Chapter 381 Hard Gas

  On the Nine-Xiao Linglong Tower

  The tour came to an abrupt end, and everything came to an end quickly when Lord Earl had no intention to continue.

  After the completion of the Longhu Palace, Li Fushou took a group of wives and concubines to take a vacation and enjoy the scenery. It has been a week since he lived here.

   Boating on the rippling lake, visiting the nine-story star picking tower, listening to music and watching dramas in Shifang, occasionally receiving some confidants, and living a leisurely and peaceful life.

  Since the Congo issue was raised, Li Fushou has taken heart, and the next day he summoned Professor Glen Johnson, a private policy adviser, to discuss the matter in private.

  Professor Glen Johnson teaches in the History Department of Red River Valley University, where he teaches the history of world civilization. He has an elegant European-style villa in the urban area, where his wife and children live.

  Since the Lord Earl called, Professor Glenn Johnson did not dare to delay, and hurried in a carriage.

  Currently, the periphery of Longhu Palace is heavily guarded. When carriages reach the periphery of Longhu Palace, they cannot enter. You must enter on foot accompanied by an officer of the Guards. You can see patrols with live ammunition and open guards and secret posts from time to time along the way.

  After being hit hard by the serial assassination on Central Street last time, the size of the Guards was expanded from more than 300 to more than 500, which is almost a strengthening of the infantry battalion.

  This time, Lord Earl and a group of wives and concubines came to Longhu Palace for vacation. The guards almost came out, and the defense measures were extremely strict.

After three checkpoints, Professor Glenn Johnson came to the gate of an elegant courtyard. There was the last sentry post. A heavy-eyed Captain's Guards officer strode forward to greet Professor Glenn Johnson. Raise your hand and salute; "Mr. Professor, the master is already waiting for you in the study, please come in with me."

   "Thank you, Chief Lei Xiaohu."

"You're welcome."

  Lei Xiaohu turned around and said to the guards officer who accompanied the professor all the way in; "Well, leave it to me here, you go back and continue to perform your guard duties."

"Yes, sir."

  The Guards officer with the rank of second lieutenant raised his hand in salute and turned to leave.

  According to the internal division of the personal guards, only a few carefully selected personal guard officers are qualified to guard the Earl's side, and everyone else is responsible for the outer guards. Normally, even the Earl's face can't be seen.

Lei Xiaohu is the second son of Lei Xiao, the deputy captain of the guard who has been sacrificed. He served as a personal guard officer of Lord Earl. He also has an older brother named Li Xiaopeng who performed well in the Battle of Borneo and made outstanding achievements. He is now a member of the Second Division of Kalimantan. Lieutenant colonel, deputy head.

Lei Xiaohu took Professor Glenn Johnson around the courtyard promenade and passed through the main hall to the backyard. From a distance, he saw Lord Earl standing next to a flower bush with his hand holding his hand, admiring the Australian foxtail in full bloom, which is like a fox in bloom. The flowers on the tail have a unique charm.

   "Master, Professor Glenn Johnson is here." Lei Xiaohu walked to his back and saluted, and said softly.

   "Oh..." Li Fushou was shocked, and turned around and greeted with a smile; "Mr. Professor, don't come here without any problems!"

"My Honorable Earl, thanks to you, everything is well. To be honest, I have a very good time." Professor Glen Johnson said with a helpless expression on his face, shrugging his shoulders; "I am very satisfied with the personal consultant. He has a good salary and likes the bright sunshine and fresh air in Australia, but it took me 20 minutes to walk all the way from the outside and walked a full mile. I have to say that your estate is really big."

"Haha... Proper exercise is good for your health." Li Fushou didn't answer his spit. The British guy is the stinking problem. He kindly said to Lei Xiaohu; "Xiaohu, I'm all right here, wait a minute. Talk to Mr. Professor and ask them to bring up a pot of Yunwu tea."

   "Yes, sir." Lei Xiaohu respected the military salute, then turned and walked away.

At this time, the eucalyptus trees heard the sound of "clap" leaves, and a silly-looking koala descended from the dense bushes to the branches, looked at the two with cute eyes, and pulled down a few pieces of fat. The eucalyptus leaves were chewed in the mouth, as if there was no one else.

  Li Fushou was amused by it, and said; “Mr. Professor, such a cute koala and chic foxtail can’t be seen anywhere else. As far as I know, London doesn’t.”

   "You are right, your noble earl, but you didn't come to me to talk about the unique flora and fauna of Australia, did you?"

   "Why not? This is an interesting topic."

   "Well, you are happy."

  Professor Glenn Johnson followed Li Fushou to the pavilion, where exquisite refreshments have been arranged. Under the bright sunshine, sitting here admiring the beautiful view of the courtyard, and inviting a friend to enjoy a cup of tea and chat, it’s a pleasure.

Li Fushou made a please gesture and sat down. Professor Glenn Johnson then sat on the opposite side, took a sip from his teacup, nodded and said with experience; "I have to say that the tea you have here are the best OK."

   "If you like, you can take some back."

   "Thank you very much, this will make my wife very happy." Professor Glen Johnson didn't mean to decline, everyone knows that the tea here is the top class, the price is very expensive, don't let it go.

  The two chatted for a few words, and the topic talked about the ongoing peace negotiations in France.

  "Your Excellency Earl, I heard that Master Gu Yanchuan, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi who presided over the peace talks this time, is your father-in-law?"

   "The message is accurate."

"Oh... no wonder his request made the French feel uncomfortable. This will be a very interesting negotiation." Professor Glen Johnson had such an expression on his face. This time the Manchu government showed something different from usual. Being tough, this surprised the foreign missions concerned about the situation in the Far East.

  When will it start......the soft persimmons are also hard?

  Li Fushou smiled and did not say anything. Peace negotiations are all about asking prices, paying back the money on the spot, and no one knows what kind of agreement can be reached in the end.

Under the auspices of the Governor’s Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, the Qing army fought several victories in the northern region of Vietnam, which greatly encouraged the morale of the main combatants in the imperial court. For a time, blindly optimistic opinions rose, and there was even annihilation of the French Expeditionary Army. Arrogant arguments.

  In fact, the Manchus did not have the ability to wrestle with France at all.

  British, French or German are very hard in this era. Such hardship is manifested in aggression, a very strong spirit of sacrifice, and the daring to invest heavily in fighting a **** battle that consumes a lot of money.

  In the battle for the popularization of law in the recent past, both sides have invested millions of troops in endless battles, with tens of thousands of casualties.

In the Battle of North Vietnam, the French Expeditionary Force invested 17,000 people before and after, and the casualties were about 3,000 people. This is a drizzle of loss!

Sure enough, the French expeditionary fleet launched a large-scale attack on Taiwan Island and the coast of Fujian and Guangdong shortly afterwards, as if a large basin of cold water poured down, making the Qing court silent, and the fear of oceans reappeared in the heart.

Under such circumstances, the peace talks that started under this situation can talk about what kind of results Li Fushou really has no idea. He does not want to talk about this topic now, raising his eyebrows and saying; "No one can say anything about the Qing Dynasty, in my opinion. , The French wanted to rush to end this hopeless war, and it would be good for both parties to reach a peace treaty as soon as possible.

  Okay, Europe is very lively now.

  The secret alliance of the three countries made London very annoyed. The French also felt the imminent pressure. I think it’s not unreasonable for them to have an eye on the Russians in the near future. "

"It is true, Lord Earl, the French lent a huge loan to the Russians to help them build long-distance telegraph stations, build a powerful naval fleet, build an arsenal to produce new rifles, and various actions show that France intends to form an alliance with Russia. Responding to land pressure from Germany, Italy and Austria."

"A wave has not settled, another wave has risen!" Li Fushou sighed, his slender fingers tapped on the table lightly, frowned and said; "The confrontation between the two major military blocs in Europe will surely make London very annoying. ."

"Indeed, the British-German honeymoon is over. London's policy towards Munich will enter a phase of total suppression, and by supporting the French to maintain a balanced policy on the European continent, I estimate that the containment of the Russians will be liberalized appropriately, of course. The premise is to prevent the Russians from reaching out to the warm Mediterranean. This red line is never allowed to cross."

   "Haha...Fuck the whole world, the position of Prime Minister of Downing Street is not easy to do!" Li Fushou laughed.

Professor Glen Johnson also laughed and said; "This may be the most responsible position in the world, but there are still many people who want to sit on this throne, because it means the right to control the world. With the irresistible great temptation."

   "It is true. Power is a glass of wine for an ambitious man, for which you can give up everything."

  "Does this also include you?" Professor Glenn Johnson asked abruptly. Li Fushou stunned and laughed and nodded and said; "Yes, that's right."

  There is no need to deny, this problem is like the wind on the bald head, it couldn’t be more obvious.

"London is in a desperate situation to deal with the current situation, and Paris is not easy. On the one hand, he went to Moscow with a lot of money in his purse. On the other hand, he made trouble in the Indochina Peninsula. On the other hand, he reached out to Africa." Speaking of which, Li Fushou He shook his head helplessly. Only in this era can he truly feel the tyranny of the old colonial empire.

  If the First World War had almost ruined the French generation of young people and destroyed most of France into scorched earth ruins, how could the Gallic rooster turn into a romantic and peaceful little hen?

  Professor Glenn Johnson gave Li Fushou a sensitive look. Africa has never appeared in the topic of the two of them before. This is the first time.

  (End of this chapter)