(Chapter to)

"Shame! It is the greatest shame in the history of the British Empire." At the emergency cabinet meeting convened by the British Prime Minister, the Earl of Liverpool, the army reached Hammurabi and said bitterly. "Is the glory of the great Royal Navy of the British Empire really going to be lost in our generation?" Facing Hammurabi's sarcasm, Secretary of the Navy Halbuher rarely refuted this time. Indeed, the British Navy is really ashamed this time. Even the largest naval base in the country was destroyed by others, which undoubtedly gave Britain a resounding slap in the face.

Prime Minister Liverpool did not reprimand Hammurabi for his disrespectful behavior this time, because the navy was really outrageous this time. In the face of the enemy's attack, not to mention running away, the base was destroyed by others. Liverpool is sure that if this news gets out, the gate of the Prime Minister's Office will be smashed by angry people tomorrow. Even the cabinet will be implicated. Although this news has been blocked now, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. The only way is to immediately find a way to remedy it, so as to increase the support of the cabinet in the hearts of the people. "Your Excellency Halbuher, I need a reasonable explanation. Why was Portsmouth destroyed? Is the Royal Navy really so weak that it can't even defend its own base?" Liverpool suppressed his anger. asked aloud.

Halbuher wiped his sweat nervously: "Your Excellency, what happened this time is not a sign. Please believe that the Royal Navy is still the most powerful navy in the world. As for the destruction of Portsmouth, it is completely It was caused by the despicable sneak attack of the French Navy. At that time, the main force of the Channel Fleet went to meet the local fleet according to the order of the headquarters, and the French Navy succeeded in the sneak attack by taking advantage of the emptiness of Portsmouth."

"But how can we explain the navy's running away? If it were our army, knowing that the enemy is strong and we are weak, we would fight to the last man. The honor of the British Empire cannot be tarnished, even at the cost of life." Hammurabi Said sarcastically again.

Halbuher was very angry about Hammurabi's fall into trouble, but now he has no energy to quarrel with Hammurabi, but explained: "The French fleet was very powerful at that time. Being in Portsmouth has little impact on the ending, but it is better to preserve our strength in order to make a comeback in the future."

"Hmph! Sophistry! This is the act of a coward at all. Such a person is not worthy of being a warrior of the British Empire." Hammurabi pressed on step by step. This is a good opportunity to attack the navy. If you miss this village, you will not have this. The store is closed, so Hammurabi naturally has to take good care of it, thinking that the army has been oppressed by the navy for so many years.

"You...!" Even if the clay figurine is still angry, today Halbuher gave way again and again, but Hammurabi kept pressing, which made Halbuher a little bit unbearable.

Seeing that the battle was about to escalate again, Liverpool quickly stopped and said, "Okay, everyone is not here to watch you quarrel today. Today everyone has to come up with a way to revive the reputation of the British Empire, otherwise we will wait for the cabinet chief to resign Bar."

Liverpool's words are still very, very useful. As soon as he was ruthless, Halbuher and Hammurabi immediately ended their quarrel. However, his eyes kept staring at the other party, as if he could kill the other party with his eyes.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I think we must start the reconstruction of the Portsmouth Naval Port immediately, otherwise our huge navy will be forced to be distributed along the southern coast, which will give the French navy every opportunity to defeat them." Halbucher said first.

Liverpool nodded. In his opinion, the war between Britain and France will be a long-term protracted war, and the losses suffered must be made up as soon as possible, otherwise they will be at a disadvantage in the later stages of the war. "How long will it take to rebuild Portsmouth? How much will it cost?" Liverpool asked.

"After detailed calculations, if we try our best to repair it, it can be completed within four, and the cost will be about 50 million pounds." Halbuher said, and then glanced at the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hawkins, because the Navy has no money. Of course, the funds have to be allocated from the Ministry of Finance. Sure enough, after hearing Halbuher's words, Hawkins' expression became ugly.

"The funds will be settled by the Ministry of Finance, but the reconstruction progress must be accelerated, and finally the General Harbor will be put into use within 3 months." Liverpool made a final decision.

"This alone is not enough. The Admiralty must take practical actions to prove the strength of the Royal Navy, otherwise we will be questioned by His Majesty the King and the people." Liverpool made his request.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I have a way to restore the reputation of the Navy." Hammurabi said suddenly. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Aren't the army and navy always on the wrong track? How could Hammurabi automatically advise the navy? Halbuher suddenly had a very bad premonition.

"What good idea do you have? Tell everyone." Although Liverpool was a little strange, he still decided to listen to his idea first before making a decision.

Hammurabi smiled and said: "The French navy can attack us despicably and destroy Portsmouth. Why can't we retaliate against the French in the same way? Destroy Le Havre or St. Peter Port."

"Your Excellency Hammurabi, don't you think the French won't take precautions after using this despicable tactic?" Halbuher said with a contemptuous look at Hammurabi.

"Your Excellency Halbucher. Don't forget that the current strait is the main force of the local fleet and the strait fleet. In the surprise attack of the French navy, the naval fleet did not suffer much loss. The French navy is also distributed in different locations. The Channel Fleet is mainly stationed in Le Havre in the Seine Bay, while the Mediterranean Fleet is stationed in the Channel Islands. Facing either of the two fleets of the French Navy, I think we have an overwhelming advantage Excuse me. Under such circumstances, even if there is no sneak attack, I think the victory belongs to us in a decisive battle between the two sides. But if the navy still fails, then I really have nothing to say." Han Murabi glanced at Halbuher provocatively and said.

Just as Halbuher was about to refute, Prime Minister Liverpool spoke: "This plan is very good, simply facing any fleet of the French Navy, with the combination of the Channel Fleet and the Home Fleet, we have a decisive advantage. And we attack an enemy fleet with all our strength, and they don't have enough time to support it. If we can destroy a fleet of the opponent, then the final victory of this war still belongs to us."

For Liverpool's decision, Halbuher has no chance of opposition. I have to say that I will launch retaliation against the French navy as soon as possible. However, under the instigation of Hammurabi, Liverpool compressed the time within one week. This made Halbuher itch with hatred.

"Your Excellency Halbuher, let me ask you boldly, what will you do with Nelson and the others who ran away?" Hammurabi laughed. He is not giving up any chance to attack the navy now. It can be seen how deep the grievances between the British army and the navy are.

"This is an internal matter of our navy. I'm afraid it's not the army's turn to intervene." Halbuher said sharply.

Hammurabi shrugged indifferently: "I just don't want the navy to become weaker and weaker under the leadership of such a coward."

"You are talking nonsense. Marshal Nelson is an outstanding general. His approach to preserving the naval fleet was absolutely the most correct strategy at the time." Halbuher stared at Hammurabi like a fighting cock.

"The navy decides for itself," Liverpool said suddenly. In fact, he also agrees with Nelson's strategy. The prime minister spoke, and Hammurabi had to give up on the issue.

Next~lightnovelpub.net~The British Navy began to prepare frantically. A large number of warships began to gather in Brighton and other nearby ports, and a large amount of strategic materials were continuously transported to the bottom of the port. At the same time, the reconstruction of Portsmouth Naval Harbor is also in full swing. But Halbuher didn't relax at all, but was a little distressed. Because retaliation against France is inevitable, but who will be the commander of this operation makes Halbucher difficult. Originally, he liked Nelson very much, but because of Nelson's new defeat, at the same time, Admiral Westrop, the commander of the local fleet, also expressed his willingness to serve as the commander of this operation. Therefore, Halbuher has been unable to make up his mind about the selection of the commander.

While the British government was trying its best to suppress the news, France made a lot of publicity for this victory. Call it the greatest naval victory since Louis XIV. Although this is somewhat exaggerated, it is far from meeting the expectations of Xiao Jie and others before the war. When making this plan, they planned to severely damage the British Channel Fleet in order to attract the British Atlantic Fleet to return for help, and then set up an ambush to destroy the British Atlantic Fleet. But now it only destroyed Portsmouth, while the loss of the British fleet was very small. Although it was considered a good victory, it made Xiao Jie and others feel very helpless. Now that the main force of the British Navy is concentrated together, if they want to implement it as planned, it will increase a lot.

Despite this, the news had a great impact among ordinary French people. Everyone was cheered and encouraged, and their support for Xiao Jie and the war increased a lot.