The sun never sets

Outside, there were drums and gongs, operas, and the sound of "DuangDuangDuang" kept coming, which made Jordan very upset. He closed the window to block out the annoying noise and cold air, and then said to Ambassador Donald, "Mr. Ambassador, the Chinese do not agree to release our people! They also do not agree to withdraw the army from India. I think the Empire should teach them a lesson!"

Dounar was writing a letter beside the brazier. He looked up and asked, "What do you mean by awesome?"

Zhu Erdian shouted: "Of course we should send a fleet to cut off the canal transportation!"

Well, the British army can now only rely on the fleet to scare the Chinese. After the defeat of the Eight-Nation Alliance, the British temporarily gave up the idea of competing with the Chinese on land. The Boer War became more and more intense. The British army had already accumulated 300,000 troops in South Africa, but still failed to make the Boers surrender. The battle was developing into a long-term one.

Before dealing with the Boers, Britain would not be able to send a large army to East Asia.

Dounar shook his head and said, "Lin Yongchang is a stubborn nationalist. He will not give in. If we do that, it will only backfire and push them to the German side."

"Damn the Germans!"

"And Lin Yongchang might break the tacit agreement with the empire. If the People's Army goes south, do you think Li Hongzhang in the south can stop them?"

Zhu Erdian said: "If they dare to go south, we will use our fleet to block the Yangtze River and make sure they never come back!"

Donald shook his head again. "If the People's Army is destroyed, what good will it do us? It will only benefit the Russians!"

The British Empire lost more than 10,000 soldiers, and the Eight-Nation Alliance lost a total of 50,000 soldiers, which was a disgrace to imperialism. But for the British, losing tens of thousands of colonial troops was nothing, as they had lost more troops before. What worried the gentlemen in Downing Street the most was not the Chinese, but the Russians.

Now the Russians have occupied almost the entire Northeast, stationed nearly 200,000 troops in the Northeast, and are stepping up the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. If the railway is completed, the entire northern China will become the sphere of influence of the Russian Empire. In that case, Britain's position as the world hegemon will be lost.

The most important policy of the British government now is to encircle and intercept Tsarist Russia. In Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East, the expansion of Tsarist Russia must be blocked. Although the People's Republic Government led by Lin Yongchang has many conflicts with the British Empire, as long as these Chinese are willing to fight the Russians, everything can be discussed.

Chapter 154 Railway

After writing a letter to the Foreign Minister, British Ambassador Donald asked to see President Lin again. The embassies of various countries were still in Dongjiaomin Lane and did not follow the Central People's Republic Government to Taiyuan. It was not that they did not want to, but that they were rejected. In the past few months, Donald had been communicating with Taiyuan through telegrams and messengers, and the efficiency was very low.

The diplomats of the People's Government were very enthusiastic about doing business and were willing to lend money, but apart from those few matters, they knew nothing about other matters and said they had no relevant authority. Now that he could finally speak directly to President Lin, Dounar did not want to miss this opportunity.

The British are best at fighting at sea, and their record on land has never been very good. If they want to expand the territory of the empire, they still have to rely on diplomacy and commerce. Donald came to see President Lin with the idea of gaining benefits for the British Empire. He had a lot of things to discuss with President Lin.

For example, regarding the issue of prisoners of war, there is no problem in paying them, just deduct the money from the debt. Lin Yongchang did not acknowledge the debt owed by the previous dynasty, but the British did not think so. Now the two sides have not completely torn their faces apart, and Robert Hart is still managing the customs of the People's Republic Government. If the Chinese do not pay back the money, they can use it to pay the ransom.

The ransom issue is one thing, and the people who are to be beheaded are another. The British Empire is the world hegemon after all, and it cannot tolerate the humiliation of its own soldiers being put on trial and executed in public. The Chinese putting Europeans on trial is itself a great humiliation.

Of course, if the Chinese refused to give in, the British government would not care. They were just some colonial troops, not nobles from the British Isles.

It doesn't matter. The British generals themselves admitted that their soldiers were scum. Donald didn't really want to save those scum, he just wanted to rescue the officers. If that didn't work, he would use them as bargaining chips.

The most critical issue is still the issue of business. The British have a famous saying: Wherever business goes, the flag follows. The British did not rely on a strong army to become a global empire and world hegemony, but relied on a strong navy and a large merchant fleet.

Lin Yongchang was a good fighter, but the British had plenty of ways to deal with him. Donald was confident of this.

"Wait a minute. The President will meet with you when he is free."

The guards did not give the British Empire face and directly left Donald and Jordan in the reception room. Jordan said angrily: "This is an insult to the empire!"

Donald was a little impatient. "Okay, Mr. Acting Minister, I will be back to England soon and will not make things difficult for you regarding personnel appointments. From now on, you have the final say here, so you can save some energy."

Jordan's behavior was not entirely out of indignation, but also for his own future. The annihilation of the Eight-Nation Alliance required someone to take the blame, and Dounar was the one who took the blame. However, he had a backer after all. Before he left, Dounar still had various powers. If he interfered, Jordan's position as ambassador would not be so secure.

Now that Dounar had expressed his support for Zhu Erdian, the latter ended his performance, put away his anger, and asked, "Mr. Ambassador, is President Lin trying to intimidate us?"

"Maybe." Dounar said indifferently: "Chinese people just like to do these things for appearances."

In fact, Lin Yongchang really didn't mean to intimidate the British. Now he no longer needed to use those tricks. In the past few months, he had been busy with the steel plant in Taiyuan, working on it day and night. It was not easy to get the steel plant into production smoothly, with an output of 28 tons of steel and 20 tons of iron per month. When the supply chain is straightened out and the workers' proficiency is improved, the annual output can reach about tons of steel and tons of iron.

Compared with the annual production capacity of more than 10 billion tons in China in later generations, this production capacity is not worth mentioning at all. Compared with the annual production of more than 10 million tons in the United States, it is just a fraction. But in today's China, and even in the whole of East Asia, the annual production of hundreds of thousands of tons of steel is unique!

The Japanese Yawata Steel Works had just been built, and they would encounter problems with inappropriate technology, so it would take several years before they could be put into production. Japan was still very poor, with an annual steel output of only 50,000 tons, less than half of Italy, and could only bully the Jurchen colonial regime.

With steel, we can make guns, lathes and other mechanical equipment, farm tools, and railroad tracks. Without so many railways for Marshal Lin to dig up, the price of imported railroad tracks would skyrocket. This was the case for more than a hundred years. Anything that China could not produce was considered high-tech and extremely expensive. When China was able to produce it, the price instantly became dirt cheap.

This is not only true in China, but also in other places. Even in the 21st century, the price of small electrical appliances in Africa is several times higher than that in China. The price is determined not only by cost, but also by many other factors.

After the steel is produced, it needs to be sold before the thrilling jump can be completed. Lin Yongchang plans to build the Beiping-Zhangjiakou-Taiyuan triangle railway first. The route is very similar to the "Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway" plus the "Zhengtai Railway" in another time and space. Geological exploration, design, and operation technologies can all be purchased with administrative points. There is no problem in technology, but there are many other problems that need to be solved.

Zhan Tianyou has been appointed as the chief engineer of the "Triangle Railway" and has been granted great power, but he also needs the cooperation of local powerful people for the project to proceed smoothly. Lin Yongchang is now taking Zhan Tianyou to meet civil and military officials from all over the country, which is equivalent to endorsing Zhan Tianyou and letting local officials open their eyes and not do unnecessary things.

Zhan Tianyou was a capable person. He had worked in surveying and mapping before and had started working on railways more than ten years ago. He had presided over the construction of several railways. However, almost all of those railways were destroyed by Marshal Lin. This made Zhan Tianyou very angry. He thought that Baldy Lin was not a good person and once refused the call of the new government.

It was not until Lin Yongchang came to persuade him with the plan of the "Triangle Railway" that Zhan Tianyou agreed to continue serving the country. Zhan Tianyou had the ability and skills, and was favored by Marshal Lin. His future was limitless, and officials in Peking, Chahar, and Shanxi were very enthusiastic about him.

"Railways are the lifeblood of the country, and we must be careful. If Chief Engineer Zhan Tianyou needs anything during the construction of the railway, you must do your best to cooperate. If there are any problems that cannot be solved, please contact Minister Yan directly, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will help solve them. If that doesn't work, call the President's Office directly!"

Lin Yongchang clapped his hands and said, "Okay, you guys get to know each other, I'm going to meet the British ambassador."

Everyone stood up and saw the president off. Even though it was a new China, some old customs and practices were still followed and had not changed at all.

Chapter 155 No

"Mr. Dounar, please take a seat," Lin Yongchang shook hands with him and asked with a smile.

"What would you like to drink? Coffee or tea?"

Dounar hated Lin Yongchang's confident expression. This kind of calmness should be possessed by white people. How could a yellow monkey from the Far East feel so superior? Damn it!

"Coffee, sugar, milk!"

Lin Yongchang had drinks served to the British ambassador. The ambassador of the world's hegemon would certainly receive extraordinary treatment. As for Jordan, he could just sit outside and wait for the cold wind.

"Mr. Ambassador, the weather is really nice today. It's perfect to have a drink with good friends in this kind of weather." Lin Yongchang opened his mouth and sang a few lines of "Auld Lang Syne" with a loud voice that almost knocked Dounar unconscious.

"Oh my God! Mr. President, please stop singing!"

Dounar put on a mask of pain and finally stopped Lin Yongchang's sonic attack. He said fearfully, "Let's discuss business. Singing can wait until we are in a spacious place."

"Well, since you want to talk about business, Mr. Ambassador, let's talk about business."

Lin Yongchang took a sip of boiled water and stretched out his hand, saying, "Please speak."

Donald took out the memorandum and handed it to President Lin at the other end of the table. Lin Yongchang took the memorandum and found that it contained only some commonplace things, which were roughly the following four points:

(1) China is not allowed to interfere in “Tibet’s internal affairs”;

(2) China must not be allowed to maintain an unlimited military presence in Lhasa or Tibet;

(3) To demand the conclusion of an agreement based on the above points as a condition for recognizing the Central People's Republic Government;

(iv) All traffic to Tibet will be closed to the Chinese until an agreement is concluded.

Lin Yongchang read it for less than two seconds, then casually threw the memorandum on the table. "Mr. Ambassador, Tibet is a part of China. It was, is, and will be. Therefore, your request is untenable from the beginning. We don't need to discuss this issue. If you don't have other topics, we can declare the meeting adjourned now."

Donald said gloomily, "Mr. President, aren't you afraid that the British Empire will send out a large army?"

"I'm really not afraid." Lin Yongchang spread his hands. "If you have the guts, send troops over and we'll have another fight. But the next time we negotiate, we might have to negotiate in Shanghai. Oh, by the way, I heard that your country is in a tough battle in South Africa? I wonder if Downing Street has granted you the right to declare war? If not, please get authorization before threatening war."

"........."

Dounar hated Lin Yongchang even more. He was silent for a while, then suddenly abandoned his gloomy expression and showed a relaxed smile on his face. "Mr. President, those were just diplomatic words. Now we can talk like friends."

"Ah, is your country's Ministry of Finance willing to provide an interest-free loan?"

Interest-free loan? You're dreaming! Dounar was roaring in his heart, but he still had a kind smile on his face. "Mr. President, you know this is impossible, so don't joke around."

"Oh, no interest-free loan? So you want a ransom? What? No ransom either? Then what's there to talk about?"

"Mr. President, I think as a civilized person, we should not demand ransom like a bandit leader."

"Hey, isn't ransom a glorious European tradition? If we follow East Asian traditions, prisoners are usually beheaded."

"............" Seeing that Lin Yongchang was playing dumb and refused to listen, Dounar was helpless. He could only reveal his trump card. "If you are willing to release the captured British soldiers and guarantee the rights and interests of the Empire in the Yangtze River Basin, the British Empire can recognize the Central People's Republic Government as the legitimate government of China."

Lin Yongchang smiled and said, "You don't have to admit it. We can do the transaction through a private company, just like we are doing now. When you figure it out, it won't be too late for us to talk again."

Speaking of this, Donald became even more depressed. The smuggling activities in Hebei and Shandong have become blatant. The customs controlled by Robert Hart has basically become a decoration, and the tariff revenue has dropped by 80%. And the hateful Germans and Americans, on the one hand, said that they would stand together with the British Empire, on the other hand, they secretly sold all kinds of things to China. It's really hateful!

"Mr. President, the Empire cannot tolerate its people being unfairly tried!"

Donald said sternly: "If you insist on doing it your way, the Empire will have to send out its best troops even if it is fighting in South Africa! Please don't underestimate the Empire's determination!"

"Ah, Mr. Ambassador is such an honest man. If you don't publish the relevant news in the newspaper, then it won't happen. It's just a few thousand soldiers. Why hurt the traditional friendship between China and Britain?"

Lin Yongchang said, "I have already spread the word that I will try those butchers and executioners. You can't let me go back on my word, right? We Chinese are the most trustworthy. If we say we will have a public trial, we will have a public trial. Going back on our words will shake the foundation of our rule. Well, Mr. Ambassador, do you want to see me driven out of office?"

If this evil bald guy is really driven out of office, Donald will definitely buy a few strings of firecrackers to set off!

He secretly hated it in his heart, but said, "How could it be? Only the stable rule of Mr. President can ensure the steady growth of trade between us."

The two talked for a long time, and finally

Still nothing was accomplished. The demands and bottom lines of both sides were too far apart, and neither side was willing to back down and make concessions, so naturally nothing meaningful could be discussed, and consensus could only be reached on certain things, such as maintaining the current world order, and curbing the expansion of Tsarist Russia in the East.

Containing the expansion of Tsarist Russia was the main point of the negotiations. The previous topics were just "killing rabbits by sniping at straws". Donald knew that Lin Yongchang would not give in, but who knows? There was no loss in giving it a try, so why not?

When it comes to containing Tsarist Russia, the two sides have truly entered into substantive negotiations.

"We will set up a corps in Rehe and Liaoxi, each with 100,000 soldiers, as the main force to resist the Russians. We will also place a corps in Beijing as a reserve, also with 100,000 soldiers. However, we lack weapons and equipment, and hope that the British Empire can provide support."

Although it is called a corps, it is actually mainly responsible for production, with additional learning. Literacy is very important. Only a cultured and idealistic army can have stronger combat effectiveness. As military equipment becomes more and more complex, the level of knowledge is also a reflection of the combat effectiveness of an army.

Lin Yongchang said seriously: "We don't need your country to sell us the most advanced weapons. Just sell us some of the weapons that have been replaced."

This is possible, and Donald can make the decision. The British technology is developing very fast, and weapons are updated very quickly. There are piles of scrap copper and iron in the warehouse. Selling tens of thousands of rifles to the Chinese is nothing, and it can also help domestic arms dealers clear their warehouses.

"It would be best if we could have some large-caliber artillery, even retired naval artillery would be fine."

The life of the navy's naval guns is very short. In order to ensure the accuracy of shooting, the barrels have to be scrapped after firing a few hundred rounds. Most of the replaced barrels are recycled and used as fortress guns or exported to other countries.

Huh? Large-caliber fortress guns? Not used to deal with the British Empire fleet, right? Then you're thinking wrongly! Donal sneered in his heart, pretending to be generous, "This is also OK!"

"Interest-free loans..."

Dounar said decisively: "This won't work!"

Lin Yongchang said: If it’s not possible, then it’s not possible. Why get so excited?

Chapter 156 Development is the only way

The game between big countries is often complicated. China and Britain are in a hostile state on the issue of Tibet. As long as the British do not give up the idea of attacking Lhasa and seizing the whole of Tibet, this hostile state will not be eliminated. In the Chinese mainland, especially in the Yangtze River Basin, the Central People's Republic of China government is in a competitive state with Britain. On the issue of Northeast China, Britain and China cooperate more.

The Tsarist Russia sent nearly 200,000 troops to the Northeast. Not only Lin Yongchang felt headache, but the Japanese and the British were also very annoyed. The Tsar had too many gray animals. There were millions of troops in Europe, 200,000 in the Far East, and more than 100,000 in Central Asia. The "steamroller" was well-deserved.

Nearly fifty years ago, during the Crimean War, Tsarist Russia was beaten badly by Britain, France and other countries, with nearly half a million casualties. It was able to maintain its reputation as a great power because of its large number of people. If Britain, France and Germany had lost half a million troops at that time, they would have almost perished, but the Russians could withstand it.

What would the British do if the 200,000 Russian troops in the northeast rushed into the interior and marched south to the upper river? No matter how powerful the British Empire's warships were, they couldn't sail to the land. Would they have another decisive battle on land with a behemoth like the Tsarist Russia?

The British never challenged a big country on land. They always sowed discord, used one faction to fight another, and relied on the irreconcilable contradictions between countries on the European continent to get their way. If they were on the distant Asian continent, few countries would be willing to get involved with the British.

The British had a bad reputation. Everyone hated the British. Even their allies wished the British bad luck. The Boer War proved this point. If it weren't for the support of Germany, the United States, France, the Netherlands and other countries, the Boers would not be able to deal with more than 300,000 British elite troops even if they were brave and good at fighting.

The British, who were helpless in the Boer guerrilla warfare, invested more troops and funds than expected in South Africa, and also invented tactics such as "gun towers" and "three-light" tactics. The tactics used by the Japanese army in China were learned from the British. The Japanese were good students of the British, and learned poison gas bombs and various tactics.

Facing the 200,000 Russian troops in the northeast, the Japanese were even more helpless than the British. The Tsar's gray beasts set out from Vladivostok, went south and west along the Tumen River and other rivers, and arrived in North Korea in one step, and entered North Korea to rob a few things. If they just robbed things, it would be fine. The Russians are still advancing with the fortress tactics. In the Far East, the Russians relied on this tactic to occupy millions of square kilometers of land. Now they have pushed to the door of North Korea. What will happen next is self-evident.

The Russians were also building a military port and fortress in Lushun, which hit the weak spot of the Japanese. The Russian fleet was not the Beiyang Fleet, and its strength was even greater than that of the Combined Fleet. If the main fleets of the Russian army came to join forces, Japan would be finished in a minute. In addition to building the Lushun Fortress, the Siberian Railway under construction was also like a noose hanging on Japan and China. Once the Siberian Railway was completed, the Russian Empire's ability to deploy troops to the Far East would be increased by an order of magnitude, and the million-strong army in Europe could be transferred to the Far East.

Even Europe is troubled by the Russian steamroller, not to mention the poor and backward Asia. If the Russians really abandon the European strategy and extend one head of the double-headed eagle to Asia, it will definitely be easier than expanding in Europe and Central Asia. First, the Northeast, then the entire northern China, and when the Tsar completes the "Yellow Russia" plan and integrates China's huge manpower a little, the next step is the Indochina Peninsula, and then all the way to India.

There is no doubt that the Russians are crazy about land. They crawled through the ice and snow for hundreds of years and rushed to Alaska! Later, they found that Alaska was really empty, and the Tsar was short of money, so they sold it to the Americans. China is not Alaska, where there are 40 million people. With Russia's mobilization capabilities, I'm afraid it can mobilize 10 million infantrymen?

Both Japan and Britain wanted to stop the expansion of Tsarist Russia in East Asia, but they had not yet reached the point of using force to start a war. On the one hand, Britain did not want to be eliminated and Japan was not prepared, and on the other hand, Japan wanted to bring disaster to Jiangdong. Aren’t the Chinese good at fighting? They even wiped out the Eight-Nation Alliance, so let the Chinese fight the Russians, and the Japanese would just watch the fire from the other side. When the two sides are about to decide the winner, they will stab them in the back with justice. Isn’t that great?

The British thought differently from the Japanese. In the eyes of the British government, neither the Chinese nor the Japanese alone could stop the Russian Empire. Just like the Crimean War, the British government had to organize an alliance and let the Chinese and Japanese cooperate in order to confront the Russian army head-on.

Moreover, in this way, both China and Japan were tied to the British chariot, which was a three-pronged approach. Not only did it block Russia's expansion in East Asia, but it also gained two younger brothers, and it could also sell the country's expired arms and control the economic lifeline of China and Japan. There was simply no better idea than this.

It was because of this consideration that the British government did not continue to call for war and killing the Central People's Republic Government, but instead showed signs of cooperation. If the negotiations failed in one negotiation and failed in two negotiations, then continue the negotiations. In the eyes of the British, as long as the Russians consolidated their rule in the Northeast, they would inevitably move south, and then the Chinese would have no choice but to obey.

Their attitude towards the Japanese government is similar. If they want to tame the Japanese, they have to use both threats and inducements.

The Russians have their own plans, the Japanese and the British have their own plans, the United States, Germany, and France also have their own plans, but Lin Yongchang believes that he is the hunter, and sooner or later he will beat both the mantis and the oriole!

Development is the only way forward. Diplomacy is certainly useful, but in the final analysis, it still requires strong strength. If China now has 300,000 kilometers of railways and an annual output of 10 million tons of steel, Marshal Lin would have led his troops directly to the three northeastern provinces. Why would he need to arrange for a reclamation corps in Rehe and western Liaoning?

However, China's current steel ladder production is surprisingly low. The steel plant in Taiyuan has started to operate normally, and the qualified ones have just been dismantled, but it will take another three or four months to reach the maximum production capacity. Even if it reaches the maximum production capacity, it is less than 30 tons of steel per year. What can we do with this amount of steel?

Development, we must develop!

Chapter 157 Hunger

Outside the city of Peking, densely packed gallows were erected, and ten automatic beheading machines were built. The automatic beheading machine was a product of the French Revolution. It was fast and convenient to behead people, and everyone who used it praised it. The chemist Lavoisier was beheaded by an automatic beheading machine.

Marshal Lin Yongchang declared that only industrialization could save China, and that it would be better to use machines to chop off heads. The Chinese did not care how they chopped off heads, as long as they chopped off the heads of foreign devils, everyone thought it was good. The foreign devils saw the shadow of the French Revolution in the fanatical atmosphere in Peking.

Although Napoleon was beaten up again and again, no one denies his achievements. Will President Lin be China's Red Napoleon?

Well, it seems that the foreign devils like this very much, such as the iron-blooded prime minister of the East, China's Alexander the Great, China's red Napoleon, etc. Lin Yongchang said that Napoleon was very good at fighting, but he also relied on the residual power of the Great Revolution. His claim to the throne was a failure among failures, and he was simply crazy to enfeoff his relatives as kings in various places.