After hearing the report from the Mediterranean branch fleet, the envoy immediately conveyed Admiral James Dundas's order for Major General Edmund Leon to return to Malta.

Without a moment's hesitation, Major General Edmund Leon passed on the command to all sailors present to return to the Mediterranean base.

The flag signal soldier waved the flag in the cold wind, the lookouts climbed the masts to observe the surroundings, and the crew untied the ropes binding the enormous sails... everyone on the ship was working diligently.

With the concerted efforts of all the sailors, the British Mediterranean Fleet subdivision set sail once more.

"Set off!" At the command of Major General Edmund Leon, the squadron, in a majestic line formation, set course for the Maltese Mediterranean Fleet.

Hearing the news that both the British and French fleets departed on the same night, the Greek King Otto I and his Prime Minister simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to have preserved their lives under the protection of these two "big brothers."

After all, not everyone could enjoy the dual "protection" of Britain and France.

...

While the fleets of the Kingdom of Britain and the French Empire successively headed towards Constantinople, far from Constantinople, the same concern was evident in Britain for the events unfolding there.

When Lord Clarendon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (who had replaced the hawkish Searle as Speaker of the Lower House, appointed by Aberdeen), presented Canning's telegram to the current Prime Minister, Lord Aberdeen, he couldn't help but moan, "Oh God! This is indeed a disaster!"

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this is truly terrible news!" Lord Clarendon nodded in agreement with Aberdeen and responded, "But we must face this bad news and find a solution!"

"What's your viewpoint?" Aberdeen asked Lord Clarendon, who was just out of the bath.

"Prime Minister, I believe Britain should adopt a firmer stance!" Clarendon declared decisively. "If previously, before we received this telegram, we could still tell the British public that the actions of the Russian Empire were reluctantly taken with peaceful intentions, now, knowing the series of tragedies in the Sinop region, from a humanitarian perspective, we must act! Only then can we prevent similar events from happening again! If our government does nothing, we will lose the voters' trust!"

"May I interpret this as your belief that the Kingdom of Britain should take a firmer stance against the Russian Empire?" Lord Aberdeen responded with a furrowed brow, looking at the Minister of Foreign Affairs in front of him.

As someone specially appointed by Aberdeen to replace Russell as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Clarendon was naturally regarded as a dovish politician. However, today's speech seemed to defy the "principle" of a dovish politician.

"Yes! That is what I believe!" Clarendon replied fearlessly, sitting up straight.

"Mr. Villiers, Britain's foreign policy is based on Britain's core interests, not made solely for the voters' interests! As politicians, we cannot only care about the ballots and forget Britain itself!" Aberdeen replied coldly to Clarendon.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, adopting a strong stance against the Russian Empire does not contradict Britain's core interests! On the contrary, it aligns completely with them!" Clarendon replied passionately. "Britain's core interest lies in maintaining peace and stability in Europe. The tragedy caused by the Russian Empire at Sinop Port has severely violated Britain's initial intention for peace and stability! We must do something!"

"Mr. Villiers (Clarendon's title, full name George William Frederick Villiers), indeed, we need to do something, but that doesn't mean we must maintain a firm attitude towards Russia!" Pro-Russian Aberdeen asserted back to Aberdeen, understanding that his current position was due to representing certain pro-Russian faction interests. As long as he remained steadfastly pro-Russian, they wouldn't abandon him.

On the contrary, if he were to leave the pro-Russian camp and join the anti-Russian camp, he would stand no chance against the dormant Palmerston and Speaker Russell of the Lower House.

Let alone these renowned anti-Russian figures, even the once pro-Russian and now anti-Russian Lord Clarendon in front of him might not be outdone.

It was imperative to firmly hold onto the pro-Russian... or accurately, the anti-French banner, to sustain this precarious cabinet.

"Without this, how should the voters perceive us?" Villiers pressed on regarding the voter issue with Aberdeen.

"Mr. Villiers, I have already said! The voter issue is irrelevant to the policy our government needs to formulate now! How many times must I say this?" Aberdeen, slightly angry, pointed at Lord Clarendon and scolded, "Besides, is this matter decided by just you and me?"

Lord Clarendon wanted to say something but ultimately refrained, merely bowing slightly to Lord Aberdeen before taking his leave.

Once Lord Clarendon had departed, Lord Aberdeen glanced again at Canning's telegram and couldn't help cursing aloud, "Damn Tsar, why do you always cause me trouble!"

On the other hand, after leaving the Prime Minister's residence, instead of heading straight home, Lord Clarendon chose to take a carriage to a residence near Buckingham Palace.

The carriage traveled along the gas lamp-equipped road, flanked occasionally by pairs of patrolling policemen in uniform, the most loyal guardians of London's wealthy district. Through the carriage window, watching the patrols outside, Villiers couldn't help but admire Palmerston.

These were the generous legacies Palmerston had left for London before he left office.

With admiration, Lord Clarendon took a deep breath as he arrived at the door of the residence and gently knocked.

After a moment, hurried footsteps were heard on the other side of the door.

Soon, a strong and steady voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Mr. Palmerston!" Lord Clarendon respectfully addressed, "It's me! Villiers, I apologize for the late visit!"

"Minister Villiers!" The door slowly opened, revealing Palmerston behind it, holding a kerosene lamp, with darkness behind him.

"You can just call me Villiers! I apologize for the intrusion!" Clarendon responded to Palmerston with a deferential attitude.

"Please come in!" Palmerston stepped aside to invite Lord Clarendon into the room.

"Thank you very much!" Clarendon expressed his gratitude to Palmerston once again.

"If you don't mind, please join me in the study! I assume you must have some pressing matter to discuss at this hour," Palmerston said to Lord Clarendon.

"That's right! I have some urgent matters I wish to discuss with someone like you," Lord Clarendon replied to Palmerston, then walked into the residence with a steady pace.

Later, he followed Palmerston into the study, where there was only a table and a few chairs, and there they conversed face-to-face.

"Go ahead, what do you need my help with?" As soon as he sat down, Palmerston immediately asked Clarendon.

"The situation is this..." Clarendon conveyed the message from Canning's telegram and Aberdeen's attitude to Palmerston, then asked, "Mr. Palmerston, what should I do?"

Palmerston paused for a moment, then raised two fingers and said, "Two solutions!"

"Which two?" Lord Clarendon inquired of Palmerston.

"The first is you don't need to do anything, just pretend nothing has happened, which could delay the collapse of the cabinet," Palmerston said calmly to Clarendon. "However, this is only a temporary measure! Just as you told Prime Minister Aberdeen, once the British public learns the truth, they will certainly not tolerate the actions of the British Cabinet! The cabinet's collapse will be even faster, and the time this method can prolong probably won't exceed the end of the year!"

"What's the other one?" Clarendon urgently asked about the next solution from Palmerston.

"I think you should know!" Palmerston smiled and spoke to Lord Clarendon.

"But I..." Lord Clarendon hesitated.

"What happened at Sinop was unforeseen! In the current situation, seeking peace with Russia is clearly an impossible task! There's only one path left, which is to adopt a tough stance against the Russian Empire! Only this way can gain the approval of the voters!" Palmerston analyzed for Lord Clarendon. "However, Aberdeen is incapable of exerting influence on the Russian Empire; there are already two people, me and Speaker Russell, in the anti-Russian camp. This means that even if he adopts an anti-Russian stance before the British electorate, he will not gain their approval! On the contrary, Speaker Russell and I could use the anti-Russian opportunity to re-establish the cabinet! Aberdeen's unwillingness to confront Russia stems from this idea!"

"Is there really no solution at all?" Lord Clarendon asked Palmerston.

"If there were even a sliver of a solution, I doubt you'd appear here!" Palmerston looked at Lord Clarendon with a faint smile.

Lord Clarendon's appearance here indicated that he was ready to completely leave the pro-Russian faction and turn to Palmerston and his group.

All the previous issues were merely excuses that Lord Clarendon concocted to convince himself!

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