Chapter 569: Showing Movies in the White House (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe)

This is the strategic layout between countries!

Zhu Xianhai was smoking a cigar and gazing at the lake with a smile on his face.

In fact, deep down he was proud.

Standing on the shoulders of historical giants, he can easily foresee the future and make some advance plans based on the future.

In fact, like everyone else, Zuo Zongtang never dared to question His Majesty's strategic decisions - he was always able to seize opportunities very accurately and use them to achieve his own expansion.

The British are good at planning ahead, but what about Your Majesty? Not only can you always expose the British's bad intentions, but you can also use their bad intentions to benefit yourself.

Now we have calculated Russia's ambitions so clearly, and are also adding fuel to the flames. In the end, it is still for the expansion of the Ming Dynasty.

Although his thoughts were made clear, Zhu Xianhai did not say anything.

He knew very well why he said this. It was not only for the expansion of the Ming Dynasty in South America, but more importantly to change the direction of Russia's expansion from the East to the West!

The failure of the Crimean War did not change Russia's ambition to expand westwards, but aroused their desire for revenge. A few years later, in the tenth Russo-Turkish War, the British threatened to use force, forcing Russia to abandon its plan to march to Constantinople.

It was also from that time that the entire Russian Empire reached a consensus - with Britain's obstruction, they could no longer expand westward.

So the double-headed eagle turned its gaze to the East. So at this time, China became the fat meat in the eyes of the Russian Empire.

For the future of China, this double-headed eagle must keep a close eye on the West!

Once this greedy polar bear turns its attention to the West, it is likely to tear the entire West to pieces.

At this time, what the Ming Dynasty needed was to take advantage of the Russian polar bear and get a few pieces of meat while it was destroying the world sphere of influence established by the British.

This is what the Ming Dynasty should do.

Looking at the solemn expression of His Majesty, Zuo Zongtang broke the silence and spoke.

"Your Majesty's plan is indeed very feasible, but Your Majesty, Russia has been in serious financial difficulties over the past decade. Even if they are willing, it will be difficult for them to achieve military expansion and complete war preparations in the next few years!"

As the prime minister of the Ming Empire, Zuo Zongtang had a certain understanding of various countries and also mastered the intelligence of the politics, military and economy of various major countries. Since the Crimean War, Russia has not been able to get rid of serious financial difficulties, and the sale of Alaska did not alleviate it much.

"Without sufficient financial resources, everything is just empty talk!"

That's exactly the case. In fact, in the tenth Russo-Turkish War, Russia finally backed down. The reason was that it could no longer support itself financially. However, Emperor Zhu had already been prepared for this.

“Money is not a problem!”

Zhu Xianhai said with a mysterious smile.

"Soon the Russians will sort this out!"

"A loan, huh?"

Zuo Zongtang said with a bit of a smile,

"Your Majesty, do you intend to ask Russia to provide a loan? Loans are not impossible, but we have to consider the return! Too much loan will affect our own development, and too little will be of no help."

"Don't worry, Ji Gao, Russia has more fat than you think."

Russia...is so fat!

But now Russia has no idea how rich it is. In their eyes, Russia is poor. Apart from the land, Russia has nothing. They have neither industrial products to export nor special agricultural and sideline products.

In a word, Russia is big, but extremely poor.

But this poor guy is a poor guy who is begging for food with a golden baby in his arms. After a few decades, this poor guy suddenly becomes arrogant.

Russia is now just a poor country. But this is also a good opportunity to eat some fat meat from this poor country who is begging for food with a golden bowl in his hand.

Zhu Xianhai said as he rearranged the chess pieces.

"However, Russia is a typical country of tigers and wolves. If you want to eat their meat, you must have sharp teeth, otherwise your teeth will be broken! Counting the days, Washington should have received the gift I sent over!"

Zuo Zongtang nodded and replied.

"Well, today is November 17th, and it has been 22 days since the mail ship left. You should have received it by now!"

…

Although the steam engine and telegraph shortened the distance between the world, the world was still vast in 1871. The express mail ship departed from Yingtian on October 25 and took 23 days to arrive at the Port of New York. That evening, the diplomatic mail package sent to Washington by train was delivered to the Ming Embassy in the United States.

The next morning, a fresh "state gift" was delivered to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Accompanying Dong Kun, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, to the White House was Li Fuyun, the third-class counselor of the embassy.

In the White House conference room, many officials, including President McClellan, looked at Li Fuyun curiously as he fiddled with the projector.

Movie!

This was something new. What was even more new was that the projector and the film were gifts from the Ming Emperor.

The Emperor's Gift!

While expressing their gratitude, the president and others were also very curious about what this movie was.

"Movies are lifelike black-and-white images projected onto a screen by a projector. Those images move, and can also be called moving photos."

Dong Kun explained with a smile, but his smile was filled with a certain expectation, as if he was also full of expectations. He was looking forward to what kind of expressions and reactions these people would have after watching the movie.

He even thought that he should send a camera to film their faces. It would surely be very exciting at that time.

"First, light the kerosene lamp. Then adjust the flame."

While fiddling with the projector, Li Fuyun explained to the American next to him how to use it. In fact, he was also learning from the manual last night.

After the projected light accurately shone on the screen, Li Fuyun hung up the film box. After working for a while, he nodded to the ambassador.

Dong Kun said.

"Okay, Mr. President, you can draw the curtains now. Today..."

Looking at the people in the room, Dong Kun said.

"Mr. President and you will be the first audience to watch the movie. This is a moment worth remembering. Today - movies, this new art form will bring people unprecedented feelings!"

"Thank you for the gift, His Majesty the Emperor!"

McClellan said with a smile. Then the curtains were drawn, and when he sat on the sofa, there was a smile on his face, as if at this moment, he saw the opportunity to ease the relationship, and he even began to think about how to return the gift.

"Okay, Counselor Li, let's get started!"

"OK!"

In the dark conference room, an orange light was projected onto the screen, and in people's anticipation, a picture appeared on the screen.

The image is of a rotating globe, the logo of Universal Pictures, the world's first film company.

“It really moves!”

McClellan and the others were all stunned and staring at the spinning earth. Before they recovered from the shock of the opening credits, a line of Chinese characters appeared on the screen.

But someone was considerate enough to translate it into English for them. It was Dong Kun.

"On July 19, 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and the long-planned North German Confederation brazenly invaded the French Empire."

When Dong Kun's voice rang out in the conference room, everyone was stunned.

McClellan even turned around and looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about?

"Mr. Ambassador..."

At this moment, the picture on the screen changed, and a vivid black and white picture appeared before their eyes. In the picture, a large group of people and horses marched along the street, officers riding horses, and soldiers carrying guns.

This is a picture of the army going out to battle!

Then, several large characters appeared on the screen.

"Target - Versailles!"

(End of this chapter)