London, 10 Downing Street, next to Whitehall in Westminster, is a Georgian building that was traditionally the official residence of the First Chancellor of the Exchequer, but since that time it was held by the Prime Minister, it is now generally considered to be the official residence of the British Prime Minister. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoIts simple black wooden door, decorated with the white Arabic numeral "10", has become a well-known symbol.

It is this seemingly humble building that rules Britain's 35 million square kilometers of land and colonies around the world, and it is the heart and brain of Britain's global interests.

Although the British Empire was still in its prime, it was still strong enough to meet the challenge of any country. Although the "small" Boer War in South Africa caused Britain to lose face, who can challenge this era of "British rule"?

No!

It's not that anyone can challenge it, but in the past few decades, there have always been countries that have challenged Britain, or rather, there have always been some countries that have tried to challenge the "peace" of "Britain's rule" in all aspects.

In the Americas, Britain's concessions to the United States on the border issue temporarily eased tensions with the United States, and finally allowed this adversary on the other side of the ocean to be temporarily calmed, and the United States itself had no intention of intervening in the disputes of the Old Continent, thus keeping this "hidden giant" away from Europe and from the damage that might be caused to British interests.

While the "giants" of the New World were being fooled into settling down, the old continent of Europe, which was full of strife, did not stop, but the situation became more and more intense, on the stage of the old continent of Europe. As a rising star. Germany is also beginning to emerge. It posed another threat to Britain, and even to some extent it surpassed that of France, which Britain had regarded as an adversary for centuries.

Since Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power, he changed Bismarck's "continental policy" and began to actively pursue an expanded world policy, and he obviously will no longer be satisfied with the few colonies in Africa and the Pacific given by Britain and France in the Bismarck era, and for Kaiser Wilhelm II, his dream is to become the "arbiter of the world" like Britain. That's why. Under the guidance of world policy, Germany successively passed two maritime bills, with the aim of building a first-class fleet to compete with Britain's maritime supremacy.

At a time when Germany was about to go to sea, while Germany aroused the vigilance of Britain, Britain had to face another threat with a headache, a traditional threat from the East, from Russia, compared to Germany. The real aggressiveness is none other than Russia, in the Near East. Through the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War, Britain and France together defeated Russia, so that Russia's footsteps finally stopped at Turkey. In Central Asia, Russia took control of the khanate regime of Khava and further controlled the Afghan border, where it built railways, which undoubtedly posed the most immediate threat to India, a British colony of life. In the Far East, they occupied Japan, and then the Philippines. Russia had seriously threatened British interests on all fronts.

"Like a vicee holding India and China in the mouth of a bear......"

For anyone who sees a map of Russia, they can't ignore Russia's appearance in Asia, which is opening its bear arms in Asia, intending to give the whole of Asia a "bear hug" and "take" India and China into its arms, especially for the British, whose threat to India makes Britain look at Russia with concern and watch the expansion of this traditional threat.

At this time, as the Prime Minister of the British Empire, Robert? Prime Minister Gascoigne-Cecil was tapping his fingers nervously on the desk in front of him. He looked extremely tired and troubled, and continued the conversation with the colonial minister, Mr. Chamberlain, on the subject of the abrupt termination.

"I don't understand, what else does that Chinese need."

Looking at Joseph? Chamberlain, Prime Minister Cecil said that after receiving the report of the minister in Qingguo, he was puzzled by the needs of the Northeast authorities, to be precise, he did not know what he should give them, after all, they had already paid too much "price". Of course, Cecil would never mention any shares in the South African Gold Mining Company at this time - it was a huge deal, and before the Boer War, the Governor had already sold most of the shares of the South African Gold Mining Company, and Cecil was one of the biggest beneficiaries. Of course, no one would admit that it was a bribe, and not even Cecil himself would say that he insisted on the Boer War precisely for the benefit of the gold mining company, in short, it was just a very ordinary "purely commercial practice".

"In the past few years, we have given him a lot of things, even giving up extraterritoriality, giving up control over Guan Rui, so to speak, we completely regard a local power as a central power!"

"It is true that we see them this way, but we must admit that now, in the Far East, only they can stand up to Russia!"

As a direct promoter of the Second Boer War, it is well known in London that Chamberlain, as the colonial minister, attached great importance to the interests of the colonies, and even in this respect, Prime Minister Cecil could hardly compare with him, and even pointed out sharply that "he had only the colonial interests of the empire in his mind, and for this reason he dared to fight against any country in the world!" ”

In fact, for Chamberlain, who was determined to "constantly open up new colonies, especially to increase our trade with the colonies," after he became colonial minister, he was extremely uneasy about Russia's expansion in Asia, and he pursued pragmatic diplomacy; during the Boer War, in the face of Britain's current isolation status, he advocated changing Britain's long-standing policy of "glorious isolation," negotiated with Germany many times, and devoted himself to building an anti-Russian regional alliance, while Germany hoped to drag Britain into the struggle against Russia and France, and demanded the establishment of a comprehensive allianceThis is the most disagreement between the two sides. It is precisely because of this that he will set his sights on the Far East and the Northeast, and with the convergence of strategic interests between Britain and China, he has always advocated an alliance between Britain and the Northeast.

And now, Chamberlain, who finally saw the "dawn" of hope, would not miss the opportunity in front of him.

"Now, all the Chinese need is our alliance treaty, one that can be protected." A treaty that prevents third countries or third parties from getting involved in war! In other words. All they need is a pass. ”

Prime Minister Cecil looked up. Chamberlain, who was watching, said.

"What do you mean......"

Chamberlain smiled faintly, but the smile was a little smug.

"War, now that they have completed their preparations for war, all he needs is an insurance, and if they get it, believe me, Your Excellency Prime Minister, soon. We will see a war on a grand scale in the Far East, and if all goes well, Russia's Asian dream will most likely suffer a heavy blow! ”

"But can they remember the war?"

After a moment's hesitation, Cecil looked at Chamberlain and asked rhetorically.

"If they don't have the strength to win the war, will this pass lead to the destruction of the last force in the Far East that holds back the Russians? We have to take into account all the possibilities for it. ”

He pinched his fingers, and then Cecil looked at Chamberlain again and asked.

"Can war be avoided? After all. Now we are still at war, if the Chinese go to war with the Russians. We will not be able to give them much help, except for the moral ......, of course. Perhaps, we can give them some financial help! ”

After a moment of silence, Cecil added.

"And now, the most fundamental interest for Britain is to secure the Boer War, to prevent Britain from being dragged down by this protracted war, and we must put an end to the present war in South Africa, and Chinese if it provokes a war in the Far East......"

Britain was still at war, and that was exactly what Cecil feared.

"If there is any other option, but now, if we do not give the Chinese an answer on the question of the alliance, because this long war, as the pressure on the Russians increases, it is very likely that they will make choices that are not in our interest." ……”

With a long sigh, Chamberlain continued.

"I'd rather give them the pass in advance, even if I take it now, they will take the train to the war! As long as they can inflict heavy losses on the Russians and make them unable to continue their expansion to the south, it will be enough for the British! ”

As a standard imperialist, Chamberlain never considered China's interests, and even if necessary, he might sacrifice them, just as now, for him, it didn't matter whether China won or lost, and that important Chinese could block or temporarily block Russian expansion.

"It looks like we really don't have any other choice."

Prime Minister Cecil said thoughtfully.

"It seems that we should really sign an alliance treaty with them, but I think that this alliance treaty cannot be too long, and although there is very little hope, we have to consider another possibility, which is the possibility that China will win the war, and at that time, will they threaten British interests in Asia? I think...... It's not impossible! ”

Cecil showed a wry smile on his lips, this is also a kind of diplomatic helplessness, in order to contain a big country, Britain has to reach an alliance with another big country, just like Britain is trying to form an alliance with Germany, although now because of the difference in fundamental interests, the negotiations between Britain and Germany are more just delaying time, but to some extent Britain's decay has been revealed.

This decline is also manifested in Britain's proudest navy, which, in the last few years, despite the great expansion of its navy, has surpassed the Royal Navy by 96 battleships by other powers, which is unprecedented, and Britain's maritime supremacy has been lost!

The Boer War, the Samoa issue, and even the Anglo-French almost had wars in the Niger and Nile valleys several times, and Britain's position as an "empire on which the sun never sets" has been increasingly challenged, all of which make Britain have to find new regional powers as allies to "share" some responsibilities for Britain!

In Asia, Britain chose the Northeast for a very simple reason - at least for the next decade or two, the Northeast as a local authority, even if it gains control of China, is unlikely to pose much of a threat to British interests in Asia.

"It's a possibility!"

After a moment of silence, Chamberlain looked at the prime minister in front of him and said seriously.

"If they win this war, then there is no doubt that China will play a more important role on the international stage in the future, and may even affect British interests in Asia, but I think one thing we need to see is that the confrontation between China and Russia after the war will be inevitable, so my proposition is that, perhaps, when the time comes, we should support the Chinese's claims for Russian territory and reparations, just as Germany did for France."

"What do you mean?"

With a slight brow, Cecil understood what Chamberlain meant.

"Hatred fosters antagonism between two countries, both Russia and China, both of which are extremely large empires, and their hostility to each other will draw the attention of both countries to the greatest extent possible, so that they will no longer be able to influence the interests of Great Britain in Asia and even in Europe......"

Chamberlain's body leaned forward slightly, looked at Prime Minister Cecil and said.

"And, for them, they will clearly know that with each other's strength, it is impossible to defeat each other, let alone challenge Britain in any way when they are hostile to each other, so that Britain will stand on the other side, and because of this, I believe that they will all be willing to side with Britain to defeat each other, rather than challenge the British-led international order."

"Please go on."

"So, we don't need to think about whether China will have any impact on Britain's Asian interests for the time being, we only need to think about the other point, which is when the alliance treaty will be signed with Chinese, and whether this alliance treaty will be open or secret......

"Oh?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Cecil pondered for a moment before nodding.

"It seems that by doing so, it is possible to solve not just one problem, but even a series of problems, and if the attention of the Russians is entirely attracted to China, it will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial to the British! All right! ”

Cecil smiled and lit a cigar.

"Since the Chinese need a pass, let's give them this pass!" (To be continued.) )