In October 1885, Mr. Houghton, who had been in China since the First Opium War, had been dealing with Sino-British affairs in China, and was long past the age of retirement. But today, he had just boarded the ship back to London, and he looked at China, where he had lived for more than 40 years, his body was still straight, and his face was meticulous, as if he was still immersed in the situation when the British army invaded China more than 40 years ago.

Horton once served as the Department of Customs and Excise of the Chinese River, the British Ambassador's Translator in China, the Counselor of the Embassy in China, the British Minister in China, and so on. No foreigner knew China better than he did, so when he returned to England, he was hired by the Cabinet as an adviser on British Far Eastern affairs.

"Welcome back to England, my old friend." British Foreign Secretary David came over enthusiastically, and he still had great respect for this old man who had sought great benefits for the empire in the Far East.

Horton took off his hat very gentlemanly and looked polite: "It's a great honor to meet you." ”

David said leisurely, "The Empire has sent two more colonial divisions to Burma, but the parliament is still hesitating. Because Burma actually agreed to the Empire's demands, we have no reason to attack Burma anymore. ”

Horton hit the nail on the head and said: "The parliament must consider that Myanmar is a subject country of China after all, so it is so hesitant." ”

"With your knowledge of China. How strong is China? After all, the Empire has not had close contact with this country for twenty years, and we only know that they have just defeated France, and even captured tens of thousands of French soldiers. In addition, the Russians seem to have suffered a little at the hands of the Chinese. David asked cautiously.

With a faint smile on his face, Horton said, "When has the council's courage become so small, and the benefits are too great compared to the risks we are taking. Since the 15th century, we have known that the richest places in Asia are India and China. Now that the empire has completely owned India, then only China remains. In the vicinity of China, we only have a small area of Hong Kong and a few concessions along the coast, and China also has its vast interior. Now that the French have completely withdrawn from competition in southwestern China, as long as the empire controls Burma, we can get the three provinces of southwestern China, thus uniting with our sphere of influence in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and then the whole of southern China will become the raw material source of the empire. ”

Horton paused, his expression a little nostalgic, as if thinking about his days in China, "The Chinese are the most complex people in the world, and no one can fully understand him, including themselves." China has developed a lot in recent years, especially in recent years. They are growing at a terrifying rate. But that's why we have to occupy Burma as soon as possible. The Chinese often compare them to dragons, and the only way to keep them from hurting people is to keep them in castles. Now China is at war with the Russians, and has built a wall of its own to the north and west. If we build a wall to the south and unite with Japan, which has great ambitions for China, China will be surrounded on all sides. A dragon that can't fly out of the castle. It will only become a treasure for dragon slayer warriors. ”

David listened attentively and nodded from time to time.

And Houghton continued to war, knowing what he knew about the Far East: "England is not France. The reason why France lost to China in Vietnam was that the logistical supply gap between them was too far apart, and the French military forces on home had to be reinforced. It's almost half a world away, but the southeast coast, China's richest place, is just a stone's throw away. This is not the same as the war that will take place in Burma, where the empire has colonies in India, Turkey, Afghanistan, etc. The steamer set sail from Chittagong and could reach Rangoon in Burma in two days and one night, while the Chinese had to cross their high mountains in the west, and the supply advantage was completely reversed. ”

"You're saying that China will definitely intervene in the war in Burma, as it did in Vietnam." David asked carefully.

"Yes," Horton nodded affirmatively, "If China is the former Empress Dowager in power, as long as the empire does not provoke China too much, they will definitely not send troops without sending troops." But the young emperor who is now in control of China is a very ambitious and ** person, he has successfully gathered the forces demanding change in China, and now has a high prestige in the hearts of the Chinese people. Once the empire provokes a war in Burma, he will not let go of this opportunity to prove himself. That's why we have to take advantage of the fact that he and Russia are entangled to decisively send troops to control the whole of Burma as soon as possible, creating a fait accompli. ”

Convinced by Horton's analysis of the Far East, David took a bottle of whiskey and two goblets from the wine cabinet and said, "You are such a brilliant statesman, and I am glad that you were born in England." ”

The weather in Beijing has begun to cool down in October, and Guan Xuqing officially married two concubines on September 9 after marrying his queen of the main palace on August 8. Two sisters, green and blue.

The Forbidden City was still full of cheerful anger, and the eunuchs were sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground. Guan Xuqing was in the Heart Cultivation Hall at this time, looking at the recitals sent by various departments.

"Your Majesty, the King of Burma has sent an envoy to ask for our assistance." Prince Gong presented a telegram with both hands.

"Oh? What are the British looking for this time? Guan Xuqing took the telegram and read it.

Prince Gong said slowly: "Britain first protested against Myanmar against its trade discrimination against Britain, and demanded to supervise all foreign affairs activities in Myanmar. The King of Burma had already agreed to the British according to our request, but this time the British used Burma to take in Afghan anti-British bandits. Ask for troops to be stationed in Myanmar! ”

Guan Xuqing put down the telegram, looked at Prince Gong in front of him and said, "Sixth Uncle, you see if Britain really garrisons troops in Burma. How should I deal with myself? ”

Prince Gong pondered for a moment and said, "Back to the emperor, Burma is the gateway to the southwest of my Qing Dynasty. It is bordered by Yunnan, Guizhou and North Vietnam provinces, and is separated by a mountain from Tibet. From Thailand in the east, you can directly enter the Vietnamese Province of the Qing Dynasty and the Indian Ocean in the south. It is really a strategic location, and if the British forcibly occupy Burma, it is difficult to imagine how many troops our Qing Dynasty would need to defend the three southwestern provinces. ”

Guan Xuqing nodded with relief and said with a smile: "Sixth Uncle can see this layer, I am very relieved. Even if Burma is not a subject country of our Qing Dynasty, I will not let the British forcibly occupy it. ”

"But Your Majesty, England is no better than France. It already has a very large presence in the Far East, and India is the logistics base of Britain in the Far East. I'm ...... now," Prince Gong said worriedly.

"Rather than the British occupy Burma in the future and defend the three southwestern provinces, it is better to defeat the wolf ambitions of the British now." Guan Xuqing didn't wait for Prince Gong to speak, so he preemptively spoke.

The uncle and nephew looked at each other, but neither of them said anything. In fact, there is already a firm determination in their hearts......