Chapter 253 Communication between two patients

"Hello, respected Earl. Your soldiers are better equipped than the British Empire's colonial troops. Only the elite troops in our own country can be compared. It seems that the Empire's aid to the Qing Dynasty has not been wasted. On behalf of the British Empire, I am satisfied with your performance."

Shao Quanzhong jumped off his horse and shook hands warmly with the foreign devil Forsyth. "Qing and Britain are friendly countries. Qing is willing to maintain the just world order under the leadership of the British Empire, and to develop together and coexist and prosper together. This is what we should do."

Forsyth and Shao Quanzhong praised each other. As a diplomat, Forsyth spoke Chinese quite fluently, while the Ottoman man with a mustache in his twenties next to him did not speak Chinese and was so anxious that he kept turning in circles.

Shao Quanzhong nodded towards Murad and asked, "Why is this Turk here?"

Seyfus looked down on him and said, "We didn't want to get involved in this matter. Humph, we in Britain have withdrawn our military advisers from Yakub Beg. The Ottomans are reckless and insist on taking on the challenge. They deserve to be beaten."

The Turk suddenly spoke a few words in English, which Shao Quanzhong could not understand. Just as Sefoss was about to translate, Wu Ziyi, who was beside Shao Quanzhong, finished translating first.

"He said that the Ottomans supported Yakub Beg because they were unaware that we had reached an agreement with the British. It was a complete misunderstanding."

Shao Quanzhong did not treat the Ottomans well at all. "If we had not reached an agreement with Britain, the Qing Dynasty would have allowed you to invade at will, right? Let me tell you, if you make a mistake, you have to pay the price. Those captured Ottoman Turkish officers cannot be redeemed without 200,000 taels."

Murad spoke a lot of nonsense in a hurry, and Wu Ziyi looked surprised, "Sir, he said that there is no rush to redeem the people, and they are not short of 200,000 taels of silver. Please issue an order quickly to stop the attack of the Mediterranean Fleet of the South China Sea Fleet on the Ottoman mainland. In the Aegean Sea Battle, the Turkish Navy was completely wiped out. Now the coastal cities of the Ottoman Empire are in flames everywhere, and the empire has lost more than tens of millions of taels of silver, and the economy has suffered a severe blow..."

Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, "That's too much. I've said too much. Their fleet doesn't have my trust. How much damage can a few shots from the navy cause to the coastal cities?"

Sephos looked gloating, "My Lord, your subordinates are not only the navy. The 70,000-ton fleet carrying 2,000 Cuban marines is not enough. After the Aegean Sea Battle destroyed the Turkish fleet, the Greeks saw the advantage and joined in, and took the initiative to send 5,000 troops to your fleet.

Now Smyrna was destroyed by artillery fire and looted by the Cuban-Greek coalition forces. The entire island of Cyprus has been occupied by the Greeks. The Greeks promised that Cyprus would be jointly managed by Greece and Qing Dynasty and could be used as a base for your fleet's residence and supply in the future.

Your fleet, together with the Greek navy, continuously bombarded cities on the west coast of the Mediterranean. Haifa, Jaffa, and Beirut were all spared. The Greek-Cuban coalition forces even appeared in the suburbs of Jerusalem and Damascus.

The Ottomans urgently dispatched troops from Europe to reinforce the Asian part. As a result, Liao Rong took advantage of the empty Sea of Marmara and broke through the Dardanelles Strait, heading straight for the Golden Horn to bombard Istanbul.

The British are very familiar with this routine. They dominate the seven seas, their fleets roam the seas, and bullying people everywhere has long been a habit.

Liao Rong and his men all graduated from the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom, and they had learned very well the tactic of relying on the speed of the fleet to bully countries without a navy.

Shao Quanzhong's order to Liao Rong was to attack the Ottoman Empire without any specific combat target, which gave Liao Rong a lot of flexibility.

The Ottoman Empire has deployed heavy troops in the Sea of Marmara, and heavy artillery is densely spread along the coast. It would certainly be difficult to defeat the enemy with a direct attack by the fleet, so they would attack other places first.

After the main force of the enemy was transferred away, the fleet suddenly went to bombard Istanbul, which must have caused the Ottomans to be in a state of panic.

"Very good, Liao Rong did a great job." Murad said a lot excitedly, and Wu Ziyi laughed. "Sir, he said that the Ottomans are willing to pay compensation according to your previous ultimatum. The ransom is not a problem at all. He just hopes that our fleet will stop the attack as soon as possible."

Shao Quanzhong glanced at Murad, "Eight million in compensation was the demand at that time. If you didn't give it then, now that my fleet is at the gates of the city, the price has gone up! I want fifteen million taels, plus an apology."

Sephorus tried to smooth things over. That was what he was there to do. "The Ottomans and the Qing Dynasty are both brothers in the British camp. That's enough. For the sake of Britain, ask for less and save some face for the Ottomans."

The British were actually very angry with the Ottomans. We, the British, had already withdrawn to create conditions for the Huai Army's expedition to the west. Why did you, the Ottomans, go and pretend? You deserved to be slapped in the face.

Well, Yakub Beg asked the Ottomans for help, used humble words and generous gifts, and was willing to become a vassal of the Ottomans. This was like investing with capital and bringing Ili Province with him to surrender.

The Ottomans' thinking is still stuck in the past few hundred years, and they still think of themselves as a world power spanning Europe and Asia and dominating Europe.

Being flattered by Yakub Beg and envious of the vastness of Ili Province, they gave Yakub Beg the title of Emir, provided him with assistance, and sent officers to serve as military advisers. After Yakub Beg died, the title of Emir was given to Bekhuli.

Unexpectedly, the Huai Army was so strong that Berkhamsted was no match for them.

That would be fine. The Ottomans’ idea was that we are so far away and you can’t do anything to me. Who knows if the Qing Dynasty has a Mediterranean fleet?
The British originally did not want to get involved in the conflict between the two brothers, but Murad ran to Delhi to ask the British for mediation.

After all, in the Crimean War, the Turks were at the forefront and hundreds of thousands of people died, so they could be considered good lackeys. It was difficult for the British to refuse them, so the two of them came together to find Shao Quanzhong.

Shao Quanzhong sorted out the relationship here and patted Seyforth on the shoulder. "Old Seyforth, look, the Turks are the sick man of West Asia, and we are the sick man of East Asia. This is a communication between two patients, so the British brother doesn't need to worry too much."

He turned around and told Wu Ziyi, "I don't understand the language of this Murad. You are responsible for negotiating with him. We can't talk in the wild, right? Let's go to Kokand to talk!"

Sephos laughed. "Your Excellency now has the third largest fleet in the world. The Qing Dynasty has become a top power after France. How can you call it the sick man of East Asia? Since you have made the contact, we will not care. I have a suggestion for you. The Ottomans like to save face. If you give them some face, you may be able to get more money and other benefits."

Uh, the term "Sick Man of East Asia" was invented by the British. However, it was not until after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 that our Qing Dynasty was given this title. Shao Quanzhong got the timeline mixed up.

With the arrival of Master Shao, China will no longer be entitled to the title of Sick Man of East Asia.

After listening to Sefos's suggestion, Shao Quanzhong rolled his eyes. Yes, the Ottoman Empire has been established for much longer than the Qing Dynasty, and is even more stupid. It is just as obsessed with the face of the Celestial Empire as the Qing Dynasty. This can be used. He immediately gave Wu Ziyi a detailed instruction.

Wu Ziyi beckoned Murad and indicated that the two of them should first go to Kokand for preliminary negotiations, and then sign the final agreement after Shao Quanzhong arrived with his army.

The Mediterranean Fleet's attack on the Ottoman mainland was still continuing. Murad was much more anxious than Wu Ziyi and hurriedly followed Wu Ziyi.

(End of this chapter)

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