"From Luzon to the Lion City, from Malacca to Sri Lanka, and the ancient country of India is now called India, including Egypt in the Middle East, which has just built a canal..."
"I have also seen those poor black slaves in North Africa!"
"Every coast you can see, every good port, every rich country, is a slave country for Europeans!"
"All weak countries are their colonies! Britain, France and other countries have built countless forts along the sea, and the sea is full of their merchant ships and warships!"
"These European colonists have the highest privileges. They kill without compensation, rape women without responsibility, and destroy disobedient small countries without even thinking of a reason!"
"Master Weng... I would like to ask if the people in those countries have ever tried to reason with the Europeans? When they attacked our Qing Dynasty for dumping opium, did they ever try to reason with them?"
"Reason? If this world were all reasonable... I'm afraid there wouldn't be a chance for us Manchus to enter the customs back then, right?"
These words were so heartbreaking that everyone present looked embarrassed and did not know how to refute!
"I won't beat around the bush anymore. Just say it clearly if you have anything to say. Time is running out and we can't delay it any longer... We, the monarchs and ministers, should stop pretending to be confused while pretending to understand!"
"The current pattern of the world is that the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. We, the Qing Dynasty, have fallen behind. If we don't close the distance quickly, it will become increasingly difficult to resist in the future!"
"Look what's flying in the sky? War airships have already been launched. Do you really think that the mountains and rivers of the Qing Dynasty can stop the enemy? War is no longer what it is recorded in ancient books!"
"We can reject the Chinese now, and maybe the head of state Renyi will not retaliate, but what can we do? We are just hanging on for a few more days, and in the end, aren't these places taken away by foreigners?"
"If you let the Chinese concession go now, they will at least give you a few hundred million taels of silver! What if we start a war and rob it openly in the future? If you don't give a penny of silver, aren't you also giving the concession to the British?"
"To be honest, the Chinese have a certain affinity with us because we have the same culture and race, but the Europeans have no relatives with us!"
"What's more, if we break our promise on this matter, then the Chinese will have an excuse to start a war. Don't think that the head of state really dares not to take action. Once the war starts, how will the Qing fight?"
"The Tanggu Special Administrative Region has been completely armed. The canal dug around the special zone is the moat, and there are acres of woods, barbed wire fences, machine gun bunkers, trenches and dotted with bastions!"
"The iron net has been formed, just waiting for us to hit it! How much of our current troops do you think we need to mobilize to eat it?"
"Is it enough to mobilize the entire Xishan Camp? Face the reality!"
"A northern special zone is like a knife against the land of Beijing and Tianjin, which is our throat. They can attack when they advance, and they can defend when they retreat!"
"We can't defeat him, and they have to contain a large number of main forces! The key is the sea! Control of the sea is in the hands of the Chinese, and the Northern Special Zone can receive a steady stream of overseas military and material support!"
"Today the Far East will send a division, tomorrow Fuso will send a brigade, Borneo, Luzon, Ryukyu... they can calmly send reinforcements to Tanggu!"
"They have a fortress to defend. If we add 10,000 troops, we have to add 30,000 troops to offset it. Can this kind of war be fought? How long can the empire's poor finances support it?"
"In less than half a year, German and Austrian naval warships will come to support us. By then, our coastal cities in the Qing Dynasty will never have peace!"
"Their naval guns can bomb cities along the coast and the Yangtze River at will. People will flee, business will be stagnated, farmland will be destroyed, and our country's economy will be finished!"
"I know what you are going to say, but you also said that our Qing Dynasty has a vast land and rich resources? It has a vast territory? Their warships can't come to land to fight, right?"
"How long will you continue to deceive yourselves about this wrong concept?"
Zai Chun closed his eyes in pain, "At the slightest sign of hostility, their warships will rush into the Yangtze River and directly bomb... Zhenjiang!"
"Haha... There is no need for bombing. A few gunboats will be stationed to block the river for a long time. I am afraid that within a year, our Qing Dynasty will be finished!"
As soon as the name Zhenjiang appeared, the entire military department was in an uproar, and all the officials turned pale! The importance of Zhenjiang to the Qing Dynasty is self-evident. It is the lifeblood of the country!
Because this is the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River! Every year, the food from the north must be shipped up from here!
Once the war starts, you can't count on shipping. You won't be able to eat a grain of food from Nanyang. The northern part of the Qing Dynasty will be extremely dependent on the food supply from the south!
But the main artery of ancient grain transportation was canals, and the amount of land transportation was simply not enough!
Cutting off the Grand Canal means cutting off the main arteries of the human body, and the country is really doomed!
"This is just a game! Sirs... break it slowly! If you don't agree to their conditions, you will have to face such a cruel reality!"
"How can we break this? How can we win this battle? I beg you, sir, please teach me."
Weng Tonghe was so sad that tears welled up in his eyes: "Why is this happening! Your Majesty, are you worrying in vain? You just don't want to rent the land. How could it lead to a war?"
"Haha... Master Weng, are you really naive or are you just pretending to be confused? Do you know what is the lifeblood of those European powers? It's business! It's all about making profits!"
"Why did the British try so hard to sell opium to the Qing Dynasty? It was not because they suffered too much from doing business with the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty almost made all their silver!"
"Always having a trade deficit will make it impossible to do business in the future, so we use poisons like opium to make up for it!"
"When we ban opium, we break the trade balance and put Britain into a situation of losing money and losing money again... They must gamble desperately in order to survive!"
"For the same reason, when we close the door to making money to the Chinese, Germany, Austria and other countries, when these countries have an economic crisis that cannot be resolved!"
"War is inevitable. At that time, no one will respect the principles of justice and conscience, and no one will reason with you!"
"If you don't let them make money, they will use cannons to bombard you until you bow your head. In the end, you have to let them make money..."
"This is an era with no saints, no gentlemen, no etiquette, justice and shame! Whether you like it or not, the situation has been formed and we can no longer reverse it!"
"I have said what I have said, I have explained all the truth. I am waiting for you all to give me an answer. How should I break this situation?"
"If you can't break it...then I can only consider the issue of survival. The survival of the Qing Dynasty is more important than anything else. This is the bottom line!"
"If you can't come up with a plan, then you can only follow my plan!"
