"My country once thought itself clever and offended your country, this is my crime. However, your country is the Celestial Empire, and is magnanimous. My country pleads with your country to let bygones be bygones, and help us chase away the French. Previously, your country said that the northern government posts will be appointed by your country, my country will definitely comply. "The Vietnamese envoy's tone was sincere, and his voice was filled with tears.
Foreign Minister Li Xin was a little touched, but only to the extent of being touched. The Nguyễn Dynasty had already skipped a vote, and no one in the Recovery Party believed that the Nguyễn Dynasty would sincerely agree to this. More importantly, in the past, the Recovery Party was still inexperienced, and felt that by influencing the Nguyễn Dynasty politically, they would be able to gain benefits from it. But now, the Recovery Party did not think so, and China's demand for Vietnam was only rice and the Hongji Coal Mine. The Hongji Coal Mine had already fallen into China's pocket, and as long as there were no problems with the rice supply, China would not have any more requests from Vietnam in the short term. Now that there were so many things to deal with in the country, who would have the time to care about other people's affairs?
The Vietnamese envoy saw that Li Xin did not seem convinced, and his eyes filled with tears as he said loudly, "If your country is willing to send troops, we will pay for it, first!"
As the former minister of commerce, Li Xin had some feelings for these words. "I'd rather fight with someone who understands than speak to someone who is muddle-headed." France was indeed a villain, they invaded, expanded, and harmed China's interests. However, the French understood, and the conversation between Li Xin and the French envoy was filled with a game of benefits. Unless it was a long term strategic choice, for example, Li Xin would never tell the French envoy that China's future goal was to drive France out of the Western Pacific. Of course, the French envoy would not tell Li Xin about France's plans to attack China.
In a feudal country, such a discussion would be meaningless. Vietnam was worried that China would take advantage of France's invasion to do something, and Li Xin could naturally understand. At this moment, Li Xin felt that the best thing to do was to kneel on the ground and say calmly, "Let's have a good discussion about what your country wants from us in terms of economy!" Because if China wanted to do something, Vietnam would not be able to stop it. Now that the Vietnamese side had the right attitude, Li Xin decided to find someone to talk to.
Rum, Jinhua ham, pickled peppers, chicken feet, and dried anchovies. Canned fruits, peaches, pineapples, and seasonal fruits were definitely a good choice for this kind of occasion that was suitable for eating and chatting. Chocolates and boiled eggs were a must. Of course, although there were many patterns, the quantity was not large. Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Xin invited Wang Mingshan, Deputy Party Secretary of the Central Bank, and Liu Yonghe, Party Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, took a good place to chat in the Bauhinia Garden.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is really well-funded. The things they use to entertain foreign envoys are better than the Ministry of Commerce." The Party Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Liu Yonghe, joked.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely remember who I invited for this meal. The Integrity Bureau is not a pushover. I dare to invite you all here, I must have prepared. "Li Xin was not moved.
"Humph, I am not afraid of you." Wang Mingshan said as he sat down casually. He poured a glass of rum and took a sip, then picked up a piece of peaches and ate it.
The three of them were all from Anhui, and Liu Yonghe was also a Hui businessman. In the central government, most of the cadres were from Anhui. Among the young cadres, the proportion of Anhui cadres was quite high.
"I have an idea, and I want to ask you two." Li Xin said.
"Business or private?" Liu Yonghe also started eating and drinking.
"Business." Li Xin answered.
"Oh?" Liu Yonghe couldn't help but frown. This was actually a good time to talk about business, but Liu Yonghe couldn't think of any business to talk about with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People's Bank of China.
"Is it the business of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or are you talking on behalf of someone else?" Wang Mingshan asked.
Li Xin sneered, "Humph, talking on behalf of someone else is a private matter. I will not come to you two for someone else's private matter."
In the past few years, the central government had ordered the ministries not to lobby for others more than a dozen times, and many people were punished. Hearing that Li Xin was not stupid, Wang Mingshan laughed, "Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs going to open a bank?"
Li Xin did not respond to Wang Mingshan's joke at all. He said seriously, "I have an idea this time, but I don't understand it, so I need you two to help me sort it out."
Three hours later, Wang Mingshan closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, Liu Yonghe closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, and Li Xin put away the paper with a lot of opinions. The three hours of intense discussion made the three cadres feel very tired.
Wang Mingshan first sighed, then said, "I think this is a good plan, and the commander-in-chief should seriously consider it. But this way, the strategy will be different. "
Liu Yonghe picked up his glass and was about to take another sip, but he thought about it and put it down again. He poured honey grapefruit water into the teacup. Liu Yonghe drank half of the cup in one gulp and said, "I can't raise this topic in front of the commander-in-chief. It involves too many things. But if the commander-in-chief holds a meeting, I will definitely express my support. "
Li Xin asked, "Do you want to make the plan more detailed?"
Liu Yonghe shook his head. "It can't be detailed. How can there be a detailed plan for such a big matter? This is a cross-ministerial work. "
Before Li Xin could speak, Wang Mingshan said, "I also think it's enough to write to this extent. Don't underestimate the commander-in-chief. Most of the time, the commander-in-chief just doesn't say it out loud. Explain the plan clearly. Even if the commander-in-chief doesn't agree, he will explain it to you. "
With the support of two cadres, Li Xin finally had some confidence. He stood up and said, "Then let's go. I'll go find the commander-in-chief now. I can't take these things. Who's going to take them away? "
"I have a lot of children at home. I'll take them away," Wang Mingshan said with a smile. Liu Yonghe also smiled and said, "No problem. I'll take them away next time."
Li Xin knew what that meant. Whoever took them away would treat them next time. It seemed that Wang Mingshan and Liu Yonghe didn't just want to talk about this once.
He straightened his clothes and took a few steps forward. Li Xin suddenly heard Wang Mingshan say from behind, "Li Xin, I think you can do it!"
Li Xin didn't look back. He just raised his right arm and waved. With a little alcohol and the courage to go to the battlefield, he strode toward the park gate.
Li Xin first relayed Vietnam's request to Vézé. After listening to Li Xin's story, Vézé was amused. He said with a smile, "Li Xin, how much do you think Vietnam can pay for the military?"
Li Xin said seriously, "I think we should make Vietnam an economic subsidiary of China. It's not bad to occupy Jiaozhi, but it will make the foreigners think that we can bargain with them on the issue of China's sphere of influence. I heard that the French are also selling things in Vietnam. If we can squeeze the French out of the Vietnamese market and monopolize Vietnam's trade, we can make more money. "
Vézé nodded slightly. Economic colonies were something the United States liked to do, and Vézé thought it was a good idea. It wasn't clear if Li Xin's suggestion was an idea that came out of impulse or a plan. In short, Vézé quite agreed with Li Xin's idea. Vézé felt that it was a good thing to have the Minister of Commerce become the Minister of Foreign Affairs. If Zuo Zhidan continued to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he would never have made such a suggestion.
Seeing that Vézé agreed, Li Xin also got excited. He continued, "Commander-in-chief, I think the most important thing is that we can ask Vietnam to use our currency. For the past few years, we have to pay Vietnam silver dollars for the food we buy from them, and Vietnam has many restrictions on buying our goods. Overall, we haven't made any money. If Vietnam uses our currency, the circulation of goods will be faster. We can also open a bank in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese can deposit money in our bank. At that time, our profits will only get bigger and bigger … "
Listening to Li Xin's perfect proposal for economic control of Vietnam, Vézé's face turned serious. He stared at Li Xin, which startled Li Xin. With an anxious mood, Li Xin said, "Commander-in-chief, I only have this idea, but it's not comprehensive. What do you think? "
"I completely agree with you!" Wei Ze said word by word. "Not only should we do it in Vietnam, but we should also do it in Korea! Go to the Ministry of Commerce now, and let the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly discuss this new treaty, including the two treaties between Vietnam and Korea. "
When Li Xin was discussing with Wang Mingshan and Liu Yonghe, he was quite confident. However, he didn't expect that his proposal would receive such high praise from Vézé. Because of his excitement, Li Xin's face turned red. He stood up straight and said to Vézé, "Commander-in-chief, I'll go do it now!"
After Li Xin left, Vézé was also very happy. In the past few years, his attention had been focused on the military, as well as the technical fields related to the military. He had neglected the economic field. Economic activities could affect a country more than anything else, and finance could completely control a country. Once China's banking industry became the controller of Vietnam and Korea's currency, China would have actual control of Vietnam and Korea. This was a fact proven by countless blood in the 20th and 21st century. How could Vézé ignore it?
There were already capable generals like Wang Mingshan and Pang Congcong in the Central Committee, and more outstanding young people were emerging at this time. It could be said that a new wave of young people had finally begun to appear. With these young people, the old guys could also give up their positions. At least after the old guys gave up their positions, Vézé didn't feel guilty at all.
The joint working group of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed the drafting of the new treaty with amazing efficiency. Vézé also completed the military action plan in the Central Committee with amazing efficiency. This time, the French sent four to five thousand people to attack Vietnam. With this force, it would not be a problem to conquer Hanoi. However, it was still far from being able to completely occupy Vietnam with this force. Since China had found a policy to get more benefits from Vietnam, the easiest thing to do was to attack the French.
The Central Committee was only worried about whether the French would react more violently. At this time, the British were stirring up trouble everywhere around China. After attacking the French, would the British just stand by and do nothing?
Vézé said with a tough attitude, "We can't be so passive when dealing with the British. If we stick our heads out, we'll be stabbed. If we shrink our heads, we'll still be stabbed. If we seek peace through conflict, we'll live in peace. If we seek peace through compromise, we'll die in peace. "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
