It is not the first time that Yi Zhengxing has participated in this kind of diplomatic negotiations, and this strange logic is the first time he has heard that the Boers originally belonged to the subjects of the Cape Town colony, so the countries established by the Boers in other places belong to the Cape Town territory and belong to the British territory overseas, this logic is simply ridiculous!

Although he felt ridiculous and funny, he sat upright with a serious face, this kind of occasion is not something he can speak at will, his task is to experience, when he needs to speak, the old man will naturally hint or remind.

For this kind of absurd and ridiculous logic, Yi Zhicontent is not funny at all, nor does he say sarcastic ridicule, this euphemistic tone and absurd logic is an attitude, but also a step, the other side obviously does not want the two countries to break out in armed conflict or war in South Africa.

After a little muttering, he said: "The independence of the Transvaal Republic was recognized by your country in 1852, and the Republic of the Orange Free State was recognized by your country in 1854.

This year, we have recognized the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, established diplomatic relations with the two countries, exchanged diplomatic representations at the ambassadorial level, and signed a series of commercial and economic treaties and agreements with the Transvaal, as well as security treaties.

Because Japan is currently in a period of constitutional transition, it has not yet been made public, and diplomatic relations with the two countries will be officially announced in the newspapers at a later date. ”

Safeguards treaty? Military alliances? Wei Tuma couldn't help but be surprised, he didn't expect that the Qing State was not going to expand and annex the two countries of the Transvaal, but to adopt the means and methods of recognition and support to infiltrate, it seems that the news that the Qing State found diamond mines and gold mines in the Transvaal can also be sure to be true.

Now it's okay, there is no need to find excuses, as long as you fight the Transvaal, you can directly face the Qing State, but, then again, how big are the diamond and gold mines in the Transvaal, and it is worth the Qing State to spare no effort to support the Transvaal?

Although he knew he shouldn't ask, he couldn't help asking, "I heard that diamond and gold mines have been discovered in the Transvaal in your country?" ”

Yi Zhifen smiled and said: "What my country needs in South Africa is enough strategic depth, instead of going on an expedition, it is better to support the two countries, and by the way, it can also develop commerce and trade." ”

Wei Tuma sneered secretly when he heard this, when did Yuan Qi change to a vegetarian diet? It's not that he was worried that they would send troops to intervene, so he changed his strategy, but the other party was reluctant to say, and he was not easy to ask, and even if he asked, it was impossible to have an answer, so he changed his words at the moment, "I heard that your country and Russia are building a big railway across Europe and Asia?" ”

"Your country is really well informed." Yi Zhizhi said nonchalantly: "Yes, my country vigorously develops the Northwest Railway to ensure the safety of the northwest, and Russia proposes to connect my country's Northwest Railway, but this matter has not yet been finally agreed." ”

Still not final? Wei Tuma didn't know whether what the other party said was true or not, and immediately said euphemistically: "I hope Your Highness will consider this matter carefully, Russia has always been ambitious, and after the first war in Crimea, its vitality was greatly damaged, but once the wound is licked, it will inevitably relapse, and at that time, your country and Europe may become the target of its expansion." ”

"Your Excellency reminds me." Yi Zhizu smiled and said: "My country took the opportunity of Russia's defeat in Crimea to send troops to recover the vast territory in the northwest, and it is indeed necessary to prevent the Russians from coming back. ”

Seeing his attitude, Wei Tuoma couldn't say anything, and immediately changed his sincere tone and said: "Your two countries belong to the great empires of the East and the West, and their military strength and war potential are among the few in the world, and they have long-term friendly and close business and trade exchanges, and I sincerely hope that your two countries can maintain long-term friendly and cooperative relations." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said in agreement: "This is also what I hope for, the current war, especially the large-scale war, the casualties and economic losses caused are incalculable, the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War are lessons from the past, I sincerely hope that your two countries can live in friendship and peace for generations." ”

After saying goodbye, getting into the carriage, waving goodbye, waiting for the carriage to start, Wei Tuma sighed lightly, "This is an extremely difficult opponent, there is no need, it is better not to fight." ”

Mai Huatuo, who had been silent, spoke: "Qingguo is buying time to become strong as soon as possible!" Can't give them this chance! ”

After a pause, he continued: "It is not difficult to interrupt the industrialization process of the Qing State, the industry of the Qing State is mainly concentrated in a few coastal cities, and destroying several industrial cities along the coast can not only destroy the industrial base of the Qing State, but also promote the bankruptcy and bankruptcy of Yuanqi, without Yuanqi, the Qing State should be destroyed." ”

It's easy to say, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin are so easy to destroy? Wei Tuoma didn't have the heart to refute, he was faintly a little uneasy in his heart, he stayed in the Qing Dynasty for thirty years, for this Yuanqi treasurer, the king of Zhennan of the Qing Kingdom, he asked himself very well, Yi Zhishu is not only long-term, good at seizing the opportunity, but also good at forbearance, and very cautious.

Such a person will definitely not risk for the diamond mines and gold mines of the Transvaal, and Yuanqi is not short of funds, on the contrary, Yuanqi has made a lot of money in Europe and the Americas over the years, and there is only one possibility, the military strength of the Qing State, and even the strength of the navy have surpassed that of England!

Although this idea is a bit absurd, it is the only common reason that can be explained, how can the Qing State not have the confidence to provoke the British Empire after it was involved in the Persian Gulf and then in the Transvaal?

In the study, Yi Zhisuff lit a cigarette and said solemnly: "If it was not certain whether England would provoke a war before, then now it is certain that this war is inevitable!" ”

Zhao Liewen said in a sullen voice: "Is it because of the Eurasian Railway?" ”

"Compared to sea freight, rail transport is not only safer, but also faster." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Once the Eurasian Railway is opened, it will inevitably have a huge impact on the maritime trade between the East and the West, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow to England, which is dominated by maritime trade.

In addition, the gold mines of the Transvaal cannot be hidden, and our large-scale enclosure of the Transvaal has aroused a high degree of suspicion in England, which is on the gold standard and vigorously pursues the hegemony of the pound. ”

"Father——。 Yi Zhengxing hesitated, and then he pondered: "The child thinks that the Eurasian Railway should indeed be carefully considered, Russia is indeed ambitious, and once it is strong, it will inevitably expand ..... foreign expansion." ”

Yi Zhifen glanced at him and said slowly: "Are you worried about the outbreak of war with England?" ”

"It's not." Yi Zhengxing hurriedly said: "As long as we don't give up the gold mines in the Transvaal, war with England is inevitable, what the child is worried about is Russia, the vast northwest and Siberia, we can all say that we can take advantage of the fire to rob, take advantage of Russia's weakness to take advantage of the situation, once Russia is strong, it is bound to settle accounts after the autumn." ”

"Born in sorrow, die in peace." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "It's not a bad thing to have a powerful enemy on the side. After a pause, he continued: "There are pros and cons to everything, and the important thing is to weigh them, and the big railway connecting Europe and Asia naturally has disadvantages, but its benefits are greater.

At present, China's foreign trade with China is only by sea, mainly two routes, one is North America, the other is Europe, basically monopolized by England and the United States, open up the Eurasian railway, our foreign trade can be extended from land to Russia in Eastern Europe, and even to Northern Europe, Central Europe, and Western European countries.

In this way, China's foreign trade is both land and sea, not only can greatly promote China's foreign trade and economy, but also avoid being threatened, England is known as the maritime hegemon, has the world's most powerful navy, once our country and England go to war, China's foreign trade will be cut off by England, but with the Eurasian railway, the situation is very different! ”

After hesitating, Yi Zhengxing said: "The railway speed is not fast, how long does it take to get from Shanghai to Europe?" ”

"Even if it's not fast, it's faster than sea freight! And it's also safer than sea freight. Yi Zhizu chuckled: "Nowadays, the main means of transportation are mainly sea and land transportation, and with the development of industry and technology, both sea and land transportation are developing rapidly.

In terms of shipping, the construction technology of ships is becoming more and more mature, often thousands of tons, or even tens of thousands of tons, and there will be larger ones in the future, tens of thousands of tons or even 100,000 tons of giant ships will not be too far away.

At present, land transportation is mainly railway transportation, which cannot be eliminated, and the development of railway transportation is also very rapid, the speed of trains is constantly improving, the speed from the initial 5 kilometers to 10 kilometers, 20 kilometers to the current 40 kilometers.

I can say with certainty that this is not the limit, but only the beginning, the speed of the train still has a huge room for improvement, with the development of science and technology, the continuous application of new technologies, the speed of the train may reach a level that you can not imagine, such as 200 kilometers per hour, 300 kilometers per hour. ”

200 km/h, 300 km/h! Yi Zhengxing and Zhao Liewen both stared at him with strange expressions, the train could reach such a fast speed? How far can you run that day? Wouldn't it take half a day to get from Shanghai to Beijing? How is this possible? Also, a 100,000-ton giant ship, how big is that?

Seeing the two people with a stunned face, Yi Zhizhi smiled contentmently: "Human beings have entered the industrial society, and the development can be described as changing with each passing day, so don't be limited by your inherent thinking. ”

"In the past 30 years of industrial development in the Qing Dynasty, earth-shaking changes have taken place, especially in Shanghai and Guangzhou, which is unimaginable." Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "With such rapid changes, it is already a little difficult for us to keep up, let alone think in the long term like the big shopkeeper." ”

As he spoke, he pulled back the conversation, "England is known as the hegemon of the sea, and if it really provokes a war in South Africa, a naval battle is inevitable...... Can the big shopkeeper be sure? ”

Yi Zhishu said in a relaxed tone: "How has Huifu ever seen me fight an uncertain battle? ”

Hearing this, Zhao Liewen suddenly put his mind at ease and said with a smile: "No wonder the big shopkeeper dares to take the chestnut in the fire, it turns out that he has already made up his mind." ”

"I'm in a good mood today, let's talk a little more." Yi Zhishu casually took out a cigarette and lit it on the butt of the cigarette, "I have said before that today's world is an era of competing for hegemony, similar to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in the history of our country, however, the Spring and Autumn Period is the Seven Heroes competing for hegemony, and only the four countries or four regions really have the strength to compete for hegemony in the world today.

England naturally counts one, of course our country counts one, and the remaining two, one is the United States, and the other is Russia. ”

Yi Zhengxing said suspiciously: "Why the United States and Russia?" ”

"Because of the war." Yi Zhixiang glanced at the two of them and said slowly: "The end of the Franco-Prussian War and the capitalist system of European countries have planted the scourge of large-scale wars for Europe, that is, the struggle for hegemony on the European continent, and all European countries will be involved.

War is enough to destroy a strong country, but also to create a strong country, with the Eurasian Railway, for the war in Europe, we can not only sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, but also directly intervene in the European war when necessary, remember one point, if you want to get the maximum war dividends, you must intervene in the war. ”

This is the main reason for the construction of the Eurasian Railway? Yi Zhengxing and Zhao Liewen couldn't help but look at each other, and after a while, Yi Zhengxing said: "It's impossible for the world to be unified?" ”

"Of course not." Yi Zhizhi said: "The post-war world pattern may be four poles - China, Britain, the United States and Russia, it may be a three-legged stand - China, the United States and Europe or China, the United States and Russia, or it may be two camps facing each other, one country is dominant, and it is not impossible to dominate the situation of the others, but it is impossible to unify the world like Qin and China, but it is possible to have a currency hegemony similar to the hegemony of the pound sterling, which requires strong military strength as the backing. ”

Yi Zhengxing glanced at him with some doubts, and said: "The pound is directly linked to gold, and it can be exchanged for gold at any time, and the hegemony of the pound does not seem to have much practical effect ......." ”

"What if it's not pegged to gold?" Yi Zhizhi looked at him and said, "What would happen if paper money was only issued by credit, but could be used in all countries of the world?" ”

Yi Zhengxing was surprised: "How is that possible? It's just incredible...... ”

"Nothing is impossible." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Whether it is the gold standard or the silver standard or the gold and silver standard, sooner or later it will collapse and be eliminated, and the currencies of all countries will eventually implement a non-cashable monetary credit system, that is, credit money - by national law, the compulsory circulation of paper money that is not guaranteed by any precious metal." ”

"Green coins?" Yi Zhengxing blurted out.

"Not bad." Yi Zhizu said: "Green coin is credit currency, and it is the earliest credit currency in the world. ”

Zhao Liewen was puzzled: "In this case, why does the big shopkeeper still implement the gold standard and try to seize the gold mines in the Transvaal?" ”

After knocking on the ashes, Yi Zhicai said slowly: "From physical currency to credit currency, it will take at least a century, and if you want to implement monetary hegemony, you must first have a large enough gold reserves, at least the world's largest gold reserves." ”