C410 Xiao Letian's trump card

Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant beyond belief, this was Count de Beer's current thought. You, Xiao Letian, are merely the Prime Minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Even if the entire population of the island was added together, it might not exceed 500 thousand.

What does the Ryukyu have? What else is there but a favourable topography of the sea? There was no coal or iron, and even food had to be imported year after year. Other than the scenery, what else was there?

Furthermore, your Letian Firm has also admitted that it was very, very difficult for such a foreign currency to exist within the East Asian financial system. A foreign bank that was made purely out of Chinese people is now beginning to have some form of a bank, and a lot of information has been sent back, making a lot of foreign banking operations illegal.

"Hmm …" Of course, as long as you do not harm the interests of the British Empire, breaking the Qing Dynasty's law does not matter to you.

But no matter how good the Letian Firm was, it was just a foreign trade. The rivalry between countries was not just about money. Science and technology, culture, education, the size of the military, and modernization all had to be considered in a comprehensive manner.

You, Xiao Letian, are just a gathering body of the county governor, yet you dare to talk endlessly to me about becoming the bridgehead of East Asia? You still want to stop the Russian's eastward march? Are you sure you don't have a fever?

However, this thought stuck in Count de Beer's heart, and he couldn't say it out loud no matter what he wanted to say. He was too familiar with this kind of temperament. The young Captain in the Royal Navy Academy had this kind of aura, and the aggressive young nobles in the had this kind of aura as well.

Today, a young man from East Asia who had just emerged from the political scene of the world had the same air about him. We English rely on the fame of the British Empire, but what do you rely on?

What makes you have the temperament that only powerful statesmen can have? The most infuriating thing about you is that you make me feel... It was very normal!

The Count de Beer felt a faint sense of defeat in his heart. The reason for this feeling was not because of Xiao Letian's arrogant words, nor was it because of his astonishing analysis of the world situation.

The source of this frustration was actually … It was actually Xiao Letian who was so arrogant, but De Bi had a faint feeling that this was how it should be, and that all of Xiao Letian's arrogance actually gave others a feeling that it was perfectly justified.

In his entire life, there were only a few people who had given him this feeling. One was his old friend Bismark, the other was the Queen of England, and the other was himself.

"Hehe …" "This is the most dramatic negotiation in my life. I will probably never forget the surprise I received today. Not to mention the feasibility of your proposal, just based on your arrogant and unbridled attitude, you should at least show some of the elegance I had back then …"

"Very well, no matter what the outcome of the negotiation is, you must have earned my respect. I think we should shake hands!"

Both of them were able to feel each other's heat, as well as their strength.

"Prime Minister, why do you think that my proposal is not feasible? What conditions do you think are necessary to stop the Russian's eastward march? " Xiao Letian asked.

Count de Beer took out two cigars and offered one to Xiao Letian: "Fine, I won't beat around the bush. If you want to block Russian, your elite navy, army, and modern weapons and equipment will need a lot of money to do so …"

"Of these conditions, I find you have nothing but money. You have no navy, no doubt. You have no army... "Oh, please wait for me to say, I know that your army is very outstanding …"

De Bi pointed at the new army officers who were as silent as statues inside and outside the garden, and said with great emotion, "From the two European battles, the troops that you have trained are very elite, brave and wise …" "However, the number of people is too small. You brought three hundred people to Europe, and more than half of them died in the two bloody battles. You should be well aware of the ruthlessness of the war …"

"How many more of these soldiers do you have in Ryukyu? A thousand or eight hundred? The firepower of modern war is becoming denser and denser, even the most elite soldiers will only die if they face the bombardment of large caliber cannons. "

De Bi deeply exhaled a cloud of smoke and said with extreme regret, "You don't have the navy, you have less people in the army, although you have money, but you still don't have an industrial base. You can't even produce your own cannons and bullets, how can you defend against the Russian? "I really couldn't see a single possibility of victory …"

"Hahaha!" Xiao Letian laughed madly, lit a match and lit up a cigar. "How laughable, as the Prime Minister of British Empire, you're only so mediocre? What about your strategic point of view? "To think that you don't have one bit of vision, let alone a vision that can pierce through the fog of history. It seems like you are essentially a gambler …"

"You!" "Xiao Letian, I'm giving you respect now, but you don't know how to treasure it. It looks like you really need Royal Navy to help you wake up …"

Xiao Letian waved his hand nonchalantly. "Alright, alright... During this afternoon, you have already threatened me several times with the name of Royal Navy. If you know that I won't eat this, then don't waste your feelings … "

"I think you know better than me how Britain rose to prominence. In the European The Age of Great Navigation, the first countries to become famous were not you, Britain, but the Portugal and Spain … So why did you, Britain, make a comeback and keep the world in check? "

"The core of the problem is nothing more than the word 'industrialization'. And of course, the core of industrialization is' technology '. Britain's industrialization was the earliest and most successful in the world. I remember there was a strange little story in history about how when Napoleon swept across Europe, his soldiers were wearing military uniforms made from England … "

"Hahaha, this is really a joke. In the end, Napoleon lost to the British, but his army's resources cannot leave the British industry. "Of course, there is no other way. The deeper the industrialization goes, the more competitive the prices of the industrial products become. Isn't this what you, as a country, rely on to make money?"

Count de Beer had long since forgotten his previous anger. He now felt as if Xiao Letian had something to say, and that a faint vein of emotion had already surfaced, but he was unable to grab hold of it.

Xiao Letian's tone changed again, and the returning Count de Beer became even more confused: "Dear Count, I wonder if you have studied the American Civil War, and the Poo War that just ended it?"

"Let me calculate for you what kind of new technology has appeared in these two wars …" "After loading the Needle Rifle, even if we were to load it earlier, we would have to call them kings. There are also telegraphic technique s and hot air balloons, using railways to mobilize large numbers of soldiers …"

"Oh, there are also new types of explosives, smokeless gunpowder... Submarine, Iron-armoured battleship, hahaha, you don't have to hide this from me, of course I know that the English and French is doing research secretly. You guys are currently researching how to coat the warship with bulletproof armor, am I right? "

The Count de Beer was already confused by Xiao Letian's words. He suddenly felt that Xiao Letian was not a human, but a ghost that was wandering in Europe. Why was it that he could not hide anything from him? He even knew about the Royal Navy's secret experiments?

He then continued, "You should know that under the protection of my status as a politician, I have another identity as a scholar. My research on history is very profound, and what I'm best at is figuring out the impact of new technology on the human world!"

"I called the steam engine, Jenny's spinning machine and the industrial revolution represented by the railway the first Industrial Revolution, and now …" Xiao Letian suddenly moved his mouth close to British Prime Minister's ear and whispered in a very mysterious tone.

"And now, I can already feel the tide of Second Industrial Revolution, as they quickly rushed towards us … Do you smell the damp sea breeze? That's the smell of change, I'm very sensitive to it! "

This time, Count de Beer met a pure Divine Staff, he even subconsciously twitched his nose, and actually took a sniff. Hm? Needless to say, there was really the smell of seafood in his nose.

He lowered his head and realized that the caviar in front of him had been knocked over by the map. No wonder it smelled like seafood.

"After saying so much, what are you trying to clarify?" Count de Beer's brain could no longer process it.

"Hehehe …" It's simple, I just want to tell you, if Britain could defeat the Spanish Armada back then, can't we defeat the Russia? In the history of mankind, things like miracles are never lacking. Furthermore, I have already found the key to the new technology, do you really think that I will go and fight a symmetric war? "

"NO, NO, NO …" Do not underestimate me, and never underestimate me, Xiao Letian. I came here along with a miracle, and what I am most proficient at is fighting asymmetrical battles … "

At the end of the negotiation, Xiao Letian could be considered to have completely revealed his trump card, which he clearly told British Prime Minister. Do not provoke me, and even more so, do not push me away. On the contrary, all of you still have to support me, because I, Xiao Letian, am the only person in East Asia who has the power to fight against Russian.

Count de Beer already understood what he meant, and it was as if his heart was struck by lightning, causing him to feel that his brain was not enough to think of. Even though he had thought of countless methods and reasons to deal with Xiao Letian, he never thought that Xiao Letian would use such a strange move to deal with him.

Technology! Even if Count de Beer had beaten him to death, he would not have guessed it. Why would Xiao Letian use a term like technology to argue with him? But why was his twisted reasoning so shocking that no one could refute it?