The Fox of France

Chapter 259: Division

In the days that followed, even the doorstep of the former Prime Minister, Mr. Pitt, theoretically retired at home, was almost flattened by a parade of various lobbyists. These lobbyists included representatives of industries that hoped to maintain peace, such as textiles, some banking sectors, and certain segments of the mechanical manufacturing industry. There were also those who were eager for war, such as some agricultural enterprises, some liquor businesses, and a plethora of advocates for the military-industrial complex.

The same held true for other politicians. Every Member of Parliament, whether in the House of Lords or the House of Commons, had their doorsteps filled with carriages.

Each lobbyist used "the interests of the nation and the people" as their pretext, demanding various actions from these legislators. They also subtly or not-so-subtly hinted that they would not forget the deep friendships they had, assuring that they would uphold these friendships.

Mr. Pitt noticed that in just a little over half a year, the entire political landscape of Britain had undergone a significant transformation.

In the preceding years, due to Mr. Pitt's efforts, the previously loose Tory party had become increasingly united and capable of acting as a cohesive whole in Parliament. His old rival, Mr. Fox, though sharp-tongued and capable of leaving even prominent Tories like Mr. Pitt momentarily speechless during debates, often resorting to statements like, "There are things we believe we understand, and we do indeed understand them; there are things we do understand, and we believe we do understand them; there are things...you understand, right?" managed to outmaneuver the Whigs in parliamentary votes and even successfully provoked several internal rifts and divisions within the Whig party.

In the face of Mr. Fox, Mr. Pitt could confidently say, "I have never won in parliamentary debates, but I have never lost in parliamentary votes."

Today, however, Mr. Pitt found that he, the man who had moved with the times, had seemingly become outdated. He realized that there had emerged deep fissures within the seemingly united Tory party.

Some MPs, whose families or friends had invested heavily in industries such as textiles and other trade with Europe, were steadfastly opposed to resuming war with France. They even believed that, as long as Ireland nominally remained within the United Kingdom, granting some "autonomy" to it was not unacceptable. Some went as far as to argue that the United Kingdom's policies toward Ireland over the years had been fundamentally flawed, highly unjust, and that they had treated the Irish, fellow civilized people, with the same heavy-handedness applied to barbarians.

On the other hand, another faction of MPs, whose interests lay in the military-industrial complex, were determined to urge a war with France. They were even convinced that those who opposed war were traitors to England and should be taken out for target practice for ten minutes.

Mr. Pitt knew that if there were an immediate vote on this matter, it was almost certain that the entire Tory party would fracture, handing a victory to the grinning Whigs.

In fact, the Whigs, especially Mr. Fox, were already visibly jubilant.

Following this development, several die-hard Tory MPs, who had never visited Mr. Fox before, expressed goodwill through various channels, indicating that if Parliament were to vote on the peace issue, they hoped that Mr. Fox's Whigs would stand on the side of maintaining peace. Of course, in return, they would also support some of the Whig party's proposals, especially those related to Ireland and even religious policy.

Before, Mr. Fox had only seen Whigs defecting in droves, often discovering on the eve of the vote that they still had a numerical advantage, only to find that on the following noon, their numbers were less than half. When had he ever seen the Tories also producing defectors?

"I had thought that only our Whigs, primarily a party of commoners, would produce defectors. I never imagined that the noble members of your Tory party would also be two-faced!" Mr. Fox mused.

However, despite his disdain for these profit-driven aristocrats, Mr. Fox recognized the importance of gathering more allies, a lesson he had learned from his years in politics, particularly those years being outsmarted by Mr. Pitt.

So, though filled with scorn for these turncoats, Mr. Fox was very affable and welcoming to these envoys, conveying his willingness to cooperate.

And so, Mr. Pitt first noticed that the "English News Union" had begun to divide. The first defectors were from the "English News Union," in direct competition with "London Businessman," who published the "English Economic Observer."

On April 1st, the "English Economic Observer" published an unexpected article titled "Fair Treatment of the Irish is the Key to Ireland's Long-Term Stability."

In this article, the "English Economic Observer" began by recounting how Britain had lost its North American colonies, pointing out that it was the excessive taxation and exploitation of the North American colonies by Britain that had led to their independence.

The article then presented a compelling case, comparing the treatment of the Irish with North America. It concluded, "Our government's exploitation of the Irish may even exceed that of the North American colonies."

Building on this, the article posed a series of questions: "Does the United Kingdom government truly consider Ireland a part of the United Kingdom, or do they regard it merely as a colony? Does the United Kingdom government genuinely treat the Irish as citizens of this nation, or do they see them as no different from African natives?"

This salvo caught the "English News Union" completely off guard. It wasn't until three days later that "The Times" organized a rebuttal to the "English Economic Observer's" article. Soon after, the "English Free News Union" also joined the fray, and a war of words erupted among several newspapers.

"The Times" accused the "English Economic Observer" of betraying their homeland, and, in return, the "English Economic Observer" scathingly labeled "The Times" as "minions of tyranny" and the "mouthpiece of warmongers."

Meanwhile, "The Free England," a publication of the "English Free News Union," declared, "Though we may not see eye to eye with the 'English Economic Observer' on many issues, we still regard it as a media outlet with principles, attitude, and conscience. As for 'The Times' outrageous accusation of 'betraying the homeland,' it reminds us of Samuel Johnson's famous quote: 'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'"

Faced with this situation, both Mr. Pitt and Mr. Addington realized that it was not the right time to immediately impose a blockade on Ireland. First and foremost, the timing was not entirely ripe; the Irish had made significant strides in their agricultural production, and they likely had enough potatoes to sustain them for a while. Starting a blockade now would give them and the French more time to adapt. Furthermore, the navy's experiments with underwater mines had just been completed, and it would take a considerable amount of time to increase production to the level required to effectively block the Irish coast. Secondly, such an action would very likely lead to division, not only within the United Kingdom but more importantly, within the Tory party.

On the other hand, after all this commotion, the so-called "secrets" of the British navy had been revealed to the whole of Europe.

Upon receiving this news, Napoleon immediately summoned Joseph and inquired about a countermeasure.

"Sea mines, eh? The British have actually come up with something like that. Well, you ask me how to defuse them? It's technically possible, but it's a real hassle, like clearing landmines – very dangerous and much more troublesome," Napoleon remarked.

"You're aware of this? Even today, we haven't finished clearing them around Verdun," Napoleon cursed, "How did you bury so many in the first place?"

"Well, that's the result of us being able to slowly clear them under peaceful conditions," Joseph said. "Dealing with sea mines is even more complicated, and in that region, we won't have naval superiority that allows us to peacefully and gradually clear them. So, forget about clearing mines."

"So, what do we do?" Napoleon asked.

"Napoleon, who do you think is more afraid of sea mines, us or the British?" Joseph asked.

"Of course, the British... How about it, Joseph, can we make something like this?" Napoleon inquired.

"As long as we have the funding and about a month's time, I can create one," Joseph replied. "Of course, if it's just for intimidating the British, I can make a model that would terrify them by tomorrow."

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