The speed of the train slowed down, and the sound of clanging became slow, and with a loud "sigh" from the front of the train, the 12-car train finally stopped.

The doors opened, the anxious passengers poured out, the adults crowded towards the station with their luggage bags, the children ran around excitedly despite the loud scolding of their parents, and the pedestrians who passed by stopped in a hurry to watch the vigorous scene.

Thick smoke filled the air inside and outside the station, as well as a choking smell of pulverized coal.

Those who took the train for the first time did not rush out of the platform with the surging flow of people, but looked curiously at everything around them, feeling that it was so new and wonderful, which was the exciting change brought by the train and the wind direction of the times.

Baron Spencer Compton and other members of the English mission, led by several foreign affairs officials of the Qi State, came to the VIP room on the second floor of Guangling (now Townsville, Australia) station to rest.

Guangling is the junction of the Coastal Railway and the Northwest Railway, the most important transportation hub in the country, where trains will stop for 40 minutes to allow northbound or southbound passengers to change trains.

Baron Compton stood in front of the window of the VIP room on the second floor, and looked out to see the tracks staggered and extended, and more than 20 steam locomotives parked inside and outside the garage.

Farther away, a wagon full of goods parked all over the railway line, timber, ore, grain, manufactured goods, coal, cloth, livestock, etc. filled in the meantime, countless railway workers were busy, whistles, shouts sounded from time to time, a series of elevated cranes hooked up bags of goods, groups of coolies struggled to load (unload) them onto the carriage, the efficiency of the whole unloading was quite fast, Baron Compton was fascinated, and he couldn't help himself for a while.

Qi is really a magical and "magnificent" country!

"Uhhh He silently watched as the front of the car slowly drove to a wagon, ready to dock with it, and sighed imperceptibly.

Looking sideways at the hotels and commercial buildings in the distance, there was already a faint noise of traffic and people, Baron Compton shook his head, turned and sat down on a soft leather chair.

This is the power of industry, and of course, this is also the power of the great powers.

Baron Compton turned down a cup of tea from his attendants, closed his eyes slightly, and prepared to take a nap.

Like all first-time trains, Baron Compton was in a state of extreme excitement as soon as he boarded the carriage at Jianye Station.

Oh God, this is the legendary steam locomotive!

As a diplomatic mission, the people of Qi specially hung a special VIP carriage for them, so that their group of more than 30 people could take the train very comfortably and rush all the way to Chang'an.

It was amazing that the speed of the train was more than ten times faster than that of a horse-drawn carriage, and it could travel day and night, which was the greatest feat in the history of transportation.

What's even more amazing is that the train is much smoother than the horse-drawn carriage during the journey, and there is no bump at all.

If you ignore the clanging noise of the train and the smell of soot wafting from time to time, this is simply the best means of travel that the Creator has contributed to mankind.

On the first night on the train, Baron Compton suffered from insomnia, tossing and turning, and unable to sleep for a long time.

From time to time, I stood in front of the window of the carriage, looking out at the dark wilderness, and felt the speed of the train.

Drink a glass of wine from time to time, sit back in a soft leather chair, and think about how to face the negotiation of Qi people.

From time to time, he lit an oil lamp and read a copy of "Gulliver's Travels" that had long been turned over.

From time to time, I took out my diary and began to record what I saw and heard that day and what I thought deeply.

……

It wasn't until the morning light was shining that Baron Compton leaned back in his leather chair with a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

Along the way, the bustling and lively city, the vibrant countryside, the flat farmland, the vast pastures, the cattle and sheep everywhere, and the groups of happy and happy Qi people, all of which made the English mission feel a deep frustration.

The war continues, but the entire Qi country does not seem to be affected at all, and for them, it seems as if it is a trivial regional conflict.

Qi officials continued to communicate and issue the decrees of their emperor and cabinet in an orderly manner, the merchants maintained their usual shrewdness and continued to pursue any business opportunities and interests that might exist, the workers went from factory to house day out, and the peasants were more concerned with the harvest in the fields.

Even their soldiers did not show a trace of anxiety and restlessness about the war situation, and continued to enhance their military skills in accordance with the existing discipline in the army.

Qi country, too powerful!

Our Kingdom of England should not have fought this war with them at all, it is a complete disaster for the entire kingdom.

Sir Robert Walpole, the first Chancellor of the Exchequer, must take all the blame for this, for his blind optimism, for his misjudgment of the situation, and for the fact that he has put the Kingdom of England in a situation from which it will never recover.

On his arrival, His Majesty the King and many of his parliamentarians told him that the position of head of government would be reserved for him and even his knighthood would be promoted, as long as a decent armistice could be obtained from the state of Qi.

The gentlemen in Parliament had already engaged in more than a dozen rounds of debate and consultation on what the Kingdom of England would need to pay to end the war, and they knew that if they did not make substantial concessions and meet some of the harsh conditions of the Qi Kingdom, it was likely that peace would not be reached.

The opening of markets, the reduction of tariffs, the payment of indemnities, and the cession of overseas colonial territories were conditions that could be compromised to a certain extent.

Withdrawing from Ireland and allowing it to become an independent state may stimulate the sensitive and fragile self-esteem of the people, and at the same time expose the kingdom to external constraints and constraints, which will be difficult for the government to accept, and should try to prevent it.

If exhausted and unavoidable, a special interest in Ireland is sought, and a number of territories are reserved for the resettlement of English and Scottish immigrants.

As for allowing the "old tyrant" James III to restore the Stuart dynasty in Scotland and gain self-governing power, the government of the Kingdom of England could never agree to it.

Without Ireland, there is only one less colonial territory to suppress claims, but if the Kingdom of Scotland were to be separated, it would definitely be a cruel dismemberment of the United Kingdom of Britain, which they had just established for twenty years, and thus completely knocked them into a situation where they would never turn over.

England and Scotland are on the same island, but the two kingdoms have been fighting against forced marriage since 700 years ago.

The centuries-old history of Scotland and England is almost a bloody Korean drama that has been played countless times: the bully of England wants to rob Scotland as his wife, and the Scottish three chastity and nine spirits resolutely refuse, so all kinds of conspiracies, all kinds of entanglements, all kinds of wars, all kinds of flesh and blood fly, endlessly staged over and over again.

It's really not easy to think about the Scots, England has been entangled with Scotland for hundreds of years, during which there is no shortage of overlords who have made a hard bow, and Scotland has survived crises again and again to maintain independence.

It was not until later, due to the marriage of the two royal families, that the two countries had the same king, and Scotland still lived separately from England, maintaining a "separate" life.

So, how did the three chaste and nine fierce Scotland get from England in tears?

In response to the old saying: people are poor and short-minded.

Well, one more sentence: there is no medicine!

The first is that God doesn't open his eyes. More than thirty years ago, Scotland suffered an unexpected famine. From 1695 to 1699, the abnormal weather caused Scottish grain production to plummet, food prices soared, and hunger was widespread. Scotland's population has shrunk by 15 per cent to just over a million people.

As a result of the massive import of grain, there was a massive outflow of hard currency from Scotland, which severely damaged the domestic credit system and caused a severe economic recession.

Unlike England, which had vast colonies that could send the "poor" and hungry people overseas to beg, Scotland had no place overseas.

In order to get out of the economic predicament, the Scots took a big gamble. At that time, Spain, England, France, Portugal and other countries made a fortune by developing American colonies, and the Scots wanted to do the same.

You can do it, and I can do it!

In 1695, the Scots raised 400,000 pounds to form the Scottish Trading Company for Africa and the East and West Indies. The company embarked on an ambitious "Darién Plan" – the Darién is now the Panama Canal region, the narrowest part of the American continent.

Scotland planned to occupy Darien, establish colonial rule and open a passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Once this passage is opened, Scotland will be able to collect tolls all day long, which means that it will be rich.

In July 1698, the Scottish Company's colonial fleet set sail with the hopes of the entire kingdom and arrived the following year.

However, the ideal is plump, and the reality is skinny.

In order for the Scots to achieve their dreams, they need to defeat four enemies: malaria, yellow fever, the Spaniards, and the English and Qi people.

The English were half of the story, for they did not directly attack the Scottish colonies, but they were ordered not to give the Scots any aid, not even a bucket of water.

The Qi people were also half of the people, and although they did not directly act in the Viceroyalty of Haizhou in Panama (which included the present-day island of Coiwa, the Pearl Islands, and the Azuero Peninsula near the Isthmus), they secretly instigated and supported the Kingdom of Spain to resolutely maintain the integrity of its territorial sovereignty.

Yellow fever is already bad, but not the worst, the vast majority of yellow fever patients are mild, only about 15% are severe, patients generally do not leave sequelae after recovery, and gain long-term immunity.

The biggest enemy in the conquest of tropical jungle areas is the tropical epidemic represented by malaria, and the patients who suffer from malaria are in agony, and not only lose their ability to work and fight, but also have to be taken care of by special personnel.

Fighting in the tropics is worse than 1,000 people suffering from malaria than 1,000 killed in battle, because the 1,000 people who are sick have basically lost their ability to fight and take care of themselves, and they still need special people to take care of them.

The Scottish colonists, who were devastated by malaria, were attacked by the Spanish army.

At that time, although Darién was a virgin land, it had already been regarded by Spain as a thing in the bag and was not allowed to be touched by others. During the War of Succession that year, the Qi State seized Panama City, and the Kingdom of Spain was like a mourner, and organized an army to counterattack many times, and it was bound to recapture it. After the war, Spain made significant concessions to the Alignment in other areas, but insisted on reclaiming the Isthmus of Panama, which illustrates the importance of the region.

Unexpectedly, a small Scottish kingdom would dare to come and snort and colonize the place, and it would be too indifferent to our Kingdom of Spain.

As a result, the Kingdom of Spain gathered more than 700 soldiers and launched an attack on the Scottish invaders, who had not gained a firm foothold.

In the face of the Spaniards' attack, many Scots were so sick that they could hardly even stand up and surrender because of myrrh (cinchona bark powder).

In 1700, the "Darién Plan" was declared a complete failure and became a proper "slap in the face plan". Scotland lost more than 2,000 people and £160,000 in capital, about 1/4 of Scotland's total working capital, which was a devastating blow to the Scottish economy, pushing them to the bottom of the abyss.

Seeing that Scotland was on the verge of bankruptcy, England took the opportunity to enact the Aliens Act in 1705, which classified Scots as foreigners and prohibited the importation of all goods from Scotland. This was a particularly heavy blow to Scotland.

You know, at that time, Scotland imported 40,000 pounds of flax to England every year, accounting for more than 1/2 of the total exports. The export ban will inevitably hurt his vitality a lot, and he will not even stutter.

At this time, Scotland is faced with two choices. The first is to ask France for help again to confront England, which will cause war again, and will also face sanctions and encirclement from England for a long time. At that time, Scotland could not afford this price. The second is to submit to England, or to merge with it directly.

In order to push Scotland to completely submit, after the maximum pressure, England threw a cake to Scotland, opened its trade, shipping, markets and other resources to Scotland, shared the wealth of England's colonial trade, and will pay 400,000 pounds in cash to subsidize the Scottish economy on the verge of bankruptcy, of which 210,000 pounds will compensate the shareholders of the "Darién Plan".

Chick, obediently obey the master, you can eat and drink spicy food in the future!

Hungry Scotland eventually could not resist such a temptation and eventually sold himself in tears.

In 1707, an agreement was signed to formally unite the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Since then, Scotland has ceased to exist as an independent state.

Although the Scottish region is mountainous, the altitude is not high, and it belongs to the temperate maritime climate, which is affected by the warm current of the North Atlantic, and the climate is relatively mild, which makes Scottish agriculture and animal husbandry more developed. Scotland is dominated by wheat and barley, and livestock is dominated by cattle and sheep. Due to the relatively small population (the population of Scotland at this time was about one million), the local agricultural and livestock products were mainly supplied to England and exported.

In addition, Scotland is also very rich in resources, and there are rich coal and iron resources on the land, which are urgently needed for the development of industry in England.

The North Sea region adjacent to Scotland is home to one of the world's four largest fishing grounds, thanks to the confluence of the North Atlantic Current and the icy waters from the Arctic Ocean, it is rich in fish and a wide variety of fish, mainly herring, mackerel, cod, etc., and is the most important fishing base in England.

In addition, it can also pass through the northern part of the North Sea, where Scotland has islands such as Shetland and Orkney and many small islands, which is a necessary shipping passage for the North Sea and Baltic countries to enter the Atlantic, which is of great strategic value.

After more than 700 years of hard work, the Kingdom of England finally "got on" Scotland and incorporated it into the United Kingdom. But if because of the defeat of the Qiying War, the "beauty" in hand is gone, how can it be worthy of the "infatuation" of the English!

"Scotland is the bottom line of our kingdom and cannot be trampled on."

Under the guidance of the diplomatic staff of the Qi State, the delegation of England left the VIP lounge of the station, ready to board the southbound train and continue to the capital of the Qi State.

As the whistle sounded and the train moved slowly, Baron Compton muttered as he looked out the window at the wooden poles and pedestrians swept away.

(End of chapter)