When Fox’s words fell, King George III’s face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Am I supposed to give an explanation to the subjects of England, or to you nobles and ministers who control capital?"
George III stared unpleasantly at Fox, Sir Richard the elder, and others, and asked in a deep voice, "What kind of explanation do you want? Continue to let the Ming Dynasty suck England dry? Or abandon all colonies and retreat to the three islands completely from now on?"
Being said this by George III, Fox and Sir Richard the elder and others suddenly felt speechless.
Why did Fox question George III and ask for an explanation?
Because declaring war on the Great Ming did not align with the interests of England, or rather, the interests of English capitalists.
On the contrary, letting the Great Ming continue to suck England dry was more in line with the interests of all nobles, officials, and capitalists in Europe, because the Great Ming, in the process of promoting industrialization, would inevitably spill out some technical aspects from top to bottom, and a large amount of capital would flow around the entire industrialization process.
These technologies and funds might not necessarily fall into England's national treasury, but they would definitely pass through the pockets of these nobles, officials, and capitalists.
The more you touch the pork, the more oil sticks to your hands.
The calculating European nobles, officials, and capitalists naturally did not want to miss this opportunity.
However, it was similar to the situation of the Eastern Forest gentlemen in the later period of the Great Ming, who outwardly cared about everything from the sound of wind and rain to reading, and from family affairs to national affairs to world affairs, but in reality, the water was too cold and their scalps itched. No matter how many shameful things these English nobles, officials, and capitalists did behind their backs, they were very respectable on the surface.
Each of them wished they could package themselves as great philanthropists reincarnated ten times, so of course, they could not openly admit to George III that they only wanted benefits and not war, showing their cowardly nature.
After some deliberation, Fox bowed to George III and said, "Your respected Majesty George, you merely discussed with Alexander in secret about resisting the Great Ming, and you were met with such ruthless retaliation. If we were to declare war on the Great Ming, wouldn't our England be completely finished?"
Sir Richard the elder quickly stepped forward to support him: "Yes, Your Majesty George, I believe Mr. Fox is correct. Our England's treasury is still very empty and tense, and it is not enough to support a war with the Ming Dynasty."
However, George III let out a cold哼 and retorted, "Will England not be finished if we don't declare war on the Ming Dynasty?"
"Open your eyes and look, gentlemen. First, we lost the benefits of the Thirteen Hongs of Canton, then we lost the benefits of India, and later we lost the benefits on the American continent. Now, they are targeting our Sri Lanka—where will we lose next? Where else do we have to lose? The British Isles?"
When George III finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room immediately became heavy.
Was George III’s argument reasonable? It was very reasonable.
However, being reasonable was one thing, and having the corresponding strength was another.
George III and everyone present knew very well that England was by no means a match for the Great Ming, even if Russia and the Habsburg family were brought together, it would be of no use.
To completely overthrow the Great Ming, the only hope was to unite all the countries on the whole broken earth.
But then again, who could guarantee that all the countries on the broken earth could be united?
Let's not talk about France. France was determined to follow the Great Ming. Moreover, King George III had previously sent troops to attack France. Why would France resist the Great Ming with England? Just because of a few slogans shouted by King George III?
Seeing that Fox and Sir Richard the elder looked a bit dejected, George III said, "You don't have to worry too much. Russia's Alexander has already stated that he will be the first to declare war on the Ming Dynasty."
"Besides that, Franz II of the Habsburg family has also stated that the Habsburg family will temporarily set aside their conflict with that artist from Austria and try to win over the artist to resist the Ming Dynasty together."
However, Sir Richard the elder frowned and asked, "Is that all? Then please tell me, Your Majesty the King, what about the military expenses needed for the war?"
"Although our England can produce some firearms and cannons, you should also know that producing these things costs money."
"In addition to the replenishment of arms and ammunition, the supplies and food needed by the soldiers also cost money."
"It was better when the East India Company helped us make money in India and Sri Lanka, but now..."
George III waved his hand slightly and said, "Isn't there the Ottoman Empire? The Ottoman Empire has nothing else, but it has oil. And Mustafa Pasha and Grand Vizier Suleiman, who have just taken control of the Ottoman Empire, have unanimously decided to provide a large amount of oil to us, Russia, and the Habsburg family."
Sir Richard the elder nodded slightly and said, "If we can get enough oil, it's not a bad way. After all, the Ming Dynasty definitely needs oil. Even if we declare war on each other, they will definitely not refuse our oil."
But Fox frowned and said, "The money problem is easier to solve—as long as our England can still manufacture firearms and cannons, we don't have to worry too much about the money problem. There will always be places for us to rob."
"The key issue now is, what should we rely on to go out and rob?"
"Considering the warships we lost to France, and the warships we lost to the Ming Emperor's fleet this time, how many warships does our England have left to use?"
Being said this by Fox, George III and the English nobles and officials present were immediately in a panic.
As the saying goes, when neighbors hoard grain, I hoard guns; neighbors are my granaries. This is the ancestral skill of Anglo-Saxon bandits, so the English nobles and officials present were not too worried about whether England's treasury was empty or not.
But without warships… let alone declaring war on the Great Ming, I'm afraid the English navy wouldn't even be able to cross the strait between England and the European continent!
As for temporarily manufacturing warships?
Not to mention whether the manufactured warships could last until the battlefield, even if they could, where would this expenditure come from?
Sir Richard the elder, who managed England's treasury, had already said long ago that England's treasury was very empty and could not even support the English army to fight. Where would the money come from to equip the English navy with warships?
Everyone pooling money together? That would be even more ridiculous—everyone wanted to make money, but spending money to build warships and provoke the Great Ming was this trying to make money or trying to reincarnate?
Just as Fox and Sir Richard the elder were agonizing, George III suddenly said, "As Fox has already said, our England can manufacture firearms and cannons itself, so it can also build warships. The only problem now is the large budget, right?"
After Fox and Sir Richard the elder nodded, George III continued, "There are many Ming merchants in London..."
Before George III could finish, Fox became anxious: "Your Majesty George, are you determined to have a deadly feud with the Great Ming? Or do you think the English army is very powerful and can defend the British Isles without relying on warships?"
George III's expression darkened and he asked, "What if it is? What if it isn't?"
Fox bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty George, if you were to attack those Ming merchants in England now, it would only provoke the immediate retaliation of the Ming army—please remember, although the main force of the Ming army is far on the other side of the world, the Ming Dynasty has several military bases in Europe. These bases are not only not far from the British Isles, but they also have a large number of warships!"
Being said this by Fox, George III was immediately alerted.
Although it was decided to ally with Alexander and Franz II to resist the Great Ming together, who didn't have their own little calculations?
It is said that crosstalk performers wish for their peers to die, but this saying is applicable to any profession—writers also wish for it, movie stars also wish for it, and even kings like George III are actually wishing for it!
Especially since there are all sorts of old grudges and past grievances between England and Russia and the Habsburg family.
George III hoped that Russia would be the first to declare war, and it was likely that Alexander would also have the idea of declaring but not fighting—declare war first, and wait for England or the Habsburg family to make the first move, attract the attention of the Ming army, and then Russia's pressure would be much less!
After figuring out the twists and turns, George III then let out a cold哼 and said, "Then forget it, let them off for now."
Fox and Sir Richard the elder and others immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Fox even bowed slightly and flattered George III: "Your Majesty the King is benevolent!"
If you really think about it, the merchants of the Great Ming in England are all very rich, and anyone who looks at them wants to take a bite.
The problem is the precedent of Benghazi and the Ottoman Empire—Benghazi wanted to attack Ming merchants, and Benghazi perished. The Ottoman Empire did not attack Ming merchants, and Istanbul could at least maintain superficial stability.
With these two starkly different examples before them, the English nobles and officials naturally knew how to choose.
However, after flattering George III, Fox inexplicably asked, "Your Majesty the King, I would like to ask you to seriously consider a question—what is your purpose in declaring war on the Great Ming? Is it to get rid of the oppression of the Great Ming and make England stronger? Or is it purely because of the hatred between you and the Great Ming?"
When Fox's words fell, the English nobles and officials present turned their eyes to George III, and George III fell into contemplation.
It was only after a long while that George III slowly said, "Both reasons exist, but the most important one is to hope that England can escape the oppression of the Great Ming and become stronger."
Fox nodded slightly and then said solemnly, "Therefore, I suggest that Your Majesty the King do not declare war on the Great Ming—you can promise Alexander and Franz II that England will do its best to support them, whether it is money, grain, or military equipment. As long as they need it, and our England can afford it, we will support them without hesitation."
George III was stunned and asked, "What's the difference between this and directly declaring war on the Great Ming? Moreover, directly declaring war on the Great Ming can also boost our morale and thus attract other countries to overthrow the Great Ming with us."
Fox shook his head and said, "It's different. As long as you don't declare war on the Great Ming on behalf of England, then even if the Ming Emperor knows that we are supporting Alexander and Franz II, he will not be able to produce any substantial evidence."
"Including the sinking of our warships this time, the Ming Emperor will most likely attribute it to pirate activity or mistaking the flag—although we all know this reason is ridiculous, it is enough to show that the Great Ming will not directly declare war on us."
"As long as the Great Ming does not declare war on us directly, we can support Russia and the Habsburg family from behind."
"Of course, we can also support that artist from Austria."
George III was even more confused: "You should know that although Franz II said he could put aside his grievances with that artist, that artist studied from the Great Ming, and the theories he learned are completely different from all the European countries. This means that that artist will sooner or later come into conflict with other European countries, including our England. By supporting him, aren't we nurturing an enemy for ourselves?"
Fox shook his head again: "Does it matter? It doesn't matter, because the Great Ming and the Ming Emperor's appetites can never be satisfied. They will sooner or later covet the European continent, including France and that artist."
"By supporting that artist now, we are essentially supporting the future enemies of the Great Ming."
"Whether Russia, the Habsburg family, and the Ottoman Empire can defeat the Great Ming is actually not important. What is important is to let them fight. Only when they fight can we sell the firearms and cannons piled up in the factories, and only then can our England become stronger."
"When they are all exhausted from fighting, and when the Great Ming also has no strength to continue fighting..."
(End of this chapter)
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