In December 1905, when it came to Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, the comrades in the East African administrative region commented that he liked to take advantage of others. This was not a kind remark, but it was not malicious either. The Ethiopian emperor and the East African administrative region had a lot of cooperation in the past ten years.
There were many insects in the Sudan plains, and the cattle were bitten badly. The scars on the surface of the leather prevented the price from going up. Wei Kun, the secretary of the three Sudan counties, negotiated with Ethiopia to raise cattle on the Ethiopian plateau. So the quality of the leather improved rapidly, and so did the price. With such a precedent, the cooperation between the East African administrative region and Ethiopia increased. The Ethiopian emperor had studied in Europe and knew how powerful Europe was. Ethiopia provided cattle areas in exchange for the East African administrative region to help Ethiopia build hospitals, telegraph systems, and bridges.
However, the cooperation between the two sides stopped there. The comrades in the East African administrative region had always thought that the emperor would further ask for a good-neighborly treaty with the East African administrative region, but the emperor always took advantage of others and never opened his mouth. The Europeans also knew about Ethiopia and recognized the throne of this country, but they did not care about this African country. Europe did not care about Ethiopia, looked down on the European Min dynasty, and did not think that they had to beg Ethiopia. This matter ended there. It was not until Ethiopia could not resist the Italians and asked for help from the Min dynasty that the Min dynasty sent an envoy to see Menelik II.
"Your Majesty, can we keep this a secret?" The envoy of the East African administrative region asked directly. At this time, there were still some officials around the Ethiopian emperor, and the words of the East African administrative region might not be pleasant to hear.
Looking at the comrades of the Min dynasty, Menelik II waved to the people around him. The officials and attendants all left, leaving only the emperor's personal guards and translators. The comrades of the Min dynasty then said, "Why can't you accept us and go to the Italians? Can you tell me? "
Ethiopia was not a black country. They claimed to be the descendants of King Solomon. From their appearance, it could be determined that the middle and upper classes of this country were at least descendants of the Semites. Their dark skin was the result of marrying some black women and the ultraviolet rays of the plateau. After listening to the blunt words of the comrades of the Min dynasty, Menelik II's dark face turned slightly red.
In 1902, Italy had already occupied the Eritrean region of Ethiopia, and Ethiopia and Italy signed a 'friendship treaty.' After signing, the Italians made some changes to the important content. In the Ethiopian language, it was written that the Ethiopian Emperor could get help from the Italian government when dealing with other European countries. The Italians replaced the word 'can' with the word 'must' in the Italian text. It was in accordance with this "misinterpretation" that Italy declared Ethiopia its "permanent protectorate" before the ink was dry on the Treaty of Usiali.
Ethiopia was a thousands-old country, and many people knew foreign languages. Realizing that something was wrong, Emperor Menelik II immediately sent a letter to all the European countries, announcing the correction of Italy's statement. The European countries did not care. What Menelik II did was considered 'intolerable' by the Italians, and so war broke out. Menelik II, blushing at his own foolishness, lamented, "We thought that a country that believes in God would not treat another country that believes in God so shamelessly."
Menelik II lamented, "We thought that a country that believed in God would not treat a country that also believed in God so shamelessly." However, when they thought about it carefully, China's tradition was never dominated by religion, and the Min dynasty was particularly insistent on materialism. It was also difficult for the people of the Min dynasty to accept a country with a strong religious ideology.
At this time, Menelik II said with a bitter smile, "I am very grateful to the Min dynasty for their support. The weapons sold to us by those arms dealers are rubbish compared to the weapons given to us by China."
The comrades of the Min dynasty could only smile bitterly. The comrades of the East African administrative region generally thought that this Menelik II was reaping what he sowed. If he had signed a peace and friendship agreement with the East African administrative region earlier, the European countries would not have dared to bully Ethiopia. Or Ethiopia could have sent an envoy to the capital of the Min dynasty to ask for a peace agreement with the Min dynasty. Since this person insisted on using the Italians to ask a tiger for its skin, everyone just watched for fun.
Of course, the East African administrative region would not kick him when he was down. When Menelik II asked for land use rights in exchange for arms, the East African administrative region quickly reached an agreement and handed over 50,000 rifles, 200 machine guns, 50 cannons and ammunition to the Ethiopians.
Emperor Menelik II mobilized the whole country, and the Ethiopians, inspired by patriotic enthusiasm, quickly gathered under the king's banner. Not only did they join the army, but they also provided donations. The emperor used the donations to buy another 50,000 guns and hundreds of cannons. These weapons used black powder ammunition, and many of them were actually flamethrowers. The comrades of the Min dynasty never thought that these 50-year-old antiques still existed. The Min dynasty army only began to use them on a large scale during the Taiping Rebellion.
In June 1905, the Ethiopian army fought a great battle with the Italian army and lost. After the Italians seized a lot of Ethiopian weapons and equipment, their strength greatly increased. After that, they fought a series of battles. Both sides suffered casualties, and the battle was fought until they were out of breath and had to stop.
Then the Ethiopian emperor again asked for more collateral in exchange for weapons. According to the idea of the East African administrative region, this time it would be good to just give the Ethiopians some equipment. Although the East African administrative region would not stab them in the back, they really had no interest in a person who was just trying to show off. At this time, the Military Governor Of Vaize issued an order to support the Ethiopian people's struggle for justice, so the East African administrative region had to treat Menelik II seriously.
Even though it was the Military Governor Of Vaize's order, the comrades of the East African administrative region still had no confidence in this guy, Menelik II. Obviously, there was a pure gold thigh next to them, but the Ethiopians would rather collude with the Italian invaders. The comrades of the Min dynasty remembered that there seemed to be a saying in the party class, 'The reason why such people love the Tatars far away is so that they don't have to love their neighbors.' There was no doubt that Ethiopia was like this, but the Min dynasty had never been like this. After calming down, the comrades of the Min dynasty said, "Your Excellency, now is not a matter of trash or not. I want to ask you, why are you always unwilling to cooperate with us?"
Menelik II hesitated for a moment, then said frankly, "Because you are a communist party, you want a revolution, you want to nationalize the land and then distribute it to the poor."
Hearing this, the comrades of the Min dynasty's evaluation of Menelik II's' showing off 'immediately flew out of the sky. Unconsciously, they frowned and stared at Menelik II. Because of the difference in religion, because of the difference in class position, the Ethiopian emperor decisively chose to distance himself as far as possible from the Min dynasty, and was even willing to collude with Italy. Menelik II was not confused at all, he understood.
The comrades of the Min dynasty were silent, and Menelik II continued to say, "Your Excellency, I heard that there is a saying in China, 'a long journey tests a horse', and time reveals a person's heart '. It has been twenty years since your country entered Sudan. In these twenty years, the Min dynasty has never invaded our country, and when there is a matter that needs to be negotiated, the Min dynasty has never bullied us, so Ethiopia has unknowingly looked down on you. Now I am finally sure that the Min dynasty is our friend, and we hope to be able to sign a peace treaty and a mutual assistance treaty with the Min dynasty. If you have any conditions, please state them. "
The comrades of the Min dynasty frowned as they listened to Menelik II's words, and the anger in their hearts was extremely strong. It turned out that Ethiopia still dared to look down on the Min dynasty. If it were not for the pain of being beaten by the Italians, perhaps they would still continue to be hostile to the Min dynasty that chose the socialist system. However, anger was anger, the task given by the organization still had to be carried out. Thinking about how to expose the true face of Menelik II to the leaders, the comrades of the Min dynasty said in a strong tone of doubt, "How can we believe that you are sincerely willing to carry out the agreement?"
"I will send the Crown Prince to the capital of the Min dynasty to meet the Min dynasty emperor, and let him stay in the Min dynasty to study," Menelik II said frankly.
The comrades of the Min dynasty were also professionals in diplomacy. After being stunned for a while, they understood that this was a trick of "offering a hostage." Thinking that the Min dynasty had never done such a thing for 2,000 years, the comrades of the Min dynasty felt a wave of displeasure in their hearts. However, after calming down, they somewhat felt the sincerity of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia.
"We will also send students to study in the Min dynasty, at least in the East African administrative region first." Menelik II continued to express his sincerity, "If you have any requirements, please state them directly. As long as it is reasonable, we will accept it."
Although they still did not like Menelik II, the comrades of the Min dynasty had to admit that when the actual situation required the emperor to make a decision, he did show a cooperative posture. Even if he still doubted the possibility of cooperating with Menelik II, his attitude could still be regarded as sincere. The comrades of the Min dynasty drew their fingers across East Africa on the map and said in a cold tone, "Our wish is very simple. No forces hostile to the Min dynasty are allowed to exist in the whole of East Africa!"
Five days later, on December 22, 1905, the Min dynasty and Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia signed the Sino-Ethiopian Treaty of Friendship. This treaty was also known as the Treaty of Addis Ababa. Even though the Min dynasty knew that there were many people hostile to the socialist system in Ethiopia, they still did not put forward any requirements for the system in this treaty. In addition to peaceful coexistence, Ethiopia needed to allow the Min dynasty to build railways, set up factories and farms in this country. These were exactly what Ethiopia needed. The treaty also stipulated that if Ethiopia wanted to sign a military or political alliance with other countries, it must first get the consent of the Min dynasty. This request was just a normal request in the world at this time.
After the treaty was signed, the Min dynasty sent a group of military advisers from the East African administrative region. At this time, the Italian invading army also suffered great losses and had to stop and start to rest. To the surprise of the Ethiopian imperial army, the advisers of the East African administrative region did not immediately rush to kill the enemy. Instead, they began to train about 100,000 imperial troops.
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