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After the imperial meeting, Long Yufei left Prime Minister Li Decheng, Foreign Minister Lin Zihao, and Chief of General Staff General Niu Meng alone, and he had other matters to discuss with them. Now, the center of gravity of the Chinese Empire has been placed on the mainland, and Guangdong has become the most important province of the Chinese Empire. Until the fall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou was the temporary capital of the Chinese Empire.

It's just that Hong Kong and Macao, these two places, are like two nails nailed to the chest of the Chinese Empire. Although Hong Kong and Macau are relatively small, the British and Portuguese countries that occupy Hong Kong and Macau do not have many troops there. It can be said that it will hardly pose much of a threat to the Chinese Empire. However, this is undoubtedly a shame for the mighty Chinese Empire. Emperor Long Yufei could not accept it in any case, and China's land became a colony of other countries, even the world's number one power like Britain.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have only one question for you. That is, what kind of methods do we need to use to be able to recover Hong Kong and Macao! Long Yufei said. He has been thinking about this question for a long time. However, before the empire focused on nation-building, it then launched attacks on Japan and Korea. Now, we can finally free up our hands to solve the problems of Hong Kong and Macao.

"Your Majesty, the minister is in favor of recovering Hong Kong and Macao. Especially Hong Kong. The British were already at odds with us, and if they were based in Hong Kong, they would pose a huge threat to Guangzhou. We had to deploy heavy defenses opposite Hong Kong. The 1st Fleet of the Navy also had to leave some auxiliary warships at the mouth of the Pearl River. This is for the military power of the Empire. It's a big tie. In addition, the British also used Hong Kong to spy on our intelligence, many intelligence agents from the West. They all use Hong Kong as a base. If Hong Kong is recovered, it will be very beneficial for the empire! "The Chief of the General Staff, General Niu Meng, was the first to express his opinion.

Long Yufei nodded, military and security benefits are an important reason why he advocates the recovery of Hong Kong and Macao. Next, it depends on how to recover Hong Kong and Macao. However, Long Yufei believes that this will not be too easy.

"陛xià. The British probably wouldn't have been so willing to return Hong Kong. In the end, we will have to use the means of war to solve the problem. Only, in that case. I am afraid that a full-scale war between us and the British will have to break out early. Prime Minister Li Decheng said with some concern. Although now, the Chinese Empire is not necessarily afraid of the British. If war had broken out in the Far East, the Chinese Empire would have been able to win. However, this will certainly have a detrimental effect on the development of the empire.

"陛xià. Macau's problems are easy to solve. Portugal is nothing more than a small European country. We can ignore them entirely. But the UK is different, and we need to think long-term. If we do not have the determination to start a full-scale war with Britain, I am afraid it will be difficult to recover Hong Kong. Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said. Portugal is weak, and it is too far away from Macao, and if the empire wants to recover Macau, the Kingdom of Portugal will not be able to reach it. However, Hong Kong is different. The British and the original Manchu government. The Sino-British Treaty of Nanking was signed, which explicitly ceded Hong Kong to the British. If the Empire wants to regain Hong Kong. That is to tear up the treaty. This will have a great impact on the reputation of the empire. What's more, the Manchu government continued to exist, and the treaties they signed were legally effective.

Long Yufei couldn't help frowning, the essential difference between Hong Kong and Macao is that Hong Kong was ceded by treaty after the defeat of Guò. Macao, on the other hand, was stolen by despicable means, and its nominal sovereignty still belongs to China. If the Chinese Empire wants to recover Macau, it will not have much trouble. At most, it is just a turn of face with Portugal, Long Yufei believes that Portugal may not have the courage to start a war with China, because, once the war breaks out, the final defeat will definitely be the Portuguese.

Portugal is a small country on the Iberian Peninsula in southern Europe. From 1514 onwards, the Portuguese, the "pioneers" of Western colonialism, sent a fleet to land in Tuen Mun (now part of Hong Kong) in China, and erected a stone monument with the national emblem of Portugal to signify their occupation, only to be expelled by force by the Ming army. Later, a fierce battle broke out between China and Portugal, and the arrogant Portuguese colonists were severely damaged, and turned north to harass the southeast coast, but were also attacked by the Ming army, and finally had to evacuate the sea of Fujian and Zhejiang.

The Portuguese colonizers were forced to change their tactics. In 1553, a group of Portuguese merchant ships asked to go to Haojing (today's Macao) to dry the "wet tribute" under the pretext of encountering wind and waves at sea, and the Guangdong officials accepted a bribe of 500 taels of silver, which was accepted. The Portuguese were able to go ashore and have since settled in Macau.

There are still some different theories about why Portugal stayed in Macau. However, the popular claim in Portugal that the Portuguese were invited to drive out pirates for the Ming government, and that the Ming emperor gave Macao as a gift to the Portuguese is obviously inconsistent with historical facts and is purely unreasonable. After the Portuguese were able to gain a foothold in Macao, on the one hand, they stepped up their commercial activities and illegal activities such as human smuggling and trafficking along the coast of Guangdong, and on the other hand, they strengthened their internal management. In 1560, the Portuguese people in Macao elected a local chief, a judge and four merchant representatives to form an administrative body to manage the internal affairs of the Portuguese. In 1563, the first Jesuit missionaries to settle in Macao arrived. In 1568, the King of Portugal sent the Jesuit Janerou to Macao to take charge of the mission, becoming the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Macau, and Macao became the center of Catholic propagation in the Far East.

After the First Opium War, China began to become a semi-colony of the Western powers due to the corruption of the Qing government. The Portuguese authorities have reversed their basically "submissive" posture in Macao for more than 300 years, and have continued to occupy and encroach on the territory near Macao. However, because of the strong rise of the new Chinese state, the rapid capture of Guangdong, and the strengthening of the defense in the direction of Macau, the Portuguese expansion was not successful.

"Your Majesty, since this is the case, then let's directly solve the problem by force! We immediately sent troops into Macao and Hong Kong, and with the forces deployed by Portugal and Britain in Macao and Hong Kong, they could not resist us at all. General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, said.

"Your Majesty, it's better to use diplomatic means first, and if diplomatic means don't work, then use military means. In addition, Hong Kong and Macau are two separate issues that can be solved separately, and it will be more difficult if they are to be solved together. Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said.

Long Yufei thought about it for a while, and then said: "Okay, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact the Portuguese and the British respectively to see what his reaction is." If they refuse to return it, we will take another option. The General Staff should also be ready at any time, and if it is necessary to use force, it can defeat them as soon as possible and recapture Macao and Hong Kong! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Minister Lin Zihao and Chief of General Staff General Niu Meng both received orders.

After several people left, Long Yufei looked at the map of China hanging on the wall and was silent for a long time. The territory of the current Chinese Empire is already very vast, and the south of the Yangtze River and Sichuan, plus Nanyang and Australia, all belong to the territory of the Chinese Empire. After the destruction of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the north, it was possible to achieve the unification of the country. However, Hong Kong and Macao, which are close at hand, are like a fish in the throat. Long Yufei made up his mind that he must recover Macau and Hong Kong, and would not wait for hundreds of years like later generations.

As far as Long Yufei himself is concerned, there should be no problem at all in recovering Macao. With the current national strength of the Chinese Empire, Portugal did not dare to do anything at all. Besides, the Chinese Empire's recovery of Macao is justified. As for Hong Kong, there are certain problems in legal theory. In addition, the Empire did not want a full-scale war with Britain right now. Therefore, we have to find another way.

Perhaps, after the fall of the Manchus, they could refuse to recognize the Yiqiē Treaty signed by the Manchus. In that case, there would be no question of zài in law. Long Yufei thought secretly. In this way, it will save a lot of trouble. Time will not wait too long, there will be two years at most, the empire will complete the preparations for war, and at that time, the empire's army will cross the river and go north, and destroy the Manchus in one fell swoop.

"Let's try it diplomatically, if it doesn't work, then wait another two years to recover Hong Kong!" Long Yufei secretly made a decision.

The Minister of the Kingdom of Portugal to China, named Pérez, was originally a businessman. Mainly from China, tea and silk are purchased and sold to Portugal, from which they make a lot of profits. After the establishment of the Chinese Empire, Western countries established diplomatic relations with the Chinese Empire, and the Kingdom of Portugal was naturally not far behind. As a result, Perez, who originally lived in Macau, was appointed by Queen Maria II of Portugal as the Portuguese Minister to China.

On February 13, 1845, Pérez, the Portuguese Minister to China, received notice that Lin Zihao, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire, wanted to meet with him. This made Perez a little strange, because Portugal was weak and had no other dealings with China than economic relations. Now the foreign minister of the Chinese Empire actually wanted to meet with him, which made him very puzzled.

However, Minister Peres rushed to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as possible, and under the leadership of the secretary, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Lin Zihao.

"Good morning, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, it is a pleasure to meet with you!" Minister Perez's face was full of smiles, and at the same time he secretly guessed the reason why Lin Zihao made an appointment with him.

"Your Excellency, I came to you this time because I have a very important matter to discuss with you!" Lin Zihao said with a stern face.

Seeing Lin Zihao's appearance, Minister Perez's heart couldn't help but rise. (To be continued......)