The third thing to see is the ambassador of Russia, this is also a big country, a big country cannot be humiliated, and becoming an enemy of Russia is not the result that Downing wants.

The Russian ambassador said: "Dear Mr. Windsor, our Russian Empire would like to urgently purchase a batch of wireless telegraph machines, and the price is negotiable, hehe! ”

Tang Ning smiled like a chrysanthemum and said, "It's easy to say!" Russia is a great empire, and it is a great honor to be able to serve His Majesty the Tsar! I'm not talking about fun, the price is really not a problem, so, I am not short of money, first give His Majesty the Tsar a pair of telegraphs, tomorrow, you will take people to the Swiss telegraph company to receive training, that pair of telegraphs will be taken away at any time, this is my gift to the great Russian Empire, we will talk about business in the future, and call a few more people to train. ”

Since he led the arrangement of the world pattern after Napoleon's defeat with Britain, Europe seems to have forgotten the "great Russian Empire", and did not expect that he could receive such a courtesy in front of the world's greatest scientific giants.

Downing "courtesy" the Russians in this way, and the British spies found out that the Russians had gone to the Swiss telegraph company to receive training with great fanfare, and quickly reported to their superiors.

Putting pressure on the British government in this way can be described as thunderous. If you don't invest in me, I will be the enemy!

Before the British government could react, Rothschild could no longer stand it, and Frankfurt's big boss Ameschel was 80 years old and could not speak very well, so he took his 33-year-old nephew Meyer to Zurich to negotiate with Downing on behalf of the Rothschild family.

Downing was very enthusiastic about Ameschel's uncle and nephew, serving tea and pouring water, and I didn't know that he admired the Rothschild financial dynasty and couldn't extricate himself.

They did say some compliments to each other in order to greet each other, and that was not counted. Ever since Downing received the invitation to talk with the Rothschild family, he has been thinking about how to use this opportunity to make some gains, and revenge is the least cost-effective thing for this kind of thing, which is not beneficial to others and himself, and only fools can do it.

Downing was definitely not short of money, and of course he wanted benefits that money could not buy, such as the post of governor of the Straits Settlements, which he had always cherished, and even handed over the defense of the colonies to his private soldiers, so that he could de facto control the entire Malay Peninsula, which was a great thing. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, the only way from Europe to China was not the Strait of Malacca, and Singapore's duty-free policy made the East India Company unable to reap the benefits, relying on opium, prostitutes, and casinos to earn some pocket money from Singaporean Chinese coolies.

Downing calculated, if he wanted to gain control of the Straits Settlements, he would have to pass five levels. First, the board of directors of the East India Company, which proposed a proposal to the British government, included the Rothschild family, the Scottish bankers, and individual large retail investors. Secondly, representatives of the British government did not obstruct the programme, and the key figures were the Viceroy of India, Dalhousie, and the chairman of the Indian Control Commission, Wood. When Wood was Chancellor of the Exchequer, he recommended Downing to be Governor of the Straits Settlements, and that person was fine. A series of Scottish bankers, he has a good relationship with them, and then he tempts them to take advantage of them, and he is sure to get it, and the big retail investors will do the same. In the end, he reconciled with Rothschild and the Indian governor-general, and the Malay Peninsula could be cooked.

Ameschel finally proposed: "Lord Earl is young and promising, and the future is terrifying, what is there to offend my nephew Lionel, I hope to bear with me, I am here today, I am entrusted by Lionel to talk to you about the British Telegraph Company, negotiate a price, and Rothschild withdraws." ”

Tang Ning smiled like a flower and became more enthusiastic: "How can the old gentleman be so loving? The British telegraph company is a good business, and the Swiss telegraph company is a small fight, and will not compete with the British telegraph company. After BT is on the right track, it is a proper annual income of more than one million and it is growing every year, why don't we think of a plan to continue to cooperate? Where in the world can we find such a powerful partner as Rothschild? ”

Well? Unexpectedly, old Armschel and his nephew Meyer glanced at each other.

The old gentleman's brain was not good, but he was still clever, and said: "That's great, the earl is really broad-minded, if you have any good ideas, please draw a line." ”

Tang Ning put on a worried expression, and said: "You know, I have deployed a rubber plantation in the Straits Settlements, and I may open a rubber factory in the future, but I am quite dissatisfied with the security and business environment there, pornography, gambling, drugs, and gangsters are rampant, which is not conducive to the long-term development of the empire, and I am ready to go to the Duchy of Hesse to recruit mercenaries to ensure the safety of business." But when I saw the two of you today, I suddenly had a better idea - simply, I will take over the control of the Straits Settlements from the East India Company, build Singapore into a free, safe, and prosperous port, and let me satisfy my vanity in addition to making money. ”

It turned out to be the idea of fighting the Straits Settlements, no wonder he was so well-behaved today, Mai Ye showed a sudden sense of enlightenment, he had long understood the history of this big tyrant, and knew that he had lost the opportunity to govern the Strait because of the "like Chinese" turmoil, this time it was good, it seemed that he not only wanted to govern, but also wanted to directly take the ruling power from the East India Company, which was difficult. In the era of imperialism, the British Empire was still looking for an opportunity to take all the control of India directly from the East India Company, would the Empire agree to this plan? Of course it won't be easy. Also, Tang Tuhao can do the easy thing alone, he is not a person without energy, can he put Rothschild right with a little less catty?

It turned out that the two sides really had the possibility of cooperation, and the uncle and nephew suddenly had two sincere smiles, the original smiles were barely squeezed out, which was more ugly, and now they finally changed a little.

Sending off the uncle and nephew of the richest financial empire, Downing found that the British ambassador Murray had come to the door again, and this man had to be seen. Sure enough, Murray came to the door for Downing's "capital enemy" behavior, and implied that such behavior would be greatly detrimental to the interests of the empire and contrary to the Earl's duty to serve the country.

Tang Ningpi replied with a smile: "Your Excellency is a public official, although he has the name of an earl, he is only a commoner, he only knows how to take care of his own small business, the British telegraph company is like my own son, but now he has been taken away, I didn't say anything, and now I have taken the trouble to give birth to a son, and you still talk nonsense about how I raise my son, isn't it a little unkind?" There are gods who look up three feet away, and whether you are a person or an official, you have to speak with your conscience, you say, right? ”

The Earl's ability to seize the moral high ground is not small, and he is indifferent to the coercion and temptation of the ambassador, and he also puts forward the condition: "Oh, I have a chance to serve the motherland, according to reliable intelligence, Singapore is very badly governed by the East India Company, I have the heart to contribute to the country, and it is difficult for me to be a governor or something, I don't know if this idea is reliable, the ambassador will give the staff officer." ”

The ambassador was stunned for a moment, it turned out that this guy still had a different embrace, but it was not just the control of the telegraph company, and he had a really big appetite. The Earl of Cambridge has a lot of chips in his hand, but there are not many things that the government can promise, the British telegraph company is nothing, and the telegraph king is very easy to "have another son", so he feels that this deal is not worth it, and he has ideas.

The Governor of the Straits Settlements was under the Viceroy of India, and the Viceroy of India was under the Control Commission, which was a small position and should be ...... Not too much, right? His Excellency decided to explain Downing's conditions to the Prime Minister in a more supportive manner.

In fact, this is only a condition that Downing mentioned in passing, and when the plan for him to conspire to control the Straits Settlements after reconciling with Rothschild is passed, that is the real intention, the governor is nothing, and a petty official can be removed at any time.

The object of the negotiation is very lively. After a day of exchanges, the uncle and nephew of Armsshell came again with a seemingly reasonable proposal: Governor Dalhousie withdrew from BT in exchange for the same valuation of his shares as the British government had bought 25% of the shares, i.e. a total capital of 12 million. Dalhousie has 5 per cent in his hands, which is £600,000. Lionel will continue to hold the shares, but will have to sign an exit agreement with Downing, allowing Lionel to exit at any time at a buyout price of £3 million. In exchange, Rothschild supported any proposal that would help Downing control the Straits Settlements, and that proposal would be proposed by Downing himself, as long as it didn't seem too ridiculous to the British government.

The "buyout" deal was really creative, and Downing also came up with a plan that would make him appear to be still one of BT's major shareholders on the surface, and not make British citizens and officials feel too threatened. Well, this buyout, not only Lionel can exercise the option at any time, Downing can also exercise the option at any time, and the same is true of Dalhousie's shares, on the surface you don't quit, but you have a buyout agreement. These agreements are all secret. In other words, the fact that Downing has quietly taken full control of the British Telegraph Company and can increase his total shareholding to 55% at any time, and then he will be the only big boss, the government's veto, in fact, the restraining effect is not so obvious. BT has become Tang Ning's Yiyantang, he is making moves in it, and the government representatives can only stare dryly, not to mention, after this "second son" forced palace incident, everyone already knows that he can still sacrifice this big move in the end.

You could say that Downing took full control of BT for £3.6 million, and also got Rothschild and the Viceroy of India to cooperate with him in controlling the Straits Settlements. When they are still bullish on BT's business, then the £3.6 million option will not be exercised, and it can be said that Downing has been given the opportunity to control the Channel without spending anything.

The three belly black forces played a trick and quietly reached an agreement, nothing remains the same on the surface, even the president of BT has not changed, this person is just a puppet, and Tang Ning doesn't know what he looks like.