"Spain's islands near the South China Sea were seized by us from the Spaniards and must be owned by China." Weese spoke frankly to the British envoy about the colonialist position.

"Are you sure you won't continue to expand your territory in China?" Since Weeser spoke from a colonial standpoint, the British envoy also answered from a colonialist standpoint. If Weeser could not fully recognize the dominance of the British in the Western Pacific, there would be no need to discuss the question.

Weeser knew very well what the British were thinking, and he replied calmly: "Our Chinese foreign operations in the Western Pacific, except for the Spaniards, will invite Britain to participate in the discussion." In this matter we can sign an agreement. ”

At this time, the western Pacific planed out of the Spaniards, and the three that remained were the British, Dutch, and Chinese. Of course, there are some local sultanates, but that "state" is not really considered a state. They were allowed to be stored only for the convenience of the British and Dutch to rule the region.

The envoy was a little embarrassed, and Weser had made it very clear that the price of China's recognition of British dominance in the Western Pacific was Britain's abandonment of Spain and China's domination of Luzon and the Mariana Islands. Now, in order to teach China a lesson, the British Far East Fleet has sent its own fleet to harass China under the guise of the Spanish fleet, and once an agreement is reached, it means that the "Spanish fleet" in the Pacific Ocean will disappear forever.

As a representative of an experienced-stirring stick, the British envoy was very unhappy in his heart. In fact, there are also strong statements in the British Parliament, hoping to deal more blows to China and make China more aware of the fact that Britain has a strong navy. It was only at this time that Britain finally had a huge scale of trade with China, and these trades tended to expand. Britain is also worried that if it goes too far, China will tear its face and Britain will hard. No matter how strong the British navy was, it was now unable to penetrate China's Nanking and force Weser to sign the treaty. The British coalition was already strong, still fighting in Europe, and in the Crimean War the southern front had an advantage, but the northern front failed to shake the Russian defenses. In the end, the war ended with Russia not ceding land and not paying reparations, but only giving up some of its original demands. The enormous attrition of the war was also somewhat overwhelmed by the British. So the British Parliament finally chose a more conciliatory attitude.

"We can't make such a promise, but we won't intervene in the war between the Spaniards and the Chinese." The British envoy replied.

"Humph!" Zuo Zhidan snorted heavily, this was to remind the British envoy not to think that China did not know the truth about the "Spanish fleet".

The British envoy did not respond to such a reminder. Diplomacy is like that, everyone only wants to profit. Shaking hands in the front, sticking a knife in the back, and telling all kinds of lies in a righteous and stern manner are the norm in diplomacy. The only thing that cannot be given up is the initiative to grasp the situation. It is impossible for the British to admit to abandoning the threat of force against China.

Weeser didn't care about the issue, the British wouldn't give up the threat of force against China, and Weeser wouldn't give up their desire for places like Australia and New Zealand. The way to decide the heavy issues of this era has never been negotiation, but iron and blood. Since China now has less iron than the British, Weser is willing to frankly admit this fact and respect it.

In the end, China and Britain reached an intention that the two sides could sign a Sino-British coordination agreement for Southeast Asia, which stipulated that China would consult before Britain in any military action related to China, and that China would be obliged to stop military operations in Southeast Asia if Britain objected. But Weeser demanded that Luzon, the Mariana Islands, and Borneo be excluded from Southeast Asia.

The British envoy, of course, could not agree, and he said that he would return to London to discuss the matter with the British Parliament.

The question of dominance in Southeast Asia has been discussed, the military issue has been discussed, and the remaining issue is the economic issue. The problem was much easier, and China's demand was to lease land in the Dutch East Indies to create plantations. And it has the power to open mines in Southeast Asia. Tin ore is a specialty of Southeast Asia, and China also needs a lot of tin ore.

There are oil fields near Borneo, but these fields are mostly subsea oil fields. There are a lot of onshore oil fields on the island of Sumatra, and if they are exploited, China can truly enter the era of internal combustion engines. At present, China's local oil fields are beyond China's oil exploitation technical capabilities, and the only way to achieve it is in the Yumen area. If you want to really develop there, you have to wait for the train.

Some of these details will not be disclosed to the British, who have promised to discuss them with the Dutch East India authorities through a diplomatic conference. The rest is the status of the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies and Indochina.

In Vietnam, Siam, Burma, the status of the Chinese is certainly not a problem. China is much stronger than these countries, and its national status can naturally be fully guaranteed. However, in Malaysia, in the Dutch East Indies, the position of the Chinese is more awkward. The Manchus regarded overseas Chinese as traitors, and of course did not care about the status of overseas Chinese. Now the question of the status of the Chinese in the British colonies and the Dutch East Indies is entirely new.

Weeser's demand was that "even if you don't get the same status as the nationals of the local colonial overlords, you will definitely have a higher status than the natives!" ”

A lot of things were left for discussion at a later diplomatic conference, and the basic points of discussion had been completed. Seeing off the British envoy, Weser frowned slightly, as if he was very dissatisfied.

"Your Majesty, is it too much to give to the British?" Zuo Zhidan asked.

"No, the British let too much. I couldn't have thought something was right. Weese replied.

Zuo Zhidan was quite dissatisfied with Wei Ze's words, and he said loudly: "What did the British let go? At most, they gave away the Dutch East Indies, and he didn't give up anything of his own! And I think the British mean, they also want to get a piece of the pie in it. Let them preside over the meeting, and they will take nothing? ”

If that's the case, it's not entirely unacceptable. But now I still think that the British have given up too much. With the British temperament, I always think they won't be so honest? Weeser was still a little worried.

"Or shall I go and test it?" Zuo Zhidan asked.

Weser waved his hand, "No, you're fine like this!" Even if we have any worries about them, we can't make the British feel that we have any worries about them. And you're right, the British will definitely get a lot of benefits in the future, and if they have any dissatisfaction at that time, they will definitely try to get it back during the negotiations. We'll have to negotiate then! ”

Weeser was not wrong in his judgment, and the first thing the British envoy said to the British ambassador after returning to the British embassy was, "It seems that the Chinese side has not given up on invading the Dutch East Indies at all!" ”