When Vézé received the news that the Japanese fleet requested the founding of Korea, he was inspecting the Nanjing Shipyard. After the completion of the 3,000 ton hydraulic press, a series of products such as the large support rollers needed by the 650,000-ton battleship and the large crankshaft connection section for the ship could finally be produced. Since the alloy material technology was insufficient, they could only rely on large hydraulic presses to improve the quality of the components. This was especially true for the carriage of the retractable 3O5 cannon. The huge weight and the reaction force when firing the cannon required higher quality materials.
Before the technological breakthrough, Vézé gritted his teeth and insisted on starting the construction of the battleship. He would rather wait for the ship parts than wait for the parts to be completed before building the ship. This decision finally paid off. The key parts did not delay the shipbuilding progress. Based on the current progress, the first battleship would be ready for a trial voyage in early 1874. If there were no problems with the test, the battleship could be completed in mid-1874, and further tests and adjustments could be carried out. It could officially join the navy in early 1875.
If the test went well, by 1878, China would have six battleships, 12 cruisers, and 24 destroyers. With such a navy, Vézé would have the confidence to engage in a full-scale conflict with Britain in the Western Pacific.
Resisting the urge to speak, Vézé closed his mouth and listened to others. The secretary handed the information up, and Vézé glanced at it before handing it over to the secretary. The British's little tricks were not surprising. Since they wanted to force China to submit, these little tricks would only increase. And for the British, these little tricks were really nothing. It was actually very simple to force China to the point where Britain colluded with France to block the Siam route. It seemed that China had no other choice but to take action.
The war would definitely happen, and Vézé had long been preparing for war. The biggest problem now was the shift of initiative. The Central Committee of the Recovered Empire had always believed that the initiative of the war was in their hands, and the facts taught China a good lesson. From the beginning of the British pretending to be the Spanish fleet to attack China's South Sea Fleet, the initiative was always in the hands of the British with naval superiority.
At the Central Committee meeting, many Central Committee members felt that building the battleship in 1874 might be too early and that completing it in 1876 was acceptable. Less than two years after these words were said, the British forced China to complete its military preparations as soon as possible.
Vézé didn't want to make any judgment in hindsight. Even Weize himself hadn't expected such a situation. In the last five or six years, in order to build new warships, all the construction of old warships had been stopped. The requirements for the new warship were very high. In order to achieve the design parameters, the high-income heavy industry was racking their brains. In order to keep it a secret, China refused to show off its new warships. Since China still had a few large ironclads from the 60s to show off, the British could not be blamed for taking advantage of this opportunity.
After the inspection at the shipyard, Vézé ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the Japanese ambassador that China had signed the Seoul Treaty with Korea and was obliged to protect Korea from foreign threats. Vézé also asked the Chinese ambassador to Nippon to inform the Meiji government of the same thing.
Foreign Minister Li Xin told Vézé that China had already withdrawn its ambassador from Nippon. Because China publicly supported the Republic of Prawn, the Nippon Meiji government was very hostile to China. For the time being, there was no possibility of the Chinese ambassador returning to Nippon in the short term.
Vézé couldn't help but sigh. At first, Vézé felt that there was no hurry to solve the problem of Nippon. There was a great opportunity to extort money from Nippon when Nippon was forced to need China. Now it seemed that Vézé's idea was too wishful thinking. Some things couldn't be sold at a high price, such as normal diplomatic channels. It was a very naive idea to want to get the maximum benefit from every point.
Now Vézé had to pay for his previous naivety. In addition to sending a special envoy to Nippon to explain and emphasize to the Meiji government that China would protect Korea in accordance with the contents of the Seoul Treaty, he also had to work hard to restore diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. However, China was the only country in the world that publicly recognized the government of the Republic of Prawn. All other countries recognized the Meiji government of Nippon as the legal regime of Nippon. If the Meiji government had the basic diplomatic literacy, it would not have allowed China to set up embassies in the Meiji government and the Republic of Prawn at the same time. If the Meiji government did this, it would be equivalent to admitting that the Republic of Prawn and the Meiji government were equal. Britain, France, and the United States would immediately follow China and establish official diplomatic relations with the Republic of Prawn.
Now they could only use the recent victory of the Republic of Prawn to intimidate Nippon. Although this could only make the Meiji government of Nippon hate China even more, hatred was better than contempt. Nippon, who hated China, would be cautious not to provoke China too much. The Seoul Treaty that China took out was enough to deter Nippon. If China became the object of contempt for Nippon, Vézé knew exactly what would happen.
When Vézé thought that things could still be handled, he soon found that his recent reflection was correct. After the general direction was determined, he would stick to it. As long as he followed the objective rules, he could basically achieve the general direction. However, the process in the middle would be completely different from what he had imagined beforehand.
On June 1, 1873, France marched north, and by July 19, France had captured Hanoi. Basically, they occupied the whole of Vietnam. As early as July 1, the Military Commission ordered the South Sea Fleet to arrive at Hongji Coal Mine, and the Sixth Army was stationed near the Hongji Coal Mine to defend China's Hongji Coal Mine.
The significance of the Hongji Coal Mine for China was needless to say. In the past, China also used the high-quality fuel coal of the Hongji Coal Mine to smelt iron and steel. As soon as the source of coke was determined, the high-quality anthracite of the Hongji Coal Mine was only used for fuel coal and coal gas in Guangdong. If the Hongji Coal Mine was lost, the supply of fuel coal to ships in China's Guangdong and Qiongzhou would immediately be cut off. Once this situation flourished, France would no longer be choking China, but cutting off China's arteries.
Vézé had already plagiarized the song "February Lai Lai". The lyrics were: "Those who sow melons reap melons, those who sow beans reap beans. Whoever sows hatred will suffer!" China's rescue of the members of the Paris Commune, which the French Republican government hated, greatly angered the French authorities. The economic crisis also stimulated the expansion of France's overseas colonies. Although the French army did not dare to enter the security line drawn by China, the French army still surrounded the Hongji Coal Mine area guarded by China.
On August 13, the French ambassador arrogantly asked for a meeting with Foreign Minister Li Xin, asking China to recognize France's actual control over Vietnam. With a mocking smile, the French ambassador said politely, "Mr. Minister, in view of the changes in our country's situation in Vietnam, we hope to amend the previous treaty with China."
China and France had reached a treaty on the division of Vietnam. At that time, the Restoration Party was much more inexperienced than it is now. No one could see the hostility and fear of China in the hearts of the Vietnamese people. China also asked Vietnam to give up the appointment of officials in Jiaozhi County, and China would help Vietnam defeat the French invasion.
Vietnam agreed on the surface, but handed China's conditions to France, hoping to use China to threaten France, and at the same time, use France to resist China's ambitions on Vietnam.
The colonial powers only recognized strength. At that time, China and France fought in the Kowloon area, and the French army suffered heavy losses. France, who was more mature in international relations, was not deceived by the Vietnamese, and directly sold them out. Knowing the Vietnamese's treachery, and receiving France's guarantee of the Siamese rice route to China, the Restoration Party sold Vietnam out without hesitation. China and France worked together to trick Vietnam. Although China did not obtain the control of the old Jiaozhi County, they obtained the lease of the Hongji Coal Mine. In reality, they swallowed the Hongji Coal Mine. France obtained the southern region of Vietnam.
The facts proved that the Vietnamese were more afraid of the French than China. After being attacked by France, it was not until July 9 that the Vietnamese ambassador ran to Nanjing for help. Even when kneeling in front of Vézé and crying, the Vietnamese ambassador was still "courteous" when talking about China's compensation for saving Vietnam, and fully guaranteed that Vietnam's national interests would not be harmed.
Since the Vietnamese were so courageous, China could only show enough respect to the Vietnamese, and believe that Vietnam could rely on its own strength to drive the invaders out of Vietnam.
China did not like Vietnam, but that did not mean that China would like France. The French ambassador proposed to amend the old treaty between China and France in Vietnam. Li Xin carefully listened to the French ambassador's opinion, and received the written request from the French ambassador. He then calmly told the French ambassador, "This is not a small matter, China will not give an immediate reply. If there is any new information, I will inform you immediately! "
The French ambassador did not think that just because he took a document, China would obediently accept it. Since he had already submitted the contents to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French ambassador naturally took his leave. China was not Vietnam, if the French ambassador really dared to provoke the China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it might lead to China's full military intervention. France was different from England, and the French fleet's delivery capabilities could not compare to the British Royal Navy. China shared a border with Vietnam, and during the Franco-Prussian War, the German imitation of China's rifle was so powerful that the French could not resist. Originally, the equipment of the Vietnamese colony was not as good as the French mainland, and now France did not have a new rifle. Relying on the weapons in their hands to fight with China, the fate of France's defeat was inevitable.
Vietnam had never been a consideration of the Central Committee of the Recovered Era. As long as Vietnam could supply a certain amount of rice every year, China did not care what Vietnam thought. France's sudden military action had caught the Central Committee of the Recovered Era unprepared. Like Vietnam, France's presence in the hearts of China was quite low. Now that France had swallowed Vietnam, the Central Committee of the Recovered Era was very suspicious of what France was planning.
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