Xiao Letian's opening remarks were very rude, which really went against the basic principles of diplomats, but Ai Liguo was not angry. Both of them went to this deserted island on the sea where only fishermen came to have a secret meeting. It was obvious that they were not here to say polite things. words.
On the white napkin were sweet bagels, charcoal grilled beef, red wine on ice, and a few appetizing vegetables... The lunch was not rich, but it was delicious and delicious. Unfortunately, except for a sip of red wine, no one present had anything to eat. Too lazy to move the knife and fork.
Xiao Letian got straight to the point, pushing a piece of information from the table with a strange smile on his face, "Mr. Minister, I have some questions that I hope you can answer. Why did the two British frigates HMS Warrior and HMS Castle stationed in Hong Kong suddenly leave? naval port?"
"Not only that, the battleship HMS Queen's Glory and three other cruisers from Singapore, the Lion City, have also set off collectively. I wonder what new missions the British Royal Navy has?"
Ai Liguo frowned and was secretly shocked. How could Xiao Letian's intelligence network be so efficient? The preparations for war have just begun and already he gets a taste of it?
The paper was clearly written in English. The names, specific parameters, departure time, commander's name and other information of the naval warships ordered to be relocated by Hong Kong, the Lion City and even India itself were all recorded.
However, what pleased Ai Liguo was that the intelligence did not show the destination of these warships. In other words, although Xiao Letian's spies were infinitely close to the British naval base, they did not penetrate inside.
"Oh, what does this mean? Haha, I think it can only mean that the Prime Minister is hostile to us, Britain?" Ai Liguo curled his lips, threw the paper on the table, and took a sip of cold red wine to calm down. .
"When the Royal Navy goes to sea and what tasks it goes to sea for, these are our own internal affairs in the UK. No one can interfere. Do I have an obligation to explain to you?"
"But I would like to hear your explanation. As a Chinese prime minister, by sending spies to spy on British military intelligence, can I think that you are challenging the dignity of the British Empire? Dear Xiao, no Play with fire, be careful you may burn yourself..."
This is the pride of Britain and the domineering power of the world's most powerful country. As long as they bully others, others cannot take advantage of them.
Xiao Letian was not angry either. He turned over the information, folded it, and handed it to Wang Huaiyuan. He also took a piece of paper from the CIA director's hand.
"Oh? Does the mission mentioned by the Minister also include the reinforcement of troops in Shanghai? Look at what the British Concession in Shanghai has done during this period! In ten days, you unloaded 1,200 tons of arms from 8 merchant ships. What do you want? What to do?"
"All officers and soldiers' vacations have been cancelled. The army is on high alert, all navy personnel are on board, and they have even begun to purchase food from the private sector. Is this an ordinary task? It is a military task, right?"
Ai Liguo put down his glass angrily, "This has nothing to do with you! You are interfering in our UK's internal affairs..."
"Yes, yes...what you do in Asia is considered internal affairs? Well, let's call it your internal affairs, but I think these internal affairs of yours pose a certain threat to us Chinese people. I hope the minister can help me clarify my doubts. Give me a reassurance!"
Ai Liguo glanced at Xiao Letian indifferently, "I have always thought that the Prime Minister is an outstanding diplomatic genius, but after seeing it today... haha, I'd better take back my previous view!"
Facing the British Minister's ridicule, Xiao Letian didn't show any anger at all. He sat back on his chair and poured himself a glass of wine and drank it deliciously.
"I'm afraid it will take five or six hours for the Thames to be repaired. Those European tourists who went ashore to visit the beautiful scenery of Mount Laoshan will probably have to wait until dark before returning to the ship. We still have time to spend it slowly..."
"When it comes to diplomatic negotiations, the Minister is my senior, and I cannot be your opponent...but there is still plenty of time. Are you willing to listen to some of my hypotheses? Or simply a bizarre story. Do you want to kill this boring time today?"
Ai Liguo shrugged, "If it's a very exciting story, then of course I'm willing to listen to it. Diplomats may not all be rigid!"
"Very good, then let me make a bold guess as to what mission the Royal Navy will carry out this time..."
With a clatter, a huge map of Asia unfolded in the hands of the two soldiers. This was a high-precision military map. In addition to marking various civilian ports, it also included military ports in various countries and military garrisons along the coast.
Ai Liguo's eyes lit up, and he suddenly discovered that the data in this map was actually more detailed than that of Britain.
"The United Kingdom is an island country with maritime trade as its core national interest. Any opponent that challenges sea power is Britain's life-or-death enemy, such as the various powerful countries in the interior of Europe..."
"Tsarist Russia is a very fearful opponent of Britain. This huge polar bear has an unusual greed for land. From Europe to Asia, it has even reached out to North America. Tsarist Russia has occupied the entire high latitudes of the entire northern hemisphere..."
"During the Crimean War, Tsarist Russia once again exposed their greed for warm water ports. Are polar bears going to the sea? This is a direct challenge to British interests, so the war broke out, and that war in the modern sense was declared The end of the Middle Ages!”
"Britain has always been wary of Tsarist Russia. As long as someone can curb the rise of Tsarist Russia, Britain will be happy to see it happen, including a small new ethnic group rising in Asia, the Chinese!"
Xiao Letian spoke eloquently and briefly explained the millennium-old conflict between European maritime civilization and continental civilization, and even the conflicts and entanglements between Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, and Protestantism.
The entire history of Europe was as clear as reading it on the palm of a hand. The young Emperor Tongzhi's eyes gleamed as he listened, and his admiration for his master deepened.
Sir Ai Liguo was also shocked. He gradually smelled a conspiracy from this plain explanation. This was an intuition developed by the old fox at the negotiating table over the years.
Sure enough, after Xiao Letian finished stating the importance of the Chinese to the war with Tsarist Russia, his conversation suddenly changed.
"But now, some British people are thinking carefully. They saw that the Chinese successfully wiped out the Russian fleet, and they suddenly found that some of their previous judgments were biased..."
"Haha, what many people want is a lose-lose ending, where both sides are drained of blood and cannot heal their wounds for decades. Only in this way is it in the interests of the UK!"
"I never expected that the Chinese actually used a beautiful ambush to break some people's delusions, so they were a little panicked and wanted to change their previous strategy... Let's see, is my speculation very bold? Woolen cloth?"
