Prime Minister's official residence, 10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we in the Empire of Japan hope to unite with you in the British Empire to attack China. Then we can get benefits together, and then teach those Chinese who don't know whether to live or die. Your Excellency, what do you say? The Japanese envoy said.

The Marquis of Salisbury said very blandly: "I will consider this matter, you go back first!" ”

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, our Empire of Japan is very sincere, and we hope that the British Empire can send enough forces to strike at Taiwan, so that we can make China pay the price together. And the Chinese have already besieged our legation district, and if there is a problem with the legation at that time, then who can afford this responsibility. Their siege of our legation is tantamount to a declaration of war against us! So, Marquis de Salisbury, I hope you think for the sake of the face of the British Empire, so war against China is already inevitable. The Japanese envoy said.

But the Marquis of Salisbury immediately said lightly: "I know, you go first!" ”

When the Japanese envoy heard this, he immediately knew the truth of the excess, and took the initiative to leave. And after the Japanese envoy left, the Marquis of Salisbury immediately snorted.

"These Oriental dwarfs want to take advantage of our British Empire, and they are a little tender! Are they so easy to use when I am the British Empire? The Marquis of Salisbury snorted coldly.

However, the Marquis of Salisbury looked at the map, and then he also had a toothache. Geographically, Taiwan occupies Borneo, formerly known as Kalimantan, which controls an outlet in the Strait of Malacca. It is impossible for any fleet passing through the Strait of Malacca to evade the surveillance of the Taiwan Navy. At present, the Strait of Malacca is actually controlled by three countries, and the Netherlands controls the island of Sumatra. The British controlled the north, while the island of Kalimantan could monitor the Strait of Malacca at any time. However, at present, Taiwan has no idea of blockading the Strait of Malacca, but once war breaks out, the problem will inevitably arise.

Once the British start a war with Taiwan, then they must mobilize all the capital ships of the navy of the whole country, otherwise the British will not be confident that they will be able to break through the Strait of Malacca. However, the capital ships of the whole country were mobilized. That's obviously unlikely, the homeland still has to be defended. The French and the Germans were not vegetarians, and they were now building ships with great joy, and their battleships were like a sword hanging over the heads of the British, ready to fall at any moment. If the British hastily take away a large number of warships, then what will they think, Europe will be out of balance.

However, if a small number of warships are dispatched, they will certainly not be able to break through Taiwan's naval blockade. The first thing to face is Taiwan's Java Sea Fleet and Banda Sea Fleet, which are very close to each other. You can support each other. If the British did not have enough capital ships, they simply could not break through this line of defense. And even if they are lucky enough to break through the defense line, the second line of defense is the defense of the Taiwan Strait Fleet and the Taiwan Strategic Fleet, can they still break through? But if you take a detour, it's not possible. Do you want to take a detour to the Pacific Ocean? This is simply not possible.

"These island country dwarfs want us to fight to the death with the British Empire and Taiwan, so that they can also borrow knives to kill people and reap the benefits of fishermen. Don't think we Can't Get Out. This kind of means also wants to be used on our British Empire? The Marquis of Salisbury snorted.

The plan of the Japanese was actually very simple, it was nothing more than to pull the British into the water. Then let the British send a large number of troops over, and then attack layer by layer, from the Strait of Malacca all the way to Taiwan proper, all the way to fight with Taiwan. And this process of fighting is not only protracted, but also very time-consuming and financial. Even, if the British came to attack in the Straits of Malacca. That will inevitably delay a large amount of Taiwan's energy and troops to the south, and it will be unable to support the north.

And once Taiwan and the British fight, the opportunity for the Japanese will come. Japan is further north than Taiwan, and they can land from many places, and they can even attack Liaodong from Korea. Then attack all the way. They can also land from Tianjin to directly occupy the capital of China, and even from East China to attack any point. However, their biggest opponent is Taiwan, and once they attack and land on the mainland, Taiwan will not sit idly by, and Taiwan is actually in a state of "three countries" at present. In fact, Taiwan and the mainland can have a very large basis for cooperation, but there is no basis for cooperation with Japan. At present, the state of the "three countries" in East Asia is very unfavorable, and it is very unfavorable to Japan. Now it is Taiwan, the strongest "Wei State", and the worst mainland "Shu State" to work together to clean up Japan, the second-ranked Wu State. However, Japan wants to fight the mainland and then accumulate strength to fight Taiwan. However, Taiwan, the "Wei State," will not sit idly by, because Wang Guorui will not tolerate them attacking the mainland.

Therefore, Japan naturally has no way to enter the mainland under Taiwan's watch, and they can only find a way to find an opponent for Taiwan, and it is a powerful opponent. The Japanese hoped to pull the British into the water, so that the British would gnaw on the particularly hard bone of Taiwan, and then the Japanese could take advantage of the fact that the British and Taiwanese were playing dog brains, land from Tianjin, attack the capital of China, and force the Manchus to sign an alliance under the city. At that time, it was impossible for the Manchus to resist at all, so that they could force the Manchus to cede a lot of things.

In fact, the Japanese want the British to smash this "walnut shell", and then Japan will take the opportunity to eat the "walnut kernels" in it, so that the Japanese can get a lot of benefits. But the British are not stupid, how could they possibly allow this to happen? Therefore, the Marquis of Salisbury did not immediately agree to the Japanese to attack China, but had his own ideas.

"It's hard! The Chinese besieged our legation, and this is no less than a declaration of war. If we don't fight, it will be detrimental to the national prestige of our British Empire. But if you fight, the consequences will not be easy to handle, and maybe those island dwarves will take advantage of it. Damn, why is there a demon in Taiwan in this era? The Marquis of Salisbury said angrily in his heart.

Now the British are fighting the Boers in the Boer War, and the Boer War has not yet been resolved. The Boers controlled the world's largest gold mines, owning half of the world's gold, a strategically important interest. But China is also a very important place, and if Taiwan is allowed to enter the mainland, then this will set up a very important opponent for Britain in the future. These two are completely a very difficult question, should they choose to strangle China, or choose gold?

"I don't want to give up either!" The Marquis of Salisbury smiled wryly.

Whether it is the gold of the Boers or the entry of Taiwan into the mainland, it is a very difficult feeling, and the choice of one will inevitably have to give up the other. If the British do not abandon the Boers and do not get rid of the not evildoers, it will simply be impossible to concentrate their forces on a war with Taiwan. Therefore, whether to fight the Boers or Taiwan is a very difficult question to choose. Both of these are related to the future development of the United Kingdom, and it would be a pity to give up either one.

"Your Excellency Chancellor, have we not been able to reach an agreement with the Germans?" The secretary asked.

The Marquis of Salisbury shook his head and said, "No, we did not agree with Germany. The Germans were not too keen on whether or not to go to war eventually. They now have a lot of trade with Taiwan, which uses all kinds of resources to exchange a lot of basic technology with Germany. A lot of the basic technology of the Germans was transferred to Taiwan, and then Germany could exchange a lot of resources from Taiwan and then make reserves. Living in Taiwan can also obtain a lot of basic technology from Germany, and then these technologies will be sent to Taihai University or various technical schools for careful 'dissection', which will become the basic foundation of Taiwan and successfully consolidate Taiwan's technical foundation. As early as more than a year ago, Wang Guorui visited Germany and reached some agreements with Germany on technology in exchange for resources, and Germany has begun to have a trend of cooperation with Taiwan. The Germans have not had time to do their work this time, and the Germans have little interest in going to war with the Chinese. ”

"Well, let's try to convince the Germans! If we can convince the Germans, then we can also consider going to China, but it is also a symbol of sending troops. We don't want to be the kind of wrongdoer who makes wedding dresses for others! Said the Marquess of Salisbury.

The Japanese want the British to contribute to a war with Taiwan, so the British are not stupid, and naturally they will not fall for the Japanese Li Daitao's plan. If the British and Taiwan are desperate, they are happy that it is all Germany, France and Japan, Germany and France are competitors of the British, and Japan hopes that the British will drag Taiwan, and then they can go and concentrate on fighting the Manchus, so that they can get the maximum benefit.

However, what neither the Japanese nor the British expected was that while they were conducting diplomatic operations, Taiwanese diplomats also began to be active and began to act in various countries. And this is called the combination of vertical and horizontal, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was such a knowledge, and until now it has endured, but it is more and more important in the new era.

In Germany, the director of Taiwan's Economic and Cultural Exchange Office in Germany is also meeting with the German emperor. (To be continued......)