On November 20, 1881, it was already cold in Istanbul, and although the Ottoman Stock Exchange had newly installed "new" heating facilities provided by China, the hearts of securities traders were almost at freezing point. Stocks in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom are all plummeting. Sell, sell, sell, all traders are under a lot of pressure.

Official Ottoman diplomatic relations with China were so-so, but stock traders did not like China because of this, and many of them were swearing curses about China. The devastation of the British fleet was widely cited by Ottoman traders as the root cause of the stock crash.

Not far from the Ottoman Stock Exchange is the Ottoman Central Bank. China's "new" heating has also been installed, the fireplace and other heating equipment have stopped working, and the heating system consisting of boilers and cast iron radiators provides a comfortable temperature and avoids choking odors.

Inside the central bank, Chinese representatives and the Ottoman finance minister are discussing a long-planned railway network system.

The representative of China had completed the previous statement, at which point he stated his final conclusion: "It is no longer possible for Britain to prevent the construction of the Basra Railway, which is ready to begin." ”

The Ottoman chancellor of the exchequer did not show an optimistic expression, and China, which began to infiltrate the Middle East, made the Ottoman Empire feel great pressure. And the Ottoman Empire was, after all, a big country, and the interests of a great power were never pure. When Russia tried to invade the Ottoman Empire, Britain was the biggest supporter behind the Ottoman Empire. After the partition of Central Asia between China and Russia, there were signs of peace.

Seeing the expression of the Ottoman Chancellor, the Chinese representative began to intimidate the sick man of Europe, "I think Your Excellency should have heard that Russia has already begun to attack the Ottoman Empire again. The defeat of the last time not only did not frighten the Russians, but gave Russia a strong intention to take revenge. They are provoking the Armenians, provoking the Arabs in the Persian Gulf. If there is no railway network, how is your country prepared to deal with the locals? And even if Britain supported the Ottoman Empire when Russia attacked the Ottoman Empire, they would be happy to see the Persian Gulf region break away from the Ottoman Empire. With your wisdom, I'm sure you know very well what this network means. ”

The Ottoman Chancellor of Finance was certainly wise, and his wisdom was enough to distinguish that China was not a pure angel either. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said: "Your country's request for concessions in the Basra region is not considered appropriate by our country. ”

The Chinese persuaded in a tone of hatred that iron does not make steel: "If we build the railway, all the supplies will have to be transported to Basra by sea." How could we possibly stand without a concession? If the British come to us, how can we resist? ”

This reason was so far-fetched that the Ottoman finance minister shook his head repeatedly, "Our country really cannot accept such a request." No matter how much the Chinese envoy coerced and lured him next, the Ottoman finance minister resolutely refused to agree.

Seeing that he couldn't talk about getting a foothold in Basra, the Chinese envoy said in a broken way: "Our country needs to have a foothold in the Persian Gulf now, if you don't let us go to Basra, then we have to give us a piece of land near there, let us settle down!" If this requirement cannot be realized, Japan will have to adopt a neutral attitude in many places. ”

The threat was very real, and if China remained neutral, the Ottoman Empire would have to face Russia on its own. After the defeat of Britain, Russia could not have said nothing about it. The Black Sea Fleet has already made moves in these days. Even though the Black Sea Fleet was inferior to the Ottoman Empire, they tried to get close to the Ottoman fleet.

The Ottoman Minister of Finance pretended to be in deep thought, and after a while he said: "Your country can go to Kuwait County and establish its own moorings. The location is very good. ”

"Kuwait County?" The Chinese envoy asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Kuwait County is a county under Basra Governorate, very close to Basra. The terrain is flat and easily accessible. The proximity to Basra made it ideal for setting up warehouses to store materials for the construction of railways. The Ottoman finance minister tried to fan.

"Is it really as good as you say? Then we'll have to take a look. The Chinese envoy said suspiciously.

"You can see it clearly on the map." The Ottoman finance minister had no intention of letting the Chinese envoy visit the site at all.

"You point to where Kuwait County is." The Chinese envoy wanted to be sure. After seeing the location that the Ottoman finance minister reluctantly pointed out, the Chinese envoy said angrily: "Isn't it a desert?!" ”

Nonsense! The Ottoman finance minister said in his heart, how could the Ottoman Empire allow China to gain a foothold in Basrazha. Kuwait County originally belonged to the Sabah family, which gained control in 1756 and established the Emirate of Kuwait. In 1822 the British Governor moved from Basra to Kuwait. In 1871 it became a county in the Ottoman province of Basra.

Kuwait County is a nail that the British are trying to dig in the Persian Gulf, and since China is at war with Britain, let China and Britain fight for it here. Basra is located on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab 61 at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, 55 kilometers south of the Persian Gulf. This rich and vital place was the core city of the Persian Gulf controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and how could it be acceptable to let people from other countries entrench here.

The two sides withdrew for a long time, and seeing the resolute attitude of the Ottoman Empire's finance minister, the Chinese envoy could only say that he would go back and report to the central authorities first. The Minister of Finance of the Ottoman Empire also beat the side drum, "Please hurry up, there are many people in the court who oppose the matter of leasing Kuwait County, and we are also making a decision under pressure, if your country hesitates, I am afraid that this matter will be uncertain." ”

Under the persecution of the Ottoman Empire, the Chinese envoy could only consult with the Chinese ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and finally signed the treaty. China built a railway network for the Ottoman Empire free of charge, and in return, the Ottoman Empire agreed to lease Kuwait to China for 10 years. The renewal of the lease will be negotiated between the two countries at a later date.

On December 10, after the agreement was formally signed, the Chinese envoy returned to China. The telegram immediately sent the news back to China, and the Central Committee immediately ordered the ambassador to Britain to negotiate with the British.

At this time, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Lu Cheng, was not in London. Britain has a wealth of diplomatic experience, and at the moment of defeat and economic crisis, they have not made the slightest concession. Reckless concessions at this time will only give China a chance to reap more benefits, so in the first round of negotiations, both sides said their own things and frankly expressed their positions, and the negotiations ended without a hitch.

The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Lu Cheng, did not force the UK to take a stand, he simply went on a trip. The destination of the trip is Glasgow, which is located in Scotland.

By the beginning of the 16th century, Glasgow had become an important religious and academic city, and an important center of Scottish trade with the Americas, from which merchants imported large quantities of American tobacco and sugar from the Caribbean, which were then resold to the British Isles and other parts of continental Europe. The deepening of the River Clyde in the 1770s allowed larger ships to sail further upstream, which gave a direct boost to the boom of Glasgow industry, particularly shipbuilding, in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, Glasgow had become known as the "second city of the British Empire". At that time, most of the world's ships and trains were made in Glasgow.

On December 12, the minimum temperature in Glasgow had dropped below 0 degrees, and Chinese Ambassador Lu Cheng sat in a warm carriage and circled the neighborhood centered on the Glasgow Bank. It's not that Lu Cheng doesn't want to get off at the main entrance of the Glasgow Bank, but too many people are blocking the bank at this time, and they are demanding that the Glasgow Bank pay their deposits in the bank.

Ambassador Lu Cheng looked at the surging crowd on the street and yawned leisurely. In the middle of winter, everyone is holding their hands, and white mist is sprayed from their mouths and noses. Judging by the clothing, most of the people who ask Glasgow banks to pay their deposits are urban classes such as workers and small businessmen. They are very emotional, and they are angry or frustrated. What can be seen from Lu Cheng's position is that a large number of police are surrounding the bank, and it seems that he does not want the crowd to rush into the bank.

"Ambassador Lu, let's go back and wait for news first." The accompanying guard persuaded. Recently, because of the war, Britain has been very unfriendly to China. In addition, British newspapers have repeatedly scolded China as the main culprit of the economic crisis, which has made the already sensitive nerves of the British masses even more fragile. Fragility means out of control, and there have been many conflicts between British people and Chinese in Britain. Ambassador Lu Cheng came to Glasgow in the name of condolences to the Chinese students. Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is one of the ten oldest universities in the world. Many Chinese students study at this school.

Of course, Ambassador Lu Cheng's real purpose is to see the situation. It would be nice if, as China had hoped, the debt-ridden Glasgow Bank collapsed. The Bank of Glasgow does business with too many local manufacturing companies, many of which rely entirely on the financial services provided by the Bank of Glasgow. So it won't be a bank that will fail, and the financial services system of Britain's important train manufacturing industry will be hit hard, causing chaos for quite some time.

At such a time, the presence of the Chinese ambassador in Glasgow is also a reminder to the British not to think that China does not know the details of the United Kingdom.

Ambassador Lu Cheng stayed in Glasgow until 15 December. At half past ten in the morning, the embassy staff in charge of collecting intelligence rushed into the conference room with a happy face, and he excitedly shouted: "The Bank of Glasgow has declared bankruptcy at half past nine!" ”

"Excellent! Very good! Lu Cheng stood up with a happy face, "I'm going to go back to London and continue negotiations with the British!" ”