afterglow

Chapter 311 Chapter [-] Private meeting; cooperation has advantages and disadvantages

"Huh? Expensive?"

Zhou Changfeng, who didn't know why, came over, pointed to the porcelain pot on the table and said, "I asked a question when I was doing business before, and the emperor said she didn't like this, so he asked me to bring it back."

Oh Gong Cha, then it all makes sense.

Xia Xiaoshi nodded lightly and said: "Sir, it's normal if you don't know, I think this should be Wuyishan Dahongpao, and I'm afraid it's the one with the best appearance."

"Is it very expensive...how much?"

"That's for sure. Someone once asked my father to give it to me. It is said that the top-grade Dahongpao is worth sixty yuan a catty in the market."

Outrageous, higher than the monthly salary of most of the capital's citizens.

This drink is not tea, it's like drinking gold.

Zhou Changfeng stared at the can of tea, put his hips on his hips and said, "Then make tea with it later, and see how different it is from the one that costs eight cents a bag."

After finishing speaking, he added: "Do you remember what I said yesterday? I'm going to the Tonghui Hotel for a banquet later. This time I'm talking with foreign diplomats."

"Oh, remember." Xia Xiaoshi reminded: "Just a few drinks, don't drink too much, I feel uncomfortable smelling the wine now."

"Okay, okay, never drink too much."

Zhou Changfeng fully agreed, and then went back to the study to read the memo again, and then began to think about the situation when he met with the staff of the German Society embassy.

Although the cabinet did not intend to shut him out bluntly, but it did not want to start negotiations directly, so it planned to meet in private before the two parties formally negotiated to exchange views and attitudes.

The meeting place was chosen to be at Tonghui Hotel. In addition to Zhou Changfeng, there were also members of the Army Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and Wailang, a member of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Ministry of Rites, who represented the emperor, the military department, and the imperial court respectively.

The golden autumn of October should have been a beautiful day with clear skies, but unfortunately it has been raining in the capital for the past two days, and the sky is gloomy.

In the evening, the setting sun only slightly dyed a small part of the western sky red, and the rest of the place was extremely dark. Before six o'clock, all kinds of cars and trams driving on the street turned on their lights.

Two sleek black Beetle cars drove out of the German Society's embassy in Daming, and drove straight to Tonghui Hotel, which was three streets away.

This is the pioneering work of Volkswagen, and perhaps this time it is more worthy of the name of Volkswagen People's Car.

Different from the "scam" in history, where only more than 600 Beetles were sold for civilian use, in order to prove the superiority of its own system, the German society implemented the people's car plan early, and Ferdinand Porsche personally manipulated himself 's proud work.

However, because of the shape design, today's Beetle sedan is slightly different from the history.

In the first car, the man driving turned his head and said: "Chris, this is really a coincidence, they appointed that person who is familiar with you."

"They did it on purpose." Chris, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, looked ahead and said calmly, "Actually, I don't want to deal with that person."

"Uh... I rarely hear you say that."

"In fact, he is more vigilant and sensitive than others, and maybe there will be no considerable gains today."

The wipers swiped back and forth to scrape the rainwater on the front windshield. Since it was evening and there was a lot of traffic, the two Beetle cars could only move forward slowly.

I don't know how many times they switched gears back and forth, but they finally arrived at their destination.

There were two men and one woman at the embassy attending the meeting. Chris was wearing a blue and white plaid dress and a beige top hat. Although the other two diplomats were dressed in suits and ties, they generally seemed more casual.

Enter the door, enter the elevator, and detour all the way under the guidance.

Naturally, the unofficial private meeting would not be very formal, just a few words of pleasantries, and then each of them took their seats.

In a separate large private room, there is a carpet with exquisite patterns on the bottom, a large copper chandelier on the top, and a medium-sized round table in the middle.

Although they are old acquaintances in a sense, Zhou Changfeng always feels that meeting Chris is very awkward and very uncomfortable.

This is probably the "deterrence" of professional characteristics-knowing that the other party is an intelligence officer, so subconsciously, you will be extra vigilant, and you have to think twice about every word, so it will be quite tiring.

"You guys don't need to be cautious, we are just talking in private, so we can be more comfortable." Fan Ming, the army officer, said with a smile: "Haha, speak freely, speak freely."

Looking at the simple and honest Fan Ming, he is definitely not a good person, otherwise he would not be able to hold this position. At least Zhou Changfeng felt that he would suffer a loss when dealing with this kind of person. The experience of 20 years of ups and downs in the officialdom is not fake.

The implication of his words was not to take this private meeting too seriously, which was essentially just a preliminary exchange of opinions between the two parties;

As diplomats of the legation, the two Germans had long learned to discriminate the external voice of Ming officials, and they knew it as soon as they heard it.

So, one of the diplomats said in fluent Chinese:
"Dear gentlemen, the current situation is not good. While the British are trying their best to restrict our country, they are also doing everything possible to hinder you."

"Most of the large amount of oil you need depends on imports, so it doesn't feel good to be choked by the neck, and the people of our country have the same experience."

"Unlike you who have enough iron ore for your own use, our country not only lacks oil, but also does not have enough iron ore, and even food cannot be fully guaranteed."

"In this regard, gentlemen, I think our people have the same troubles as yours. The predatory colonial rule of Britain and France must come to an end."

According to Nasha, the diplomat should have said "British and French imperialism", but since the current conversation partner is also out-and-out imperialism, naturally he cannot use such words.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Wai Langzhang Wushan has kept a straight face from the beginning to now. He is a tall, thin man who is not angry and arrogant.

He asked calmly: "Mr. Paul, what do you mean by 'ending the colonial rule of Britain and France'?"

Asking knowingly and throwing the topic ball back, this is a basic conversation game operation-try to let the other party express their attitude and put forward their opinions first, so that one's own side will naturally have an advantage.

However, because they came here with a clear purpose, the two German diplomats did not want to play word games.

So the diplomat named Paul replied generously: "Of course it is by force, Mr. Zhang. When diplomacy and politics are ineffective, soldiers, artillery, and aircraft are the strong backing for safeguarding interests."

"So, you are ready for tough measures?" Zhang Wushan said indifferently, paused, and added: "We must be preparing."

It is not appropriate to ask the other party blindly, which will make one's own side seem insincere and overly vigilant, but it can be avoided by mentioning one's own situation occasionally.

The two diplomats on the opposite side didn't make a sound. They looked at each other, and then looked at Chris sitting on the far left in unison.

She took a sip of the wine and said calmly: "We are always ready. There is enough oppression from Britain and France. These are two bastards working together. Just like you want to 'make a name for yourself', we are also waiting for the right time."

uh-huh?This woman's Chinese proficiency has improved qualitatively, not only her articulation is much clearer, her tone of voice is also basically accurate, and she can also use idioms.

The so-called timing couldn't be more clear-now Britain and France are continuing to make a fuss about Norway and Sweden, and are even considering landing in Norway directly.

The higher-ups of Ming Dynasty knew this information, and so did the German Society.

Zhou Changfeng glanced at the two people beside him, then looked at the opposite side and said in thought: "Since you are considering a late attack, how long will you wait? I mean after Britain and France start to act."

"Soon!" Chris replied coldly with a blank face: "These unscrupulous imperialists have blatantly invaded a neutral country, then they must pay the due price, and we will bury them, Scandinavia The ice and snow of the world are their graves."

Because of her family background and her three views as a ▇▇▇ person, Chris's hatred of Britain and France is deeply rooted in her bones.

Uh uh... You used such radical words in front of Ming people?
Fortunately, it was only a private meeting. If it was a formal negotiation, it would be a diplomatic accident.

Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he heard the words, and then looked to the side - Fan Ming was still as stable as Mount Tai, his face did not change, and he was still kind; Zhang Wushan's eyes were sharper, but his face was still expressionless.

He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "In that case, your navy will have to fight, but facing the (British) Royal Navy, which has a natural advantage, you are likely to suffer a big loss."

This is the case in the Norwegian battle in history. The German Navy suffered heavy losses-the cruisers Blücher and Karlsruhe were sunk; ten destroyers were unilaterally slaughtered by the battlecruisers of the Royal Navy in Narvik. All sunk.

"Mr. Zhou, are you dissuading us?" Another diplomat said in a deep voice: "Our will is very firm, and war will inevitably have a price, but this is not business, and we cannot care about gains and losses like this."

"No," Zhou Changfeng smiled slightly, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm just talking, in fact, you should be more optimistic, because the British will prepare a large fleet to come to the Far East in order to deter our country. "

As the topic gradually deepened, the atmosphere in the room also changed subtly.

Although the Germans knew that there was no possibility of an alliance, they still wanted to try to get some cooperation agreement-military, intelligence, material, and technology.

Wouldn't it be nice to have everyone get what they need?
"There is an old saying in China, 'We make friends at a distance and attack at a distance'." The diplomat named Paul said earnestly: "Gentlemen, no matter how big our differences are, in the face of a common enemy, even if we cannot feel at ease, Together, but wouldn't it be worth considering a little cooperation?"

Fan Ming stroked his beard lightly, smiled without saying a word.

Zhang Wushan looked at him with a calm expression, and asked, "What kind of cooperation? For example, regular exchange of some useful information? Or a barter transaction?"

"The highest priority should be information exchange." Chris said bluntly: "It's called 'check for omissions' to avoid missing important information."

Daming knows that A does not know B, and the German Society knows that B does not know A. This situation can be avoided if information is exchanged regularly.

After a pause, she added: "If you are willing to share your decision, we will be happy to respond."

Apparently, this goes one step further...or rather, one gets to the top.

Information exchange is actually nothing, but the span of informing the country's decision-making is too large, and even two allies who form an alliance will each keep a hand.

"Why is that so?" Fan Ming said with a smile: "With your country's national strength and military strength, it is no problem to seek self-protection. Your country and our country... only need to echo each other from afar."

Compared with Fan Ming's polite refusal, Zhou Changfeng was much more straightforward. He waved his hand and said flatly, "I don't consider the decision-making aspect. The matter is of great importance. The technical and material aspects are worth discussing, and can even be expanded and deepened."

"We can basically keep nothing, but you also have to pay something of equal value." Chris also responded very readily.

"In this case, there are advantages and no disadvantages in cooperation." Zhang Wushan picked up the wine cup and took a sip.

At this time, another German diplomat sighed helplessly: "Since the British and French intercepted merchant ships at the Suez Canal, our country has never received rare metal minerals."

The cargo ship Cheng An is still detained in Beirut to this day, and the crew are also trapped in that remote foreign country.

The French side actually didn't want to completely sever the relationship with Daming - it was enough to intercept and detain the merchant ship, let them be released.

However, the United Kingdom has been standing in the way, insisting that unless the Ming court publicly admits that it violated the agreement, it will never release these crew members as "evidence".

Over the past few months, the three parties have been wrangling and bargaining, and the Ming court deliberately publicized this matter, and the people are naturally outraged.

[War Support +5%]

Today's German society is quite embarrassed in terms of rare metal resources.Portugal also has a large reserve of tungsten ore. Historically, it has been doing business at both ends during the war, so Germany has always had a stable source of tungsten ore—not abundant, but barely enough.

But this plane is completely different. Due to the differences in ideology, it is naturally impossible for Portugal to export to Germany. What's more, Britain and France have taken all the tungsten mines produced in Portugal without worrying about making money.

"In the future, we can consider a more special method, using a large ocean-going submarine." Zhou Changfeng said.

"It's too inefficient." Paul smiled wryly, "It would be great if the Russians were willing to obey others."

Rail transport is naturally a better option, but will the Russians... really agree?
This is equivalent to handing a knife to a potential enemy, which may turn back and stab you at any time.

Perhaps because of drinking a lot of wine, Chrissy's fair face turned slightly red, and her words became even more inappropriate.

"There is no need for the decaying Romanov dynasty to exist. These Imperial Russia nobles will definitely be buried. The current Imperial Russia is like a broken thatched hut in the wilderness. It only needs a 'finishing kick', and it will collapse..."

Oh, God!what are you saying!
Paul next to her quickly tugged at the hem of her skirt.

　The air force emblem style easter egg patch has been updated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)