, Bonham, couldn't help frowning, there is no doubt that Xinhua is a strong and strong country abroad. From the very beginning of the country's existence, it has been at war. They defeated one opponent after another, and finally became the overlord of the entire South Seas. Even the mighty Britain had no sure chance of defeating the Xinhua Kingdom in the South Seas. However, Britain now seems to be riding a tiger. If Xinhua was allowed to defeat the Qing and gain the territory and population of the Qing State, Xinhua would grow into a country that would be fearful enough for the British. However, if Xinhua is contained, with the character of the young monarch of Xinhua Kingdom, I am afraid that a war between Britain and Xinhua may break out at any time. If you can win, that's great. However, what if it was defeated by Xinhua instead? Britain's global expansion strategy will be dealt a fatal blow. The whole east of the world may close its doors to Britain, and such a heavy decision is not something that Governor Bonham alone can say.

"Gentlemen, if there is a war, will we be able to defeat the Xinhua Kingdom? You should know that if there is to be a war, we must win. If it fails, the consequences will be dire. Governor Bonham asked solemnly.

Major General Burleyton and Major General Allen looked at each other. Then Major General Bleton spoke: "Your Excellency, with the strength of the Straits Settlements alone, we cannot defeat the New Chinese Kingdom. But. Now is undoubtedly the best opportunity. Most of Xinhua's military strength was invested in the war with the Qing State, and as far as the army was concerned, the army left by Xinhua in Nanyang was only 50,000 or 60,000 people. Their equipment is very advanced, but the British Army after the change of equipment will not be much worse than them. If the Indian side can fully support us. We have a great deal of confidence in defeating Xinhuaguo. ”

Like the Navy, the British Army began a massive rearmament. They designed the British Army's own rifle with the 'Exocet' rifle they had obtained from the battlefield. This new rifle, with the same performance as the 'Exocet' rifle, was named the 'Karl' rifle. In terms of artillery, the old breech guns of the British Army. It also began to be replaced with breech guns one after another. It's just that in terms of range and rate of fire, it is slightly inferior to the artillery of the Xinhua Army. As for mortars, which do not have much technical content, they were prevented by the British, and a large number of troops were equipped. As the Straits Settlements were at the forefront of the confrontation with the Xinhua Kingdom, these weapons naturally gave priority to equipping their troops.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the same is true of the Navy. At present, two of the four fleets of the Xinhua Navy have been put into operation on the battlefield of the Qing Dynasty. In the South Seas, there are only two left. Their 'Shark-class' cruiser is indeed an epoch-making battleship. But. Our Apollo-class battleships are even more formidable than their Shark-class cruisers. The 18 'Apollo-class' warships of the Far East Fleet alone were enough to confront or even defeat the two fleets left by Xinhua in the South Seas. Even if the two fleets they sent to the Qing could make it back to the South Seas in time, if we could get the full support of the Indian side, we could still defeat them. In the Indian Ocean Fleet, there are also 28 'Apollo-class' warships. In the face of the Xinhua Navy, we will have an overwhelming advantage. "said the commander of the Far Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral Allen. Britain has the most powerful shipbuilding industry in the world, and after designing the 'Apollo-class' warships based on the 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy, the British Admiralty invested heavily in the construction of this new type of warship in major British shipyards. In a short time, dozens of them were built. In addition to the warships that remained on the mainland, the rest were also sent to the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Far Eastern Fleet. This gave Rear Admiral Allen a lot of confidence that he would be able to defeat the Xinhua Navy. Of course, the prerequisite is that the Xinhua Navy has only had such four fleets in the past few years. Although Rear Admiral Allen did not think that the Xinhua Navy had been standing still for several years, they had collected a lot of information and found nothing. In the end, we can only conclude that Xinhua has focused its main energy on industrial development in recent years, thus abandoning the development of military equipment. This is also the reason why Xinhuaguo's industrial level has been able to develop rapidly in recent years. Of course, in the opinion of Major General Allen, this is very unwise. Without strong military strength, if industrial strength cannot be transformed into military strength, it is empty talk.

Governor Bonham nodded, he knew that Major General Allen and Major General Burleyton were both in favor of containing the Xinhua Kingdom, or even directly starting a war. Moreover, they believed that the British army had a good chance of victory. However, Governor Bonham was still a little worried. After all, if you fail, the consequences will be too severe. And as the leaders of this qiē, their future will also be very bleak.

"Gentlemen, I will convey your views to the Indian side and to the country. However, whether to start a war against Xinhua still needs to be finally decided at home. But you can start preparing for war from now on. As soon as the order to start war at home is issued, we will launch the fiercest offensive against Xinhua and try to defeat them! Governor Bonham said.

"Your Excellency the Governor, we cannot defeat the Xinhua Kingdom with the strength of the Straits Settlements alone, and we must do so with all our strength from the Indian side. If possible, it would be better to visit Kolkata and speak to Lord Ehrenborough, the Viceroy of India. Major General Allen said. Among the many viceroys of Britain's overseas colonies, the viceroy of India was the highest. The Straits Settlements, while becoming increasingly important, were essentially a small colony. At some point, the Straits Settlements were subject to the control of the Viceroy of India.

Governor Bonham hesitated, but nodded. Lord Ehrenborough, the Viceroy of India, was no one to talk to, and at the age of 53, he advocated maximizing the wealth of the colonies. He did the same when he succeeded him as Viceroy of India. The Governor of Bonham did not agree with Lord Ellenborough's views, which left the two men with little personal friendship. However, Lord Ellenborough's view was endorsed by the British cabinet, and Britain needed to maintain its strong military power in order to maintain its global hegemony, and all of this cost money. The UK earns just over £50 million a year. There isn't much left other than other government spending. In order to speed up foreign expansion, it was often necessary to make use of the wealth collected from the colonies. Lord Ellenborough's views, therefore, catered to British foreign policy.

"I will depart for Calcutta to-morrow to formally discuss the matter with Lord Ehrenborough, and I will try to reach an agreement with him." Governor Bonham said. Although he disagreed with some of Lord Ellenborough's words and deeds, he believed that they had something in common when it came to the issue of Xinhuaguo. If war action were to be taken against the new country, Lord Ehrenborough would have fully agreed.

In addition, Sir Portiter said that the Qing people could not support it and wanted to negotiate with Xinhua. It's just that the Qing people are afraid that Xinhua will not agree to the negotiations, so they want to ask us to mediate. I will give an order to Mr. Eric, the Special Envoy of the Straits Settlements to Manila, to make a request for mediation with Xinhua on behalf of the Straits Settlements. If Xinhua is unwilling, the army will need to put a little pressure on them at that time. Governor Bonham said. For this kind of move of the Qing State, Governor Bonham was quite appreciative. This meant that the Qing would drift more and more toward the British, which would help the British to gain more benefits in China.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor. However, with our understanding of Xinhuaguo, they will definitely not agree. In addition, even if they agree to negotiate with Qing Guo, they will definitely slaughter Qing Guo fiercely. Now, for example, they are close to gaining half of China, and once they digest half of China's territory and population, it will mean a catastrophe for the British Empire. Major General Allen said.

"Of course, if Xinhua had stopped at Guangdong, perhaps war could have been avoided. However, if Xinhua tried in vain to swallow up half of China, war would be inevitable. Britain will not sit idly by and watch the rise of the new country. However, we need time to mobilize our troops and get the domestic war authorization. This period of negotiation is precisely used in this regard. Governor Bonham said.

Major General Allen and Major General Burleyton both nodded, if they really want to declare war on Xinhua, it is impossible without domestic authorization. It will take at least four or five months to come and go. Of course, it will take several months for them to prepare for war.

The next day, Bonham, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, left Singapore on a British naval warship and went to Calcutta to visit Lord Ellenborough, the Viceroy of India, so that the two colonies could agree on the war against the new Chinese kingdom. At the same time, the clippers, carrying orders from Governor Bonham, also left Singapore and headed for Manila, delivering the order to Eric, the Straits Settlements envoy to Manila.

On April 7, 1843, Eric, the special envoy of the Straits Settlements in Manila, met with Lin Zihao, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Xinhua, and formally represented the Straits Settlements and the British Empire to request Xinhua to mediate the war between Xinhua and Qing. Envoy Eric declared that the war between Xinhua and Qing not only undermined peace in East Asia, but also endangered British interests in the region. (To be continued......)