Peiping.

"Your Excellency, you also know that our East African economic interests in the Far East are getting bigger and bigger, especially since German merchants have built a large number of factories and facilities in the Far East, and at the same time, the demand for trade between East Africa and the Far Eastern Empire is also increasing, so we hope to establish a transit point in the Ryukyus, a vassal of your country, to ensure the safety of ships passing through East Africa, and at the same time facilitate the trade between the two countries." The East African ambassador found Li Hongzhang and said bluntly.

At this time, Li Hongzhang was really worried about the issue of the Southern Ryukyu Islands or the entire Ryukyu Islands, especially the wolf ambition of Japan, a dwarf rebel country, for the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "Ambassador Richard, it's not that I don't want to help you solve the problem, the situation in the Ryukyu Kingdom is quite complicated now, especially since Japan directly invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom in disregard of international rules, and illegally manipulated Ryukyu politics, to be honest, now we can't be the lord of the Ryukyu Kingdom government." ”

"I heard that Japan only occupies the north-central part of the Ryukyus, and they don't control the southern region, so we don't care about the attitude of Japan and the Ryukyus, as long as your country nods and agrees, that's fine."

Li Hongzhang looked at Richard suspiciously, now Ryukyu is a land of right and wrong, and East Africa wants to plunge into it like this.

"Your country really has the bearing of a great power, but I still advise your country to think twice, Japan has always been an unfamiliar white-eyed wolf, and its gas is narrow, if your country builds a special economic zone in the South Ryukyu Islands, I am afraid they may really find trouble with you."

Richard said nonchalantly: "Your Excellency Li is also the head of the Imperial Navy, I think you also know what the strength of our East African Navy is, in the face of absolute strength, Japan is just a clown, if they dare to offend Germany, then the navies of the three countries dare to go to Edo to inspect." ”

East Africa has never been alone in the Far East, and the commercial interests of Germany and Austria in the Far East are largely protected by East Africa.

This is not an exaggeration, the German and Austrian navies had very little influence on the Far Eastern Empire, after all, Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, the two major communication routes, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, were firmly controlled by the British Royal Navy.

East Africa is different, the only thing that can cut off the connection between East Africa and the Far East is the Strait of Malacca, which is controlled by the British, but the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Cape Town are also contained in East Africa.

Both sides have their own handles, so the British can't go too far with East Africa, if East Africa really breaks the net with the British, then India will be in a very dangerous situation.

India is Britain's dead end, and even if East Africa is cut off from India and Britain for a short time, it could trigger a major change in the world landscape.

After all, Britain has more than one enemy in East Africa, and if East Africa does this, other countries are likely to follow suit, even if the probability is very small, which is also unacceptable to Britain, and Britain's attitude towards India must be foolproof.

Hearing that East Africa had pulled Germany and Austria as tiger skins again, Li Hongzhang's heart was very complicated, and he remembered the history of being deceived by East Africa.

In the past, when East Africa was still an insignificant colony, it used the tiger skin of Germany to defraud many privileges from the Far Eastern Empire.

As the Far Eastern Empire deepened its understanding of East Africa, it realized that it had been deceived at the beginning, and East Africa could not represent Germany at all, and the so-called Hexingen Kingdom was even more insignificant in Germany, and the surname Hohenzollern was also deceptive, which made Emperor Tongzhi mistakenly think that the Hexingen royal family was similar to the prince of the Far East and could represent the Prussian government.

After so many years, the Far Eastern Empire found itself being played by East Africa because of its ignorance of Western culture and politics.

However, with the development of East Africa in recent years, especially the defeat of Portugal, the naval strength has entered the top ten in the world, and the Far Eastern Empire can only pinch its nose and admit it.

Of course, although East Africa is not kind, it has a good relationship with the Far Eastern Empire, after all, East Africa is not like Britain and other countries, and other colonial powers are really too much for the Far Eastern Empire.

In the final analysis, East Africa only exploited the loophole that the Far Eastern Empire did not understand the West, so this pot can only be carried by its own diplomats, the modern diplomacy of the Far Eastern Empire started very late, and the earliest students were sent in the seventies, and the fraud in East Africa further inspired the Far Eastern Empire to explore and understand the Western world.

It would be a shame if there were other Western countries that touched porcelain and succeeded, but not to mention, after being defrauded by East Africa, the Far Eastern Empire was ...... Greece, Portugal, Belgium, Italy These small countries have a great deal of awareness.

Poor Portugal was directly classified as a small country because of the Portuguese War, and it was difficult for Portuguese merchants to swindle in the Far Eastern Empire in the future.

"Ambassador Richard, we can allow your country to develop the Southern Ryukyu Islands, but accordingly, the troubles on the Japanese side can only be borne by your country."

Li Hongzhang really has no choice, his own navy has not grown up yet, of course, there is another important reason, that is, the navy is his lifeblood, and he can't afford to lose it, so it is better to let East Africa and Japan eat dogs.

"Hahaha, there is no problem, as long as your country agrees, then the rest of the matter will be handed over to our East Africa, and it will definitely not embarrass your country."

East Africa's movements are very fast, although it will take some time for its own ironclad ships to pass, but there are many merchant ships in East Africa in the Far East, and after obtaining the permission of the Far Eastern Empire, they directly and brazenly send troops and materials to the South Ryukyu Islands.

The strength of the army is very easy to explain, there must be security personnel in the Far Eastern Empire, and the local forces and bureaucrats are not vegetarians, Ernst knows them very well anyway, and you can't be polite to cooperate with them, otherwise there will be no bones left.

The East African excuse is to protect East Africa's commercial interests in the Far East, so it is necessary to find an island in the Pacific region as an economic development zone.

In other words, the Ryukyu Kingdom was only a vassal state of the Far East after all, and had not been taken too seriously by the Far Eastern Empire.

Of course, the main reason is that East Africa has no criminal record, although there are two special economic zones in the Far East, but only to facilitate East Africa to do business, investment, and at the same time avoid competition with other countries, East Africa in these two special economic zones, some privileges, but other important rights are still in the hands of the Far Eastern Empire, only the economic Far Eastern Empire has to negotiate with East Africa.

This time, the Far Eastern Empire thought that East Africa's model for the South Ryukyu Islands was the same as the two special economic zones, and that it would also make Japan a rat trap.

However, neither the Far Eastern Empire nor Japan could have imagined that East Africa was going to dominate the South Ryukyu Islands and to become a subsidiary power of East Africa.

The East African government sent a direct telegram (telegram) ordering the merchant ships in the Zhuhai Trade Zone to go to the South Ryukyu Islands to start military construction bases, and the East African army and navy will directly move in in the future.

When Japan reacts, the ironclad fleet in East Africa will also sail over, and Japan in this era has not yet floated its nose to the sky, and it still has to pretend to be a grandson in front of foreigners.

In fact, the South Ryukyu Islands are not close to Japan, otherwise according to Japan's character, it would not be involved with the Far Eastern Empire, although East Africa is far from the South Ryukyu Islands, but with the help of the Far East Empire and Lanfang Overseas Province, it is not too difficult to control the South Ryukyu Islands.

(End of chapter)