Edward thoughtfully walked out of the lounge, turned his head, and glanced at the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was standing on the ground, beckoned the little eunuch to take a hot towel over to wipe his hands, and the coffee was a little accidentally stained on the back of his hand, and the Empress Dowager Cixi saw Edward's head and smiled, "Don't forget our promise." Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Edward nodded, turned around and left, walked to the outside of the conference hall, Jacob and Bazali were already waiting, when a few people left the Prime Minister's Yamen, they happened to meet the German Ambassador Weibei who came to the interview, the high-spirited Weibei greeted Edward a few words, raised his head and entered the Prime Minister's Yamen, Edward looked at Weibei's back and asked Bazali, "Russia has lost so much territory in the Baikal area, and can still be so proud, presumably China must have made huge concessions in Kashmir." ”

"As far as I know, the land area of Kashmir that Russia has received is not as much as agreed in the previous negotiations, compared with before the death of Alexander III, it has been greatly reduced, and the situation of the negotiations is also different, and the current Russia does not have the confidence to negotiate with the Chinese to negotiate Baikal and Kashmir together, and the Russians are now weak enough to sign the Baikal territorial cession agreement first."

"That is, the cession of Lake Baikal became a prerequisite for the Russians to want Kashmir?" Edward said slowly.

"Yes, and this cruise on the Sinai Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea was also included as the price for the Russians wanting Kashmir."

"Then it seems that the close contact between China and Russia," said Edward, as he got into the carriage, which bypassed the Shengping Department and went to the gate of the Great Palace in Changchun Garden, and looked at the smooth and spacious official roads on the left and right from the carriage, "and it is very close now, and it is detrimental to our British interests in the Far East, and even in India." ”

"Please don't worry, Your Highness. China and Russia are neighbors and big countries with equal power, so their relations are destined to be unharmonious, and mistakes will inevitably occur on certain issues in the future. For example, the Baikal area has been encroached upon by the Chinese, and Russia values the territory the most, even if part of Kashmir is given to Russia, the Chinese will still have a hatred with Russia. The Chinese use Kashmir to seduce Russians into South Asia. They just want the situation in India to become something that the Russians can intervene in, and they think well, but it doesn't necessarily work, because the temporary peace between China and Russia will not last long. Bazali said.

"Their peace doesn't have to last long," said Edward indifferently, not very satisfied with Bazali's rhetoric, "I remember that the Russians rebelled in Aguba, and after the restoration of Kokand, they have been showing a weak posture of peace in the offensive of the Chinese on the opposite side of Asia, peace words." Ten years, or twenty years? This period of time is enough, and this period of time is enough for the two most territorial countries in the world to unite against our British Empire. ”

Bazali's forehead sweated slightly, of course this situation was uncontrollable, he secretly complained in his heart, such a result can basically be considered a huge failure of the foreign policy of this cabinet when he returns to China, the prime minister needless to say, his scapegoat is definitely dead and can not die again, he quickly explained. "So it is impossible for us to offend the Chinese excessively, and even say that we should appropriately strengthen the Chinese under the premise of being on guard against China, and the Chinese who have strength." As long as we can continue to put pressure on the Russians, we will increase China's naval military strength. ”

"Your Royal Highness, the Chinese representative has made a request to us that he is willing to buy us another British-made 7,000-ton ironclad ship at a price not lower than the price of 7,000-ton German warships." This is really a matter of urgency, so Bazali has no time to return to Changchun Garden and has to report immediately. "This is to alleviate the previous abnormal state of Sino-British relations, China's sincerity."

"Sincerity?" Edward frowned and thought, "Don't the Chinese already have a seven-thousand-ton ironclad ship?" There will be three more to come, so why ask us to buy one? ”

"Obviously, they have taken a fancy to the strength of our navy," Jacob, the Vice-Chancellor of the Privy Council, continued, "The Germans' warships are obviously not the most advanced, so it is wisest to ask the world's most advanced navy to buy such a super-giant ironclad that can intimidate all sides, Your Royal Highness, I must make it clear that there is a lot to do with this, and of course I am also a member of the cabinet," but Jacob is a soldier, and if he is removed from the post of Privy Council, he can return to the army to command the fleet, I don't care about the change of cabinet at all, so I don't need to pay attention to the diplomatic strategy of any party, "This 7,000-ton ironclad ship alone, in addition to the economic benefits that can be obtained from China, there is another thing worthy of our attention, that is, we can't exert the influence we should have in China's naval construction, before France trained a group of Chinese naval soldiers, and now basically the naval soldiers are sent to Germany for training, that is, we Britain is backward in this aspect, and we can't underestimate this relationship, The potential influence of any country's navy on another country's label is immeasurable with money, and now that China's army has gradually learned the German way, if the navy's style of action is also in line with Germany's, I believe this is definitely not a good phenomenon. ”

"What's more, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also confirmed that if China's navy is not strong enough, then it will not be able to deter Russia on the sea, so I personally suggest that the British government should win the contract for the first 7,000-ton ironclad ship."

"If China's naval strength is too strong, will it affect Britain's interests?" Edward voiced this concern, "You must know that we cannot project too much naval power in the Far East, especially in East Asia, and if the naval strength of the Chinese forms a strategic advantage in East Asia, we can no longer smoothly manage Asian affairs, which is why the cabinet is willing not to sell super ironclads to China." ”

"Don't worry too much, Your Highness," Jacob said, "There is a saying called a century-old navy, relying on China to buy a few powerful warships, just like building a perfect naval system, this is absolutely fantastic, now I suspect that even if we sell all the most advanced warship building technology to the Chinese, they will definitely not be able to build a decent ship, moreover," Jacob glanced at Vice Foreign Minister Bazali, "If there is no checks and balances, we have also decided to sell 7,000 tons of warships to Japan." Although Japan is small, they are very ambitious. ”

"As long as we are willing to provide them with technology and the best warships, I believe that they will definitely take China very firmly, Your Royal Highness, so that the Japanese can contain the Chinese and the Chinese contain the Russians, so that the situation in the Far East can be stable, and our British Empire can maintain a transcendent position in Asia, and this status is one of the reasons why we can seize the greatest benefits in Asia and even the world."

Jacob calmly analyzed, eloquently, "Now the naval powers in addition to Britain, there are only France and Russia, Germany has only just begun to flourish, can be regarded as a naval power, but it is not yet a strong country, the prospect of naval construction is very uncertain, just like the weather in London, foggy, but one thing is certain, after all, the technology of the navy will start to invent and create new fields, and now in this case, if China and Japan are willing to spend a lot of money to buy our mature technology and equipment, Then we can have the funds to upgrade the warships," Jacob's eyes sparkled with a terrifying light, "and this will ensure that the sun never sets on the glory of the empire!" ”

On October 3, the seventh year of Guangxu, Zuo Zongtang, a scholar of Wenhuadian University, Minister of Military Aircraft, a first-class public official, Guo Songtao, the co-director of the Prime Minister's Yamen, and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, signed the "Sino-Russian Treaty on the Ownership of the North Sea (Lake Baikal)" with the Russian Minister Plenipotentiary and the Ambassador to China, agreeing to make the North Sea, that is, 50 kilometers outside the northernmost section of Lake Baikal, the northernmost section of the Sino-Russian border, and divide it into southwest and southeast according to topography and hydrology, and belong to China's Beihai land, which is about half of Uriya Sutai. (To be continued.) )

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