"Since ancient times, wars have paid attention to terrain, and the military bonus of the high-rise geographical environment is very obvious, if the Russian forces completely occupy Afghanistan, he can condescend to look at the entire Ganges Great Plain, your British navy is powerful, but what is the level of your army, I think you know much better than me, Prime Minister......"

"Hehe, please listen to me, the topic is back to the Trans-Siberian Railway, now the Russians still have to support the spokesperson of Central Asia to invade Xinjiang, the fundamental reason is that their own troops, material transportation capacity is not up to it, if Moscow's railway line can lead to the Pamirs, I think they must not mind doing it themselves......"

"This railway has brought more changes than this, you should remember that after the end of the Crimean War, it was the opportunity of the British and French forces to capture the city of Beijing, the Russians took advantage of the fire to loot and extort a million square kilometers of land from the Qing State, and there was a great gift that made the Russians ecstatic..."

"What's that? I want the Prime Minister to tell me that answer...... That's right, it's Vladivostok, which the Chinese call Vladivostok ..."

Earl Derby still has half a point of arrogance there now, his facial expression has become more and more severe, after all, he is a veteran politician, and he has received an elite education since he was a child, and he has already guessed the subtext in Xiao Letian's words.

At this time, Xiao Letian seemed to be talking to himself, and poured himself a glass of wine as he spoke: "Vladivostok, an excellent deep-water port, warships can dock safely no matter how large the tonnage, and the ice period is only three months in a year...... Hehe, you British can't look down on this kind of geographical environment, but for the Russians, it's already a big treasure......"

"Look at how shrewd the Russians are, they sold Alaska to the United States, won the support of the Americans, and then found such a good military port in the Sea of Japan, what is this for? This is the rhythm of the struggle for hegemony in the Pacific Ocean......

"Dreaming—" The Earl of Derby slapped the table and stood up, forgetting the gout at his ankle for a moment, and going round the rose bush without even a cane.

"Enough, don't be alarmist, the Russians want to snatch maritime interests with our British Empire, that's a dream ... This group of polar bears and double-headed eagles, their only fate is to guard the wind and snow of the Arctic Ocean and eat frozen meat, and they want to compete with our British Empire for warm seas, they are just dreaming......"

Xiao Lotian saw that the fire was coming, and then he also slapped the table, "Yes... How dare these self-sufficient Russians challenge the maritime interests of the British Empire, and how dare they touch the Pacific Ocean?

"But I would like to ask, is Britain not responsible for the present situation, and if you had not taught these Russians a hard lesson at the Black Sea, would they have turned their gaze to the East?"

"What do you mean? Are we teaching the Russians in the Crimea, and we are teaching us the wrong lesson? Are you reprimanding us?" the Earl of Derby's eyes stood up at once.

"No, no, no, of course I don't mean that, I'm just showing you the fact that the Russians have reached out to the Pacific, and is the British Empire ready?

Earl Derby was speechless for a moment, he blinked and looked at Xiao Letian, and this time there was no ridicule and contempt, he had completely understood the true intention of Xiao Letian's words.

Britain was indeed powerful in this era, but it was not so big that it controlled the whole world with one hand, and different regions had different degrees of importance in Britain's national strategy.

The Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean are the most important areas controlled by the United Kingdom, after all, it is impossible to hold the door of the house, just like the Crimean War, the Russians just touched the door frame of the Mediterranean, and let Britain and France chop it up.

The South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, which are the second most important areas controlled by the United Kingdom, have too many British national interests in Black Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, and Britain will not give up the hegemony of these two waters.

The third most important region is East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia, a huge territory where the core of the United Kingdom is in Hong Kong, and the wider Pacific Ocean...... The British really couldn't think of any benefit.

From such a ranking, it can be found that Britain's military strength is actually the lowest in East Asia, and the Pacific people are not bothered to deal with it at all. If, according to Xiao Letian's judgment, the Russians are ready to increase the construction of the Pacific Navy, then the British Empire will follow suit and increase investment.

Ay...... As soon as I thought of this, the Earl of Derby had a headache, although Britain had a big family, but there were too many places to spend money, and it was really not worth it to engage in an arms race with the Russians in the Pacific.

Prime Minister Derby's lips squirmed several times, and he wanted to say something but couldn't organize the words.

It was only at this time that Xiao Le found the long-lost initiative in negotiations, and he began to continue to pour medicine in his heart, "Haha, of course, the Pacific Ocean is nothing to Britain, it doesn't matter whether it is for Russia or the United States, except for a few worthless islands, there is no interest in this empty sea area to attract you ......"

"However, I still have to remind that the Russians are not whales either, they cannot live by drinking seawater, and building a strong fleet is still for profit in the final analysis...... Either commercial interests, or simply territory, the greed of the tsars of the past that you British do not understand?"

"It is foreseeable that when the Trans-Siberian Railway is built, the naval base in Vladivostok will also develop rapidly, and they will even build the railway to the area outside the customs of the Manchu Qing Dynasty...... Don't look at me with such eyes, with the cowardice of the Manchu court, I don't think they dare to stop it......"

"At that time, the Russians will cross the Korean Peninsula and the Sea of Japan and seize a port directly on the Liaodong Peninsula in China, a place where I think the Russians are already eyeing by now...... That's the Port of Arthur... An excellent natural deep-water ice-free port..."

At this point, Earl Derby snapped his fingers at the secretary in the distance, and shouted "Maps...", and soon several thick maps were carried over, and the one from which Derby picked out East Asia was spread out on the long dining table, not caring at all about the oily seafood below.

"Lushunkou...... Where is it? You show me, and why do you say that the Russians have been staring at this place for a long time?"

Xiao Lotian smiled bitterly and nodded with his finger on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, "This is it...... As for why? Do you need to ask, this is a natural deep-water ice-free port, and you can choose whether you want it or not?"

The Earl of Derby no longer asked, and third-rate military experts could see the importance of the pincer-shaped geographical location of the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula. If the Russians had a naval base here, I am afraid that there would be no place for the British in North China.

"If Lushunkou becomes a modern naval base, not only China, but also Korea and Japan will become the sphere of influence of the Russians......

"Wait..."Earl Derby suddenly raised his hand to stop Xiao Letian's words, "Mr. Xiao, I don't understand, you are exaggerating the threat of the Russians, what is the connection between this and our negotiation......s? Can you deal with the Russians, or can you protect the interests ......of the British Empire?

The old fox is the old fox, such a complicated circle didn't stun him, and he still understood Xiao Letian's subtext at the last moment.

However, Xiao Letian didn't care that the plan was discovered, he didn't answer immediately, but poured himself a glass of beer, and after half a cup, he said with a smile, "Why not?"

"Hahaha...... I'm laughing to death, I admit that you Chinese did a good job in the two battles on the Franco-Swiss border and the Stonebridge Heights, and we were really impressed...... Hahaha, but now you say you can stop the Russians? hahaha......"

The Earl of Derby seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, and he couldn't straighten up, "I admit it...... I'll admit that you can think of such a breakthrough in negotiations...... Indeed, it is very innovative...... But, hahaha......"

Xiao Letian listened to the other party's ridicule, his face gradually became solemn, and after more than three minutes, he suddenly put the wine glass on the table.

"Okay, pay attention to who you are as prime minister, it's not funny...... You think I'm bragging, but I don't think so..."

"Under the skies of East Asia, who else can stop the pace of the Russians? Do you expect the Qing Dynasty? Agubai has already reached the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and they have not even had a shadow of reinforcements so far, and the flames of civil war in the Central Plains have not been completely extinguished, do you think you can rely on them?"

"Who else is left? Japan or Korea? They are not as good as the Manchus...... In the whole of East Asia, I will not say who is the most powerful, but I would like to ask you, Prime Minister, who has the most advanced concepts in East Asia? Who understands the essence of modern civilization the most? Who understands the power of industry? Who knows what it means to control the sea?"

Xiao Lotian cocked his thumb and said to himself, "It's just me, it's only me in the whole of Asia..."

"In East Asia, only I, Xiao Letian, know how to make a country rich and strong, and only I know how to systematically engage in industry in East Asia...... The most important thing is that I am Xiao Letian alone, who knows how to fight a modern war, and has personally fought a ...... in Europe."

Xiao Letian roared arrogantly: "Who else can you choose in East Asia? Who else can you count on? If you British are willing to increase troops in East Asia, if you are willing to confront the Russians for ten or twenty years, if you are willing to engage in this bottomless pit arms race, then even if I, Xiao Letian, have not said anything......

"But as long as you British can't teach the Russians a hands-on lesson, as long as you still need a strongman to keep the situation in East Asia stable...... Then I will tell you clearly, there is no second ally in this ally but me..."

"Raise your head and take a good look at me, my name is Xiao Letian, I am the strongest man in East Asia..."Xiao Letian almost used the strength of his lungs to roar, "Don't you want to imprison me in Europe? I don't care, I would like to see the defeat of you British in East Asia..."

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, the first time to see the genuine content!R405