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Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Crazy Artillery Text Chapter 220: Obtaining the Philippines
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- After Qin Ge finished speaking, he put down his chopsticks and looked at Mohad with a smile. The telegram sent by the Spanish government to Morhad did not specify the bottom line, but only asked him to try his best. Qin Ge didn't know how much money the United States gave to Spain in history, but he had a reference. Russia sold Alaska to the United States for less than $8 million. The total area of ??the Philippines is less than one-sixth of Alaska. Based on this calculation, 1.5 million is too much.
Mohad rolled his eyes. The country just tried its best to fight for it. China received 300 million taels of silver compensation in the war against Japan. After deducting the 200 million taels from the "Treaty of Shimonoseki between Qing Dynasty and Qing Dynasty", there was still 100 million taels left. silver. One hundred million taels of silver is equivalent to at least one hundred and twenty million U.S. dollars. I'm offering a price of fifty million U.S. dollars. Isn't it too expensive? Moreover, such a large-scale transaction always needs to be negotiated slowly. Asking for a high price and paying back the money on the spot, even asking for $50 million is not too low.
Mohad said: "Your Majesty, the land in the Philippines is fertile. From plantations alone, our country can get nearly one million pounds of tax revenue every year. And from the factories in the Philippines, our country can get"
Qin Ge was speechless for a while as he listened to Mohad keep talking about how much benefits Spain could get from the Philippine colony every year. He picked up his chopsticks and ate some food. In this cold weather, the food got cold in a short while. Unable to eat, he asked the maid Bai Cai to take it away. Mohad spoke for a while before finishing. Then he began to add up the various so-called benefits one by one, and finally said: "Add all these together, and the Philippine colony can have The income is more than 25 million US dollars, but in view of the frequent turmoil in the Philippines, the Philippines¡¯ two years¡¯ income is used as the exchange price for the Philippines. That is 50 million US dollars, what do you think, His Majesty the Emperor?¡±
Qin Ge smiled and shook his head without saying anything. He stretched out his hand and made a "V" shape with two fingers towards Mohad.
Twenty million? Mohad kept shouting in his heart: "Promise him, promise him! Promise him!!"
Mohad suppressed the excitement in his heart. Twenty million was far beyond his imagination. After all, he was here to seek peace. Although he asked for 50 million, he knew it in his heart. In the end, I would be thankful to God if we could reach 10 million. However, Qin Ge actually offered a counter-offer of 20 million at this time. Although he was excited, he always needed to earn more. So Mohad pretended to be at a disadvantage and said: "Twenty million! This is absolutely not possible! Owning the Philippines. The money you make in a year is more than 20 million."
Qin Ge took back his hand and shook his head. He didn't mean to make a counteroffer by making this gesture. This gesture just meant that Mohad was too immodest. Qin Ge said: "Minister Mohad, do you know how much Russia paid for selling Alaska to the United States?"
"Alaska?" Of course Mohad knew how much the United States spent to buy Alaska. It was only US$7 million, but that was a special situation. After the Crimean War, Russia was afraid that Britain and France would invade Alaska from Canada, so they sold Alaska to the United States cheaply. No, the Philippines is also in a special situation now! China has occupied Manila. Thinking of the situation in Spain at this time, Mohad realized that he had no bargaining capital. If China, or the king in front of me, can agree to pay for it, it is already considered very good. Thinking of this, Mohad said carefully: "Then the price in His Majesty's heart is"
Qin Ge stretched out his hand and made a "V" shape with his index finger and middle finger.
Mohd knew that this was not the 20 million he thought, but 2 million. The price of two million was too low and he couldn't make a decision. {{}{}Mohad said: "ThisI need to ask the country."
"It's up to you! We can discuss it with the Imperial Prime Minister or the Minister of Foreign Affairs." Qin Ge said. Although he had a lot of time, he couldn't waste it all on Mohad. Germany has announced its big naval plan, and Britain will definitely not fall behind. It must design a new generation of more powerful naval guns. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to take back Hong Kong in the future. As for firearms, Qin Ge believes that we can fight for another thirty years. During World War II, the main weapons of all countries were still rifles! Qin Ge knew the benefits of submachine guns and assault rifles in the coming war, but if too many automatic weapons appeared in World War I, the outcome would be unpredictable. This is not what Qin Ge wants.
After Mohad left, he sent a telegram to the country, and then waited for news in the telegraph room. Telegrams at this time are charged based on the amount of information. After the telegram is sent, the personnel of the telegraph company will deliver it to you. After a while, the telegram came: The price is too low, and if we talk further, we can choose to use other things instead, such as dreadnought technology, etc.
Not long after Mohad obtained the telegram, a telegram with the same content was delivered to Qin Ge. Qin Ge asked people to intercept telegrams not to obtain information sent to ministers from other countries, but incidentally. Initially, these telegrams were intercepted and deciphered to train telegraph operators on their ability to decipher telegrams. Of course, after some important telegrams were deciphered, a copy would be sent to the staff and Qin Ge.
After reading the telegram, Qin Ge said:??Dreadnought technology? Haha, this thing should be worthless soon! Italy and the United States are probably about to develop fire control systems, but if they trade in technology, they can save a lot of money! "
Qin Ge picked up the newly installed phone and dialed a number. After the call was connected, Qin Ge said: "Get me through the Prime Minister's Office."
"May I ask who is calling?"
"This is Kunming Lake."
The call taker took a deep breath, held the phone further away, and said, "Kunming Lake! And it's the Prime Minister! It's the Emperor! It's the Emperor's voice! It must be the Emperor!"
Another relay person in the computer room shouted: "What?! Is it the Emperor? Quick! Bring it to me and let me hear it!"
"I'll kill you! Your Majesty called the Prime Minister. Something must have happened! I have to transfer the call quickly."
"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"
"Hello? This is the Prime Minister's Office!" Tang Shaoyi picked up the phone and said.
"it's me."
"Your Majesty?" Tang Shaoyi immediately sat up straight.
"Um."
"What does the emperor want from me?" Tang Shaoyi asked.
"Regarding the Philippines, if the Spanish minister comes to you to discuss the transfer price of the Philippines, he will ask for battleship technology. Promise him, but the money will not be any more." Although Alaska is much larger than the Philippines, it is Like Siberia, it is difficult to develop at all, and there is no comparison with the Philippines. Moreover, at least 70% of the gold mines in Alaska were mined by him, and now they are even worthless.
"I understand." Tang Shaoyi said.
"That's it, hang up."
Qin Ge called Pei Ji after hanging up the phone. Said the same thing.
Two days later, Mohad came to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find Pei Ji as a minister. < yd>Mohad thought it would be more appropriate to find Pei Ji.
Pei Ji asked his secretary to make tea, then asked Mohad to sit down and said: "Minister Mohad. Your Majesty has already informed me that you are back. What are your domestic considerations? Do you agree to the conditions we have given? ?¡±
Mohad said: "The price given by His Majesty the Qin Emperor is really too low. As the largest country in the Far East, your country should not only pay such a small amount of money."
"The largest country in the Far East? Minister Mohad is joking. Our country doesn't even have a complete territory. How can we call it a big country?" Pei Jida said.
Yes, even the country is not complete yet! It started to plunder colonies. Can it not be a big country? Mohad cursed, but said: "Although the territory is not complete yet, I believe it will be recovered soon."
"Hehehe. I wish you good luck! I wish you good luck! Here comes the tea. Let's have a sip of tea before we talk." Pei Ji said with a smile.
"Okay." Mohad took the tea cup from the secretary's coffee table, took a sip, and tasted it carefully. Then he put down the tea cup and said: "I came today to discuss the price in the Philippines. The price of US$2 million offered by His Majesty the Qin Emperor is really too low. Our government hopes to increase it to US$8 million."
"Eight million US dollars? This is impossible. The Philippines is indeed worth this price, but I hope your country can figure out the situation. I have received news from the Philippines. It has been confirmed that the Governor of the Philippines was killed in the battle, and the Governor of Guam also surrendered. 2 million The U.S. dollar is the price of the Philippines and Guam combined," Pei Ji said.
"With all due respect, your government should not be short of money now. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan compensated 100 million taels of silver, and the customs also took it back. Why can't it pay a little more so that our government will not lose face?" So thoroughly?"
"No, no, no, our government is short of money now! As you know, our country has just been established, and there are very few domestic factories. All the government funds have been used to build factories and railways. Now the government is still facing a shortage of funds. You may not know that the money currently spent by the army is all funded by the emperor. In order to speed up the industrialization of the empire, the emperor is making a selfless contribution!" Pei Jidao.
"Thisif your government is really so short of money, it can consider using items instead." Mohad said.
"Item replacement?"
"Yes, such as the captured Russian warships." Mohad felt that the Chinese would not exchange the technology of the dreadnought ship. He thought about it in the past two days and found that China captured three Russian warships. These warships are of great significance to the Chinese navy. It is completely backward. If the Chinese government is really short of money at this time, it should be happy to use these warships in exchange.
"Battleship? Wait a minute, I'll call and ask." After speaking, Pei Ji picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Do you need me to go out?" Mohad felt that he couldn't listen to other people's discussions.
Pei Ji nodded and said, "I'm sorry "
After the secretary closed the door, Pei Jida said: "This is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pick me up from Kunming Lake."
"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"
"Hello?"
"Your Majesty Your Majesty, is your Majesty here?"
"Tianwu, he is painting! What's the matter?"
"Can you ask the emperor to answer the phone?"
"Oh, wait a minute."
"Um."
After a while, Qin Ge¡¯s voice appeared on the phone, ¡°Hello?¡±
"Your Majesty, I am Pei Ji. Today, Mohad came to me to discuss the Philippines and offered to exchange captured Russian warships."
"Russian battleships? Okay! I don't know what to do with those broken ships! The maintenance cost of several ships is no less than that of a dreadnought."
"Thenpromise him?"
"Of course, but I won't give you the two million. Although these warships are lagging behind, they are worth more than one million pounds in total."
"What if Mohad still wants the two million dollars?"
"You figure it out! Two million is a drop in the bucket compared to the Philippines, but there are gold mines in the Philippines."
Gold mine? Pei Ji knew that Qin Ge relied on gold mines in the Americas to develop, but he never expected that there were gold mines in the Philippines. But how did the emperor know? The Spaniards didn't discover gold mines in the Philippines either! How can the emperor conclude that there are gold mines in the Philippines? Could it be that the emperor had already sent people to explore the Philippines?
"Is there anything else?" Qin Ge asked when he saw that Pei Ji was silent.
"Huh? Oh oh oh, no more, no more!"
"I'll die without you."
Pei Ji put down the phone and called to the secretary outside the door: "Please come in, Minister Mohad!"
After Mohad came in, Pei Ji said to his secretary: "Go and make two more cups of tea!"
"Minister Pei, how are you doing?"
"How about what? Oh~~ I just had a phone call with the emperor. He agreed, but if he wants those three Russian warships, he won't get 2 million US dollars."
"This how can this be done! Those three Russian ships are worth more than 5 million pounds. Even if 2 million U.S. dollars are added, it still cannot reach 8 million U.S. dollars!" Mohad said.
Pei Ji said: "Ahem, please pay attention. This is not a business deal, Minister Mohad."
Bullshit! Aren¡¯t we just talking about business now? Mohad said: "This is the bottom line given to me by our government. I must try my best to get 8 million US dollars. Otherwise, after the war between our country and the United States is over, I cannot guarantee whether the government will send troops to the Far East."
"Ahem, Minister Mohad, our two countries are still in a state of war. If it weren't for the lack of naval power, I'm afraid the emperor would send warships to Europe." Pei Ji found it funny that Mohad actually threatened him. Spain can't even handle the United States, and now the emperor is extremely merciful by promising to save some face for Spain.
"Uh Minister Pei, two million U.S. dollars is actually not a lot. Moreover, if two million U.S. dollars and three warships are exchanged for a rich land like the Philippines, the money can be earned back in less than a year. I believe His Majesty the Qin Emperor must It gives you full power to make decisions. You and I don¡¯t have to argue over these two million dollars. Although Spain has declined, it still has a certain influence in Europe and can unite European powers to put pressure on China. Britain, Russia Everyone will definitely be willing. And the United States will definitely be very interested in the Philippines. If our country sells the Philippines to the United States"
"Minister Mohad, our team is still in the Philippines. Do you think the United States dares to buy it? Even if you find some powers to put pressure on us, it will not make much sense. The reason for our country's declaration of war is very legitimate, and we have found I took a look at the photos of Chinese people being massacred in the Philippines." Pei Jidao. "But forget it, I won't follow you anymore. Three warships, plus one million US dollars. If the emperor can give you Spanish face, it will be great!"
"Three warships, two million US dollars!"
Pei Ji shook his head. This was the secretary knocking on the door. Pei Ji said: "Come in."
The secretary went out after serving the tea. Pei Ji took a sip of tea and said, "Minister Mohad, increase it to 1.2 million US dollars, which is already beyond the emperor's bottom line."
"1500000!"
"Deal!" Pei Ji said cheerfully.
"Uh" Mohad knew that he had made a mistake. Looking at the guy in front of him, two million dollars was absolutely no problem.
"When will we sign the contract?" Pei Ji asked.
"This I have to wait until I ask our government." Mohad took a sip of tea.
"Well, let me know when it's ready"Well, tell the other ministers by the way, and let them bear witness when the time comes. "Pei Ji said.
Five days later.
"The Spanish government was unable to govern the Luzon colony in the Philippines, which resulted in the multiple massacres and persecutions of the Chinese in the colony. The Spanish government felt deeply guilty about this, but it was powerless. Now that China has begun to become civilized, it proposed to transfer the Philippine colony to China. The two parties agreed to exchange one pre-dreadnought and two cruisers for a price of US$1.5 million This contract came into effect immediately after the signatures of representatives of the two countries.¡±
Pei Ji and Mohad read one side of the contract in Chinese and Spanish respectively, and then Pei Ji read one side in English. Then both parties signed and exchanged the contract.
Watching the signing and exchange of contracts, the most uneasy among the ministers present was Dutch Minister Monset. The reason why China declared war on Spain was that the Chinese were massacred in the colonies. Compared to the Philippines, the Netherlands often massacred Chinese in its Indonesian colonies. What if China also used the same reason to declare war on the Netherlands? At this time, the Netherlands, like Spain, had become a declining empire. At that time, the Netherlands became the largest colonial country in the world after Spain, but now it has also declined like Spain.
After leaving the Chinese conference room, Monset went to the British Minister Doyle to discuss the matter.
"Minister Doulena," Monsieur said, "Now that the Chinese are expanding wantonly in the Far East, does the UK just watch China's misbehavior in the Far East?"
"Huh? The British Empire is currently having a headache over Germany's naval plan!" Doulena said.
"Oh, the Chinese annexed the Philippines today, and will send troops to attack Indonesia tomorrow. What about the day after tomorrow? The Chinese will occupy Singapore the day after tomorrow! If the Chinese are not stopped, they will really occupy the whole world!" Monset said.
Doulena frowned. If China also declares war on the Netherlands and seizes Indonesia on the grounds that the Chinese were massacred, then Malacca will be in danger. The United Kingdom has always relied on these important sea lanes to control colonies around the world, such as the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, South Africa, and the Strait of Malacca. These places are the ultimate route from Europe to the Far East. If the Chinese Once the power reaches Malacca, Britain will completely lose its voice in the Far East. It¡¯s time for the country to pay attention to China¡¯s expansion! (Welcome, your support is my biggest motivation.)
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