1890 King of Southeast Asia

"The British have just freed themselves from the troubles in the House of Lords, but their domestic affairs are far from over. Just talk normally."

"Others are easy to deal with, but the Russians and Japanese are. If they take the lead, other countries will not give in."

"It's really troublesome."

Liu Yiming curled his lips and looked at the scorching sun outside the window.

At the end of August, the British House of Commons and the House of Commons had been arguing for nearly half a year without any results. There was a trend of confrontation in the country, and Prime Minister Asquith and King Edward VII had to personally intervene.

Asquith held a bill to confer new nobility, preparing to confer nobility at one time enough to make the House of Lords make concessions.

Seeing this, Edward VII agreed to Asquith's budget bill without the House of Lords, temporarily easing the crisis.

Of course, the most important reason was that at the end of August, the German Imperial Parliament passed a new round of naval supplementary budget, and Asquith's naval budget bill suddenly changed from radical to conservative.

In order to maintain the absolute advantage of the British Empire Royal Navy, Britain needs more and stronger warships, so the House of Lords acquiesced to Edward VII's operation.

"Japan, their reconstruction of Kitakyushu is progressing very slowly. Do they still have the energy to take the lead?" Xu Hui touched his moustache.

"Without money, reconstruction is of course slow." Liu Yiming said disdainfully.

Japan's biggest problem is the lack of supplies. How can we talk about reconstruction without supplies?

Tianjin is a port city, and it is the largest and most prosperous port in the northern part of the Qing Empire. The Japanese will not easily give up this piece of fat meat.

Unless this piece of fat meat loses its value.

"How many people do you think it is appropriate to leave in Tianjin?" Liu Yiming changed the subject again.

"From the perspective of development, one brigade is more than enough." Xu Hui said quickly.

The strategic importance of Tianjin is self-evident. It is a key springboard for Nanhua to rush to the land and return to the Central Plains.

The problem is that other people can also see this point, so the garrison is destined not to be too much. In the early stage, there are one or two brigades and a few destroyers. That's enough.

"A brigade garrison is enough. I want to put pressure on the concession. A simple garrison can't provide much pressure. This kind of thing is enough to do once." Liu Yiming said.

"Establish an armed militia detachment to militarize Tianjin. Anyway, we have to build first. If we close the Tianjin port, we will lose a lot of wealth." Xu Hui thought about it and figured out what Liu Yiming meant.

To reasonably and legally put pressure on the concession, it is not enough to rely on the army alone. To put it bluntly, the army is a violent organization used for fighting and is more sensitive.

The armed militia is different. It is a management organization for maintaining order and can be used to fight for control. After the established facts are created, they can argue again.

"That's it for now. At the same time, I will let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reach an agreement with Italy as soon as possible. It may cost a certain price..." Liu Yiming flipped through the negotiation records.

"I will mobilize some police to join the armed militia and then send them to Tianjin. The navy and army should be withdrawn." Xu Hui nodded.

"Almost. After deciding on the guard force, the rest of the troops will be withdrawn within the month." Liu Yiming also nodded.

…………

"That's it, Ambassador Francesco, you see..." Lin Anmin sat down on the sofa, holding a teacup, with a smile on his face.

"Oh! Dear Foreign Minister, in fact, our king has sent me a telegram, and the Prime Minister has also told me to return the concession as soon as possible." Italian Ambassador Francesco sat on the other side of the sofa, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

"But I have a small question, of course! This question will not affect our willingness to exchange concessions." Francesco restrained his smile and looked at Lin Anmin slightly seriously.

"Of course! Of course! Please go ahead." Lin Anmin sat up straight, calmed his mind, and his brain worked faster.

"We set up a concession in Tianjin Wei to trade with the Qing Empire. I heard that Tianjin Wei is going to be blockaded..." Francesco looked at Lin Anmin.

"Oh?!" Lin Anmin smiled.

"Don't worry, we blockade just to guard against possible saboteurs. Italy is a friend of Nanhua, not a saboteur, isn't it?" Lin Anmin put down the teacup.

"The Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs will apply to the government for a special list. You only need to write the names of those Italian friends on it, and they will be able to obtain a pass to enter and exit Tianjin."

"Of course, the goods also need to be reported. In addition, I suggest that Italian friends go to the City Hall to apply for a visa first, so that they can move freely throughout Tianjin, excluding the military zone."

Lin Anmin smiled slightly, very gentlemanly.

"Of course! I will immediately urge our citizens in Nanhua to renew their visas as soon as possible. By the way, our silk merchants hope to obtain some silk from the Qing Empire. Do you have any channels?

You know, most of the silk in Europe is monopolized by France. If there is a choice, Italians don't like French goods." Francesco looked at Lin Anmin hesitantly.

The capital of Nanhua controls most of the silk output of the Qing Empire to compete with Japan and France.

Italy has a considerable demand for silk, and the share of profit distributed to Italy alone is not enough to meet their needs.

They can also buy French goods, but French goods are more expensive. Because of the war, the relationship between France and Italy is still very bad.

If they can avoid buying French goods, they are unwilling to buy them. Even if they want to buy them, most of them are reluctant.

"I don't know much about the things involved, but I will ask. I believe that even if there is no export this year, there will be one next year." Lin Anmin nodded decisively.

Export is a good thing. If there is no export this year, can't we expand production next year? Besides, the demand for silk in the Qing Empire is also very high. Lin Anmin doesn't believe that he can't find a batch of goods.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs." Francesco smiled.

This is not the opinion of the Italian government, but the request of silk merchants in Italy, asking him to help ask.

These merchants are generous, and there is "thank you" after the matter is done.

"Then, Your Excellency, when do you think it is appropriate to sign the contract? Those people should be invited to watch the ceremony..." Francesco talked about specific matters more actively than Lin Anmin.

...

On October 10, witnessed by more than a dozen ambassadors from different countries, Nanhua and Italy issued a joint statement.

Italy returned the concession in Tianjin Wei and gave up all its privileges in Tianjin Wei.

Although they had expected this day long ago, the Russians and Japanese still looked gloomy.

"Ambassador Vladimir, the situation is now very clear. Except for us, other countries are waiting for Nanhua to come to the door to make conditions and then sell the land!" Japanese Ambassador Komatsu said quietly.

"Yes! The French only know how to cover up their ugly deeds, and they don't care even if they sell some interests, but the Russian Empire is different! We will never give in!" Vladimir said proudly.

How proud? Vladimir, who is 1.8 meters tall, raised his head and talked to Komatsu, who is 1.5 meters tall.

"The British don't care about this matter either. Don't they know the importance of the concession?" Komatsu didn't care, or he was used to the condescending attitude of Westerners.

Vladimir tilted his head and glanced at Komatsu.

"Wait until this farce is over, come to my place to talk?" Vladimir said with great disgust.

"Of course!" Komatsu was delighted.

He was invited! As a Japanese, the Japanese ambassador was invited by the Russian ambassador and nobles to discuss the incident.

What is this? This is recognition! The recognition of Japan by the old empire! It's unprecedented!

…

After the statement was issued, there was a small banquet. After the meeting, British Ambassador Cyril stayed.

"Cyril, we are old friends. I won't beat around the bush. Nanhua must take back the concessions and the special rights of various countries in Tianjin." Lin Anmin sat on the sofa and hammered his waist.

Unlike Japan's abolition of unequal treaties, Nanhua negotiated with various countries on the newly acquired land for old privileges.

This requires an exchange of interests, not like Japan, because it has become stronger and can abolish the treaty with just a few words.

Besides, Japan only abolished the treaty and still did not break away from foreign control. It was not until the First World War that it made war money and paid off its debts that it became relatively independent.

"In theory, the British Empire and the Nanhua Empire are allies, and we should return the concessions free of charge, but this involves many interest disputes after all, and it is not easy to sort out the relationship." Cyril defined it first.

Lin Anmin heard the difference. If Britain wants to increase its offer, there is no need to emphasize the alliance relationship.

"What are your concerns?" Lin Anmin asked.

"First, how should the wealth of British citizens and the property of the British government in the concession be handled?"

"Second, Britain has trade privileges in the Qing Empire, and the concession exists to serve the trade privileges. After the concession disappears, how will the interests of British citizens be protected?"

Then, the conference room fell into silence for 20 seconds.

Lin Anmin thought that Britain would put forward some conditions, but he didn't expect it to be so simple.

"Private property is sacred and inviolable. We guarantee that the property of British citizens will not be illegally infringed."

"As for trade privileges, Tianjin Wei now belongs to the South China Empire and is subject to the laws and regulations of the South China Empire, so the privileges..." Lin Anmin raised his eyebrows.

"In this way, Tianjin Wei is much less attractive, and the possibility of acceptance by various countries is not high." Cyril blinked.

"We can't continue to implement a series of laws in Tianjin Wei in the past. Those are unequal terms." Lin Anmin refused without thinking.

"This is indeed a bit embarrassing... I need to seek London's opinion." Cyril sighed.

"Then I will wait for good news." Lin Anmin stood up and sent Cyril out.

Nanhua's attempt to suppress the development of Tianjin made many British people, especially those who invested in Tianjin real estate, jump up and down.

Their future losses were clearly visible, so they approached Jordan, hoping to continue the previous model.

As a professional civil servant, Cyril knew that this was impossible. According to the British's usual behavior, returning the concession was only a matter of time.

.