"To the Turks, the Persian Gulf and Iraq are already the territory of the Empire, and no matter how much they pay for it, the Empire will not re-transfer those territories to them. This is the attitude of the Empire, and there is no room for bargaining on this issue! If they want to retake the Persian Gulf and Iraq, there is only war! If they want war, then the empire gives them war! Long Yufei said with a cold face. The shameless attitude of the Ottoman Turkish Empire made him very angry. As a person who has crossed over, he naturally knows how much oil is buried under the soil of the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Before, the Ottoman Turkish Empire thought that it was just a barren land, so it was transferred to the empire at a high price, and now when it sees that the empire has found oil here, it wants to go back again, where in the world is there such a cheap thing!

Besides, the value of those oils in the Persian Gulf and Iraq is simply immeasurable. Even if there is a war, the Empire will never give up these territories. Even if the Ottoman Turkish Empire and Germany were united, the Empire would never back down on this issue.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Minister Wei Yuan nodded, and after Long Yufei's instructions, he already knew the bottom line of the negotiation. In this case, he also knew how to turn back the Turks.

"Your Majesty, will this directly lead to the outbreak of war? Should our army be ready for mobilization? Prime Minister Lin Zihao was a little worried. However, if the Ottoman Empire really wanted to use force, the empire had no other choice.

"Give orders to the 11th and 51st fleets of the Navy to rendezvous in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Conduct a live-fire exercise at sea. If the situation is really irreversible, the Imperial Navy must destroy the Ottoman Turkish Empire's navy as soon as possible! Long Yufei gave the order. The Ottoman Turkish Empire though was a land state. The Navy is just getting started. However, the two 'Western Han-class' battleships and the three 'Qin-class' battleships they purchased from the Chinese Empire also had strong combat power. If the empire wants to blockade the Ottoman Turkish Empire. You'll have to deal with their navy first.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Chief of the General Staff, General Liu Zhongming, nodded. Although the strength of the Imperial Navy is not strong now, there are only four battleships in the two fleets, which is one less than the battleships of the Ottoman Imperial Turkish Navy. However, the combat effectiveness of the four 'Eastern Han class' battleships was definitely above the two 'Western Han class' battleships and the three 'Qin-class' battleships. In addition, the navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire had only just been formed, and most of the officers were still receiving training from the Chinese Imperial Navy, and their combat effectiveness had not yet been formed. Once the war began, the Ottoman Turkish Empire's navy had only one fate, and that was to be wiped out by the imperial navy. Of course. They could also remain in the harbor and act as a storage fleet. When the Imperial Army fell to the Ottoman Turkish Empire, they would become the spoils of the Empire.

"Your Majesty, what about the army? The empire had only one infantry corps in Iraq and only one marine brigade in the Persian Gulf, with a total strength of just over 40,000 troops. And the army of the Ottoman Turkish Empire now has a standing army of one million. If they mobilize their troops to march towards Iraq and the Persian Gulf, we will probably be very difficult to stop them! War Minister Sun Hao said. The Navy already has a mission, and the Army obviously can't just watch the Navy eat meat. Therefore. He urged the Army to be involved in the operation.

Long Yufei hesitated, but still shook his head, compared to the navy, the transfer of the army is much more troublesome. The navy could be killed directly by sea to the coast of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. However, when the transportation facilities of the army are not very good, it will be much more troublesome to move over long distances. What's more, Long Yufei didn't want to really start a war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire at this time. He simply wanted to deter the ambitions of the Ottoman Turks so that they no longer had any further thoughts about the Persian Gulf and Iraq.

"The standing army of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, though there were a million. But. Half of them were deployed in the plains of Ukraine and the Balkans to suppress local revolts. The other half. It was also necessary to garrison other parts of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. In particular, the two overseas colonies of Libya and Tunisia. Even if the Ottoman Turkish Empire really wanted to launch an attack on Iraq and the Persian Gulf, the number of troops that could be mobilized in a short period of time would not exceed 100,000. With 40,000 troops, the Imperial Army and Marines defeated the 100,000 Army of the Ottoman Empire, which would not be too difficult. Besides, the Ottoman Turkish Empire would not necessarily dare to go to war with the Empire! Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Seeing that Long Yufei insisted, Marshal Sun Hao had no choice but to say anything more.

Two days later, on the morning of March 30, 1857, Hassan and Klaus, the Ottoman ambassador to China, visited the Imperial Foreign Office again. They wanted to continue consultations with the Reich on the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Similarly, the Imperial Foreign Minister Wei Yuan also wanted to inform them of the Empire's hardline attitude on this issue. They want to hit the idea of oil in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, that is impossible. Unless, they have the self-confidence to defeat the empire by force. Otherwise, they don't want to share in the benefits there.

"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, I wonder what the Chinese Empire is thinking about? The Ottoman Turkish Empire was very sincere! Ambassador Hassan said. Although he knew that it was most likely useless, he still had to bite the bullet.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, Ambassador. I made it very clear last time that the Empire would not budge on this issue. The Persian Gulf and Iraq are already the territory of the Empire, and the Empire will no longer transfer its interests in these places. Whether or not the Ottoman Empire regretted it, it could not change the attitude of the Empire. "Imperial Foreign Minister Wei Yuan is very tough.

"But, Your Excellency, the Chinese Empire does not consider the friendship between our two countries at all?" Ambassador Hassan did not seem to have imagined that the Chinese Empire would refuse so firmly.

"Friendship? When the Ottoman Empire wanted to return, did you think about the friendship between our two countries? Wei Yuan asked rhetorically.

Suddenly, Ambassador Hassan looked dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, the Persian Gulf and Iraq were originally the territories of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. It's just because they thought there was no value there, so they transferred it to the Chinese Empire. Now, the Ottoman Empire is simply trying to correct this mistake. The German ambassador to China, Klaus, was also on the sidelines. Germany also wanted to share the oil resources of the Persian Gulf so that it would not be stuck by the Chinese empire in the future. That's why they did everything possible to help the Ottoman Turkish Empire speak.

"Your Excellency Klaus, the Sultan and the Chancellor of the Ottoman Turkish Empire are no longer children, and they are to blame for what they have done. Moreover, our two countries have signed an agreement, and it is very clearly written in black and white. The Chinese Empire will not cede the Persian Gulf and Iraq! Wei Yuan shook his head, if he wanted to regain the Persian Gulf with a mistake, wouldn't the empire be too easy to bully?

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, doesn't the Chinese Empire have to think about peace and stability in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf? Will the natives watch as the Chinese Empire extracts oil there and plunders their wealth? At that time, in order to stabilize the situation in the Persian Gulf region, I am afraid that we will also need all of us to work together. Ambassador Krauss continued.

"Humph! Your Excellency, the Empire has confidence and ability to maintain peace in the Persian Gulf region. Any attempt to undermine the stability of the Persian Gulf will be crushed. The empire will not hesitate to fight for the sake of the Persian Gulf! Wei Yuan said resolutely.

Hassan and Klaus didn't know what to say for a while. The attitude of the Chinese Empire was so resolute that they did not know how to proceed. However, they can also understand that after all, the oil of the Persian Gulf is very important and is a huge wealth. No matter which country eats that quick fat meat, it will not spit it out again.

"Your Excellency, is this the best answer from the Chinese Empire?" Ambassador Hassan said with some reluctance.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Ambassador!" Wei Yuan's attitude was equally resolute.

Both Ambassadors Hassan and Klaus returned in vain. After the two returned to their respective embassies, they could only report this qiē to China.

The Chinese Empire would not transfer the Persian Gulf and Iraq, which was expected by both the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the German Empire. They also know that if it were them, they would never do the same thing. However, for the sake of their own interests, they can only find a way to continue negotiations with the Chinese Empire.

Judging from the current situation, the only way for the Ottoman Turkish Empire to regain the Persian Gulf and Iraq was to use war. However, even if the means of war are used, I am afraid that in the end, the outcome will be unpredictable. Therefore, the Ottoman Turkish Empire did not want to go to war until it was absolutely necessary, and did not have the courage to do so. Since the Chinese Empire even did not hesitate to fight in order to defend the Persian Gulf and Iraq. This left the Ottoman Turks in compromise.

Immediately after that, the Ottoman Turkish Empire made new demands, not to redeem the Persian Gulf and Iraq, but to get a piece of the pie. (To be continued......)

ps: The third update is here, ask for subscriptions, ask for monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thank you to the book friend GHY383838 for the monthly pass! R1292