Ai Liguo and Weitoma felt strong pressure. They knew how huge the European funds were trapped in the Jiangnan banknote crisis, and they also knew how powerful the power behind these bankers was, but the current situation was no longer theirs. What we can control, because something big is happening in London right now.
"Prime Minister Derby finally chose to retire due to physical reasons. Now Benjamin has just completed the handover ceremony and came to power. Do you think he will start a war at this juncture?"
Ai Liguo sighed and dropped the chaotic messages in front of him, while Witoma continued to analyze these tough bankers word for word, hoping to find a breakthrough for counterattack.
"Don't look at it. I'm afraid I will take the blame for this. Benjamin will never start a war at this critical moment. First of all, his position is not particularly stable. He needs a certain amount of time to arrange his subordinates... "
"Secondly, out of respect for the Earl of Derby, it is impossible for Benjamin to change the grand strategic principles left by his predecessor within a few days of taking office. After all, the relationship between the Earl of Derby and the Queen is very good..."
"Xiao Letian's luck is simply God-given..."
Weitoma also threw the telegram aside and let out a long sigh, "I sometimes wonder if this Xiao Letian knows prophecy? Why can he guess the key points at every step and always be able to control the situation of all forces? What if Wu Xia suddenly made a big move when he was judging him?"
"I don't know the reason. Anyway, I just have this hunch. It's as if Xiao Letian can carefully analyze every step of changes in Europe. At the moment when we are most anxious, he quietly takes action and seizes benefits again and again. , but we can't stop it at all..."
The topic was a bit depressing. Ai Liguo poured himself and Weitoma a glass of whiskey. "Hey...if the Russians finally win this war, then these businessmen will forget their previous unhappiness and continue to make their fortunes. Right?" Our attack will naturally disappear..."
"But if they are happy, the empire may not be happy, because then the Russian power in Asia will greatly increase. Who will the queen's anger be directed at? Or us..."
"In Chinese terms, this means that the inside and outside are not human beings..."
Witoma picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp. "Yes, on the contrary, if Xiao Letian wins, then Russia's hand extending to the Pacific will be cut off by him. This will be good for us to contain the Tsar..."
"But in that case, Xiao Letian's strength will increase greatly, and then those vampires will go bankrupt. Although they are just a group of branch heads, the predators in the headquarters will also vent their anger on us..."
"Oh God! It seems that we are both going to be unlucky no matter what. I'm afraid we won't be able to escape the fate of being the scapegoat!"
Ai Liguo shook his head, "You don't have to be so pessimistic. I have reached the age of retirement. No matter what the final result is, I will bear the responsibility. You are still young. As long as you stay a few years and let those people vent their anger, you will still be reused in the future." ,Believe me!"
Just when the two oriental diplomats were sighing at the unfavorable situation before them, a military attache suddenly knocked on the door and walked in: "Mr. Minister, Mr. Counselor... Our soldiers just came to report that Qing Minister Weng Tonghe had just left the Russian Embassy. See He looked very bad. It seems that the battle at the Minjiang River Estuary has made the Russians completely crazy..."
The British Legation and the Russian Legation are both to the north of Dongjiaomin Lane. The two embassies are right next to each other, but the door faces are in different directions.
This is the central location of the Forty-Nine City. Surrounding the two ministerial buildings are the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, the Honglu Temple, the Qintian Prison, the Imperial Hospital... and a little further to the west, next to the Daqing Gate, that is* * A row of government offices in the front square are the Zong Renfu, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of Rites.
This is the core area of the entire Qing Dynasty's government affairs, and naturally it is also a key area where the eyes of all parties are intertwined. Anyone walking on the street here may be a spy, even if he is a fool, a beggar, or a homeless person, you can It's hard to tell whether he was faking it or not.
It was a very common thing for the Russian legation to be monitored by the British. Originally, Ai Liguo and Weitoma did not pay much attention to it. After all, they had long known that the unlucky Weng Tonghe and Fu Qingcheng were negotiating with Russia. Negotiators, it makes sense for them to meet.
But what the military attache said next made people think deeply: "At first Mr. Weng looked gloomy, maybe he didn't receive any courtesy from the Russians, but when he got on the sedan and turned around to go to the Forbidden City, he opened the sedan curtain and told the servants around him what to do. , we discovered that Mr. Weng actually had a happy face..."
"Huh? What's going on..." The two British guys suddenly lost their composure.
Weng Tonghe was walking towards the Yangxin Hall at the moment. He himself felt it was incredible along the way. Before he went to see the Russian Minister Ulan Geli in the morning, he was mentally prepared for a quarrel.
But although the Russian ambassador's storm was very violent, the old man suddenly discovered that the storm only hit Xiao Letian and did not involve the Qing Dynasty at all.
Ulan Geli roared in the room, using Russian slang and weird Chinese to scold Xiao Letian for being despicable and shameless, God would punish him, etc... Many Russian translators were difficult to speak, and the old man knew that it must be a very disgusting swear word.
But when Ulan Geli's anger gradually dissipated, the old man mentioned the behavior of the young emperor. The Russian ambassador actually calmed down and believed that the young emperor was not pro-government and his actions did not represent the Qing government.
Moreover, Ulan Geli believed that the little emperor was bewitched or even semi-forced by Xiao Letian, so Russia would not hate the little emperor, let alone affect the friendship and peace between Russia and the Qing Dynasty because of this incident.
The old man was stunned. He didn't expect that the situation would turn out like this. What was originally an arduous task like a charcoal ball would go so smoothly.
It was only after the final negotiation came to an end that he heard some of Ulan Geli's requests, which made the old man's happy face darken again.
"As expected, there is no such thing as peace in vain! Forget it, I'd better report such a big matter to the Queen Mother. This is something I can't make the final decision on... Oh, and also, we need to send electricity to Fuqing immediately for this matter. Listen to his opinion!”
Before entering the Forbidden City, Weng Tonghe asked his men to send an urgent telegram to Third Master Qing, recounting the detailed process of his secret conversation with the Russian envoy. At the end of the telegram, he hinted to Third Master that if the matter was difficult to decide, please ask him. You may consider consulting Dashuai Zeng.
In fact, there was no need for the old man to remind him. Fu Qing in Shanghai had just received the news from the court and had already rushed to Jiangning by boat. The current chaos in East Asia involves too many aspects, which is no longer something ordinary tacticians can understand. Well, only a strategic master like Zeng Guofan might be able to give the court some pertinent suggestions.
Note: Book friend Pure Animals got married today. I would say that this Brother Animals is also the number one from the Four-Nine City. He is said in Beijing movies and sings in model operas. This time he is able to marry a beautiful wife... He is really envious of others. !
If nothing else, I wish you a baby soon! Let’s grow old together! Hidden Dragon book friends, let’s bless you together!
