Qing State, to be precise, should be the intention of the great treasurer of Yuanqi is very clear, that is, to expand to the Persian Gulf at the lowest cost and in the shortest time! It is better to avoid a large-scale war between the Qing and the British, and if a war breaks out, the other side is not afraid.

In fact, the Qing State dared to send the main fleet of the Nanyang Navy directly to the Persian Gulf, and deliberately provoked an incident, making it clear that it was preparing to occupy the Strait of Hormuz and control the Persian Gulf without declaring war, resulting in the fait accompli of the occupation. This is all about the rhythm of provoking war.

Moreover, while provoking, the other side carried out careful planning and deployment, threatening Britain not to go to war, sending troops to Afghanistan, a coup d'état in Bangladesh, posing a threat to India from the east and west, and encouraging Russia to send troops from the Caucasus. Bare. A naked threat, an undisguised threat!

On one side is a provocation, on the other side is a threat, how can it be said that it is afraid, is there such a fear? It can only be said that the other side does not want a large-scale war between the two countries to break out, and does not want the cost of this expansion to be too high and the delay too long!

"Call back to Wittoma." Gladstone's voice sounded very low, "Bandar Abbas holds the Strait of Hormuz, its strategic position is very important, it cannot be allowed, Karachi is the most important grain export port in eastern India, and it cannot be allowed, the coastal ports between these two ports can be ceded to the Qing State, but it cannot be given away .......in vain." ”

As soon as he heard this, Granville became anxious and hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, the Qing Kingdom is ambitious, and it has formed an alliance with Russia, once it expands into the Persian Gulf, it will pose a great threat to Persia, Arabia and even Turkey, and the parliamentarians will not agree to ....... ”

"If you don't agree, you can only start a war with the Qing Kingdom!" Gladstone raised his head to look at him, and said in a calm tone: "The current situation does not allow us to wage a large-scale war in the Far East, and we are not sure of winning this war, and for the Empire, this is a meaningless war, if we lose, the Empire will lose the interests of India and the Far East, and if we win, what can we gain?" A huge fiscal deficit or a bad relationship between the two countries?

Also, once a war breaks out between the Qing and the British, Russia will inevitably take the opportunity to expand into the Persian Gulf or Turkey, who will contain Russia? Prussia and France are at war, and if we start a war with the Qing in the Far East at this time, Prussia and France, no matter who wins the war, will unscrupulously annex each other and dominate Europe, and then the whole of Europe will be plunged into war. ”

Listening to these words, Granville was speechless for a long time, no matter what kind of situation is not what England wants to see, it seems that the Qing State has a very thorough view of the situation in Europe, so it will take advantage of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War to expand into the Persian Gulf with great fanfare.

"The main danger at the moment is not from the Qing state, but from Russia." Gladstone said in a deep voice: "Russia cannot be allowed to send troops from the Caucasus, otherwise the whole Middle East will fall into war, and the empire may also be involved."

Turkey and Persia must unite to resist Russian expansion to the south, we can supply both countries with large quantities of arms, and at the same time, let the Mediterranean fleet enter the Black Sea and spread the word, and we must also demand that the Qing not join forces with Russia to invade Persia. ”

Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman.

At the turn of summer and autumn, there are many cyclones in the Arabian Sea, the wind and waves are high, but after entering the Gulf of Oman, the wind and waves are calm, the sky is blue, the sea is blue, the sea and the sky are refreshing, in this kind of good weather, the crew and passengers of the ocean-going fleet will generally go to the deck to breathe, and the officers and men of the Nanyang Navy Fleet and the supply fleet and the transport fleet of the expedition to the Persian Gulf are naturally no exception, and they have flocked to Class A to enjoy the sea scenery and idle chat.

On the bridge of the flagship 'Zhiyuan', Xiao Mingliang held a cigar and looked idly at the sea in front of him, which seemed to be unchanged, and had a feeling of being bored, originally he also thought that this time he would have the opportunity to go south to the Persian Gulf and have the opportunity to fight with the world's first-class navy, but after the fleet entered the Gulf of Oman, he received the news from the clipper ship from Muscat - all the ports along the Gulf of Oman, including the British troops in Bandar Abbas, which guards the Strait of Hormuz, have withdrawn, for him, There was a feeling of a heavy punch on the cotton, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

Located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Oman, not far from Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz, Jask Port was the first port occupied by the British invasion of the Persian Gulf, and it is also one of the busiest and richest ports in the Gulf of Oman.

With the evacuation of the British warships and garrison officers and Western merchants, the news of the invasion of the Qing Empire's navy in the East also spread rapidly, and the merchants and local people in the port followed the evacuation to escape the war.

When a large black spot appeared on the calm sea, the entire port of Jask fell into extreme panic, and the Persian garrison that was still holding on quickly organized the withdrawal, but the scale of the Qing Navy exceeded their expectations, that large black spot, rough estimate is at least five or six hundred ships, it is rumored that the Qing Navy sent more than 100 warships to attack, obviously not an exaggeration, just with their hundreds of people, even the gap between the teeth is not enough, what can you do if you don't run? Besides, even the British have run away, and they have no reason to hold on.

The whole city panicked, only the Chinese in Jarsk rejoiced, busy raising food and fresh meat, fruits and vegetables for the army, Qatar and Abbas broke out in succession of large-scale anti-Chinese riots, so that all the Chinese in the Persian Gulf were deeply disturbed, and the timely arrival of the Nanyang naval fleet undoubtedly gave them a backbone.

When they saw the familiar golden dragon flag fluttering on the huge fleet of ships gradually approaching on the sea, the Chinese of Jask broke out one cheer after another, and several clippers also quickly greeted the speeding fleet in the cheers.

On the flagship 'Zhiyuan', Xiao Mingliang listened to the report, "Huang Dianyuan of the South China Association asks to see." He hurriedly walked out, Huang Dianyuan, maybe others don't know, but he knows very well, this is the big shopkeeper Yi Zhizhi is a very important person, and the South China Association is also the largest gang of overseas Chinese, with branches all over the world, he really didn't expect that Huang Dianyuan would appear here, from this point it can also be seen that Yuan Qi attaches great importance to the Persian Gulf!

Huang Dianyuan had short hair, but he was wearing a long shirt, his beard was very clean, his waist was straight, he looked very energetic, he looked like he was in his early fifties, but Xiao Mingliang was clear, the other party was already fifty-seven or eighteen, and he was still a few steps away, so he stretched out his hand and smiled: "President Huang has always been a dragon who sees the head but not the end, but I didn't expect to see President Huang here." ”

Huang Dianyuan shook hands with him with a smile and said: "I have been wandering around Europe and America for the past few years, and I only came to the Persian Gulf at the beginning of the year. As he spoke, he said with concern: "I haven't seen the big shopkeeper for a few years, is he in good health?" ”

"Okay." Xiao Mingliang said with a smile: "The big shopkeeper pays attention to exercise and health, and his health has always been very good. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and said, "President Huang, please ——。 ”

Sitting down in the official cabin, Huang Dianyuan said straightly: "In accordance with the instructions of the chief treasurer, the South China Society has attached great importance to the development of the Persian Gulf over the years, and now there are branches of the South China Society in various ports around the Persian Gulf, and the congregation will do its best to cooperate with the actions of the army. ”

"With your association's best assistance, the navy will surely be like a fish in water." Xiao Mingliang said with a smile: "The big shopkeeper is far-sighted, and everything is planned in advance, which is really the blessing of Yuanqi." ”

Huang Dianyuan smiled and said: "The British garrisons in the Gulf of Oman, including Bandar Abbas, have retreated to the British naval base in the Persian Gulf, Port Bushehr, and the Persian garrisons have also retreated. ”

After a slight groan, Xiao Mingliang said, "What is the situation in Qatar?" ”

Glancing at him, Huang Dianyuan said: "Is Qatar occupying or destroying the country?" ”

"Destroy the country!" Xiao Mingliang said: "Kill chickens and make an example of monkeys!" ”

"Simple." Huang Dianyuan said simply: "Cut off the land passage, the strength of one brigade is enough to push horizontally!" ”

"Come on, go and invite Commander Yang of the New Sixth Army to come." Xiao Mingliang instructed the outside world, this kind of battle to destroy the country, the most suitable is the New Sixth Army, Huang Dianyuan smiled when he heard it, he naturally heard of the record of the New Sixth Army in destroying the Japanese, "This time it can be said that it is a knife to kill chickens, and even Bahrain Island will be destroyed." ”

Xiao Mingliang said with a smile: "If you want to destroy Bahrain, you must ask the big treasurer." ”

The Nanyang naval fleet occupied Jask without bloodshed, and the next day, it occupied Bandar Abbas, which was holding the Strait of Hormuz, without firing a single shot, and then divided 20,000 troops to Qatar, and the entire Persian Gulf fell into a panic.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

The Qing navy forcibly occupied Abbas and Jask, and then sent troops to Qatar, which was a heavy blow to England, which greatly dealt a blow to England and shook the reputation and status of England in the Persian Gulf, and in the face of this humiliating provocation, England had to compromise and concede, which made him extremely depressed!

Yi Zhizu did not greet him outside the study as usual this time, but stayed in the study and did not move, until Wei Tuma entered the room, he stood up and smiled: "I am very happy to see Your Excellency again so soon, I hope Your Excellency brings good news." ”

Wittoma said with a straight face: "Your country is challenging the bottom line of my Great Britain, isn't Your Highness worried about triggering a war between your two countries?" ”

"You may be seated ——。" Yi Zhixiang smiled and stretched out his hand to give up his seat, "My country has no intention of challenging your country's bottom line, but only hopes to open up the Arabian Sea passage to ensure the stability of our northwest China. The responsibility of the government.

As for provoking war, I am confident that your country, as a responsible European power, will not plunge the whole of Europe into war because of a little selfish gain. ”

Wei Tuoma still said with a straight face: "Your Highness is so unscrupulous because of this?" Your Highness can consider that once the situation in Europe stabilizes, will our country settle accounts after the fall? ”

Settle accounts after the fall? Yi Zhizhi sneered: "After the end of the Franco-Prussian War, your country is facing either a powerful and unified German Empire, or a powerful French Empire that has the potential to reproduce the glory of the Napoleonic era. As he spoke, he smiled and said, "Let's get down to business." ”

Of course, this is not unreasonable, and he also knows that the other party deliberately avoided Russia, and he groaned slightly, and he said: "The ports between Abbas and Karachi can be transferred to your country, but these two ports are not included, and this is already the biggest concession that our country can make." ”

What is the biggest concession that can be made? Does this count as three hundred taels of silver here? Yi Zhixiang secretly laughed in his heart, it seems that the British are not confident at all, but he also knows that this matter must not be too tough, otherwise it will leave hidden dangers.

After a period of silence, he spoke: "You can be allowed to continue to station troops in Bandar Abbas and jointly hold the Strait of Hormuz, as for the port of Karachi, our country must take it back, it belongs to Afghanistan." ”

Wei Tuoma frowned, "Your Highness is so aggressive, does it have to force the two countries to go to war?" ”

"If your country wants to provoke a war in the Far East, we will accompany you at any time." Yi Zhishu said almost word for word: "The control of the Strait of Hormuz, my country will not let go, and allowing your country to jointly control it is also the biggest concession my country has made." ”

Whoever controls the Strait of Hormuz will be able to control the Persian Gulf and let the Qing State spit out the port of Abbas that was swallowed in the stomach, this possibility is indeed not very large, and it can be said that it is the best result if it is jointly controlled by the two countries, and only after a slight groan, Wei Tuma said: "Karachi is an important port for grain exports in western India, and it cannot be allowed!" ”

"You have Mumbai, why do you want to dominate Karachi?" Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Compromise, we don't want both countries, return Karachi to Afghanistan." ”

Afghanistan is now a vassal state of the Qing State, what is the difference between this for Afghanistan and for the Qing State? If there is a difference, it is a good reputation, but what good reputation can England have for Afghanistan? Wei Tuma was speechless for a while, he was really unwilling to negotiate with the other party, this businessman-born Yuan Qi shopkeeper was too difficult, in addition to being very flexible.

After being silent for a while, he sighed lightly: "Your Excellency should know that our country has been operating Karachi for 30 years, and it has spent a lot of manpower, material, financial resources and energy to get Karachi to become what it is today, and we have also built the railway from Karachi to Gotry, and Your Highness thinks it will be handed over to Afghanistan, is it suitable?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a big grin: "Make a price, let's buy it!" ”