"Minister Li, you've done a good job recently!" In the corridor leading to Vézé's office, on July 3rd, Lei Hu greeted Li Xin.
Li Xin stood still and couldn't move. The land purchase agreement was first proposed to the Central Committee by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Perhaps because everyone initially thought that the Russians wouldn't agree to this condition, there weren't many people who opposed it. After the agreement was pushed forward, all kinds of objections appeared. The Military Commission had the largest number of objections. The reason for the objection could be summed up in elegant terms. "Spending so much money on something that can be solved by fighting is too unfair!"
If it weren't for Vézé's firm support for Li Xin, this matter wouldn't have been pushed forward at all. Even so, Li Xin was still under tremendous pressure. When he passed by the Central Committee's office building, he always lowered his head and tried not to greet people. Not greeting people meant that he could avoid being ridiculed as much as possible. In fact, Li Xin couldn't imagine how he came up with the number of 100 tons of gold. At that time, there was an overall discussion plan, and when Li Xin took it out, he was confident. After being criticized for so many times, the psychological pressure accumulated was higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea. The amount that seemed reasonable during the research was now completely different.
"Vice President Lei …" Li Xin only said half a sentence. He didn't know what to say next. In fact, Li Xin wanted to ask what Lei Hu's praise was aimed at. Recently, there weren't many beneficial things for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Compared with the huge cost, these results were even less remarkable.
The biggest was probably the announcement of the "Golden Ship" route by China. China could transport gold by sea through six routes. There were also three routes by sea. Taking advantage of the polar day, they could go through the Arctic Ocean. Or they could go through the Indian Ocean into the Black Sea and send the gold to Crimea to be handed over to the Russians there. The more arrogant way was to enter the Mediterranean Sea, enter the North Atlantic Ocean from the Strait of Gibraltar, all the way north into the Baltic Sea, and finally unload the gold at the port of St. Petersburg.
The purpose of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to make this matter known to everyone. As for the real route, it might not be the sea route. The envoy from Russia had already suggested to China that the real transportation would still be through the sixth route. Russia would send the Imperial Guards to receive and escort the gold. If China really wanted to send a ship, it would just be a formality.
The United Kingdom and China were currently in a truce, and Chinese warships might have a chance to pass through the waters controlled by the United Kingdom and several important waterways. After the news of the golden ship leaked out, it caused a huge uproar in Europe. The Netherlands had announced that they would send their navy into the Mediterranean to capture the ship. France offered to send its navy to hold China's gold ships until China spat out what was once French Indochina.
Forget about the Netherlands, no one really thought that the Dutch warships had the ability to fight against the Chinese warships. As soon as France made this public outcry, Germany and Austria-Hungary, which had already signed the Triple Alliance, declared that they would not permit France to touch the gold of Russia.
This was something that couldn't be helped. Russia was a very poor country. After the Crimean War, Russia's current gray livestock made up of serfs was at a great disadvantage against the British and French subject armies. Russia carried out a reform of the serf system. The reform liberated the social system and gave Russia's industry space to develop. It was not enough to have space without funds. 100 tons of gold was very important to the banking system that Russia was working hard to build. This was not only money, but it also brought more credit and confidence than 100 tons of gold.
After the Crimean War, Russia not only made adjustments to the social structure, but also implemented a large-scale military reform. The military was a gold-swallowing beast, and Russia's financial pressure was huge. Knowing that China's proposal of the golden ship plan was just to show off, Russia could only cooperate a little. The golden ship incident stirred up the muddy waters in Europe. Even if it did not escalate the conflict, it at least made the conflict in Europe surface. It also made the European countries with ulterior motives have their own ideas.
Russia's cooperation was not because Russia was willing to swallow the humiliation. When the news that the golden ship was about to arrive in Russia came out, the price of Russia's public debt in Europe suddenly rose. The credit of Russia's financial industry in Europe was not very good. The 100 tons of gold could make Russia's low credit rating be greatly overestimated in the market. If there were no such benefits, Russia naturally would not be willing to make such a fuss.
This was part of the overall plan to buy land with gold. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also gave a lot of suggestions during the plan discussion. Under the reorganization of Li Xin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a big idea of world diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself also made deductions based on known intelligence. In the overall plan of this operation, there was a verification sub-plan. Through the reactions of the world countries on this matter, to see if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' judgment of the world was close to the truth.
Of course, these things had been said by Li Xin long ago, but in the face of a huge price, the harvest results were completely ignored by many people. Li Xin personally suspected that Lei Hu was praising this matter. But he really did not have the courage to ask. At this time, several government personnel next to them heard Lei Hu's praise for Li Xin. Everyone looked at Lei Hu and Li Xin with surprise.
This was the situation Li Xin was facing, a rather helpless situation.
Lei Hu had no intention of supporting with great fanfare. He had already walked to Li Xin's side and reached out to pat Li Xin on the shoulder. Lei Hu went to do his own work.
When Vézé saw Li Xin come in, he wanted to speak directly. Seeing Li Xin's expression, Vézé was stunned and did not say anything.
Li Xin had been very sensitive recently. He immediately asked, "Commander-in-chief, what's wrong?"
Vézé said with a smile, "I see that you are quite happy now, unlike recently. I originally wanted to cheer you up, but it seems that there is no need for that for the time being. "
Li Xin did not want to say that Lei Hu's encouragement made him very happy. At this time, it might bring some unnecessary trouble to Lei Hu. Everyone was so busy with work, and many comrades were usually angry. It was not a good choice to cause trouble for people. Therefore, Li Xin smiled bitterly and said, "I am used to suffering a little grievance."
Vézé laughed. "If you have suffered a grievance, then go out and relax."
Li Xin quickly shook his head. "I have so much work, how can I have the time to go out and relax?"
Seeing that Li Xin was serious, Vézé also stopped smiling. "Well... that's because I can't express myself clearly. I actually don't have time for you to relax. Go abroad for a visit. "
"Go abroad for a visit?" Li Xin was a little surprised by this arrangement.
Vézé leaned back in the chair and said slowly, "Yes, go abroad for a visit. From Siam to Turkey, to Austria-Hungary, to Germany, to Northern Europe, to Russia, to the United States. As the Foreign Minister, I should go around for a visit. "
"What is the purpose of such a big trip?" Li Xin was interested. It was indeed a good thing to really go abroad for a visit.
Vézé said slowly, "The purpose... China is already famous in the world. The Foreign Minister going out for a visit can be just the right time to coax this popularity. Let the world know that China is not a country that secludes itself. "
"Do you want me to persuade other countries to continue doing business with China?" Li Xin asked.
Vézé shook his head. "Right now, only England and France continue to do free trade. England and France have such a big conflict with us that they will not reconcile with us in a short time. Also, England only stopped the war with us, not made peace with us. I think England wants to continue to delay. Even if we can't win militarily, at least we can force other countries to abide by the neutrality treaty and not do business with China. As for the other countries, they all have high tariffs. It is already difficult for us to export to them. It doesn't make much difference whether we persuade them or not. "
"If we try our best to persuade them..." Li Xin felt that this trip could not just be a simple one, there had to be some results.
"In fact, I personally hope that this situation can last for a few years." Vézé expressed his thoughts.
"Ah?" Li Xin was stunned.
"Just like this naval battle, we have our own ideas and our own equipment. It can be said that we have determined our direction since ten years ago. After the war, our design ideas were known by foreigners, and they began to learn and catch up. What we need to do is to not let the foreign devils take away our ideas in the process of our development. It is the same now, we have a lot of new technology. I actually don't want our immature ideas to be learned by the foreign devils. If they are ten years behind us, there is no problem. If they are only three or four years behind us, there will be a problem. Therefore, I think it is good to be sealed off for three or four years. "
Li Xin listened attentively and could not help but nod. When Vézé finished, Li Xin thought for a moment and said, "Commander-in-chief, I will try to contact the foreign countries and let them feel that we want them to get rid of their isolated status. After all, it would not be normal for me to show that I do not want to restore foreign trade. "
Vézé replied with great satisfaction, "That's right, let the world know that China is not a country that is anxious for success and profits. Of course, they had to let them know that China was not a lowly country. See who supports China and who opposes China. With more experience, you will be able to do your job better. "
Li Xin was now completely energized, and the pressure and frustration were swept away. He said to Vézé seriously, "I will definitely complete the Commander-in-Chief's arrangements."
"By the way, when you go this time, spend more effort in the Osman Empire. We do need the Osman Empire's chromite. Similarly, we really hope to help the Osman Empire expand their work and build more railways for them. The Osman Empire is a key target of Russia. If the Osman Empire's national strength and military strength are stronger, we will feel less pressure. "
"I will first ensure that China's status as a superior country, and then proceed with this matter on the basis of ensuring China's dignity and respect," Li Xin replied seriously.
Hearing this answer, Vézé nodded. "I am at ease with you handling this matter."
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