After a lapse of six years, Xu Jie finally set foot on the territory of the British Empire again, compared to the Qing Empire's Beiyang Fleet that arrived in Britain not long ago, Xu Jie's arrival can be described as uneventful, but in the eyes of the British and Beiyang high-level leaders, only the high-level meeting between the two sides can really establish the cooperative relationship between the British Empire and the Beiyang. And that fleet is more just a show, cultivating some friendly atmosphere among the people.

Because of William's re-election, the historical Earl of Hyppelley was able to succeed him as Foreign Secretary. And after Xu Jie arrived, the official earl who was in charge of negotiating with Xu Jie. Beiyang is not an official Qing State, and there are some unsightly things in the cooperation between the British and Beiyang, so in order to avoid some unnecessary trouble, in the place of negotiation, the two sides are definitely in a villa in the London countryside. And the negotiators are also confined to a small range as much as possible.

"We came together for a common purpose and to preserve peace in the Far East. May we work closely together to keep a common enemy in check. "The opening remarks of the Earl of Chinberley were very friendly, but this does not mean that the negotiations can go smoothly.

"In order to support the development of Beiyang, the British Empire agreed to provide financial support to Beiyang in the form of low-interest loans, agreed to increase Beiyang's industrial strength by expanding the export of industrial machinery and technology to Beiyang, and allowed Beiyang to recruit a number of skilled workers within the British Empire." As soon as the Earl of Chinberley opened, he threw out this chicken rib that seemed to be very beautiful but actually had no content.

"I am very grateful for your kindness, but what I need now is a real cooperation. For example, the amount of the loan and the amount of interest to the ground. Xu Jie smiled and said with a friendly smile, "As for the second and third points, what I want to say is that even within the existing legal provisions, I Beiyang can still obtain what I need from the UK through legal channels." ”

"This depends on the sincerity of the Beiyang side, and the banks of the British Empire have sufficient pounds sterling to provide assistance for the development of the Beiyang. But this act of generosity requires everything in return from the Beiyang side, such as the treatment of the British and British goods within the Beiyang limits. The Earl of Chinberly said.

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't seem to have anything to do with our negotiation goals. Our goal is to contain Russian expansion in the Far East, not to expand the scope of British power in the Qing Kingdom, for which we cannot do anything in the Beiyang. Xu Jie flatly refused the British's request.

"Kids. There is no free lunch in the world, and if there is no compensation, why should the British Empire give Beiyang a lot of help? Count Chinberly said with a smile.

"It was because the British Empire needed the North Ocean to contain Russian expansion in the Far East. Will Britain now have a head-on conflict with Russia in order to contain it? This was not a matter of the Crimean War, when the allies were already on the side of the Russians. Xu Jie said solemnly, the implication of this remark is that the proximity of France and Russia has made the British who pursue glorious isolation very passive, and it is impossible for Britain to easily start a war with the Russians, because it is difficult for Britain to deal with South African affairs and fight with France and Russia at the same time.

"But I personally feel that you are more anxious for help from the British, for this is your homeland, after all. You can't afford to lose it. The Earl of Chinberly said calmly.

"Aid can come from a variety of sources, the Italian Navy has decided to provide our country with sufficiently advanced warships and extremely generous payment terms, and the German side has also provided a large amount of industrial and financial support to the Beiyang, you know, the good relations between the German Empire and the Beiyang have a long history. Relatively. Your country seems to be quite stingy with assistance to potential allies. Xu Jie's tone had a hint of sarcasm. …,

"Moreover, from the point of view of a naval admiral, the British Empire's superiority over the French and Russian navies is not very obvious, and more importantly, as the most powerful navy in the world, must maintain a considerable deterrent to all pretenders. I'm afraid that in addition to France and Russia, even countries like Italy, which is not too strong, and countries like Germany, whose navy is still very weak, are very dissatisfied with the British Empire's monopoly on the seas, right? Xu Jie said.

"That's a matter of the Admiralty, I'm the Foreign Secretary, and I'm not interested in the subject." Count Chinberly said with a calm face.

"Is that really the case? If I'm not mistaken, your deputy is supposed to be a naval officer, right? Xu Jie said meaningfully. As soon as he entered the door, Xu Jie was shocked, not because he saw the British Foreign Secretary, but because he actually saw the originator of the British War Cruisers! Fisher! The future British First Admiralty, the initiator of the Perfect Cat, has been criticized by countless people!

"But it's hard for us to accept this kind of clause that doesn't have any returns, and maybe you can get financial and technical support from other sources. But Beiyang needed the help of the British Empire in politics and diplomacy. This is definitely not something that money can buy. In the event of war, I am afraid that only the British Empire can provide a steady stream of help to your country. At the same time, the fleet of the British Empire could also deter the Russians from killing on the routes. "Earl Grimberly really didn't expect the other party to be so difficult, and now these false conditions seem to be unattractive.

"Mr. Earl. Your government needs to provide us with at least some real help, and we do not lack the skills and funds, but we lack a real ally. Do you understand? What we need is political, diplomatic and even military cooperation, once the North Ocean cannot organize the expansion of Russia in the Far East, then Britain will naturally not be able to stop the Russians thousands of miles away, and once the Far East becomes the sphere of influence of Russia, then India, the most brilliant jewel in the crown of the British Empire, will be directly threatened by Russia, and if I guess correctly, the Russians plan to occupy Afghanistan and then develop south, and to the south, it will be India. To help Beiyang is to help Britain itself. Xu Jie said sincerely.

"We are negotiating on an equal footing, and I hope that your country will not talk about aid as a handout. I can't afford to lose in Beiyang, but at the same time, the British Empire can't afford to lose either. In the face of the maritime power of France and Russia, the British Empire cannot back down, and I think as an Englishman, you can better appreciate the importance of the word sea power. After Xu Jie finished speaking, he decided to adjourn the meeting temporarily, after all, he needed the British to have a correct attitude to negotiate.

3 hours later, the Prime Minister's Mansion in Downing Street, England.

"This guy is just too tough. He was more talented than his teacher, and at the same time knew more about the situation in the world. The Duke of Chinberley grumbled at William Gladstone.

"If it's a mediocre person, there is no need for cooperation." William was not very annoyed. "The level of people who can use the various forces in the Beiyang system to defeat a country will certainly not be low, and only such people can help the British Empire resist the expansion of the Russians in the Far East."

"So what should we do now? The young admiral was asking for a bit of a high price, and he wanted Britain as his ally. Allies, on the other hand, represent the need to go to war directly at some point. And the cost of this direct entry into the war may be somewhat high, after all, the French and the Russians are allies. The Earl of Chinberly said in embarrassment.

"Then we can talk about alliances and only about aid, and we can just remove the previous conditions for expanding the scope of power." William Gladstone said. …,

"Then we're probably going to get a lot less." Earl Chinberly said.

"Now both the Italians and the Germans are making overtures to the North Sea. The French, although allies of the Russians, did not impose any restrictions on the export of some industrial products. You know, if the British Empire does not express itself, I am afraid that the British Empire's power in the Far East will not be expanded, but will be suppressed by other forces. William Gladstone said with some concern.

"The Qing people did not dare to do this, and they did not have the ability to challenge the power of the British Empire." Chingbury said contemptuously.

"The Qing people don't dare, but do you know the way? Kings are all lonely, Britain has no friends, and in the Far East, the British Empire is destined to not be able to invest much effort. It is estimated that after this military purchase, I am afraid that the first navy in the Far East will be the Qing navy. Moreover, if Russia had expanded in the Far East and the Qing had been reduced to Yellow Russia, the hegemony of the British Empire would have been seriously challenged, and to that extent, the two sides would need each other. William Gladstone said worriedly.

"Can we talk about financial aid first, but then everything else? Beiyang is not yet representative of his country. Let Beiyang use the money we give them to purchase our equipment and technology, if we can form a dependence on our country, we can better control this huge country. William Gladstone ultimately decided to get rid of the unrealistic ideas.

"Well, I think if it's just funding, it might be negotiated tomorrow. We don't need to be too positive. As long as the help provided is about the same as that of the Germans. Chingbury said. And what about Japan now? This is an excellent opportunity to take control of Japan. ”

"We can help Japan recover its economy and help Japan rebuild its army, but we must be vigilant on naval issues, not only because of Beiyang's reaction, but also because Japan as a nation cannot be trusted. The British Empire wanted to prop up Japan against Russia, but the country betrayed the British Empire for its own selfish gain. We can't help but take this as a warning. Until the Russians were defeated, Japan did not need a navy. It is only after the victory of the Qing Dynasty that we will need Japan to balance the growing influence of the dragon of the East. Of course, we also have to help the Russians at the right time to make it impossible for the Qing to win. In the future, Russia, Qing and Japan will be held in check with each other, and Britain will benefit the most. William Gladstone said with a smile.

Thanks to the book friend Shan Qingying and techie81 for the reward and the book friend Kongchen for the monthly ticket support~~ The next chapter will describe the new installation patrol of each country~~~.