Mauritius, a small island in the southern Indian Ocean, is not of great strategic significance to Britain. First of all, this island does not control a certain golden waterway. When the Dutch discovered this island, they got lost here because of a storm.
Later, the British captured the island through war and discovered that except for the delicious dodo, which is a specialty, there was no need to develop any other products on this island.
Although tropical products such as rubber, cane sugar, fruits, spices, and wood can all be found in Mauritius, the area here is so small and the location is so remote that various industries cannot be scaled up at all, let alone low-cost.
This was a typical colony without much oil and water. In the end, the British only immigrated some Indian untouchables and domestic criminals in the early days, and then allowed it to develop.
So far, Mauritius has a population of less than 100,000, and the proportion of European populations is very low. It is completely a forgotten land that is left to fend for itself.
There are no resources, no industry, agriculture is just to maintain food and clothing, and the strategic location is not important. It is even worse than a piece of useless island for the United Kingdom.
No one in the UK would take this kind of barren land seriously. When they heard that Xiao Letian, a fool, actually wanted to spend money to buy it? In fact, many people are laughing inside.
But the reputation of the empire on which the sun never sets became an obstacle in the end. Although Mauritius was a barren land, when had the British Empire ever sold its colonies?
The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets is not a weak Tsarist Russia, and there is no need to sell Alaska for money.
Face is the stumbling block that hinders Xiao Letian's purchase plan, but today this stumbling block has been discovered by him.
The rumors finally turned out to be true. When the staff of the Royal Asset Management Office sent the draft contract to Congress, all the members were dumbfounded because they really saw the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the column of applicants. Queen's name.
"Elizabeth Amalia Eugenie von Wittbach...isn't this the name of Princess Sissi? God, she really applied to purchase Mauritius!"
The MPs were talking a lot. The draft contract clearly stated that Princess Sissi would invest 100,000 pounds to purchase 800 square kilometers of land in the northern part of Mauritius Island to create a doo-doo bird nature reserve.
Currently, only the doo-doo birds exist in the Royal Botanic Gardens, and all will be moved to a nature reserve to thrive.
Moreover, the contract clearly states that this is a land transaction that does not involve any adjustment of sovereignty, which means that this land purchase is actually the same as Princess Sissi’s purchase of a villa in London.
The property rights of the house and land permanently belong to Princess Sissi, but the sovereignty of the land still belongs to the United Kingdom.
This business can be done! All the congressmen were relieved. Since it did not involve the purchase of sovereignty, then this was an ordinary business and no civil voice would object.
Although one hundred thousand pounds is a small amount of money, it is naturally very good to get closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Chinese through this insignificant business.
"Look at the shareholder details, is there Xiao Letian's name in it?"
People turned to the last column of the contract, and under the name of Princess Sissi, the name of the Chinese Ministry of Finance was written. Princess Sissi paid 51 for the 100,000 pounds, while the Chinese paid 49.
"It's fake. It must be a cover-up. Princess Sissi will definitely not pay for it. There must be something fishy in this! Don't believe this contract. They just want to use this method to get us to recognize the national status of the Chinese people in disguise!"
Benjamin's henchmen in the crowd were still trying their best to hinder Xiao Letian's conspiracy. They shouted loudly in the hope of waking up more congressmen.
"Gentlemen, we have not yet recognized the Chinese as an independent country, so they have no right to do business with us in the name of the country!"
"Look at this contract. Xiao Letian's name is not written on it. It is actually written by the Chinese Ministry of Finance. This is clearly a Chinese purchase contract in the name of the state. If we admit it, then they will do it later. They will use this contract to blackmail us into exchanging credentials..."
"This is a conspiracy, this is a conspiracy!"
In the crowd, several clowns were jumping up and down hysterically, but no one was willing to pay attention to them at this time. In Congress, Gladstone's faction was at its most prosperous, and these people would not give them a good look.
The draft of the contract was sent to every member of the House of Commons. The House of Commons decided to vote on it three days later, while the House of Lords made a decision within 24 hours after the results of the House of Commons came out, whether to support or oppose it.
According to the procedure, if the House of Commons passes the purchase contract with a majority vote three days later, the House of Lords will basically not object, because the members of the House of Lords are basically pro-Chinese.
There are many nobles in the House of Lords. They stand on the same front as the Queen. The Queen’s attitude is their attitude. At home, these people more or less own shares in Chinese restaurant chains. No one can argue with their shareholders. As an enemy.
There are many church people in the House of Lords, and these Protestants are particularly fond of Xiao Letian. Whether it is a German Protestant church or an American Protestant church, they spare no effort to say good things about the Chinese.
In addition, during this period, Xiao Letian spent a lot of money and charity in the British Protestant Church. As a result, everyone in the Protestant Church became Xiao Letian's supporters.
There is no problem in the House of Lords. The key lies in how the House of Commons makes a decision. The attitude of the House of Commons is completely consistent with Gladstone at this moment. This prime minister who came to power by conspiracy has firmly controlled the majority of the seats in Parliament. .
Sure enough, the next day, the front pages of newspapers on the streets of London began to predict the time for the exchange of credentials between the Chinese and the British Empire.
It was lively. The whole of England was stirred up to the extreme. No matter how high or low people talked, all they talked about were topics related to the mission. The Asian storm in Europe in 1869 was truly unprecedented.
However, compared with everyone's excitement, a group of people fell into an almost autistic state.
There was a depressing atmosphere aboard the Zhiyuan. The sailors on board and down the ship didn't even dare to take a breath. People didn't say a few words when they met, and there was a look of panic in their eyes.
There is no other reason. Xiang Ying, the captain of the Zhiyuan, has locked himself in the cabin for three days and nights, and no one can see him.
What is even more terrifying is that the head of state knew Xiang Ying's abnormality, but did not say a word or issue an order.
