Windsor Castle, The Queen's Audience Hall. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ,ybdu,

"Your Majesty, the Russians and Austrians have negotiated a plan for the partition of the Turkish Empire, in which Russia will receive most of the territories belonging to the Turkish Empire in Constantinople, Asia Minor, and the Arabian Peninsula, but Palestine will be administered jointly by Russia and France, and the Sinai Peninsula will not be owned by Russia. Austria received all the lands of the Turkish Empire in the Balkans, excluding Constantinople and its environs. Britain can get Egypt. France received the Turkish Empire's possessions of North Africa except Egypt. ”

It was Viscount Palmerston who was reporting to Empress Victoria, who spent almost an afternoon discussing with the Russian Crown Prince, the Russian Foreign Minister, and the Hungarian Prime Minister, and finally reached a loose agreement to form an alliance and divide the Turkish Empire. This is the case with European diplomacy, where alliances, hostility and betrayal can happen at any moment. Yesterday they were close allies, but today they may become mortal enemies because of the change of interests! Such was the fate of the Turkish Empire, which had been at war with Russia by Britain and Austria ten years earlier. But now, the leaders of the three countries have negotiated a plan for the complete partition and destruction of the Turkish Empire.

The Queen of England sits high on the throne, with her husband Prince Albert sitting beside her. She looked at her husband and asked with a smile, "Dear Albert, are we really going to let the Turkish Empire die?" ”

"Yes, the Turkish Empire must die, and its death will be a testimony to the unity of the British, Russian and Austrian Empires. And uniting France to participate in the partition would also mean excluding the Ming Empire alone from the feast of carving up Turkey. “

The Turkish Empire and the Ming Empire were allies, and both parties were also married. For Da Ming. Turkey is not only an ally second only to France. It was also an important partner of the Ming Empire against Russia. It was clearly not in the interests of the Ming Empire to carve up and destroy Turkey. If France participates in the partition. This means a further deterioration of the relationship between the Ming and the French.

"Have you consulted with Napoleon III?" Empress Victoria asked with a frown.

"Not yet." Viscount Palmerston replied, "But he will certainly support the partition of Turkey." ”

"Why?" Empress Victoria asked, puzzled. "France and Turkey are traditional allies."

"Europe has no traditional allies, only ...... Eternal benefits! Viscount Palmerston smiled, "Of course, it is necessary to pick an appropriate time to achieve this partition, and we cannot do so now, because the honeymoon period between the Ming and France is not completely over." ”

"When will this honeymoon period end?" Victoria asked.

"When the rulers of Argentina, Chile, and perhaps Brazil came to France for help, the French and Roman Empires had to take on the role of leading the struggle of the white races of Europe against the yellow races of Asia...... Because the Bonaparte dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in Europe. France and the Roman Empire were the hope of the white world. His personal friendship with Zhu Jishi can't replace racial antagonism! The division of the Turkish Empire by Great Britain, Austria, and Russia was also part of this confrontation between the white and yellow races. Therefore, France and the Roman Empire could not stand on the side of the yellow race, and could only participate in the partition together. ”

Viscount Palmerston's whole plan was finally fully revealed. The purpose of provoking Japan's expansion in South America was not for the sake of saltpeter, but for the sake of creating a situation in which the Asian yellow race competed with the European white race for living space -- this was not an illusion, but a real reality. The expansion of the new Japan only further intensified the conflict between the two races.

Imagine how shocking it would be to see a host of Hispanic-speaking "would-be whites" running to Paris, Rome, and Madrid to cry for help. Now the major newspapers in Europe are already touting the Ming Empire. When the time comes, as long as public opinion will naturally turn to the issue of the yellow race competing for the living space of the white race. How will Napoleon III, who considered himself the leader of white Europe, stand in line? Can it continue to be consistent with the Ming Empire? This is absolutely impossible, and France's ambitions for South America are well known. As long as Argentina and Chile were willing to appoint a member of the Bonaparte family as king, as long as Isabella, the princess of the Brazilian Empire, could marry a man from the Bonaparte family. France is determined to stand up for them.

And it is impossible for the Ming Empire to abandon the new Japan, because Zhu Jishi is planning to completely assimilate the old Japan into a Chinese state, and also intends to make his son the king of Japan. At this time, if the new Japan is abandoned, it will definitely lead to the centrifugation of the old Japan. And...... The land that New Japan laid down in South America was always the living space for the yellow race of East Asia, and it was always possible to accommodate a part of the surplus East Asian population.

Therefore, the confrontation between France and the Ming Dynasty in South America will also be inevitable. While this antagonism may not lead to a rupture between the two countries, it can prevent the two countries from realigning themselves on Turkey. This created the conditions for the partition of the Turkish Empire. After the partition of Turkey, Austria and Russia would regain close allies, and with the help of Great Britain, they would be able to oppose the alliance of France and Prussia on the European continent......

Palmerston's wishful thinking played well, but whether he could achieve his goal or not depended on how his opponents, Zhu Jishi and Napoleon III, as well as those Japanese heroes in New Japan, played their cards.

……

New Japan Island (Tierra del Fuego), Shinto Castle.

Although spring has arrived in the southern hemisphere, the island is still full of ice and snow. When Okubo got off the ship, he felt a biting coldness even though he was wearing a thick woolen coat. On the docks, there were already officials waiting for him who had arrived in New Japan first. They were all dressed in fur, and if it weren't for the katana they carried around their waists, no one would have recognized them as Japanese.

Okubo looked around and took in all the looks of this small new town. It's really shabby, just a dirt fence wrapped around a large gray low-rise building. It doesn't look like a Japanese handiwork at all, but rather like a house built by people in the most remote northwest region of the Ming Empire.

However, the area of Shinto Castle is not small, almost the same size as Edo. And it was quite lively, and the streets were full of pedestrians in fur clothes, either in twos or threes, or in a queue - most of them were not civilians, but officers and soldiers of the new Japanese army! It's all coming these days on the steam galleons of the British Navy or the Daming Navy, and Tokugawa Akiko, oh, it's Genakiko's birthday gift, the Hinomaru cruise ship is now also involved in this transoceanic transport. This time, Okubo Ritsu and Minamoto (Tokugawa Ieyuki) and the Japanese queen Xu Kazuko (Wanomiya) all took this ship across the ocean to reach Shinto. They are still in the middle of the luxurious cabin on the ship, and let Okubo get off the ship to hit the front station first.

Several new Japanese officials in fur clothes let out a happy cheer when they saw Okubo Ritsu get off the ship, and surrounded them with a smile: "Okubo-kun, I can be regarded as looking forward to you!" ”

"Taiko-sama and His Majesty are here, right?"

"What is the current situation in Japan? Can you give us full support in our efforts to develop a new Japan? Let's stay in this place, we can't start the war for a long time, we can't make it hard, it's really depressing! There is news that now that the war in North America is coming to an end, several rounds of secret negotiations have been underway. In the event of a real truce, things in South America will depend on France's face! ”

Okubo Ritsu greeted them, and searched the crowd for the big man Saigo Takamori, but he didn't find it for a long time, only to see Sakuma Zoyama smiling in the crowd with his sleeves up. Okubo limped over with a crutch: "Mr. Zoyama, we haven't seen each other for almost 8 years, haven't we?" I didn't expect that now there is an opportunity to develop a country together. His Majesty the King is on the ship, and he is eager to know about the situation in New Japan, so why don't you come on board with me and talk to Your Majesty? By the way, what about Saigo-kun? Where did he go? (To be continued.) )