"Why do you ask this question?" The Italian Foreign Minister asked China's Foreign Minister Li Xin with a rather vigilant expression.
"My country would like to know the attitude of the European countries towards the British Royal Navy," Li Xin replied straightforwardly.
The Italian Foreign Minister frowned. This question was easy to answer. All of Europe was worried about the growing strength of the British Royal Navy, especially in the past year or so, the British Royal Navy's new battleships had appeared in the Mediterranean Sea. These huge warships, huge artillery, high speed and high maneuverability during navigation had caused great pressure on Italy. Was the deep purpose of China asking this question now to support Italy against the United Kingdom?
After judging the current situation, the Italian Foreign Minister finally decided to take a conservative attitude. The China's intentions were still unknown, and any answer at this time would appear abrupt. The Italian Foreign Minister replied, "I'm not responsible for this question. If you really want to know our Italian attitude, I suggest you visit our Italian Prime Minister. I believe he will give you a clearer answer. "
Italy's attitude was more implicit, while the attitude of some countries was very straightforward. For example, the Spanish Foreign Minister's answer was full of anger. "Foreign Minister Li, do you want to know what we thought of China on the Luzon issue?"
Li Xin was actually really curious about this. China had indeed made a move against Luzon long ago, but the first to provoke the dispute was the Luzon authorities. If they hadn't made a move against the overseas Chinese in Luzon, it would have been really inconvenient for China to go to war against Luzon. However, this was not the time to discuss the past. Li Xin smiled and said, "Your Excellency, do you mean that you feel a lot of pressure?"
The Spanish Foreign Minister didn't want to protest too much against China. Li Xin's words were simply nonsense to the Spanish. Since the British cut off Gibraltar in 1713, the Spanish had dreamed of taking it back. The increasingly powerful Royal Navy cruised around Gibraltar, using it as a supply station. This was like a dagger against Spain's abdomen, making Spain feel intense pain. But in a long war, Spain was no match for the British. In a short war, Spain was no match for the British.
As long as the European and American countries had a bit of coastline, they would be afraid of the United Kingdom. The British Fleet could easily deal with the navies of these countries and blockade their ports and shipping routes. The British Royal Fleet had always been an important force in determining the fate of the European countries. Li Xin also gradually understood why the British were able to implement Europe's "Continental Balance" policy. Once there were internal disputes among the European countries, the United Kingdom could join one of them through alliance and cooperation. This meant that the alliance between the European countries and the United Kingdom would have an overwhelming naval advantage. This was enough to make the other party feel fear and even submit. The losing side was not yet able to retaliate against the British.
The more he learned about England, the more Li Xin admired it. It was admirable that the United Kingdom was still standing after hundreds of years of being a shit stirrer. This was not only because of the United Kingdom's accumulated diplomatic experience and ability, but also because it was stirring up a genuine diamond pestle in the European cesspool.
Even if it took an average of three to four days for Li Xin to establish a good relationship with each country, it would still take nearly a month and a half for Li Xin to finish communicating with these countries. He originally thought that the conference would only last for a few days, and it was far from the time of victory. In the face of the last continent in the world that had not been divided, the competition among the countries was very fierce. However, everyone was considered civilized people, and the person presiding over the conference was Prime Minister Bismarck, so the content of the conference was really interesting. What kind of Africa should the future of Africa be, a series of resolutions determined the future of Africa.
First of all, the local governments in Africa had to protect the commercial interests of the colonists according to the law, and secondly, the expansion of countries in Africa needed a legal basis. If one looked at these terms alone, the future of Africa had a bright future. These were the rules that the colonists had to abide by to divide Africa, which was quite in line with the needs at this time.
After more than a month of quarreling, the high-sounding words had been said, and the rest was the truth. The core point of dividing Africa, all the participating countries knew in their hearts, and that was the word "effective occupation." The great powers discussed endlessly on how to occupy effectively. Would planting a flag be considered an effective occupation? Would stationing troops at the border be considered an effective occupation? If there was a conflict between the two sides, would the colonial war become an all-out war between the two countries?
The French representative openly threw out an issue. "Everyone knows that China has entered Madagascar. For Madagascar, China is a new visitor, and there are Christians in Madagascar. I wonder what China's explanation in this regard? "
The representatives all looked at China's Foreign Minister, Li Xin. China was the latest country to intervene in Europe among the countries attending the conference. During the discussion, the representative of China never said anything special. What impressed everyone was that the representative of China was interested in how Europe viewed the United Kingdom. The representatives of the various countries could probably understand France's mood. In the battle for Madagascar, France was at a complete disadvantage.
Li Xin was not moved at all. He said slowly, "If the French side is concerned about this matter, I can tell you that Madagascar has been annexed to China not long ago, and now it is China's Madagascar Province. As a territory of China, Madagascar is no longer part of the discussion this time. "
"What?" The French representative's eyes widened. Not only the French representative, but the representatives of other countries also showed a shocked expression. This news was really shocking. When everyone was discussing how to divide Africa, China actually quietly made a big move. The territory of Madagascar was more than 500,000 square kilometers, larger than the land area of Britain and France in Europe. In the blink of an eye, such a large island became China's territory. Although the participants were discussing how to divide Africa, if no one argued with China, China would eventually seize Madagascar. But what China did now was too much.
Of course, Li Xin knew the result of such an announcement, but there was no other way about it. The Central Committee had reached a decision not to accept black people as citizens of China. Therefore, China did not seek territory in Africa. Madagascar was different. Its military significance was far greater than the local strongholds in Africa. It would be China's Western Gate in the Indian Ocean. It was also an important springboard for China to enter Africa. At this time, even if it was to attract hatred, China could not do anything. If a resolution against Madagascar was made first, it would be disadvantageous in the political negotiations.
"The French government firmly opposes China's unilateral action to change the situation!" The French representative immediately used the tiger's skin as a banner, trying to come up with a reason to collectively oppose China.
Without waiting for the other countries' representatives to express their opinions, Li Xin smiled and said, "How about this, everyone take out the whole of Africa and come up with a plan for all the participating countries to equally divide it. If we can really adopt such a method, China does not mind taking out Madagascar. How about it, should France and Belgium set an example first? "
"Haha!" "Pfft!" "Haha!" Many representatives, especially those countries who obviously came to be bystanders, laughed. North Africa was the closest to Europe, and the largest colonial country in North Africa was France.
The French representative saw that China's Foreign Minister Li Xin's response was quite targeted, and he did not intend to continue to act "indignant." China's action was just a practical application of "effective occupation." It was just that China's response was amazing, turning Africans into Chinese.
The biggest difference between a colony and a territory was not external, but internal. Unless it was a war, China could not openly invade a French colony, which would mean an invasion of France. The major difference was that the natives in the French colony did not enjoy the political rights and social services enjoyed by French citizens. China turned Madagascar into a province of China, which meant that the natives of Madagascar would henceforth be China citizens, enjoying the same treatment as the traditional East Asian China citizens. This was the first time in the history of colonization that had lasted for hundreds of years.
The British representative had not spoken to the China representative, and now he asked for the first time, "Then is the other areas occupied by China the same?"
When the strongest country in Europe spoke, the other countries temporarily shut their mouths and listened. The expression of the Osman Empire became very ugly. Madagascar was taken by China, and the Osman Empire had no objection, but the other "areas" that the British referred to were, in theory, the territory of the Osman Empire. To be more precise, it was a vassal state of Egypt, a vassal state of the Osman Empire. Now that Egypt was completely controlled by the British, it was only nominally subject to the Osman Empire. The Osman Empire was even less able to exercise political power and management rights in the land of Sudan. But with that said, the representative of the Osman Empire still felt very uncomfortable.
The Foreign Minister of Russia had originally come here to be a bystander. Russia, whose sea routes were blocked by the British, had no ability to compete for Africa. Moreover, Africa was so far away, and it would cost money to occupy it. With this little money, it would be better to increase the military expenditure for the war against the Osman Empire. He did not speak and just watched calmly. Now that this scene was seen by the Foreign Minister of Russia, he suddenly understood why the representative of China did not object to Russia going to war against the Osman Empire. If the Osman Empire was defeated, China would have a good reason to take another bite out of the Osman Empire. Let the Osman Empire give up nominal control of Sudan and other places. This was not a small amount of profit.
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.
