After being stunned for a while, Yi Zhengxing and Zhao Liewen both thought of Yi Zhixing's prediction of the future pattern of the world a few days ago, the United States and Russia are countries that he values very much and have the qualifications to compete for world hegemony, and at that time he also vaguely pointed out that the rise of Russia was related to the war in Europe.

Yi is quite unexpected, if the rise of Russia is unstoppable, then the construction of the Qing-Russia railway is tantamount to a charcoal in the snow, will certainly greatly promote the relationship between the two countries, for the easy to be content with the vision and foresight, he has long been convinced, his assertions about Germany back then, has now been confirmed one by one.

After a slight sigh, he said: "Since Brother Guocheng can foresee the rise of Russia, why do you want to expand wantonly in the northwest, and buy Siberia to build a strong enemy for nothing?" ”

"The sixth master is asking an interesting question." Yi Zhizhi laughed and said: "Could it be that if we don't expand in the northwest and buy Siberia, Russia won't become a strong enemy of our country?" ”

Yi waved his hand and said: "Even if Russia is destined to rise, it will be in the future, is it necessary to fight with England, which is now known as the world's first power, for the sake of a Russia that can only rise in the future, or even a war?" ”

"Those who do not seek the world are not enough to seek a moment, and those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a domain." Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "How can you give up long-term benefits for the sake of immediate benefits? ”

Seeing that he seemed to be iron-hearted, Yi couldn't help but be a little anxious, but said patiently: "Whether it is the Transvaal Gold Mine or the Qing-Russia Railway, both of them have seriously damaged the interests of England. Once a war breaks out, no matter whether you win or lose, you will inevitably suffer heavy losses and lose your vitality. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhicontent's eyes suddenly became cold, and his voice became a little high-pitched, "It's not that I want to provoke a war between the two countries, it's that England is deceiving people too much!" What does the construction of railways in our country have to do with England? Why did you have to share the gold mines with England when you signed an agreement with the Transvaal to mine gold?

Today, Britain can interfere with our country's railway construction by force, will it interfere in China's internal affairs by force? If we can forcibly seize the right to mine gold today, will they rob our territory one day?

Your reply to Wittoma is a matter of our Qing Dynasty's national fortunes, even if a full-scale war breaks out with England, the Qing Dynasty will never make the slightest concession! In the battle of national fortune, I will accompany the country to the end! ”

These words were sonorous and powerful, faintly with the sound of gold and stone, Yi's face was a little pale, and he said distractedly: "Is it about my Qing Dynasty fortune?" ”

Nodding slowly, Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Even if the constitution is established, it is still the Qing Dynasty, and in the face of the fate of the country and the nation, personal honor and disgrace are nothing." ”

These words clearly hit him, and he was gloomy for a while, if a full-scale war broke out with England, wouldn't he, the prime minister, be completely a decoration? Since it is a battle of national fortune, how can he, as a member of the Qing Dynasty, not support it?

Despite his gloomy mood, he nodded and said in a low voice: "Since it is a battle of national fortunes, the Qing Dynasty should go all out, as a child of the royal family, how can I ignore the overall situation." ”

"That's very good." Yi Zhizhi slowed down his tone and said: "Kill a thousand enemies, lose eight hundred, and start a full-scale war, although our country will suffer heavy losses, England will inevitably be the same, for England, the biggest enemy is not my Qing Dynasty, but Germany."

The economic prosperity of the Qing Dynasty and the re-rise of Russia are more beneficial than disadvantageous to England, and I hope that England can make a correct judgment on the situation and not arbitrarily hinder China's economic development. You can relay this to Wittoma. ”

This is for him to convey to the British that the British should not easily provoke a war? Yi couldn't help but smile bitterly, both sides are actually unwilling to break out into a war, this is testing each other's bottom line? He immediately nodded, "I will truthfully convey Brother Guocheng's attitude to Wei Tuoma in the next meeting." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, "It's rare for the sixth master to come here, and at five o'clock I will set up a banquet for the sixth master to catch the wind and wash the dust." ”

This is to send off the guests, Yi smiled and got up and arched his hand: "Then go and reply to the British first." ”

got up and sent Yi to the door, Yi Zhishu stopped and ordered: "Okay, send King Gong on behalf of my father." Then he said goodbye.

The figure of Yi who was waiting for him to leave the courtyard before he turned back to the room, and Zhao Liewen followed in and said with a smile: "In the battle of national fortune, the big shopkeeper is not worried about scaring the British......?" ”

"The British Navy has dominated the seas for 200 years, and has taken the lead in completing the industrial revolution, and its industrial strength is the largest in the world. Yi Zhizhi said casually: "Moreover, the battle of national fortune is not a lie, the gold mines in the Transvaal are directly related to whether the Qing Dynasty can replace the hegemony of the British pound, and the Eurasian Railway is related to whether the Qing Dynasty can compete for hegemony in the future." If the two countries go to war, it will be a real battle of national fortunes for the Qing Dynasty! ”

British Consulate in Shanghai, Lounge.

After listening to Yi's retelling, Wei Tuma frowned and didn't say a word for a long time, the Qing State wanted to implement the gold standard, which should be true, and this can be confirmed from the fact that the Qing State continued to take the initiative to increase the gold and silver exchange ratio, in fact, he had already guessed that the Qing State was a major international trade country after all, and in the case of international trade settled in gold, in the case of large fluctuations in the gold and silver exchange ratio, if the gold standard was not implemented, it would be in an extremely disadvantageous situation.

To implement the gold standard, it is impossible for the Qing to let go of the Transvaal gold mines, after all, the implementation of the gold standard requires huge gold reserves, so South Africa has become a dead knot! England could not sit idly by and watch the Qing dominate the Transvaal's considerable gold mines.

As for the Eurasian Railway, England is even more intolerable, and the opening of Eurasian land trade is a huge and heavy blow to England, and it is also permanent and irreparable!

Germany is certainly England's main enemy in Europe, but why not Russia? What about the rising Qing State? The Qing Dynasty, which has not yet really risen, has now frequently extended its hand to the overseas colonies of England, and after it really rises, it will inevitably become a big problem for England!

After a long time, he sighed softly, "This has become a dead knot that cannot be untied." ”

Yi said in a sullen voice: "Over the years, your country has also discovered a lot of gold deposits in overseas colonies, why do you have to get involved in the Transvaal gold mines?" ”

Wittoma glanced at him and said, "If our country can give up the Transvaal gold mine, can your country give up the Eurasian Railway?" ”

Yi Zhixiang did not explain why he insisted on the construction of the Eurasian Railway, knowing that this railway might be more important than the Transvaal gold mine.

The other party who entered was silent, and Wei Toma didn't ask more, originally his plan was to let Yi first test Yi Zhi's contented attitude, leaving room for mediation, if there was room for negotiation, he would come forward to negotiate again, but now it seems that it is completely unnecessary, and the other party has no intention of making the slightest concession.

After sending Yi away and returning to his office, Wei Tuma immediately drafted a telegram to report Yuan Qi's attitude, carefully examined it, and attached a suggestion to take advantage of the Qing state's strong reaction to the Cape Town incident as much as possible to test the actual combat strength of the Qing navy in Cape Town.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Yi Zhengxing is also asking the same question, "Why is England still determined to acquire the Transvaal gold mine after discovering a large amount of gold deposits in its overseas colonies?" Just to hinder the implementation of the gold standard in our country? ”

Putting down the teacup, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "What is gold?" Gold is a natural currency, and for England, which implements the gold standard, gold is the pound, and England must have sufficient gold reserves to maintain the hegemony of the pound.

For the discovery of gold mines around the world, England has done everything possible to get a piece of the pie, and the frequent discovery of gold mines in the western part of the United States, England has also not let go, and it is estimated that tens of millions of British capital will be invested in gold mining in the west! ”

After a pause, he continued: "In addition to being a currency, gold is also purchasing power, what is the biggest crisis for the industrial age?" It is the lack of purchasing power, and the economic crises that frequently break out in Western countries are in essence insufficient purchasing power! If you study more about the causes of the economic crisis that has erupted in Europe over the years, you may wish to recruit some economists to study it together. ”

Yi Zhengxing nodded and said, "The child understands." ”

"The big shopkeeper." Zhao Liewen said slowly: "My country's territory is so vast, is there no large-scale gold mine? According to historical records, there are also many places in China where gold is produced. ”

"Of course, there are gold mines." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "No one can plunder the gold mines in our country, we can slowly explore and mine, and it can be regarded as a blessing for future generations. ”

10 Downing Street, London, Westminster, United Kingdom.

Foreign Secretary Granville walked briskly into his office, handed over a telegram, and said, "Your Excellency, Wittoma has called back, and Yuan Qi has rejected our offer and has taken an extremely tough attitude. ”

After taking the telegram and glancing at it a few times, Gladstone gently placed the telegram on the table, then picked up his pipe and filled it with tobacco, "What do you think of Wittoma's suggestion?" ”

Granville said cautiously: "Yuanqi has indeed been in the leading position in weapon research and development, Mini guns, rear-loading rifled rifles, metal bullets, and rear-loading rifled guns were all developed by Yuanqi first, and in the American Civil War, Yuanqi also sold a large number of arms to the United States.

For ten years, no one knows whether Yuanqi has developed a new type of weapon, but judging from Yuanqi's secret research and construction of ironclad ships, it is certain that the gap between the ironclad ships of the Qing Dynasty and our country will not be too big, and the gap lies in the industrial strength, and in terms of shipbuilding, the gap between the Qing and our country should be very large. ”

Using a lighter to light a pipe, Gladstone said: "During the Franco-Prussian War, Yuanqi also provided a batch of arms ...... to France. ”

"There's this." Granville said: "Yuan Qi mainly provides medicines and medical supplies, and there are also weapons, all of which are breech-loading rifled rifles, and the quantity is not large. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Since I don't know the true combat power of the Qing Navy, you might as well use Wei Tuma's suggestion to test it first. ”

After silently smoking a pot of cigarettes, Gladstone said slowly: "The Qing State is as ambitious as Russia, and it is the biggest threat to the Imperial Navy, so it is really necessary to test it, and let the newspaper exaggerate the fact that the Qing State occupied the Transvaal gold mine and wantonly killed our citizens, and it is better to exaggerate the facts, and also exaggerate the reserves of the Transvaal gold mine by the way." ”

This is to guide public opinion! Granville was overjoyed, and bowed slightly, "Your Excellency will be able to read the relevant reports from the major newspapers tomorrow." ”

Gladstone smiled and said, "However, the Cape Town incident cannot be staged in London, and the embassy, students, and all the banks and businesses in London must be protected, and don't forget, our country has the same number of citizens and assets in the Qing country." ”

On the third day, the British "Times", "The Guardian", "Daily Telegraph", "News of the World" and other large and small newspapers reported in conspicuous positions the discovery of huge gold reserves in the Transvaal, and that the Qing Dynasty, in order to monopolize gold mining, dispatched troops to carry out a heinous massacre of European miners who mined gold mines, resulting in the death of hundreds of gold miners, and more than 300 gold diggers in Britain died in the massacre of the Transvaal gold mines.

The Transvaal Gold Mine Massacre caused a great sensation as soon as it was reported, and it can be described as a great excitement, and gold rushes all over the world came and went, and every gold discovery had a huge attraction for the British who were eager to get rich overnight, and countless British people who were hungry for wealth flocked to the gold panning.

In order to occupy gold mining, the Qing State dispatched troops to carry out large-scale massacres, which was tantamount to breaking the British dream of gold mining, how not to make people angry, especially the newspapers also greatly exaggerated the extremely huge reserves of the Transvaal gold mines, and alarmisted that the Qing army's entry into the Transvaal also posed a huge threat to the diamond mines in Kimberley.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Cao Gensheng walked into the room quickly and reported loudly: "The big shopkeeper, London is calling, and the major newspapers in London have reported the Transvaal Gold Mine Massacre ....... ”

Looking at the national telegram, Yi Zhixiang casually transferred the newspaper to Yi Zhengxing, and sneered: "I didn't expect the British to sue the wicked first." ”

Zhao Liewen said: "Big shopkeeper, should we also let the newspaper play up the Cape Town incident?" ”

"The British are building momentum for sending troops to South Africa." Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "We should also create a momentum, and report the Cape Town incident in all newspapers, big and small, there is no need to exaggerate the number of casualties and losses, just report truthfully, and also report truthfully about the Transvaal mining incident, and you can publish the original note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." ”

After a pause, he continued: "I order all treaty ports and construction sites to ensure the personal safety and property safety of the local British, and not allow any diplomatic incidents. ”