"I smiled proudly, and I smiled proudly, I saw you floating all over the sky. I smiled smugly, smirked smugly, and all of them were stilted when I encountered the plane. Guangxu was singing a song to entertain himself in the sun room on the second floor, and the sound of jujube came from behind.

"What is the emperor singing?" Yang Zao'er had a big belly and walked over step by step.

"Yo yo yo, sit down quickly. I can't wear my wife out. Guangxu trotted up and motioned for the little magpie to leave, and personally helped Yang Zao'er to sit down.

"The emperor is very happy today."

"That's it. The Germans signed a contract, and they purchased 100 airships for 1 million pounds, and they will also provide officers trained by the Qing Dynasty, 500 pounds for half a year, and the first phase is 200 people. Low-interest loans worth £5 million will also be provided over the next five years. Now the Qing Dynasty finally has money again. Although it did not reach the original price of 20,000 pounds a ship, Guangxu was already very satisfied.

"The concubine has heard a lot of complaints from the guards in the palace about the emperor's sale of airships, saying that this is my artifact, how can I easily make a move on others?"

"That's because they don't know the truth. The biggest drawback of airships is that they are slow and full of flammable gas. After Guangxu looked around and saw that there was no one, he whispered beside Zao'er: "Our aircraft can already glide by manpower, as long as the engine can go further and completely replace manpower." When we put the machine gun on the plane, what will happen when the slow, bulky airship meets the faster and more agile plane? "Guangxu seems to have seen the scene of a European airship covering the sky encountering three or five Chinese planes. The fireworks are so beautiful.

What Guangxu did not say was that there were only about 100 commanders and fighters in the entire Qing Air Force, and the total number of ground crews under the direct jurisdiction of the Air Force was about 400. Did Germany send 500 people at a time to arrange it? In fact, the purchase agreement signed between the Qing Dynasty and Germany was only a means of external propaganda. What was actually signed was a treaty of cooperation in the development and improvement of airships.

Of the 500 first cohorts sent by Germany, only 100 will participate in the Air Force training. The rest of the people, including R&D personnel and senior technicians, are waiting in Wilhelmshaven, waiting for the lens processing equipment exported to Qing to be loaded on the ship and then shipped to Qing State. They will work with Qing researchers in the Qing Kingdom to develop new airships, aiming techniques, and attack techniques.

The power of the airship has been proven by actual combat. Now that Germany has purchased it, Britain, France and other countries, especially Britain, will inevitably come up with containment measures. Guangxu believed in their strong scientific research ability, but they could not come up with equipment that could be fought against in a short period of time. Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted too much to break out of the European continent. His only obstacle was the British Navy. Once the airship is in hand, Wilhelm II will inevitably show it off, if Britain is unable to confront it. Then Germany would inevitably begin to provoke Britain, which Britain could not tolerate. Therefore, Britain and France must also purchase airships from China, so that the imperial court has enough funds for preliminary construction.

It is also politically significant, as China, which has always been able to import only military equipment from Europe. It is possible to export arms to Europe. This has greatly improved China's international status. Moreover, such military orders can make domestic factories run at full capacity, and a large number of skilled workers are the confidence to support the country's industrial development. Everyone knows that airships are expensive, but few people know that half of the cost of airships comes from refining hydrogen, and airships exported to Germany do not carry hydrogen, so the profits are greatly increased. The imperial court can give part of the profits to the factory, and the profits will stimulate the construction of more factories, as long as the imperial court guides it carefully, this will be the best opportunity for the Qing Dynasty to improve the capacity of private industry.

Moreover, exporting airships can pull Europe into an arms race, and armaments is an industry with only inputs and no outputs (unless there is a foreign war). Although it cannot be as harmful as the United States overthrowing the Soviet Union, it can at least effectively contain Europe and make it relax its attention to the Far East. Got it in one fell swoop......

Guangxu was happy. Ogne looked bitter. On the evening of the airship landing in Beijing, Ogne invited the ministers of various countries to a meeting, at which Ogne once again raised the issue of unanimity with China, and no one expressed any objection, including the German minister Barland, who did not speak. However, after the end of the three-day test ride. Germany, however, was the first to break the agreement. Ogne has received domestic news, Kaiser Wilhelm II has spoken. It's time for Germany to find its place in the sun. The German Army could not take the French Army into account, but what about the Navy of the British Empire? If Germany wants to pursue a position in the sun, it will inevitably challenge the British Royal Navy, and now Germany has the confidence of airships.

"Chancellor, I don't understand why Germany can sign the same contract as Germany, but we can't." Under pressure from the German side, the British cabinet decided to purchase the same number of airships from the Qing state. But when Ogna took the contract and found that the same contract was signed by Qing Guo with Germany but not with Britain, Ogna suddenly became angry. Ougna, who was sitting in front of Li Hongzhang, already had a questioning tone between his words.

"Minister Ogne, you know, Qing Guo's industrial capacity is very poor, whether it is mechanical processing or electrical appliances, Germany has always given China great support in these aspects, especially in the construction of warships." Li Hongzhang replied with a smile.

The corners of Ogne's mouth twitched twice involuntarily. Sure enough, the Qing State began to make a fuss about the British resale of warships again. Since the beginning of the resale of warships, Britain has had all sorts of troubles in the Far East. In the Qing Dynasty, all Qing non-governmental organizations spontaneously boycotted British goods and British company factories, raw silk, the main source of British income in the Far East, had withered day by day, banks had gradually shrunk because of the non-deposit business received, and the railroads, a project with large profits, had been robbed by Germany because of the resale of warships. In Japan, because of the blockade of the Qing Dynasty, except for food and other necessities, all goods sent to Japan related to metals or gunpowder were either intercepted or finally disappeared into the ocean inexplicably, so that no merchant dared to do business with the Japanese. I thought that I would lose a part of China in exchange for the whole of Japan. I never thought that I had lost the whole of East Asia. In order to support Japan, the British Empire lost too much.

Without waiting for Ogne to speak, Li Hongzhang took over the topic and continued: "Mr. Ogne, for you personally, whether it is my emperor or me. They all have great respect for you. We all know that you would prefer to support China, but your government doesn't. You have tried your best to coordinate the relationship between China and the UK, but your efforts have not been recognized by your government. According to our emperor's intentions, your country is not qualified to procure. But our country is still willing to sell airships to your country, just for your sake. My country has trusted you, but you can't trust your government. Your country is a strong country, and no one dares to break the contract with your country, but China, as a weak country. We do not have the ability to hold powerful countries accountable for defaults. Hope you understand. ”

These words should not have been exported in diplomatic situations, but Li Hongzhang was not worried that these words would be reflected back to China by Ogne. After all, he has a high opinion of Ogne himself. As a minister of a country, if you want to make political achievements, you must be recognized by that country. Now that the Qing State has recognized him, as long as the country can cooperate on some issues, this political achievement will come out. This will be of great benefit to him returning to his home country for appointment or promotion. National interests naturally matter. However, more people tend to prioritize personal interests in non-principled matters. In recent years, the tens of thousands of pounds that have been paid to Ogne cannot be paid in vain.

Ogne stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Prime Minister, for your compliment." But as a minister of the British Empire, I still have to ask how to sign this order? ”

"Full payment in one lump sum is the only requirement in our country. Mr. Minister may inquire about the country, but I can sign a contract at any time as long as your country agrees. These are the words of the Prime Minister of the Great Qing Dynasty. ”

"I personally believe in the credibility of Mr. Prime Minister. Mr. Prime Minister, I have been authorised by the Government to pay £5 million for your country's triple naval gun technology. ”

Li Hongzhang, who was still smiling, immediately lowered his face: "Mr. Minister, the vast majority of officials in our country actually don't want to sell the airship to your country. ”

No one knows what mood Ogna was in when he left the Chancellery, but as soon as he returned to the Legation, he sent a telegram back to his homeland. But the telegram has just been sent. His adjutant told him the news: In response to the hospitality of the people in various places, the Qing Dynasty will hold a second airship display in Guangzhou, and the people who are interested in taking the airship will be able to watch the beautiful scenery of the entire Guangzhou Bay and Hong Kong from the air.

See the beauty of Hong Kong from the air. It is better to make it clear that the Qing State has the ability to attack the British Far East Fleet from the air! Ogne slammed his fist on the table, which was a contempt and provocation of the Qing State against the British Empire.

The French minister Shi Alan walked out of the Qing Foreign Ministry dejectedly, and the Qing said that if they wanted their airships, they had to purchase 100 ships at a time, and they would not buy 10 or 8 ships. It's not that France doesn't want to buy it, but in the face of German pressure, France must come up with countermeasures. It was thought that the country that first invented the airship could easily develop it with only a little investment in research and development. However, one of the two airships in a row encountered a cross wind in the air and broke down, and the other suddenly caught fire when landing. I want to buy a few Qing airships and go back to study. But it was rejected by China. But France only lent a billion francs to Russia, where can it come up with a million pounds at once......

The Americans do not think that airships pose any threat to the United States, and the Americans have no interest in airships at all. But business-savvy Americans immediately found out. When the Qing Kingdom sold the airship, most of the parts were handed over to private enterprises for production. Although the American minister Tian Bei failed to win orders for spare parts, he got a large number of purchase orders for machinery and equipment from the Qing State, which is definitely good news for the United States. However, this is all a businessman's business, what does it have to do with him as a minister?

The sale of airships is in full swing. In the end, Britain had to sign a lump sum purchase contract for full payment, because a large-scale construction of a landing site and supporting facilities for future airships was being built outside Guangzhou, which was a large air base planned to dock 50 airships in the future. For this reason, the Qing State transferred a battalion from the First Division to Guangzhou, and with them as the core, another division was formed in Guangzhou, and one of the regiments was stationed in Shenzhen. Britain needed not only airships to fight Germany, but also airships to deter the Qing Dynasty. In order to ensure British leadership in the Far East, they had to withdraw two more capital ships from the Indian fleet and assign them to the Far East Fleet.

However, none of this had anything to do with Japan, and after a week of recuperation, the Japanese group returned to normalcy and started formal negotiations with the three countries of Qingde and Hawaii. On one side of the negotiating table sat the three kingdoms of Qingde and Hawaii. On the other side sat Britain, the United States, France and other countries. Even Russia can sit at the negotiating table, but as a Japanese negotiator, he can only sit in the auditorium. This is a negotiation about Japan, and Japan is only qualified to sit in on it. At the peace talks. Shan County Youpeng closed his eyes in despair.

If it is understandable that the Qing State's offer of 100 million pounds in war reparations is a sky-high asking price waiting to be repaid, then Qing Guo's demand for the lease of Yokosuka Port, the opening of Tokyo Bay, and the Qing State's request to freely import goods and equipment to Japan and establish factories is not to mention that Britain and Germany are also sweating profusely, so it is better to simply let Qing Guo occupy Japan.

For three days, there was no progress in the negotiations, and the Qing State could lower the demand for reparations or even not. However, the conditions for the lease of the port of Yokosuka and the opening of Tokyo Bay were firmly in place. This made Britain very annoyed, a country that was still under the concession of land by another country actually wanted to go to the land of another country? When did the Qing state also become a great power? Because the conditions thrown by the Qing State are too high. Neither Germany nor Hawaii was embarrassed to speak.

During the two-day adjournment, there was a frequent exchange of ministers. Queen Liliukalani of Hawaii enjoyed the feeling of being a victorious nation, and had remained in the Qing country since the outbreak of the war, after delaying her return home due to her expedition to the Qing Kingdom. Hawaii, a small country in the Pacific Ocean that has always looked at people's faces, is now also entitled to demand reparations from others. It seems that it is really the right choice to choose Qing Guo as a dependence. Facing the visiting British Minister Ogne. Liliukalani said regretfully: "Mr. Minister, Hawaii is a small country, we just want to defend our homeland, we don't want and don't have the ability to dominate the world. This time he was also forced to get involved in the war between the Qing and Japan, and the officers and men of the Hawaiian fleet who remained in the Qing country had not returned home for a long time. For Japan we have only one demand, to pay 2 million pounds in compensation. As soon as the money is in hand, our fleet will return to Hawaii immediately. ”

"Your Majesty, in response to your request, we will urge Japan to pay as soon as possible. Although I cannot guarantee that the amount of compensation you have requested will be met, I am confident that I will be able to give you a satisfactory answer in the end. ”

After getting a clear answer from the Queen of Hawaii. Eugene met with Barand non-stop, and the result was that Germany needed the island of Kyushu. Now there is only one Qing country left.

On the first day after the resumption of the session, there was no waiting for Britain to put forward conditions. Tang Shaoyi, the Qing negotiator and the secretary of the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke first: "China can give up its demand for Tonkin Bay and only demand that Japan pay an indemnity of 2 million pounds, but Japan must return the occupied vassal state of China, Ezo. With that, he threw out a large stack of materials.

Ezo Island is Hokkaido, Japan. During the Han Dynasty of China, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Prefectures; During the Tang Dynasty in China, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Andong Prefecture; Ming Dynasty period in China. Hokkaido is under the jurisdiction of the Nuer Kandu Division. The indigenous Ezo people of Hokkaido paid tribute to the Chinese government during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, and received canonization from the Southern Dynasties. At one point, the Northern Wei Dynasty sent people to the area of present-day Hokkaido and Kuye Island to ask for whale oil. It is a fact that the indigenous people of Hokkaido, the Ezo people, attached themselves to China during the Tang Dynasty. However, at the end of the decline of the Ming Dynasty, it was forcibly annexed by Japan.

"Ezo people?" Eugene was confused. He hadn't heard of it. I could only reach out and take the information of the Qing Kingdom and read it.

"Youpeng in Yama County, you Japan have occupied the Ezo country of my domain for nearly a hundred years. At that time, I was powerless to ask for it, but now it is time to return it. Tang Shaoyi's words are not negotiable.

"Hokkaido is the territory of my Great Japanese Empire." Regarding the Japan Peace Conference, Aritomo Yamayama finally had his first speech.

But his speech had no effect, what Tang Shaoyi needed was that Yama Prefecture Youpeng would prove that Ezo Island was not the land of the indigenous people of Japan. So Tang Shaoyi issued a document: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a document submitted to China by the Ezo Autonomous Association, and President Su I Hirano expounded the history of the Ezo people's tribute to China. Please also note that the seal stamped on such an official document is the seal of the king of Ezo given by the former Ming court of China. Therefore, China, as the suzerain, has the obligation and right to ensure the existence of the vassal state. ”

Ezo Autonomous Association? Soga Plain? Even Barand couldn't figure out what the Qing Kingdom was doing, if you have money, you don't have to help a former vassal state restore the country? The problem is that it's still the kind of money that is reversed. Are the Chinese all crazy?

After the delegates of various countries circulated the so-called credentials of the Ezo Autonomous Association, they had no choice but to acquiesce to this fact. Because the Qing herald who had just come to report had confirmed that the Qing Army had landed in Hokkaido and was cleaning up the Japanese.

As soon as the conditions for the Qing Kingdom were proposed, the situation in Japan as a whole became clear. Germany wanted the island of Kyushu, Qing wanted Hokkaido, and Britain still occupied the most populous and largest main island. The Americans were not happy, they helped Japan pay the First Sino-Japanese indemnity but did not get any benefits. As a result, although the negotiations continued, the main issue was no longer with the four countries that went to war. (To be continued)