Japan, which had been closed off from the rest of the world, was bombed open by U.S. warships, and since then, the Japanese have realized that they need a strong navy to ensure their security as an island nation. As a result, Japan, which was eager to develop, chose Britain, the most powerful naval country in the world, as its primary country to cooperate with. Britain also happened to bring British goods into the Japanese market through comprehensive cooperation with Japan, which made the United States extremely depressed, and they spent a long time trying to get the British cheaper. This makes the United States, which has always hoped to achieve the status of a great power, very disappointed. Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty's vigorous efforts to attract investment temporarily calmed the mood of the Americans.

Britain also did not live up to Japan's trust, and almost defeated the Qing State in the first year of the First Wu Dynasty. But the difference was thousands of miles, and the Qing Kingdom took advantage of Hawaii's hand to set Japan along. The Americans spent tens of millions of dollars on loans to Japan to compensate the Qing Dynasty, but Britain still used its position as a world leader to keep the United States at the other end of the Pacific Ocean. Now that Japan has been completely defeated, the situation in the Far East has become complicated.

China is too big, with a large population and vast land. The rise of China would inevitably jeopardize the interests of the British Empire in the Far East. Japan is an island country, and even if Japan is strong, as long as the powerful British Empire fleet can easily strangle Japan. This was a common belief among British MPs, and Ogner, as a minister to China, wanted to shove their heads down the toilet.

Because of the support for Japan to contain the Qing Dynasty, it led to the complete defeat of British investment in China. The Qing people not only consciously boycotted British companies and British goods, but also drew Germany and the United States in to counter Britain. This made Britain less and less important to the Qing Dynasty. Britain also had to take into account the Qing state's opinion on the Japanese issue, because Japan was now full of Qing troops. Otherwise, it will completely fall out with the Qing Kingdom. The Qing would tell the British that their Far East Fleet needed to purchase daily necessities from Xinhuipo. Oh no, Singapore is also full of Chinese, and maybe the Far East Fleet of the British Empire needs to source daily necessities from India. Ogna shuddered.

If the Qing wanted to use the partition of Japan to prove the rights of the Qing in the Far East, after all, the ultimate goal of Britain's support for Japan was to contain Russia, and Japan was obviously no longer worthy of further support, and it was still necessary to give up a little Japanese interest to ease relations with the Qing State, which was not a big deal for Britain. The Qing will inevitably lead this partition of Japan, and perhaps the countries can ignore the opinions of the small country of Hawaii. But with Germany, the-stirring stick, the whole negotiation is not going to be profitable.

Then Germany will have to use Japan to prove Germany's right to speak in the world, which is a headache for the British. Germany's strength had already destroyed the peace in Europe, and now they had come to destabilize the situation in the Far East, suddenly declaring war on Japan, and suddenly hiring Qing troops to fight for Germany. If the Qing and German countries did not reach any agreement in this war, this cannot even be deceived by ghosts. How to divide the forces of various countries in Japan and stabilize the situation in the Far East became a difficult problem before the British.

Ogne shook his head, still focusing on the scene. At this time, Barand was asking Li Hongzhang about the technical issues related to the triple naval guns and airships. This is an important question, listen carefully.

"At the time of the Battle of Arthur, all countries had warships to watch the battle, and they must have already seen the effectiveness of this triple artillery. The old man is a civil official, and now the old man of ordnance in the Qing Dynasty is so complicated that the old man doesn't understand it. What metallurgy, what interference. I believe that you should know better than the old man, and the old man doesn't have to make an axe. But when it comes to airships, everyone has seen the effect of bombing the army and bombing warships. As the Chief of Staff of our army told me. The Daqing Air Force could now bomb any location throughout Japan. ”

Li Hongzhang stopped here, and Barland asked impatiently: "Mr. Prime Minister." Do you know what is the farthest flight distance of your airship? ”。

"I'm afraid that even the R&D personnel can't answer this question, because the testing time is still short. Accurate data is not yet available. ”

"Excuse me, what are the results of the current test?"

Li Hongzhang, who was holding the wine glass, drank all the wine in the cup, and suddenly smiled slyly: "To use the most popular expression." What the Great Qing Kingdom can guarantee is that there will be no problem in flying a round trip from Berlin to London. After speaking, Li Hongzhang laughed.

As long as the patent rights of the airship can be purchased from the Qing State, does Germany still need to be afraid of Britain? Barland smiled, but Eugner was furious. This is a blatant instigation of Anglo-German relations.

But before Ogne could speak, Barland opened his mouth and answered: "Mr. Prime Minister, I wonder when you will have time to visit you?" ”

Li Hongzhang laughed: "Don't you just want to ask about the sale of the airship." Mr. Minister still don't ask, at least the old man doesn't dare to sell. Our emperor has reprimanded the old man, and he said that the heavy weapons of the military state should not be sold lightly. If the minister has such expectations, it is better to meet our emperor directly. ”

After hearing this, Barand immediately said goodbye and left, which is already a naked indication of Germany's attitude. This made Eugner very entangled, should he tell it too? However, as the ministers of the United States, France, Russia and other countries told him one after another, Eugene had to leave in advance.

In front of the stage, ministers from various countries gathered here again. But only Yang Du's face was calm here: "My emperor has a will, today is a rest, and he will not deal with state affairs." Ministers, please come back, and if you have something to do, please be early tomorrow—"

Li Hongzhang had just arrived home and sat down, when the porter came to report: German Minister Barand asked to see him.

Li Hongzhang sat in the lobby and said to the German minister who had just stepped through the door: "Mr. Barland, such a anxious attitude is not the proper performance of a good diplomat. ”

"Mr. Prime Minister, I'll get straight to the point in Chinese." Barand gave a salute: "My country would like to know the detailed process of your country's bombing and sinking of the Japanese warship Shikishima with an airship. ”

"I wonder how much your country is willing to pay for such a piece of news?"

"......" Barand never thought that Li Hongzhang would suddenly ask so specifically, didn't they all say that Chinese was subtle?

"Mr. Barland, this is a secret of our military aircraft. Let's be honest. This report is still on the way back to the capital, and even if it is sent to the capital, it is impossible to buy it for you. This is because this is the basis by which our country can negotiate Japanese affairs with the British. However, in the old man's opinion, although the airship is comparable to a big use. But the cost of its construction is not acceptable to our Qing Dynasty. Although the Qing Dynasty is large, the foundation is thin, and this scene in Japan can be said to have exhausted all the savings of the Qing Dynasty over the years. Therefore, after this war, the Qing Dynasty will inevitably be transferred back to domestic construction, which will require a lot of funds at that time. The old man suggested that the minister should send a telegram to the country, whether he could give the Qing Dynasty's support on this issue, and I think that my emperor will not disappoint your country. ”

The two talked for a while, and Barand left satisfied, and Eugene came to visit again.

In the face of Eugene's protest, he said: Qing Guo's airship can fly back and forth from Berlin to London, this kind of provocative speech. Li Hongzhang explained it this way: "Mr. Ogne, this is just an analogy. Of course, it may not be appropriate for your country, and I apologize for that. Just as this official said to Minister Barland, after the end of the war against Japan, the Qing Dynasty will reshift the focus of the government to domestic construction. Minister Barand expressed his strong support for this, although it is only a suggestion at this time. The Chinese pay attention to repaying kindness, and it is difficult for China to refuse some proposals from a country that has greatly helped our country. Therefore, in view of the possible help from Germany, it is inevitable that China will have some tilt towards Germany in its current national policy. I hope that Mr. Minister will convey this to your Government. ”

"Your Excellency, what if Japan provides the same support as Germany or higher?"

"Just as your country has helped my country. Relations between the two countries remain friendly. ”

In the end, Ogne left satisfied, and Li Hongzhang took a sip of the tea bowl. As a result, before he put down the porter and reported to the French Minister Shi Alan to ask for a meeting, Li Hongzhang sighed and could only welcome Shi Alan in again. Shi Alan walked on the front foot, and Tian Bei came again on behalf of the United States. Then the Russian minister Cassini came again to inquire about the news.

It has been said that politics is the art of talking nonsense, if you can go on and on for five hours without any substance. Then this person must be a wise politician. All afternoon, Li Hongzhang talked nonsense to every minister, and he turned over and over in fact, he just said: After this war, the Qing Dynasty will transfer the political dynasty to domestic construction. At that time, please give strong support from the top of the list. It just didn't give any promises.

Winter evenings always come early, and when night falls, the Prime Minister's Office finally quiets down. Li Hongzhang smiled, changed into civilian clothes and went out.

"A dignified Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's Honor. Every time I can come at the right time for dinner, this skill can be taught. Before Li Hongzhang finished saluting, Guangxu said to Li Hongzhang with a dark face: "Don't talk nonsense, help me move the table." ”

Now the queen is pot-bellied, and she is tired and panting when she walks. After sitting down at the table, it is always far away from the table, in order to facilitate the queen's meal, Guangxu will always wait for the queen to sit down before moving the table to the queen. Usually Kou Liancai is on the side, but since Li Hongzhang is here today, let's call him over to help.

"The emperor is so distressed by his mother, it really makes the old minister envious." Li Hongzhang saw that he was not wearing court clothes, so he casually made a joke.

Unexpectedly, Li Hongzhang's words made Yang Zao'er blush: "As an elder, it is really disrespectful to the old to laugh at the younger generation like this." ”

Yang Zao'er lowered her head and smiled shyly, Li Hongzhang opened his mouth and smiled, and Guangxu on the side knocked on the table with a dark face: "I will naturally love my daughter-in-law, I don't need you to say it." I guess I haven't eaten dinner yet, so let's sit down and eat together. I'll talk about anything serious until I'm done eating. ”

Li Hongzhang handed over the order. It is a supreme grace to be able to dine at the same table with the emperor, and the emperor really doesn't pay attention to etiquette when he wears civilian clothes, but it doesn't mean that he Li Hongzhang can not understand etiquette. Li Hongzhang found a slightly lower stool and sat at the bottom of the door, and moved a little to the side to avoid facing the emperor in front of him, as a sign of respect for the emperor.

At the dinner table, Li Hongzhang and Yang Zaoer were happy to talk, Li Hongzhang cried his grandson in the middle of the night for a while, so he couldn't sleep well, and after a while, he hugged the little grandson and was urinated. Guangxu didn't say much, so he kept picking vegetables for jujubes.

After dinner, Zao'er knew that the emperor and the prime minister had important matters to discuss, so they wanted to rest and go upstairs under the pretext of being tired. The emperor and the prime minister made a pot of tea and sat down.

"Sure enough, the emperor expected that our air force airship would blow up and sink the Japanese warship, and Germany couldn't wait." Li Hongzhang poured tea for Guangxu and said: "It is estimated that at this moment, Barand is applying for a loan and the cost of buying an airship from China." ”

"As long as Germany starts to buy airships, the British will definitely buy them in order to counteract. Britain and Germany have bought it, so should France buy it? Although the United States is far away on the other side of the ocean and has no urgent military pressure, the behavior of Britain and Germany will certainly stimulate the United States, because because the Qing Dynasty will therefore open up trade between Britain and Germany, which is not good news for the United States, which has excess capital. They will know that you will see me tonight, and I am sure that tomorrow the ministers will ask to see me. But I don't intend to see them, to lose their taste, and to give them time to report back to the country and get authorization. As long as the airship is sold and the loans from various countries are in place, the construction of the Qing Dynasty will have financial guarantees. Guangxu sighed: "The foundation of the Qing Dynasty is still thin, before the war, I really didn't expect that a cross-sea war would not be an expedition, so I made a fine effort to save the family foundation of the Qing Dynasty in the past few years——"

"The emperor doesn't need to worry, the emperor is at a high-spirited age. As long as under the leadership of the emperor, Lao Chen believes that in a few decades, my Qing Dynasty will definitely stand in the forest of the world. ”

"You're wrong, we don't have that much time with Ben." Guangxu whispered in Li Hongzhang's ear: "Within 17 years, we must have the ability to fight a world war, otherwise our children and grandchildren will have a hard time." ”

Li Hongzhang was inexplicably frightened, and whispered: "Seventeen years is too short, it will never be possible." How can the emperor be sure that it is exactly seventeen years? ”

Guangxu didn't answer but asked rhetorically: "How are the five-year development outlines you have prepared?" ”

"It is being revised according to the emperor's wishes. The ministers and ministers have already discussed the revised draft once, and some details are being improved. It is expected to be presented to the emperor within three days. ”

"Remember, this is China, and there is a great nation here that is good at creating miracles, so there is no need for anything impossible, because I believe that this nation can definitely do it." Guangxu looked at the dark night outside Xiangmen, but his eyes were extremely bright: "Air Force No. 1 to No. 3 airships are now being refurbished on Lidao, replacing them with the original and rudimentary bomb dropping system and dismantling the sighting system. In the past few days, we will not attend the court meeting on the grounds of physical discord, and tomorrow morning you will have to unite with the ministers to force Japan to publicly demand peace. The day after tomorrow, the Air Force's No. 1 to No. 3 airships will fly directly from Lidao to the campus on the outskirts of Beijing, and you will arrange for the ministers and military attachés to attend the exhibition. Because I will personally attend that day, I will have the ministers of various countries personally inspect the airship. You'll need to estimate the amount of money you'll need for the next five years so you know how to make a bid. (To be continued......)