Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

While Solovyov was holding a constitutional convention and busy deciding the future of Persia, Nikolai received a letter from the British ambassador.

He initially thought it was a diplomatic note from the British side, but when he opened it, he found...

George IV died.

Now look what's happened! My second brother's brother-in-law has become the Queen's consort; the current Queen of England is Charlotte I.

As the only daughter of George IV, she had no one to compete with her, and she had a very close relationship with several of her uncles.

But here's the problem: the prime minister is the Duke of Wellington, and the cabinet was formed with the Conservative Party as the majority.

Queen Charlotte's situation was somewhat different because she consistently supported the Whigs.

Moreover, after she ascended the throne, the Hanoverian Territory of England would inevitably be separated from England due to the Salic Act of Succession.

As for who would become King of Hanover, Charlotte wanted to arrange for one of her uncles to go there, but the Duke of Clarence, being a naval officer, refused to go to Hanover and stayed in London.

However, he spends most of his time in Brighton, which is a seaside area.

The atmosphere in the British royal family's life is now unusually relaxed.

However, a conflict arose between the Duke of Wellington and the Queen when it was time to hold a state funeral in the UK.

The reason is that the Queen herself wanted to take care of a few things before the formal coronation ceremony, which the Duke of Wellington, from the perspective of the Conservative Party, found difficult to agree to.

It is associated with Catholicism, the Irish, and the earlier British workers' movement.

According to sources within the Conservative Party, the new Queen is clearly extremely radical in her views.

He demanded the abolition of previous restrictions on Catholicism, changes to Irish tax rates, and improvements to the living conditions of workers—points that were even more radical than those of some Whigs.

She was probably encouraged by the actions of Nikolai and his minister Solovyov, who were making great strides in Russia.

While Alexander was still alive, Solovyov spearheaded a series of reforms in southern Russia, including the construction of railways, the gradual abolition of serfdom, the building of factories, and the establishment of collective apartments for workers. Although the intensity of labor in factories and mines remained high, significant investments had been made in terms of social security.

This guy has always been hated by the Conservative Party because he is too familiar with the Achilles' heel of Britain. Almost everyone knows that the Queen had a pamphlet that Solovyov gave to the late King George IV, which contained the rules of the game in British politics.

However, George IV did not use it, but Queen Charlotte was enthusiastic about it.

She has always been a Whig supporter and has taken a hard line, which has led to some dissent within the Conservative Party.

However, deposing the Queen would pose a huge risk to their own families. Without a royal family to take the fall, the gentlemen of the House of Lords and the House of Commons would lack a safety valve for the vast working class and peasantry of Britain.

The council members will be in trouble then.

If they were to personally confront the angry workers and peasants, they would likely be stabbed with iron bars, pitchforks, or hit on the head with rakes, and it would not end well.

The royal family can also appease the public, something that parliamentarians lack.

Queen Charlotte also put forward her own ideas, including the establishment of a civil service and the introduction of a civil service system in various departments and local administrative agencies, which would enable the handling of various administrative affairs in Britain more effectively.

In addition, an Administrative Affairs Department was established, which reports directly to the Queen and the Prime Minister.

Wellington had no objection to this, but the large increase in civil servants was still too high a cost for the cabinet.

Another issue is the reorganization of electoral districts. The Queen believes that electoral districts like Appleby only represent the gentlemen of Oxford and Cambridge, while such districts are disadvantageous to the new bourgeoisie and some aristocrats in industrial areas.

Her concession was to divide voting rights according to wealth class, without granting workers universal suffrage, in an attempt to ease the situation.

The Duke of Wellington was also very troubled by this. The Queen had made so many demands right from the start, and she even knew how to deal with the ministers. It was really too troublesome.

In this context, he is also considering the future of this cabinet.

After the Queen ascended the throne, she also sent a letter to Nicholas.

Russia will send its ambassador to the UK to offer condolences, and Grand Duke Mikhail and Foreign Minister Neserrodie will also attend George IV's funeral.

Both sides should exchange views on issues of mutual concern, especially the Persian issue. The speed of official documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is certainly not as fast as Solovyov's horse.

If things continue like this, the British will probably lose even Afghanistan. The Central Asian cavalry recruited by Solovyov poses a considerable threat there, and the local chieftains will probably have to consider whether the British can provide timely support when they are fighting against Russia.

As a result, the British were also uncertain about the situation in Afghanistan.

There are still many things to consider, which are of concern to both sides.

On the Persian side, it would take Solovyov a long time to receive the message from the British. This was unlike the days when broadcasting was available, allowing messages to be quickly transmitted to distant places via radio.

The conflict between the British cabinet and the Queen suggests that the Conservative cabinet will soon be ousted.

Wellington himself was also very uncomfortable in this position, and if he did not get along well with the Queen, it would be difficult for him to make any progress.

Because of the measures taken by George III to reclaim royal power, even with his mental instability in his later years and the weakness of George IV during his regency and reign, which led to the strengthening of the cabinet's power, it was still difficult to resist direct action from the royal family in many areas.

If the Queen does send someone to inform the cabinet members that the next bill must be passed, otherwise she will take measures, the cabinet members will probably have to seriously consider the consequences and give some green light to the review of the bill.

At least for the Catholics, Queen Charlotte has prepared a series of measures.

The conflict between the Church of England and the Catholic Church in the past has indeed caused a lot of trouble.

As for the Irish, Charlotte observed the actions of the Russians, who were taking people from Ireland, through Siberia or by sea, to the Far East or Russian colonies. Some of these people also went to certain places voluntarily.

As a result, Ireland is experiencing a continuous population decline. This is indeed a troublesome issue for the UK.

Charlotte knew to some extent that local problems, including taxation and religion, as well as the inaction of the Secretary of State for Ireland, had contributed to the deterioration of the situation in Ireland.

This shows the difference between Charlotte and Victoria, although Victoria doesn't exist now.

Charlotte was influenced by Whigs from a young age, so she was more interested in political affairs and even publicly criticized her father for not being firm enough in his political views.

As for Victoria, she won't take any action unless it's absolutely necessary.

However, sometimes it's not possible to solve problems swiftly. For the Queen, ministers will try to keep her in limbo. With the establishment of civil servants, these ministers will start to stagnate, and they may even become more focused on getting votes in the future.

The civil servants, on the other hand, hold the future of Britain in their hands. Even if they are cautious and conservative, they can still ensure the stable operation of the country. After all, electoral politics may only consider the next election or even the polls next week, and whether there will be any protests from citizens.

Those who truly engage in politics need stable operation into the next century; their goals, methods, and outcomes differ.

Based on this, the Duke of Wellington was unable to carry out the Queen's ideas.

Thus came Earl Grey, who was also the lemon-flavored black tea and the leader of the Whig Party. Queen Charlotte planned to authorize Earl Grey to form a cabinet after the Duke of Wellington's cabinet resigned en masse.

It's certainly a good thing that the Queen is leaning towards the Whigs, but given the deep-seated conflicts between the Conservatives and the Whigs, it's hard to say what the future holds in Parliament.

And another problem arises: the Whig Party and the Conservative Party are evenly matched in the House of Commons.

However, in the House of Lords, the nobility is clearly more old-fashioned and is able to veto proposals from the House of Commons.

Earl Grey then met with the Queen during the formation of the cabinet and presented his ideas.

The Queen could not fully agree with his suggestion to increase the number of Whig-leaning politicians as nobles, because the conferment of nobility also had to be based on merit, and the awarding of medals naturally required corresponding qualifications and achievements.

However, she supported the reforms and used the royal mouthpiece to spread the message throughout London, demonstrating the royal family's support for gradual reform.

Now that Earl Grey knows the Queen's attitude, he can go ahead and do what he wants.

Suddenly, the situation became very unfavorable for the Conservative Party.

The fall of the Duke of Wellington's cabinet, the passage of the Catholic Tolerance Act, and the Queen's subsequent push for amendments meant that even the most oblivious Conservative Party members would realize that the political landscape in Britain was about to change.

The ministers in the cabinet are also worried about their positions, as the Queen has been forcefully pushing for reform bills in Parliament this time, and her attitude is quite firm.

What's even more striking is that the Queen was very popular on the streets of London even when she was a child. She was always warmly welcomed when she walked through the streets with the Prince of Wales and her other children.

Especially since the Queen recently announced her pregnancy, and given her height and not being a gas tank, her belly is particularly noticeable.

Many ordinary people lined the streets to offer their blessings, hoping that things wouldn't be as difficult as when she gave birth to the Prince of Wales.

With the addition of the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Sussex, who have always been approachable within the royal family, the prestige of the British royal family is actually higher than before.

The Queen herself often waves to the people in Kensington, which makes the common people of London feel the Queen's care for them.

Even if this is just a gesture, it's something that wasn't seen during her father's time.

George IV went from being popular to being infamous mainly because he was lazy and squandered the prestige he originally had among the people.

Queen Charlotte, on the other hand, clearly has an advantage in this regard. In fact, she can use public opinion and the support of the Whig Party to put pressure on the Conservative Party, from snorting in Parliament to threatening to pass certain bills.

If her uncle, the Duke of Clarence, had become king, he probably wouldn't have been as authoritative as her. The Duke spent the first half of his life at sea and the second half in London and Brighton, but he was exceptionally approachable and loyal.

The Queen's situation was clearly quite different.

Nicholas soon received the report and summoned the ministers to discuss the situation.

They agreed that with the Duke of Wellington's cabinet now focused on domestic reforms, this was a good time for both sides to ease tensions, further re-establish their spheres of influence, and maintain lasting peace.

That's what they say, but how Britain and Russia will prepare is a question that's puzzling to everyone.

The ministers around Nicholas also advocated for de-escalation. They stated that the Thracian prince's southern campaign had been a resounding success, and that once the Persian problem was resolved, Russia's next task would be to unite with Britain and France to mediate conflicts between local powers and overlords like Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, thus ensuring peace in Europe.

The idea of ​​a generation's peace is perhaps too idealistic.

On the other hand, Earl Grey had a new idea: to abolish the East India Company's monopoly on trade with the Qing Dynasty and to establish formal contact with the Qing Dynasty.

The good news they received was that, although Emperor Daoguang remained hostile to the opening of ports after his contact with the French and Russian envoys, he personally did not mind the return of the British mission.

However, the Earl of Grey is now also having a headache. None of these British gentlemen are any good, and Mr. Staunton is on the Chinese Emperor's blacklist because of the Amherst Mission.

His family didn't have a Solovyov like him. He was a good fighter, a good translator, occasionally wrote poetry, and was also well-versed in Chinese culture. Everyone knew that he had close ties with Chinese nobles and civil officials, and even his two younger brothers had experience working in Chinese diplomacy and customs.

Even the Qing army was influenced by France and Russia. If Britain could turn the tide at this time and reopen the Ningbo port, it would be quite advantageous in terms of foreign trade.

However, this was indeed quite difficult, especially since Emperor Daoguang had a very poor attitude towards opium, which led to frequent trade frictions.

Earl Grey's troubles actually had an even more important aspect: the East India Company held trading privileges, and they still had to consider their legitimate business in the Qing Dynasty. They couldn't go too far in the opium trade, so they always colluded with Jardine Matheson and conducted it secretly.

Their trade privileges were revoked, and since British merchants had gone there, they wouldn't care about the current tense foreign trade relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Britain, and would likely cause trouble.

Moreover, Qing Dynasty officials were no longer completely ignorant of international law as they had been in the past. Guangzhou had consulates of Russia, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal, each of which provided translators to the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Governor's Office of Guangdong, as well as translation training for some clerks.

The British even had less and less room to deceive Qing Dynasty officials. (End of Chapter)