The Prussian Minister was not evaded by Vézé. He said firmly, "Does Your Majesty agree to sell the technology?"
Vézé stared at the Prussian Minister for a moment. He didn't hate this person, but he was surprised by the Prussian Minister's determination. He didn't know if this determination could be equated with Prussia's determination to fight the Franco-Prussian War. Thinking of this, Vézé tentatively said, "If you want this rifle, then exchange it with Krupp's artillery technology. I heard that your country's Krupp Munitions Factory has a range of more than one kilometer. If your country is willing to exchange this artillery technology, we will also agree to provide rifle technology. "
China's rifles dominated the world. Logically speaking, ever since Vézé became the leader of China's most dynamic industrial organization, it was inevitable and not accidental. Industrial products were often like this. Revolutionary designs were often part of a genius idea. To turn this revolutionary design into a system required a lot of hard work and some kind of opportunity.
√?
The 1865 rifle of the Liberation Army was the result of a lot of hard work. This "very advanced" design could finally be mass-produced after ten years of craftsmanship. 11 mm caliber, evenly divided rifling, pressed brass cartridge case, and copper pointed bullet. All the revolutionary designs were unified on the 1865 rifle, giving it an effective range of 850 meters. This rifle showed a crushing power in battle, and it could sweep away any enemy.
Germany also had needle guns, but they couldn't compare to the French rifle. But in the Franco-Prussian War, Germany's Krupp artillery had an effective range of 3.5 kilometers, and the French army was no match. Of course, Vézé was well aware of the illustrious reputation of the Krupp artillery. Although the French "Mademoiselle 75" artillery was indeed outstanding, its history was around 1897. For Vézé, the gas-liquid recoil mechanism wasn't difficult in theory, but in technology. In comparison, Germany's Krupp artillery technology was very precious.
After listening to Vézé, the first to be intimidated wasn't the Prussian Ambassador, although the Ambassador was actually intimidated. China's understanding of Prussia, or the North German Confederation, was too high. To be honest, even the Prussian ambassador didn't know much about the Krupp cannon, yet the emperor of China could make such a request.
Zuo Zhidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the one who felt uneasy. She didn't expect Vézé to know more about foreign countries than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even the intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have such clear information on Germany's artillery. In the American Civil War that had just ended, a large number of weapons from various countries appeared on the battlefield. With all kinds of legendary data flying around, Vézé chose to only believe in German weapons. His vision and judgment were a little strange.
The Prussian ambassador's shock only lasted for a moment. Regardless of whether everyone agreed with the price, at least this bargaining method was not excessive. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I will inquire about this matter in the country."
After seeing off the Prussian ambassador, Vézé said to Zuo Zhidan, "Confirm Britain's stance on the future war between Germany and France."
Zuo Zhidan replied, "Based on the information we've gathered, the United Kingdom doesn't seem to have any problems. The British don't seem to care about the war. "
"Really? What about the French stance on the war to unify Italy? "Vézé asked. Between 18501870, several countries in the world besides Britain and France had fierce internal wars. Italy and Germany in Europe, the United States in North America, and China and Japan in Asia. Large-scale wars broke out in countries that accounted for 40% of the world's population.
Because of Vézé's appearance, the civil wars between countries that had limited relations with each other ended in the overthrow of the old system. At this time, the most powerful country, Britain, was ambiguous. It did not really intervene in any of the wars. On the contrary, France, except for the American Civil War, was involved in several other wars. Vézé didn't see the problem from this angle before. Now that he thought about France, he realized that France's stance might have foreshadowed the failure of the Franco-Prussian War.
After discussing with Zuo Zhidan, Zuo Zhidan suddenly said, "Your Majesty, do you mean that the British are happy to see the French fail?"
"Britain has been stirring shit up in Europe for years. How can it be an undeserved reputation?" Vézé laughed.
Only when the powerful countries on the European continent were in a state of "balance" could Britain have a chance to make a move and reap huge benefits. If the French were to dominate the continent of Europe, England would have a hard time. Britain's betrayal of being the backbone of the anti-Napoleonic war was the best example of this policy.
"Commander-in-chief, isn't the British afraid of the other countries' counterattack? He has committed so many crimes. Won't the European countries join forces to destroy this bastard first? "Zuo Zhidan knew about the British's attitude in the past, and in the past few years, she had become more and more displeased with the British.
Hearing Zuo Zhidan's strong point of view, Vézé laughed. "Whoever can destroy Britain will be the boss of Europe. The problem with Europe is that it is not a unified country, and the countries have ulterior motives. Minister Zuo, this is the standard continental mentality, and the standard continental mentality of a big country. How can there be a big country in Europe? Even a country with a vast land like Mao Zedong sees itself as a country on the northern ice fields. China's mentality is different from other European countries. We have always thought of ourselves as the central country, and we have the concept of the four directions. "
"I will try my best to find out about the British, but what is Your Majesty worried about? We are so far away from the British. "Zuo Zhidan seemed to understand how the British felt, and he wanted to know more.
Vézé explained, "The problem with the British is that once they are driven out of Xiping, it is likely to cause a chain reaction. That is to say, the British have a lot of things, so if they give up one thing, others will follow suit. For example, if we can drive the British out of Xiping, will the British come back? If the British can't come back, and other countries think that the British can abandon Xiping, why can't they abandon India? Why can't they abandon the Mediterranean? You can understand this, right? "
Of course, Zuo Zhidan could understand. Even if the Manchu Qing was unwilling to leave the stage of history, they had lost the south and northwest. Later, even the capital joined forces to attack the Manchu Qing in the four northern provinces. Even a hesitant guy like Miao Peilin dared to occupy southern Shandong and then asked the Manchu Qing to make him the Prince Of Qi. Of course, the Manchu Qing's response was very simple. They could not defeat the Liberation Army, so they temporarily avoided fighting. But the Manchu Qing never gave up fighting the Pingtian Kingdom and the Nian Army, and even achieved considerable success. As for Miao Peilin, when Xiang commanded the Eight Banners in northern Shandong, he found a way to divide and bribe Miao Peilin's subordinates. He suddenly sent troops to attack Jining, captured Miao Peilin, and beheaded him. If the Manchu Qing did this, there was no reason the British could not do the same.
The more he thought about this, the more uneasy Zuo Zhidan became. He frowned and said, "Commander-in-chief, are we really going to have a decisive battle with the British?"
"It's not a decisive battle. We will have a long war with the British." Looking at Zuo Zhidan's worried expression, Vézé was not angry at all. A leader who was passionate about war was undoubtedly a scourge to a country, just like Napoleon III was now. China said that those who forget war are dangerous, and those who love war are doomed. From the perspective of a country, being warlike is more terrible than forgetting war. He smiled and said, "But don't get one thing wrong. This war is not a low-profile war. This is a war for world hegemony, and the winner of this long war will have world hegemony. "
"How long will it take? Ten years? Twenty years? " Zuo Zhidan was not influenced by Vézé's words. The news of war did not make Zuo Zhidan happy.
Vézé poured a cup of tea for Zuo Zhidan. "If we look at war in a broader sense, there will be many fronts. Diplomacy is undoubtedly an important front. If we can figure out the state of the British and the scope of their involvement, we will not have to worry about fighting the British directly. Most importantly, our immediate goal is only the Dutch East Indies. It will take us ten years or even longer to digest such a large area. If we can digest the Dutch East Indies, our subsequent wars will be a piece of cake. If we can't digest the Dutch East Indies, we will not have to worry about challenging the British. The British will come knocking on our door at that time. In short, once we have achieved our strategic goal, everything else is not a problem. "
After seriously digesting Vézé's words, Zuo Zhidan said after a long time, "Commander-in-chief, you are saying that our goal in attacking the Dutch East Indies is not to start a war with the British. But no matter what, the British will not stand by and watch. They will definitely start a war with us. "
"Yes!" Vézé replied with satisfaction. If Zuo Zhidan could not even understand this, then Vézé could only choose to find a new candidate for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because in the subsequent diplomacy, a foreign minister who only thought about fighting the British was obviously not qualified. Although the Dutch East Indies was in a sense a colony of the British, it was nominally a part of the Netherlands. Nominalism was very important in many cases.
"If the British fight us, I will fight for what is right." Zuo Zhidan continued to speak according to her thoughts.
"Very good!" Vézé nodded with satisfaction. A foreign minister whose primary goal was to avoid war was also completely unqualified.
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