The influence of the British foreign minister in the diplomacy of European countries is not small, and in the Balkans there is a posture of continued division, and the current division is now divided into more than a dozen small countries. Britain clearly expressed its support for the Ottoman Empire to stabilize the situation.

While maintaining a pro-British posture, the Ottoman Empire extended an invitation to China, one of the epicenters of the tremor, to invite Chinese Foreign Minister Li Xin to visit the Ottoman Empire. In this world, the only two great powers that can openly express their support for the integrity of the Ottoman Empire are Britain and China.

In Constantinople, the Ottoman Prime Minister Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha personally received Li Xin. After the meeting, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha held Li Xin's hand tightly and said seriously: "Your Excellency, I thank you very much after reading the telegram ten days ago! ”

"What we talk to the British is that when the British put forward this plan at an international conference, we will express our agreement with the British proposal." Li Xin emphasized the consensus reached between China and Britain to the Ottoman Prime Minister Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha.

Recently, there have been many telegrams to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Xin for confirmation. Although he realized that China's diplomatic experience was relatively shallow, he was put aside by the British. However, the result of the discussion in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was that there was no room for regret in such a matter. If Russia and Britain want to be honest, it depends on China's strength. However, fantasies not to offend Russia or Britain are not human beings. Unless China cuts off exchanges with all countries in the world behind closed doors, as long as it deals with the world, it will inevitably have all kinds of contradictions and frictions with other countries on this planet full of contradictions.

This time, he was put on the side by the British, and Li Xin knew that the British were also forced to do so. However, being played like this, Li Xin's displeasure is also very strong. But this is an account that can only be settled after finding the British, and the anger of the Ottoman Empire is obviously the wrong target.

The convening of an international conference means that the great powers have to reach an agreement at the negotiating table. As long as the great powers could unanimously reach a resolution in favor of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire would be truly at peace. Li Xin's statement made the Imperial Prime Minister Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha full of joy. If this conference had been convened, at least two countries would have supported the Ottoman Empire. This was a great thing for the Ottoman Empire.

Identifying this biggest problem, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha talked about the second thing, about the trade imbalance between the two countries. Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha said frankly: "Our country has imported too many goods from your country, and now it has reached the point where it has to borrow. So we hope that your country will be able to make some adjustments in that regard. I'm under too much pressure right now, and I hope that Your Excellency the Foreign Minister will be able to do so."

Li Xin smiled and said, "If your country is willing to let our country station troops in the Basra area......

"It's absolutely not going to work!" Without waiting for Li Xin to finish speaking, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha immediately rejected the suggestion.

This is a reply that Li Xin could have considered a long time ago, and he said: "Either so, your country will extend our lease of Kuwait for at least 30 years. We can pay a lump sum of 30 years' rent to your country. In addition, oil fields have been discovered in the vicinity of Basra and are under construction. When the extracted oil is shipped to our country, we can pay your country RMB for every barrel of oil. Your country can use the renminbi to trade directly with our country, and all problems can be solved. ”

Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha considered Li Xin's suggestion, and the first two were easy to say. There is really no significant value in that desert area of Kuwait, and the only thing that can be called important is probably the geographical location. The British controlled India and had great influence in southern Persia, and if China wanted to have a foothold in the Persian Gulf to confront the British, it had no choice but Kuwait.

The principle of unanimity among the great powers was a terrible thing, and when the great powers unanimously reached a decision in favor of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire naturally benefited greatly from it. But once one of the great powers in the Ottoman Empire got the benefits of breaking the bottom line, the other powers would fall from the sky like vultures that smelled carrion, and demanded that the Ottoman Empire "treat other countries fairly". This is why the Ottoman Empire categorically refused to allow China to obtain concessions in the Basra region. The emergence of a Chinese concession means that many countries will soon have concessions in the Basra region.

"Since your country buys so many goods from our country, and we will buy a lot of oil from your country, why should the trade between our two countries be traded in pounds? Don't Your Excellency the Prime Minister think this proposal is outrageous? Li Xin immediately expressed a completely different view.

"We need the pound now." The most creditworthy currency in Europe is the pound sterling, and Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha is not prepared to make any concessions in this regard.

Li Xin was not frightened, he found a compromise plan, "We can pay off the 30-year concession fee in pounds at once." But in the oil trade, we insist on trading in yuan. It doesn't involve any transactions with third countries, but trade between our two countries, I think it's best to use the currency between our two countries. ”

"No, we still need pounds." The prime minister has no intention of backing down.

"So in this way, 95% of the oil trade is paid in yuan and 5% in pounds." Li Xin made a concession again.

This time, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha felt that this plan had merit, and after thinking for a while, he said: "30% in yuan, 70% in pounds." ”

"90% yuan, 10% pounds." Li Xin began to counteroffer.

After three days of discussions, Li Xin and Ahmet 61 Midhat Pashada finally came up with a solution. When Basra's oil began to be exported to China, China paid 50 percent yuan and 50 percent pound sterling for the first year. From the second year onwards, the proportion of payments in pounds sterling will be reduced by 5% per year, and the proportion of payments in yuan will be increased by 5%. Until the proportion of RMB payments reaches 80% and the proportion of GBP payments is reduced to 20%.

After the agreement was negotiated, Li Xin was overjoyed, and Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha was very unhappy. Regardless of how the Chinese recognized and cherished their own currency, the Ottoman Empire undoubtedly saw it as an alliance under the city. Unlike other countries, China's renminbi is in a sense "paper silver". Theoretically, the renminbi is pegged to silver, but it is only theoretical. There is no way to convert the renminbi directly into silver, let alone be pegged to gold, as is the current mainstream model of world currencies.

The British pound is bullish because you can go to the Bank of England to exchange gold and silver bullion with the pound. In recent years, Russia's industrial development has relied on the money from the sale of land. Britain survived the economic crisis, also because of the money from the sale of land. But China has no collateral other than a large number of commodities, and the monetary properties represented by those fine pieces of paper are really very limited. Credit is very limited, at least internationally. If it weren't for the fact that the Ottoman Empire really wanted China now, the Imperial Prime Minister Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha would not have agreed to such a condition anyway.

In order to balance the mentality, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha asked China to give the Ottomans an additional fifty locomotives and 400 train cars. Li Xin smiled: "Please use RMB to pay the deposit." ”

To such a joke, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha finally smiled bitterly. When China helped the Ottoman Empire build a railway network, the upper echelons of the Ottoman Empire realized that they had underestimated the people's need for travel. If you need to travel back and forth on the road for half a month, of course, people choose to avoid it. If the same distance is shortened to two days, rail transport is immediately faced with a huge number of passengers. The Ottoman Empire itself did not have the capacity to produce locomotive heads, nor did it have the ability to produce the chassis of train carriages. All the Ottomans could do was to produce wooden carriages on the chassis according to the drawings. And it must be noted that even the train carriages that traveled thousands of miles from China were much cheaper than those produced in the Ottoman Empire.

After listening to Li Xin's joke, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha can be regarded as finding another reason for himself to accept the yuan. Regardless of whether other countries refuse to accept the renminbi, at least the Chinese will not refuse to accept it.

Leaving the Ottomans with rich diplomatic achievements, Li Xin transmitted the results to China by wireless telegraph, and he himself went straight to Berlin. It was Prime Minister Bismarck who received Li Xin in Berlin, and no matter what the world thinks of Prime Minister Bismarck, Li Xin does not think that Prime Minister Bismarck is a prime minister who "only knows iron and blood".

The Chinese Emperor Wei Ze was also a very iron-blooded leader, but this does not mean that Wei Ze will solve everything by force. The achievements of promoting the country in culture, education, science and technology, and people's livelihood are far better than Wei Ze's military achievements. The systematic construction of a nationwide food system is not based on bayonets, but on technology and hard work.

The same was true of Prime Minister Bismarck, a man who was considered a very good diplomat in Europe before he became famous for his war. In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, the prime minister pushed diplomacy to the limit. In the past, European diplomats were concentrated in London and Paris, and after the Franco-Prussian War, France's national power was dealt a heavy blow. The places where European diplomats often run are now London and Berlin.

His Majesty Wei Ze's Wenzhi also has a strong military-like style, and China's urban architecture pursues efficiency, and the appearance is certainly somewhat monotonous. But the wide streets and neatly planned living areas do show the atmosphere. This was not the first time Li Xin had been to Berlin, and Berlin in 1885 finally made Li Xin feel that he was starting to get rid of the feeling of being in the middle of the city and the countryside.

The reason why I underestimate Berlin is because the streets of Berlin are so narrow and crooked. The houses on both sides of the street have a European flair, but they don't have the strong industrial society of China. And now Berlin is a little bit better. At least the main street has been widened.

Before meeting Prime Minister Bismarck, Li Xin also adjusted his emotions. Both Britain and the Ottomans had their own strong positions, and everyone could bargain without intrigue. Germany's position is too delicate in Europe, which means that Chancellor Bismarck's position is as difficult to grasp as a dancer on a tightrope. People who walk on the big road can't really understand what it's like to walk on a tightrope.