Gladstone opened his mouth but could not speak. Xiao Letian pushed him into a dead end with just a few words.
Aren’t you British awesome? Then you stand up for Spain, you help Spain defeat the Philippines, and you send an expeditionary force deep into the rainforest to fight against the Chinese guerrillas!
The British are not that stupid. They are a very smart group of businessmen and will not do business at a loss.
First of all, the relationship between Britain and Spain is not very good. During the Age of Discovery, these two countries were mortal enemies!
Later, France conquered Spain, and the Franco-Spanish coalition began a century-long competition for hegemony with Britain. Of course, the final winner was Britain.
The British people have no emotional basis for Spain. If Gladstone really helped Spain send troops to fight, domestic voters would have to impeach him directly.
Directly sending troops is impossible, so what about indirect support? This is probably not possible, because British military experts are more professional, and their analysis of this war is actually more pessimistic.
Luzon is a rainforest island with a tropical climate. Fighting in a place like this is simply a disaster!
The Chinese launched an uprising in Luzon involving millions of Chinese, all of whom were 'aboriginals' who had been born in the Philippines for two to three hundred years.
They are very familiar with the local mountains, rivers, land and rainforests, and they can launch a protracted operation at one point. How long will the European expeditionary force be delayed?
The army has never been Britain's strength, let alone fighting in the hellish rainforest. How many British boys will have to die to achieve the strategic goal?
Britain's interests lie in the ocean, and even more so in maritime trade routes. As long as no one challenges Britain's interests in this area, they will not kill people for irrelevant people.
The Chinese have obviously not harmed Britain's maritime interests at the moment. Even because of the existence of the Chinese, many ports in Asia have developed very well, and many high-quality goods in inland China have also been discovered through the hands of the Chinese.
Xiao Letian did give British businessmen a lot of preferential treatment in business and trade, so if he really wanted to declare war with the Chinese, the British capital forces would actually disapprove.
To put it bluntly, this is just a blackmail by the British high-level officials, and there was no intention to use force from the beginning!
Xiao Letian accurately felt Gladstone's pulse. He even knew that even if the prime minister went crazy and wanted to start a war, his proposal would never be passed in the upper and lower houses!
No one cares about the life or death of the Spaniards, not the Chinese, nor the British!
Gladstone never expected that Xiao Letian would actually spend 10 million pounds to buy Luzon Island, nor did he expect that idiot Amadeo I would actually be willing to sell it.
After bidding eight million pounds, Amadeo counter-offered to ten million pounds. To be honest, this price is really not expensive!
To buy the entire Philippines for such a small amount of money is a huge deal!
But Gladstone refused to admit defeat. The Queen was actually the final pusher in this round of siege against the Chinese, and he had to fight to the end for the Queen.
"Xiao Letian, you seem to have forgotten that Isabella II also has a say!" the Prime Minister threatened.
"Oh? When will the queen who steps down be able to interfere in national affairs? This is the rule in Europe..." Xiao Letian said quietly.
Gladstone snorted fiercely through his nostrils, "Hmph...those who step down can also come up. It's not certain who will end up with the throne!"
Xiao Letian shrugged, "Then I'll wait and see..."
Gladstone abandoned the Spanish government delegation as if ignoring a pile of rubbish, and turned his expectant gaze to the three observer representatives sent by Queen Isabella.
Xiang Ying's face suddenly turned pale. He realized that something was wrong. He messed up his first diplomacy. Queen Isabella and these ministers made him miserable.
On that night with the sea breeze, the fat pig-like queen stood naked in the strong wind in the courtyard, scolding Xiang Ying!
That scene is vivid in my mind, and Xiang Ying still feels very sick when I think about it now!
The sow was almost raped. This incident can be said to be the shame of Xiang Ying's life!
But today, when I saw the British taking advantage of the situation and using the Spanish issue to attack the Chinese, Xiang Ying felt a little regretful, "If I had just endured it and closed my eyes... wouldn't it have passed?" '
'Why couldn't you hold it back? And a piece of meat is indispensable, which is really a big delay! '
Gladstone looked at the goatee "I want to hear the Queen's attitude towards this war!"
Goatee stood up and nodded to the people present, then took out a note from his suit pocket, "I brought a handwritten letter from the Queen, expressing her deep concern about the Philippine War..."
The Queen of Spain is paying more attention to the war, and the Queen in Buckingham Palace is paying more attention to the diplomatic negotiations. However, at this moment, Queen Victoria and the Crown Prince are receiving guests they think they are familiar with.
The crown prince's eyes showed a light that every man could understand. The woman sitting opposite him drinking tea was really elegant. From the side, the curve of her neck was as graceful as a swan.
Princess Sissi, the top beauty in Europe, has now become Xiao Letian's lobbyist!
Putting down the black tea, Princess Sissi fanned her folding fan and smiled at the Queen, "Your Majesty, I won't go around in circles with you. We won't speak the same language as one family..."
Queen Victoria is an old grandmother in Europe. Her children have marriage relationships with royal families in Europe, and Queen Victoria's parents have always ruled Bavaria.
Judging from the genealogy of their father's generation, Princess Sissi and the Queen are also related!
In fact, at that time, all the high-ranking nobles in Europe, especially the royal family, were related to each other. Otherwise, why hemophilia was so popular in the later period was because of the marriage of close relatives.
Princess Sissi is really the best candidate to be a lobbyist. She does not use any diplomatic rhetoric at all, and just throws out the diplomatic problems just like chatting between relatives.
"Your Majesty, I have sent a message from Xiao Letian... He already knows the rules of the game set by the British Empire, and he is willing to govern the country within the rules of Her Majesty the Queen!"
"The head of state, please rest assured, your majesty, he has absolutely no intention to challenge the absolute dominance of the British Empire... Even Xiao Letian said that in the future, his navy can only operate in the Pacific, and he can make his navy an absolute defensive force! "
Before the Queen said anything, the Crown Prince's eyes lit up, "Is this true? Did Xiao Letian really express his position like this?"
Before Princess Sissi could answer, the Queen waved her hand, "I don't want to hear what Xiao Letian said, I just want to see what he is going to do!"
Note: Well...I suddenly discovered that our "The Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty" has exceeded 8 million words!
8.08 million words! It’s so unimaginable that I’ve forgotten how I survived it!
I'm dizzy! Are there any historical books on the Internet with more than 8 million words?
Do you have? Do you have? Brothers and sisters, we have witnessed a miracle!
Do you want 10 million words in the future? I'd love to give it a try!
Since the word count exceeds 8 million words, I’m going to ask for recommendation votes!
When you open a monthly subscription and vote for red envelopes, you will be rewarded with recommendation votes. Please support us!
