The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1574: Chapter 12: Palmerston, Ambassador of World Peace_3

Arthur saw that Palmerston’s sly intentions were finally revealed, and he stood up to make a point: “Your Excellency is correct, of course I know, if it weren’t for Catholic emancipation, I might have spent my whole life as a patrolman at Scotland Yard with a thirty-pound annual salary, enduring a life of chasing pickpockets and streetwalkers in the fog of London until old age. But I also know…”

Arthur shifted his tone: “It is precisely because this emancipation came too late, and with much difficulty, that countless people who could have become the backbone of Britain instead turned into exiled radicals, street agitators, or even fugitives in the Caucasus Mountains.”

Palmerston squinted his eyes slightly, noticing Arthur used the term “Caucasus.”

“Therefore, Your Excellency,” Arthur said, “What Sir David Eckett and I are doing in Chechnya is ostensibly an ‘extension of British interests,’ but more fundamentally, we hope to plant the seeds of freedom and autonomy there as well. Not purely through violence, not through cavalry charges, but through motivation, organization, and enlightenment, it’s an order based on experience, rather than simply destroying the old system.”

He walked over to the desk, his fingers gliding over the map on it: “Of course, if what concerns Your Excellency is Britain’s safety and the fear of inciting an uncontrollable war, I can understand. But if you truly understand freedom, then you should realize: freedom is not allocated by the government, it is fought for by the people, just like Catholic emancipation and parliamentary reform. Admittedly, I completed my duty to suppress the mob beneath the Tower of London because it was my duty, but I hope you understand, without the constraints of duty, I would not hesitate to stand on their side!”

Hearing this, Palmerston’s face darkened. While there are plenty of shameless people in the political arena, Arthur was perhaps the only one unapologetically putting it out there that he could be ‘won over.’

Palmerston, suppressing his anger, explained: “Sir Arthur, I hope you understand that the primary goal of British foreign policy is to ensure world peace. To achieve this, firstly we must do everything in our power to avoid new disputes. Secondly, wherever possible, we need to use friendly mediation to calm existing conflicts. Thirdly, when all hope is gone, we must try to limit the scale of conflict. Lastly, when our own interests or honor are not at stake, we must maintain a calm and neutral stance ourselves. Out of respect for mediation itself, as long as the intervention is completely amicable, there is almost no need to say to what extent we should prepare. However, under no circumstance should we join either side of a war or make empty threats that we have no intention of executing.”

As soon as Palmerston finished speaking, Arthur couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows repeatedly.

He thought his earlier remarks were already quite shameless, but compared to him, Palmerston was not one to be outdone.

Both were half-truthful, and how to understand it depended entirely on personal interpretation.

Arthur shook his head and said, “Seeing Your Excellency’s indifference to the Caucasus, I can only choose to believe the reports on Fleet Street. Since you became the Foreign Secretary, Britain’s moral influence may indeed have declined.”

Palmerston retorted sarcastically, “I can understand such attacks. But I’d like to remind you, if that view were true, why then, when implementing the same policies in Belgium, Portugal, and Spain, does our government still receive so much approval and respect from other countries? Why do they welcome Britain as the authoritative arbitrator of their disputes? That is truly surprising! Moreover, if you observe closely, you’ll find that maritime powers like France and the United States allow us to mediate in their disputes as well, which I think is a compelling fact to counter those false claims. Because both those countries have gone to war with us, and are seen as rivals in both peace and wartime. But regardless of how other adversaries assess us, at least France and the United States do not seem to believe that our moral influence has declined to a particularly low level!”