CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 378 CANNING’S DECISION

Although Colonel Ross’s reasons were quite sufficient and also recognized by Sir James Dundas, the stubborn Sir James Dundas never made an exception for Colonel Ross. He always believed that the Mediterranean Fleet must act only under the directives of the Cabinet or the British Envoy to the Ottoman Empire.

Otherwise, James Dundas would be undermining the sacred discipline of the British Navy, and the esteemed Royal Navy should not learn from the Army.

Facing the rigid Sir James Dundas, Colonel Ross could only choose to continue observing.

On the morning of April 1st, as the faint light of dawn rose from the sea horizon.

At the Port Head Pier in the central Mediterranean location of Malta, a steamship flying the French flag was slowly approaching from the northwest direction.

The steam patrol warship responsible for guarding Malta quickly closed in on the French steamship as soon as it was discovered.

After about five minutes of travel, the steamship and the patrol warship met on the sea less than 2 nautical miles from Malta.

The captain of the patrol warship immediately sent a sailor to ask why the steamship was approaching the Malta harbor.

"We are the First Squadron of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland’s Mediterranean Fleet. You have intruded into our Mediterranean Fleet’s patrol area without authorization. Please leave immediately! Please leave immediately!" Standing at the bow, the sailor shouted vigorously in the direction of the steamship. In this era of undeveloped radio, orders between warships, or between warships and merchant ships, relied either on naval signal flags or shouting.

The former was suitable for the fast transmission of effective instructions, while the latter was applicable in the current scenario.

Shouting was undoubtedly the most laborious task; instead of strenuously inquiring about the other party’s identity, many sailors preferred to solve it with a cannon shot.

If the steamship wasn’t flying the French flag, the patrol ship would have had every reason to consider the ship as a spy and solve it with a cannon shot.

With the French flag flying, the British ships had to handle the situation cautiously.

Even a slight inattentiveness could trigger an unexpected political crisis.

Before long, a voice came from the steamship flying the French flag: "I am Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and I need to go to the Malta military base to meet with Admiral James Dundas!"

Upon hearing the response from the steamship, the sailors on the patrol ship looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why the British Envoy was on a steamship flying the French flag.

One sailor nudged the sailor beside him with his elbow, quietly reminding him: "What are you standing around for? Hurry and report to the captain!"

The still-dazed sailor let out an "um," turned, and headed towards the captain’s cabin to report. Midway, he suddenly realized why it was he who had to report. He stopped, turned, and glanced at his companion behind him. Seeing this, the companion at the bow gestured for him to hurry up and return. The sailor had no choice but to smile helplessly and continue to report the news to the captain.

"Are you sure you didn’t hear wrong? Did they say the name Stratford Canning?" When the sailor delivered the news to the captain, he was immediately met with skepticism.

"I am sure I didn’t hear wrong! He said he is the British ambassador and went by the name Stratford Canning!" the sailor responded confidently to the captain.

"Forget it! I’ll go see for myself!" Having met Canning before, the captain decided to personally go to the bow to see if it was indeed the ambassador he knew.

With the sailor leading the way, the captain, holding a telescope, departed from the captain’s cabin and quickly arrived at the bow.

Through the telescope, the captain saw Canning standing at the bow of the steamship. The captain no longer doubted Canning’s identity and quickly shouted, "Ambassador Canning, please follow me!"

"Alright!" Canning immediately responded.

Under the captain’s command, the engine on the patrol ship started up once more, and the other steamship also restarted.

The patrol ship and the steamship entered the Malta harbor one after the other. After the steamship docked at the Malta harbor, a wooden ladder was gently lowered, creating a footbridge to connect the steamship to the Port Head Pier.

The families of the sailors living in Malta curiously watched the steamship flying the French flag. Once the wooden ladder was fully grounded, Stratford Canning slowly descended the steps.

When Canning’s feet finally touched the soil of Malta, the wooden ladder was retracted by the sailors on the steamship. Now, the captain on the side of the deck facing the pier waved farewell to Stratford Canning on land.

Stratford Canning also waved back with a smile at the captain.

The hum of steam engines sounded again, and the steamship flying the French flag slowly departed from Malta harbor.

The patrol fleet also followed closely to escort them away from Malta, but of course, the patrol fleet’s stated purpose was escorting; in reality, it was to ensure the steamship did not linger in the waters near Malta.

Watching the departing steamship and patrol warship, Stratford Canning withdrew his gaze and turned away from the harbor.

Led by the navy soldiers stationed in Malta, Stratford Canning met not only Sir James Dundas, the Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, but also Colonel Ross, whom he knew from the Ottoman Empire Embassy.

James Dundas glanced at Stratford Canning, and then at Colonel Ross, his eyes filled with confusion. He did not understand why Colonel Ross had bothered to come when Ambassador Stratford Canning was already there.

"Your Excellency, Ambassador... why are you here? Why didn’t you inform me before you arrived?" Colonel Ross looked at Stratford Canning in surprise.

If he had known beforehand that Ambassador Canning would be returning soon, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of coming to Malta to persuade Sir James Dundas.

"Didn’t you receive a telegram from Britain?" Stratford Canning asked with equal puzzlement.

"No!" Colonel Ross shook his head in denial.

After a moment of thought, Canning suddenly realized that he seemed to have arrived a few days earlier than planned.

Given the procrastinating nature of the British Cabinet, it’s likely they wouldn’t reveal his arrival to the Ottoman Embassy until the last minute.

This led to Colonel Ross coming to Malta without receiving a telegram from the Cabinet.

It’s all the fault of the Frenchman! Who makes their trains so punctual!

But, what was Ross doing in Malta?

A brand new question appeared in Colonel Ross’s mind. He looked at his deputy in front of him and asked, "What are you doing in Malta?"

"Well..." Colonel Ross recounted to Stratford Canning in detail the conversation he had with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman two days ago.

Upon hearing the content of Colonel Ross’s conversation, Stratford immediately sensed a whiff of conspiracy.

Based on a diplomat’s sixth sense, he felt that the former Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned by Colonel Ross seemed to have concealed some truth, especially concerning France.

During Canning’s crossing through France, he observed groups of individuals in French military attire along the southern railway line; he saw many resources being transported towards Lyon and Marseille by rail, and during conversations with train passengers, Canning heard complaints from a certain Marseille fleet company owner about his fleet having to be at the committee’s beck and call at any time, thereby losing considerable profits.

All signs suggested that France was conducting a limited mobilization.

Although their mobilization was like ants moving houses, it still couldn’t escape the "piercing eyes" of Stratford Canning.

Considering France’s level of mobilization, if it wasn’t in preparation for entering the Near East, Stratford Canning couldn’t fathom why they would need such preparation.

Thus, when he heard Colonel Ross’s conversation with Fuad Edifen, he concluded internally that the former Minister had concealed some details from them.

"Your Excellency Canning, the Mediterranean Fleet awaits your orders!"

With the person capable of commanding the Mediterranean Fleet having arrived, Sir James Dundas naturally was willing to follow Stratford Canning’s directives.

"The Mediterranean Fleet..." After a moment’s contemplation, Stratford Canning said to Sir James Dundas, "For now, no action."

Colonel Ross looked at Stratford Canning in astonishment. He didn’t understand why Ambassador Canning wanted the fleet to remain inactive for the time being.

"There are many unknowns here; it’s best not to act rashly!" Stratford Canning responded vaguely, not wanting to embarrass his aide in a public setting.

Having long partnered with Ambassador Canning, Colonel Ross immediately realized that the ambassador had discovered something but refrained from contradicting him out of consideration.

"Yes!" Colonel Ross felt deeply grateful to Ambassador Canning.

On the afternoon of April 1, Stratford Canning and Colonel Ross took a steamship and left Malta.

The steamship arrived in Constantinople at dawn on April 2.

Looking at the city he had been away from for nearly five months brought a flood of emotions to Canning.

After returning to the embassy, the two simply freshened up and went to bed.

April 2, 10 AM.

Stratford Canning appeared from the embassy and soon arrived at the former Prime Minister Rechid’s residence.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with his old friend, they quickly delved into the overall situation.

"Please tell me! During my absence, how far have you gotten with your steps?" Stratford Ford asked the former prime minister with a serious expression.

"Canning, you should ask the current prime minister this question, not an out-of-power old man like me! Now, I only wish to spend my remaining years in peace!"