Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

After sending off the first batch of foreign students, it was as if a few strands of energy had been extracted from the entire Ryukyu. The entire atmosphere of the city became lonely for three whole days.

The Prime Minister's Manor was still busy, the Anglo-American envoys did not immediately leave the Ryukyu. Instead, they proposed to Xiao Letian a joint venture with the Pacific Cable Company.

Now that the Atlantic Telegraph Corporation had been formed, with its shares essentially taking over the major states of Europe and the United States, now that the business group had extended its reach to the Pacific Ocean, if the world were connected by submarine cables, the remaining land would be of no concern.

Xiao Letian was a little hesitant, but this old friend of Minister Hua Ruohan was panicking. He secretly brought Louis's priest to find Xiao Letian at night, hoping painfully that Xiao Letian would agree to this plan.

"My dear Xiao, please do not let these victories overwhelm you. The power of England is not something you can think of, and if you exclude the interests of England, they will definitely retaliate. Believe me, the Royal Navy is not something you can handle!"

How could Xiao Letian not know about this simple principle? Britain was in the Victorian era in the 19th century, and it was at its peak period. The total area of the country and the overseas colonies reached 36 million square kilometers, and the UK's total economy reached 70% of the world's economy every year.

"The plains of the North America and the Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa are our granaries; Canada and the Baltic are our pastures; Australia and Western Asia have our sheep pasture; Argentina and the western plains of the North America have our cattle; the Peru brought its silver; South Africa and Australia's gold flows to London; Indians and Chinese people grow our tea leaves; our coffee, sugar cane and spice plantations are all over the Indian Islands; Spain and France are our vineyards; the Mediterranean Sea is our orchard; our cotton fields, which have long been growing in the southern United States, are now extending to all warm regions of the Earth …"

The moment Xiao Letian finished speaking, Louis started laughing, "So it turns out that you've also heard of this proverb that was spread throughout England. I admit that even though this phrase is too arrogant, it's a fact …"

Hua Ruohan was relieved, since he knew the true power of Britain. With his intelligence, it would not be difficult for him to make the right decision.

"Xiao, you are a politician who knows how to work together to win. Bring along the British to earn money. Only by entangling with their interests can you protect yourself. Do you think the British will just watch you grow?"

Xiao Letian waved his hand: "Oh, dear old friend, you misunderstood me. It's not that I am opposed to this plan, but I am a little worried about the technology that can be used to travel across the Pacific Ocean …"

"You should know that the Atlantic cable failed three times before finally succeeding, and the Pacific Ocean is even more dangerous than the Atlantic Ocean. The world's deepest ocean trench, the largest ocean current, and the gigantic deep-sea animals. Whether it's whales or sharks, they can easily break the cable …"

"The difficulty is too great. We have to carry out technical upgrades of cables and complicated topographic exploration. My hesitation lies in this. I doubt that the current technology can complete this difficult task …"

Hearing Xiao Letian's words, Hua Ruohan was finally relieved, "You are really an Asian politician who cares about technology the most. Your worries are reasonable, I believe Sir Ai Liguo will understand your worries … "However, since you have already successfully laid a cable in East Asia, there is no reason why we cannot succeed in laying a second one!"

"No, no, no …" Dear Minister, the seabed of the Pacific Ocean is a very complicated place. "The Asian continent, especially China, is an ancient continent that has slowly embedded itself into the Pacific Ocean. From the Chinese coast all the way to the Ryukyu is actually a large gentle slope. I call it the continental shelf …"

"This kind of terrain is very suitable for laying the cables. We can even directly lay them in the sediment at the bottom of the sea. In less than three years, the sediment will cover the cables and protect them …"

"However, it is different on the east side of Ryukyu. The sea water depth is increasing rapidly, and the cables are mostly floating in the ocean, so it is impossible to not be sturdy in this kind of situation, and the risk of them accidentally breaking will increase as well. Therefore, the cost of later maintenance will be very high …"

"Since we're talking about business, I have to consider the issue of input-output. The more reliable the cable is, the lower the cost of maintenance for the later stages of the company, and the higher our profit..." Ryukyu's family background cannot compare to that of the United Kingdom, we cannot afford to fail a few times! "

Hua Ruohan patted Li De's shoulder as he stood up: "Since you have a reasonable introduction, then Ai Liguo can rest assured, I will be troubled and be your lobbyist again, I hope that we can sign a memorandum tomorrow, which will benefit both of us …"

Hua Ruohan left, leaving Louis to face Xiao Letian alone. Louis scratched his nose in embarrassment, "Mn … "Is there any wine? I want to drink a little …"

"Hmm? Didn't the Protestantism advocate for the prohibition of alcohol? "This is a classic violation of the rules …"

"Oh, my dear Shaw, who would know if you didn't say so? I need some wine to relax. I know you have good wine …"

A bottle of Bordeaux imported from France was opened. This bottle had long been frozen in the freezer and could be served at any time.

"Ah …" "The taste is really good, you really know how to enjoy it …" A cup of wine relieved Louis of his awkwardness, and then he finally went to the main point.

"I... Actually, I just wanted to convey the views of the Protestantism Elders, which is … just to confirm the things that you promised in the hamburger … "

See you at the end of the line, see you at the end of the line! Xiao Letian had already guessed the reason a long time ago. Apart from monogamy, there was nothing else that could force Louis to drink and talk.

"About my wife?" Secretary Li asked, causing Louis's face to flush red as she nodded her head.

"Don't blame me. After all, you have admitted your faith in the Protestantism in front of the whole world, and the Romans are cooperating with the French to create momentum. We will do our best to say hello, but the Pope is lying when they keep on attacking you …"

"We're doing this for your own good, really …"

It was the same in the history of France. They worked hard to serve the Catholic Church as their henchmen, and the past emperors were all loyal followers of the Pope. This was the most loyal headquarters of the Catholic Church.

This dark history dates back to the Thirty Years' War in Europe at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when orthodox Catholics and divided Protestantism had their own champions, and a protracted European war broke out between religion and interests.

It was laughable that France had been a supporter of the Protestantism at the time, but after the war it had fallen into the arms of the Catholics, and it seemed that what the Europeans called loyalty to God was all they needed.

The pope needed the tax and military protection of the secular state, and the royal family needed the pope's authority to control the people at the bottom. Everything was the same as business, so the division of Christianity was inevitable.

"I never thought that I, Xiao Letian, could count that green onion! They actually had to trouble the Roman Pope to open her mouth and attack them? Aren't you afraid of losing your status? " Xiao Letian said angrily.

"Oh, don't be angry. Napoleon III has a very close relationship with the Pope and had previously sent troops to help the Church to eradicate their heresy. How could you let them go so easily when you insulted them? "So you need to have an attitude right now …"

"Attitude? What attitude do you want? You did eat a lot of my wife's food in Beijing. You've met both of her wives before. "If you have the ability, go and mention it to my two daughter-in-law …"

"No no no, I won't say it, don't make it difficult for me, I've eaten too much of their cooking, I really don't have the face to open my mouth … "Besides, I won't go to the inner chamber of the Chinese people. Isn't that your taboo?"

"Xiao, just listen to my words of advice. It's just a monogamy in name and a legal process. In reality, who would care about how you live your life behind the scenes? "The nobles of Europe are monogamous, but there are countless lovers. These are all feints, I hope you understand …"

"Understand? That's impossible... This is a question of my future child's inheritance rights. Who will be the future owner of my career? To abandon any one would be unfair to her. How can I explain this to an unborn child? "

Xiao Letian slapped the table and said, "Enough with the nonsense, I will give you ten churches in one go. Help me cover this up."

"No, no, no, this is not a problem with the church..."

"Fifteen..."

"Oh, you are making things too difficult for me!"

"Twenty seats in a single bid, this is the last limit. Don't try to challenge my bottom line, otherwise it will make me angry!"

"Oh, Shaw... "Then I can only reluctantly tell you about it!"

Xiao Letian suddenly became spirited: "What do you mean? So you already have a plan? "You tricked me …" With that said, he rushed forward to pinch Louis's neck.

The two of them rolled on the ground and raised their fists. They fought intensely, but Dragon Lord outside the house just smiled and did not say anything.

Ten minutes later, the two of them were lying on the ground, panting heavily. Xiao Letian said with emotion, "Back then, when we met in the Yi County's mountains, we were crawling and fighting bandits on the ground. It was just two to three years of effort, it felt like a lifetime had passed!"

Louis was also filled with emotion: "What you said was all nonsense. At that time you were so poor that you didn't even have a single copper coin, but now you have become the Prime Minister of East Asia. Don't look at the short amount of time you have, but the quality of life you have is completely different..."

"What's the difference between your current life and that of an emperor's? With just a sentence, Japan has to send a boat to specifically send you abalones. You are using this method to prove your power, and you are putting on an act for others to see! "

"You changed, you really changed! Of course, as your old friend, I still like your change. All these years, I've been watching from the east, and I can only say that... Xiao Letian, you did a great job! "