The British ambassador is called "Thomas, Francis, Wade", and has a knighthood on him, "Mr. Ambassador, I must express my protest and dissatisfaction with the news conveyed by your country through the Royal Bank of England, you must know that your country has established diplomatic relations with China for so many years, and I have to say, such a thing, unfortunately, is the first time I have encountered it, your country and our China have carried out so many projects and multi-capital trade, and there have never been contradictions and disputes, for this is tantamount to a violation of state-to-state agreements, I was very disgusted by the act of overturning the contract. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

"Personally, my first assignment as a foreign envoy was to the British Empire, and I was very fond of afternoon tea in London, and I thought that I should play a better role in the friendly and harmonious and flourishing relations between the two countries, and try to maintain it, and I regret that in a sense, we helped our friend, only to find that my friend abandoned us in the end."

Ambassador Wade smiled slightly, Guo Songtao's English is very good, he doesn't need a translator at all, he directly expressed his dissatisfaction in English, the British are known as British gentlemen, most of the time they are personable, he is not angry, after patiently listening to Guo Songtao's complaints, nodded and replied, "I respect your opinion, minister, but I still adhere to the views conveyed by our country, our attitude towards China is very respectful, and we are also willing to cooperate with China in the Far East on various matters, but the Privy Council believes that The interests of the British Empire in Egypt must be fully safeguarded......"

"I'm sorry, please allow me to interrupt rudely, if I'm not mistaken, your country's Privy Council seems to be in charge of the military, and we in Egypt only need a little economic benefit in the Suez Canal, yes, I think the memorandum reached between your country and China before makes it very clear that the Qing Kingdom paid 10 million francs for 8 percent of the Suez Canal shares sold by Egypt, which was originally only 10 percent of the 100 million francs issued by your country, However, in order to express the sincerity of cooperation with Britain, the empress dowager of our Qing Dynasty automatically lowered the amount of shares by two points in order to reach cooperation, your country knows the strength of our naval fleet, and it can only patrol the coastal waters, and we in China do not have any plans to march in the ocean, and our consistent view in China is only to pursue economic interests for the Suez Canal. ”

"Yes, yes," Ambassador Wade said unapprovingly, as if he had never been interrupted by Guo Songtao, "it is not wrong for us of the British Empire to guarantee our interests in Egypt, and we also recognize that your country assisted the British Empire in reaching an action to purchase the Suez Canal during the reign of Prime Minister William, for which we are grateful, but because the situation has changed, we still think that it is better for your country to withdraw from the operation of the Suez Canal, after long-term thinking and the decision of the government." ”

"We don't need to operate, we just need revenue." Guo Songtao said unhappily.

"We believe that the people of the British Empire at home are more suitable to invest in the Suez Canal, and our government investment also needs a suitable place to invest and benefit, and we are grateful for your actions back then, but now that things have changed, we regret it, but we have to do it."

The red-haired Counselor Frès on the side was very unhappy with Guo Songtao's protest, "Please note, Mr. Minister, that we have expressed our intention to return and pay interest on the 10 million francs that your country helped advance, and I hope that your country can give us this opportunity not to affect the relationship between the two countries because of this 10 million francs." I hope that today, the minister, you will have a good communication and consultation on the agenda that has been set before, and do not waste time on the things that have already been decided. ”

Fu Lei's words were faintly threatening, Guo Songtao was furious in his heart, if China protested and entangled this matter again, would it be that the empire would not recognize the memorandum and embezzle 10 million francs in vain? Already confirmed? Does it mean that you unilaterally tear up the agreement and just tell us in an informative tone? It's really arrogant and rude, and it's definitely not as polite as it appears. However, Guo Songtao is an old foreign minister, and he knows the severity, such an occasion must not be like the previous Russian Ambassador Zhugrev who roared loudly and insulted the national body, just point to the end, Guo Songtao nodded, "We will continue to protest, and hope that after communication and coordination, we can ensure our economic benefits in the Suez Canal." Mr. Counsellor is right, we are short on time today, and we need to hurry. Guo Songtao put on tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses and quietly hid his anger behind the shiny lenses.

"Please open the third page." Guo Songtao's Prime Minister Yamen Zhangjing and British Director Xie Yunong said.

Both sides opened the text in front of them, which was written in Chinese and English on the ceremonial arrangements for Prince Edward's visit to China, this is the first time that the lord or prince of a vassal country has come to China, and the etiquette of the previous court is fundamentally different, not only the British attach importance to it, the self-proclaimed Qing Dynasty is the state of etiquette of the Heavenly Dynasty, the government and the opposition also began to discuss this matter, even Prince Gong, who had no time for a moment, actually took several days to sit in the Prime Minister's Yamen, and together with Shen Guifen, the relevant etiquette was determined, It can be seen that the degree of attention is paid. "Escort etiquette for Prince Edward's visit to China," Xie Yunong continued in English, "The Nanyang Naval Division began to greet him at the place of the Dark Sands Boundary Monument of his great-mother, and the work of the entourage was always in charge of the Nanyang Naval Division before Shanghai, and after arriving in Shanghai, the Beiyang Naval Division continued to escort the north. ”

Ambassador Wade put down the text and glanced at Counselor Fours on the right, who received the signal, "I'm sorry, we don't agree to this, Prince Edward is the crown prince of the British Empire, and His Majesty's most important prince, we must ensure the absolute safety of His Royal Highness, otherwise our Ministry of Foreign Affairs will never agree to the dangerous visit." ”

Guo Songtao patiently explained, "Although the Nanyang Naval Division has only been established for more than ten years, the quality of the warships and soldiers is very good, and most of the soldiers are trained in accordance with your country's naval training process, or are guided by your country's instructors, not to mention that about 60% of the warships in the Nanyang Naval Division are purchased from your country. ”

"No," Fours shook his head, cocking his chin, "we need our own fleet for escort." (To be continued.) )