There were only a few major countries that decided the fate of the world, so he felt that the British's words were quite familiar. After all, the United States also learned from the United Kingdom. Their overbearing attitude was very strong.
"Your Majesty, how are the navy's preparations going?" Zuo Zhidan asked angrily. Vézé had a sense of comparison. His anger was mixed with a funny feeling of comparing different eras. As the foreign minister, Zuo Zhidan's anger was very simple when he was threatened by the British.
Zuo Zhidan's murderous question made Vézé calm down a lot. He thought for a while and said, "Recently, we will build shipbuilding bases in Tsingtao and Lushun. Currently, the navy does not have enough main warships. There are only a dozen ironclads. Some of them are made of thin iron. Many warships are now being replaced with steel armor. There are also newly designed steel warships … "
Speaking of this, Vézé felt a headache. Shipbuilding was a heavy industry, which itself posed a great challenge to the industrial strength of a country. China's current heavy industry technology was far from being able to produce warships like dumplings. It was very simple. During World War II, Japanese warships used riveting technology, while American warships used welding technology. In terms of warship quality, American warships completely surpassed Japanese warships. But in today's era, it was absolutely high-tech to be able to produce all-metal warships using riveting. But until now, China had not been able to produce qualified rivets in large quantities. As for the processing of super-long metal parts, there was no breakthrough.
As an engineering student, when it came to this kind of problem, Vézé's thinking began to run at a high speed. He sat in his chair, looking like he was in deep thought.
Zuo Zhidan, the foreign minister, was frightened by Vézé's expression. He waited for a while, but seeing that Vézé did not speak, he asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, what do you think of the British's request?"
Her words reminded Wei Ze. Wei Ze asked Zuo Zhidan calmly, "The British have always said that we should be consistent with the British. Well, let's ask the British what they are going to do in Country R. Given the possibility of being consistent with the British, we should ask them what they are going to do in Country R."
China did not want to listen to the British at all. The British could consider themselves an empire where the sun never set, but the Liberation Army had fought head-on with the British in Foshan 12 years ago. In that battle, the British eventually took the initiative to retreat. The Liberation Army admitted that the British were a very strong opponent, but not an enemy that could not be defeated.
Twelve years ago, Vézé had said that if the British sent 200,000 elite lobster soldiers into China, they might be able to defeat the Liberation Army. Twelve years had passed, and the United Kingdom still did not have the ability to send 200,000 elite lobster soldiers to fight in China. The Liberation Army was no longer an opponent that could be defeated by 200,000 British elite lobster soldiers.
However, Vézé was prepared to have a good talk with the British this time. He wanted to know how the British were planning to design the order of the Western Pacific. Before Vézé could decide whether to agree or disagree with the English, he had to first figure out what the English wanted.
After listening to Vézé's opinion, Zuo Zhidan went to arrange a meeting. Come to think of it, the Liberation Army and the British had never had a real strategic negotiation. The state of the Liberation Army had always been China's business. The Liberation Army was in charge. The attitude of the British was probably that the British could only do things according to the rules of the British in any country. Therefore, the bottom line of both sides was the ability to fight. The British believed that their army might not be able to gain much advantage in a war on China's territory, so they were more cautious. In addition, the total volume of trade between the two sides had greatly increased, and the British export had been greatly reduced. This was the reason why the peace had been maintained over the years. If they really wanted the peace to continue, both sides had to understand each other better.
Starting from late January 1868, the British and China had held several negotiations. The first to be negotiated was the issue of Japan. When the British saw that China was finally willing to negotiate, they also put forward a whole set of proposals.
The British demanded that China stand on the same side as the British in the Japanese civil war, which was to support the alliance between the Mikado and Satchō and cut off all help to the shogunate. In addition, after the end of the Japanese civil war, the British controlled Japan's customs, and the British bank controlled the settlement of Japan's foreign trade.
Of course, the various privileges that the British had already obtained in Japan must continue to be maintained. If the Satchō alliance dared to revoke these privileges, China would have to work with the British to pressure Japan, including through military means.
Zuo Zhidan listened to the British ambassador talk about their demands. The position of the British could probably be summed up in one sentence: "The new Japanese government must completely obey the arrangements of the British!"
As the Foreign Minister, Zuo Zhidan also knew about the "Treaty of Beijing" that the British forced Manchu Qing to sign after the first Great Smoky War of this era. Because of the sudden change in the war, the British saw that Manchu Qing had no chance, so they did not care about the implementation of the "Treaty of Beijing". They also talked to the new government about whether the new government would recognize the "Treaty of Beijing". Zuo Zhidan's answer at the time was: "If we sign a treaty with other countries, such as France, about the British and take it to the British, will the British recognize it?"
The Liberation Army's negotiation was backed by its own military force. After listening to Zuo Zhidan's words, the British did not push too hard. If they continued to push, they could only resort to mutual military threats, and the British would not have the ability to enter China. At that time, the Liberation Army had already bought a lot of British train equipment, and their engineers had also participated in the construction of China's railway. They saw that China's railway system was being built. With iron to transport troops, the mobility of the China Army would be greatly increased.
After listening to the British request for Japan, Zuo Zhidan asked a question, "After we support the British request in Japan, what can we get?"
The British ambassador did not seem to hear the sarcasm in Zuo Zhidan's words at all. He said seriously, "Under the new Japanese trade system that we, the British, have constructed, the Chinese can fully trade with Japan. Don't you think this is the greatest benefit? "
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