"Wait and see what happens, and follow the trend." After receiving news from Paraguay and other sources that the situation in Brazil was about to get out of control, Li Mingyuan discussed with his officials and generals for two days and made a calm decision.

If the Han State rashly intervenes in the situation in Brazil, one is facing the dilemma of insufficient troops and exhausted troops, and the other is that there is not much war preparation materials left, and it is difficult to guarantee logistics and materials to go deep into the interior of Brazil too early, so considering the two main factors of the Han State's own situation and the British side's attitude towards Pedro II that has not yet been clear, Li Mingyuan chose to shift his focus to the domestic side and first digest the results of Argentina and Uruguay that have already been obtained. Then, depending on the changes in the war situation between Paraguay and Brazil, it was decided whether to send troops to seize the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. …………

"Mr. Jade, sit."

"Your Highness."

Hu Yaji sat on a chair, pushed the tea brought by the guards on one end of the table, and said, "Your Highness summoned your subordinates, is it for the blockade of the English Kingdom?" ”

"Let Mr. Jade guess correctly, the English have blocked my sea transportation, and the connection between the mainland and overseas has been interrupted, and I have been worrying about this matter for the past few days."

"Your Highness, according to your courtiers, Argentina and Uruguay have been occupied by the Han army, and the people who have migrated from all over the north of the mainland are constantly filling the old places of Argentina and Uruguay, and the purpose of the Argentine war has been achieved, and looking at the initiative of the English to withdraw from the port bases along the Argentine coast, it can be speculated that the British expeditionary fleet is currently in a dilemma, and the English government must also be hesitant about the situation of its expeditionary fleet.

Therefore, His Majesty thought that the Imperial Court might as well take advantage of the present opportunity to take the initiative to send officials to contact the English and initially put forward the terms of peace talks, and even if the negotiations failed, the Imperial Court could also find out some information about the English Expeditionary Fleet and its domestic situation. ”

"I also have this idea, so I specially invited you here today just to hear your opinion."

"According to the current situation, peace talks should be held sooner rather than later, and if Your Highness agrees, Your Highness will prepare peace talks with England in the next two days."

"Mr. Jade is sixty years old this year, right?"

Li Mingyuan did not immediately agree to Hu Yaji's request.

"Jiaqing has been twenty-one years old, and he is just 64 years old this year."

"Jiaqing Twenty-one Years, 1816 ......"

Li Mingyuan secretly calculated Hu Yaji's birth year, and hesitated, "Mr. Yuji is forty out of sixty, and he didn't want to trouble Mr. about the English peace talks, but at present, there is a lack of officials who are familiar with foreign affairs in the local area, and let Mr. work hard about state affairs at the age of a sixtieth birthday, Mingyuan can't bear it." ”

"Your Highness's thoughtfulness, Your Majesty's gratitude is grateful."

Hu Yaji was moved in his heart, and said, "Your Majesty's body is very healthy, even if you serve Your Highness for another ten years, there is no problem, the current time in the country is to employ people, not to mention that Your Majesty is only forty out of sixty, that is, forty out of eighty, Your Majesty is not bad at Jiang Taigong's ambition, and is willing to serve His Highness and the Han Kingdom!" ”

"Okay, well, with the assistance of a talented person like Mr. Yuji, why worry about the great cause of the Han Kingdom in South America!"

Li Mingyuan picked up Hu Yaji, who bowed and saluted, and encouraged, "The foundation of the Han Kingdom is still short, and the domestic affairs are complicated, all of which need to be maintained by you and my monarchs and ministers. ”

"Your Majesty must take it to heart." Hu Yaji was so moved that he couldn't help but save a tear from the corner of his eye.

Entering the business, Hu Yaji from an ordinary Chinese businessman in Nanyang, less than ten years, into a pivotal political and senior official in the Han State, father and son three in politics, the second son in charge of Nanyang Whampoa Company affairs, and I am about to be awarded the hereditary viscount, life is like this, Hu Yaji is grateful to Li Mingyuan for the grace of the encounter, and there is happiness and satisfaction.

Seeing Hu Yaji's performance, Li Mingyuan was no longer good at stimulating this old Chinese, who was not young, and personally helped the other party to sit down, Li Mingyuan encouraged, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always been run by Mr., and this king is ready to wait until the situation stabilizes and appoint Mr. as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is fully responsible for the foreign affairs of the Han State." ”

"Your Highness......"

"Hey, Mr. Yuji, don't say anything, Mr. Yuji's performance in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for several years is seen by the king and government officials, and it is only appropriate for Mr. to preside over the affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

After the founding of the country, a total of 12 key central departments of the 10 ministries and the two procuratorates needed a large number of middle and high-level officials, in order to avoid the promotion of seedlings and the excessively high positions of the officials under them, Hu Yaji, Chen Jinzhong, and other Chinese businessmen and scholars who defected from the Nanyang region were initially only granted the official positions at the department and bureau levels, but after a few years, most of the official positions rose, for example, Hu Yaji's official position was promoted to the vice ministerial level, and in the absence of senior officials and general directors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his power as deputy chief and general secretary was about the sameAfter Hu Yaji said a few words, he agreed half-back and half-agreed.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty has something to report to you."

"Sir, please."

"Then your majesty will speak directly."

Hu Yaqi calmed down from the emotions of promotion and excitement, and quickly assumed the role of the chief diplomat, and said, "The foundation of the national system has been established for nearly ten years, but before the Argentine War, the focus of the imperial court has been on local expansion, industrial construction, overseas Chinese immigration and other affairs, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has important responsibilities in the twelve ministries, but the foreign affairs set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United States, Germany, France and other countries are all in the name of commercial station, in the national legal basis, The Great Han State did not establish formal diplomatic relations with a large Europa country.

Your Royal Highness, the Manchu court established formal diplomatic relations with the European powers seven years earlier than the Han Dynasty, and if the Han Kingdom wants to ease its relations with the European powers after the end of the Argentine War, improve the functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and clarify the formal diplomatic relations with the countries, it is very necessary. ”

"What Mr. Yuji said is very reasonable, the government used to be busy with domestic affairs, and there is indeed a lot of omission in foreign affairs."

Li Mingyuan nodded in agreement with Hu Yaji's suggestion.

"Germany, France, and England are powerful and have an important influence on the country in terms of industry and commerce.

What advice do you have for the diplomatic envoys to the three countries after the war? ”

"In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in terms of diplomatic ability and experience, there are several candidates for ministers to England and France, but there are not many foreign ministry officials who are familiar with the German language and have a certain understanding of the domestic situation in Germany."

"Nearly half of the publicly-funded students sent by China are concentrated in Germany, and the industrial and military exchanges between the country and Germany are also the closest.

"Your Highness, what do you think of Lord Wang Youtian?

After the war, it was difficult for the government to maintain diplomatic relations between the government and the United States. ”

"The Chinese exclusion incident in the United States may be more serious than Mr. imagined, and Wang Youtian has another heavy responsibility, but he can't spare himself to Germany."

Li Mingyuan waved his hand and vetoed Hu Yaji's proposal.

"Wang Youtian has another appointment, who else can serve as a minister to Germany in terms of ability and qualifications?"

Hu Yaqi thought about it for a long time and did not come up with a suitable candidate.

"This king remembers that Mr.'s third son, Hu Jingde, is familiar with English, German, and Dongying, and hasn't Mr. considered putting him in Germany for some training?"

"Xiao'er only mastered a few foreign languages when he followed his subordinates to do business in his early years, and it was still much worse for him to act as a minister in Germany and deal with the Germans."

"Your son is over 30 years old, and four years ago he took the initiative to sign up to study in Germany, many people in the government of your age and experience have taken on great responsibilities, Mr. Hu should believe in your son's ability and give the younger generation a chance to exercise."

"However, Jingde has no experience in taking charge of himself, and rashly granting a major task may delay the major event of cooperation between the government and the German state."

"Then arrange it this way, Hu Jingde's position will be promoted by half a level, and he will be appointed as the deputy minister to Germany, and the level will be set at the level of the main bureau, and he will be familiar with the work arrangements of the minister in Germany for the time being, and if there is a suitable candidate after the war, he will make adjustments."

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