A Dream of Jinling Chapter 351 The Profit-Seeker (8)

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After leaving the Prime Minister of the British Empire, Cecil? Councillor Rhodes got into a car and went straight to his home. The climate in the UK is humid all year round, and rain is commonplace. As we enter October, the already humid UK has four of its wettest months.

The sky was cloudy and rainy. The dimly lit environment makes Cecil? Congressman Rhodes felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy. The gas lamps on the street were not lit, the windows of the cars were blurred by raindrops, and the distant qiē outside the window looked hazy and even ghostly. In this dimly lit environment, a bright light suddenly attracted Cecil in the distance? Rhodes's attention. It was the lights of Chinese hospitals and Chinese Taoist temples.

After repeated defeats in the war with China, and in order to maintain the route to India, the British had to accept China's request to open a hospital and a Taoist temple in Britain. This Chinese hospital has a good reputation in the UK, and the Taoist temple not far from the hospital has also become a popular place for some wealthy and intellectual classes because of "occultism", "herbology", "massage", "divination", "funeral rituals", and the famous "gourmet meal" throughout London.

Both places have electric lights, and the gas generator doesn't need a lot of space. Electricity has also made the two buildings brighter and cleaner. This brightness also made Cecil? Rhodes could see seven or eight people walking in at the door, and judging by the color of their coats, they were British. However, these people wore green sermon robes with gossip patterns on their backs, and their hair was tied in a bun on their heads. Two of them were also clearly women. This loose style of clothing makes people completely wrapped in the fabric, but when the wide belt is tucked, the slender figure of the woman is particularly prominent, and the free and easy look is even more feminine.

If it's normal, Cecil? Congressman Rhodes will also have negative feelings out of patriotism. At this time, what came to his mind was something related to Taoist food, that is, Chinese wine. Cecil, who once went to the Taoist temple to "inspect the enemy's situation"? Councillor Rhodes drank a Chinese wine called Xinghua Village, the glass of the wine bottle is of excellent quality, and there is a Chinese poem on the wine bottle, "During the Qingming Festival, it rains a lot, and the pedestrians on the road want to break their souls, so they ask where the restaurant is, and the shepherd boy refers to Xinghua Village." "When the poem was translated into English in Shakespearean style, it caused quite a stir." The three words "want to break the soul" are really written in a thousand words.

Bad weather, bad meeting, in this rainy autumn evening, Cecil? Congressman Rhodes wants nothing more than to embrace what's in the cup.

Home in a moment, Cecil? The mood of the Rhodes MP is even worse. There was a car parked at the door, and by looking at the style of the car and the pattern of the decoration, you could tell that it was a Chinese acquaintance. Sure enough, there were two people waiting in the living room, one was a young man of nearly thirty years old, and he was followed by a charming lady.

"A little gift is not a tribute." The young Chinese said, and the lady next to him picked up two brocade boxes and handed them to Cecil? Rhodes MP.

Cecil? Councillor Rhodes was moved, and then opened the brocade box. In the box on the left are two bottles of emerald green wine, with a multi-angular crystal glass lid with a delicate pattern of kingfisher, and a gilded "Emerald Cold" logo. The box on the right is filled with amber liquor in a glass bottle, and the bottle on the left is filled with the famous "Amber Warm" brand rum in Europe at this time.

Dusky skies, fine rain, cold and humid climate. At this time, you can enjoy a drink with delicate sweets and dried meat, ...... very enjoyable. And yet Cecil? Councillor Rhodes hesitated a little, the rum with cane sugar as the main ingredient was enough, and a few more glasses would be drunk at best. The two bottles of "Jade Cold" on the left are very different. He knew very well that it was absinthe, a spirit with some hallucinogenic effect. The guys who drank absinthe couldn't help but giggle and even do more outrageous things than get drunk.

Just three seconds of thinking, Cecil? Councillor Rhodes pulled out a bottle of Emerald Cold and beckoned the butler to prepare the appetizer.

When you take a sip of absinthe, you will be greeted by the aroma of citrus and the bitter taste of mugwort. Even better, this absinthe isn't as strong as the ones on the market, but because it's much clearer than other absinthes, the alcohol satisfaction is much higher.

"Mr. Zhong, I didn't expect you to get such a wonderful absinthe." Cecil? Congressman Rhodes praised with satisfaction.

"I'm a Chinese wine merchant who does business in Europe, and it's my job to provide first-class wines to my customers." Mr. Zhong also took a sip, and he replied with a satisfied expression.

Cecil? Congressman Rhodes did not speak, Mr. Zhong was theoretically the marketing representative of an Italian brewing company, and the top brass of various countries was deeply impressed by the company, whose largest shareholder was the Chinese state-owned "Erguotou" group, and the technical staff also came from the Erguotou group. The Chinese-invested Italian winery has made a name for itself in recent years with the Chinese luxury cruise platform. "Emerald Cold" is clearly a new brand of distilled absinthe, at least not yet in the upper echelons of the UK. However, the distillery's distilled rum "Amber Warm" has gained a lot of fame in Europe.

"What about the Mr. Wu from before?" Cecil? Congressman Rhodes asked seemingly casually.

"I was in a car accident and was hit by a car and died." Representative Zhong replied calmly.

"What?" Cecil? Congressman Rhodes was stunned. He had met Mr. Wu a few months ago, and the guy was excitedly saying things like "If I don't love the country, I'll let the car crash and die." Cecil? Councillor Rhodes actually likes this Mr. Wu very much, because he is talking to Cecil? Rhodes parliamentarians can always involuntarily stand on the British side when negotiating.

Compared to Mr. Wu, Cecil? Congressman Rhodes particularly disliked Representative Chung. This young Chinese has an indescribable arrogance, especially when it comes to national interests, he refuses to give in to a single step.

Deputy Zhong drank the remaining half glass of wine and ate a fluffy and sweet little brioche bread, and then continued: "Your Excellency, the purpose of my visit this time is to tell you once. My message to me is that we welcome Britain if it is willing to join in the partition of the United States by the end of 1890. ”

Cecil? Councillor Rhodes was silent for a while before asking, "Why did Ken come to that time?" ”

If it was Mr. Wu who came to negotiate, not Cecil? When Congressman Rhodes speaks, he will take the initiative to explain to the congressman the reasons why China is doing this.

Representative Zhong does not take the initiative to speak, but he is not a person who pretends to be deep. Listen to Cecil? Parliamentarian Rhodes asked, and he replied: "We will not have a rough idea of the combat effectiveness of the British Army until the end of next year." I don't believe that when Britain raises its arms, the eastern part of the United States will bow down. Even if the United States suffers heavy losses under our heavy blows, there will still be 20 million people left in the east, and there will be 100,000 men and women who can be sent to the battlefield. Did the British Army really have the strength and determination to completely conquer this force? Is your Army capable of defeating the U.S. Army? We don't have any plans to swallow the United States right now, but if Britain really can't do it, we'll probably have to do it ourselves. ”

Although this is not friendly, it is very good for communication. So much so that Cecil listened? Councillor Rhodes felt uncomfortable for a while, Mr. Wu is really a good person worth remembering, why was he jealous of Yingcai being hit by a car and died? And the British Prime Minister's cousin also made Cecil? Rhodes MP was saddened that the Prime Minister had only sent an expeditionary force of 20,000 and not Cecil? Congressman Rhodes built yì's 200,000-strong expeditionary force.

The Prime Minister's idea was simple: 20,000 British expeditionary forces would be enough to deal with the Boers. Cecil? Councillor Rhodes felt that 20,000 elite British troops were enough to deal with the Boers, and the purpose of sending 200,000 expeditionary troops was to solve the Boers as much as possible and at the same time to demonstrate the combat ability of the large corps. The Americans claim that China has invested millions in the United States, and European countries generally believe this figure.

Believing that China could carry out a joint operation with a large army of one million, those small European countries with populations of only a few million or hundreds of thousands no longer had the idea of opposing China. Even European countries, with a population of tens of millions, are very afraid of this. Germany is the only country in Europe that has the experience of fighting a large corps of hundreds of thousands of troops, and France has only the experience of defeating battles. The last time Britain sent hundreds of thousands of troops to fight was in the Crimean War more than three decades ago. Over the past thirty years, the rifle has been replaced by several generations, and the artillery, as well as various military equipment, has changed even more. The experience of the Crimean War is not instructive for the war that is now breaking out.

The Prime Minister's refusal was simple, "No money!" "Cecil? Congressman Rhodes couldn't deny it, although Cecil? Congressman Rhodes was a true patriot, and he would not object to it if he could make a war entirely out of his own pocket. But the cost of the 200,000 expeditionary force is really large, although it does not exceed Cecil? Congressman Rhodes's ambitions, but completely beyond Cecil? The personal financial resources of the Rhodes parliamentarians.

Not in a good mood, Cecil? Councillor Rhodes poured himself another glass of absinthe and drank it down. The extraordinarily crisp quality brings out the strong aroma of fennel and the refreshing taste of absinthe. The taste of more than a dozen spices in it does not dominate, but it can unabashedly show its own storage, so that the taste of the wine is far-reaching and long-lasting, but it is not muddy. The euphoric satisfaction characteristic of vermouth is strong enough in this "Emerald Cold".

Cecil? After two small glasses, Congressman Rhodes asked Representative Zhong, "What is the price of this wine?" ”

Representative Zhong didn't talk nonsense, and directly took out a beautifully printed list of names from the first layer of the Italian-made cowhide briefcase and handed it to Cecil? Congressman Rhodes, "It's all on top." ”

Looked at the price, Cecil? Congressman Rhodes only felt familiar. All the mid-to-high-end luxury goods offered by the Chinese are not expensive, and the middle class can enjoy them once in two or three months if they are willing to grit their teeth. Mining magnate Cecil? Councillor Rhodes doesn't even frown at the price.

It's just that a lot of industries have such a problem, Cecil? Congressman Rhodes can only admit that the Chinese are moving step by step towards Europe and North America, and sitting down firmly in front of the powerful countries in Europe and North America. In the face of China's advance, the United States is desperately resisting. How long can a European country, which is still calm, maintain such a non-concern for itself?

These uneasiness in Cecil? The thought in the mind of the Rhodes parliamentarian boiled down to one, "Britain must carve up the United States"!