Chapter 1286 The Ming Dynasty’s help comes at a price (3rd update, please subscribe)

The Emir and his entourage stayed in the Ming Dynasty for only three days. As soon as they left Zhongdu, the British arrived. The visitor was the British envoy, the Marquis of Lansdowne. The reason why Britain did not send a foreign secretary was because the current British foreign secretary also serves as the prime minister.

This was also a British tradition during this era, where sometimes the Prime Minister would also serve as Foreign Secretary.

In fact, there was a less serious disagreement within Britain on whether to use force to finally resolve the Boer problem. In London, there were those who opposed the use of force, and of course there were those who supported it. The latter undoubtedly prevailed. Of course, the latter prevailed because of public opinion and practical interests. After all, public opinion has always advocated the use of force to resolve the Boer problem and protect the interests of British expatriates. Of course, the essence was to return the gold mines to Britain and mainly to safeguard the interests of the empire.

The British people are generally very concerned about the Boer issue, which is entirely due to their own vital interests. The South African Mining Company, a company listed in London under the Rand gold mine, has stock holders all over the UK. Its shareholders include both millionaires with assets of millions and ordinary people. Therefore, the British people are more familiar with and concerned about South Africa than any other region.

Under the influence of public opinion and practical interests, Britain chose war.

Because the so-called "Republic of South Africa" ​​is a landlocked country, in order to completely blockade this country, Britain naturally needs to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the Ming Dynasty, hoping that the Ming Dynasty will close its borders.

"Close the border?" Zhuge Jun said directly after hearing the request made by Marquis Lansdowne.

"This is impossible, Mr. Envoy. You know that the Ming Empire is a country that believes in free trade. We will not close our borders now or in the future! Moreover, we open our borders based on humanitarian considerations. After all, with the outbreak of war, a large number of war refugees will be generated. The Boers are also members of the civilized world. How can we ignore their safety? Closing the border at this time would be like shutting out the refugees. Moreover, we have promised to give the refugees the greatest possible help. Mr. Envoy, the kindness of His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is beyond doubt..."

What a cunning guy! Even though he thought so in his heart, Marquis Lansdowne still smiled.

"Your Excellency, I hope you can understand that the closure I am referring to is not the closure of the passage for refugees to enter, but the passage for weapons, ammunition and other war materials to enter."

Marquis Lansdowne looked at the guy in front of him. Zhuge Jun's cunning was well known in the European diplomatic circles. In the past few years, diplomats from various countries who had dealt with him had never been able to take advantage of him. Now, if they wanted them to agree to block the border, Britain would definitely have to pay a price.

"This...weapons and ammunition? War supplies? Your Excellency, this seems a bit difficult. According to the relevant laws of the Ming Empire, first of all, various supplies, including rifles, are the most common civilian goods. Who buys them and what they are used for is the customer's business. It has nothing to do with the empire. If a blockade is imposed, it will also violate the principle of free trade."

quibble!

Marquis Lansdowne suddenly felt angry for no reason. Was this their answer?

"Your Excellency, we once supported your country's position on the Burmese issue. We hope that you can support Britain's position on the issue of the Transvaal Republic." When mentioning Burma, the Marquis of Lansdowne became furious and spoke without thinking.

"If we had not taken your position into consideration, we would have occupied the whole of Myanmar long ago, instead of supporting your so-called 'Myanmar Chinese special interests theory'."

What is the "Myanmar Chinese Special Interest Theory"? To put it simply, it is the recognition of Chinese sovereignty. If it were not for the Ming Empire's support for Chinese sovereignty, I'm afraid Britain would have taken action against Myanmar long ago.

"No, no, we must make one thing clear. The Transvaal issue is completely different from the Burmese issue. The former is an independent country and has no vassal relationship with Britain. But what about Burma? It has always been a vassal state of China. Britain's occupation of Lower Burma has violated China's sovereignty. Of course, this is a historical issue and there is no need for us to discuss it."

Zhuge Jun's answer made Lord Lansdowne even more angry.

"That's not the case. The Transvaal issue is just a small matter in southern Africa. We hope to get your support on this issue, just like our support for your country in some areas around the world. We don't want to see a direct confrontation between Britain and Britain. Moreover, according to the agreement reached between the two sides, we believe that Transvaal is the sphere of influence of Britain. In this case, any support from your country will damage the interests of the British Empire, and the British Empire will never ignore such damage."

"Is this a threat?"

Zhuge Jun said.

"No, this is not a threat, but..."

After a pause, the Marquis of Lansdowne said.

"Just like you will not accept our annexation of Burma, you have your sphere of influence and Britain has its own sphere of influence. I don't think there is any need for our two countries to affect our relationship because of issues thousands of miles away..."

"Um……"

After a brief silence, Zhuge Jun said.

"For the sake of friendship between Britain and Ming, we can make some concessions. For example, we can prohibit weapons and ammunition from entering the Bechuanaland Special District during war!"

Is there any point in banning it now?

The empire had long ago transported tens of thousands of tons of supplies to the border areas through various channels, enough to fight to the last Boer. Moreover, on the land of the Ming Dynasty, this ban... is a joke in itself!

"That is enough, Your Excellency. I believe that cooperation between our two countries is conducive to our mutual interests."

Lord Lansdowne said after calming down a little.

"For our common good!"

Zhuge Jun said directly.

"Compensation! We need some kind of compensation. After all, we cooperated with you on this issue. We always need some compensation, just like after you supported us on the Myanmar issue, we supported your actions in other regions."

"you mean……"

Lord Lansdowne hesitated and asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Trusil Aman, right..."

Zhuge Jun directly quoted the offer of the Ming Empire, which was a British protectorate. In another world, it also had another name - United Arab Emirates!

Well, it is also a famous rich country... and its richness is inhumane.

Of course, in this era there was only sand and nothing else.

"Trucil Aman!"

At least for a moment, Lord Lansdowne couldn't even remember where that place was, but it must be a small place that was not worth mentioning.

After thinking for a while, Marquis Lansdowne said.

"We can certainly negotiate this aspect of the issue, but what? We also need to have some kind of negotiation with you about your position in this war."

(End of this chapter)