"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been waiting for the report of the Minister to China, Wittoma, and the details of the incident are not yet clear. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info" Disraeli replied vaguely.

"What I have said to Her Majesty is true. In the name of tourism, Margaret has explored the road, and the Bailang Corps received from India, and there are as many as 15 soldiers and 150 guards, among the relics of Margaret, there are many maps, and the people who draw them are all dangerous places on the border of our country, and the guides he hired also confessed that he carried out espionage in the name of tourism. Guo Songtao seized the opportunity and immediately asked, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister said that you don't know the details, why did Wei Tuma claim to be on the orders of your government and impose terms on our country?" He is arrogant and arrogant, saying that if our country does not allow it to be discussed, it will go to war, and it is difficult to count all kinds of contradictions! I want to ask, why did he dare to do this? ”

"Did Wittoma get your order to do this?" Hearing Guo Songtao's questioning, Queen Victoria's face turned red, and her voice of questioning to Disraeli became higher.

"I assure you, Your Majesty, that I have absolutely not given such an order." Disraeli quickly got up and said.

"So who made this happen?" Queen Victoria's eyes were full of anger, "Who made me and Britain leave the unjust name of breaking our promises?" ”

Hearing Queen Victoria's extremely stern words, a cold sweat suddenly broke out on Disraeli's forehead.

"If Her Majesty says that the previous promises are not counted, and the words and deeds of Wittoma are accurate, then Songtao has nothing else to say, and China will recognize it." Guo Songtao added another sentence in a timely manner, "It's just that this matter will not be easily resolved!" China should tell the rest of the world that it is not because China is unwilling to reconcile, but because your country has no faith in its words! Guo Songtao said in a deep voice.

"Did you hear that? Mr. Prime Minister? Queen Victoria was furious and asked aloud, "Can you give me a reasonable explanation?" ”

"Your Majesty, I think it must have been Wittoma's mistaken understanding of the Foreign Secretary's instructions that led to such a mistake!" Disraeli instinctively threw Foreign Secretary Derby out as a shield.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister just said that Wittoma was ordered by the Foreign Minister of your country, and I am afraid that it is not appropriate." Guo Songtao heard Disraeli say this, and immediately interjected, "Wei Tuma has repeatedly said that if our country does not allow the money it has discussed, it will raise troops to make it difficult for our country, a few days ago, more than 20 warships of your country gathered in Dagu, Wei said that even if the war is not allowed, you must know that the general of the SARS army can drive your warships for his use, what explanation should your Excellency the Prime Minister make for this matter?" ”

"So, Wittoma also has the support of the Admiralty? And I don't even know anything about it? Queen Victoria said, her face instantly covered with frost.

"I'll definitely look into this matter! Her Majesty! Disraeli said in a hoarse voice.

"You'd better find out all of this right away! A satisfactory reply to Mr. Guo! I don't want to see this incident affect the friendly relations between Britain and China! Queen Victoria said in a deep voice.

While Disraeli agreed, he secretly glanced at Guo Songtao.

He didn't understand why this old man, who had always been gentle and kind, had suddenly become so sharp in his words today.

And what makes him even more puzzling is that he is not in China, and he has not much contact with China, where did he know so many details about the Margaret incident?

Just when Disraeli was puzzled, Guo Songtao's other sentence suddenly raised his heart to his throat.

"If I want to disturb Her Majesty with these troubles, it is really your government that has been procrastinating for a long time, and the domestic criticism and me are unbearable." Guo Songtao bowed to Queen Victoria again, "It has been many days since our deputy envoy Liu Xihong was killed, and your government has not yet given an explanation. However, Wei Tuma has unscrupulously persecuted China with the death of a translator, is it not the life of our envoys to be cheap, and the life of your country's translator is expensive? ”

"I express my deep condolences on the passing of Mr. Liu Xihong." Queen Victoria bowed slightly to Guo Songtao, and then turned to Disraeli, who did not dare to face the queen's stern gaze and instinctively lowered his head.

"The murderer of Mr. Liu Xihong has not been found?" Queen Victoria asked in a deep voice.

"Oh...... Yes, Your Majesty, the Metropolitan Police has extended its search to the suburbs, but the killer has not yet been found. I have instructed the Commissioner of Police to mobilize all police forces to solve the case. In line with the principle of one more force in the shield, Disraeli immediately threw out the Metropolitan Police Commissioner as a scapegoat.

"I don't think it's time for the Metropolitan Police to be replaced?" Queen Victoria asked quietly, "The death of Mr. Liu Xihong makes me feel that London no longer seems to be so safe under his management." ”

"You're right, Your Majesty!" Disraeli quickly took over and agreed.

"Once again, I sincerely apologize to you, Mr. Guo." As if knowing what Disraeli was thinking, Queen Victoria glanced at him contemptuously, turned to Guo Songtao and said, "I assure you that my promise is still valid, and that the friendship between Britain and China will not change, despite some unexpected events." ”

Guo Songtao bowed and returned the salute without saying anything more.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, you also need to immediately find out the role played by the Admiralty in this incident, I don't want them to transfer our fleet without the knowledge of me and you, why the 'Chinese fleet' is assembling at Dagukou, I need a reasonable explanation, otherwise, you know what I will do." Queen Victoria said to Disraeli again.

"Yes! Her Majesty! Disraeli said, his body shuddering uncontrollably.

By the time Disraeli returned home from a cabinet meeting, it was getting late.

At night, the air in London was humid and cold, and Disraeli hated the London climate and the strange smell of fog, so he closed the windows tightly at night.

He sat in his chair and for the first time felt exhausted.

Now whether it is the Near East or the Far East, the development of events is beyond his control!

At the beginning of this year, a large-scale uprising against Turkey took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Turkey, making the Oriental issue, which had been dormant for nearly 20 years after the Crimean War, once again the focus of European countries. In the early days of the uprising, Disraeli believed that the ideal solution would be for Turkey to suppress the uprising itself, which would have the advantage of avoiding the intervention of the European powers and thus the Russian intervention that would endanger Constantinople and the Straits in this way. But Disraeli's wishes were far from realistic in 1875. First, Turkey could not control the development of the situation, and the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina was supported by Negro and Serbia, which had already been self-governed, and had the momentum of spreading in the Balkans. The second is that the British alliance during the Crimean War ceased to exist, and at this time the "Three Emperors Alliance" dominated the situation in the Near East, and their intervention was inevitable. The Three Emperors Alliance of China and Russia and Austria are two countries with special interests in the Balkans. After Austria was expelled from Germany in 1866 to establish the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria turned its attention to the Balkans, which were arguably the only way for Austria to expand eastward, and Austria preferred to maintain the status quo in the Balkans for fear that the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina would cause a chain reaction among the Slavs in Austria. Since its defeat in the Crimean War, Russia has been looking for opportunities to regain its advantage in the Near East. Russia hoped to achieve its long-cherished desire to control Constantinople and the straits by supporting the Balkan Slavs to gain autonomy. Although the interests of Russia and Austria in the Near East are very different, they try to reach some kind of compromise because they fear that the other side will act alone. Germany has no direct interests in the Balkans, but the Near East crisis involves peace in Europe and relations between the Three Emperors, and it is essential for Germany to support cooperation between Russia and Austria in the Balkans and to maintain the consolidation of the Three Emperors Alliance. For this reason, German Prime Minister Bismarck strongly advocated that Russia and Austria jointly divide the Balkans. The Times commented that after 1875, "the policy towards Turkey was determined by the Triple Emperors' Alliance." Disrae was deeply unhappy with this, complaining more than once that the Three Emperors Alliance "could go it alone without taking our opinions into account."

After Disraeli's original idea of resolving the crisis in the Near East collapsed, he racked his brains to maintain the policy of the Turkish Straits laid down during the Pametington period: Britain contained Russian expansion in the Near East and maintained a strategic balance in the Mediterranean. But what he didn't expect was that there was also a crisis in the Far East!

He knew very well about Wittoma's actions from Foreign Secretary Derby, and in his heart, he agreed with Wittoma's plan, but what he didn't expect was that the development of events would come to such a point!

After learning that Wittuma had gone so far as to mobilize the commander of the "Chinese fleet" in the name of the exercise, Reedl, to mobilize all the capital ships to Tianjin to blackmail China, and that he had also transferred warships from the East India Fleet, Disraeli thought that the matter would succeed, but then the reports of foreign newspapers shattered his illusions: both the French "Paris Times" and the American "New York Times" praised the weak Chinese navy for its challenge to the powerful British fleet, and even the British's own "Times" He also paid tribute to the heroic performance of the Chinese captain Deng Shichang, believing that it was the embodiment of the "Nelson spirit" in the East, while the cowardly performance of the captain of the "Odisha" Coles was extremely contemptuous and sarcastic. It can be said that this incident directed by Wei Tuma not only did not achieve the expected goal, but had a very bad opposite effect.