The disagreement of the British put the Count of Oyer at a disadvantage in the negotiations. Because he lacked confidence, he unconsciously showed weakness in the face of China's toughness. Naturally, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not eat dry food, and took advantage of the situation to chase and fight, and after the end of the third meeting, Oyer left the hall with a very ugly face!

Although the position of the British is somewhat different from that of the Netherlands, they are still largely on the platform for the Netherlands. At least Whitehall couldn't see the Netherlands lose East Borneo so easily. During the negotiations, Wittoma, Hurd and other prominent British figures in China were actively active.

Hurd was the first to see Li Hongzhang. The relationship between the two is very close, and they are also old friends who have been friends for many years. But it was a closed door. The steward of the Li Mansion told Hurd that Li Hongzhang had been busy with work recently and often did not have time to go home. While apologizing, he politely told Hurd that he would relay Hurd's request to see Li Hongzhang. If Li Hongzhang finds time, he will be notified immediately. In the meantime, ask for Hurd's patience.

This kind of pomp and circumstance naturally annoyed Hurd. When he asked to see Cixi, Cixi didn't have such a great prestige!

However, times have changed, and although HD still holds a key position in China's customs and taxation system, its status has changed significantly.

You must know that Li Hongzhang is now a cabinet boss. And even the boss of the General Administration of Customs must be respectful when facing him. Hurd himself was only the second-in-command of the General Administration of Customs, not the third- or fourth-in-command.

The Chinese talk about face, their status has become higher, and it is not good to play prestige with the old people. so as not to provoke criticism. That's why I used to see Hurd. They were all very welcoming. Now that it is practical, Hurd really feels this irreversible change.

If a person drinks water, he knows how cold and warm he is! He had no choice but to admit it.

Just when Hurd was sulking with a big face. China is in talks with the representative of Germany on a loan. Germany was the least affected by the economic crisis among the European and American powers, because of its high tariffs and the cartelization of domestic industry. Competition in German industry did not occur in a wave of large-scale speculation and was less affected by the dumping of cheap foreign goods. Only exports of steel and machinery to the United States fell more sharply. So the Junker aristocracy and the bankers still had plenty of money on hand.

Germany is willing to borrow, and Liu Xian is willing to borrow. The interest rate on this loan is not as high as that of the national debt. This leads to an intent-based agreement. If Dan wants to turn this intention into actionable content, it will require more painstaking and meticulous negotiations.

On the Chinese side, Xu Jingcheng led the team, Zhou Shouchen, who returned from studying in the United States, and Wen Qi, who studied in Germany, served as deputies, and on the German side, a team named Franz was formed. Feng. Mateus's middle-aged man stepped forward, and Ambassador to China Barand served as his deputy to negotiate.

Franz. Feng. Mateus's background is quite strong, he is both a Junker aristocrat and the owner of a steel company. He is also a director of a bank, and has a constant relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And in the negotiation of specific matters, Franz. Feng. Mateus also reflects his shrewdness, ability and clear thinking.

Loans are not all money, and the Germans can be said to be largely playing the left-handed-out right-in trick, just like China did with Turkey. Germany's economy is doing quite well, but without the United States, a big buyer, steel and machinery production will inevitably fall.

There is not much demand for steel in China. The need is also high-tech steel such as special steel and cannon steel, and such steel is not a large amount. The production of such steel in Germany itself is also limited.

The imported products are mainly machine-based. Although not the steel industry like Franz. Feng. Mateus's strengths. But the relationship between the steel mill and the machine building plant also needs no explanation. In his records, he recalled his impressions of Zhou Shouchen and Wen Qi.

"The Chinese negotiators are three people, one middle-aged man with two young people. Middle-aged people generally do not speak, and only make decisions at the end of the negotiation. The details of the agreement were negotiated between me and two young men in their early twenties. Even as officials, the two young men still have a deep understanding of the steel industry. In some ways, they are more like a cautious and clever tycoon. They don't say anything for or against anything. Rather, they are quite concerned about the key details. I combed through their thinking and found that these two people were very concerned about how to get the equipment as soon as possible and put it into operation. These are two brilliant, pragmatic and outstanding young people. One of them graduated from the United States. One studied in Germany. China is flooding itself with new talents. ”

Zhou Shouchen and Wen Qi at the negotiating table with Franz. Feng. Mateus has met on a number of occasions. Both parties can push and pull three or five rounds on the decimal point of the machine's price. And then there's the Chinese collateral!

The Germans wanted several oil fields from the Chinese oil company in Nigeria. This is the year before last, PetroChina invested in Nigeria, and last year successfully explored the oil well. Then it took less than a year to extract crude oil on a large scale. The Germans are eyeing it now!

Liu Xian knew why. Last year, Germany's Daimler successfully created the world's first vertical gasoline engine, which is characterized by light weight and high speed. At that time, other internal combustion engines did not exceed 200 rpm. However, it jumps to 800 rpm, which is especially suitable for the requirements of transportation machinery. The future is bright and blinding! And this gasoline is refined from oil. Although the price of oil in the world as a whole has not yet increased, it is too easy to tell what will happen in the future.

There is not a single oil well in Germany at the moment. Oil development throughout Europe was cut off from Germany by Britain and France.

Now the Germans want China's oil fields in Nigeria, and there is no reason for 'taking precautions'. Of course, the most important thing is that Nigeria is located in the Gulf of Guinea, very close to the German West African colony of Cameroon. Two countries are neighbors! And although the British have reached out into Nigeria, they have not yet completely swallowed it. If these fields fall into German hands, Germany will have a reason to intervene in Nigeria.

After a few turns in his mind, Liu Xian asked, "I wonder how your government views relations with Russia?" "As far as he knew in his previous life, the Germans and Russia completely turned their faces after entering the 20th century, and Liu Xian is not sure now, when China and Russia break their brains, which side will Germany choose?

In the ZN Sea Purple Light Pavilion, Liu Xian invited Franz. Feng. Mateus.

The Germans wanted to take away the Nigerian oil fields in the hands of China. In any case, these oil fields were cheap to buy, and Germany's loan this time was as high as 25 million pounds.

If the Germans can really give a clear answer on German-Russian relations, Liu Xian will have a bottom in his heart. Then it would be okay to cede those oil fields to the Germans. The Gulf of Guinea is too far away from China.

Liu Xian's development of Nigeria's oil is itself digging a pit, and it can pit who is who. If China really has the strength to invest in Europe, it would be better to invest in the white water watershed of South Africa. The largest gold-uranium conglomerate deposit on the planet is now in China's hands. Mineral enterprises under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce have already started to enter there and carry out so-called 'prospecting activities'!

In this rarely visited Rand Basin, there is little indigenous life. This super gold mine was not discovered until 1886 in the original history. A series of activities in China are sure to attract the attention of foreigners, and it is impossible for this gold mine to completely hide the news. But before the news leaks, it's true to make a fortune first.

The White Water Gap is not just a Rand gold mine, but it is the most famous here. In the 21st century, 35,000 tons of gold have been produced in 130 years of development. Not counting the development of metallurgical technology in the past 130 years, the gap between the current metallurgical means and a hundred years later is larger, and 100 tons of gold can be opened in one year. And there's so much natural doghead gold here!

As long as you understand the level and difficulty of the interests between each other, you can understand why Liu Xian gave up Nigeria and protected the water range area. Want oil? Nanyang has. Shipping to and from China is also convenient. And in the future, there will be the Persian Gulf in the Middle East.

Franz. Feng. Matteus did not answer directly, and this question was not one he had the right to answer. Then the topic cleverly turned to another issue - New Guinea!

This year, Europe has set off a frenzy to carve up Africa. Representatives of 15 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Turkey and the United States, attended the meeting, convened by German Prime Minister O. von Bismarck. Now the conference is attended by a new member from China. Although China, like the United States, has little say in the conference. But China still took this opportunity to consolidate its 'sovereignty' in the Baishui Ridge region!

At present, the Berlin Conference is still in full swing, and China, Britain and Germany are actively communicating about the division of the eastern part of the island of New Guinea. The British wanted to exclude China from the island of New Guinea because it was too close to Australia. They wanted to throw this chicken-ribbed land to the Germans. However, Wilhelm I of Germany was still very clear-headed, and Bismarck had no intention of offending China because of this petty profit.

Just as China is too far away from Nigeria, Germany is too far from New Guinea.

Franz. Feng. Mateus could not speak on German-Russian relations, but he had something to say about the eastern part of the island of New Guinea. There has been an agreement in Germany on this issue, and Germany can cede this piece of chicken to China as long as China shows its desire to do so. Franz. Feng. Mateus hoped that the good news would dilute some of the awkwardness.

Moreover. The fact that the Dutch did not bring the issue of Malchen to the Berlin Conference also shows that the Dutch government has no intention of going-for-tat with China...... (To be continued......)