At the beginning of April of the 11th year of Tongzhi, the British Indian Second Fleet escorted the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty around the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea, preparing to go to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, which was opened for less than five years. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Hurd bowed a little, revealing a broad forehead, although he was not yet forty years old, just the same age as the Empress Dowager Cixi, these days were a period of time for Hurd and the Empress Dowager Cixi to have in-depth contact and be able to talk more, and Hurd was surprised by the Empress Dowager's understanding of the general situation in the world.

"Mr. Hurd, I heard that the Suez Canal is now under the control of the French?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Hurd replied in standard Pekingese, for many years in China, Hurd had long been proficient in Chinese, "since the Napoleonic Emperor of France failed to compete with the British Empire for the colonies of the Americas, there is no other place in the west of the world to make the French nostalgic, so the goal of the French has been changed to the East, and the Suez Canal will be a greater reward for the French than the British, and of course, the distance from India to the British has been greatly shortened, This is also an indisputable fact. ”

The Queen Mother looked at the calm water of the canal, there were not many boats, but she knew that in the future, this would be a world-class golden canal waterway, "This is a golden mountain." Isn't there any interest in your country? ”

Hurd smiled, "The French consul in Egypt, Viscount Ferdinand, obtained the charter of the Egyptian governor Pasha to establish the Suez Canal Company, and it took more than ten years to dig the Suez Canal, during which I don't know how many workers died, this is the ban of the French, and the British Empire is not worth falling out with the French for this canal." ”

"But the French just lost to the Germans, lost Lorraine and Alsace, and lost 5 billion francs, tsk, in the end, there is more money than China, besides, a few years ago, the Paris Commune was in chaos, and it was finally calmed down, and the French were weak," Empress Dowager Cixi was interested, looking at the Suez Canal, her eyes were glowing with gold, as if this calm river was flowing with gold, "The Chinese have an old saying, Mr. Hurd must have heard it, Tianyu does not take the blame, Haven't you seized such a good opportunity? ”

"This," Hurd smiled wryly, "I'm just an Englishman working in China, and the meaning of the Queen and the Cabinet, I can't influence." ”

"I understand, it must be your country's national policy," the Queen Mother said with a smile, "The continent's balanced policy, isn't it?" ”

The European hegemony established by the French in Western Europe and Central Europe after the Crimean War was pulled down by the Germans in the Franco-Prussian War, which is why the French were willing to make concessions in Tianjin, he needed to free up his hands to deal with the Germans, unfortunately, the French were still defeated, and the Germans became a hegemonic power on the European continent, and the British naturally watched from the sidelines, but they weakened France's national strength too much, and in the future, if the Germans were fattened, then a new hegemon appeared in Europe, This is not fun, therefore, the idea of the British, must not weaken France too much, lest the Germans take off the reins of their horses and inflict incalculable damage on the British.

"Then I'll talk to the Queen and the Prime Minister of your country," the Queen Mother dragged her cheeks and looked at the bare yellow sandy waterfront, "the pyramids and sphinxes of Egypt, I haven't seen them yet, it's a pity, Mr. Hurd, have you seen them?" ”

"I came here before working in China, and the Ottoman people living here today are completely different from the people who built the Egyptian pyramids, so the Egyptian pyramids are no longer protected by special people, and they are not as majestic as they have been for decades."

"Yes, the Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, and then the Ottoman Turks, who ruled Egypt in turn, all the natives must be gone, and these things that have fallen to the country, don't look at them," said the Queen Mother, "Before you go to your country, there are two things to trouble Mr. Hurd." ”

"I am willing to serve the Queen Mother," Hurd bowed slightly, "I work in China, and I was originally sent by His Highness." ”

"One thing, you're already preparing, I won't say much, it's all on you, and the other thing, it's my own little interest," the Queen Mother said with a smile, "I heard that the Egyptian cat can pass yin and yang, ward off evil spirits, very supernatural, we have to dock at the port for a day anyway, why don't you ask you to buy a few cats for me?" ”

Hurd reluctantly stepped off the deck and shook his head at the captain, "What's wrong with this queen mother, she wants an Indian dancing girl in Calcutta, she wants fruit in the South China Sea, and she wants to raise a cat in Egypt today!" How, Are Egyptian native cats famous? Hurd asked his entourage. (To be continued.) )