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"It is my profound regret, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, to inform you that our Cabinet has rejected your request. Hong Kong is an important colony of the British Empire, and we will not sell it to you. In addition, the British Empire was determined to defend its interests, and any provocation against the British Empire would be resolutely countered by the British Empire. Sir Bonham, British Minister to China, said.

Lin Zihao, the foreign minister of the Chinese Empire, was expressionless, although he had already guessed that this would probably be the result. However, the British now rejected the demands of the Chinese Empire, which meant that there was no possibility of reconciliation between the Chinese Empire and the British, and a war was destined to break out between the two sides. The Chinese Empire absolutely does not want to have a British base on the edge of its own borders, which will be a huge threat to the national security of the Chinese Empire.

"Your Excellency, are you sure that this is your final decision? What consequences will this lead to, Your Excellency the Minister will not be unaware, right? Lin Zihao asked. Since it is impossible to recover Hong Kong by peaceful means, the only way to recover it is to use the means of war. You know, if a war breaks out between the two sides over Hong Kong, the British will not be able to get any benefits. At least in the Far East, the Chinese Empire had absolute military superiority, and it was almost impossible for the British to hold Hong Kong.

"Your Excellency, I do, of course. However, Hong Kong is a colony of the British Empire, which is a sacred treaty, and no country should think of any other way to force the British Empire to make concessions. For this. We will not hesitate to fight. "Sir Bonham is very determined.

"In that case, Your Excellency, I will not say more. But. I believe that one day, you will regret your actions today! Lin Zihao said coldly. Originally, those guys in the military did not agree with the redemption of Hong Kong, but advocated the direct recovery of Hong Kong by force. However, I didn't expect the British to be so ignorant and directly rejected the Chinese side's request. As a result, China's peace efforts have been in vain.

"Your Excellency, the British Empire is not a weak country like Portugal, and we will not accept any blackmail. If China were to go to war with the British Empire. I hope that China will think carefully about the fact that if there is a war, we will certainly lose Hong Kong, but for China. It's definitely not a good thing. Navy of the British Empire. It will completely cut off the maritime trade routes between China and Europe, and you must be very aware of the consequences for China. In the face of Lin Zihao's threat, Sir Bonham did not seem to panic and immediately counterattacked. This was a countermeasure that the British cabinet came up with against the Chinese Empire. China's industry is developing rapidly, and Europe is a very important market for China. If the sea trade routes are cut off, this is for Chinese industry. It will be a heavy blow.

"Your Excellency, are you threatening us?" Lin Zihao's face became even more grim. But. He had to admit that the British were indeed very ruthless, and although there were many Chinese, the people in China were still generally poor, and the market had not yet been cultivated. Although the people's lives have begun to get better and better after social reforms, it will take some time. Until then, the European market was very important for China. In this regard, China needs to avoid war with Britain as much as possible before the domestic market is cultivated.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, I am merely stating a fact. That is, peace is very good for both of us. The British Empire is a peace-loving nation, and we have always worked for global peace. We want to be able to live in peace with the Chinese Empire. Sir Bonham said with a smile. When he saw the expression on Lin Zihao's face, he knew that this time the British Empire was going to win this conflict.

Lin Zihao nodded, the cold color on his face disappeared, replaced by a bright smile: "Of course, the Chinese Empire is also a peace-loving country, and we don't want war to break out." It would be best if our two countries could live in peace forever! ”

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, it seems that we have agreed. So, I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave first! Sir Bonham said.

"Your Excellency, please do it!" Lin Zihao kept a smile on his face.

Sir Bonham nodded, got up and left Lin Zihao's office, his head held high and his chest held high, as if he were a victorious general. Britain has been at a disadvantage in all previous conflicts with the Chinese Empire, and has suffered a lot of losses, and the losses are not small. This time, being able to curb the Chinese Empire's ambitions for Hong Kong was already a great victory for Britain.

"The British of Dog Day actually threaten us with cutting off the sea trade route, which is simply brazen to the extreme!" When Sir Bonham left, the smile on Lin Zihao's face immediately disappeared.

After that, Lin Zihao quickly rushed to the palace and told the emperor Long Yufei about the negotiations with the British, and Long Yufei had been paying attention to this negotiation. Now is not the best time to recover Hong Kong by force, and if it can be recovered peacefully, it will be the best.

"Your Majesty, the British have rejected our demands, and they are very tough, and if we take Hong Kong by force, the British will retaliate-for-tat. This would be a heavy loss for the Empire. Lin Zihao said.

"The British guy of the dog day dares to threaten us? Your Majesty, there is no need for us to ignore the threat of the British, and we should just send troops to occupy Hong Kong. If they dare to send a navy to cut off our sea trade routes, we will send a navy directly to fight them. I believe that our navy will be able to defeat the British. The Chief of the General Staff, General Niu Meng, said immediately. The British did not deploy much of an army in Hong Kong, and if war broke out, the Chinese* army could easily capture Hong Kong.

"No, now is not the best time to go to war with the British. After the social reform in the country, the living standards of the people have improved considerably, and in a year or two, the domestic market will be able to support our industrial development. Prime Minister Lee Dek Sung was the first to oppose war. It is foreseeable that once war breaks out, exchanges between China and Europe will be completely cut off.

"Your Excellency, the military strength deployed by the British in Hong Kong will pose a threat to Guangzhou. If we want to ensure the safety of Guangzhou, we have to pull out the nail of Hong Kong. The Chief of the General Staff, General Niu Meng, still insisted.

Long Yufei thought about it for a while, and then said: "Now is indeed not the time to recover Hong Kong, in this case, then we will wait a little longer." When we had destroyed the Manchus, we declared that we would not recognize all the unequal treaties signed by the Manchus. When the time comes, if the British do not agree, we will recover Hong Kong by force. By that time, the domestic market was almost cultivated, and we didn't have to worry that the British would get stuck in our necks. ”

Prime Minister Li Decheng and Foreign Minister Lin Zihao both nodded, and they very much agreed with Long Yufei's point of view.

"Your Majesty, what about the threat to us from the British troops deployed in Hong Kong? How can this be solved? General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, asked. He still prefers to cut through the mess quickly and solve the Hong Kong problem in the simplest and most effective way.

"Let's deploy an infantry brigade around Hong Kong Island for the time being. In addition, the navy's old 'Shark-class' cruisers can also be organized to deal with the old sail warships deployed by the British in Hong Kong. In this case, the troops deployed by the British in Hong Kong will not be able to threaten us. Long Yufei said.

"Your Majesty, Chan thinks, we can negotiate with the British again, asking them not to deploy too many troops in Hong Kong, and to set a ceiling on them. In this way, it will not pose much of a threat to Guangzhou. We are not going to take back Hong Kong by force now, and this is already a concession that we have made. If the British don't budge, it won't be enough. General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, said.

"This is a good way to tell the British, they are in Hong Kong, the army is up to 3,000 men, the navy is not allowed to deploy new warships, and the old warships are not more than five. Otherwise, it will be considered a threat to the Empire, and in order to ensure the security of the Empire, we will add a few more to solve these threats at any cost. Long Yufei said. China does not want to go to war with Britain now, and the British think the same way. Until the British are not yet ready for war and have no definite certainty of defeating China, it is undoubtedly best to keep it now.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will renegotiate with the British." Lin Zihao nodded. Just as the Chief of the General Staff, General Niu Meng, said, China did not directly recover Hong Kong by force as it did with Macao, which has already given face to the British. The British should also show their goodwill and not deploy too many troops in Hong Kong, which will be good for everyone. Otherwise, doesn't this show that Britain has intentions against China?

"We're just putting Hong Kong on hold for the time being, and soon we'll regain Hong Kong, and in two years at most, we'll be fighting the Manchus in the last battle. When the time comes, Hong Kong will also go to war. Let's wait and see! Long Yufei said. Putting Hong Kong aside now is nothing more than a stopgap measure.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The important ministers said one after another, and they were also well aware of the current situation. (To be continued......)