Back at the farm manor, Hu Xiaoyan took them to the back first. After giving Tom a bonus, he happily ran to the tavern to have a good time. This is what most of the British people of this era looked like. Because now there is no television, no ball game. Luo Jin came up at this time and handed over a post: "When you just went out, the embassy sent someone to send it." Hu Xiaoyan took a look, and it said that the British Prime Minister held a Christmas Eve dance party in his mansion to invite the ambassador and Li Yan to participate.

Well, the British Empire has really recognized Li Yan's identity! Damn Lawrence!

Hu Xiaoyan scolded in his heart, but he couldn't think about it. He has lived here for more than ten years and cannot hide it at all.

Hu Xiaoyan took Angel to the Christmas Eve dance party, because neither of them had dresses, so they had to rent it temporarily.

The banquet was not at 10 Downing Street, which was the Prime Minister's residence. Not the best place to feast. The banquet was held at Lord Salisbury's villa.

When Hu Xiaoyan followed Luo Fenglu into the villa, and Ambassador Luo Fenglu introduced everyone at the banquet, Hu Xiaoyan realized that this banquet was not just an ordinary Christmas Eve banquet. It has a certain political significance. In addition to Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister, there was also his chief aide Neville Chamberlain, the Prince of Wales of the future King Edward VII of England. There are also several ambassadors to the UK. But the topic is only between China and the UK.

The topic was the development of Boxer in China and the harm it brings.

Although Ambassador Luo Fenglu repeatedly stated that this was China's internal affair, the Manchu court was capable of defending the rights of the states in China. But Lord Salisbury disagreed, and Chamberlain, who later became known for his retreat and appeasement, was also cautious.

Ambassador Luo Fenglu's words were very sharp, and he was very clear from the perspective of law and diplomacy. But that didn't convince everyone in the room.

In 1898, at the beginning of the Boxer, Yuxian, the governor of Shandong, appeased and reformed the Boxer. Therefore, the Boxers were renamed the Boxers, and one of them, Zhao Sanduo, raised the banner of "Fuqing and Annihilation of the Foreigners", on the one hand, he obeyed Yuxian's orders, and on the other hand, he began to rectify the discipline of the Boxers. The Boxers began to become bandits and militias from him. But Zhao Sanduo's actions violated the interests of local landlords. Obvious question. Zhao Sanduo's Boxer Rebellion was as small as 10,000 people, and it was impossible for Zhao Sanduo to be responsible for the food and drink of these people. Zhao Sanduo also didn't have that much money to support the Boxers. They obtained their military expenses by collecting protection money from the local large landlords. Therefore, Zhao Sanduo was resisted by the local scholars. and was attacked by government forces. Zhao Sanduo was defeated, and attracted many groups from other places such as Boxer and Red Lantern Zhao who opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty. The Boxer Rebellion officially broke out.

From then on, the Boxers began to attack local Westernist factories, schools, hospitals, and Western churches in order to support the elimination of foreign countries and raise funds.

In Shandong, the Boxer Rebellion had grown and grown, and local churches, schools, factories, etc., suffered heavy losses. At the same time, Yuan Shikai replaced Yuxian as the governor of Shandong. Yuan Shikai took the new army to take office, and obviously would not let the Boxer Rebellion develop. Their conflict continues to deepen.

And Britain and France felt very harsh about the banner of the Boxer Rebellion to "help the Qing and destroy the foreigners". So no matter how Ambassador Luo Fenglu explains, the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury has reservations about this.

Lord Salisbury was a staunch man of British interests in his early days, a staunch imperialist in the jargon, insisting on the use of force to destroy all governments and forces opposed to Britain.

Therefore, his attitude is obvious, he was very angry at Cixi's act of shielding the Boxers, and repeatedly demanded that Luo Fenglu must ensure that the Qing Dynasty was on the side of the British.

Ambassador Luo Fenglu would like to agree, but he does not have the right to do so. Because it was Cixi who protected the Boxers!

Hu Xiaoyan listened to these diplomatic words from the sidelines, and listened to them with relish. This era has not yet developed the vague and uncertain diplomatic routine of later generations. Now the diplomatic rhetoric, including the British Prime Minister, is direct and sharp. No tactfulness, no softness.

But Hu Xiaoyan knows that in fact, Britain is also a foreign power. Because lately British newspapers have been reporting on the Transvaal's problems. The attitude of the Transvaal towards Britain had changed dramatically some time ago, and at the same time Germany had increased its support for the Transvaal, and a batch of supplies, including the Type 1888 Committee rifle, had arrived in the Transvaal. Anglo-German relations are at an impasse. War between Britain and the Transvaal was on the verge of breaking out.

Neville Chamberlain, who was known for his appeasement, declared that Britain must wage an all-out war in order to protect British rights in the Transvaal.

As a result, Britain is in fact incapable of caring about China. But since they claim to be an empire on which the sun never sets, of course they can't be succumbed. Some time ago, the United States had already proposed, like Britain, that once there was a change in China, Britain and the United States and other countries should send troops to the Manchu Qing Dynasty to ensure the rights and interests of Britain and the United States in China.

Britain refused. Their primary enemy now is the Transvaal.

Once Britain resolved the Transvaal issue, the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Coalition was inevitable. Unless before that, Hu Xiaoyan will first settle the Boxer Rebellion and remove the pretext of the United States' intentions against China.

But it is clear that this is not possible. Hu Xiaoyan doesn't have that much ability to influence those idiots in China who are looking for death.

In the end, Ambassador Luo Fenglu had no choice but to inform China of Britain's attitude and determination. The conversation ended in nothing.

"Mr. Li? Or Mr. Hu? "It was Chamberlain who spoke.

Hu Xiaoyan was stunned, he had been observing the conversation between Lord and Luo Fenglu just now, ignoring the important figure of Chamberlain.

"Hello, Your Excellency." Hu Xiaoyan hurriedly luggage. Although he now fabricated the identity of a fictitious member of the provincial council, this identity was nothing in the eyes of the colonial minister.

"Okay, Mr. Li, I don't know if you think your country will be able to deal with those bandits smoothly?" Chamberlain looked compassionate.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but I'm just an ordinary person." Hu Xiaoyan was reluctant to interface. Now is not the time to turn the other cheek with the Manchus.

"Nope! Mr. Li, I think you are the only civilized person in the Qing Kingdom other than Li Hongzhang. You deserve a status to match that in the Qing Kingdom. Chamberlain said affectionately.

Lean. There seemed to be 10,000 alpaca beasts rushing past Hu Xiaoyan's head. Is this Chamberlain? Not Churchill?

"Thank you for your attention, but you must know that I am only the manager of a mining company now." Hu Xiaoyan was perfunctory. If it was Churchill who spoke, maybe he would have agreed. Because Churchill was a ruthless man.

"Mr. Li, you are from the Qing Kingdom, don't you want your country to become strong?" Chamberlain looked in the direction of the American ambassador and the Russian ambassador.

"Did you see that? What are they all talking about? ”

"Sorry, I didn't hear that."

"Russia and the United States have agreed that they will share rights and interests in Shandong and Shanghai. Russia could even send troops to Tianjin to threaten the Qing state, and the United States promised to send a navy to help. Chamberlain said word for word.

"Oh, yes?" Hu Xiaoyan was helpless.

"I was the colonial secretary of the British Empire. Although Britain had its own interests in the Qing state, I believe that the fleet of the British Empire would be able to guarantee this. Neither the Boxers nor the Qing Dynasty could ignore this. Chamberlain raised his glass, "But there's one country that doesn't see that." ”

Hu Xiaoyan looked at where Chamberlain's gaze was pointing. Germany!

Transvaal. A name floated in Hu Xiaoyan's mind. Yes, Transvaal! It is also the only place that will allow Chamberlain to come and show favor to himself. He was not only a colonial minister, but also the right-hand man of Lord Salisbury, Prime Minister of the British Empire. He wants to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom!

Hu Xiaoyan's brain was running rapidly. This is an opportunity.

"Yes. The navy of the British Empire was the most powerful in the world. I can guarantee that Britain's rights and interests in the Qing State will not be harmed in any way, whether it is the Qing State or Germany. Hu Xiaoyan also picked up his wine glass.

"I'm just the manager of the Anhui Mining Department now, although I can't guarantee much. But I believe Anhui needs more British goods to enter the market. ”

Hu Xiaoyan's guarantee is not money-like. Of course, neither Chamberlain nor himself would believe in such assurances.

For Chamberlain, the fleet of the British Empire was the basis of it all.

Chamberlain nodded: "I have heard about what you have done during this period of time, and I sincerely hope that Qing Guo can become a member of the civilized world." Of course, if the Qing country could have a prime minister like you, it would be more in the interests of the British Empire. ”

After Chamberlain finished speaking, he raised his glass and toasted with Hu Xiaoyan.

"That's impossible." Hu Xiaoyan is still self-aware of this.

"Nope! With the support of the UK, you can do just that. Chamberlain smiled mysteriously.

What do you mean? Hu Xiaoyan was a little puzzled. He read the nearest newspaper. Newspaper coverage of Chinese characters mainly focused on Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai. In fact, some people now claim that Yuan Shikai is Li Hongzhang's successor and the hope for the future of the Qing Kingdom. Because Yuan Shikai held the most powerful armed force of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. His generals were all modernized by the German and Russian armies.

Of course, there are also newspapers like Chamberlain said, claiming that Li Yan is the only civilized person in China. So what exactly did Chamberlain mean?

After leaving the banquet, Hu Xiaoyan was still a little dizzy.

As soon as he helped Angel into the carriage, he saw a man approaching in the distance.

"Mr. Lee." The man who came was a servant, and he handed over a letter that was not sealed. Without saying a word, he walked away.

Hu Xiaoyan frowned and looked in that direction, but didn't see any other characters, so he could only get into the carriage.

"What's wrong?" Angel hugged Hu Xiaoyan's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

Hu Xiaoyan quietly took out the letter paper and thought quietly.

The letter was from Chamberlain, who invited Hu Xiaoyan to meet him later in a café.

Why was Chamberlain so eager? If Chamberlain really intended to support Hu Xiaoyan, why didn't he contact Hu Xiaoyan before, but today?

The more Hu Xiaoyan thought about it, the more he didn't understand. What exactly does he mean?