Chapter Seventy-One: The Old Friend Returns from the East

  In the early spring of 1859, the British delegation came to China again. This time they brought back the Treaty of Tianjin signed and approved by the Queen. According to international convention and previous agreement, the British Minister should have presented the treaty to the Emperor of the Great Qing, asking him to sign it, and then exchange treaties with each other.

  However, the Xianfeng Emperor and his ministers could not swallow their pride and accept the British and French demands. Since the founding of the Qing dynasty, barbarians had only needed to pay tribute, and the Central Empire had never been on an equal footing with other countries. The Xianfeng Emperor did not want to set this precedent either. According to the imperial court's intention, the Treaty of Huangpu could be exchanged in Shanghai, with Imperial Commissioner Guiliang representing the signature.

  As a result, the British and French were not only not angry, but secretly delighted. Because after the two countries' envoys returned home, they felt that their respective countries were not satisfied with the rights obtained under the Treaty of Tianjin, so the British and French had a new excuse to go to war and seize even more rights.

  Li Mingfeng learned through diplomatic channels that both sides stuck to their principles and refused to give in, with the atmosphere of the recent negotiations becoming increasingly tense.

  It seems that the Anglo-French coalition is approaching Beijing, and the battle of burning down Yuanmingyuan is about to start. This was something Li Mingfeng had expected.

  Gong Cheng once said that if you want to be a good person, you should keep a low profile and avoid conflicts. Now that the war is imminent, Li Mingfeng can't help but consider whether he should distance himself from this war.

  Just then, when Li Mingfeng was thinking of a way to avoid this trouble, an imperial guard came to report that there were foreigners asking to see him.

  Li Mingfeng ordered someone to be invited in. Upon entering, it was none other than the Prussian friend - Eros.

  "Oh, I thought it was someone else, turns out it's my creditor coming to collect the debt!" Li Mingfeng stood up and walked over.

  Ares said in a bad tone: "We transported a ship of ammunition from Europe and sold it to you at cost price. Who knew that you would actually default on the final payment? You are not a qualified general."

  "Oh, yes I'm not a qualified general, but you're not a qualified merchant either, Lord Elos." Li Mingfeng joked. In fact, both sides knew that Li Mingfeng was not a real general, and neither was Elos a military arms dealer.

  Eros said somewhat awkwardly: "I am indeed not a merchant, I am a general of the Kingdom of Prussia."

  Li Mingfeng was extremely surprised by these words, thinking to himself that last time he had already guessed Eluos' identity, but he refused to admit it, so why did he voluntarily confess this time?

  "It seems you really have something to look for me this time, my Prussian general." Li Mingfeng said.

  "Yes, it's been a few short months since we last met, and many things have happened that I must come to see you about," Eros said.

  Li Mingfeng invited Eluos into his own room, letting all the guards retreat, and only then asked: "What is it that can make you, a general, come to the East twice in just a few short months?"

  Eros heard Li Mingfeng's inquiry and no longer concealed it, directly recounting the reasons for his two visits to China.

  After the Industrial Revolution, the world pattern changed rapidly, and the international perspective shifted from regional to global. To become a strong country, it cannot be limited to its own region.

  Britain and France had almost completely divided up all of the colonies, which infuriated Prussia.

  Industry requires a large amount of raw materials and also needs places to sell its products. Prussia cannot intervene in the colonies of England and France, so it is impossible for Prussia to continue to expand, which creates potential contradictions between Prussia and England and France.

  In addition, after Prussia became powerful, the issue of unification of the German Confederation was put on the table. The Germans' pursuit of unity would inevitably lead to conflicts with the European mainland's overlord, France. England and France had been allies for a long time, advancing and retreating together. If Prussia wanted to deal with France, it would also have to consider the British Empire. Therefore, the high-level officials of the Kingdom of Prussia are now thinking of ways to find allies to counter England and France.

  An ally must meet two conditions: first, it must have a vast territory and a huge market. Only in this way can the demand for raw materials and markets of Prussia be satisfied, and only such a country is qualified to form an alliance with Prussia.

  Secondly, there must be irreconcilable contradictions with Britain and France.

  Looking around the world, Russia and the United States are the best choices. The territory and market of the US and Russia fully meet the first requirement. Moreover, Russia had a fierce battle with Britain and France in Crimea a few years ago and suffered greatly. As for the United States, it also clashed with Britain multiple times during its War of Independence, and even now, the British Empire still wants to turn the US into a colony.

  As a result, Prussia sent many high-ranking officials to the two countries for an alliance. The result of the lobbying was that Russia was very interested in the alliance, but because there were also mutual suspicions between Prussia and Russia, the role of the alliance was very limited. America was too preoccupied with domestic issues such as the unsettled West and tense North-South relations to be enthusiastic about the alliance.

  Apart from Russia and the United States, Prussia's third choice was the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty had the largest territory and population in the world, and had fought wars with Britain and France several times, so Prussia hoped to unite with the Qing Dynasty to counter Britain and France.

  However, contrary to their wishes, the Prussians arrived in the East with arms and ammunition, hoping not only to make a fortune but also to establish contact with high-ranking officials of the Qing government. Little did they know that the Qing imperial court didn't need even one bullet, let alone Elows being unable to meet a single decent official.

  The one who received him was a seventh-rank official from the Office of Foreign Affairs, and this old master still thought Eros had come to pay tribute. Prussia? Where is that? Is it bigger than the Night Lang of the Han Dynasty? This was what the masters were thinking.

  The old masters of the Li Fan Yuan accepted the gifts brought by the Prussians and gave them a public document. Declaring recognition of the status of the King of Prussia, hoping that the king of Prussia who admires the heavenly dynasty can educate his people well.

  Facing the arrogant and nearly idiotic officials of the Li Fan Yuan, Eros stayed in Beijing for over a month without achieving anything. He then went to Tianjing, hoping to have an unexpected surprise. But unexpectedly, the Heavenly King himself did not see the Prussian, only bestowing a sacred edict.

  The content is already unclear, all are words like "the top father brother exterminate stinky insect" "father brother I descend to the world". Father refers to Hong Xiuquan's father - God Jehovah, brother refers to Hong Xiuquan's elder brother - Savior Jesus, I refer to himself, young refers to his son - Young Heavenly King Hong Tianfu Gui, and stinky insect naturally refers to the Qing Dynasty.

  After Ai Luo returned from Tianjing, he lost confidence in finding allies from the East. Later, through the introduction of a missionary in Shanghai, he managed to sell off a shipment of military supplies, and it was this incident that led him to meet Li Mingfeng.

  After transporting the Foreign Rifles from Anqing, Eulenburg returned to Prussia, leaving only a few subordinates in charge of debt collection. After returning to Prussia, Eulenburg reported what he had seen and heard in the East to Regent William, who also believed that there was no hope of allying with the great powers of the East.

  Later, the personnel who accepted the tail money also returned to Berlin and informed Eros of Li Mingfeng's current situation. The intelligence they received was that Li Mingfeng's foreign gun team had grown to have 20,000 soldiers, and Li Mingfeng himself had also taken on the role of general.

  After Eulos conveyed the intelligence to the regent, William's heart was unsettled once again. Because Prussia really needed a raw material production place.