1890 King of Southeast Asia

"Sit down..." Zhang Nanpi drank a sip of tea and moistened his throat.

"This war was caused by King Ning's credulity towards Japan, breaking the agreement and occupying Hanyeping, but he was unable to end it, so that the two friendly countries met each other in battle."

"Sir, do you also think that Nanhua has no ambition? If he has no ambition, how could he propose such a condition as stationing troops?" The official was surprised.

"Regardless of whether Nanhua has ambition or not, I ask you, has Nanhua always followed his promise? Abide by the contract?" Zhang Nanpi said softly while lying on the bed.

"This... Nanhua has never broken the agreement, but..." The official wanted to refute it with a conspiracy theory.

"It's nothing, but they are upright and everyone can see it. If it's a conspiracy, you have to show evidence. King Ning just didn't find any evidence, so..." Zhang Nanpi wanted to say that the country would no longer be a country, but he didn't say it after all.

"As long as compensation is paid according to the rules, or Prince Ning is sent to apologize, and then a certain price is paid for negotiation, at most a little more concession will be made, and it will be over."

"However, this matter is also the work of the Regent. In order to prevent his prestige from being damaged, the Regent is unwilling to let his brother Prince Ning apologize, and is unwilling to pay the penalty according to the rules, so this disaster has occurred."

"Over the past few years, Beiyang has fought several battles with all its strength, suffered heavy casualties, and won a lot of reputation. Yuan Gongbao has the appearance of the head of the Han ministers."

"This time, Beiyang has no fault, and even tried its best to deal with this matter, but ended up like this. Yuan Gongbao, the head of the Han ministers, can only cut off his arm to survive."

"That is, this time, everyone is scrambling for the meat bones thrown by Beiyang. When the bones are divided, what will everyone think of the Regent and the court?"

"This time, Beiyang has cut off its arm, and it has evolved from a local force to a vassal state. The efforts of the late empress dowager to eliminate local separatism for more than ten years have all been in vain."

Zhang Nanpi looked frustrated, but soon took it back.

He is already 72 years old, over 70, and will not live long.

His body is getting old day by day, and he has not even attended the morning court recently.

He can feel that the day of his departure is getting closer and closer. As long as this huge empire is still there before he dies, it will be an explanation to himself, the world, and the old witch below.

"Please prepare the pen and ink. I will write two letters. You can help me deliver them to Yuan Gongbao and Prince Qing. As for the rest, I can't protect myself and can't take care of so many things."

The letter was delivered to the residences of Lord Yuan and Prince Qing that night. Prince Qing went out to connect the two the next day. Lord Yuan sat all night, and the next day, it was still normal.

…………

On September 15, Zhao Dabao, who had received supplies, saw that the Qing Empire had not made any moves, and began to spread around.

Tieliang discovered the unusual movement of the Nanhua Army at the first time, and immediately wanted to send troops, but was suppressed by Zaifeng.

Zaifeng was ready to take the opportunity to negotiate, of course, it was definitely not according to Nanhua's conditions.

After three days of connection, Tang Shaochuan brought the envoys of the six countries of Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Japan and Russia to knock on Lin Pingzhi's door.

After obtaining Liu Yiming's consent, Lin Pingzhi was appointed as the plenipotentiary ambassador of Nanhua, agreed to the mediation of various countries, and began negotiations.

"Your Majesty, the Qing Empire is in chaos now, which is beneficial to us. It is a pity to negotiate at this time. It is better to delay it." Yang Tao felt very sorry.

In these three days, Nanhua relied on the powerful mobility of mechanized troops to capture more than a dozen counties. Its own casualties were very small, but the gains were huge.

If we continue to fight, the results will be better and there will be more bargaining chips in the negotiations.

"We already have enough bargaining chips. No matter how many bargaining chips we have in our hands, it will not change the final result."

"You also know that the Qing Empire has undergone significant changes recently. We don't need to help them divert conflicts. If we stop fighting at this time, their internal struggles will only become more and more intense. There are only benefits for us, no harm."

Liu Yiming has already obtained intelligence and knows what happened in the Qing Empire recently.

And Liu Yiming, who knows the contradictions between Manchu ministers and Han ministers, knows more about what is behind this incident.

Power struggle!

The Manchu nobles are different from the Han ministers. They want to take everything and complete the concentration of power.

Before this, the struggle between the two sides was still kept within a range. You have me and I have you. Everyone is happy to part ways.

However, the Beiyang fell, and the Beiyang, eager to withdraw, left a huge power vacuum.

The power struggle between the Manchu nobles and the Han ministers was intensified by the huge power vacuum left by the Beiyang. Next, it was a white-hot power struggle.

The final result, if nothing unexpected happens, should be that the Manchu nobles who occupy the righteousness will temporarily win with a slight advantage.

Liu Yiming doesn't care who wins or loses, he only cares about this power struggle.

Let this struggle continue, the center and the local, the Manchu nobles and the Han ministers will be separated at the end of the struggle, thus becoming a loose empire.

When the Manchu nobles complete the concentration of power, they will carry out "constitutional monarchy" and the royal cabinet will come out. At that time, the empire will collapse and there will be no room for recovery.

"Prepare a security plan. All industrial and mining enterprises should be taken into consideration. The cost should also be considered. Don't be too exaggerated." Liu Yiming said to Yang Tao.

"I will convey it to the General Staff." Yang Tao nodded.

Liu Yiming's bottom line is Tianjin and the garrison. Everything else can be discussed. I believe that the "traditional craftsmanship" of the Qing Empire will not disappoint Liu Yiming.

PS: Selling out the country is their traditional craft. They are very good at it.

…………

September 18, Beijing.

"This is a condition that we cannot accept at all. Please consider it according to the actual situation." Lin Pingzhi threw the document casually on the negotiation table.

The expressions of the ministers of various countries around him were different, but no one spoke.

"Special Envoy Lin, your country's conditions are really too harsh. I'm sorry that we can't accept it." Tang Shaochuan looked at Lin Pingzhi with a lack of confidence.

"Which one? Please point it out to me, Minister Tang. If it is not reasonable, I will agree to your country's conditions on the spot!" Lin Pingzhi supported his hands on the table and looked down at his old friend.

"Tianjin Wei! This is an important city in our country..." Tang Shaochuan gritted his teeth.

"Huh? That's right, but our country is the victor, and Tianjin Wei is our trophy. Not only Tianjin Wei, but also more than 20 counties in Zhili and Shandong." Lin Pingzhi said with a smile.

The victorious country has the right to ask for spoils from the defeated country, and the defeated country can only pray, but has no right to refuse - this is the international practice during this period.

For example, in the Franco-Prussian War, Germany asked for Alsace and Lorraine, and France could only accept it.

"We came here with a peaceful attitude..." Tang Shaochuan didn't want to give up.

"Really? Why did this war start? This is not the first time I've said that we gave you opportunities, several opportunities, but you didn't cherish them." Lin Pingzhi sat down bored.

"I don't want to dwell on this issue, our conditions."

"First, pay 350 million taels of silver in liquidated damages and war reparations."

"Second, Tianjin Wei."

"Third, Nanhua has the right to ensure the safety of its own property. For this reason, we will send security forces to be stationed in Nanhua's industrial zone."

"Fourth, compensate for all losses caused by this incident and punish the culprit of this incident, Zaixun."

"Of course, no punishment is also possible, but compensation of 30 million taels of silver as a gift."

"The total amount to be repaid, I'll round it off for you, 400 million taels, you can choose to pay in installments, and charge fees according to international loan interest."

Lin Pingzhi looked at Tang Shaochuan calmly.

"Absolutely not, absolutely not." Tang Shaochuan stood up excitedly.

Representatives from the surrounding countries were also dumbfounded, frightened by the compensation.

But most people thought about it and thought that 300 million of the 400 million taels were contractual penalties, so they didn't say anything.

After all, France paid a larger amount of 5 billion francs forty years ago, equivalent to 1.25 billion taels of silver.

"Indeed, Nanhua's conditions are a bit too harsh." The Japanese director Lin stood up to show his presence.

Lin Pingzhi glanced at him and ignored him.

Director Lin's face flushed with anger. He didn't expect Lin Pingzhi to be so disrespectful. Shame! A big shame!

He wanted to attack, but found that everyone around was laughing at him. Only the Americans were ready to move, so he sat back.

Americans? What can they do? Nothing to do except giving money!

"Sir Tang, I propose to adjourn the meeting temporarily. You go back and ask your regent and Sir Yuan to hold this meeting tomorrow. How about it?" Lin Pingzhi was too lazy to talk about it.

However, when he mentioned Lord Yuan, he used stress. Tang Shaochuan felt that things had changed and agreed to adjourn.

…

After the adjournment, Tang Shaochuan wrote down the negotiation process, Nanhua's conditions, the reactions of various countries, and his own views in a memorial and handed it to the Regent.

Afterwards, Tang Shaochuan ran to Yuan's house to find out what Lin Pingzhi meant.

As soon as he entered the door of the middle courtyard, he saw Lord Yuan leisurely enjoying the cool under the grape trellis, and his face did not have the sadness of the past few days.

"Shaochuan is here? Sit down, sit down quickly." Lord Yuan greeted.

Tang Shaochuan sat down and told Lord Yuan about Nanhua's conditions and performance, but found that Lord Yuan always looked unhurried.

"What good news has Lord Yuan encountered?" Tang Shaochuan felt a little uncomfortable.

"What good news is there? Beiyang is now falling apart, and I, the Minister of Military Affairs, have also been excluded. It's just that I have figured it out.

People, when they figure it out, they don't worry anymore." Lord Yuan was happy.

"By the way, you are still a second-rank official now. You can be promoted to the second-rank official after this matter is over.

After two years, when Xu Juren retires, we will make some arrangements and you will take over and be promoted to the first-rank official.

After you have been tempered as the governor for two years, the constitutional system will be almost ready. You can still compete for a position in the cabinet when you come back." Lord Yuan said,

"Oh! After this matter is over, the equipment of the Beiyang Machinery Bureau will be sent to Fengtian. In the next two years, I will raise some money to add a few factories outside the Great Wall. You must keep an eye on it. This is the foundation of hundreds of thousands of people in Beiyang."

"We have offended Nanhua this time. In the future, Nanhua is unreliable. The Japanese and Russians are ready to move. We must make plans early, otherwise the three provinces may really have to change their names."

Tang Shaochuan was stunned when he heard this and was silent for a long time. He wanted to refute, but thinking of what happened when he came in, he could only nod.

.