Simmonstown, Cape Town, South Africa.

Simonstown, near False Bay, Cape of Hope, has been an important military location since the Dutch occupation, in 1741 the Dutch built a naval base here, in 1795 after the British seized Cape Town from the Dutch, continue to expand, now has become one of the largest overseas military ports in England, Simon Military Port.

Accompanied by Foreign Minister Granville and his entourage, Yi Zhengxing visited the largest military port in South Africa with great interest.

The negotiations between the two sides reached an impasse at the beginning, and although Yi Zhengxing made some concessions, Granville could not accept it, and after learning of Yi Zhengxing's identity and learning that he had grown up in London, he simply suspended the negotiations and invited the other party to visit Simon Military Port.

For a whole day, Granville never mentioned the matters involved in the negotiations, but talked about London, the Qing students, the exposition, etc., and the next day, he invited Yi Zhengxing to go to Table Mountain to enjoy the scenery, the third day to the Cape of Good Hope, and the fourth day to see the penguins, as if he had come to Cape Town for vacation, completely forgetting about the negotiations between the two countries.

The other party is not in a hurry, Yi Zhengxing is naturally not in a hurry, he is leisurely and happy every day, and he does not mention topics related to negotiations, and the time flies for a week, Granville can't hold his breath after all, after all, this negotiation should not be delayed for too long, and he cannot stay in Cape Town for a long time.

On this day, in the official cabin of the ship heading to Seal Island, Granville deliberately separated the people around him, looked at Yi Zhengxing and said slowly: "The Franco-Prussian War, the victory of Germany, the claim of five billion francs for the war reparations, and the occupation of the Alsace-Lorraine region, which is rich in coal and iron resources.

It seems to me that this is the highest war reparations in history, and it seems to me that it would be extremely unwise for Germany to make a claim against countries such as Ottoman Turkey, Mexico, Persia, etc., which have no development potential and can never pose a threat.

However, it is undoubtedly extremely unwise for a country like France, which is itself a world military power and has unlimited war potential, because Germany cannot destroy France, and once France becomes strong, it will inevitably take revenge, which is tantamount to setting up a strong enemy of life and death, and in the long run, the gains outweigh the losses. ”

Yi Zhengxing naturally understood the meaning of these words, and the other party was reminding him that there was no need for the Qing Dynasty to set up a long-term enemy for himself for temporary gain like Germany. The two got along quite well during this time, and since the other party couldn't help but start knocking on the side, he didn't go around in circles, and said straightly: "What is Your Excellency's bottom line?" ”

"We need to end this war with dignity." Granville did not hesitate to say that during this time he not only accompanied Yi Zhengxing on his tours, but also had a long conversation with the Governor of Cape Town and the generals of the expeditionary force to understand the situation, and he concluded that the Qing Kingdom would not embarrass them too much, at least not like France.

After a slight sigh, Yi Zhengxing said: "With all due respect, if it weren't for the sake of saving a little dignity for your country, the expeditionary force led by General Pinel probably wouldn't have had a chance to return to Cape Town safely." ”

After a pause, he continued: "As the two great empires of the East and the West, we have no fundamental conflict of interests, on the contrary, our two countries also have a common interest - East-West trade, no matter what the circumstances, the advantages of East-West trade and shipping are irreplaceable.

Our two countries have a long history of commercial and trade exchanges, close economic exchanges, which cannot be replaced by any one country, and I believe that this relationship will be maintained in a long-term and stable manner, and will continue to develop.

From a commercial and economic point of view, our two countries have a relationship of prosperity and loss, so we will carefully consider maintaining the dignity that your country deserves.

However, after all, this war was provoked by your country, and we must also give an explanation to our country, the example of the Franco-Prussian War is the first, and the country generally has high expectations for this negotiation. ”

Listening to these words, Granville couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, it seems that the previous judgment was correct, Qingguo is indeed not as reasonable as Germany, since this attitude is this, this negotiation will not be as difficult as previously imagined.

Moreover, in these words, the other party can be said to tell them very clearly that the Qing State will not affect the trade between the Qing and Britain and the interests of Britain in the Qing Kingdom because of the Eurasian Railway.

With a slight mutter, he simply made it clear, "Although the total volume of trade between the East and the West is continuing to grow, the growth rate is slow, and once the large railway through Europe and Asia built by your country is completed and opened to traffic, it will inevitably have a big impact on maritime trade." ”

Yi Zhengxing said unhurriedly: "The construction of the Eurasian Railway is mainly aimed at the landlocked countries of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and the impact on the maritime trade between your and us can be said to be minimal, besides, the main purpose of this railway is to consolidate the northwest of our country, and the military significance is greater than the economic significance." ”

The so-called military significance is greater than the economic significance, which is undoubtedly a warning to Britain not to try to interfere, this meaning, Granville naturally understood as soon as he heard it, in fact, in the current situation, even if England wants to interfere, it is also powerless, if South Africa wins the war, there is still the possibility of interference.

Glancing at him, Yi Zhengxing continued: "In addition, the total trade volume between the East and the West has not grown slowly in recent years, but the trade volume of the Pacific Ocean has been increasing, dispersing the total trade volume between the East and the West. ”

Hearing this, Granville was silent for a long time, he knew that what the other party said was the truth, the United States went westward and actively built a railroad connecting the east and west coasts, not only because of the discovery of gold in the west, but also because of the needs of Pacific trade, which between the Qing and the United States had grown very rapidly in recent years.

He couldn't help but worry, the Qing country not only developed fast and was good at building a trade network, whether it was Pacific trade or Eurasian land trade, there were extremely broad prospects, so it would not be many years before the world economic center could move eastward, and the Qing country would replace England as the new world economic center!

Soon, he pulled his thoughts back and said, "What kind of explanation does your country need?" ”

Yi Zhengxing smiled when he heard it, "Naturally, it's a ....... of compensation and land cession." ”

Granville laughed, "Not the Persian Gulf? ”

"If Your Excellency knows, why do you knowingly ask?" Yi Zhengxing said unabashedly: "What is your country's attitude towards the Persian Gulf?" ”

Granville said bluntly: "The Persian Gulf is about the security of the Middle East, to be precise, the Persian Gulf is about the Mediterranean, about Europe, about the safety of the Suez Canal, and we will not give up." ”

Yi Zhengxing sneered: "Your Excellency seems to have forgotten that the shares of the Suez Canal were transferred to your country by our country, not to mention the Persian Empire, at least the Ottoman Turkish Empire, our country is not interested in it, and our country has no intention of threatening Europe, or that it has no intention of expanding its sphere of influence to the Mediterranean." ”

Listening to this, Granville did not say anything for a long time, the Qing State expanded its territory to the Persian Gulf, and actively built the Northwest Railway, the influence on the Persian Empire has long exceeded that of England and Russia, this is an undeniable fact, if the Qing State really has no ambition for Ottoman Turkey, no ambition for the Mediterranean, it seems that there is no need to care too much, after all, the shares of the Suez Canal were indeed sold by the Qing State to England.

However, why is the Qing Kingdom bound to win Persia? Granville was very puzzled in his heart, the Qing Kingdom itself has a vast territory, a large population, a prosperous economy, and is the largest market in the world, so he will not look at the market of the Bosda Empire at all, why do he care so much about the Persian Gulf?