The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 777: Chapter 367: Wellington’s Light Red Array _3

As for Greece, I acknowledge that Ottoman Turkey brutally oppresses the local people, who are despised by all humanity, and we should not engage in any cooperation with the government in Constantinople. At the same time, if we wish to establish a new state belonging to the Greeks in Europe, it must be founded on the principles of modern democracy.

However, one point that deserves attention is that I find the Russians are constantly using their means to spread their ideas and influence in Greece, attempting to make it their bridgehead into the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, if we continue our current policies, establishing a new Greece modeled after the British political system would be utterly detrimental and without any benefit.

The friction between Duke Wellington and Sir Canning has further led to his increasingly estranged relationship with the Canning faction members in Parliament.

The old Duke’s stubborn temperament only exacerbated this deterioration. On the eve when the Canning faction decided to collectively resign from the party, not only did Wellington not try to retain them, but he also uttered, “Tell Dudley and Palmerston that if they plan to leave with Hesketh, I will not oppose them, and I certainly won’t beg them like a pitiful grandchild.”

Although this statement was not very elegant, it was an honest remark. Duke Wellington could not manage to put on two faces as the Canning faction did. His years of experience as a battlefield commander led him to always adhere to one viewpoint: for a general, you must mean what you say.

Duke Wellington began, “All these documents, the Parliamentary Reform bills, actually have nothing to do with principles. I’ve heard plenty about the principles of the Whig Party, the principles of the Tory Party, the principles of the liberals, the principles of the Canning faction, but I must frankly admit, I have never seen their precise definition nor understood what they actually mean.

I don’t have that many principles, for me, there is only one set of principles, and that is Britain’s principles! For this principle, I would risk my life to defend it. For that, I defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. For it, I ‘besieged’ His Majesty the King over Catholic emancipation. I couldn’t allow something that the storms of war failed to destroy to be buried by the Whig Party during peacetime!”

Upon hearing this, Lady Abbasnott was somewhat shaken.

She looked at Duke Wellington standing there, as if the Marshal of the Multinational Army was delivering his pre-battle motivational speech.

“Your Excellency, I understand how you feel. You also know, in these past twenty years, I have always stood by your side. In London’s political circle, apart from you, no one else holds such interest for me. Britain has been in chaos for quite some time, and the other end of the English Channel is also restless. It is precisely at such times that your intervention is needed,” she said.

Wellington took a deep breath and sat next to Lady Abbasnott, taking her hand, “Harriet, in times like these, if we want to solve certain issues, we can only rely on your social skills. I won’t hide it from you, the Tory Party is now on the verge of collapse, everyone is fighting their own battles, and apart from a handful of my most trusted old subordinates, no one is willing to see me at this time.

You possess the ability to change their minds. I implore you, whether for the sake of our friendship or for the sake of this country, bring them here to see me. I appoint you as my quartermaster. Here, I will reassemble my Light Cavalry, transport the cannons to the front to reorganize my defensive positions, while you are responsible for harassing their flank. I will launch a surprise attack with my thin red line against the Whig Party and catch them off guard!”