"As far as I know, the Earl of Queensland has been closely related to the Wall Street tycoon Morgan family, and both parties have close cooperation in various fields. As the second largest shareholder of Detroit Cargill Steam Machinery Company, the Morgan family has further increased their investment in the industrial field. Does this mean an industry opportunity with bright prospects?"

While speaking, the American Minister Bradley Bill put the almond cookies in his mouth and chewed them, nodding and exclaiming, "Wow, this is a very delicious dessert. The crust is crispy, and the filling has another taste. It's great!"

"How about turkey on Thanksgiving?" Tianshan put the last piece of almond cookie into his mouth, then picked up the teacup and took a sip and asked.

"This is a completely different thing. I don't think I can compare it together."

"You Americans are really strange animals. While thanking the help of the Indians, they hold grand festivals every year and slaughter them mercilessly. Does such turkeys really taste good?"

"Oh...Shet!"

Bradley Bill was eating a small cookie. He almost rolled his eyes by the sudden question. He quickly picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, and then said with great dissatisfaction. "Representative Tian, ​​we have never revealed what you did in Borneo. Why did the local indigenous population decrease sharply, and even face the danger of extermination? Don't you want to say anything?"

"Oh... it's all because of the damn war. I hope to see world peace one day." Tianshan smiled and picked up another small sweet cake, saying high-sounding words.

"God, only if you believe you have a ghost!" Bradley Bill said as if he raised his hands to blame him. "Stop, let's stop talking about these topics and talk about something that is interesting to both parties, such as the cooperation between the Morgan family and your side. You have not answered my previous questions."

"Okay, let me think about it..." Tian Shan slowly finished the cookies in his hand, picked up a hot towel to wipe his hands, and said just now; "Cargill Steam Machinery Company is seeking to relist, but the official name will be changed to the Detroit branch of General Machinery Company, which has an independent legal status. Therefore, it is reasonable to strengthen cooperation with Wall Street financial tycoons. This content is published in public newspaper reports and is public information."

"So, in private, what news can I talk about?"

"I don't know much about this. It is said that Red Fort will release no more than 30% of its equity in the Detroit branch and be listed in London and New York. Because it occupies an important leadership position in the international machinery industry and is extremely large, the funds raised will reach 20 million pounds. According to financial market experts' analysis, Detroit and its parent company have thousands of patented technologies in the field of diesel engines and are an industry leader. The future market prospects are extremely broad and worth investing heavily."

"Well, it makes a lot of sense." Bradley Bill nodded in agreement and said after considering it;

"Diesel engines have a wide range of applications. Before that, Detroit and General Australia ranked first and second in the industry respectively, and also made large-scale controls on several agricultural machinery companies in the UK and the United States, occupying more than 90% of the market share, and their dominant position is unshakable.

The Morgan family on Wall Street has always been known for their precise vision. They foreseeed victory in the north during the Civil War in the United States, so they invested $5 million to buy gold and bet on gold to rise sharply, and they made a big profit as a result.

It is impossible for the Morgan family to see the bright prospects of the Detroit company, so it is no surprise that it will be a heavy bet again.

As long as we small and medium-sized investors follow the footsteps of Wall Street tycoons, it is difficult for us to lose money."

"Mr. The Minister made a very accurate judgment, and I think so too." Tian Shan agreed.

The two were talking

Major General Thomas Gresham, commander of the British Far East ship, and He Fang came out of the back house one by one. His face was gloomy and he snorted coldly without saying a word.

Tian Shan looked at him inquiring, and He Fang opened his mouth and answered silently. The conversation broke down!

After careful inquiry, I learned;

Major General Thomas Gresham, the commander of the British Far East ship, saw that there was no war in Fusang, became active and wanted to pull Queensland to form a stronger joint fleet to cruise the Juwen Island. If necessary, go to Vladivostok to conduct a deterrent cruise.

This is because since Britain occupied North Korea's Juwen Island, Tsarist Russia has shown quite indignation. Russian warships stationed in Vladivostok have occasionally entered the waters near Juwen Island, which is very provocative.

The British Empire did not rub the sand in his eyes and was ready to fight back immediately.

The problem is that the Far East Fleet stationed in Hong Kong is not a permanent fleet, but a temporary auxiliary fleet, which is mostly coal and oil tankers. It only temporarily has a 7,000-ton second-class ironclad ship and several cruisers, which lacks the deterrence to the Tsarist Russian fleet.

The Royal Third Battleship Fleet of the British Empire, stationed in Kolgoda, India, is extremely powerful and has no opponents in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific region. It has the ability to achieve a deterrent cruise on the port of Vladivostok in Tsarist Russia in northern Vladivostok.

However, considering that the journey is long and the cost of voyages of a large number of main ironclad ships is extremely expensive, and they burn a large amount of pounds in minutes. One trip will burn a small half of the annual budget of the Royal Third Battleship Fleet, which is quite expensive.

Therefore, Major General Thomas Gresham targeted the Kunshan fleet and wanted to take him to cruise the northern waters for a while, but was completely rejected.

"Don't pay attention to him, this is a stick." Tianshan comforted, then pointed to the exquisite pastries on the table and said, "Try the authentic Gusu-style dim sum and give a reasonable evaluation."

"you mean……"

"If everyone feels good, I think there should be a dim sum master like this in the Red Castle. As ministers, we must never forget the Earl. This is our duty."

"Representative Tian's words are reasonable."

He Fang is a conservative and conservative person. He picked up a small plate and served a few exquisite pastries and ate them slowly and calmly. Looking at his serious expression, he seemed to be meticulous in studying naval combat plans.

Tian Shan saw that Du Huaiqing, the Minister of the Qing Dynasty to Japan, was not far away from him, and wanted to go forward to say hello, but when he saw Du Huaiqing's appearance of being cautious in his words and actions, he couldn't help but stop. Geng Baogui smiled and teased, "What's wrong... Representative Tian, ​​are you afraid of being close to the hometown?"

"You and I have found their roots in overseas wanderers. If you talk about your hometown, it is only Queensland. Looking back at the land of China, I feel a lot of emotion!" Tian Shan replied without hesitation, lowering his voice and continuing whispering; "You don't know what you think about the Qing Dynasty's ministers are on the surface, but in fact, everyone in the court has a thick pile of criticisms and every word and deed is a crime, so they dare not make any mistakes. This is not easy to do!"

Geng Baogui asked in surprise, "What happened?"

"The Qing Dynasty court has been corrupt and stupid, and has always regarded itself as a country above the Celestial Kingdom. During the Jiaqing period, countries sent diplomatic envoys to China, but the Qing Dynasty was unwilling to send an envoy to China. The reason was very strange, and the saying goes. The West is a barbarian, and they have asked for the Celestial Kingdom, so they sent envoys to China, but I have no barbarian countries. Why bother with great trouble?" Tian Shan shook his head with a wry smile, and saw that Geng Baogui was very interested, he explained in detail;

"Mr. Guo Songtao was the first ambassador to the outside world. In 1875, Ma Jiali, the translator of the British Embassy in China, was killed in Yunnan. After the negotiations, the Qing Dynasty needed to send envoys to the UK to apologize. The court thought of Guo Songtao.

At this time, when he was on a mission to Britain, he was easily called a traitor.

But Guo Songtao said:

As a minister, he has been studying and observing the principles for 60 years, and has been in charge of his affairs, and has been wise and considering the risks and interests of the country.

At the same time when Lord Earl set foot on Australia for the first time, in 1876, Guo Songtao arrived in England after more than a month on a boat.

During his time in the UK, he handled business according to Western etiquette, listened to concerts, shook hands with foreigners, brought his wife to banquets, etc. He wrote his own experiences and heard in a diary and sent it back to China, engraved the "Chen of the West", praised the development of the British steam industry, exaggerated the British political and religious cultivation and returned to the overseas Chinese, and the court ministers blatantly praised foreigners, which caused an uproar in the country.

Liu Xihong, deputy envoy to the UK of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a secret letter to the court, accusing him of committing the "three major crimes".

First, the Youjiadun Fort was worn on the clothes of a foreigner, and even if it was frozen to death, it was not necessary to wear it.

The second is "When seeing the Brazilian king standing up without permission, the heavenly dynasty, why pay tribute to the small king?

Third, Birkin Palace listened to music and read music lists repeatedly, imitating what foreigners did.

What's going on?

Once, Guo Songtao was invited to visit the Portsmouth Fort in England. Because the fort was windy, a British man took off his clothes and criticized him on Guo Songtao. This was an insignificant little thing.

Liu Xihong didn't think so. He thought that even if he was frozen to death, he should not criticize British clothes. As the saying goes, starvation is small, and loss of moral integrity is big, so even if he is frozen to death, he should not wear them.

The second major crime was that when Guo Songtao participated in the Brazilian Embassy in the UK, everyone stood up and applauded when the Brazilian king entered the venue, showing respect.

Guo Songtao stood up with everyone and applauded. This was originally the minimum diplomatic etiquette, but Liu Xihong considered it to be an act of losing the national constitution.

Paying tribute to a small country, it is unforgivable to lose the dignity of the Celestial Kingdom.

Finally, let’s talk about the third major sin. The secret complaint said that the Birkin Palace is Buckingham Palace, which has different transliterations.

When Queen Victoria of England held a concert at Buckingham Palace, Guo Songtao was invited to attend.

In front of the guest seat was a music list, which was listed in detail. Guo Songtao read the music list like other guests. So Liu Xihong caught the "handle". He believed that doing so was imitating foreigners and insulting the identity of the Qing Dynasty's minister.

These are the "three major sins".

"Is this too outrageous?" Geng Baogui said in surprise, turning his face to look at Du Huaiqing who was like an old monk entering a state of meditation, with a look of sympathy on his face; "This official is too difficult, he is just picking the bones in the egg!"

"Do you think things are over? This is just the beginning."

"ah……"

Now Geng Baogui opened his mouth so much that he could swallow a duck egg, and asked with an incredible look on his face, "What else is behind?"

Tian Shan sighed softly and continued;

"On May 6, 1878, Liu Xihong wrote a memorial of thousands of words to the Prime Minister's affairs offices, listing Guo Songtao's "Ten Major Crimes" in Britain.

It was nothing more than learning foreign languages, and instead using silver plates to hold sugar cheese to greet foreigners, meeting foreign officials without bowing but shaking hands when meeting foreign officials, attending tea parties held by the embassy with his wife, and other trivial matters.

The court ministers were divided into two factions and fiercely debated. The Westernization faction headed by Li Hongzhang naturally supported Guo Songtao, while the conservative faction headed by Li Hongzao strongly opposed it and demanded that he be recalled immediately and found out the crime and punished severely to safeguard the decency of the Celestial Kingdom.

So-called;

It is beyond the same kind and cannot be tolerated by the world of Yao and Shun. If you cannot serve others, how can you serve ghosts? Why do you have to leave your parents' country?

Guo Songtao's hometown burned the temple he donated, and the court kept impeaching. A Hanlin editor reported that the court wanted the court to destroy the diary and listed it as a banned book. Guo Songtao was recalled from Britain for being questioned, and finally lost his post and returned to his hometown to reflect on his face."

"This is too exaggerated, right?" Geng Baogui was speechless.

"What's so strange about this? The Qing Dynasty has reached its end. The decay of these dynasties at the end is endless. It's no wonder." He Fang walked over and said, he once had two Jinshi in high school and served as a seventh-rank magistrate. He knew very well about the shady secrets of the officialdom. He was also a loser in the struggle of the court, and was particularly touched.

Geng Baogui said, "Didn't there be any serious business to do in the Qing Dynasty just for the sake of attack?"

"Mr. Geng's words are wrong. The struggle between the two sides is so fierce, because the four words "cultural orthodox" are the foundation of the country. The opportunity for the survival of the Qing Dynasty must be careful." He Fang saw it very clearly and explained the reason in his inner world.

"Oh... Please make clear to Lord He." Geng Baogui asked.

He Fang's eyes swept across Tian Shan, and when he saw his silent expression, he knew that Hongbao had a deep study of this and had a conclusion, so he explained;

"The reason why Guo Songtao caused domestic attacks was not only because of his carelessness in the UK, but more importantly, he highly praised the West and praised it with great praise. It is no problem to praise the West's strong ships, powerful guns, developed industry and rich world.

But in terms of morality, culture and system, it is unacceptable to praise foreigners. This is shaking the foundation of the people and the foundation for the survival of the court.

The Tao of ritual is the first of the six paths.

The way to establish a country is to value etiquette and morality rather than power and strategy; the fundamental plan lies in the hearts of people, not in skills.

In modern times, in the process of dealing with foreigners, the Qing court has been defeated again and again in military affairs, and only cultural and moral confidence remains. Now Guo Songtao's remarks have wiped out the last layer of fig leaf. How can we not be angry?

If the war is lost, the country will not be destroyed. What else can be left if cultural confidence is destroyed?"

"Oh... So that's it, I didn't think of this." Geng Baogui is a qualified soldier, but not a qualified politician, and it is inevitable that he will be biased in thinking about the problem. He then remembered something and blurted out his words. "There is a popular argument in Fusang Country now, denying its own culture. What do you think about this?"

"A nation without its own unique culture is like a walking corpse and has no soul." He Fang replied coldly.
Chapter completed!