"The British have just freed themselves from the troubles in the House of Lords, but their domestic affairs are far from over. They can just talk normally."

"Others can be easily dismissed, including the Russians and Japanese. If they take the lead, other countries will not let go."

"It's really troublesome."

Liu Yiming curled his lips and looked at the scorching sun outside the window.

At the end of August, the House of Lords and the House of Commons in the UK had been arguing for nearly half a year without any results. There was a trend of confrontation in the country, and Prime Minister Asquith and King Edward VII had to personally intervene.

Asquith held a bill for the conferment of new nobles, preparing to confer enough nobles at once to make the House of Lords make concessions.

Seeing this, King Edward VII crossed the House of Lords and agreed to Asquith's budget bill, temporarily easing the crisis.

Of course, the most important reason is that at the end of August, the German Imperial Parliament passed a new round of supplementary naval budget, and Asquith's naval budget bill suddenly changed from radical to conservative.

In order to maintain the absolute superiority of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, Britain needed more and stronger warships, so the House of Lords approved this operation of Edward VII.

"Japan, their Kitakyushu reconstruction work is progressing extremely slowly. Do they still have the energy to take the lead?" Xu Hui touched his hygienic mustache.

"Without money, reconstruction will be slow," Liu Yiming said disdainfully.

Japan's biggest problem is the lack of supplies. How can we talk about reconstruction without supplies?

Tianjinwei is a port city, and it is the largest and most prosperous port in the northern part of the Qing Empire. The Japanese will not give up this piece of fat easily.

Unless this piece of fat has lost its value.

"Tell me, how many people are suitable to stay in Tianjin Wei?" Liu Yiming changed the subject again.

"From a development perspective, one brigade is more than enough." Xu Hui said quickly.

The strategic importance of Tianjin Wei is self-evident. It is the key springboard for Nanhua to reach the land and return to the Central Plains.

The problem is that other people can also see this point, so the garrison is destined not to be too large. In the early stage, one or two brigades and a few destroyers are enough.

"One brigade garrison is enough. I want to put pressure on the concession. Simply garrisoning troops cannot provide much pressure. Doing this kind of thing once is enough." Liu Yiming said.

"Establish an armed militia detachment and conduct militarized management of Tianjin Wei. Anyway, we have to build it first. If we close the Tianjin Wei port, we will lose a lot of wealth." Xu Hui thought for a while and figured out what Liu Yiming meant.

To put pressure on the concessions reasonably and legally, it is not possible to rely solely on the army. To put it bluntly, the army is a violent institution used for fighting and is relatively sensitive.

The armed militia is different. It is a management organization that maintains order and can be used to fight for control. After the established facts have been established, they can argue.

"Then let's do this for now. At the same time, I will ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reach an agreement with Italy as soon as possible. There may be a certain price to pay..." Liu Yiming looked through the negotiation records.

"I will mobilize some police officers to join the armed militia, and then send them to Tianjin Guards. It's almost time for the navy and army to withdraw." Xu Hui nodded.

"That's almost it. After we decide to defend the troops, we will withdraw the rest of the troops within the month." Liu Yiming also nodded.

…………

"That's what happened, Ambassador Francesco, you see..." Lin Anmin sat down on the sofa, holding a tea cup with a smile on his face.

"Oh! Dear Foreign Secretary, in fact, our king has sent me a telegram, and the prime minister also told me to return the concession as soon as possible." Italian Ambassador Francesco sat on the other side of the sofa, holding a

coffee.

"But I still have a small problem, of course! This problem will not affect our willingness to exchange concessions." Francesco stopped smiling and looked at Lin Anmin seriously.

"Of course! Of course! Please tell me." Lin Anmin straightened his body, calmed his mind, and his head started to work faster.

"We set up a concession in Tianjin Wei to trade with the Qing Empire. I heard that Tianjin Wei was going to blockade..." Francesco looked at Lin Anmin.

"Oh?!" Lin Anmin smiled.

"Don't worry, we are imposing a blockade just to guard against possible saboteurs. Italy is a friend of South China, not a saboteur, isn't it?" Lin Anmin put down his teacup.

"The Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs will apply for a special approval list from the government. You only need to write the names of those Italian friends on it, and they will be able to get permission to enter and exit Tianjin Wei."

"Of course, the goods also need to be reported. In addition, I recommend that Italian friends go to the city hall to apply for a visa first, so that they can move freely throughout Tianjin Wei, excluding the military zone."

Lin Anmin smiled slightly, looking very gentlemanly.

"Of course! I will immediately urge our citizens in Nanhua to apply for new visas as soon as possible. By the way, our silk merchants hope to obtain some silk from the Qing Empire. Do you have any channels?

You know, most of the silk in Europe is monopolized by France. If there is a choice, Italians don't like French products." Francesco looked at Lin Anmin hesitantly.

Nanhua's capital controlled most of the silk output of the Qing Empire and used it to compete with Japan and France.

Italy has a large demand for silk, and the share of profit allocated to Italy alone is not enough to meet their needs.

They can also buy French goods, but French goods are more expensive, and the relationship between France and Italy is still very poor due to the ***.

They are unwilling to buy French products if they can't help it. Even if they want to buy them, most of them hold their noses.

"I don't know much about the things involved, but I will ask. I believe that even if it doesn't happen this year, it will happen next year." Lin Anmin nodded crisply.

Exporting is a good thing. If there is none this year, can't we expand production next year? Besides, the demand for silk in the Qing Empire is also very high. Lin Anmin doesn't believe that he can't collect a batch of goods.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs." Francesco smiled broadly.

This is not the opinion of the Italian government, but a request from Italian silk merchants, asking him to help inquire.

These businessmen spend generously and are "thank you" after the deeds are accomplished.

"So, Your Excellency, Minister, when do you think it is appropriate to sign the contract? Those people should be invited to watch the ceremony..." Francesco Bilin Anmindu actively discussed specific matters.

…

On October 10, witnessed by more than a dozen ambassadors from different countries, Nanhua and Italy issued a joint statement.

Italy handed over the concession in Tianjin Wei and gave up all its privileges in Tianjin Wei.

Although this day had been expected for a long time, the Russians and Japanese still looked gloomy.

"Ambassador Vladimir, the situation is now very clear. Except for us, other countries are waiting for Nanhua to come to us to offer conditions and then sell the land!" Japanese Ambassador Komatsu said quietly.

"Yes! The French only know how to cover up their scandals, and they don't care even if they sell out some profits, but the Russian Empire is different! We will never give in!" Vladimir said arrogantly.

How arrogant are you? Vladimir, who is 1.8 meters tall, holds his head high and talks to Xiao Song, who is 1.5 meters tall.

"The British don't care about this either. Don't they know the importance of the concession?" Xiaosong didn't care, or he was used to the condescending attitude of Westerners.

Vladimir tilted his head and glanced at Xiaosong.

"After this farce is over, come to my place to talk?" Vladimir said with great disgust.

"Of course!" Xiaosong was delighted.

He was invited! As a Japanese, the Japanese ambassador, he was invited by the Russian ambassador, a nobleman, to discuss the matter.

What is this? This is recognition! The recognition of Japan by the old empire! It is simply unprecedented!

…

After the statement, there was a small banquet. After the meeting, the British Ambassador Cyril stayed.

"Cyril, we are old friends. I won't beat around the bush. Nanhua must take back the concession and the special rights of various countries in Tianjin." Lin Anmin sat on the sofa and hammered his waist.

Unlike Japan's abolition of unequal treaties, Nanhua negotiated old privileges with other countries on the newly acquired land.

This requires an exchange of interests, not like Japan, which can abrogate treaties with just words because of its increased strength.

Besides, Japan only abrogated the treaty, but still did not break away from foreign control. It was not until World War I that it made war profits and paid off its debts, and became relatively independent.

"It stands to reason that since the British Empire and the South China Empire are allies, we should return the concession free of charge. However, after all, this involves many interest disputes and it is not easy to sort out the relationship." Cyril first defined.

Lin Anmin heard the difference. If Britain wanted to increase its offer, there was no need to emphasize its alliance.

"What are your concerns?" Lin Anmin asked.

"First of all, what should be done with the wealth originally owned by British citizens and the British government's property in the concession?"

"Secondly, Britain has trade privileges in the Qing Empire, and the existence of the concession also serves the trade privileges. After the concession disappears, how can the interests of British citizens be protected?"

Then, the conference room fell into silence for twenty seconds.

Lin Anmin thought that Britain would put forward some conditions, but he didn't expect it to be so simple.

“Private property is sacred and inviolable, and we guarantee that British citizens’ property will not be illegally infringed.”

"As for trade privileges, Tianjin Wei currently belongs to the Nanhua Empire, and the laws and regulations of the Nanhua Empire apply, so the privileges..." Lin Anmin raised his eyebrows.

"In this way, the appeal of Tianjin Wei will be much smaller, and the possibility of acceptance by various countries is not high." Cyril blinked.

"It is impossible for us to continue to implement a series of laws and regulations of Tianjin Wei in the past. Those are unequal terms." Lin Anmin refused without even thinking.

"This is indeed a bit embarrassing...I need to get London's opinion." Cyril sighed.

"Then I'll wait for the good news." Lin Anmin stood up and sent Cyril out.

Nanhua acted as if it wanted to forcibly suppress the development of Tianjin Wei, which made many British people, especially those who invested in Tianjin Wei real estate, hesitate.

Their losses in the future were clearly visible, so they approached Zhu Erdian, hoping to continue the previous model.
Chapter completed!