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The Times and other major British newspapers published on the morning of April 27, 1845, all reported on the disastrous defeat of the British army on the battlefield in Burma in the form of front-page headlines. These media, in order to attract attention, exaggerated the facts as much as they could, claiming in their reports that hundreds of thousands of British troops had been defeated by the Chinese, that the Chinese had occupied all of Burma, and that India was now empty and that the Chinese were very likely to capture India. The reports of these newspapers caused a panic in Britain. India is the most important colony of the British Empire, with a total population of more than 200 million, India provides a huge market for Britain. Every year, the British were able to plunder tens of millions of pounds of wealth from India. If India were to be lost, Britain would be greatly weakened.

Throughout England, there was an outbreak of opposition to John. The demonstrations of Sir Russell's cabinet, outside the Prime Minister's House in Downing Street, were surrounded by angry people, and if it were not for the timely dispatch of police at Scotland Yard, those angry people might have stormed the Prime Minister's House.

India is about to be occupied by the Chinese, and the British industrial and commercial capitalists cannot sit still, which will greatly affect their interests, and they have used their influence to ask the government to find a way to keep India. The whole of Britain is in chaos.

At this time, John. Sir Russell announced the resignation of all the cabinets, and the political situation in the whole of Britain fell into chaos. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert desperately wanted to maintain the stability of the United Kingdom. At this critical juncture. The British Parliament completed the election of a new cabinet as quickly as possible. It took three days for the new Prime Minister to come to power. No surprises. This time, it was the members of the British Conservative Party who came to power. Last time, the Whigs took advantage of the defeat of the war to bring the Conservative Party's Robert . Sir Peel ousted the stage. Only a few years later, the Conservatives fought back against the Whigs in the same way.

Edward. Smith. The Earl of Stanley was successfully elected Prime Minister of the British Cabinet, and he was the 14th Earl of Derby, a member of British high society. It has a great influence. After that, other important ministers of the cabinet were also in place. The Earl of Granville was the Foreign Secretary, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer was Benjamin Brown. Disraeli was appointed, and the Minister of War Henry Brown. William. Marquis of Peggett, who was the Marquis of Anglesey. The Lord of the Admiralty is headed by Charles Murphy. Sir Adam took over. Among the important members of the cabinet of this term. In addition to Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin. Outside of Disraeli, they were all British aristocrats. In the upper class of Britain, there is a strong influence. It can be seen that Her Majesty Queen Victoria trusts these nobles after all. Although the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, the queen still has a lot of power in this era. In addition, the queen's husband, Prince Albert, is also a person who is not willing to be lonely, and at the same time talented. The two of them cooperated to firmly hold the power of Britain in their hands. Because John. The fiasco of Russell's cabinet. That's why Queen Victoria wanted the nobles to come to power to form a cabinet.

However, put in Edward. Smith. The biggest problem facing the Earl of Stanley and others was still to calm the anger of the angry British people. Otherwise, it will be almost impossible for the political situation to stabilize. Edward. Smith. Earl Stanley and others kept assuring the people that India was still under the control of the British Empire, and that the Chinese Empire would not attack India, etc., but the people did not believe it at all. For this reason, the important ministers of the cabinet are very troubled.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this is not going to work! This year's industrial development and fiscal revenue will be greatly affected. "Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin. Disraeli said. He was Prime Minister Edward. Smith. Earl Stanley's confidant and the only member of the cabinet who is not a nobleman. It was with the full support of the Prime Minister that he had the opportunity to become Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Cabinet. However, he inherited the same mess, although the British Empire has an annual revenue of more than 50 million pounds, which no other country can match, but there are also more places to spend money. In particular, this time the war in Burma cost tens of millions of pounds sterling. In addition, this time the losses are heavy, and the next large-scale reorganization of armaments will definitely take place, which will cost a lot of money. If Britain continues to mess around, there will be big problems next year.

"Those media only know how to make waves, if they didn't spread rumors, they wouldn't be so troublesome!" Count Stanley said with some annoyance. Because of the development of telegraph communications, what happened in Burma soon reached the British, and even if they wanted to block the news, it would be impossible. Besides, you can't do that. If the news is blocked and exposed, their current cabinet may step down immediately.

"Your Excellency, the key to solving this qiē lies in the Chinese. We need to reach an agreement with the Chinese to resolve this conflict. And, let the Chinese assure that there will be no war against India. In this case, the situation in the country should be able to stabilize. Said the Earl of Granville, the Foreign Secretary. It's just that everyone understands this truth, but why should the Chinese help Britain? They are afraid that they wish that Britain would be as chaotic as possible, so that they would have a chance to take advantage of the opportunity to grow stronger.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, in fact, there was nothing wrong with the last Cabinet launching the Second Anglo-Burmese War. Taking Burma can effectively protect India and pose a threat to the Chinese Empire. If successful, this would be very beneficial to the UK. Unfortunately, their intentions were recognized by the Chinese, so they abandoned Thailand and sent a large army to Burma. If we can defeat China, our interests in the Far Southeast Ocean can be consolidated. But, sadly, we failed. Myanmar has fallen into the hands of the Chinese. After the Chinese occupied Burma, they became an even greater threat to India. I can assure you that the Chinese must have ambitions for India, and sooner or later they will attack India. If we want to keep India, we have to arm India vigorously. "War Secretary Henry. William. Marquis Peggett said. If he were Thomas instead. Sir Grosvenor, I'm afraid he would have made the same choice. It's just that Thomas. Sir Grosvenor's luck was so bad that he got to where he is now.

"Your Excellency, the same is true of the Navy. The previous Lord of the Navy, William. Sir Parker is developing a new navy. In the past few years, it has achieved initial results. However, it will take a little time to form an absolute superiority over the Chinese Navy. Next, the Admiralty plans to continue to develop more powerful steam warships, which is an important guarantee for us to defeat the Chinese Empire and safeguard the overseas interests of the British Empire. Therefore, I have increased our investment in the Navy's shipbuilding funds! "Lord of the Admiralty, Charles. Sir Adam also said.

The Prime Minister, Earl Stanley, couldn't help frowning, and now he understood what kind of mess he had inherited. The British Empire may seem powerful, but it already faces a whole host of problems. If these problems are not resolved, their current cabinet may not be able to stay in power for long.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, find a way to negotiate with the Chinese! We need to bring the captured soldiers back to England, and when they return home, they will be able to ease the anger of the people a little. In addition, we also need a commitment from the Chinese not to attack India, even if it is just an explicit promise, so that we will have an explanation for those angry people! Prime Minister Earl Stanley said.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese will definitely take the opportunity to open their mouths, we have a total of more than 80,000 officers and soldiers in their hands, and they will definitely offer a sky-high ransom!" This was stated by the Earl of Granville, the Foreign Secretary.

"Damn yellow-skinned monkeys!" The Prime Minister, Earl Stanley, couldn't help but curse angrily. There is no doubt that he also knows that this problem will be encountered.

"Your Excellency, even if it costs a lot, we must reach an agreement with the Chinese. Otherwise, we'll lose even more! "War Secretary Henry. William. Marquis Peggett said.

Prime Minister Earl Stanley nodded, and then said: "Well, instruct the minister in China to negotiate with the Chinese!" As long as their conditions are not excessive, we can accede to their requests. ”

It's just that everyone knows that this time is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for the Chinese Empire to blackmail the British Empire, and they will definitely not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In all the negotiations, the Chinese Empire was very strict with the extortion of the vanquished. This time, so many British officers and soldiers were caught in the hands of the Chinese Empire, and they would definitely treat the British Empire as a fat sheep and slaughter it fiercely. And the British Empire urgently needed to reach an agreement with the Chinese Empire, so this injustice was decided.

However, the British cabinet also knows that as long as India can be kept, even if it is a big price, it will be worth it. The wool comes from the sheep, and the price paid this time can be plundered back from India. Anyway, India is extremely rich, and no matter how big the loss, it can be compensated for by India.

Of course, in addition to the British officers and soldiers, a large number of indigenous Indian troops were also captured by the Chinese* army. Throughout, however, the British cabinet officials did not mention these indigenous Indians, as if they had all died in battle! (To be continued......)