The Fox of France - Chapter 456 (Patreon)

Chapter 456: Chain Reaction (1)

With a thud, a French cruiser collided directly into the midsection of the British cruiser, the Berkshire. Fortunately, the French cruiser didn't have a ram, otherwise, the Berkshire would have been doomed. But being hit squarely in the midsection, the Berkshire sustained significant damage. A large hole was smashed into its hull, thankfully not below the waterline, and a portion of the bridge was torn off.

Another British cruiser also faced a collision with a French cruiser, but it swiftly turned the helm, avoiding the impact.

However, this maneuver naturally opened up the route, allowing French merchant ships to smoothly sail into Carroll Harbor.

The collision of French naval ships with British naval ones naturally caused a diplomatic stir. Upon receiving the news, the British Foreign Office and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs each summoned the other's ambassador, issuing stern protests.

The British summoned the French ambassador to protest against the French Navy's barbaric collision with British naval vessels, demanding an apology from the French government, punishment of those responsible, compensation for damages, and assurance that the navy would be restrained from causing such incidents again.

Almost simultaneously, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, the French Foreign Minister, summoned the British ambassador to protest against the British Navy's unprofessional and barbaric interference with the French Navy's freedom of navigation, intercepting and colliding with French naval ships. On behalf of the French government, Talleyrand demanded an apology from the British government, accountability for those responsible, compensation for the damages to France, and assurance from Britain that they would respect France's right to free navigation.

The diplomatic negotiations were essentially each side sticking to their statements. After everyone had said their piece, the British began to dispatch reinforcements to Ireland and instructed the British forces in Ireland to go on the defensive. The French, of course, took the opportunity to freely navigate. Consequently, the already heavily damaged Irish independence forces became active again.

As a result, supplies and troops originally destined for North America were intercepted and temporarily redirected to Ireland.

Of course, the impact of this incident went beyond just this. The news spread, and in the eyes of the public, the British appeared even more like a paper tiger. If the French could touch this paper tiger's tail, and the Americans could too, why couldn't they?

Thus, the Dutch, long-standing adversaries of the British, were also stirred into action.

In 1795, seizing the chaos of war on the European continent, the British captured the Dutch colony in Cape Town. At the time, the Dutch were unable to resist and had to concede. Later, after peace returned to Europe, the Dutch repeatedly demanded the return of their colony in Cape Town. Naturally, the British responded with indifference: "Who cares about you?"

This was understandable, as Cape Town controlled one of the most important sea routes of the time—the route from Europe to the East. For a global colonial power, the strategic importance of this colony was immeasurable. Having gained control of this colony, how could the British possibly give it back?

However, the British colonization of Cape Town was not very successful, as European affairs prevented the British from investing much manpower there. Thus, apart from the indigenous black population, most of the people in Cape Town were Dutch. These people, living far from the turmoil of Europe, used to bully the black people, enslaving them for labor. They would occasionally extort passage money, or rather, berthing fees, from passing merchants, and then sell supplies at high prices to make a profit. In short, they lived comfortably, eating hotpot and singing songs, unaware of how good they had it.

But who knew that this beautiful life would be envied by evildoers? Suddenly, a bunch of British people came out of nowhere and seized the port of Cape Town.

Although the British did not actively bully the Dutch and merely took over the collection of tolls, the Dutch could still bully African blacks and practice their slave trade, which had already disappeared in civilized European countries. Overall, the Dutch still lived quite well. Compared to other places, the British in Cape Town could be said to be implementing benevolent governance.

However, for benevolent governance to be effective, it must be preceded by a period where "benevolence and righteousness are not applied." This concept was discussed by the sage Confucius in the context of governance: "If there is a form of violence that treats people as if they were not human, not even equal to cows and horses, considered nothing; when people envy the lives of cows and horses, expressing the lament that they are not as well-off as dogs in times of peace, and then they are given a status somewhat equal to cows and horses, as was the law in the Yuan dynasty where killing someone else's slave warranted compensation of a cow, people will wholeheartedly accept and praise the era of great peace. Why? Because although they are not considered human, they are at least equal to cows and horses."

Even Mencius, a

master of Confucianism, when discussing the feasibility of benevolent governance with the king of the Liang state, presented as evidence of its high feasibility the fact that "none of the kings today dislike killing people." This means that those kings had already completed the preparatory work of "treating people as if they were not human." Now, by declaring "you are now equal to cows and horses," they could win the support of the masses.

The British in Cape Town did not go through the process of treating people as "not even human, not even equal to cows and horses, considered nothing" but directly offered a status "somewhat equal to cows and horses." As a result, it was no wonder that people harbored grievances.

Indeed, the British left quite a lot for the Dutch. If the previous rulers of this place had been African blacks, those rights would not have been preserved for them at all. But the Dutch settlers in Cape Town did not feel privileged; they only knew that the benefits they once enjoyed had been largely taken by the British.

This led the Dutch settlers naturally to harbor hatred towards the British. However, considering that the Dutch had been beaten by the British not just once or twice (although the Dutch had occasionally managed to get the upper hand, they were ultimately defeated by the British), the Dutch settlers in the Cape Town region did not dare to confront the British directly.

But now, with the glorious examples of North America and Ireland, especially this time, when the French openly played bumper boats with the British without the British daring to fire a shot, it almost immediately became common knowledge that the British were a paper tiger. Thus, even the Dutch started to entertain thoughts of reclaiming lost territories. Of course, the Dutch settlers in Cape Town, being far away, were not yet aware of this incident, but the Netherlands was already making preparations for them in advance.

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