Despite the British bureaucrats' desperate attempts to cover it up, the tragedy unfolding on the Crimean Peninsula still appeared in London's newspapers.
Public outrage erupted, and large numbers of soldiers' families took to the streets in protest. It was utterly useless. The bureaucrats in the Military Supply Department had acted entirely according to regulations, fully in compliance with British law, and bore no responsibility whatsoever.
The bureaucrats had nothing to fear, but the British Cabinet was under immense pressure. If this problem could not be resolved, the next election would likely be quite a spectacle.
There was no need to wait for the election. Stanley, the Secretary of State for War, was already feeling what real pressure meant.
"Prime Minister, public opinion is extremely unfavorable to us. The media's exaggerations have created serious problems for our recruitment efforts."
With the wretched logistics system, more than a third of British soldiers had fallen ill and could not receive effective treatment. The mortality rate among ordinary wounded soldiers was as high as forty-two percent. Such brutal reality was enough to make anyone recoil.
After the media had artistically embellished it, the Crimean Peninsula had naturally become a living hell. It was hardly strange that the public resisted compulsory military service.
It could be said that if the Russians had been a little wealthier and could drag this on for another three to five years, Britain and France would have no choice but to slink away in disgrace.
This had nothing to do with the war itself. Disease alone could crush the Anglo-French allied forces. No army could withstand the ravages of illness.
George Hamilton Gordon thought for a moment before saying, "Public opinion has been stirred up by the opposition, and it is beyond our control. All we can do now is