"Our country is building heavy cruisers, and Britain has begun to make plans to target our heavy cruisers …" Russia's Foreign Minister and China's Foreign Minister Li Xin shared some information. According to the Russians, Britain had accumulated experience through naval warfare, and they made full use of these experienced warships to threaten the coastal countries of Europe.
Although Li Xin listened carefully, he did not really believe it. Russia and Britain had always had major conflicts. Now that China had driven Russia out of the Pacific and divided Central Asia with Russia, there were not many conflicts between Britain and Russia. Britain only needed to focus on these conflicts. Although the Russian Foreign Minister said that it was a grievance, as long as Britain could suppress Russia's heavy cruisers, Russia would not have a chance to do anything at sea. From an overall point of view, the British just chose the most efficient way.
In addition to speaking, the Foreign Minister's task was to listen, and the status of listening was even higher than speaking. Li Xin listened carefully and silently calculated in his heart. The Russian Foreign Minister first talked about the British's domineering in the Western Pacific, and the topic suddenly changed to Central Asia. "When your country built a railway in Iran, did you not encounter any opposition from the British?"
Li Xin did not understand this reversal of black and white. Russia tried to compete with Britain for Persia. Russia was in the north, and Britain was in the south. China built a railway to the Osman Empire in the north of Iran. Even if China did not intend to open a new front in Iran at this time, this action had affected the interests of Russia. What's more, China's last stocks of old guns were all sold to the Iranian government. The Iranians hoped to use these weapons against Russia's cavalry coming south from the north.
With the current power comparison between China and Russia, Li Xin did not need to pretend to understand. He replied bluntly, "We did not encounter any actual opposition from the British."
"If the British do object, what will China do in response?" The Russian Foreign Minister asked.
"Go to war." Li Xin gave a standard answer. The solution to problems in this era was basically war.
The Foreign Minister of Russia smiled sincerely and said, "Then I believe that your country will soon learn that the British want to interrupt your railway transportation."
Li Xin resisted the urge and swallowed the question back into his throat. Of course, Russia hoped that China and Britain would fight in Persia. What China really wanted was to build railways all over Iran and control Iran economically. Of course there would be conflict with the English, but in the case of the Northern Railway, the Russians had more reason than the English to cut it off.
Seeing that Li Xin was indifferent to this, the Russian Foreign Minister changed another direction. "The United Kingdom is working hard to publicize that your country is colluding with the ethnic groups on the Iranian border, trying to support them to break away from Iran's control. Some of the high-ranking officials of the Iranian royal court also supported the British view. "
Since Russia's Foreign Minister had already said so, Li Xin smiled and said, "If Russia wants to cross Iran and attack India, our country will absolutely not interfere. You can rest assured about this. However, our railway in Iran is an important channel to communicate with the Osman Empire's railway network. No matter who sabotages this railway, we will not let them go. "
China's bottom line was that Russia could not destroy the Central Asian railway that China had worked hard to build. China had no need for the other parts for the time being. Iran should have oil. At this time, China already had Kuwait and the exploration rights in the Basra area. Iran's oil was no longer essential to China. At least in the near future, there was no attraction.
"Does China have no intention of intervening in Iran?" The Foreign Minister of Russia replied with some surprise.
"Now Russia lacks an outlet to the Indian Ocean, but we, China, do not lack such an outlet. So we can fully understand the urgency of Russia's mentality. Based on our position, it is impossible for our country to support this action of Russia. Based on the same position, our country also has no need to stop Russia's action. As I said just now, China is a country that values peace, "Li Xin said righteously. As long as Russia did not fight with China in the near future, China did not care which power Russia fought with.
After listening to Li Xin's words, the Foreign Minister of Russia said nonchalantly, "What if we want to attack the Osman Empire?"
Li Xin did not show the slightest surprise because of this. "Russia and the Osman Empire have fought ten wars. We will not be surprised if there is an eleventh war. For now, our country has no intention of intervening in the war. "
The Foreign Minister of Russia hurriedly asked, "What about the future?"
"The future is determined by the present. Now China hopes to maintain long-term peace. If there are no special circumstances, when the future becomes the present, we will also consider the same. "Li Xin used a philosophical tone to explain China's diplomatic attitude.
The Foreign Minister of Russia was silent. It was not that Li Xin's words moved him, but he felt an unspeakable threat from Li Xin's words. Russia was also a European power, and they did not lack the idea of solving internal problems. In fact, the whole of Europe could also recognize this problem, but the distance between understanding and being able to do it was like the distance between the Earth and the Moon. There were three impressions of China in Europe. The first was that it was very rich, the second was that its navy was very good at fighting, and the third was that China's government was very effective. The rest of the world thinks that the Chinese government can do whatever they want. If it was not for the fact that the Chinese Navy beat the British Royal Navy, the world would think that China was bragging.
Li Xin continued, "We hope for world peace, especially to maintain peace with Russia. As long as we are not involved in the war, we will not oppose Russia. "
"Can you give an example?" The Foreign Minister of Russia asked.
"If you defeat the Osman Empire, we don't care. If you try to destroy the Osman Empire, we can't accept it. And it is completely unacceptable. "Li Xin gave a seemingly clear but very vague example. However, this example was normal in this era. Without the unanimous consent of the Great Powers, it was very difficult to change the situation in a place unilaterally.
At this time, regarding the issue between China and Russia, the Foreign Minister of Russia had already determined China's attitude. He changed the topic to the upcoming meeting of the Great Powers. Russia was also invited to the African Conference held by the German Chancellor, Margrave Bismarck. However, the Russians themselves laughed at themselves and thought that rather than saying that Bismarck hoped that Russia could get the land of Africa, it was better to say that he hoped that Russia could help Germany get the land of Africa. The Foreign Minister of Russia was very envious of Li Xin and said that China would definitely get a lot from this international conference.
Li Xin laughed a few times. For Russia's gloating congratulations, Li Xin was too lazy to respond.
After the discussion with Li Xin came to an end, the Foreign Minister of Russia immediately rushed to the Tsar's palace. After seeing a group of real power in the Tsar's palace, the Foreign Minister said, "I think China hopes that Russia can defeat the Osman Empire."
This statement surprised a group of people with real power. The Foreign Minister of Russia continued, "Although it is not known what China wants from the Osman Empire, I believe that China hopes to gain benefits from the Osman Empire when it intervenes in the armistice. Although the Foreign Minister of China did not say it clearly, I believe my feeling. "
The words of the Foreign Minister of Russia made the upper echelons of Russia very excited. In recent years, Russia's industry had developed rapidly. The path they took was common in Europe and had been verified by the major industrial countries in the world. They developed the steel industry and madly built railways. After the steel industry developed, many industries, especially the military industry, also developed. In the tenth Russian-Turkish war that ended five years ago, the Osman Empire relied on advanced weapons purchased from China, Germany, Britain and other countries to deal a heavy blow to the Russian army. Now, at last, the Russians themselves have replicated the repeating rifle and are capable of producing a larger caliber cannon. The preparations for the eleventh Russian-Turkish war had been completed. The next thing to do was to find a suitable external opportunity.
Dmitri, the Minister of the Sixth Army? Alexeyevich? Milyukin was the chief of staff at the time. He asked, "Are you sure about China's attitude?"
Now, not only Russia, but all of Europe thought that the Osman Empire was the darling of Britain and China. Both countries served the Osman Empire. The Osman Empire was really too happy. If the Osman Empire was beaten too hard, they would not be able to protect the two countries. This was the case in the tenth Russian-Turkish war. The Russians could not conquer the city of Pleven. After two years, Britain came out to "mediate" and forced Russia to retreat.
The Foreign Minister of Russia did not dare to make a very certain judgment. He could only say, "I will confirm this matter again. For now, it seems that China has no intention of sending troops."
The Minister of the Sixth Army, Milyukin, waved his hand. "They will certainly not send troops at this time. Now we have to make sure that after the war, China will not give the Osman more weapons. Only by confirming this can we decide on the war plan. "
For China and Britain, it was a good thing to weaken the power of Russia and the Osman Empire at the same time. If the Russian army fought desperately, and the Osman Empire had the help of weapons from China and Britain, this war would be good news for China and Britain. Russia had to guard against this worst case scenario. As long as Russia won the Balkans they desired after the victory, no matter how the Osman Empire was blackmailed by China and Britain, it would have nothing to do with Russia.
As a result, China's Foreign Minister, Li Xin, was entertained by the Russians with Russia's style of flower wine. The girls who accompanied him included the ladies of the palace and the actresses of the ballet.
Li Xin had a good capacity for alcohol. He did not like the vodka of Russia. When it was time to drink, he had a good time. When the Russian girls came to accompany him, Li Xin tried his best to maintain his rationality. He suddenly understood why foreign diplomats had to bring their wives when they visited. At this time, if they could have a wife to drink with them. This was really the most convenient choice.
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