The Bund, Shanghai, British Consulate General in Shanghai.

Consul Li Weihai held a telegram and walked briskly to the office on the second floor, knocked lightly on the door, and heard a low voice from inside, "Please come in." After that, he pushed open the door of the room, and when he arrived at the desk, he handed over the telegram and said: "Your Excellency, you have just received the telegram, the Bengal Taiping Army has infighting, the Wing King Shi Dakai and the Southern King Feng Yunshan led the troops to attack the Tianwang Palace in Dhaka, Hong Xiuquan was killed, and Shi Dakai became the new leader of the Bengal Taiping Army. ”

After reading the telegram, Wei Tuma had a gloomy face and did not say a word, this wing king Shi Dakai had been in the Yuanqi Navy for a long time, it was obvious that he was Yuanqi's person, and he controlled the Bengal Taiping Army at this juncture, which was tantamount to adding insult to injury for the British, and Yuanqi was equivalent to forming a two-sided attack on India.

Seeing that he was silent, Li Weihai said tentatively: "This is all towards the Persian Gulf?" ”

"It should be." Wei Tuma said and sighed lightly, things have become more and more tricky, in this case, once a war breaks out between the two countries, Yuan Qi will definitely not let go of India, which has only experienced a major uprising, it is not easy for India to settle down, if there is another large-scale war, it is very likely to get out of the control of Britain.

After a slight sigh, he said: "Immediately report this situation to the country, and attach another sentence, India can't mess up!" ”

After Li Weihai left, Wei Tuma got up and walked to the balcony to look west, he could feel that Yuan Qi's layout for India seemed to be for the Persian Gulf, but he couldn't understand what Yuan Qi spent a lot of energy trying to insert into the Persian Gulf. Is it for Persia? Britain and Russia are already chaotic enough in Persia, and what will happen if there is another Qing country?

Li Weihai quickly went and returned," Lord Granville's call back....... ”

After reading the telegram, Wei Tuma immediately instructed: "Prepare the carriage and go to the Zhennan Palace." ”

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

It was dog days, it was stuffy and hot outside, but there was a cool breeze in the study, and the ceiling was a beautiful ceiling fan that was rapidly rotating, making the room exceptionally cool.

After reading the telegram, Zhao Liewen put the telegram on the coffee table and pressed it with a paperweight, and then he pondered: "The big shopkeeper is pressing step by step, and the British who are pressing are out of breath, but this initiative to retreat and avoid war does not seem to be the style ......of the British." ”

"There's nothing strange about it." Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "The military forces deployed by Britain in the Persian Gulf are not strong, and it is undoubtedly a very wise choice to retreat and avoid war at this time, first, to avoid unnecessary casualties, and secondly, to avoid the outbreak of military conflict between the two countries and avoid the situation from getting out of control, which is to create conditions for negotiations between the two countries." ”

Yi Zhengxing interjected: "Will the British take the opportunity of negotiations to delay time in order to prepare for war?" ”

"I don't rule it out." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, for Britain, it is not easy to make this determination to fight a huge war in the East with all its national strength, and it is a war that is difficult to determine whether to win or lose, not to mention, it is even more difficult to .......make this determination when the European continent is in a turbulent period." ”

Before she finished speaking, Lin Meilian reported at the door: "The big treasurer, Mr. Wittoma, the British Minister to China, came to visit. ”

"It seems that the British are really in a hurry this time." Yi Zhixiang got up with a smile, "Go and greet you." ”

As soon as they met, Wei Tuoma smiled and said, "Your Highness really plans to let me stay in Shanghai for a while this time...... ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "The length of your stay in Shanghai depends entirely on the attitude of your country. ”

"That's the other way around." Wei Tuma smiled: "It should depend on the attitude of His Highness." ”

"It depends on the attitude of both of our countries." Yi Zhishu said as he stretched out his hand to be polite, and as soon as he entered the study, Wei Tuma's eyes were attracted by the ceiling fan hanging from the ceiling, "This is driven by an electric motor?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said with his jaw full: "Electric fan, an electrical appliance recently developed by Yuanqi." ”

Feeling the cool breeze, Wittoma felt a sigh in his heart, internal combustion engines, power plants, electric lights, telephones, electric fans, Shanghai, an emerging city, has begun to surpass London in many aspects, especially in the application of new inventions, Shanghai has shown great vitality and potential has surpassed all European and American cities.

Retracting his thoughts, he took out a document and handed it over, saying: "This is the "Agreement to Guarantee the Neutrality of Belgium" signed between China and the North German Confederation (Prussia) and France, and the Franco-Prussian War will not have the slightest impact on our country, because it is impossible for our country to be involved in the war on the European continent. ”

It was not surprising that England remained neutral in the Franco-Prussian War, but to say that England could not be involved in the war on the European continent, he did not believe it at all, whether it was World War I or World War II, Britain was inevitably involved.

After carefully reading the "Agreement on Guaranteeing the Neutrality of Belgium", he casually handed it to Yi Zhengxing, and then said: "Why does your country care so much about Belgium's neutrality? ”

Wittoma glanced at him and said: "Belgium is a permanently neutral country, and has been recognized and guaranteed by our country and France, Russia, Austria, Prussia and other countries, if Belgium's neutrality cannot be guaranteed, the death knell of European public law and public power will be sounded." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixiang was silent for a while, although he thought that England's efforts to ensure Belgium's neutrality were also to ensure the interests of England, but he could not refute it, because he knew very well that in World War I, Britain declared war on Germany because of Germany's invasion of Belgium.

The other party showed him the meaning of this "Agreement to Guarantee the Neutrality of Belgium" very clearly, this is to warn him that Britain will not be held back by the Franco-Prussian War, and if they dare to infringe on British interests, war will break out!

After a slight groan, he said, "Your country is judging that Prussia will win this war, right?" However, there are many factors that determine the outcome of the war, what if France wins? ”

If France wins, there is no doubt that France will return to the glory of the Napoleonic era and become the hegemon of Europe again, posing a serious threat to Britain itself, but also to British colonies overseas!

Wei Tuma naturally knew what the other party meant, and immediately said: "Since the agreement has been signed, no matter how the war develops, it is impossible for our country to get involved in this war. ”

After a pause, he continued: "The fundamental principle of China's foreign policy is that as long as it does not involve China's interests, it will try to stay out of the matter, some people call it isolationism, and to put it bluntly, China must rely on external resources to ensure its own strength, so it must do everything possible to ensure China's overseas interests and the security of sea lanes." ”

These words can be said to be very sincere, and the threat is also obvious, but Yi Zhixiang smiled disapprovingly, "There are also important interests, since your country cares so much about its interests overseas, it should understand the trade-offs, and the big ones should be small."

What is your country's annual trade in and with the Persian Gulf? A mere £700,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the trade between our two countries, and do you feel that it is necessary for your country to go to war with us for the sake of the Persian Gulf, and to cut off trade and all economic cooperation between the two countries? ”

In recent years, the trade volume between the Qing and Britain has surged, has exceeded the 50 million pound mark, and still maintains a strong growth momentum, far from the Persian Gulf trade can be compared, the two are not at all comparable, not to mention that there is an India, although the other side does not mention India, but the threat to India is real.

After a little muttering, Wei Tuma said: "Your Excellency does not need to threaten the trade between the two countries and cut off the trade between the two countries, although the loss of our country is large, the loss of your country cannot be small, although the market of the Persian Gulf is small, but it has huge potential, and it is impossible for my country to give up." ”

"Didn't let your country give up the Persian Gulf." "All we need are a few ports on the northern shore of the Persian Gulf – ports on the coast from Bandar Abbas to Karachi, and our territory must extend to the Arabian Sea," said Yi without thinking. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Your country can rest assured that it will not pose a threat to India's security, and if your country agrees to a peaceful settlement, in exchange, Afghanistan can continue to exist as a vassal state of our country, and our country can not station troops and interfere in its internal and foreign affairs, so that it can become a buffer zone between the two countries." ”

Hearing this, Wei Tuma was quite moved, if he could ensure the security of India, he didn't need to care too much about the expansion of the Qing State into the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and more importantly, Britain was actually powerless to stop the expansion of the Qing State, let alone start a war with the Qing State, and even if it was a war, it might not be able to stop it.

After thinking about it, he said, "What about Bangladesh?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "The infighting of the Taiping Army in Bangladesh has nothing to do with us. ”

It does not matter? Some people believe that this is true! Wei Tuoma secretly slandered to himself, and he naturally understood what the other party meant, which meant that Bangladesh would continue to maintain its independence as a buffer zone between the two countries.

With such a big matter, he naturally didn't dare to express his position easily, and he didn't have this qualification, so he immediately changed his head, "Your Highness also said that the commodity market around the Persian Gulf is pitiful, why does Your Highness do everything possible to intervene?" ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled: "Didn't Your Excellency just say that this market is small but has huge potential. ”

"I will truthfully convey the meaning of Her Highness to Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister." Wei Tuoma said that he stood up and said goodbye politely, and when he left the courtyard gate, he still couldn't figure out the other party's intentions, from the Anxi Province of the Qing Kingdom to the south to the Arabian Sea, all the way was a desert with no people, worthless! Moreover, the Qing State is not a Russia that urgently needs access to the sea and warm water ports, the Qing State has countless excellent ports, and there is only one reason for thinking about it - out of the need to consolidate Central Asia!

Seeing Wei Tuma leave and turn back to the room, Zhao Liewen said, "How likely is it that the British will agree?" ”

Yi Zhishu asked rhetorically, "What does Huifu think?" ”

"Put yourself in their shoes, the possibilities should be great." Zhao Liewen smiled and said: "Russia's concentration of troops in the Caucasus should not be able to hide from the British, in the case of the unstable situation in Europe, Britain does not dare to fight with us in the East with all its strength, besides, the cost of war is too great for the British to bear, in the case of ensuring the security of India, more than one thing is better than one less." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded, "The Russians are gathering troops in the Caucasus, which is a huge threat to the whole of Europe, and the Franco-Prussian war will cause huge casualties to both sides, and if the British start a war with us in the east again, Europe will have no one to balance Russia." ”

Yi Zhengxing interjected: "If you don't go to war, you will still cheapen the Russians for nothing." ”

"Not necessarily." Zhao Liewen said: "If we don't go to war with Britain, Russia may not dare to send troops to the Persian Gulf, and Turkey, Iran and England will not allow it. ”

Yi Zhengxing said: "If Russia forcibly sends troops to the Persian Gulf, will we help or not?" ”

"That's a good question." Yi Zhixiang praised it without hesitation, and then said slowly: "China's strong intervention in the Persian Gulf, and a large-scale westward expedition, has broken the balance of the Middle East, as long as we invade Persia in the east and north, with the shrewdness and courage of the Russian Tsar Alexander II, it is very likely that we will forcibly send troops to the Persian Gulf!"

For Russia, this is a good opportunity to take advantage of the fire! If Russia forcibly sends troops to the Persian Gulf, it will undoubtedly be a rare opportunity for us to take advantage of the opportunity to wantonly annex Persian territory. ”

"The British will certainly not agree!" Zhao Liewen poured a basin of cold water, "The Russians going south to the Persian Gulf will greatly damage the interests of the British in the Persian Gulf, at least the Russians will not let Kuwait Port go." ”

"The situation is really going to be a mess, and we have become fragrant and sweet." Yi Zhengxing said with a smile: "The more chaotic, the better, and it is necessary to continue to encourage the Russians to send troops to the Persian Gulf." ”

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

Seeing Gladstone, he put down the telegram, and Foreign Secretary Granville spoke: "Allowing the Qing to expand into the Persian Gulf will inevitably destroy the existing pattern in the Middle East, and Russia's buildup of troops to the Caucasus will definitely not be just a bluff in response to the Qing Dynasty's westward expedition, but obviously also intends to expand into the Persian Gulf."

Once this situation is formed, Persia will be completely isolated, and sandwiched between Russia and the Qing State, it is only a matter of time before it is divided between the two countries, and our country will be completely expelled from the Persian Gulf by the Qing and Russia! For the sake of the interests of the empire in the Middle East, the Qing State must not be allowed to break the pattern of the Middle East! ”

Gladstone's voice was a little hoarse: "The pattern in the Middle East has been broken...... ”

What do you mean? Abandonment of the Persian Gulf? Granville hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, the Qing Kingdom should also be afraid of the outbreak of war, otherwise this quid pro quo ....... would not have been proposed. ”

Gladstone waved his hand, "It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that I don't want to go to war with us." ”