Naoli Governor's Palace, Special Conference Hall.

In the center is a huge round table, and in the center of the round table are the flags of China, Britain, France and the United States.

This was deliberately placed and arranged by Li Weiguo in imitation of the international conferences of later generations, among which the British rice flag, the French three-bar flag, and the American Star-Spangled Banner, these three national flags are no different from those of later generations. The only difference is the national flag of China, not the five-star red flag, just a dragon flag with teeth and claws, because the Qing Empire did not have a national flag in the legal sense, so it was replaced by Li Weiguo's Shanghai military flag.

Li Weiguo, as the host, sat on the back. Directly opposite was the British representative, British Minister Pruss, on the left was the French representative, the French minister Bourbronn, and on the right was the American representative Warren, to be exact, the special envoy of the new American government in the south.

Before the formal meeting, it was clear that each side had sent someone to deliver the news in private, that each party's demands had been communicated to the other side, and that the other party's bottom line was basically in its hands, and that all parties had a clear idea of what the meeting would be about and what could be agreed upon.

First of all, Li Weiguo exchanged the original copy of the Beijing Peace Treaty with the British Empire represented by Pruss on behalf of the Qing Empire, and the French Empire represented by Bourblon. What Li Weiguo holds in his hand is the "Beijing Peace Treaty" signed by the Queen of England and the French Emperor, while the "Beijing Peace Treaty" in the hands of Pruss and Bourblon is Li Weiguo's name in addition to being stamped with the emperor's jade seal. This is easy to misunderstand and think that Li Weiguo was the emperor of the Qing Empire.

This was followed by the signing of the "Beijing Peace Treaty" between Li Weiguo and the Confederate States of America represented by John Warren on behalf of the Qing Empire, in which the Confederate States of America renounced all unequal treaties signed with China since the Sino-American Treaty of Wangxia in 1844, renounced their claims against China, re-established a new type of major-country relationship between China and the United States, established legations with each other, and granted each other the most favored nation status. In response. On behalf of the Qing Empire, Li Weiguo announced the recognition of the Confederate States of America as the sole legitimate government of the United States, returned the USS Saskana and USS Mississippi, the battleships of the U.S. Navy's Asian Fleet, captured in the Battle of the Huangpu River, and released 753 U.S. Navy officers and men who had been imprisoned in concentration camps since 1854.

With the signing of the seal by both sides, the Sino-US Beijing Peace Treaty immediately came into effect, officially ending the hostile relations between China and the United States that had begun in 1854.

This, of course, refers to the end of hostilities between China and the Confederate States of America, which represents the southern part of the United States. As for the United States of America in the north, Li Weiguo said that the relationship is still hostile.

Hua Ruohan was very happy, as if Li Weiguo had instantly become his good friend for many years.

"Your Royal Highness King Wu, the despicable United States of America's vain attempt to abolish slavery is a serious provocation to our Confederate States of America, and I hope you will support our Confederate States of America."

"Of course!" Li Weiguo smiled and said, "You can tell me if you have any difficulties, and I will provide you with corresponding help within the scope of my ability." ”

Seeing that the time was almost up, Hua Ruohan glanced at the British and French ministers. Seeing that the other party nodded one after another, he said to Li Weiguo: "Dear His Royal Highness King Wu, I have a reluctant request, hoping to form a military alliance with your country. ”

The politics of forming a military alliance just after the end of hostilities is truly wonderful.

Li Weiguo was surprised, but everything was in his expectation, when Chen Jingnan was talking to them yesterday, he already vaguely felt that the other party had this intention.

"A military alliance with you? It doesn't seem to be necessary. With the Pacific Ocean between us, what can I expect from you? ”

Hua Ruohan then said: "We still know a little about the history of your country. It is impossible for the Han clique headed by His Royal Highness King Wu to be enslaved by Manchu and Mongolia forever, and when His Royal Highness King Wu raises troops in the future, our government will give full support. ”

"That doesn't convince me!" Li Weiguo smiled slightly.

Hua Ruohan knew that without enough temptation of interests, he would never be able to convince Li Weiguo.

He then proposed: "If we form a military alliance and win this war, then we can seize a large number of factories and mines in the north and sell them to Your Highness cheaply." Our country's iron ore and coal are among the best in the world. You won't lose out on being able to smelt the highest quality steel. ”

It is true that the United States started its industry later than Britain and France, but it took only a decade to quickly become the fourth largest industrial country in the world, mainly because of the abundance of coal and steel in the United States. And it is highly concentrated, conducive to industrial production, and if it is not contained, it will easily surpass Britain to become the world's largest industrial power in another decade.

It is precisely because the United States has such a strong industrial development capacity that the British and French powers are very afraid of the rise of the United States, and Britain and France are completely on the side of the South in the Civil War, which is to completely strangle American industry.

After all, the southern United States is a plantation economy, and there is nothing left except agricultural products, and China is also an agricultural country, so it is obviously impossible to have demand.

Li Weiguo is also envious of the high-quality iron ore and coal in the United States, but this does not impress him, after all, China is also rich in coal and iron ore, but so far it has not been discovered.

Supporting the US Southern Army against the Northern Army is Li Weiguo's established strategy and cannot be changed. Preventing the United States from becoming strong is not only the goal of Britain and France, but also the goal of Li Weiguo, and he does not want to wait for China to become strong, and there is a too much United States watching from the sidelines.

Therefore, deep down, Li Weiguo had long been ready to help the Confederate States of America, but he just wanted an excuse to convince himself.

There is nothing in the south of the United States that attracts Li Weiguo, except for the oil underground, but that is not an urgent need for the time being, so Li Weiguo nodded reluctantly.

"If you can buy those factories and mines cheaply, that's a good proposition."

Hua Ruohan was immediately overjoyed, and the British and French ministers on the side also breathed a sigh of relief, revealing complicated expressions. One moment he was still fighting with Li Weiguo, but the next moment he became an ally, this world is so amazing.

Bruce then spoke: "Since His Royal Highness King Wu has agreed to form an alliance, then we will draft a joint declaration. Against the common enemy of the United States of America. ”

Burblon also chimed in: "That's right, the three major empires of the world unite to support the Confederate States of America, and they will definitely be able to defeat the United States of America!" ”

As a result, the representatives of China, Britain, France, and the United States jointly drafted a declaration of alliance, which politically recognized the Confederate States of America as the sole legitimate government of the United States. Financially, a consortium was formed to lend money to the Confederate States of America to finance the war. Militarily, a joint advisory group will be formed to advise the Confederate Forces of the United States, and if necessary, an intervention force will be formed to intervene in the American Civil War.

Whether it was Bruce, Bulblon, or Warrenham, they had been given carte blanche by their respective governments to conclude treaties of alliance directly on behalf of the British, French, and American governments. Although Li Weiguo was not yet the emperor of China, in the hearts of Britain, France and the United States, Li Weiguo was enough to represent China, so the four of them drafted the alliance treaty on the same day and signed it into force on the same day.

Hua Ruohan's heart was actually very anxious, because the American Civil War had been fought for more than half a year, and the Southern Army was well prepared at the beginning, and it was a preemptive strike. But the result is still not the main force of the Northern Army, and the two sides have now fought a stalemate.

This was very detrimental to the Yugoslav army. Because the Southern Army had only seven states and a population of 9.1 million, of which more than 3.8 million were black slaves, and the army was only 310,000. In the north, there are 23 states, with a population of 22.34 million, and a well-developed industry. With an annual output of $1.5 billion, close to 1.3 million workers, more than 22,000 miles of rail network and abundant food, the South has weak industry and an annual output of $15.5 million. There were only 110,000 workers, and the railroad was only 9,000 miles, and after the outbreak of the war between the two sides, the strong industrial capacity of the north was quickly transferred to the military, providing a large number of weapons and ammunition for the northern army.

Obviously, this is the real reason why Hua Ruohan rushed to China to seek an alliance with Li Weiguo.

Of course, Warren also sought the help of Britain and France, but Britain and France could have supported the US Southern Army with a large amount of money and weapons, but unfortunately because of the defeat in the Second Yapian War, Britain and France suffered heavy losses, and the weapons and ammunition to support the US Southern Army were gone, and even the intervention army had to be regrouped.

On the other hand, Li Weiguo's Shanghai army won the final victory in the Yapian War, and the strong combat effectiveness of the Shanghai army was beyond the reach of the British and French armies, especially the advanced rifles and infantry guns used by the Shanghai army, which were simply weapons of mass destruction, and the traditional muskets and artillery were only abused in front of these advanced equipment.

This is also the reason why Hua Ruohan wants to form an alliance with Li Weiguo, forming a military alliance, so that the US Southern Army can openly and openly purchase advanced patriotic rifles and 59-type infantry artillery from Li Weiguo, as long as there are these weapons of mass destruction, the combat effectiveness of the US Southern Army will be instantly exploded, and the US Northern Army will be destroyed in minutes.

Of course, this was only Warren's idea, and so did the British and French ministers Bruce and Bourblon, who also wanted to take advantage of the alliance to obtain the technology of the Patriotic Rifle and the 59 Infantry Cannon from Li Weiguo.

When the treaty of alliance was signed, Warren immediately went straight to the point to negotiate with Li Weiguo about the purchase of weapons and equipment, and Bruce and Bourblon also expressed their willingness to do so.

Li Weiguo had already guessed their intentions, but this was exactly what he wanted, not only to help the US Southern Army resist the US Northern Army and prevent the reunification of the United States, but also to promote Chinese weapons to the world, and making money has always been the first priority.

Patriotic rifles and 59-type infantry artillery have cost Li Weiguo a lot of money and painstaking efforts, anyway, the European and American powers will develop these two kinds of weapons and equipment sooner or later, it is better to take advantage of the desire of Britain, France, and the United States at this time to export large-scale exports to earn foreign exchange, and to recover the investment of the year with interest, and make a big profit is the king.

Foreigners' money is not made in vain, but Li Weiguo is still deliberately "reserved", he is pinching them.

"Patriotic rifles and Type 59 infantry guns can be sold to you, but at a price...... It's not going to be cheap! ”

"No problem! The price is good to say! ”

Hua Ruohan seemed to be afraid that Li Weiguo would regret it, so he immediately promised.

Bruce and Bulblon took the opportunity to propose: "If the production capacity is not enough, you can transfer the technology to us, and we will help expand production, after all, the consumption during the war is very huge." ”

Think beautifully!

Li Weiguo sneered in his heart, although the technology will be obtained by you sooner or later, it is not now. If the production technology is transferred to the United Kingdom and France. With the strong industrial capacity of Britain and France, it will soon be able to be put into large-scale production, and when the time comes, it will lose a lot of money to compete with the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in the international market.

"You can rest assured that as long as you have money, you can have as much as you want!"

Li Weiguo said confidently. Because of the large-scale Yapian war with Britain and France, it led to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau day and night non-stop large-scale production of munitions, after the end of the war for more than a year, the production capacity has not stopped, but was asked by Li Weiguo to continue to expand production, and dozens of production lines have been added, so that the annual output of patriotic rifles has reached 200,000, and the 59-type infantry guns have reached 2,000, even if it is in stock. It is also enough to support the US Southern Army to fight several high-intensity large-scale battles.

Hua Ruohan was naturally happy, their American Southern Army did not have a decent arsenal, nor could they produce advanced Patriotic rifles and Type 59 infantry guns, and they could not even produce supporting ammunition, so they could only rely on imports from Li Weiguo.

"What we have is that all the patriotic rifles and Type 59 infantry guns in the hands of His Royal Highness King Wu, including the supporting ammunition. We've got it all. ”

Hua Ruohan promised with confidence, and he didn't even ask Li Weiguo what price he paid.

One word. It's just not bad for money.

Li Weiguo was surprised, and immediately understood that the southern part of the United States was all a big plantation economy, all of them were landlords and old wealth, and they relied on farming to make a living, which was different from the bourgeoisie in the northern United States. The capitalists will return to the factories to expand production after earning money, while the landlords do not need the old money, and they will only exchange the money they earn for all kinds of gold and silver and keep it at home.

It can be said that the American South is full of rich people, and the poor ones have money left.

Li Weiguo then called Chen Jingnan over. A list of weapons was drawn up and handed to Warrlohan.

"113,750 Patriotic rifles, 14.5 million rounds of ammunition, 820 Type 59 infantry guns, 114,000 shells, the total price of 39.2 million yuan, converted into US dollars is 156.8 million, and then you will be given 100 boxes of radium, radium and radium, and you can directly pay 157 million dollars."

Hua Ruohan took this list of weapons and suddenly staggered, almost not standing firmly.

Although the United States has money in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, it is still a bit difficult to spend more than $150 million to buy arms at once. After all, the combined fiscal revenue of the seven southern states is only more than 10 million US dollars a year.

It's just that the big words are out, if you can't afford it at this moment, Hua Ruohan can't afford to lose people.

"This is a little expensive!"

Li Weiguo shook his head and said with a smile: "It's not expensive at all, I'm giving you the cost price." ”

Seeing that Hua Ruohan was embarrassed, Li Weiguo persuaded him: "Do you know how much benefit these weapons and equipment can bring to you once they are transported back to the United States and equipped for your Southern Army?" ”

Hua Ruohan has never fought, so naturally he doesn't understand.

Li Weiguo then explained: "If you think about it, you Americans are all rich slave owners, and you can borrow a few of them to make up enough." Besides, after your Southern Army has these advanced weapons, the Northern Army will not be your opponent, you can easily capture the cities of the Northern Army, and the assets in a city alone will be more than 100 million US dollars, right? ”

Hua Ruohan was moved by Li Weiguo's words, although it was a huge amount of money, but he was authorized by the president before leaving, and he would get the arms at any cost.

"It's too expensive, can it be cheaper!"

"There is almost no profit margin in this because we are allies, otherwise I would have sold at least 200 million!"

Li Weiguo resolutely refused to give in to the price, because he was the only one in the whole world who had the goods, and if he monopolized it, it would be expensive.

"Okay, deal!"

"But it must be guaranteed to be shipped immediately!"

"No problem! But you have to pay for it with one hand and deliver it with the other! ”

Hua Ruohan knew that Li Weiguo would not scatter eagles if he didn't see rabbits, but fortunately, he had communicated with the British and French ministers before, and they also had the heart to get this batch of weapons and equipment, so Hua Ruohan could borrow money from them first.

After the deal was confirmed, Warren, Bruce and Bourblon left, but raised funds, and Li Weiguo also notified the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to start collecting goods.

When Chen Jingnan saw the transaction amount, he was immediately shocked: "157 million US dollars? Lord, how did you do it? This is simply a sky-high price, more than 20 times higher than the cost. ”

"Kaizi, who are you not pitting them?" Li Weiguo laughed. (To be continued.) )