Master Yuan, start!

The air was filled with the faint smell of tobacco and the aroma of black tea, blending into a calm and depressing atmosphere.

The Marquis of Salisbury put on his reading glasses and began to flip through the book "The Rise of a Great Power: Britain" in the light.

His fingers gently stroked the edge of the page, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes focused and deep, as if he saw some indescribable future picture between the lines. Occasionally he would stop and tap the table with his fingertips, as if thinking about some profound question.

Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the second-in-command in the cabinet, deliberately ignored the loan issue and continued to discuss the international situation with Yuan Shikai.

Chamberlain's voice was low but tentative, with a meaningful smile on his lips: "Mr. President, what do you think of the situation in Europe?"

He spoke slowly, his tone revealing a certain nonchalance, yet a hidden edge.

Yuan Xiangcheng guessed what this politician who had been active in British politics for more than 20 years was thinking. So, after thinking about it, he decided to answer everything based on the idea of ​​"Anglo-German split", and tried his best to exaggerate the declining national power of Britain after the First World War in the original time and space.

"In a few years, Europe will undoubtedly see another fierce battle, just like the anti-French war over a century ago." Yuan Xiangcheng's tone was calm but firm, his eyes looking directly at Chamberlain, as if stating an indisputable fact. "However, this time the war will no longer be one-on-many, but will most likely be a head-on clash between powerful groups."

He paused, then changed his tone to a more solemn one, leaning forward slightly: "For decades, when war broke out in Europe, your country adhered to the principle of continental balance of power in Europe, which allowed it to observe the situation on the one hand and earn huge war profits on the other!

But next time, Britain will not be able to stay out of it.

France, Germany, and Russia all coveted Britain's colonies. Just because they couldn't take action on the British mainland didn't mean they would let go of Africa and Asia.

Where will Britain's military be by then? They might still be caught up in the Boer War or some other colonial war!

"If what you said is true, the British Empire will fall into an unprecedented predicament. If you were the prime minister, how would you break the deadlock faced with such a predicament?" As soon as old Chamberlain said this, the air in the room suddenly froze.

His voice suddenly rose, with a hint of aggressive sharpness, and his eyes stared at Yuan Xiangcheng like a hawk, trying to catch any clues from the other's expression.

Yuan Shikai stopped his performance and looked at the British politician in front of him, while old Chamberlain also squinted his eyes and looked at the leader of the Eastern power who was 20 years younger than him.

The room suddenly became quiet, with only the occasional chirping of insects outside the room adding a hint of uneasy background noise to the dead silence.

Yuan Xiangcheng picked up the cold black tea on the table and drank it slowly. His movements were elegant and calm, as if he was completely unaffected by the tense atmosphere. "Everything is in the book I wrote."

He put down his teacup, raised a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and pointed to the book that the British Prime Minister, the Marquis of Salisbury, was reading.

Old Chamberlain looked over immediately, but the Marquis of Salisbury seemed to be in a trance, completely absorbed in reading, and had no idea that the conversation in the room had been paused.

His lips moved slightly, as if he was reciting some sentences silently. His white hair shone brightly under the light, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out of his forehead from reading for a long time with his head down, but he was completely unaware of it.

Seeing the situation, Yuan Xiangcheng did not interrupt. He turned to look at Chamberlain and continued, "I have envisioned three endings for the future world in the book."

"Oh, the ending of the future world?" Hearing this, Old Chamberlain became interested. His originally tense body relaxed a little, his eyes lit up, and his tone was mixed with curiosity and anticipation. "What are they?"

Yuan Xiangcheng smiled faintly, with a hint of confidence and mystery between his brows:

"This first future is the United States dominating the world and establishing a global empire even more powerful than the British Empire!"

His voice gradually became heavier, with an unquestionable sense of power: "As the contradictions between Britain and Germany, Britain and France, France and Germany, Germany and Russia, and Russia and Austria continued to deepen, Europe eventually formed a military bloc of Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Austria, and Italy to oppose each other.

Soon after the group was established, it was caught up in a war between two major groups. This war was the largest war in history and ended with a tragic victory for the British group.

However, the price was the collapse of Russia, the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in the civil war, and the destruction of a generation of French people. Since then, Britain has also fallen from the altar and was gradually replaced by the United States, eventually becoming a follower of the United States.

Yuan Xiangcheng told Chamberlain almost exactly what he had experienced in the future in his original time and space.

A time and space with rich historical materials, a time and space that Yuan Xiangcheng personally experienced.

When he told him about the various historical trends of the original time and space, Chamberlain was initially skeptical and then slowly fell into deep thought.

In his opinion, the various trends and future situations of various countries described by Yuan Xiangcheng were too real.

"What about the second one?" Chamberlain asked, his tone vaguely revealing a hint of urgency. He leaned forward with his hands on the table, obviously very interested.

"The second is that Germany emerged victorious in this melee, dominated Europe, and established a vast colonial empire."

Yuan Xiangcheng slowed down his speech and became more serious when he said this: "The original British government went into exile in Canada and finally had to crawl in the United States, relying on the Americans.

As for the British government that remained, it was busy suppressing the Irish conflict provoked by the Germans and the internal working-class riots, and had no time to take care of itself.

This is also the "historical event" that Yuan Xiangcheng encountered in the original time and space, but it happened in a game called Hearts of Iron, a parallel time and space KR timeline.

Thanks to the collective wisdom of thousands of players, the events that took place on this timeline are also extremely authentic.

So, Chamberlain was also drawn in.

"Oh, this ending looks even worse than the last one." Chamberlain's expression was not very good. The curiosity on his face disappeared, replaced by a deep worry.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples, as if trying to process this disturbing information.

"What about the last one?" His voice lowered, with a mixture of reluctance and hope.

“The last one is probably the most UK-friendly of the three, but it’s still not a good ending.”

Yuan Xiangcheng's tone was filled with regret, and his eyes swept across the faces of everyone in the room, finally landing on Chamberlain: "The Franco-Russian alliance did not allow Britain to join, and Britain also intended to continue to maintain the principle of continental balance of power and was unwilling to intervene personally.

As a result, the Germans were defeated by the French and Russians and split up. France and Russia, bloodily expanding on the corpse of Germany, relied on their powerful armies to advance southwards to seize control of the Suez Canal, cutting off the route to Asia and blockading the British on the Atlantic coast.

This future also happens in the game. It is a special ending created by a V3 that Yuan Xiangcheng once drove himself after adding various mods.

The three endings mentioned by Yuan Xiang and Xiang Ercheng were all written in the book "The Rise of Britain".

At this moment, the British Prime Minister, who was reading the book, trembled slightly.

It was obvious that he had finished reading this not-so-thick book, or it would be more appropriate to call it a magazine, after all, it only had a few tens of thousands of words.

Just as old Chamberlain was stunned by Yuan Xiangcheng's description of the future world situation and couldn't extricate himself for a long time, the Marquis of Salisbury suddenly stood up.

His hands were shaking, and he seemed as restless as Chamberlain, but he still forced himself to be calm, cleared his throat, and said in a hoarse and low voice:

"Mr. President, perhaps it would be more appropriate for you to become a fictional novelist."

The Marquis of Salisbury's voice trembled slightly, unable to conceal his inner shock. The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and he said, "There is a very famous writer in London named Conan Doyle. Perhaps if there is a chance, I can ask him to visit you and learn from your writing skills."

After saying this, the Marquis of Salisbury straightened his collar, turned around and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he added, "It's getting late. Tomorrow I will take the President to an audience with Her Majesty the Queen. We can discuss the rest later..."

The room fell silent again, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind outside the window, adding a bit of chill to the quiet night.

...

On the way back to the British Foreign Office Hotel, Tang Shaoyi took the opportunity to ask:

"Headmaster, the British, will they agree to lend the money?"

Tang Shaoyi lowered his voice, fearing that the people around him would hear him. His expression was filled with worry, and his pace unconsciously slowed down a little.

"Whether you agree or not is not something you and I can control."

Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at Tang Shaoyi, his tone filled with helplessness and self-mockery: "Comrade Shaochuan, to be frank, we are here to beg for food. I just spoke so arrogantly on purpose. Otherwise, the British might not take our words seriously."

He paused for a moment, looking up at the dark Atlantic Ocean in the distance. The sea breeze blew across his cheeks, bringing a burst of salty and damp air: "Back then, we were able to get benefits from the British in our country because we were still weak.

But in recent years, our appetites have grown, and the little power in the hands of the British Minister to China is no longer enough to feed 4 million Chinese people.

So I had to go to London and beg for food myself.”

"But what if the British don't agree?" Tang Shaoyi's voice became even lower, almost a whisper, and a hint of anxiety flashed in his eyes.

"disagree?"

Yuan Xiangcheng suddenly laughed, his laughter deep and long, as if he had anticipated all this. He looked up at the Atlantic Ocean in front of him, his eyes traveling across to another continent thousands of miles away, and his tone was firm and decisive:

"Isn't there still America?"

"The United States?" Tang Shaoyi was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Yuan Shikai to mention this country.

"Yes, America."

Yuan Xiangcheng nodded, with a meaningful smile on his face: "If we propose to the Americans to divide the South Pacific and India equally, and send people to help them conquer Australia and New Zealand, do you think they will disagree?

If you don't borrow money here, you can find other places to borrow money.

Americans are much richer than the British!"

Chapter 513: Near East Turbulence

After Yuan Shikai left, a brief period of peace returned to the Prime Minister's private office.

The Marquis of Salisbury slowly sat back in his high-backed leather chair, his hands folded between his knees, his eyes deep and solemn.

The light from the tungsten filament bulb flickered slightly, illuminating his slightly tired but still majestic face.

Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, stood aside with an equally complicated expression, as if he was thinking about every detail of his conversation with Yuan Shikai.

"Excuse me, Joseph."

The Marquis of Salisbury immediately lost his composure, revealing a rare hint of worry. He tapped the world map on the table with his silver letter opener and whispered, "Do you think the prophecy of this visitor from the East has any value?"

　His voice was low and tentative, as if he was seeking confirmation, or hoping to find new ideas from the other party's answer.

Old Chamberlain did not answer immediately, but walked to the window and looked out through the gap in the heavy curtains.

The sky in London was overcast at night, with a few pigeons flying by occasionally. It looked like it would rain again tomorrow.

"I absolutely didn't believe it at first. His words were like a Shakespearean opera, so wild and unreal," Old Chamberlain retorted, then paused, a bitter smile playing on his face. "But the more he talked, the more uneasy I became."

He turned around and faced the Marquis of Salisbury, and said in a firm tone: "If it is true as Yuan Xiangcheng said that France has not lost their Indochina colony, then perhaps we really have the possibility of becoming allies with the French.

Not only did we avoid conflict with France, but we also had a huge conflict with William II, who supported the Boers, because of the South African War.

After all, in that prophecy, the Kaiser's warships should be bombarding Cape Town right now, not delivering Krupp guns to Hanoi, Vietnam."

"Indeed, after the deterioration of relations with Germany, it is not impossible for Britain and France to become allies."

The Marquis of Salisbury nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. He picked up the porcelain cup on the coffee table, took a sip of black tea, and continued, "But what about now? The Germans only sent a squadron to Southeast Asia, and they got half of Indochina. They seem to be quite satisfied."

Having said that, Prime Minister Lord Salisbury put down his teacup and tapped the table with his fingers, making a crisp sound.

"As we moved forward and backward in our dealings with Germany and France, our diplomatic situation underwent subtle changes: our relations with Germany became closer, while our relations with France deteriorated.

Unless something major happens in the future, it will be difficult to repair our relationship with the French, unless we are willing to cede some of our African colonies as compensation.

However, the cost is too high and may not be agreed by the Parliament.”

The Marquis of Salisbury stood up and walked to the desk. He looked at the magical book "The Rise of Great Powers: Britain" and flipped through a few pages. He closed the book and tapped the cover with his knuckles. His tone became heavier: "Besides that, there is the issue of Russia. Our relations with Russia also deteriorated rapidly a few years ago.

Although the Ussuri Autonomous Region in the Far East was nominally jointly administered by Britain and Russia, in reality, this land that Russia had expanded over for hundreds of years was completely taken away.

How could Nicholas II easily let go of such humiliation?

Don't forget, the Tsar's son is still drinking wine in Provence, France!"

What the British Prime Minister was referring to was the visit of the Russian Tsarevich to France.

After saying this, he paused for a moment and looked out the window, as if he had traveled through time and space to see another world: "In the first ending of this book, Russia neither lost the Far East nor France lost Indochina.

This situation laid the foundation for Britain's contact with the Franco-Russian alliance.

The reality is that Britain first used Yuan Shikai to stop Russia from moving south, and then used the newly born Republic of China to expel France.