1890 King of Southeast Asia

Here, the joint command made fourteen plans, each of which highlighted the word "saving", trying every means to complete the defense task with the given material consumption.

Of course, the main task is not to defend, but to reduce casualties. A cruiser and several destroyers of the navy are parked on the shore, and they can retreat to the place where the navy's artillery can reach when necessary, so they can definitely withstand it.

But if the city is recaptured, it will cause more trouble.

On the Qing Empire side, the emerging radical forces composed of young Manchu nobles and the Beiyang faction have a huge split, which in turn caused the division of the court power.

The news that Zaifeng stopped the Beiyang Army from counterattacking Tianjin Wei spread, and some radical Manchu nobles rushed to celebrate, believing that the regent had stopped the conspiracy of "Mr. Yuan".

Ambitious people, young people, industrialists, and some Han officials had huge complaints about the Qing Empire. After all, the Beiyang Army was going to recover lost territory.

On the one hand, Zaifeng did not allow the two towns of the Beiyang Army to attack, and on the other hand, the five towns in his hands did not move, as if he would let Tianjin Wei be taken by Nanhua.

If this isn’t treason, what is it?

Prince Qing had no words to say, and he complained extremely to Zaifeng, but Tianjin was lost, Beiyang forces suffered a heavy blow, and Zaifeng had the upper hand. He could do nothing about this regent who had military power and righteousness.

He could only persuade Mr. Yuan, hoping that Mr. Yuan would be patient and contact Nanhua to see if the matter could be settled through negotiation.

He was afraid that if this continued, Beiyang would directly rebel under the complaints, and the entire empire would no longer be able to maintain.

Not to mention the Qing Empire, on September 10, the fourth day after Nanhua occupied Tianjin, all countries had almost reacted.

However, based on different ideas, countries had different attitudes towards this matter...

…………

"Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, the British Empire wants to know whether Nanhua wants to turn a punitive war into an aggressive war." Early in the morning, Cyril ran to Lin Anmin's office and asked loudly.

Lin Anmin frowned and cursed the British for being rude, but he could do nothing about it.

After all, the British are still the world's number one. Look, they have already built more than a dozen battleships after starting late.

"Mr. Ambassador, I can tell you and His Majesty's government responsibly that Nanhua has no intention of launching an aggressive war." Lin Anmin said coldly without giving a good face.

"Really?" Cyril's face eased.

He didn't care whether Nanhua was lying to him or not. Anyway, he came to convey London's attitude. Whether he lied or not, it couldn't change the will of the British Empire.

"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, please forgive my impoliteness. I heard that your country occupied Tianjin. My government is very worried. After all, this affects world peace." Cyril said kindly.

"Of course! I can understand your country's feelings, but I still hope that Ambassador Cyril will not be so... enthusiastic next time. An excellent diplomat should have the most basic calmness." Lin Anmin smiled and his eyes were sincere.

Cyril pouted indifferently and nodded.

"Lin, Nanhua's actions have caused London a lot of headaches. They don't want to see Nanhua occupy Tianjin. This is too humiliating for the Qing Empire and will only trigger the next war." Cyril said.

Of course, this is false. Asquith did not care about the gains and losses of a city, but the Cabinet Minister of Commerce firmly opposed it on the grounds that it would affect the import and export of the British Empire and the Qing Empire.

The cabinet ministers were willing to give a face to this young and enthusiastic Minister of Commerce, who was born in a powerful family, so the Foreign Minister said a few more words to Cyril.

But more, it's not okay.

By the way, the name of this Minister of Commerce is Winston.

"Ambassador Cyril, this is the punishment they deserve. We have given them opportunities, countless opportunities! But they simply disdain it. If we don't hurt them, they will make the same mistake again." Lin Anmin said seriously.

"The Qing Empire is willing to pay other prices and let Nanhua set the price. We can talk! Everything can be discussed!" Cyril said seriously.

Of course, this has not been agreed by the Qing Empire, but it's okay. The Qing Empire is used to it... or everyone is used to it.

Later, the United States also learned this trick, and liked to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. They held meetings to decide other people's affairs. If they disagreed, they would slander, sanction, instigate color revolutions, or use force.

Everyone is used to it!

"Anything is fine?" Lin Anmin showed a heartbeat.

"Of course! The Qing Empire will definitely consider it carefully, as long as you give up Tianjin and no longer threaten the capital of the Qing Empire." Cyril smiled and made a look like you got a big advantage.

"Uh... So what did I say? Let's forget it, no one will agree." Lin Anmin's face was full of heartbeats, but he made an expression of forcing himself to give up.

"Hey! Tell me, everything can be discussed." Cyril felt something was wrong, but he had to listen to the conditions.

"Then... I'll tell you. If the British Empire or the Qing Empire thinks it's inappropriate, just treat it as if I didn't say it." Lin Anmin looked like he had been struggling for a long time to make a decision.

"We can return Tianjin and Shandong Prefectures, and will not pursue all responsibilities for the Qing Empire's breach of contract this time, and even do not need war reparations, the condition is..." Lin Anmin deliberately took a breath.

Cyril stared at Lin Anmin, motionless, even holding his breath.

"Cede all the land and assets from Nanjing to Shanghai, and within 20 kilometers along the Yangtze River between the two places.

How is it? It's a good deal, right? We lost money by exchanging hundreds of millions of taels of silver and the three prefectures of Tianjin and Shandong for a mere 40,000 square kilometers of land. "Lin Anmin looked like he had made a huge concession.

Cyril opened his mouth twice and shook his head.

"You know, this is impossible." Cyril said in a statement.

"If we negotiate unilaterally with the Qing Empire, it is possible. If we are willing to give up Jinling, we may get a lot of compensation." Lin Anmin smiled.

"The British Empire will not recognize such a treaty. It is unreasonable. The Yangtze River Basin is the sphere of influence of the British Empire. Allowing Nanhua to take over the industrial plan of the Qing Empire is already the limit of the British Empire's tolerance. "

"Please don't provoke the bottom line of the British Empire again and again. "Cyril's face was gloomy. Looking at Lin Anmin's smile, he felt annoyed.

The Yangtze River Basin is a dumping ground for British goods. This huge market can absorb a large number of British goods, with hundreds of millions of pounds of goods imported every year.

Liangjiang is the richest province in the Qing Empire. If the river from Jinling to Shanghai is allocated to Nanhua, although Britain will not be unable to do business, there will definitely be more trouble.

Nothing needs to be said. Nanhua only needs to collect taxes according to its normal domestic situation. The profits and markets of British goods will shrink to varying degrees and eventually be replaced.

This is something that Britain cannot tolerate.

"Nanhua does not want to have conflicts with Britain, but there are really not many places to choose from except here, so what I don't want to say is what you insist on hearing." Lin Anmin looked innocent.

"And Guangzhou..." Cyril wanted to divert the trouble.

Although Guangzhou is not far from Hong Kong, it is mainly the sphere of influence of the French. The French are obsessed with expanding Indochina, and their first choice is here.

Britain and France have a tacit understanding that Britain will not move the south and France will not move the Yangtze River.

"Oh! Ambassador Cyril, why do you think I chose Nanjing to Shanghai? "Lin Anmin shouted innocently.

"? You mean, the French have been here?" Cyril was startled, and then the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he had found the truth.

"Um, Ambassador Bi Sheng and I had afternoon tea yesterday." Lin Anmin raised his eyebrows.

He didn't lie. They went to drink tea and fish yesterday, but they didn't talk about anything.

"Damn French! Britain supports your country to obtain privileges in Guangzhou." Cyril couldn't help cursing. He had already made up a whole set of conspiracies in his mind - a conspiracy by France against Britain.

"Mr. Ambassador, our emperor will not agree, just like your country opposes us to obtain the Nanjing to Shanghai section, France... you know." Lin Anmin squinted his eyes.

"Well, this is really a troublesome matter, I will report to London. "Cyril nodded.

This matter is not easy to solve. Qing Empire breached the contract first. The 300 million taels of silver required by Nanhua are not war reparations, but reasonable and legal liquidated damages.

Adding Nanhua's advantage on the battlefield, Cyril thinks it is normal to add tens of millions or even 100 million taels of compensation.

At the same time, it is not just money, there must be a lot of other costs.

Lin Anmin proposed to take the Nanjing to Shanghai section, Cyril did not think it was excessive, but because this is the sphere of influence of Britain, he would not agree to this approach.

"By the way, how about replacing Tianjin Wei with Shanghai Dao? In exchange, Qing Empire can pay some expenses." Cyril made a final effort before leaving.

"Well... The surrounding areas of Shanghai Dao are not impossible, but we will transform Shanghai Dao, including managing docks and waterways, and re-establishing customs and naval bases. Can Britain accept it?" Lin Anmin shrugged.

"Re-establish customs? "Cyril wanted to slap himself, forgetting about this.

If Nanhua gets it, it will definitely have to manage it. Then wouldn't it be normal to set up its own customs?

And it will definitely charge tolls, just like they do in Malacca.

What's the difference between this and Nanhua controlling Nanjing to Shanghai?

"I hope Nanhua can think about it for peace. I'm leaving first." Cyril shook his head and didn't talk about the exchange anymore.

If the status quo is maintained, even if the Qing Empire collapses, as long as Britain joins forces with the United States, Japan, Russia, Germany and other countries to suppress Nanhua and prevent Nanhua from annexing the Qing Empire, the existing privileges and low tariffs can be maintained.

If Nanhua takes it, it will be a big loss.

"Slow down, Mr. Ambassador, we will think about it carefully, and we must eliminate the unstable factors." Lin Anmin stood up to see him off.

After Cyril walked away, Lin Anmin sat down, took out a piece of paper and started writing.

"Secretary!"

"Give the letter to Mr. Bi Sheng, the French ambassador. Remember, give it to him personally and be careful not to let anyone see it. "Lin Anmin put the paper into the envelope without signing it.

"Yes!" The clerk nodded.

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