African Nationhood

Chapter 160 Berlin Conference (Part ) Please subscribe! ! !

From 1884 to 1885, the most important thing for the Qing Dynasty in the far east was how to defeat the arrogant French.

The French not only swept through the Qing Dynasty's South China Sea navy and naval fortresses, but also controlled the Taiwan Strait and threatened to capture Taiwan Island.

The cause of all this was the struggle for the suzerainty of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam.

This war did not attract much attention internationally, because it only related to the interests of France and had nothing to do with other European powers.

They are paying more attention to the conference in Berlin, Germany. This will be an extremely important meeting, related to the vital interests of most European countries in Africa.

The cause of this meeting was mainly due to King Leopold II of Belgium. When he was still a prince, this king had fully realized that Belgium was a small country and its people were weak. If he wanted to strengthen his own heritage, he had to resort to external forces.

Therefore, he set his sights early on the African continent, which had not yet attracted the attention of many great powers.

In 1876, after Leopold II came to the throne, he established a foundation, invested tens of millions of francs, held international conferences, and eventually established the "International Association for the Exploration and Development of China-Africa."

Because the participants were all minor players, and His Majesty the King was a major benefactor, it was easy for the King to become the chairman of the association.

Then Leopold II found American Henry Morton Stanley to act as a front-row thug, and invested a large amount of money. After several years of hard exploration and operation, the Americans finally had more than 400 copies of the indigenous chiefs. The delivery of the territorial rights contract returned to Belgium.

Leopold II suddenly became the big boss in the Congo River Basin in Central Africa, which angered the French who had long been deeply involved in the Congo River Basin.

The Portuguese, who had colonized West Africa as early as the 15th century, stopped doing so. They also claimed territorial sovereignty over the Congo River Basin.

Now France, Belgium and Portugal are in a very unhappy situation.

Since the reunification of Germany in 1870, Prime Minister Bismarck has always asked the British to take care of Germans and German companies doing business abroad.

As Germany's national power grew, its citizens' self-confidence and national self-esteem expanded, and Germans abroad were no longer willing to rely on the British for asylum.

Therefore, domestic bourgeois politicians have called on Germany to establish its own national colony.

In order to balance domestic power and stabilize his position, Bismarck made an exception and allowed Germany to expand overseas colonies.

Faced with the disputes between France, Belgium, and Portugal, as well as the dissatisfaction within Germany, Bismarck also wanted to launch a sniper attack on Britain, the de facto king of the African continent.

After weighing the pros and cons, Bismarck decided to rely on his own influence and prestige to convene an international conference with the participation of many European countries.

There are three main topics for this meeting:

(1) To adjust the conditions most conducive to trade and the development of civilization in certain parts of Africa, and to guarantee to all nations the benefits of free navigation on the two principal rivers of Africa that flow into the Atlantic Ocean (the Congo and the Niger);
  (2) Eliminate future misunderstandings and disputes that may arise from new acts of occupation ("grabbing") on the African coast;
  (3) Further improve the spiritual and material welfare of local residents.

Not a single word in the three issues talks about how to carve up and plunder resources. Instead, they emphasize that Europeans are civilized people and saviors.

But what they brought to the indigenous people was not welfare, but extermination, enslavement and division.

……

But these have nothing to do with Shi Jintang. Since he met the British ambassador, he has been treated as a coolie.

First, he helped sort out the contract information signed by various indigenous chiefs, and helped introduce their race, sphere of influence and the meaning of their names. These are all important information.

If representatives from other countries ask what the name of this indigenous chief means, and you cannot answer, it will be easy for others to doubt the authenticity of the contract.

Therefore, Shi Jintang must explain clearly to the ambassador. At the same time, he must also act as a program explainer for the "Double C Plan" to help the ambassador understand the content and meaning of the program in detail.

When everything was ready, the big day, November 11th, arrived on time.

Representatives of ambassadors from various countries took Mercedes-Benz welcome cars prepared by Germany from their respective embassies and rushed to Bismarck's Prime Minister's Residence on Welheim Street in Berlin, which will be the main venue of the meeting.

Shi Jintang got into his own Model T car, not riding with the pudgy British Ambassador Sir Mallet.

The cabin of the Model T was still too crowded and far less spacious and comfortable than the later B-class cars. At 1: p.m., two T-model cars arrived outside the Prime Minister’s official residence on Wilhelm Street on time. Both sides of the street were filled with Mercedes-Benz cars, forming a unique scenery.

Journalists from various countries who came to report for this meeting naturally noticed this unique scenery.

They took photos one after another, and then looked for the driver of the Mercedes-Benz to learn more about this new form of transportation.

Mercedes-Benz drivers have received special training. They told reporters that this is a masterpiece of the Mercedes-Benz Automobile Factory in Stuttgart, Germany, the Model T.

As the drivers explained, reporters from various countries also passively conducted a large-scale soft article promotion for Mercedes-Benz.

Reporters at this time were very naive. They regarded new cars as novel machines and introduced them to most citizens of the civilized world around the world.

Let people form an inherent impression subconsciously: Mercedes-Benz cars are novel and easy to use!

……

When Shi Jintang followed the pudgy ambassador into the venue, all kinds of eyes in the scene were focused on them. The pudgy ambassador remained calm and composed, while Shi Jintang became the center of attention.

This yellow skin is too conspicuous among the white people!

Fortunately, this concern did not last long, because the delegates had more important things to worry about.

They are engaging in various links to isolate the British.

This is not a big deal to the British who have always adhered to the policy of "glorious isolation". No matter how you unite and work together, you will not be able to stop the British Empire from thriving.

Shi Jintang wandered around the venue alone, trying to find some familiar faces.

But apart from the British Ambassador, the only person at the scene who knew him well was the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Heimskerke.

But the Prime Minister deliberately turned his head and did not meet Shi Jintang's eyes, for fear that others would realize that the Dutch and Nanhua Company had colluded for a long time.

Shi Jintang was well prepared for this. He searched for a long time and finally saw a familiar face.

"His Royal Highness Prince William, hello!"

Prince William did not expect to meet Shi Jintang here.

"Why are you here?"

Shi Jintang shrugged and chuckled: "I am the general manager of the British Royal Nanhua Company. Of course I can appear here, but why is His Royal Highness here?"

Prince William was still angry about the last time Shi Jintang humiliated him. He said firmly: "My country is holding an international conference. Is it strange that I, as a member of the royal family, come to observe?"

Shi Jintang nodded, "His Royal Highness is right. I asked a stupid question. I want to apologize to you for my unintentional mistake last time. Please forgive me for my mistake."

Prince William saw how sincere Shi Jintang was, and then thought that this man of his age not only created the Mercedes-Benz car, but was also the person in charge of a colony. Such Qing people are still rare.

In addition, he was also very curious about the distant Qing Dynasty, so he waved his hand magnanimously, "Since you sincerely apologize, I will forgive you for the time being."

Shi Jintang immediately expressed his gratitude to His Highness the Prince for his magnanimity, and then the two of them discussed finding an opportunity to talk about the situation in the Qing Dynasty after the meeting.

While the two were talking, a majestic voice remembered: "The Prime Minister of the German Federation, Margrave Otto von Bismarck, has arrived!"

Everyone present looked at the stairs. It was an elder with a majestic face. Shi Jintang squinted slightly to see more clearly.

And next to him, Prince William's eyes glowed with admiration and admiration, hot and strong!
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  (End of this chapter)