Professor Glenn Johnson still had a lesson, and the two sides agreed to leave separately, and Li Fushou's motorcade took the professor back to the Red Fort when he returned, and the war with the Netherlands was one of the most important issues at the moment, and Li Fushou wanted to hear the opinion of this veteran of European high society.

As a member of the prestigious Royal Society of the British Empire, Professor Glenn-Johnson has access to the top academic circles, a good knowledge of London's high society, and an in-depth study of the historical grievances of European countries, which is the basis for his accurate judgment.

At present, the Red River Valley is lacking such senior old birds to give opinions and serve as a reference for decision-making.

Inside the Meditation Pavilion

Li Fushou and Professor Glenn Johnson sat opposite each other, the two of them had a cup of tea and a cup of coffee, and the coffee table in the middle was placed with exquisite snacks and fruits, which looked like friends chatting for a long time.

"Your Excellency, it seems that my expectations are good, the Dutch side can no longer fight, and the message of peace talks has been conveyed through some quarters."

Professor Glenn Johnson took a sip of his coffee and put down his cup to ask, he wanted to confirm the authenticity of the message.

Li Fushou did not answer directly, but asked rhetorically; "From what signs do you draw such conclusions?"

"Based on my knowledge of European countries, from historical and cultural origins to the intricacies of royal relations and national temperament, this may sound like a troublesome feeling, but it is actually an intuition formed by rich experience." Professor Glenn Johnson picked up a piece of delicious cake and put it in his mouth to eat, nodded as if it felt good, picked up another piece of cake and put it in his mouth, and said as he ate;

"The chocolate strawberry cake is delicious, let's get back to your question.

Today's complicated European situation and the entanglement of interests between countries seem to be mixed together like a ball of yarn.

Not really

It is as difficult for an Oriental to understand the European question as it is for a Westerner to understand the Eastern question, because they are very confused;

Why did two countries fight for life and death for tens or hundreds of years, and formed a hatred like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and in the blink of an eye, they were able to form an alliance to attack a third party.

Why is there so much war between Europe and so many royal marriages?

As a European born and raised in Sri Lanka, it is easy to understand, the entire European royal family and aristocracy is actually a big family connected by blood, some of them are short-tempered, some have a strong personality, and some people have a wide range of wealth, and they often get together for various reasons, and if they win, they will score a little more, and if they lose, they will lose a little, simply put, this is the case.

Of course, this does not include the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia, who were pagans and Slavs who were not welcomed.

If we say in depth that this is a very grand proposition, involving civilization, language, religion, ethnicity and historical origins, today we will not talk about it for the time being, but for the time being, we will talk about the Dutch and their national temperament, and if you break it down, you can understand why the Dutch are willing to pay a certain price for peace.

As a Nordic lowland country, the Dutch provinces were originally of Germanic descent ruled by the Spaniards, and they had the rigor and orderliness of the Germanic people, advocating glory and adventurous spirit, and had an unusual fascination with colonies.

After the independence of the Spanish Empire, due to the extensive trade with the Mediterranean countries due to geographical reasons, the Netherlands once dominated the world trade in spices, silk, porcelain and tea, and that was the most glorious moment of the "sea coachman".

The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, which were established as the world's earliest transnational monopoly colonial companies, had national functions such as independently waging wars, signing contracts, collecting taxes, and owning armies, mainly to earn huge profits through colonial expansion, and were essentially commercial activities.

Therefore, in the character genes of the Dutch, there is a strong Mediterranean merchant atmosphere.

This is completely different from continental countries such as Germany, France, and Tsarist Russia, and in the Dutch dictionary, in addition to the glory of the country and the nation, it is necessary to consider whether the war is worth it, whether it is worth it, whether it is worth it?

This is the typical businessman's way of thinking, war, land and national interests are all tradable, the key is whether it is worth it?

The British, through three Anglo-Dutch wars, threw the Dutch out of the hegemony of the world's oceans, and the Dutch quickly recognized the reality and clung to the thigh of the British Empire, rather than stumbling to the end like the French.

This is exactly the case today

After the Dutch hit a hard nail on Shangri-La Island, the country began to reflect from top to bottom whether it was worth continuing the war, and whether it was worth paying a heavy price.

I would like to make one point in particular;

This was not the conscience of the Dutch colonists, but the temperament of the merchants, who had to worry about gains and losses, and if there was a breakthrough victory on the battlefield, the shouting and killing would prevail, as the situation on the battlefield of Aceh proved.

So one of my advice to you is that you have to beat the Dutch on the battlefield, the kind that the pain is unbearable, and the more you fight, the more concessions they make, and you can hardly get anything at the negotiating table.

So now...... Your Excellency Lord, can you tell me that the Dutch have signaled peace? ”

After Professor Glenn Johnson finished his tirade, he quickly ate a few more snacks and took a sip of coffee, and quickly cleared the two plates.

Li Fushou took a thoughtful sip of the teacup, this old thing spoke to the point, it was really an old guy, and it was too worthwhile to ask him to be a private policy consultant.

Alan Johnson has been in the European high society for a long time, and with his extensive experience, he can be sensitive to the latest policy trends in the Netherlands, and he can also understand the big difference in the hearts of other European countries.

Thinking of this, Li Fushou calmly admitted; "Yes, your guess is correct, I recently received a letter from the Prime Minister's Office in Downing Street, specifically a letter from the Prime Minister, Lord Benjamin Disraeli, who is concerned about the current situation in the South Pacific and hopes for peace, although it is nonsense in less than 100 words, but it clearly sends a signal of willingness to mediate the war, I think this is out of the true will of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and I have not yet replied to ......"

Speaking of this, Li Fushou paused, picked up the teacup and took a sip gently, considering whether to reveal the latest military trends.

His eyes glanced at Professor Alan Johnson, the old fellow who had begun to eat fruit with a nonchalant expression, and a cup of coffee that had been added, and looked like he had a super good appetite.

"The Governor's Office of the Dutch East Indies should make a move in the near future, but I did not wait for the request for peace talks, and first waited for the news that the Dutch had organized a group of troops to reinforce Shangri-La Island, is this a surprise?"

"Well, it's not surprising that from a businessman's point of view, there will always be a few more chips before the final negotiation."

"Do you think so?"

"It's not that I think so, but history has told us the answer, in the three Anglo-Dutch wars, the Dutch always stopped talking, like a merchant who must be a baht, entangled in the details, it is not surprising at all, after following the British Empire, every time they make a contribution, they have to get back some sweetness, the victory of the 7th anti-French alliance, the Dutch took back the dominion of Java from the British Empire, and once again dominated the East Indies, which is the greatest benefit of this merchant policy, compared with the British, France, Germany or Tsarist Russia will not trade national interests. ”

"It's true that the Dutch are very speculative, and it seems that we have to give him a slap in the face with a vivid memory, which may make them more honest."

"Good idea, I couldn't agree more."

"So...... Mr. Alan Johnson, what do you remind me of the upcoming peace talks? ”

"Your Excellency, I am so impressed by your intelligence that I would love to see how far you can go in the future. If you are willing to listen to my advice, I suggest that you do not expand the scale of the war, and that the full possession of Shangri-La Island and part of the land of Borneo is the limit, of course, this so-called partial possession can be large or small, depending on the performance of the battlefield, on the other hand, this does not prevent us from opening our mouths, and the main point of negotiating with the businessmen is to ask for a sky-high price, pay back the money on the spot, and think you have to prepare for a difficult and long negotiation, one side is the battlefield, the other is the negotiation table, the two complement each other. ”

"Very well said, it sounds like a lot of experience." Li Fushou raised his eyebrows and said in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Professor Alan Johnson shrugged his shoulders indifferently, and said with a faint arrogant smile on the corner of his mouth; "Your Excellency, every Englishman has spent his childhood in the news of war and negotiations, and the long hours have made everyone in London a statesman, and we have seen hundreds of contracts signed and torn up, and this is part of our lives, do you know how many London Treaties there are? How many Paris Treaties are there? I'll tell you that there were no less than 50 of them, and there were the Dutch, but also the Germans, the French, the Spaniards, the Germans, the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and Greece and other Mediterranean countries, and this is only a small part of the British involved in negotiating treaties, so the English have a lot of experience to deal with these. ”

"Tut-tut......"

In addition to gasping for air, Li Fushou was really speechless.

The professor's words are not the slightest element of bragging, this is the naked international political reality of the world today, as the European arbiter and the world's rule-maker, Britain has participated in almost every dispute of interests in the world, and the treaties signed are naturally varied.