A person cannot be a good person or a bad person at the same time, a person must be a good person in the eyes of some people and a bad person in the eyes of others. The same is true for the state.

In February 1874, as the economic crisis dragged on, a storm of discussion about China in Britain swept across the English Channel and landed on the European continent. In the beginning, the newspapers on the European continent had a lively attitude, and the relevant content was placed in the social section of the lace news. German newspapers don't even talk about this radical republicanism.

Britain is worthy of being the most developed industrial country in the world at this time, from 1788 to the present, more than a dozen rounds of economic crises have erupted, large and small, and the aristocrats and capitalists who have held the British power have been trying to find a complete solution to the economic crisis. However, the scale of the economic crisis is growing, and it is affecting more and more areas. From the textile industry to the speculative industry, from light industry to heavy industry. From domestic to foreign, from local administration to state power. No field can escape the blow of the economic crisis, and no system can survive the impact of the economic crisis.

The more they learned about the Chinese system, the more eye-catching the British aristocracy and capitalists became. However, the British upper echelons, who have accumulated rich experience in economic crises, do see that the Chinese system has a huge advantage in dealing with crises. The British intelligentsia was more active. Because of the republican issues, the British newspapers initially only published articles attacking the republican tendencies. When the British intelligentsia began to discuss how the Chinese system would respond to the economic crisis, the big newspapers began to sit still.

We will not talk about China's system or ideas, but only about some of China's specific means. This discussion led to a surge in the sales of some of the small and medium-sized newspapers involved in the debate. The Economist is a magazine published by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. in London, founded in September 1843 by James 61 Wilson. Most of the magazine's articles are witty, humorous, powerful, serious and witty, and focus on how to tell the reader the most information in the smallest amount of space.

Just by looking at the name, it was a newspaper aimed at the intellectual class. The Economist has been involved in this debate from the very beginning, and most importantly, in the discussion, the Economist has pioneered a discussion model that only talks about the means, only the phenomenon, and not the behind. While not touching the British ruling class, but also in response to the mood of the anxious British people, sales among the literate working class skyrocketed, and its influence skyrocketed.

The big British newspapers couldn't take it anymore, and they finally plunged headlong into the discussion. As soon as various specious solutions were announced, newspapers in Europe, also affected by the economic crisis, began to follow suit.

Uncle Ma saw these problems very thoroughly, and his evaluation was that "monopoly began to progress from spontaneous to conscious!" ”

Weeser's economic model is an outright government-controlled monopoly, and Europe, regardless of China's land state ownership system, or the political and social systems that go along with this basic system, see the efficiency of this monopoly. Capital needs the market, and by completely controlling the market through monopoly, the ability to control the economic crisis will be fully strengthened. With data support, the judgment of the market will be more forward-looking and predictable. In the eyes of capitalists, such actions can bring the possibility of a more rational face to market fluctuations, and even solve the economic crisis.

Uncle Ma has long read Wei Ze's article on the economic crisis and the three major cycles of the economy, and what he is looking forward to is to see how Wei Ze will respond to China's economic crisis in the future. As for the tinker's skills that were far inferior to Wei Ze's level, Uncle Ma didn't even bother to make an evaluation immediately.

The shift in the direction of public opinion in Britain and even in Europe has finally made life better for Chinese ambassadors to European countries. After a few months of low-keying, the British masses dispersed and normal work could finally continue. The Europeans, especially the British, have a strong sense of self-esteem, and economists and intellectuals have given their own names to the solutions derived from Chinese policy. XX economics, XX jazz solutions, dazzling solutions have come out, and under the operation of financial resources and connections, they have begun to try to seek various benefits for individuals or groups. And China then went into the background, at least out of the center of the maelstrom.

Of course, this detachment is limited. The attitude of the British ruling class towards China has become even more hostile, which is based on institutional, ideological, economic conflicts. The impact of the crisis in the UK is not so great for the time being, because the UK has the most experience in dealing with economic crises. As the old Chinese saying goes, once you are snaked, you are afraid of the well rope for ten years. The bite economic crisis occurs once every ten years, and the last economic crisis broke out in 1867-1868. There is still a deep fear of speculation in the UK, and the dangers of over-investment, so the economic crisis has not been too intense. But China seems to have found a way to overcome its economic crisis, which means that China can invest without restrictions, and with the rapid growth that China has shown in the past two decades, how far will China develop in another two decades?

In April 1874, a grim discussion began in the House of Lords about how to deal with China's rise. The Russians have been wailing for the past two years, and after the Chinese army seized Heilongjiang, they began to send small forces to sweep the Russian strongholds in the Far East. Moreover, the Chinese Navy is not satisfied with seizing Heilongjiang, the Chinese fleet has already reached the Bering Sea, pulling out the stronghold of the Russians into the Pacific Ocean. In Alaska in the summer, Chinese appeared.

"China, like Russia, has an incomparably greedy pursuit of land. If the Chinese seize Alaska, they will have a border with Canada. The noble councillor said in a heavy tone.

The Russians' greed for land is well known, and China has always been seen as an aging Eastern empire. After the change of throne in the Eastern Empire, the newly appointed Emperor Weezer showed no weaker greed than Russia.

The aristocratic parliamentarian continued: "China has declared that it will build another 3,000 kilometers of railways in 1874. A very important railway will reach Qiqihar. After the railway was built, China was only a few hundred miles away from what they called the Nebuchu border. Russia is thousands of miles away, do you think China will stop at Nebuchu? ”

There was a burst of chuckles in the room. The conflict between China and Vietnam is proof enough to prove that a force of several thousand men is not lucky enough to be attacked by Chinese troops a few hundred kilometers from the Chinese border. So it is with the French, and so will it with the Russians. Russia is not the only country on the northern ice sheet, but Canada in the United Kingdom is also on the northern ice sheet. So the British are very aware of the situation in that place. As long as the industrialized countries with large populations in the South continue to send troops into the North to carry out killings, the countries of the North will not be able to withstand this war of attrition. Russia's wailing for the past two years is entirely due to such tactics adopted by China. As the Russian strongholds were pulled out one by one, it was only a matter of time before Russia lost the Far East.

"We should ask China to express its attitude on this matter and not to invade Russia!" Some parliamentarians proposed.

"Then we must first convince Russia to recognize the Treaty of Nebuchu. Do you think the Russians will agree now? Immediately, some parliamentarians put forward their own opinions.

It is not the character of the Russians for Russia to be beaten like this, and then to expect Russia to admit it obediently. Not to mention that even if the Russians recognize it, will the Chinese, who already have a huge advantage, recognize it? China does not even need to immediately force the Russians to cede the Far East, as long as China actually controls the Far East at this stage, with the current situation of conflict between countries, sooner or later there will be an opportunity for a great reckoning.

Since China is unlikely to back down, Britain will probably have to play hard. But it's easy to say it's easy, but it's not easy to do it at all. In the current economic crisis, who will pay for the military?

Military spending on the grounds of defending Russia? This joke is too boundless. The parliamentarians, of course, were unwilling, and they were well aware that the Russians would not pay a penny to the British. For now, it is unrealistic to expect compensation from China for land cession. Without the reparations for the cession of land, Britain lost the possibility of making a fortune from the war. The remaining interest that can be considered is to teach China a lesson by striking at China.

China's rise is too fast, and if China continues to develop so unscrupulously, in a few years, I am afraid that the cost of Britain's lesson to China will become even greater.

"As far as we know, China now has about 30 ironclad ships, including six 6,000-ton ironclad ships...... "The hard-line lawmaker began to introduce China's naval capabilities.

Many parliamentarians showed contempt on their faces after hearing this, and the British navy in 1870-1871 was 9,013,000 pounds, and the total tonnage of naval ships was 633,000 tons. Such a small Chinese fleet is very fierce in Asia, and compared with the British Royal Navy, it is just a drizzle. The Royal Navy can send the Chinese Navy to the bottom of the sea in every minute. While it is difficult to contain China on land, there is no problem at sea. In particular, the parliamentarians of the British Empire were well aware of the recent discussion. The means to solve the economic crisis are the goals that governments are striving for in this day and age. Even if the British Empire cannot be realized for the time being, there is no reason for the Chinese to achieve it calmly.

Some parliamentarians simply and frankly incited: "Strike at the naval power of the Chinese, buy time for the British Empire, and when we adjust our domestic problems, we can further let China know that they are not our opponents at all." ”

After voting, the motion to launch a maritime strike against China did not receive enough votes.

The parliamentarians of the main war faction were puzzled by the choice of the opposing parliamentarians, and the opposing parliamentarians also frankly expressed their opinions, "If it is only an attack from the sea, it means that we will blockade China's coast for a long time, and how long will it take for the Chinese to give in?" Three years? Five years? Decade? What do we gain but to constantly consume our strength? It is just a disruption of China's trade with other countries. At present, China's development does not depend on trade with other countries. Our aim is not to block trade between China and other countries, but to establish our dominance in the Western Pacific. This war may not achieve its goal. ”

Britain has done a good job of meritocracy, at least democratically within Parliament. The debate over the issue lasted for more than a month, during which time the British Parliament narrowly passed the new bill after three votes. In the new proposal, Britain blocks the Strait of Malacca and other important shipping lanes to the Indian Ocean, and does not allow Chinese ships to pass through. Strengthen relations with Japan and take the Republic of Ezo first if possible. If China resisted the slightest, Britain annihilated the Chinese navy and shelled Chinese coastal cities.

The war is finally ready to begin.