Seeing Wei Tuoma's depressed face, Yi Zhengxing couldn't help but laugh secretly, he really didn't expect Yi Zhishu to talk about the vassal state, if he can sit on the fact that Afghanistan is a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, then the invasion of Afghanistan is the internal affair of the Qing Dynasty, and Britain has no right to interfere, but didn't he say before that it was just a pretext? How did it happen to reconquest Afghanistan now?

Zhao Liewen sat upright, with a serious face, he had followed Yi Zhixin for many years, as soon as he heard this, he vaguely guessed that the other party must be making a fuss about Afghanistan, and it is very likely that he will use Afghanistan as a quid pro quo, Afghanistan can be called the land of four wars, once the Qing Dynasty occupies Afghanistan, and then cooperates with Bangladesh, it will constitute an east-west attack on the British-occupied India, and the British will absolutely not tolerate it.

For the importance of Afghanistan, Wittoma is naturally clear, but for the Anglo-Afghan war, which can be called a shame in the military history of the British Empire, he is also very impressed, and he finds that things are a little troublesome, not ordinary trouble!

If the Qing State insists that Afghanistan is a vassal state, then the Qing invasion of Afghanistan will become the internal affairs of the Qing State, so that Britain will become very passive, the shadow of the Anglo-Afghan war is still there, the trade between Britain and the Qing and the British investment in the Qing State have reached an unprecedented level, in this case, the domestic parliament will never agree to send troops to interfere in the internal affairs of the Qing Dynasty.

It is also unthinkable for Britain to sit back and watch the Qing annexation of Afghanistan, which is not only related to the security of India, but also stifles the possibility of British expansion in Central and West Asia, and this cannot be admitted! Afghanistan must not be recognized as a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty!

Thinking of this, Wei Tuma said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, more than a hundred years have passed, Afghanistan has changed dynasties, the original Durrani Dynasty no longer exists, and now Afghanistan is the Barak Dynasty. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhishu showed an extremely confident smile, "Your Excellency's news is also not well-informed, the current king of Afghanistan, Shir Ali Khan, when he succeeded to the throne the year before last, presented his credentials to His Majesty the Emperor of our country, called him a minister, and once again became a vassal state of our country. ”

And what's going on? Wei Tuma's face turned a little pale for a moment, the Qing State turned Afghanistan into a vassal state quietly, and there was not even a little rumor of it, this time the large-scale use of troops in the northwest was clearly to completely conquer Afghanistan!

Thinking of this, he didn't have the heart to talk any further, and hurriedly got up to say goodbye, he must immediately rush back to the consulate to report this important situation to China.

Seeing the back of Wei Tuma leaving in a hurry, Yi Zhengxing laughed softly: "How vast is the territory of my country's Tang Dynasty? ”

"No, we're vast." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "The territory of the Tang Dynasty in the northwest is quite vast, and Afghanistan was indeed a vassal state of our country at that time, subordinate to the Persian Protectorate and the Yueshi Protectorate, and the Great Yueshi recorded in the historical books is today's Afghanistan." ”

Zhao Liewen glanced at him and said tentatively: "The big treasurer is planning to exchange the Persian Gulf for not annexing Afghanistan as a condition?" ”

"It's still Huifu who sees it thoroughly." Yi Zhifen said with a smile: "Toss a little bit in the Persian Gulf first, and then negotiate with the British, this is the most important bargaining chip, for the security of India, the British may be willing to withdraw from the Persian Gulf." Although we are not afraid of war with Britain, it is naturally best not to go to war. ”

"Tick bell" A crisp ringtone rang, this is the telephone ringtone, Zhao Liewen hurriedly turned around and entered the house, but Yi Zhengxing said: "The telephone is much more convenient than the telegraph, when will it be as popular as the telegraph?" ”

"I'm afraid it's going to take a while." Yi Zhizu turned around and entered the house, and said as he walked: "There are still many technical defects in the current telephone, which greatly limits the popularity of telephones. ”

Soon, Zhao Liewen took the phone and turned around to report: "Yan Yangtian from the General Staff called that four days ago, a large-scale riot broke out in Doha Port, the pearl diving ship distribution port of the Qatari Emirate in the Persian Gulf, causing more than 260 casualties among our citizens....... ”

"The plan remains the same." Yi Zhizhi said without thinking: "Capture Bandar Abbas first, and then destroy Qatar." ”

After repeating Yi Zhi's order to the phone, Zhao Liewen put down the phone and hesitated: "Bandar Abbas is a port controlled by the British, right?" ”

Yi Zhizhi nodded, "The British control four ports in the Persian Gulf - Muscat, Abbas, Bahrain, and Kuwait, and Bandar Abbas, which is holding the Strait of Hormuz, is the most important. ”

Is this the bottom line to directly provoke the British? Zhao Liewen said worriedly: "Won't it directly cause a war?" ”

"Don't worry, the British should not rush to war with us until the situation of the Franco-Prussian War is clear." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Of course, we are also ready for war. ”

Yi Zhengxing was puzzled: "Why didn't the British rush to war with us before the situation of the Franco-Prussian War became clear?" ”

"The reason is simple." Yi Zhicontentment said: "The situation in Europe is closely related to the British mainland, and once a powerful power country emerges on the European continent, it will pose a threat to the British mainland.

At present, all European countries, including Britain, actually believe that France has a greater chance of winning in this war, and Britain absolutely does not want France to continue to grow, and once Prussia is defeated, Britain will inevitably intervene, so as not to make France too strong and dominate Europe.

The main fleet of the South Seas is going south to the Persian Gulf, and if Britain wants to start a war, it must go all out, in other words, Britain is now in a dilemma, and the so-called lesser of two evils, in order to balance the pattern of Europe, the British can only let us toss in the Persian Gulf first. ”

Nodding slightly, Yi Zhengxing then asked, "Then what is the situation in Qatar?" ”

"Qatar is not in the sphere of influence of the British." Yi Zhizhi said: "And the location of Qatar on the peninsula is very superior, which is suitable for us to occupy directly. ”

10 Downing Street, Westminster District, London, United Kingdom.

Sixty-one-year-old British Prime Minister William Yurt Gladstone looked wearily at the agreements signed with the North German Confederation and France respectively guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium, in which England pledged not to intervene in the Franco-Prussian war.

When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, England only cared about its core interests, that is, to ensure the neutrality of Belgium, and for more than half a century, England pursued a foreign policy of 'non-interference' on the European continent, and England first promised not to get involved in the war on the European continent, which was a unanimous decision inside and outside the parliament.

In fact, he also knew very well in his heart that even if he wanted to intervene, he was powerless, and the strength of the British army was not as strong as the economy, during this period, Britain's army was only 110,000, and the navy was only 60,000.

For the Franco-Prussian War, he was actually more optimistic about Prussia, judging from the performance of the Prussian Army in the Prussian-Danish War and the Austro-Prussian War, it was not inferior to the French army, which was known as the world's largest army, and in terms of diplomacy, Prussia also occupied an absolute advantage, France could almost be said to be completely isolated, and Bismarck painstakingly created the opportunity to fight with France for many years, and he must have a great grasp of it.

In his view, the unification of Prussia over France was not a bad thing for England, and a strong and united Germany, which could both contain Russian ambitions and become an intermediate force against France, was the best security measure to prevent a repeat of Napoleon's nightmare.

Moreover, Germany's interests in the East, which did not conflict with those of Great Britain, could also be a force to protect Belgium and the English Channel, thereby reducing England's dependence on France.

In short, in his opinion, the Franco-Prussian War would obviously have more advantages than disadvantages for England if Prussia had won!

Of course, the war is full of too many uncertainties, although Prussia is fully prepared, has the confidence of victory, but the French world's first army is not in vain, once the balance of war is tilted to France, even if England is neutral, it must also come forward to mediate, France's strength is strong, not only to the whole of Europe is a great threat, but also a nightmare for England.

After carefully examining the two agreements for the protection of Belgian neutrality, Gladstone took up his pen and signed his name neatly, and then breathed a long sigh of relief, when the secretary quickly came in and presented a telegram, saying: "This is a telegram from Shanghai from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord Granville, and from the Minister to China, Wittoma. ”

After receiving the telegram, Gladstone sat up straight, Afghanistan became a vassal state of the Qing State two years ago, the Qing army is sending troops to conquer Afghanistan on a large scale, and the main fleet of the Qing Navy is heading south to the Arabian Sea, and the target is suspected to be the Persian Gulf!

What does Qingguo want to do? Annexation of Afghanistan, involvement in the Persian Gulf, power has been extended to the Arabian Sea, to the west can compete with Britain and Russia for Persia, to the east can threaten India, by the way, with Britain and Russia can also compete for the commodity market in the Middle East, expand influence in the Middle East!

Is this an anticipation of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, the turmoil in Europe, and the lack of time to look to the East? That's too daring! Even if you occupy Central Asia, you will directly reach out to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf!

Putting down the telegram, he picked up the pipe on the table and knocked it gently, slowly filled the tobacco, struck a match and lit it, he smoked silently with his pipe, all along, he attached great importance to Asia, in his opinion, England is no longer a European country, but the center of a huge maritime empire, the borders of the empire extend to the farthest oceans, and the main interests are in Asia, from this point of view, England is actually more of an Asian country than a European country!

In recent years, the Qing State has risen strongly, gradually annexed all the small countries that originally belonged to the Qing vassal states around it, and incorporated them into the territory of the Qing State and become an inseparable part, while the British plan to gradually expand to the east has been purified, the territory, population, market, and strength of the Qing State are also rapidly expanding, and now it has reached the point where it poses a serious threat to India, and it can no longer be connived up, and if it continues to be connived, India will be lost sooner or later!

However, the Qing state's external expansion has always been steady, so why is it so risky this time? Just saw the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and decided that Britain would not go to war in the East at this time? Russia! Will the Qing join forces with Russia?

Russia has been fighting with Britain for control of Persia, and Russia has been struggling to find an outlet to the sea and a warm-water port in India, and has long coveted the Persian Gulf.

Thinking of this, his heart couldn't help but sink, if the Qing Kingdom and Russia joined forces, it would be a big trouble!

"Your Excellency." A secretary reported at the door: "Lord Granville, the Foreign Secretary, has said that there is an urgent ......." ”

"Ask him to come in." Gladstone said calmly.

As soon as Granville, who was in a hurry, came in, he said straightforwardly: "Your Excellency, I have just received a telegram that Russia is massing troops in the Caucasus on a large scale, and in addition, large-scale unrest has broken out in Bandar Abbas and Qatar in the Persian Gulf, and hundreds of Chinese have died in the turmoil in both places. ”

Qing and Russia have really joined forces! Gladstone's heart sank to the bottom, and as for the hundreds of Chinese who died in the turmoil between Abbas and Qatar, it was obviously a bitter ploy to create an excuse for the Qing Navy to start a war!

After being silent for a long time, he said with some difficulty: "Immediately telegraph and order the Abbas defenders to evacuate and not clash head-on with the Qing army." ”

Avoiding war? Granville hesitated for a moment before he said, "This is a matter ...... the Empire's interests in Asia. ”

Gladstone waved his hand to interrupt him, "Qing and Russia join forces, don't rush to war, and avoid a head-on conflict for .....the time being." After a pause, he continued: "Call back to Wittoma, and ask him to talk to the great treasurer of Yuanqi...... and tell him clearly that the Franco-Prussian War has nothing to do with our country, and that the Belgian neutrality agreement can be disclosed to him."

In addition, tell him about the principles of our foreign policy - imperial interests, a strong navy, the balance of power in Europe, and the preservation of peace. Among them, the interests of the empire are in the first place, and in order to protect our interests in Asia, our country will go all out to the east! This is not a threat! ”

In the past 30 years, the British two Crusades, although they took some advantage, but they were both lost troops and suffered heavy casualties, Granville felt a little resistant to the large-scale Crusades, he hesitated: "Can the negotiations be resolved?" ”

"How do you know if you don't try?" Gladstone glanced at him, "Even if there is going to be a war, it will take enough time to prepare, and it is best to talk first, and it is best to resolve it peacefully." ”

Peaceful settlement? Granville didn't dare to hold out much hope for this, Qingguo was menacing this time, and it was an active provocation, if you want to solve it peacefully, I am afraid that you will have to pay a lot of price, how can those parliamentarians in the country agree?