Chapter 395: Secret Alliance (Asking for a Monthly Pass)
PS: The third update is here, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets!
On the second day after Long Yufei ascended the throne and became emperor, envoys from various countries came to bid him farewell. The first to leave Canton was the British, who had just been defeated by the Chinese Empire. British Foreign Secretary Henry. Viscount Temple was not willing to stay any longer. Seeing that the Chinese Empire was getting stronger day by day, he could be described as anxious. If this continues, you will have to die in a hurry. The stronger the Chinese Empire, the greater the threat to Britain, and this is not a good thing. In addition, he has been with the regent of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Aixin Jueluo. Mianyu and his entourage reached a secret agreement that Britain would arm the Manchus with all their might, making the Manchus an important pawn in the balance of the Chinese Empire. In this case, the pressure on Britain would be much less.
Manchu regent Aixin Jueluo. Mianyu and his party were the second delegation to leave Guangzhou. Although he is full of hatred for the Chinese Empire and Long Yufei, he loves Xinjueluo. When Mianyu met Long Yufei, she was still smiling. Of course, his smile was so unnatural. It can be said that the Chinese Empire and the Manchu Qing Dynasty are destined to not coexist, and between the two, there will be a winner or loser. The losing side will be completely wiped out, and there is no other way to go. And, everybody believes, that day won't be too far away. Of course, both sides had confidence in themselves and believed that the Viscount was the victor in the end. The final result can only be seen by the two sides on the battlefield.
In the next two days, one after another delegations left Guangzhou. It's just that some of these departing missions are happy and excited, while others are sad. The missions of the Western countries have a mission on their shoulders. That is to expand trade with China. A market of nearly 200 million people, what this means, everyone knows very well. They were guaranteed by the Chinese Empire. In the future, the Chinese Empire will gradually open up its market. The reason why the market was not opened immediately was entirely because the Chinese Empire, especially the industry in Chinese mainland, was still too weak. Once foreign goods pour in, it will destroy China's industry and commerce, and it will deal a heavy blow to them. In any case, China will have to nurture this industry for a while. The factory owners in Nanyang have already begun to invest and build factories in the mainland. Soon. The interior will also develop.
The Japanese mission also left Canton with trepidation, and their mission was one less person, and Onodera Sannori had already committed suicide by disembowelment in front of the Imperial Prime Minister's Office. However, Mabe was still not sure that the Chinese Empire would let them go like this. The strength of the Chinese Empire made Mabe feel very helpless. If China were to go to war against Japan. They are certainly not opponents. However, there was no way out now, and after returning to Edo, he said that the shogun, Tokugawa Iekei, was actively preparing for war and preparing to face China. Of course, the culprit responsible for this qiē was Emperor Hitotaka of Kyoto. Surely there will be no good fruit to eat. The emperor should be a puppet if he wants to resist. In the end, it usually doesn't end well. In the history of Japan, there have been several emperors who have died mysteriously because of their opposition to the shogun.
The French Prime Minister, the Duke of Dalmatia, and the Spanish Prime Minister, the Duke of Valencia, were the last to leave Guangzhou. The day after Long Yufei's enthronement ceremony, the two of them held talks with Chinese Prime Minister Li Decheng and Foreign Minister Lin Zihao in a secret meeting in the Imperial Chinese Prime Minister's Office to formally negotiate an alliance with China that the two countries had previously proposed.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom of France has come to China with a sincere attitude to seek like-minded allies. Our two countries share common interests. Therefore, I think it is very beneficial for us to form an alliance. The Duke of Dalmatia, the Prime Minister of France, said with a sincere face. France also had no choice, and was almost cornered by the British in Europe. China, which has risen in the East, has become their only hope. If they can form an alliance with China, they may be able to use China's power against the British.
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we in the Kingdom of Spain think so too. We have been working well with China over the years. But the British are getting stronger, they will disrupt the trade between our two countries, they will harm our interests. We cannot sit idly by. Therefore, we hope to form an alliance with Xinhua to deal with the British! Spanish Prime Minister Duke Valencia also said.
"I very much agree with the two dukes, England is our common enemy, and as long as Britain is defeated, our three kingdoms will be able to make great progress. Although the world is big, many places have planted the British flag, which is not in our interests. We must break Britain's hegemony over the world and fight for our interests! Chinese Prime Minister Li Decheng said in a deep voice.
Li Decheng unmistakably expressed the attitude of the Chinese side, which made the French Prime Minister Dalmatia attack and the Spanish Prime Minister Duke Valencia very satisfied. From this point of view, it is very possible for the three countries to form an alliance.
"However, both also know that we have just defeated the Manchus and gained a large amount of territory and population. It's just that the vast territories and the common people living in these territories are very poor, and for a long time to come, our main energy will be on domestic construction, and I am afraid that there will not be too many foreign wars! Li Decheng continued.
"Your Excellency, we can understand that. After all, China is too far from Europe. Even if war breaks out, the aid provided to us is very limited. However, there are other areas where we can strengthen cooperation. For example, on armaments. The Chinese army and navy defeated the British, and we are very interested in these Chinese military equipment. If we can, we hope to be able to strengthen cooperation in this regard. French Prime Minister Duke Dalmatia said. The strength of the French army and navy was not weak, although it was defeated by the British many times, but the background is still there. As long as they can have advanced weapons, they believe that France's military strength will not be much worse than that of Britain, and even if it cannot defeat Britain, there is no problem in protecting itself.
"The Kingdom of Spain hopes to be able to import a batch of advanced weapons to China to arm our army against the threat posed by the British. In Europe, if Spain and France join forces, even Britain will not dare to push us excessively. Of course, the prerequisite is that we have a stronger army. In this way, with the support of China, we will be able to confront Britain in an all-out way. Said the Prime Minister of Spain, the Duke of Valencia.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Decheng and Foreign Minister Lin Zihao bowed their heads and whispered a few words, and then said: "We agree in principle to cooperate in armaments." We can export all kinds of equipment for the army to your two countries, and warships have been built for you. ”
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, can you provide us with technology directly?" French Prime Minister Duke Dalmatia asked. If they import from China, this will make them subject to armaments. France is also one of the major European powers, and of course they don't want that to happen.
"Your Excellency, with France's technology in army equipment, I'm afraid it won't lag far behind us. In fact, there is nothing to import from us at all. What you need should be our advanced warships! Chinese Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary. We were very interested in the kind of steam warships that the Chinese Navy had to defeat the British Navy. "The French Prime Minister, the Duke of Dalmatia, saw that the Chinese side already knew their intentions, so he simply stopped hiding it.
"Your Excellency, this kind of warship is China's killer weapon, and we will not sell technology to foreign countries. Only warships can be sold to foreign countries. Lin Zihao insisted. Although all European countries are secretly developing steam warships, there is still a certain gap between them and the 'Xia-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy, and it may take several years to make up for this gap. The scientific and technological strength of European countries is also strong and weak, and there is no doubt that the United Kingdom is the strongest. If France wants to catch up with and overtake Britain, it has to take shortcuts. Importing technology into China is undoubtedly a shortcut.
The Duke of Dalmatia, the Prime Minister of France, hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. Although the Chinese side was reluctant to sell the technology, he believed that once France bought the warships from China, the French engineers would definitely be able to design France's own steam warships with these warships.
After some haggling, the two sides imported six 'Xia-class' cruisers from China at a price of 600,000 Chinese dollars, or 150,000 pounds sterling, or 3,750,000 francs each. You must know that the cost of the Chinese Navy's 'Xia-class' cruiser is only 300,000 Chinese yuan. The price is doubled, which can be described as a 100% profit. What's more, the 'Xia-class' cruiser is just the weakest of the main warships of the Chinese Navy. The 'Western Zhou-class' warships under construction are the most powerful. It's just that the 'Xizhou-class' battleship belongs to the top secret of the Chinese Navy, and the secrecy work is very good, and foreign countries will not get any information about this warship before it is equipped with troops.
Spanish Prime Minister Duke Valencia also proposed to import weapons to China, the industrial strength of the Spanish royal palace is relatively weak, they hope to be able to import not only the warships of the Chinese Navy, but also the standard equipment of the Chinese Army. The Kingdom of Spain has monopolized trade with China over the years, and has also earned a lot of wealth. Therefore, in terms of arms procurement, it is also wealthy! (To be continued......)