The city of Tianjin has restored the prosperity and hustle and bustle of the past, but the streets and alleys are less familiar with the old Tianjin's familiar star, and there are more unfamiliar patrolmen wearing Western-style black uniforms, and several burned churches at the fork are being demolished, which is said to be rebuilt.

The eyes and topics of the government and the opposition have shifted to the Prussian-French war that broke out in Europe tens of thousands of miles away, but the topic of discussion among the officials, gentry, businessmen and common people in Tianjin is still the lesson plan! Because there are still many prisoners in front of the county government every day, and the felons in the cage outside the Qinchayuan Gate are still rotating day and night.

Not only did these prisoners affect the hearts of the people of Tianjin all the time, but they were also worried about the seemingly endless negotiations between Lord Qincha and the foreigners, and in their opinion, the final conclusion of this lesson plan completely depended on this negotiation.

During this time, the most popular business in Tianjin is the teahouse, which is overcrowded from morning to night, and the topics of discussion also revolve around the lesson plan.

The West Wind Tea House in the south of Jinhua Bridge outside the north gate is a famous teahouse in Tianjin, close to noon, the lobby is still full, and there is a noisy talk.

"The newspaper said that Prussia was also a great power in the West, and France should have no time to pay attention to this lesson plan when France went to war with it, so why can't it be discussed?"

"It's hard to say, don't you say it in the newspapers, this French army is the first in the world, I'm afraid France will win this war!"

"I'm the first, what is the number one in the world, if the French Army is the first in the world, what is the number of our Qing Army?"

"Well said! Then what is the world's first purely Westerners to put gold on their faces, our army of the Qing Dynasty was in Beijing and Tianjin, but the British, French, Spanish and Dutch coalition forces were all over the ground looking for teeth, France ranked first, and our Qing Dynasty ranked first? ”

"That's all the old yellow calendar, our Qing Army is so strong, why do you have to look at the faces of Westerners in a lesson plan?"

"Who looks at the faces of Westerners? Didn't Lord Qincha let the Westerners eat the closed door? However, I have heard that the purpose of this negotiation is to deprive foreign clergy of their right to preach and to abolish the privileges of the foreign concession. ”

"Really? If that were the case, it would be a great pleasure! ”

"Everyone, everyone." A middle-aged man in a long robe walked into the lobby quickly, raised the newspaper in his hand and said loudly: "The latest news, the "Securities News" published the news that the Shanghai Stock Exchange is preparing to launch French treasury bonds with an annual interest of 6 cents. ”

There was a quiet moment in the lobby, and then there was a bang, the Tianjin teaching case is mainly aimed at France, and now the case is not closed, Yuan Qi is helping France to sell national bonds!

"Could it be that Yuan Qi wants to ease relations with France in this way?"

"Is it really afraid of France?"

"It's not that there is no possibility of this...... the newspaper made it clear that this is the first foreign treasury bond launched by the Shanghai Stock Exchange."

"This Yuanqi is acting more and more incomprehensibly...... fart is a big thing, it's not over to kill people with money, and we have to underwrite the national debt to others, and we have lost all the face of the Qing Dynasty!"

"No matter what, I guess the negotiations should be over now."

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Yi Zhizu put down the information in his hand and got up and walked to the large map of Central and West Asia hanging on the wall, searched the map, and soon found Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

In 1839, in order to prevent the Russians from controlling Afghanistan, the British sent 30,000 troops to invade Afghanistan and captured the capital Kabul, but they encountered extremely stubborn resistance, heavy casualties, and when retreating from Kabul, more than 16,000 people were wiped out, only one military doctor escaped, and the British then increased their troops and captured Kabul again, and the Anglo-Afghan war that lasted three and a half years finally ended with the withdrawal of British troops.

In this Anglo-Afghan war, Britain lost more than 30,000 people, costing 1500 million pounds, the losses were so heavy that they were unique, for Britain, this was not a fiasco, but a shame, the army of the most powerful country in the world was almost completely destroyed by the tribal countries with backward weapons!

The British army concluded after the war that the labor expedition was poor, the logistics supply was poor, the supply lines were too long, it was vulnerable to attack, and Afghanistan itself was too barren to raise supplies on the spot to support a long-term war.

In addition, Afghanistan is mainly mountainous, with complex terrain and harsh climate, the British army is not adapted, and the local indigenous people are active in deep mountains and dense forests, which are difficult to clear, which is also a major reason.

Seeing Yi Zhi's contented eyes staring at Afghanistan, Zhao Liewen and Yi Zhengxing glanced at each other, and also got up to follow, the two did not know the detailed route of the western expedition, but after reading the information of the Anglo-Afghan war, they were very worried, "Big boss, judging from the information of the Anglo-Afghan war, Afghanistan is different from Central Asian countries, and may resist stubbornly in the face of foreign invasion." ”

Yi Zhizu took out a cigarette and lit one, and then said slowly: "Afghanistan is located at the intersection of the four major geopolitical plates of East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia, and has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times.

For us, the capture of Afghanistan would not only consolidate Central Asia, but also threaten the Persian Empire in West Asia and India in South Asia. ”

As soon as the words fell, Yi Zhengxing said: "Father, the British will never allow us to occupy Afghanistan out of concern for India's security!" "For the British, this is more difficult for them to accept than our occupation of the Persian Gulf, and the fact that the British started the Anglo-Afghan war is in itself enough to show the importance they attach to Afghanistan."

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "When the British hit Afghanistan, they wanted to use Afghanistan as a springboard to enter Central Asia. ”

Yi Zhengxing said-for-tat: "The British are also afraid that we will use Afghanistan as a springboard to enter India!" ”

Seeing this situation, Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "I am worried that I will encounter stubborn resistance in Afghanistan and sabotage the plan of the big boss to seize the Persian Gulf. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixin couldn't help but smile, "The northwest expansion has been planned for several years, what you can think of, how can I not think of it?" Although Afghanistan is known as the 'crossroads of Central Asia', it has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times, but it is also a place where birds do not lay eggs, desolate and barren to the extreme, in their own words, it is a land of stones and people. I have no interest for the time being, it is better to keep him as a buffer zone between us and the UK. ”

Zhao Liewen was stunned when he heard this, "Don't fight Afghanistan?" ”

Yi Zhizu chuckled: "It's just a loan." ”

"Borrow? Would Afghanistan agree to such a large number of troops crossing the border? Zhao Liewen looked incredulous, "Aren't they worried about our false ways?" ”

"Feng Renxuan and Li Hongzhang have not been idle in Anxi all these years." Yi Zhizhi said and folded back to his chair and took a sip of tea, he knows more about Afghanistan than the British, although Afghanistan is not big in later generations, it is famous, known as the 'grave of the empire' Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States have invaded Afghanistan one after another, but they have not been able to make Afghanistan succumb, but they have paid a high price - heavy casualties and staggering military spending.

Afghanistan is like an unfathomable quagmire of war, whoever steps into it will bring out the mud on both legs, how can Yi Zhicontent, who knows this very well, easily step into this quagmire?

Zhao Liewen chuckled and said, "We are worried about it in vain." ”

Yi Zhengxing, who followed slowly, said: "The Persian Gulf is the sphere of influence of the British, and the British forced a number of small countries in the Persian Gulf to sign the "General Peace Treaty of the Persian Gulf", which can be said to completely place the Persian Gulf under the protection of the British. ”

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him and said, "Have you thought about it carefully, why did you choose to expand northwest at this time and forcibly intervene in the Persian Gulf?" ”

Yi Zhengxing hesitated for a moment before he said: "Isn't it because of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War that England has no time to take care of Asia?" ”

"It's just to get a head start." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Once the Franco-Prussian War is over, or the situation of the Franco-Prussian War is clear, the attention of the British will shift to Asia. ”

Zhao Liewen hurriedly asked: "The big shopkeeper is ready to go to war with Britain?" ”

"Of course, if you dare to provoke, you must be ready for war." Yi Zhishu lightly knocked the cigarette ash, "Why did you choose this time period to carry out the western expedition, there are many reasons, but the main reason is that the British Navy warships are currently in the transition stage from sail warships to ironclad ships, and China's ironclad ships and naval guns are ahead of the UK, for our country, the British Navy is in a rare period of weakness, even if war breaks out, we are sure that we can win!" ”

Sure enough, there is confidence! Yi Zhengxing continued: "Are there other reasons? ”

"This is to break the casserole and ask the end." Yi Zhixiang quipped, and then said patiently: "At present, no one can clearly understand the great value of the Persian Gulf, in this case, our chances of grabbing the Persian Gulf will undoubtedly be much greater, and besides, occupation and assimilation will take a long process, at least two or three generations, and we will not have more time to waste ......." ”

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

"It's finally here." Yi Zhifen smiled: "A piece of Yingying, this is a China expert." ”

Having been in China for nearly 30 years and serving as a consul in Shanghai, he is no stranger to Yi Zhicontent, and can even be said to be more familiar, and when the two met and shook hands, he smiled and said: "Compared with Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin seem to be a century behind..... I miss Shanghai so much. ”

Yi Zhicontent said with a pun: "This time I came to Shanghai, Your Excellency can stay for a while longer." With that, he introduced Zhao Liewen and Yi Zhengxing to each other, and only after a few greetings did they enter the room.

After sitting down for tea, Wei Tuma said tentatively: "Your naval fleet's entry into the Indian Ocean is not a routine ocean-going training, right?" ”

"Not really." Yi Zhizhi said: "Recently, China's merchant fleet has been frequently attacked by pirates on the Arabian Sea, many merchant ships have been looted, and the property losses and casualties are very heavy. ”

Hundreds of warships and hundreds of transports needed to clear pirates and escort ships? Can it be said a little more outrageous? Although he knew that the other party was talking nonsense with his eyes open, it was inconvenient for Wei Tuma to say anything, and he groaned slightly, and then he pondered: "Maybe there are pirates in the Arabian Sea, but there can be no pirates in the Persian Gulf, and our country has signed the "General Peace Treaty of the Persian Gulf" with all the countries along the Persian Gulf, and there are also naval bases in the Persian Gulf, and there are fleets patrolling the Persian Gulf all year round to maintain order at sea. ”

The warning meaning of these words was very heavy, Yi Zhixiang glanced at him, and said: "The Persian Gulf is not as peaceful as Your Excellency said, and there are also merchant ships in our country that have been robbed in the Persian Gulf, Your Excellency should know that in recent years, China's maritime trade with Middle Eastern countries has increased significantly, and the merchant fleet on the Persian Gulf route is getting larger and larger, and we cannot ignore it. ”

Wittoma said in a deep voice: "If there are pirates in the waters of the Persian Gulf, our navy will do its best to eliminate them!" ”

"With the Great Depression in the United States and the Franco-Prussian War in Europe, we have to pay attention to maritime trade in the Middle East." Yi Zhizhi said unhurriedly: "If your country can ensure that there is a normal order in the Persian Gulf, it is naturally the best. ”

If the Qing fleet was only on the Arabian Sea, Britain would not be able to make irresponsible remarks, and Wittoma immediately changed his head, "I heard that your country has a large-scale military operation in Central Asia?" ”

"Your Excellency is well informed." Yi Zhishu said in a relaxed tone: "Recently, Afghanistan has been disobedient, and we are ready to send troops to recover it." ”

Reconquest of Afghanistan? Wittoma was stunned, "Afghanistan is a vassal state of your country?" ”

"yes." Yi Zhicontent looked at it for granted, "From the 7th century A.D. and from the Tang Dynasty of our country, Afghanistan belonged to my country's vassal states, and in 1759, that is, the twenty-fourth year of my country's Qianlong, Afghanistan still sent envoys to pay tribute to His Majesty the Emperor, which is well documented." ”

Wittoma is already speechless, it was a vassal state of your country in the seventh century, for more than a thousand years, how many times has Central Asia experienced turmoil, and how many countries have Afghanistan been conquered? This is also said, why don't you say that during the Yuan Dynasty, the whole of Asia and half of Europe were your vassal states! Isn't it a great place to have a long history?

In 1759, was Afghanistan a tributary state to the Qing state? Even if there is, it is the old yellow calendar, more than a hundred years have passed, Afghanistan has changed dynasties, and this vassal state is still valid?