"As far as I know, the Earl of Queensland has a close relationship with the Morgan family, a Wall Street tycoon, and the two sides have worked closely together in various fields, and the Morgan family, as the second largest shareholder of the Detroit Cargill Steam Machinery Company, has further increased its investment in the industrial sector, does this mean a promising industry opportunity?"

U.S. Minister Bradley Beale nodded in admiration as he put the almond cookie in his mouth and chewed it; "Wow, this is a really delicious pastry, the crust is crispy, and the filling has a different flavor, it's amazing!"

"How is it compared to a Thanksgiving turkey?" Tayama put the last piece of almond cookie in his mouth, then picked up the teacup and took a sip and asked.

"These are two completely different things, and I don't think we can compare them together."

"You Americans are really strange creatures, and while thanking the Indians for their help, holding a grand festival every year, and mercilessly slaughtering them, does such a turkey really taste delicious?"

"Oh...... Shet! ”

Bradley Beale was eating cookies, choked on this abrupt question, almost rolled his eyes, quickly picked up the tea on the table and poured it, and then said with great dissatisfaction; "Representative Tian, we have never revealed what you have done in Borneo, why the local indigenous population has decreased drastically, and is even in danger of extinction, don't you want to say something?"

"Oh...... It's all because of the damn war, and I hope to see world peace one day. Tian Shan smiled and picked up another cookie, saying high-sounding words in his mouth.

"God, believe that you have ghosts!" Bradley Beale didn't take advantage of the verbal exchange, and raised his hands as if to forgive; "Stop, let's stop talking about these topics and talk about something that is of interest to both parties, such as the Morgan family's cooperation with you, and you haven't answered my previous question."

"Okay, let me think about it......" Tian Shan unhurriedly finished the cookie in his hand, picked up a hot towel to wipe his hands, and then said; Cargil Steam Machinery is seeking to re-go public, but the official name will be changed to the Detroit branch of General Machinery Co., which will have the status of an independent legal person, so it makes sense to strengthen cooperation with Wall Street financial tycoons, which has been published in public newspaper reports. ”

"So privately, what news can I talk about?"

"I don't know much about this, it is said that the Red Fort will release no more than three percent of the equity of the Detroit branch, while listed in London and New York, because it occupies an important leading position in the international machinery industry, the volume is huge, the funds raised will reach 20 million pounds, according to the analysis of financial market experts, the Detroit company and its parent company master thousands of patented technologies in the field of diesel engines, is the industry leader, the future market prospects are extremely broad, worthy of great investment."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense." Bradley Beale nodded in agreement, considered it and said;

"Diesel engines have a wide range of application prospects, before that, Detroit and Australia General Motors ranked first and second in the industry respectively, and a large number of agricultural machinery companies in the United Kingdom and the United States, accounting for more than 9 percent of the market share, the dominant position is unshakable.

Wall Street's Morgan family has always been known for its precision, and they foresaw the victory of the North during the American Civil War, so they invested $5 million in gold, betting on a big rise in gold, and they made a lot of money.

The Morgan family couldn't have lost sight of the bright future of the Detroit company, and it was no surprise that they were once again holding back on the big bet.

As long as we small and medium-sized investors follow in the footsteps of Wall Street tycoons, it will be difficult for us to lose money. ”

"Mr. Minister's judgment is very accurate, and I think so too." Tian Shan chimed in.

The two were talking

Rear Admiral Thomas Gresham, commander of the British Far East ship, and He Fang came out of the back house one after the other, his face gloomy without saying a word, and he snorted coldly and brushed away.

Tian Shan cast an inquiring look, and He Fang opened his mouth and replied silently with three words; The talk collapsed!

I learned after careful inquiry;

Seeing that there was no war in Fuso, Rear Admiral Thomas Gresham, commander of the British Far East Ship, became full of thoughts, and wanted to pull the Queensland side to form a more powerful combined fleet to patrol Juwen Island, and if necessary, go around Vladivostok for a deterrent cruise.

This is because since Britain occupied Geomyun Island in Korea, the Tsarist side of Russia has shown considerable indignation, and Russian warships stationed in Vladivostok have sailed into the waters near Geomyun Island from time to time, and the provocation is very strong.

The British Empire does not rub sand in its eyes, and is ready to strike back immediately.

The problem is that the Far East Fleet stationed in Hong Kong is not a permanent fleet, but a temporary auxiliary fleet, which is mostly coal carriers and oil tankers, and only has a temporary 7,000-ton second-class ironclad ship and several cruisers, which is not enough to deter the Tsarist fleet.

The Royal Third Battlefleet of the British Empire, stationed in Calcutta, India, was super-powerful and had no rivals in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, and was capable of deterring cruises to the northern ports of Vladivostok in Tsarist Russia.

However, considering the long distance, the voyage of a large number of main ironclad ships was extremely expensive, and a large amount of pounds was burned in every minute, and a small half of the annual budget of the Royal Third Battlefleet would be burned in one trip, which was a lot of money.

Therefore, Rear Admiral Thomas Gresham put the main blow on the Kunshan fleet, and wanted to pull him to the northern seas to cruise, but he was categorically refused.

"Ignore him, it's a mallet." Tayama comforted, then pointed to the exquisite pastries on the table and said; "Authentic Gusu-style dim sum, you taste it and give a pertinent evaluation."

"What do you mean......"

"If everyone feels good, I think there should be a dim sum master like this in the Red Castle, and we can't forget the Earl when we are courtiers, this is our duty."

"Representative Tian's words are reasonable."

He Fang is a person with a conservative personality, picked up a small plate and put a few exquisite pastries to eat, chewing slowly and calmly. Looking at his serious expression, he seemed to be meticulous in studying the naval combat plan.

Tian Shan saw that Du Huaiqing, the Qing Dynasty's envoy to Japan, was not far from him, and he had the heart to go forward to say hello, but when he saw Du Huaiqing's cautious words and deeds, he couldn't help but stop, and Geng Guigui laughed and teased; "What's wrong...... Representative Tian, is it cowardly in your hometown? ”

"You and I have found our roots overseas, if you talk about your hometown, it is only Queensland, looking back at the land of China, I feel a lot of emotion!" Tian Shan replied without thinking, lowered his voice and continued quietly; "Sir Geng, don't you know, the Qing State Minister is beautiful on the surface, but in fact, everyone in the court is a thick stack of attacks and twists, and every word and deed is a crime, so don't dare to make a little mistake, this errand is not easy to do!"

Geng Guigui asked in surprise; "Is that so?"

"The Manchu court was decadent and dim, and always regarded itself as the superior kingdom of the Celestial Empire, and during the Jiaqing period, various countries sent diplomatic envoys to China, but the Manchu Qing Dynasty was unwilling to send an envoy, for very strange reasons, saying; The West is all barbarians, he has a request for the Celestial Empire, so he sent an envoy to China, and I don't want to ask for the barbarian countries, why bother? Tian Shan shook his head with a wry smile, and seeing that Geng Guigui was very interested, he explained in detail;

In 1875, Margaret, the interpreter of the British Embassy in China, was killed in Yunnan, and after negotiations, the Qing Dynasty needed to send an envoy to England to apologize, and the court thought of Guo Songtao.

At this time, when he went to Britain, it was easy to be scolded as a traitor.

But Guo Songtao said:

As a minister, he has been reading and reasoning for 60 years, and he is responsible for his affairs, and he is wise and considerable, and he is particularly concerned about the safety and interests of the country.

At the same time that the Earl set foot in Australia for the first time, in 1876, Guo Songtao arrived in England by ship for more than a month.

During his time in England, he handled official affairs according to Western etiquette, attended concerts, shook hands with foreigners, and brought his wife to banquets. He wrote down what he had seen and heard in a diary and sent it back to China, engraved the "Journey to the West", praised the development of Britain's steam industry, and praised Britain's political and religious cultivation and return to the heart of the sea.

Liu Xihong, the deputy envoy of the Qing State to Britain, sent a letter to the imperial court, accusing him of committing the "three major sins".

The first is that the Youjiadun Fort is dressed in foreign clothes, even if it freezes to death, it should not be clothed.

The second is "Seeing that the lord of Brazil stands up without authorization, how can he pay tribute to the lord of the small country?"

The third is that the Birkin Palace listened to music and repeatedly read the music list, imitating the actions of foreigners.

What's going on?

Once Guo Songtao was invited to visit the British Portsmouth Battery, because the fort was relatively windy, an Englishman took off his clothes and criticized Guo Songtao, which was a trivial matter.

Liu Xihong doesn't see it that way, he thinks that even if he freezes to death, don't criticize the clothes of the British, so-called; Death by starvation is a small matter, but loss of temperance is a big matter, even if you freeze to death, it is not appropriate to wear it.

The second major sin was that when Guo Songtao participated in the activities of the Brazilian Embassy in the UK, when the King of Brazil entered, everyone stood up and applauded to show respect.

Guo Songtao gave a standing ovation along with everyone, which was originally the most basic diplomatic etiquette, but Liu Xihong considered it a move to lose the national body.

Paying tribute to the lord of a small country is undignified and unforgivable

Finally, let's talk about the third cardinal sin, the Birkin Palace mentioned in the secret fold is Buckingham Palace, and the transliteration is different.

When Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom held a concert at Buckingham Palace, Guo Songtao was invited to attend.

In front of the guest seats was a music list, a detailed list of music tracks, and Guo Songtao flipped through the music list like the other guests. So he was caught by Liu Xihong again. He believed that by doing so, he was imitating foreigners and insulting his status as a minister of the Qing Dynasty.

This is also the "three major sins". ”

"That's outrageous, isn't it?" Geng Guigui said in surprise, turned his face to look at Du Huaiqing, who looked like an old monk had settled down, his face was full of sympathy; "This official is too difficult to do, it's completely a bone in the egg!"

"Do you think that's the end of it? This is just the beginning. ”

"Ah......h

At this time, Geng Guigui's mouth was open enough to swallow a duck egg, and he asked with a look of disbelief; "What's next?"

Tian Shan sighed softly and continued;

On May 6, 1878, Liu Xihong wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's National Affairs Yamen, listing Guo Songtao's "Ten Crimes" in Britain.

It is nothing more than some trivial things such as Guo Songtao and his wife learning foreign languages, using silver plates to serve sugar and cheese to greet foreigners instead of tea, shaking hands without waving when meeting foreign officials, and attending tea parties held by the embassy with his wife.

The ministers of the court were divided into two factions and argued fiercely. The Westernists headed by Li Hongzhang naturally supported Guo Songtao, while the old-fashioned faction headed by Li Hongzao strongly opposed it, demanding that he be immediately recalled to find out the charges and severely punished in order to maintain the dignity of the Celestial Empire.

So-called;

out of its kind, out of its own, not allowed in the world of Yao Shun; If you can't help people, you can do ghosts, so why go to the state of your parents.

Guo Songtao's hometown burned the temple he donated, the imperial court continued to impeach, and there was a version of Hanlin editing and revising the diary for the imperial court to destroy the diary, which was listed as a banned book, Guo Songtao was recalled from the United Kingdom to ask for the crime, and finally lost his official position and returned to his hometown to reflect. ”

"That's an exaggeration, isn't it?" Geng Guigui was speechless.

"What's so strange about this, the Manchu Dynasty has come to an end, and the decadent scenes at the end of these dynasties are endless, and it's not strange to see it." He Fang came over and said that he had been a high school scholar for two years, served in a seven-pin county, and knew a lot about the shady scenes of officialdom, and he was also a loser in the struggle of the imperial court, so he was particularly touched.

Geng Guigui said; "Attacking purely for the sake of attacking, don't the princes of the Manchu court have nothing serious to do?"

Geng's words are wrong, the two sides are fighting so fiercely, because of the four words "cultural orthodoxy", this is the foundation of the country, the opportunity for the survival of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and we have to be cautious. He Fang saw it very clearly, and said the inner reason.

"Oh...... Please let me know. Geng Guigui asked.

He Fang's gaze swept over Tian Shan, and when he saw his silent expression, he knew that the Red Fort had studied this very deeply and had already reached a conclusion, so he explained;

The reason why Guo Songtao caused domestic criticism was not only because of his informality in Britain, but more importantly, because he admired the West and praised it with great praise.

However, it is resolutely unacceptable to praise foreigners morally, culturally, and institutionally, which is shaking the foundation of the country's life and the foundation of the survival of the imperial court.

One of the rites is the first of the six paths.

The way to build a country is to be courteous and righteous rather than powerful; The fundamental picture is not in the human heart.

In modern times, in the process of dealing with foreigners, the Qing court has been defeated again and again militarily, and only cultural and moral self-confidence remains.

If the war is lost, the country will not be wiped out, and what will be left if cultural self-confidence is destroyed? ”

"Oh...... I see, I didn't think of this layer. "Geng Guigui is a qualified soldier, but he is not a qualified politician, and his consideration is inevitably biased. Then he remembered something and blurted out; "Fusang is now popular in a **** argument that denies its own culture, what do you think about this?"

"A nation without its own unique culture is like the walking dead, without a soul." He Fang replied coldly.