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Perhaps because of the betrayal of the British in the Crimea, or perhaps because of the unflattering deeds of the Ale-state here, Bourblon is now wary of the Ale-state at the mention of it.

Ali Guo has been having another headache recently.

The time had come for the British Empire's treaty with the Manchus to be revised. With the advance of secret negotiations with the Russians, the Imperial Cabinet may have felt that it had the power to dominate the East again, and some began to clamor for a reorganization of order in the East. What is the New Order? Of course, it is the interest.

Now everyone knows that the "Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing" in the hands of the empire has completely become a piece of waste paper.

As a result, around the maximization of interests, two diametrically opposed opinions emerged in the Imperial Cabinet. One is to reconcile with the Tianjing government in the south as much as possible in view of the needs of the country's rapidly expanding industrial development, albeit temporarily, but the empire still needs this large market. The other is to insist on washing away the former humiliation of the Royal Navy, taking advantage of the alliance between the Manchu government in the north and Russia, and taking advantage of the large-scale northern expedition of the southern government, to carry out all-round armed intervention, stab Guangdong in the back, contain the southern government, assist the Sino-Russian coalition forces to turn the tide of the war, and then achieve the goal of completely eliminating the "evil" regime in the south.

Fighting a war is about capital and ultimate benefits, and those who hold the first view are not opposed to war, the problem is interests.

Ali Guo didn't expect that he would be promoted, but in this case, he was promoted. The unfortunate former governor of Hong Kong, who also served as the Chinese minister to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was dismissed for losing the face of the British Empire, but promoted him, a man who had also lost the face of the empire, to the position of minister. For Ali Guo, in addition to happiness, there is more sorrow, this is not a good position, it is simply a stove.

He naturally understands that the reason why the cabinet chose him is just to borrow that he has always been on the front line, perhaps to better understand the actual situation here, and to hope that he will not forget the lessons of the past at a critical moment and give the cabinet a correct report. Because, at the same time as his appointment was issued, the former Governor-General of Imperial Canada, Lord Ergin, had already begun work on the reorganization of the Eastern Fleet.

Ali Guo began to send people to Tianjin frequently to contact Manchu officials. It is very hateful that due to the artificial obstacles of the Russians, it was not until last month that his envoy contacted Prince Gong Yixin, but the strange thing is that Prince Gong did not receive his envoy, but transferred it to Li Hongzhang and Qiying.

Through Guò Li Hongzhang and Qi Ying, Ali Guo fully understood the thoughts of the young widow Empress Dowager in the Forbidden City, and it was not possible to get involved in the north, because the Russians did not want to. As far as the south is concerned, as long as the British are willing to help the coalition forces defeat and eventually eliminate the "red bandits," then they can not only continue to maintain the content of the original Nanjing Treaty, but also open a few more treaty ports in the south, and "assign Taiwan, Zhoushan, and other miscellaneous islands to you."

It's a tempting offer. From the original intention of Ali Guo, he even hoped that his empire would fight with this place and vent his long-accumulated resentment.

However, after thinking about it, Ali Guo felt that it might not be so simple. First of all, if the empire does not send more than 100,000 troops, I am afraid that there will be no change in the current situation. Secondly, the United States, France, and other people who have already sat on the same bench with the Tianjing government can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight? To do so, at least, would be to violate the vested interests of the United States, France, and other countries.

Now, the Tianjing government has opened more than a dozen treaty ports, and envoys from various countries have also lived in their capitals, do they want to preach? They are not against it, want to live? The more the merrier. This qiē, except that there is no so-called "privilege", is far better than the content of the covenant that everyone once fantasized. It is no wonder that the Americans abandoned their hostility to the Tianjing government and adopted the swift establishment of diplomatic relations in the hope of sharing with France the feast of southern China.

In addition, due to the repeated appearance of British spies, the Celestial Empire government set up certain obstacles to the British in many aspects, intentionally or unintentionally, and the Ali Kingdom knew little about the situation in many areas. Therefore, he had to travel back and forth between Shanghai and Tianjing like a fly. What you can't steal can only be obtained from idle chatter and laughter.

When the three of them meet, they will inevitably have to be polite for a while, and the current situation makes Bourblon very satisfied. In the past, when the ministers of the three countries were together, the axis was naturally British, but now it is different, he is the axis.

After a few gossips, the topic naturally turned to the Northern Expedition of the Tianjing government, and on the way here, Ali Guo and Ma Shali talked a lot, the purpose of which was to get Ma Shali to continue the topic here.

"It's really strange this time, since the beginning of the year, they have been preaching the importance of the Northern Expedition on one occasion, the newspapers have published one mobilization order after another from the government, and a large number of reserve troops have been openly transferred to the front. However, now, months have passed, and there has been no movement. Their commander of the Northern Expedition was still sitting in Tianjing. My God, get started quickly, peace is needed here. "When Mashali speaks, he always gives people an exaggerated energy.

Of course, Ali Guo understands why Ma Shali wants China to enter peace so much, this place is different from other places, the Tianjing government does not need your weapons, and it is naturally another matter to give them away for free. For example, this Ma Shali, who sang the tune of strict neutrality, actually dismantled hundreds of artillery pieces that had been moored on the Taiwan warship and sent them to the Tianjing government. It is no wonder that warships cannot enter the ports of the Celestial Empire at all if they do not become civilian ships. This Ma Shali is also very good at doing business like Kim Neng-hyung in the past, and the United States seems to be like this, it can't produce real diplomats, but always produces excellent businessmen.

"Yes, peace is important to any of us." Ali Guo echoed.

Burbulon glanced at Ali Guo, "It has been announced in the newspapers that their most elite guards have already left for the front, and their upcoming Northern Expedition will be smooth, and it will be more smooth than everyone thinks, this is undoubted." The Guards he was talking about actually meant Chen Yucheng's Red First Army, and the public information told people that this was a cavalry army in the true sense of the word, which had been recuperating in Guangdong for a year.

"That's the best." Ali Guo smiled, "However, I'm just a little worried, this time their Northern Expedition has almost exhausted the strength of the whole country, and more newly occupied areas still need to be consolidated, once those enemies of theirs resurrect, I am afraid that it will drag them back." ”

"Stalling?" Burblon laughed, "The weapons they showed at the parade don't go unseen, right?" To tell the gentlemen, a Zhengnan-style heavy machine gun is enough to exterminate thousands of people if placed anywhere. Rebellion is tantamount to suicide, and besides, in their ruling area, do you still believe that there will be a rebellion? ”

"It's a country that we haven't fully understood yet." Mashali shrugged his shoulders, "I can't help but admit that their government is super inflammatory, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of peasant troops loyal to this government not only provide them with an inexhaustible source of reserves, but also suppress the slightest hint of possible betrayal." ”

"I agree with your Excellency's point of view." Bourblon nodded, "From here, I also see something worth pondering. In the past, when we measured the strength of a country, we focused more on its army. In fact, there is a more important one, which is the power of the people's will and the strict organization of them. We've won in this country, but where have we won? Perhaps the advanced weapons are just a fluke, more because there are too few people who resist us. ”

"It seems to me that the main reason why they have been able to conquer the hearts and minds of the people is that they have promoted and carried out policies to share the property of a wealthy man, which seems to coincide with a certain radical trend of thought active in our Europe, and they also hope for such a day." Ali Guo seemed to say it very casually.

"Have you read yesterday's paper, gentlemen?" Bourblon picked up the "Red Star" newspaper next to him and raised it casually.

Seeing the two people in front of him nodding, he unfolded the newspaper, "This thing just corrects the statement of His Excellency Aliguo, who would believe that there would be such a huge private enterprise under their regime?" ”

"Hehe, I was so surprised when I saw it. This Gu's enterprise has actually developed to tens of millions of assets, involving tobacco, textiles, mines and other industries, which is contrary to the policies they have always promoted, and I even doubted whether Gu is a relative of the top officials of the Tianjing government. Marshali rubbed his nose, a little jealous.

For Gu Tonglin's company, the most familiar one is Ali Guo. Without Gu Tonglin's cooperation, British products would not have wanted to flow into the jurisdiction of the Celestial Empire at all, not because they were not sold, but because no one bought them at all. As for the various machines and equipment of Gu's enterprise, they are all from the United Kingdom and are his best partners. Of course, he would not have heard Gu Tonglin mention in his spare time that he was almost killed by the Taiping army because he refused to pay 200,000 taels of silver.

"Gu's enterprise does not have a political background." Ali Guo: This is a fair sentence.

"Of course not." Burbulon shook the newspaper, "As a publication of their Communist Party, at this time, they openly praised Gu's enterprise for donating three million yuan to fund the government's Northern Expedition, and carefully introduced the situation of Gu's enterprise, which is to show their position." ”

"You're saying they're not exactly trying to deprive the rich of their wealth?" Marshali looked at Burbulon.

"This answer is actually long overdue." Bourblon smiled, "Haven't you seen individual businesses and workshops, large and small?" ”

"But it doesn't seem to be very common to be able to make it big, right?" Ali Guo shook his head.

"This is precisely where Gu's enterprise can succeed." Bourblon closed the newspaper and put it on the tea table, and patted it gently, "You must not have really read this carefully." Gu's enterprise undertakes the same salary and various benefits as government enterprises for all employees of the company, and because of this, they are taken care of by the government. As far as I know, they are not only involved in civilian products, but also responsible for the production of military materials, can others compare with them? Those who love to settle small accounts will of course not be favored by the government, and they can only fend for themselves. ”

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