The wine was strong enough. In comparison, the Osman Empire was much more elegant. But …
"In the past, I heard from European diplomats that our Restoration Party was a puritanical party. I didn't understand it. Now it seems that those people in Europe were right! "Gu Shanjun stamped his feet and beat his chest. Whether it was Arab dancers or Russian beauties, even Chinese people had to admit that they were extremely tempting.
Gu Tao quickly said, "We have discipline. Don't mess around outside."
Gu Shanjun sighed, "I know there is discipline, so I have to work hard to make money. In the future, if I have the chance, I will also build a big harem. I want one beauty from all over the world in each country. No, one is not enough, I need two. "
"You are committing bigamy!" Gu Tao could somewhat understand Gu Shanjun's desire. The world was so big, and there were so many beautiful women. At first glance, foreign women did not fit China's aesthetic standards, but after seeing them more, one could slowly see their style. It was easy to say this. Although His Majesty Vézé had two wives, they were wives he got during the Taiping Rebellion, and the second wife, Li Yifang, was a political marriage. The central government attached great importance to the marriage law. It was okay to brag, but if they really did it, there would be trouble.
But Gu Shanjun was obviously very concerned about it. He continued to express his desire with great emotion, "China does not have slavery, but other countries in the world do. Even in Russia, when it was said that serfs were liberated, those ballet dancers still had to do whatever their master told them to do. So, find a country with slavery and build a harem. The system is protected by the law! "
"Minister Li is just playing around. Don't even think about it." Gu Tao expressed his objection very implicitly. The system was the system. Having money to buy beautiful slaves was a dream, but it was just a dream. Even if it was really possible to let the rich keep female slaves, Gu Tao did not want to promote slavery in the whole country. More importantly, diplomats wanted to make a fortune, which was a bad idea repeatedly warned in training. If diplomats wanted to make money, they could only betray state secrets or seek benefits for foreigners. If they were caught, they would be beheaded.
Gu Shanjun also heard the warning in Gu Tao's words. He exhaled a breath that reeked of alcohol. "Don't worry, I won't betray state secrets. This is not the way to earn money. "
The salary of a diplomat was not considered low. It was considered average in the civil service system, but it was still a far cry from the high-ranking officials of Osman, Italy, France, and Russia. Gu Tao was very curious about Gu Shanjun's so-called method of making money. However, Gu Shanjun had probably expressed his feelings for a while. The alcohol had gone down quite a bit, and the feeling of drowsiness came over him. He went to sleep just like that. Gu Tao also felt very tired. He didn't think too much about it and returned to his room to rest.
The Russians wanted to know the details of China's plan. Li Xin would never reveal China's bottom line. He had already said what he could. China would not send troops just because Russia attacked the Osman Empire. The diplomatic mission of declaring peace had been completed. The China delegation visited a few industrial cities in Russia and then went straight to Berlin.
The Berlin Conference was a big event. Other than China, the countries that participated were all European and American countries. The oriental face of China's representative was very eye-catching at this conference. China was a powerful country that had the ability to compete with England. This made the representatives have their own ideas.
However, there were always priorities, and different countries had different viewpoints. The King of Belgium was undoubtedly the "main culprit" of the Berlin Conference. The king with a loose beard gave an impassioned speech at the conference. "One of the goals that united us here today is that we should take possession of as much as possible of things that are helpful to mankind. I dare say that opening up the only area in the world that has not been infiltrated by civilization and breaking through the darkness that shrouds all the inhabitants of this area is a holy war worthy of our progressive century … "
Belgium was just a country with a big nose. It only received international recognition in 1839. When the Kingdom of Belgium was born, His Majesty, Emperor Vézé, was already six years old. The current King, Leopold II, seized more than 90 million square kilometers of land in Africa through the "International Congo Association" that he established in 1878. The area was more than 30 times the area of Belgium.
If you just listened to Leopold II's speech, you would probably think that he was an ambitious humanitarian. Of course, the participants were all representatives from various countries. Even if they yawned, they would cover their mouths with their hands. At this time, the world's territories outside of Africa had been divided up. There was no modern country left except for Africa. China's Foreign Minister, Li Xin, was very clear that the purpose of this Berlin Conference was to give a clear leader to a leaderless continent.
These lengthy, bureaucratic speeches only made Li Xin feel bored. Yawning in a crowded place was very contagious. Li Xin noticed that there had been at least four consecutive rounds of collective yawning in the conference hall.
Li Xin took out a peppermint aerosol, covered his mouth and nose with his hands, and inhaled two breaths. He immediately felt energized. The smell also made the Austro-Hungarian representative sitting next to Li Xin feel energized. He turned slightly and asked in broken English, "Is this peppermint?"
Li Xin didn't say much. He took out an unopened aerosol from his bag and demonstrated how to use it. Those who could attend this conference were all smart people. The Austro-Hungarian representative quickly understood how to use it. He tore off the seal and followed Li Xin's demonstration. The Austro-Hungarian representative also felt energized after inhaling two breaths of the aerosol.
This conference was so boring. Not only did the actions of the two representatives not cause anyone to feel disrespectful, the Portuguese representative sitting next to the Austro-Hungarian representative also borrowed the peppermint aerosol from the Austro-Hungarian representative and inhaled two breaths. Not long after, the conference hall was filled with the fragrant scent of peppermint. The smell obviously improved the mood of the representatives.
Li Xin was from the Ministry of Commerce, so he was very good at seizing opportunities. He gave a few instructions in a low voice, and Gu Tao left the conference hall with him. When the conference was adjourned at noon, the representatives from other countries all received a small gift package that was casually packaged. In addition to two bottles of peppermint aerosol, there were also two boxes of cooling ointment and essential balm.
Europe's overall temperature was colder than China's, but Li Xin discovered that the Nordic countries especially liked China's cooling ointment and essential balm. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had only brought a small batch to refresh their own people. After giving it out as a gift, their own people didn't have much left.
Li Xin didn't expect that China's essential balm and cooling ointment would be so popular among the upper class in Europe. After thinking about it carefully, he felt relieved. When the upper class in China was extremely sleepy, other than smoking, they would probably apply some cooling ointment or essential balm in their nostrils. When the rush of energy rushed to their heads, their sleepiness would also be dispelled. They were all in the upper class, so the degree of hardship was probably not much different.
With these small gifts, they had an excuse to make friends with each other. That night, the Austro-Hungarian representative invited Li Xin to dinner at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in Germany. The Austro-Hungarian representative was obviously there as a bystander. With Austro-Hungarian's current strength, it would be good if they could maintain the current situation. It wasn't a bad thing to make friends with faraway China.
It wasn't just Austro-Hungary. Portugal, Denmark, and other countries that didn't have any special relations with China also came to make friends with China. Since these countries didn't have any direct conflicts of interest with China, their conversation was naturally much more straightforward. These countries had the same question. Why did China give so much gold to England?
Li Xin was always embarrassed to say that England was a big country. Although China was also a big country, the cost of war was equally heavy for China. If England and North America got into a prolonged tug-of-war, China's view of North America would also change. King Vézé cared about his credibility the most. It was easier for Vézé to make the choice between giving money and a long war of attrition.
Moreover, Li Xin also discovered that the European countries had a very negative view of the United Kingdom. These countries believed that England would choose to expand its military and invade these countries after receiving such a huge sum of money.
Theoretically, this was possible, but in reality, if England really wanted to do so, their enemy would be Germany. Germany was still desperately trying to maintain the Triple Emperor Alliance. England's invasion of Germany meant that England had to reach a compromise with France, and the two countries would work together to deal with the Triple Emperor Alliance.
Li Xin believed that the most disadvantageous situation for China would be the whole of Europe working together to fight against China. To put it in a very racist way, Chinese people thought that all white people looked the same, and all black people looked the same. Under the guidance of the thinking that those who were not of the same race must have different intentions, China thought that it was very easy for the white people to unite. For a long time, China had also been preparing for war with this mindset. Although the Osman Empire thought of itself as a European country, Europe and China didn't think so. Therefore, China thought that the Osman Empire was a target that could be used.
The more he learned about the foreign devils, the more Li Xin had to understand. The foreign devils might not be able to reach a consensus on dealing with China. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, Portugal, and Denmark, which didn't have conflicts with China, were most worried about England, not China. Even Russia, which had conflicts with China and deeply felt the threat of China, thought that England was their biggest enemy at the moment.
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