"It's over, Spain is lost. ≤ Ding's "≤" ≤'≤, "The outcome of the naval battle between the United States and the West from the other side of the earth made the Qing General Staff Headquarters mourn. If nothing else, just to pile up guns and ammunition in the dock warehouse. The price was negotiated with the Spaniards, and the guns and ammunition that could be shipped after the return of the Spanish Armada could only be brought back to storage. What about the back-and-forth costs?!

"The United States has been unable to search for the Spanish fleet along the coast many times, so it is natural to think that the Spanish are going to the open sea. Who can be blamed for being annihilated now? The art of war has long been cloudy: the real is false, and the virtual is real. A bunch of inflexible idiots. Cheng Cheng, who has always been mild-mannered, began to speak violently, Spain's naval strategy towards the United States was what he suggested to the Spaniards, but the Spaniards did not follow his plan.

"What would you do if Chief of Staff Cheng were to command the Spanish fleet?" Ouyang Zhenhua asked on the side.

"The reason why the Americans searched along the coast was not only because it was the fastest, but more importantly, the first task of the American fleet at this time was to defend the American coastline, and the second was to destroy the Spanish fleet. When the city of New York was destroyed by artillery fire, the primary task of the American fleet to defend the coast was practically gone, and it was natural that the best way to destroy the Spanish fleet would be sought. If I were in command, I would have commanded the fleet to go south along the coast to bombard Norfolk and sink the 'Brooklinger' at the docks, even if all the shells had been used, and the American fleet would not come out to intercept it. Because we told the Americans with practical actions that their fleet must also be on the coastline. At the very least, it would make it impossible for the American fleet to blockade Cuba and allow all kinds of supplies to be delivered. Now it's all right. The Spanish fleet was completely destroyed, and the United States would surely blockade Cuba. Having lost its supplies, the Spanish army in Cuba had no choice but to surrender. Wan Cheng slapped the table angrily, and the ammunition couldn't be bought. This freight is calculated on the head of the navy.

"Spain also had a battleship and a heavy cruiser. As long as it is repaired, it will still have a great deterrent effect on the United States. ”

"What a fart. In terms of the Spaniards' ability to repair, it would take at least half a year to repair the two warships, but the Spanish Cuban army could not have lasted half a year. Wang Shizhen is telling the truth, the industrial capacity and dock facilities of various countries are the targets of Qing spies abroad.

"It's come to this, and it's useless. What about Wu Deren? Didn't he come back from the new homecoming, why didn't he see others? Ouyang Zhenhua asked.

"People are on duty in Yingtai. As soon as I came back, I went directly to report to the Royal Praetorian Guard. ”

"This time, he has already done a great job in completing the Qing fleet's cruise in Malacca, didn't the emperor ask him to reorganize the navy? What did he do again? ”

"He hasn't finished his three-month duty yet, so he just ran over. Who knows him-" Cheng Cheng sighed and said, "Don't be old Wu, you can help me think of a way first." Ammunition has already been delivered to the dock. You can't really ship it back, can you? ”

There was a sigh at the staff headquarters, and all the major generals climbed on the map to find a way for this batch of ammunition. At this moment, Yingtai Guangxu was staring at the straight Wu Deren standing at the door, and he was curious: "Wu Deren, I went to Singapore and came back to change sex, so honest." ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen is already very honest, okay."

"Don't stand guard for me, you are the commander-in-chief of the navy, go back and put the navy in order first."

"Don't, Your Majesty, I'll give you three months' post, it's not time yet. Besides, now the Navy has nothing to do. There is no rush for this meeting. ”

"Forget it, leave it to you. Let's go with me first. ”

After the court meeting, in the No. 1 conference room of the State Council, the division of official posts was decided. Only then did Wu Deren get up and play: "Your Majesty." The two destroyers sent to the Indian Ocean docked at Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, and are now protesting with the British, but the British's insistence on driving us away. What should the Navy do? ”

In the Maldives and Krasha Islands in the Indian Ocean, a powerful group of pirates suddenly appeared. They killed people and crossed goods, and nine out of ten of the missing cargo ships in this generation were poisoned by this group of pirates. The British Indian Ocean Fleet also carried out a number of encirclement raids on these places. Not only did they not suppress the arrogance of these pirates, but on the contrary, these pirates seemed to become stronger and stronger. They even raided land and looted some coastal towns. Not only Britain, but also France, Germany, the United States, and Italy have lost a large number of cargo ships and personnel in these places, and these five countries are also the five countries that have suffered the most losses.

The Maldives and Krasha Islands are stuck on the route from Malacca to the Red Sea. The Qing State was the first to propose to send its own warships to escort the escort in this area, and before the content of the negotiations came and the Qing State carried out armed escort in this area, it had already become how the Qing State would escort the escort. After all, it is difficult for the British to have more say in the face of their unfavorable situation of encirclement and suppression, and this move of the Qing State has also been supported by France, Germany, the United States and Italy. No matter how strong Britain is, it is not strong enough to dare to confront all of the above countries. Zai Qing only sent two destroyers, and only needed Britain to provide a few ports for maintenance, and British supplies Qing Guo did not pay for them. Although the British felt that this was a move by the Qing people to show their ambitions, they were no longer happy to enter the Indian Ocean with the Qing forces, so they had to agree.

After Wu Deren's fraudulent negotiations in Singapore, the British finally agreed that the Qing would send two destroyers to escort ships in the Indian Ocean to ensure the normal commercial trade of their merchant ships. But what the British didn't expect was that the British opened the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka to the Qing escort ships, but they didn't expect the Qing to go to Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz. What are Qing people doing here?

"What? You're embarrassed to ask Lao Tzu. If it weren't for the wrong information provided by you British, how could Lao Tzu have come? This time, the commander of the escort fleet, Jiang Chengyin, looked aggrieved: "What pirates only have old-fashioned wooden warships, bullshit." They had a cruiser of at least three thousand tons with at least four guns of more than 15 mm on it. As a result, Lao Tzu was chased here by pirates like a dog, and you should come when Lao Tzu is willing to come. Our Qing Royal Navy was not so embarrassed in the face of a strong enemy, and now it is being chased everywhere by pirates, and it has made a big hole in the warship. How will I explain it when I go back? Jiang Chengyin looked at the big hole on the warship that was punched out by pirates. Suddenly squatted on the ground and cried. Seeing this, the British governor Abbas had no choice but to persuade him. Arrange accommodation, food and maintenance, and report the findings of the Qing people.

The Qing ** ship suddenly appeared in the Strait of Hormuz. Although it was only two insignificant destroyers of less than 1,000 tons, its appearance was like inserting the Indian Ocean, which belonged only to the British, into the foot of the Qing people, which made the British very uncomfortable. Britain promised free ship repairs and other benefits to make the Qing people leave quickly, but the Qing proposed to send the main force of the South Ocean Fleet into the Indian Ocean to retaliate against the pirates, and the diplomatic war of words between the Qing and Britain continued. This was just an act of revenge, and all the pirates were eliminated to ensure the safety of the Indian Ocean.

"Our country has completely withdrawn its troops from Japan, and there is no squadron in Japan now. As a country of etiquette, we have done our best, and this is the attitude that a responsible major country must have. "During the talks between the foreign ministers of the Qing State and the ministers of various countries in China. The same phrase is used when it comes to the Indian Ocean.

It doesn't matter whether China is a country of etiquette or not, the British don't care whether they are responsible or not, and Britain also has strong military force to ensure that China will be responsible, but the word big country in Tang Shaoyi's words deeply stimulated the British.

"What is a British Empire when a country that has only won a few wars dares to claim that it is a great power?" As the Prime Minister of the British Empire, the Marquess of Salisbury was extremely unhappy.

"Then do you want to agree to the request of the Qing people?" Salisbury's nephew Arthur? James? Balfour asked.

"I don't agree, the Indian Ocean belongs to the British Empire, and the Qing people must not be allowed to interfere. The Qing Kingdom took advantage of the slaughter of the Chinese by the natives of the Nanyang to reach into the South Seas, and by attacking Hokkaido, Japan, which was actually occupied by Japan, no, it is now called Anui Island. Then I found an excuse to reach out to the Philippines. Hell, it's called Luzon now. Didn't you discover the ambitions of the Qing Kingdom? They can do it, but if the pirates can't be wiped out or the Qing State simply exterminates the pirates, then is there a reason for the Qing State to stay there forever? Qingguo, in their own words. Qing is the-stirring stick of the British Empire. ”

Britain believed that this was a lie about the military situation of the Qing State, and the Qing State believed that Britain was concealing the military situation, and the foreign affairs departments of the Qing State and the United Kingdom were drooling all day long. The ministers of both places are busy and have to fly. Germany has come forward to speak for the Qing Dynasty, and every country must ensure the smooth flow of shipping lanes and the safety of trade. If the British thought that the Qing were insufficient, the great German Empire could afford to exterminate the pirates. The British refused even to Qing Guo, and would they agree to Germany coming in? In fact, the Germans also knew that this was impossible. But that's what they want to do, because if they can make Britain unhappy, Germany will be happy. France also came forward to clean up the country, and the Qing country itself bears the military expenses for the suppression of bandits, why don't you Britain agree. Italy also stood up, and if Britain couldn't exterminate the pirates, then what reason was there not to let the Qing people try?

The United States was also for the Qing country at first, but soon they shut their mouths because the hateful Qing country stretched out its hand to the United States.

The United States was stunned by the beating of Spain, and although it finally annihilated the Spanish Armada, the tragic situation in New York made the American economy a mess. Bankruptcy and unemployment became the mainstream conversation among Americans, and some people thought of East Texas, a place that had done miracles.

The war on the East Coast has not affected its vibrant development. However, just four months later, in East Texas, thousands of operators snapped up a large amount of land before the big oil companies could act. 100 production wells have been erected in the oilfield, with a daily output of more than 100,000 tons.

As the founder of the Standard Oil Company of the Petroleum Trust, John? D. Rockefeller, although he just retired at home last year, still has an absolute say in Standard Oil. Right in Blake? When Engels announced that he had discovered a piece of oil stored in East Texas with more than 500 million tons of oil, Rockefeller thought that this was just a common propaganda tactic used by Jews, and that 500 million tons was a joke. Then his eyes were drawn to the artillery fire on the east coast. When the Spanish Armada was destroyed, he looked at East Texas and realized that maybe that Blake was not panicking. He hurriedly sent explorers to East Texas to explore the field, but the results he was told were that there were at least 300 million tons of reserves under the land. At this time, Blake announced that he was going to sell 60 percent of his shares. Rockefeller acted. The Standard Oil plenipotentiary approached Black.

"Five million dollars, what are you and me? Is it called Hanako? Blake was outraged by the low price offered by Standard Oil.

"Mr. Black. You should understand that this is already a very high price. That's why Standard Oil can come up with so much cash at once, except for us. Who would come out with so much cash? ”

The first meeting ended unhappily, and the second meeting was a $8 million increase in the price of Standard Oil, but Blake thought he deserved $80 million, which is not far behind. The plenipotentiary of Standard Oil warned Blake that Standard Oil could put Blake, already penniless, out of business. Blake also hit back that he would definitely find someone willing to invest, and that he would build a new oil trust to rival Standard Oil.

"A new oil trust?" Rockefeller, who heard the report, savored this sentence carefully. Blake is right, with more than 300 million tons of oil buried in the ground, Blake can indeed build a new oil trust. But this is in the United States, if Rockefeller is trying to keep oil prices down. can instantly overwhelm the poor Blake. Rockefeller decided to wait and see.

Within a week of Rockefeller's observance, there was news that many large companies were approaching Blake, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. Rockefeller only smiled at these companies that he had known for a long time. This is the United States, and the U.S. government will not allow a foreign company to take over the U.S. oil market. Until a name called Universal Petroleum Company appeared in his eyes.

Rockefeller's aide explained: "Huanyu Petroleum Company is a newly established company in Qingguo, registered in Beijing. But the company's wholly owned investor was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. ”

"Emperor of the Qing Kingdom?" Rockefeller suddenly tensed.

"Yes, we've looked into it very clearly. The Qing Emperor sent a telegram to Blake through Ouyang Geng, the minister to the United States, saying that he was willing to pay $30 million to buy 60 percent of Blake's shares. Mr. Rockefeller. We're going to react. ”

Rockefeller just frowned, and decisively: "I have a very bad premonition, I want to go to see Blake in person." ”

Rockefeller's fears were justified. Today, the Qing dynasty is the world's largest car manufacturer, and cars use oil. Large oil companies, including Standard Oil, were invited by the Qing State to go to the Qing State for oil exploration. But the result is that the mainland of Qing is not an oil-poor country but an oil-free country, so it is normal for Qing to invest in overseas oil companies. But even if a British company came forward to buy it, Rockefeller could impose restrictions on these ordinary companies through Congress. But Universal Oil is different. His president was not one of the nominal kings of Europe. The Qing Emperor was a dictatorial emperor with real power, not to mention that the Qing State already had enough influence in the Far East. Once the use of administrative means to restrict Huanyu Oil Company is likely to provoke retaliation from the Qing emperor. The point is that the Qing state is different from the United States and needs to be discussed in Congress, and the Qing emperor only needs one sentence to make all American investment in the Far East zero. Such an emperor would not be easily offended even by the president of the United States. It is even more unlikely that the Congress will have irreconcilable contradictions with the Qing State because of itself, because the Qing Emperor can directly use the army. So only commercial means remain.

"Are you willing to pay $35 million?" Blake smiled: "Actually, I originally planned that only 30 million dollars would be enough, but now I still ask the Qing Emperor's opinion first." ”

Rockefeller's face darkened, because there were only three words in the telegram sent back by Ouyang Geng - 40 million. Such a quick reply proves that the Qing Emperor gave Ouyang Geng more funds. How much money will the Qing Emperor come up with? No one knows, because the Qing Emperor can use the Qing Bank as collateral, which is an unsolvable problem. Rockefeller only thought about it briefly and made the decision to raise the price by another two million dollars. But Ouyang Geng replied with one more word than last time-plus five million.

"50 million dollars, I don't think anyone will pay more than that." Rockefeller gritted his teeth and quoted again. Although 50 million dollars is a huge amount for Standard Oil, for the sake of his own oil trust, for the sake of long-term interests, Rockefeller believes that it is still worth it.

This Qing telegram is relatively long: Mr. Black, you can see the sincerity of the Qing Kingdom from the first bid of the Qing Dynasty, and it is an emperor who cooperates with you. It's not an honor that everyone has.

Looking at Blake's struggling face, Rockefeller knew he had won: "It's more than an ethereal honor." Five million dollars is real, with so much money, are you afraid that you will not have honor? As for sincerity. You will receive all 50 million dollars in 10 days. ”

Lured by the lure of five million dollars, Black signed an agreement with Standard Oil. Standard Oil will pay $50 million as a lump sum of 60 percent of Black Mining's stake in East Texas' largest oil field, and they will form East Texas Oil together with Black Mining. And in order to show the sincerity of Standard Oil, Standard Oil transferred the cash to the account designated by Black within five days. However, the day after Blake received $50 million, he made a statement: in order to thank the Qing Emperor, he intended to give the other 10% of his earnings to the Qing Emperor for free.

"Damn the Qing country, damn the Qing people, damn the Qing emperor." Rockefeller smashed his house to the ground. If it weren't for the Qing emperor's trouble, he would have bought 60 percent of Blake's shares for a maximum of $10 million. Now it's not just $40 million more. also involved the Qing Emperor line. And the Qing Emperor has already sent financial personnel to the United States to receive the property belonging to him while expressing his gratitude, even if Rockefeller can invite the American government to come forward, it cannot prevent the Qing Emperor from dealing with his private property, because in that case, it will cause war!

"$50,000 in half a year produces a thousand-fold profit, and it can also openly monitor the finances of East Texas Oil. The emperor is really holy. It's just that how did the emperor know that there was oil there? "This last question is something that many ministers want to know.

"Where there is natural asphalt, there must be oil, this is common sense, let you usually read more geography books, you will not listen."

The ministers suddenly realized that the tight treasury had become a winner again with the addition of 50 million US dollars, and there was sufficient financial guarantee for the construction of the country. What we have to do now is to transfer the $50 million to the Qing Dynasty many times through some means. Lin Qizhao thinks that this is not a problem, he is very good at doing this kind of thing.

As the time slowly entered winter, the Spanish troops stationed in Cuba inevitably fell into a situation of lack of food and clothing due to the blockade of the United States. In order to protect the lives of nearly 100,000 Spanish soldiers, the Spanish government finally opened negotiations with the United States. All countries concerned about the Spanish-American War were present as observers. However, when the United States and Spain were arguing over the ownership of Cuba, Zhong Wenyao, the Qing envoy to Spain, said that Spain would not be able to defend Cuba anyway, and if the United States wanted to attack Cuba, it would be handed over to the Americans. If the Americans can't fight back, and if Spain is able to counterattack Cuba in the future, the Americans will have no choice but to refuse, and that's it. It was this complaining sentence that halted the US-Spain negotiations. This is indeed a more practical and highly operable approach. The Spaniards, who knew that they were going to lose Cuba in the end, agreed to withdraw their troops after satisfying face. However, this news made known to the Cuban Independence Army, and the Cubans were angry that the United States had recognized the Republic of Cuba before sending troops. However, after defeating the Spaniards, he set aside Cuba's independence and negotiated with the Spaniards in order to monopolize Cuban sovereignty. In response to this despicable banditry of the United States, the Republic of Cuba has declared war on the United States. Before the Spaniards could even begin to retreat, a large-scale battle broke out between the American and Cuban armies right under the noses of the Spanish army, with casualties on both sides. For the United States, the Spanish-American War has not yet ended, the American-Cuban War has begun.

But 1898 is not over, in Mongolia in the Far East, the Second Corps of the Qing State stationed in the ** went north into Outer Mongolia, the Sixth Corps stationed in Xinjiang went east into Outer Mongolia, and with the Third Corps attacking from east to west, the rebellious Outer Mongolia in the face of powerful firepower has been powerless, but now the cold Outer Mongolia makes the Qing army advance slowly so that the rebels can live a few more days. And here, the Qing State suddenly signed a document with Russia on the construction of the Far Eastern Railway, which clearly stated: The Qing State will jointly build the main artery connecting Europe and Asia in Russia, funded by the loan of the Russian Daosheng Bank, and the Qing State will send manpower and materials to jointly build two railways from Irkutsk to Vladivostok via Harbin and from Irkutsk to ** via Ulaanbaatar, and the price paid by Russia is only to no longer support the rebellion in Outer Mongolia. When the news came, the world was shocked, had the Qing people forgotten that Russia had attacked Mukden in the Qing Kingdom?

The British were eager to remind the Qing of the Qing Dynasty, but they were not available at this time, because the South African Boers had engaged in a "not too intense" exchange of fire with the British authorities, that is, the number of casualties. It was not a problem for the Boers to show their fangs, because the British Empire believed that they would be able to conquer the place, but a message came from a Boer who had bought it: it seemed that the Boers had bought all the arms from the Qing State.

"Why is there a shadow of Qing people everywhere?" The Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of the British Empire, was very troubled.

That's right, throughout 1898, the Sino-Spanish War, the Spanish-American War, the American-Cuban War, the South African Boers, the two Qing ** ships still being repaired in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East, and the noisy and anxious Qing Indian Ocean bandit suppression incident, even the miracle land of the United States was intervened by the Qing people. The situation in the world has changed a lot in this year, and none of these important events have revealed the figure of the Qing people to a greater or lesser extent. And all of these things are because of the appearance of the Qing people, which makes the events slide in an unpredictable direction.

Spoiler, this is the new definition of the Qing State by the European and American powers. (To be continued......)