Master Yuan, start!

South Africa is saved!

The yellow president is about to land in Britain!

Chapter 506 Arrival in London

Before the person arrives, his name is already known.

The first president of the Republic of China chose to visit the British Empire as his foreign itinerary, which undoubtedly contributed a lot of topics and heat to the London press.

After repeated publicity, even ordinary British children knew that a "President Yuan" was about to arrive in London.

After learning that Yuan Shikai was coming, Sir Claude MacDonald, the former British Minister to China, who was the first to return home, and British Foreign Secretary Joseph Chamberlain delivered a speech in the House of Commons to promote Sino-British cooperation.

They elaborated on the unique diplomatic friendship between Yuan Shikai and the British during the 1884 years from 1899 to 15.

They believe that there is currently no conflict of interest between China and the UK, the two countries' economies are highly complementary, and they are the most important partners in promoting peace and stability in East Asia and even the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

They also publicly praised Yuan Shikai for keeping his promises and abiding by the spirit of the contract, highly praised his initiative to send 10000 workers to South Africa ahead of schedule, and greatly appreciated his outstanding contributions to building a modern country, implementing compulsory education, improving people's welfare, and so on, and even praised him as the uncrowned emperor of Republican China.

If an American were here, he would definitely praise Yuan Shikai as the Washington of East Asia.

But it is a pity that Yuan Xiangcheng came to London, so the highest praise the British could give him could only be the emperor, rather than the leader of the former colony or in other words, the leader of the resistance against Britain, "Washington".

Is Yuan Xiangcheng oS: 2￥Lin Si]…、5、…liu Di’s real opinion is different.

But when he was still a local leader of the Qing Dynasty, he was able to establish modern industries in Korea and outside the Great Wall. His ability to control the pulse of the times and the direction of progress was obvious to all.

Later, he led a modern army to transform a feudal monarchy into a republic.

Faced with such achievements, even the most discerning political commentators in London had to admit that within 15 years, it was no exaggeration to describe it as great to have brought a semi-colonial feudal country with a population of 4 million to the level where it can compete with the second-tier powers in Europe and not be at a disadvantage.

What is even more commendable is that after winning the victory, he did not kill the losers like a barbarian, but gave very decent care to the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

In the eyes of the British, such a very "gentlemanly" behavior proved that Yuan Shikai was a civilized and noble leader.

The scene in which Yuan Shikai gave his final verdict on Emperor Guangxu's death at the Forbidden City in Beijing was photographed by reporters and appeared on the cover of the British magazine The Economist for the first time.

The Economist is a magazine founded in 1843. Although the word "economy" is in its name, it actually focuses more on global political perspectives and is known for its in-depth analysis and commentary.

Before the emergence of Time magazine in the United States, The Economist was the barometer of economics and politics in Europe and the United States, and the world's top news weekly, bar none.

The Economist praised Yuan Shikai highly, and in order to highlight his uniqueness, they also cited a ready-made negative example in the article to contrast with him.

That is another feudal autocratic state in the western part of the Eurasian continent, Ottoman Türkiye.

The Ottoman Empire reformed earlier than China and in more areas. They learned from the West in all aspects of economy, politics, people's livelihood, education, and military. But it seems that today, they still cannot get rid of the title of the Sick Man of West Asia.

So, who could not be curious when such a person came to visit Britain at its most difficult time?

When the cruisers Hailong and Haifeng, led by the British Far East Squadron task force, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and headed north to arrive at the Port of London.

The scene that day was so lively that it was not enough to describe it.

The scene was so terrifying that even the naval soldiers on the deck of the British warship felt as if a large number of ships had appeared in the ocean.

Mountains and seas of people.

Although London is the largest city in Europe and has always had a large population, this is the first time it has been so crowded. Even on the rooftops of buildings on both sides of the river, one can see people looking into the distance with their hands raised.

Nearby, the British Navy fired a 21-gun salute.

On the dock, Chinese and English songs were played loudly.

"God save the Queen,

I wish her a long life,

God save the Queen!

Always victorious, always glorious..."

...

Amid the melodious flute music, the slow-paced melody of "God Save the Queen" slowly came to an end.

Then, the powerful melody of "Chinese Men", the military song of the National Revolutionary Army, which was temporarily used as the national anthem, resounded.

"Chinese men, Chinese men, hold up the sky with one hand.

A sleeping lion for a thousand years, a sleeping lion for a thousand years, one man raises his arm and becomes a hero of ten thousand men."

...

Senior British officials, including the former British Minister to China Sir Claude MacDonald, were eagerly waiting. When Yuan Shikai, dressed in republican uniform, appeared at the end of the gangway, overseas Chinese who had come from all over Europe to welcome Yuan Shikai burst into thunderous cheers.

The shouting and the eagerness made everyone who accompanied the visit feel numb all over.

The soldiers held their heads high, their fists wet and hot, their eyes filled with tears. Nearly 60 years had passed since the Opium War, 60 years of hard work at Britain's weakest moment, and they were finally willing to face up to the -year-old Chinese nation!

To be honest, the importance of Republican China to the British Empire at that time was not very high.

It is just like the small South American countries in the 21st century to China, which only looks good on the surface.

Feilu Extraction Group 9679102

There are economic benefits, but not much.

The total annual trade volume of the UK with any major European country, whether it is the UK, the US, France, or Germany, is ten times greater than the current UK-China trade volume.

However, in the second half of 1899, after the outbreak of the Second Boer War, Britain was unprecedentedly isolated in the international community.

What about the British Empire, the empire on which the sun never sets?

Most countries in Europe and America, which claim to be civilized societies, are afraid to cooperate deeply with the British due to the overwhelming public opinion at home.

Looking around the world, only the Chinese are willing to extend an olive branch.

...

After accepting the flowers presented by the blonde British girl, Yuan Shikai calmly reviewed the British Royal Navy Guard of Honor and shook hands with officials including Foreign Secretary Chamberlain who led the reception.

After a brief greeting, Chamberlain took Yuan Xiangcheng to where the reporters were gathered.

There was no such project originally, but at this time, Britain really needed some external news to boost morale.

Therefore, under the advice of some industrial businessmen and financiers, Chamberlain had no choice but to accept the opinions and agreed to let Yuan Shikai accept a brief interview at the dock.

"Mr. President, what do you think of the South African War?"

“Can you really bring in hundreds of thousands of laborers?”

"I'm a reporter from The Times. Mr. President, are you providing a large number of Chinese laborers in order to seize the opportunity to occupy South Africa?"

"Mr. President, after the reform to the gold standard, will the Chinese currency be pegged to the British pound?"

...

All kinds of questions came in at once, and even Tang Shaoyi, who had prepared in advance, was caught off guard.

The questions asked by some of them were not what we had discussed before!

For a moment, the British officials, Chinese attachés, reporters present, and onlookers, who wanted to know how to answer, all cast their gazes at Yuan Shikai.

Chapter 507 The Real Injury

Yuan Xiangcheng acted at ease, standing in the middle of a circle separated by soldiers, smiling: "I know what everyone wants to ask, but I hope everyone understands that I came to London with friendship and peace, and I definitely don't want to show off in front of the British people.

I know that the British Empire is going through a difficult period and is only in a temporary predicament. Some Chinese workers only play a supporting role, and the real reliance is on the vast majority of British citizens.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the excited reporters immediately quieted down and looked at each other in surprise.

What does it mean that the laborers only played a supporting role? Did they still expect British nationals to go to South Africa? Did Yuan Xiangcheng's arrival in London not bring any new Chinese laborers?

Facing the questioning gaze, Yuan Xiangcheng raised the corner of his mouth slightly:

“However, there is an old Chinese saying that goes, when it comes to friends, you should be sincere.

So, to be honest, I came here this time, in addition to the Chinese workers, I also had another purpose."

Another purpose?

When the reporters and British citizens outside heard this word, they all looked at each other with suspicion.

What purpose?

Without waiting for reporters to ask questions, Yuan Xiangcheng continued, "We should join hands and leverage the strengths of both sides to complement each other.

In addition to labor, I also brought many orders and a large market to make up for the six major markets that Britain lost in the South African War!

A developing market with a population of 4 million, though still facing various problems and difficulties, is truly open!

With a population of 4 million, is China preparing to fully open its domestic market to the UK?

The reporters' minds, which had just been brought to the bottom, instantly rose to the peak after these two sentences.

Are you kidding? With a population of 4 million, even if each person buys a pair of British shirts, that would be 4 million pairs, enough to fill all the ships in the UK.

What is the minor trauma caused by the Boer War? If every Chinese person buys £1 of British goods, the money can be earned back!

After hearing this, some British reporters who had originally intended to make things difficult for Yuan Shikai began to think.

At this time, they heard Yuan Xiangcheng's voice again.

"The Chinese market is huge, but also very narrow, because most people in my country are still struggling to make ends meet.

They cannot afford high-priced goods. What they need are the most basic things such as medicine, education, electricity, roads, railways, etc.

In addition to these, there are some unreasonable laws that affect the normal exchanges between our two countries. We have made commitments to Britain and fulfilled those commitments, which have been appreciated by Britain.

So this time, I came to London, to the capital of the British Empire, hoping to fulfill more promises.

I hope that Chinese people can help the stagnant situation in South Africa and London of the British Empire to get out of the predicament.

Similarly, we hope that more British experts and engineers will help us solve the problems we encounter in construction. We also hope to meet with them as soon as possible to solve the problems we encounter together. I believe that in a few days, the answers you want to know will appear!

I believe even more that there is no contradiction or conflict between China and the UK, only friendship and cooperation!

In a word, there are enough workers and enough new orders!"

The brief speech that left a lot of suspense was like a kitten stuffed in the reporters' hearts, scratching them all over. They wanted to grab Yuan Xiangcheng and ask him clearly how many workers he planned to send, how many markets he was going to open, and how many orders he was going to bring in.

But no matter what, the concepts of "millions of workers" and "a large market of 4 million people" in the speech allowed the whole of Britain to gradually understand the meaning.

It is obvious that the new president, who is hailed as one of the outstanding leaders in East Asia, will bring a large number of workers with him and is prepared to use massive orders to pry open the British market.

This speech has caused both anticipation and dissatisfaction across the UK. What people are looking forward to is labor, orders and markets, and the complementarity between China and the UK.

What is dissatisfactory is that the Chinese seem to regard themselves as the "white knight" to save Britain. What a joke. Does the British Empire need a newly established republic to save it?