After Prussia passed the arms purchase from the Ottoman Empire, Conakry left Brandenburg with joy. Before Conakry left, William also held a grand farewell party for the envoy of the Ottoman Empire.
Once the military trade between the Ottoman Empire and Prussia was announced, it caused an uproar. Although this was actually just an internal matter between the two countries, the Prussian government still received protests from the British and Russians.
The Russian government's protest was not beyond William's expectation. After all, although the Ottoman Empire did not take advantage of the civil strife in the Russian Empire to declare war on it, in any case, in the past two years, the Ottoman Empire had just taken advantage of Brankov.
He led the Russian army in the Black Sea and seized a large amount of territory from the Russian Empire when they first raised the flag of rebellion.
And now that the Ottomans have not declared war on the Russian Empire, it does not mean that the two countries can still coexist peacefully in the future. With the ambition of His Majesty the Sultan, it is obvious that as long as the domestic Yeniseri Group is eradicated by him, Russia will definitely be next.
However, the British protest made William entangled. He did not understand that this matter had anything to do with the British!
You must know that Britain is not the big empire it will be decades later. Currently, the British have no power at all in and around the Ottoman Empire. In other words, even if Prussia sells weapons to the Ottomans, it will not threaten Britain at all.
.
But William sees it this way, but it does not mean that the British see it this way too.
Although the coalition forces of the two countries are still fighting on French soil, the two countries in the alliance are actually inseparable. Prussia's development of the navy and its toughness in the Princess Charlotte incident made many politicians in the UK quite dissatisfied, and even more so.
Don't say that Prussia is now asking Britain to cede Hanover to Prussia in accordance with the agreement.
At present, there are less than 5,000 British troops in Hanover. In other words, if Prussia is willing, it will not take a few days for the national flag hanging on the Hanover city wall to change its color.
The person currently serving as the British Ambassador to Prussia is Fox, a hardline figure in the UK. As a legendary Whig politician in the British government, Fox has always been Pitt's biggest rival. The two did not know how to compete because of their positions as party leader and prime minister.
How many times.
Fox, who was originally a very important politician in the UK and has been a member of the House of Commons since 1768, now has a high popularity and status in both the upper and lower parliaments of the UK. In this case, Fox does not need to be a member of the House of Commons.
He came to Prussia to serve as an ambassador who didn't have much luck.
However, after some thought, Fox still took the initiative to ask the British government to come to Prussia to serve as the British Ambassador to Prussia. The reason was that Fox believed that he could gain greater political capital in Prussia.
Although the political alliance formed by Fox and North, another powerful figure in the British government, once defeated Pitt in the British Parliament, Pitt, with the unreserved support of George III, could not shake his position as prime minister.
Unless George III is no longer in power.
Under such circumstances, seeing that little Pitt would stay on the Prime Minister's throne for an unknown period of time, in order to gain greater political capital, Fox decided to fight his last and come to Prussia.
This protest from the British government was also issued by the British government at Fox's request.
Although Peter hated his political opponent deeply, he still behaved quite generously on the surface. And because of the Hanover issue, the relationship between Prussia and the British government was not very harmonious at the moment, so Peter
Only then would Pitt agree to the British government's request through Fox.
"This is simply nonsense. The British are truly crazy. Whoever we want to sell weapons to is our freedom and has nothing to do with the British government. The British government's protest is simply unreasonable!"
William's opinions reached the Prussian government through Hornde.
According to William's opinion, the Prussian government immediately made a slightly tougher reply to the British protest. At the same time, the Prussian government once again warned the British not to try to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Prussia again. In addition, the British government must at the end of 1794
Hannover was handed over to the Prussian government before, otherwise the Prussian government has the right to take some necessary measures.
When Fox saw the Prussian government's response, he almost thought it was a Prussian declaration of war against the British government. You must know that in this document, although the Prussian government made some modifications to the words, the meaning of dissatisfaction
Beyond words.
Especially when Fox saw the article about Hanover, he was a little stupid. He did not expect that if the British were not prepared to give Hanover to Prussia, the Prussians were actually prepared to use force.
God, is today April Fool's Day?
After being shocked, Fox's face turned a little angry.
Yes, Prussia is indeed very strong on the European continent, at least for now. As Austria, Russia, France and other powerful countries that once craved Europe are declining sharply due to civil strife or foreign enemies, Prussia is the only one among them.
It is indeed particularly conspicuous. Prussia's power has been greatly developed. It is not an exaggeration to say that Prussia is currently the largest power in Europe.
But what country is Britain? The British Empire is the most powerful country in the entire civilized world under the glory of God! Although the British army is not as good as Prussia, Britain, with the world's largest navy, is still the unshakable world's most powerful country.
!
Under such circumstances, the Prussians dared to suggest that Britain was threatening! It was simply an insult to the British Empire!
Just when Fox was about to take the Prussian reply document to Lockes for comment, an embassy attendant hurried to Fox's side and handed an urgent document from London into Fox's hands.
Fox, who looked a little confused, took the document and started reading it. However, after just reading for a while, Fox's expression changed drastically.
"This...this, did London make a mistake?"
"Your Excellency, this was sent through the most urgent channel from London. There is absolutely no mistake!"
After listening to the attendant's answer, Fox asked the attendant to leave the room. But after the attendant left, Fox immediately became weak and slumped on the chair.
.....................................
After being specially called to the palace by George III for a scolding, the Duke of York felt terrible. Originally, Charlotte was his wife. And after the two separated, the Duke of York was even overjoyed about it.
, specially took his mistress to live in his Duke's official residence.
But who would have thought that the Prussian reaction would be so great, and they would complain directly to George III. This also caused George III to summon the Duke of York into the palace and scold him severely. Moreover, George III also asked the Duke of York to
Take Charlotte back to the Duke's residence immediately.
After returning to his official residence, the Duke of York's face was still very gloomy. But he did not dare to disobey George III's will, so he went to Charlotte's residence in person, hoping that the Princess of Prussia could return with him
The Duke's Residence.
But who would have thought that Charlotte, who was heartbroken by the Duke of York, would actually reject the invitation of the Duke of York. Not only that, seeing that the Duke of York was determined not to leave, Charlotte also sent her own Prussian attendants to prepare to send her away.
The Duke of York forcibly evicted the house.
Seeing this situation, the Duke of York's stomach was about to explode.
In the view of the Duke of York, Prussia and the United Kingdom are currently allies, and Prussia has gained a lot of benefits from the British. If there is no reason, the Prussian government cannot and does not dare to protest to the United Kingdom. Now that Prussia has protested,
Then there must be someone saying bad things behind your back.
Considering the current situation, the only one who speaks ill of her is Charlotte herself.
After leaving Charlotte's residence, the Duke of York returned to his official residence in an uneasy mood. The Duke of York was not a person who could control his emotions or suppress his mood. Therefore, after being questioned by his mistress, the Duke of York
Vent out all the resentment in your heart.
Originally, I could just let it out, but who knew that the mistress of the Duke of York was not an economical person.
Although this mistress was taken to her official residence by the Duke of York and is currently pregnant with the Duke of York's child, this woman understands that as long as she is not a duchess for a day, her status will not be guaranteed at all, and in this
In this situation, Charlotte is undoubtedly her biggest enemy.
The current dissatisfaction of the Duke of York is exactly the best opportunity for her.
In this case, without the knowledge of the Duke of York, this woman found several loyal guards in the Duke of York's official residence, and in the name of venting the Duke of York's anger, asked them to go to Weybridge Manor in Surrey, where Charlotte lived, to set fire to murder Charlotte.
Charlotte.
But after giving the instructions, the mistress hinted that they did not have to hold back on Charlotte because the Duke of York was behind them.
And how dare these loyal guards refuse to accept the orders of the current de facto hostess of the Duke's residence. In addition, this woman also hinted that their matter was actually instigated by the Duke of York.
In addition, because they have been following the Duke of York for a long time, these guards naturally thought like the Duke of York that it was Charlotte's complaint that caused the Duke of York to suffer an unreasonable disaster today.
That night, these guards hired a dozen gangsters in London with a fee from the Duke of York's mistress. Then after dark, these twenty people lurked in Charlotte's house.
When an order was given near the residence, these people rushed into Charlotte's residence and set fire to it.
Facing the Prussian attendants who came to stop them, these people did not hold back at all and started to greet them with the weapons they had prepared before.
The place where Charlotte lived did not have many defense forces. Including Charlotte herself, there were only fifteen people in the entire manor. Faced with these murderers who suddenly rushed in, except for six Prussian guards, the rest
The birds and beasts dispersed one after another.
The fire kept flickering in this small manor. The murderers quickly left the manor after successfully setting the fire. Of course, two of the six Prussian guards who came to stop them also paid with their lives.
As a result, the other four people were also seriously injured.
"Oops, captain, there's a fire at Surrey Bridge!"
A policeman who was on patrol at night immediately identified the direction and distance after seeing the fire, and then hurried back to the police station to report to his superior, a police captain.
At this moment, the captain was leisurely playing poker with a few colleagues in front of the card table. Looking at the captain's face, it was obvious that he had gained a lot tonight.
After hearing what the little policeman said, the captain raised his head from the card table, thought for a moment and said:
"It's okay. Surrey Bridge is not an important place. Just go and tell the fire brigade about the normal level. Let's keep coming!"
With that said, the captain called on the others to continue playing cards.
But the captain is not in a hurry, but the little policeman is.
"Captain, that is the residence of the Duchess of York!"
"Nonsense, the Duke of York's official residence is not in Surrey Bridge. I think you drank too much tonight!"
The captain said to the little policeman behind him without raising his head from the card table.
"Captain, I'm talking about the Prussian princess!"
The little policeman, who was obviously anxious, yelled loudly. When he heard the Prussian princess, the police captain, who was stunned by the small profits on the card table, finally remembered.
Afterwards, the captain and the British policemen around him immediately changed their expressions.
"It's broken, hurry up, stop playing! Go to Surrey Bridge immediately, and have the fire brigade rush over immediately! Tell them the emergency level!"
Like other big cities in Europe, or even earlier, fire brigades were set up in London. The tasks of these fire brigades were obviously not as complicated as those of later generations. All they needed to perform was to put out fires.
Of course, as the city of London is so large, fires occur very frequently. In this case, the objects that need to be rescued when fighting fires naturally need to be distinguished.
London's fire brigade is divided into three levels: emergency, priority and ordinary.
Naturally, these three levels correspond to different neighborhoods and different groups of people.
The police captain immediately rushed to the Surrey Bridge with more than a dozen police officers. When he saw on the bridge that the fire happened to be the manor where Charlotte lived, he suddenly became dizzy. After a while,
When he saw the policemen around him still eagerly waiting for his order, the captain shouted anxiously:
"Why are you still standing there? Come and put out the fire! Call all the residents nearby and ask them to help!"
In fact, there was no need for this policeman's order. After the fire became fierce, many residents had already started to put out the fire. However, due to the limitations of their tools, the fire was not effectively controlled.
Of course, these residents are not well-intentioned in trying to save Charlotte. Although Charlotte's manor is relatively secluded compared to the main streets in London, it is also a large residential area nearby.
In order to prevent their homes from being invaded by the fire demon, these residents naturally participated in putting out the fire without further explanation.
Charlotte was currently in the cellar of the manor. After the murderers broke into the manor, her old housekeeper hurriedly found Charlotte. Then he protected Charlotte and hid in the cellar.
The cellar was not dug very deep. After the fire became more and more fierce, the air in the cellar became worse and worse. Fortunately, the wind direction outside is now southeast, and the vent of the cellar is in the west. Otherwise, I am afraid they would all
I'm going to be smoked to death in this cellar.
But even so, the air in the cellar still makes people feel stuffy.
But now all Charlotte and the others could do was wait for rescue. The fire raged for an hour before it was brought under control. Then the London fire-fighting team mobilized half of the city to put the fire under control in another hour.
Control within a very small range.
When Charlotte and her housekeeper were rescued from the cellar by the fire brigade, the Duchess had fainted.
Little Peter was woken up from his bed in the middle of the night and hurried to the palace to stop the flood. At this moment, in the palace, in addition to George III, there were also the Duke of York and the Prussian Ambassador to Britain Brenodes.
"Dear Your Majesty the King, on behalf of Prussia, I would like to express my strong protest against everything that has happened to our Princess. At the same time, if your country does not come up with a definite plan to deal with it, then our country will welcome Princess Charlotte back to Brandenburg.
!”
After receiving the arrival of Little Pete, Brenodes immediately said to George III with an angry look on his face.
On the way here, little Pete already knew what happened before. After entering the palace, his eyes were immediately set on the Duke of York. At this moment, His Royal Highness the Duke of York was deeply moved.
He buried his head in his arms.
Although looking at his son, George III hated iron, but at this moment, facing the Prussian's questioning, George III still said:
"Your Excellency Ambassador, the cause of the fire has not been identified yet. I don't think it must be man-made, so I'm afraid this matter will have to undergo some investigation before we can draw a conclusion!"
"Your Majesty, Duke Charlotte was attacked by the fire demon and is still in a coma. This incident is not only harmful to Princess Charlotte, but also a great harm to our Kingdom of Prussia! Of course, this incident
We don’t care whether there are human beings involved, but in order to ensure that we can get the truth of the matter, I think our country should participate in the investigation of this matter!"
Brenodus's attitude made George III frown slightly.