Chapter 387 London Peace Conference
Chapter 387 London Peace Conference
Generally speaking, Britain seldom directly sends troops to intervene in European affairs, but instead instigates fighting among European countries and reaps the benefits.
Now the Ottoman Empire was in turmoil and was besieged by the coalition forces of six nations. One hundred thousand of its 400,000-strong army were destroyed and two hundred thousand were surrounded. It looked like the country was on the verge of being destroyed.
The Ottoman Empire cannot be lost, as it still owes a large amount of loans to Britain. If the Ottoman Empire is gone, who can I ask for money?
The Ottoman Empire was more powerful than the Qing Dynasty. The Empress Dowager embezzled naval funds to build a garden, but at least he used his own money. The New Palace in Istanbul was simply built with borrowed money.
The Ottoman Empire just owed Britain another three million Turkish liras to buy British arms. Is our money going to be wasted in the blink of an eye?
The one who owes the money is the boss. In order to prevent the British financial capitalists from getting nothing in vain, Britain became anxious and personally sent troops to Istanbul to protect the Ottoman Empire, its little brother that owed it a lot of debt.
However, the UK did not dare to offend the public. Buckingham Palace announced: Our fleet and marines are not going to help Turkey fight, but are peacekeeping forces. The war has broken up countless families in Bulgaria. Isn't this a good thing? Peace is the most important thing. Let's talk slowly about anything.
Britain called on the warring parties to immediately cease fire and negotiate to resolve their demands.
No one dared to refuse the British big brother's face, and a ceasefire was immediately declared on the battlefields of Sofia and Pleven Fortress.
The situation suddenly returned to normal, and the British boss was familiar with the situation. He immediately sent troops to maintain peace with the three powers near the battlefield, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Qing Dynasty, to mediate the Balkan War and invite all parties involved to send representatives to London for negotiations.
…………
Hailing, Wen's Mining Company.
There are not many mineral deposits underground in Hailing, and Wen’s Mining is just headquartered here.
The boss of Wen's Mining is an old scholar whose braids were cut off by Shao Quanzhong. Now he has become an absolute supporter of Shao Quanzhong.
Although he was in his own company's office, the old man still leaned close to Shao Quanzhong's ear and spoke in a low voice.
"Son-in-law, our mining company has found rich tungsten ore in southern Jiangxi and is secretly smelting it locally. What's the use of this thing?"
"Uncle, you need to ship all the tungsten ore you refine to Fengyang. I want as much as you refine, and you will pay me. I have one request, the person who is in charge and knowledgeable must be one of our Wen family's own people, and it must not be leaked."
"Son-in-law, how long do you plan to keep this stuff? There are too many of these and they are useless, right?"
"This stuff is even more scarce than gold. I don't need it now because our college students haven't trained enough. We have so much tungsten, we must not let foreign experts know about it. It's called a strategic material, understand?"
"I understand, I understand. Otherwise, the son-in-law wouldn't be able to use our Wen family, right? Just leave this to me, don't worry."
After leaving the mining company, Shao Quanzhong came to the Hailing Steam Tractor Factory, where a new tank gun was being tested.
"Pass!"
With a loud bang, the tank armor used as a target that could withstand 47mm rapid-fire guns was easily penetrated.
The Krupp expert on the scene was very proud. "Your Highness, the 105mm tank gun designed according to your requirements has been designed. We use armor-piercing bullets made of pointed special steel. I believe that any tank in the world will not be able to withstand the shooting of our new tank gun."
Shao Quanzhong was very satisfied and said, "Ren Jun, give a special bonus to the experts of this secret project team."
He turned around and patted the German expert on the shoulder, "I will share this secret with Bismarck. No other country will get this technology. You must help me protect this secret."
Ren Jun was a little skeptical, "What's the point of having such a big gun on a tank?"
"The UK has already started developing tanks. They divide tanks into male and female. The male ones are equipped with two 57mm guns on both sides to attack the temporary fortresses of infantry, while the female ones are only equipped with machine guns like we used to." "Aren't tanks just mobile firepower points? Now all countries are developing anti-tank guns. Infantry can attack tanks, so why do tanks need to fight each other?"
Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, "You don't understand. You'll know how useful it is when we see actual combat. My tanks must all be public, and the longer the cannons, the better. Of course, we also need machine guns, which can be used to attack infantry and fight each other."
"Report! Call from London."
Shao Quanzhong took the telegram and said, "Hmm? Peacekeeping? It seems that Quanxiao is doing a good job and has made the British brother anxious."
Shao Quanzhong turned around and said, "Maria, draft a telegram. Transfer the Black Sea Fleet to Port Said. At the same time, transfer Liu Jintang's Hunan Army to the ship in his capacity as the General of Fuyuan, and transport Bulgaria to join the peacekeeping force."
"At the same time, forward my transfer order to the Grand Council for record. Hehe, my Qing Dynasty can also act as a mediator and reap the benefits. The Grand Council will definitely actively support this matter."
"Report, call from St. Petersburg."
Hmm? What does Lucia's father-in-law want to talk to me about?
"All matters concerning the southern part of the empire will be handled by my son-in-law, the Grand Duchy of Crimea. As for the mediation of the Balkan War, I will take care of the arrangements."
Well, it seems that Alexander II's father-in-law is determined to conquer the west, which is a good thing.
"Maria, call Sevastopol and ask Xu Bangdao to lead the Chu army to represent the Grand Duchy of Crimea and Russia to participate in the peacekeeping mission. Ask the Black Sea Fleet to send some transport ships to transport the Chu army."
Even though the Hunan Army and the Chu Army were driven to the frontiers or even stationed abroad by Shao Quanzhong, their treatment was not bad at all, and their equipment was updated synchronously with that of the Huai Army.
They have Krupp cannons and Hotchkiss rapid-fire cannons, which are no worse than any other powerful army in the world. You can be absolutely assured when sending them out. This is the advantage of having a strong military and industrial country behind you.
After leaving the tractor factory, Maria came over and said, "Shao, the telegram has been sent. You told the German experts that tanks with main guns were only shared with Bismarck. Is that true?"
Shao Quanzhong touched the back of his head and laughed, "Of course I was fooling them. How could I forget my good father-in-law Lucia? Later, you can get a detailed technical data from the tractor factory and send your trusted maid to Volgograd."
"This must be kept extremely confidential. Just say that Lucia developed it herself, understand?"
"Sweetheart, you are so nice. Ping'er and I will serve you together later. We can do anything."
"Go away, go away. I can't stand you two coming at me together. That time, Ci'an and the five concubines came at me together and it almost cost me my life."
"Let's go, pack up and get ready to go to London for a meeting. I'm Lucia's representative this time."
On August 1872, 8, Shao Quanzhong arrived in London on the Haiqi to participate in mediating the Balkan War.
Now that the Nanyang Fleet has been disbanded, Shao Quanzhong has only one ship left under his direct command, the Haiqi, which is extremely pitiful.
Although the Haiqi is not powerful enough, it is a cruiser with sails and a fast speed, able to sail at a leisurely speed of 14 or 15 knots.
The speed was slightly slower than that of a clipper ship that hauled goods without considering the feelings of the passengers. It took more than a month to reach London after a 20,000-mile sea journey.
Buckingham Palace was crowded with dignitaries, and the Balkan countries and great powers all came to London to let the leader preside over the matter, divide up the benefits of the war, and sit in a row to share the fruits of their labor. This is what the world's overlord looks like.
(End of this chapter)