Chapter 1292: The Innocence of the Ming Dynasty (Second update, please subscribe)
London in November was filled with fog. The winter fog mixed with the coal haze, filling the air with a choking smell of coal smoke. Although the snow was white yesterday, a layer of black dust had fallen on the white snow on the roadside after one night.
Although the smell of smog is very choking, people still need to run in the smog and work hard for their lives, regardless of whether they are rich or poor.
In the thick smog, people could only see each other's silhouettes. Suddenly, the shouting of a newspaper seller was heard in the smog. The hoarse shouting of the newspaper seller echoed in the street.
"The darkest week in the history of the British Empire - the great defeat in southern Africa!"
"The Diamond City Kimberly has fallen!"
As cries like the screams of crows echoed in the haze, people were in a heavy mood. In the past month, there had been no good news at all. Although at the beginning of the Boers' declaration of war, people always felt that the war would end soon when they talked about it. After all, the Boers... there were only a few hundred thousand people. They didn't even have an army, only a group of police.
In this blind optimism, the Boers directly used guns and cannons to teach the British how to behave.
Instead of becoming a human, he became a ghost!
The British were so stunned by the blows that they were unable to react. Even London was affected - the disastrous defeat shrouded London in a bleak cloud.
This kind of weather really suits the mood of the British people at this time.
Although it was daytime, cars on the street still turned on their headlights to illuminate the road ahead.
"Alas, there is no good banquet!"
Sitting in the back seat of the car, Schnander thought silently in his heart that as the Empire's ambassador to the UK, he had just received a call from the British Prime Minister's Office.
Meeting with the Prime Minister.
No need to ask, Schneider knew why.
It must be about what’s happening in South Africa.
What do they want to do?
When the car stopped in front of 10 Downing Street, Snider took another deliberate look outside the car. The door was still closed as usual, and two policemen in uniform were standing outside. This was the center of political power in the United Kingdom.
Before getting off the car, Schnander took a deep breath and then got out.
…The real challenge has begun.
"Yours,"
"Yours,"
"Yours,"
"It's still... yours!"
Every time he said "yours", Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil kept throwing the photos in his hand in front of Schnander.
What's in the photo?
Type 70 rifle.
Type 10 machine gun.
Year One hand grenade.
Type 11 field gun
Type 64 mortar
…
These weapons... well, they are all from the Ming Dynasty, no problem. Not only are they from the Ming Dynasty, but they are also famous brand products of the Ming Dynasty.
"Mr. Prime Minister, what is this?"
Schneider asked in a puzzled manner.
"We found these weapons in southern Africa. They are all produced in the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Ambassador, I thought we had reached an agreement. We even sacrificed some of our interests in the Persian Gulf in exchange for your support. But what about now?"
Cecil said in a tone full of anger.
"What did the British Empire's army encounter there? It was the armed army of the Ming Empire! The Boers used weapons from the Ming Empire. You armed them with your weapons, and thousands of British people died at the hands of your weapons. Mr. Ambassador, the British Empire needs to explain."
"explain?"
Schnander looked at the other person with a surprised look, as if he were an idiot, and then said.
"Mr. Prime Minister, I think you forgot one thing. In the past ten years or so, the Ming Empire has exported a large number of arms every year. Those arms will naturally be sold to Boer. In addition, Boer imported millions of yuan worth of arms from the Ming Empire last year. Isn't it normal for these weapons to appear on the battlefield?"
Ming-made products are a famous brand known all over the world. It is perfectly normal for them to appear in South Africa. How could someone protest against this? What else can this be but idiocy?
"Well……"
Prime Minister Cecil was very upset by Schnander's answer. He certainly knew that the other party was telling the truth, but this guy did not tell the whole truth.
"Were these arms exported before the war?"
Faced with Prime Minister Cecil's uncertainty, Schneider answered directly.
"This can be verified through the customs. I am very sure that these weapons were definitely exported before we reached an agreement with you. Of course, if there are some smuggling activities, you know, we are powerless to stop them. After all, the border is so long that we cannot block the entire border. But one thing is certain, during the signing of the treaty, not a single bullet passed through the railway or customs to enter the Boer territory..."
There must not be a single bullet left, there are tens of thousands of them. As for the railways... Ming is a country of cars, does it need railways?
Without even thinking about it, Schnander believed that the embargo was a rare opportunity for the empire's merchants. They would definitely seize that opportunity and do everything possible to export weapons and make huge profits.
Of course, those were all private actions and had absolutely nothing to do with the Ming government.
"Mr. Prime Minister, we have always cherished our friendship with your country. How could we possibly go against the agreement we signed with you?"
Then, Schnander naturally began to introduce what efforts the Ming Empire had made to ensure the implementation of the agreement, such as the ban on heavy weapons entering the Bechuanaland Special Zone, the ban on explosives, and the arms export license. In a word, the Ming Empire behaved more innocently than the White Rabbit.
"Mr. Prime Minister, the Empire has always been a model in abiding by agreements. We believe that the agreement between us and you is conducive to international peace and the future of our two countries. Therefore, the Empire cherishes this opportunity very much, cherishing this opportunity to adjust its relationship with the British Empire."
Faced with such an answer, Prime Minister Cecil was speechless. What could he say?
"I believe that the imperial government will definitely abide by the agreement. However, Mr. Ambassador, we should note that there is a lot of evidence that the Boers still obtained a lot of weapons from the Ming Dynasty after the outbreak of the war. Those smugglers, they..."
Staring at Schnander, Prime Minister Cecil said:
"Their actions not only damaged the friendship between you and us, but also violated the laws of the Empire. We hope that the Empire can punish them. After all, they violated the laws of the Empire."
"That's for sure!"
In response to Prime Minister Cecil's "proposal", Schnander gave a direct response.
"As long as we catch them, we will definitely give them the most severe judicial sanctions. Please believe me, Mr. Prime Minister, the laws of the empire cannot be trampled upon..."
The prerequisite is to be able to catch them. As for what will happen after catching them, that is... well, after being caught, it is of course a legal issue.
But no matter what, we have to catch those smugglers first before we can take the next step, right?
"So, we will definitely get to the bottom of this matter."
(End of this chapter)
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