Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1154

“Your Majesty, Brooke did not agree to our terms. He has already taken the train to Dengzhou tonight.” In the Imperial Study, Pang Yukun personally reported to Xiao Ming. “Are our terms a little too harsh?”

“No, not at all. If the roles were reversed, what they would do would be even more excessive than us,” Xiao Ming said. He was very clear about the predatory nature of these Western powers.

Pang Yukun nodded. “Since they don’t agree, we can only continue to blockade Britain and see who can hold out until the end.”

After the two of them finished discussing this matter, Pang Yukun turned and left. At this time, Xiao Ming looked at the map in the Imperial Study. This was a brand-new world map, and the areas currently controlled by the Empire were all colored red on this map. The entire map, when looked at, was a brilliant red. This was the result of his hard work over the years. Now, the Empire controlled fifty percent of the world’s land, and these areas were all rich in resources.

At present, the only conspicuous places left were Europe and the Americas, where the old colonial powers were still struggling. But if they were to arm-wrestle with the Empire, which controlled vast resource areas, they would lose everything sooner or later. But even so, he could not be careless. His goal now was to get the maximum benefit for the minimum cost.

To achieve this, upgrading the Empire’s weapons was one aspect, and making good use of the contradictions between European countries was another. Thinking of this, Xiao Ming turned his attention to the battle zone between France, Prussia, and Austria. For him, the longer the war lasted, the better. This would give him enough time to build his mechanized army. Once this goal was achieved, the Empire would have the ability to have a military presence in Europe.

It was precisely for this reason that he chose to send snipers to France to help Henry fight. Next, he would also send military advisers to France and even provide Henry with more advanced weapons. After all, Prussia had jumped too high this time, exposing its capabilities and ambitions, and he would not let this traitor have an easy time. After glancing at Prussia’s continuously expanding territory, Xiao Ming left the Imperial Study with Qian Dafu.

Before Brooke came, he had already made a plan to inspect the Empire’s key military factories. The first use of tanks in Tsarist Russia this time had a clear effect. With the appearance of this cross-generational weapon, the Tsarist Russian army was completely defenseless, and the effect of this war was that one military region after another applied to form tank units. For this, Xiao Ming once again specially approved the construction of three tank factories, striving to have every military region in the Empire have its own tank unit as soon as possible.

In addition to tank production, he also planned to inspect the Empire’s newly established major aircraft manufacturing and research and development centers. His goal was to have a small-scale bomber fleet in the Empire within three years and also to make progress in transport aircraft.

…

Dengzhou.

Brooke looked at the prosperous city of Dengzhou with mixed feelings and boarded a merchant ship to Europe. The scene from the negotiation was still clearly imprinted in his mind. If possible, he never wanted to come here again. For him, this was a place that he yearned for but was also afraid of.

Enduring the rocking of the ship, Brooke returned to Europe three months later on an Imperial merchant ship, and then returned to Moscow in a sorry state. When he saw Queen Victoria, who was now living in Tsarist Russia, again, Brooke could not bear to speak, but facing Queen Victoria’s expectant gaze, he still told her the cruel truth.

After listening to Brooke’s account, Queen Victoria’s face was ashen with anger. She said, “The Empire will never get Britain to agree to these foolish terms. Even if all the British people starve to death, they will not surrender to them.”

“Your Majesty, don’t be angry. I have already verbally rejected them, but what should Britain do now? If the Empire’s blockade continues, the situation in Britain will get worse and worse. When I came back, I passed through the English Channel, and the Imperial warships were still patrolling,” Brooke said with a face full of worry. After a pause, he said, “And according to those who escaped from Britain, the voices for independence in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are getting louder and louder. It is rumored that the Empire’s diplomatic envoys are in close contact with the independence parliamentarians. It seems that the Empire has a vicious intention to dismember Britain.”

Queen Victoria already knew about this news. She said, “You don’t know enough. I have received definite news that the Empire has promised to help those independence parliamentarians just as they are helping Henry. This means that a civil war in Britain could break out at any time, and Murphy will not allow Scotland to be independent.”

Brooke sighed. “It seems that the Empire had a backup plan long ago. Just like these terms, this move is equally vicious.”

The current Queen Victoria seemed strong on the surface, but in fact, she had run out of ideas. Since the Empire had captured the border of Tsarist Russia, the entire Tsarist Russia had been in a winter-like atmosphere. Catherine had also become increasingly cold toward her and had even talked about expelling her from Tsarist Russia in public. She was now considering going to Prussia, as at least her husband was the Prince of Prussia.

Thinking of this, Queen Victoria said, “There’s no point in saying any of this now. Since you’re back, let’s go to Prussia during this time. It’s no longer safe here. Catherine is just a profiteer. The Empire’s attack has scared her, and she no longer dares to send troops to France.”

Brooke sighed inwardly. They were now like stray dogs fleeing everywhere. How could the once-glorious British Empire have fallen into such a predicament? After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Your Majesty, hiding like this is not a long-term solution. And I am worried that the opposition will take the opportunity to rise. If Murphy steps down, Your Majesty’s future will be full of uncertainty.”

Queen Victoria said, “Then what do you mean?”

“This time when we go to Prussia, we should seek King Frederick’s help to let us return to Britain. This way, we can deal with the tense situation at home in time,” Brooke said.