Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 1286 Daming's Help Comes at a Price (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
The Emir and his party only stayed in Daming for three days. As soon as they left Zhongdu, the British arrived. The British special envoy, Marquis Lansdowne, was visiting. The reason why the British did not send a foreign minister was because the current British The Foreign Secretary is also the Prime Minister.

This is also a British tradition in this era, sometimes the prime minister will also serve as foreign secretary.

In fact, on the issue of whether to use force to finally solve the Boers, there have been less serious differences within the UK. In London, there are those who oppose the use of force, and of course there are those who support it, and the latter undoubtedly has the upper hand. Of course, the latter has the upper hand. The threat of public opinion and real interests. After all, public opinion has been advocating the use of force to solve the Boer problem and protect the interests of British expatriates.Of course, the essence is to return the gold mines to Britain, mainly to safeguard the interests of the empire.

The British people are generally very concerned about the Boolean issue, and they are completely concerned about their immediate interests-the company listed in London by Rand Gold Mine-South African Mining Company, its stock holders are all over the UK, and its shareholders are both wealthy and wealthy. There are millionaires and ordinary people, so the British people are more familiar with and concerned about South Africa than any other region.

Under the threat of public opinion and real interests, Britain chose war.

Because the so-called "Republic of South Africa" ​​is a landlocked country, in order to completely block this country, Britain naturally needs to conduct diplomatic negotiations with Ming, hoping that Ming will close the border.

"Close the border?" Zhuge Jun said directly after hearing the request from the Marquis of Lansdowne.

"This is impossible, Mr. Special Envoy, as you know, the Ming Empire is a country that believes in free trade. We will not close our borders now and in the future! Besides, we open our borders based on humanitarian considerations. After all, With the outbreak of war, there will be a large number of war refugees. The Boers are also members of the civilized world. How can we ignore their safety? Closing the border at this time will not keep refugees out. Besides, we have I promise to give the refugees the greatest possible help, Mr. Special Envoy, His Majesty the Ming Emperor's benevolent heart is unquestionable..."

What a cunning guy, despite thinking so in his heart, the Marquis of Lansdowne still smiled.

"Your Excellency, I hope you can understand that the closure I am referring to does not mean closing the entry channel for refugees, but the entry channel for war materials such as weapons and ammunition."

The Marquis of Lansdowne looked at the guy in front of him. In European diplomatic circles, Zhuge Jun's cunning is well known. In the past few years, diplomats from various countries who have dealt with him have not been able to take advantage of him. Too cheap.Now, if they want them to agree to block the border, the UK will definitely have to pay a price.

"This...weapons and ammunition? War supplies? Special Envoy, this seems a little difficult. According to the relevant laws of the Ming Empire, first of all, all kinds of supplies, including rifles, are the most common civilian commodities. Who bought them? , what it is used for, that is the customer's business, and has nothing to do with the empire, if it is blocked, it is also against the principle of free trade."

quibble!

The Marquis of Lansdowne's heart burst into flames for no reason. Is this their answer?
"Minister, we once supported your country's position on the Burmese issue, and we hope you can support the British position on the issue of the Transvaal Republic." When referring to Burma, Lansdowne The Marquis was so angry that he couldn't choose what to say when he spoke.

"If we hadn't considered your position, we would have occupied the whole of Myanmar long ago, instead of supporting your so-called "Myanmar Chinese Special Interest Theory."

What is the "Myanmar China's Special Interests Theory"? To put it bluntly, it is the recognition of China's suzerainty.If it weren't for the fact that the Ming Empire supported China's suzerainty, Britain might have already attacked Burma.

"No, no, we have to make it clear that the Transvaal issue is completely different from the Burmese issue. The former is an independent country and has no suzerainty relationship with the United Kingdom. But what about Burma? It has always been a vassal state of China. , The British occupation of Lower Burma has violated China's suzerainty, of course, this is a historical issue, we don't need to discuss these."

Zhuge Jun's answer made Marquis Lansdowne even more angry.

"You can't say that. The Transvaal issue is just a small matter in southern Africa. We hope to get your country's support on this issue, just like we have some support for your country around the world. , we don’t want to see it, which leads to a direct confrontation between the two wise countries, and according to the agreement reached between us, we believe that the Transvaal is the British sphere of influence. In this case, any support from your country to them is Injury to the interests of the British Empire, which the British Empire will never ignore."

"Is this a threat?"

Zhuge Jun said.

"No, it's not a threat, it's..."

After a pause, the Marquis of Lansdowne said.

"Just like you will not accept our annexation of Myanmar, you have your sphere of influence, and the UK also has the UK's sphere of influence. I think there is no need for our two countries to affect the relationship between us for the sake of problems thousands of miles away... ..."

"Um……"

After a little silence, Zhuge Jun said.

"For the sake of the friendship between Ming and Britain, we can make some concessions. For example, we can ban weapons and ammunition from entering the Bechuanaland Special Zone during the war!"

What's the point of banning it now?

The empire has already transported tens of thousands of tons of supplies, enough supplies to fight to the last Boer, to the border area through various channels. Moreover, on the land of Ming Dynasty, this prohibition...is a joke in itself!

"That is enough, Your Excellency, and I believe that cooperation between our two countries will serve our common interests."

The Marquis of Lansdowne calmed down a little and said.

"For our common good!"

Zhuge Jun said directly.

"Compensation! We need some kind of compensation. After all, we cooperated with you on this issue. We always need some compensation, just like after you supported us on the Myanmar issue, we supported your actions in other regions."

"what do you mean……"

The Marquis of Lansdowne hesitated and asked.

"Where do you want?"

""Trusil Oman"..."

Zhuge Jun directly reported the offer price of the Ming Empire, which is a British protectorate, and it has another name in another world—the United Arab Emirates!

Well, it is also a well-known country of local tyrants... and it is also that kind of tyrant and inhumane.

Of course, in this day and age there is only sand, nothing but sand.

"Trusil Oman!"

At least for a moment, the Marquis of Lansdowne couldn't even remember where that place was, but it must be a small place not worth mentioning, since that's the case.

After thinking about it, the Marquis of Lansdowne said.

"Of course we can negotiate on this issue, but what? We also need to negotiate with you on your position in this war."

(End of this chapter)