Chapter 669: Choice (First update, please subscribe)
Apply to military academy!
According to the private agreement reached between the two parties when sending overseas students, the students sent by Li Hefei could directly apply for the army and naval schools. In other words, their students could receive military education in the Ming Dynasty.
Without realizing it, a person's destiny has changed.
In another world, Zhan Tianyou studied engineering, but now he decided to apply to the Army Officers School. Why did he apply to the military school?
Zhan Tianyou certainly had his own ideas, but Liang Dunyan just looked at him seriously for a few seconds and then asked.
"Have you decided?"
When he asked this question, his tone seemed a little serious, as if he already knew why he wanted to do this, but he still had to make sure whether he really wanted to do so.
Everyone has the freedom to choose, but you need to confirm before making a choice.
"Yes!"
Zhan Tianyou answered without hesitation, and when he said these two words, there was a smile and a sense of relief on his face.
At this moment, he was suddenly relieved. The hesitation and confusion he had felt for a long time completely disappeared at this moment, and he understood what choice he should make.
"No regrets?"
Liang Dunyan looked at his junior and asked him again, as if he wanted to remind him that if you make this choice, you must never regret it.
"Never!"
Zhan Tianyou said with a smile.
"Maybe this is the best decision I've ever made in my life. Why should I regret it?"
"Now that you've made the decision, work hard to do it!"
Liang Dunyan, who is a few years older than him, was admitted to the Law Department of Nanhua University last year. He can understand Zhan Tianyou's choice. It takes a lot of courage to make this choice.
As a member of the same department as Mr. Li, Liang Dunyan gave a special reminder regarding his friend's decision.
"After you are admitted to the military academy, remember to spend more time with the eldest master during the holidays. After all, it will be more convenient in the future with the eldest master's support."
There are people everywhere, and the same is true in this seemingly simple group of international students.
"Well, thank you, brother. I've learned a lot from you."
Liang Dunyan smiled, then patted Zhan Tianyou on the shoulder and said.
"I'll celebrate for you when you pass the exam."
Life is always so wonderful. No one knows what choice they will make. Even for Zhan Tianyou himself, he doesn’t know whether his choice is right or wrong.
But some roads must be walked by someone.
When a butterfly flaps its wings, no one knows what kind of storm it will cause, but after it flaps its wings, there will be no force that can stop it until the storm occurs...
…
October 1874.
There was a crowd of people in the Paris train station.
A tall Spaniard in a dark blue raincoat looked around the station. His sharp and angular face was very serious. Soon, someone came to his side. Then he brushed his hair that was lying on his forehead and walked to the north end of the train station.
The station was crowded with people, and people from all directions passed by him and rushed to the various exits of the station. Passengers coming and going were all in a hurry.
The Spaniard and his three colleagues were also on their way because he also had something to do and an appointment to keep.
According to the plan, he should go down the ramp, enter the platform, find the train to Vienna, start from the last car, count forward to the fifth car. After getting on the train, count to the door of the third compartment in the car, and knock twice on the door. If nothing strange happened, someone would open the door and invite him in.
If everything goes well, it means that all the preparations for the past two years will finally win at this time. In the past two years, in addition to the many ships that came to Europe to negotiate the issue, the parties also communicated through submarine telegrams, coded telegrams across the Atlantic Ocean, and even sent private messengers.
It all finally came to a conclusion!
Who has been the busiest person in Daming in the past two years?
It must be Zhu Guozhong. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, or what outsiders usually call the "Foreign Minister", he once again took a ship to Europe near the end of the year. However, he did not arrive in Europe as the Imperial Foreign Minister, but came to France under a pseudonym.
After arriving in Paris, he boarded the train to Vienna as planned.
Passing through the station entrance, walking down the ramp, and onto the train platform. Zhu Guozhong followed the train count... three, four, five, and under the window on the left hand side of the open door of the fifth carriage, there was a small blue circle. This was a sign, indicating that this carriage was more sophisticated than the first-class carriage - its compartment area was larger, and the equipment inside could be used to hold some kind of travel meeting, and it was guaranteed not to be pried by any outsiders, and the small doors at both ends of the carriage would be protected by armed railway bodyguards.
After entering the carriage, the attendant beside Zhu Guozhong looked at the ticket and then entered another carriage, while Zhu Guozhong continued to walk forward along the aisle. When he reached the third door, he
Knocked twice.
A calm and composed voice came from inside:
"Mr. Zhu, right? Please come in."
The chain on the door clicked twice, followed by the sound of the door being pulled open. The door opened inwards, and the person who opened it was none other than Count Alexander Vanevsky, the Foreign Minister of the Second Empire.
As soon as he saw Zhu Guozhong, he greeted him with a smile:
"Did you have a smooth journey? It must have been very hard for you. Please come in, my friend."
"Everything is going well."
Zhu Guozhong walked into this exquisitely equipped compartment.
There was a table and two soft chairs inside. The bed should be next to it. There were two layers of velvet curtains on the windows, which reduced the noise of passers-by outside. There was a table lamp with a tassel lampshade on the table.
Alexander said as he motioned for him to sit down.
"We are going to Vienna this time to reach an agreement on the final issues. If everything goes well, we will sign a treaty there, a treaty of alliance of four countries!"
When saying this, Count Alexander Vanevsky's tone seemed a little excited. They started planning all this after the funeral of Emperor III last year. Now, the treaty has finally come to the moment of signing. How could he not be excited?
The signing of the treaty would not only secure his nephew's throne, but also restore the French Empire to its former glory. Most importantly, he would also preserve his personal wealth and glory.
"Unfortunately, this is not the Five Nations Alliance."
Zhu Guozhong shook his head with regret. The "five countries" he referred to included Italy, but because of the differences between France and Italy, he was not even able to visit Italy.
Of course, the French also tried to test the Italians' ideas. Compared with North Africa, the Italians valued Rome more.
"The Italians always want to occupy the Papal States, but as the most powerful Catholic country in the world, France must stand on the side of the Papal States, at least to some extent. Moreover, in the future, with the liberation of the Holy City, we will also need the support of the Papal States. Therefore, it is difficult for us to reach a consensus with Italy on this point. If a consensus cannot be reached, the possibility of Italians joining the covenant is almost zero."
Alexander said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.
"Sometimes, we have to make some trade-offs, don't you think?"
This is the biggest difference between Italy and France. Italy longs to get Rome to achieve true unification, but what about France? As the largest Catholic country in the world, they are naturally the protector of the Papal States. To a certain extent, the Bonaparte family needs the Pope to endorse their crown.
This means that there is an irreconcilable conflict of interests between France and Italy.
Zhu Guozhong said, shrugged his shoulders without denying anything.
"In that case, let's exclude them completely! Have you worked out the final plan?"
"This is the preliminary consensus we have reached. Of course, we still need to seek your opinion. In addition to the consensus, there are still many details that need to be discussed. The most critical issue is..."
Looking up, Alexander looked directly at him and said.
"We hope that the Ming Empire will also join in, rather than just stand aside. So, we insist - if we take action, it should be the four countries that act at the same time!"
(End of this chapter)
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