Chapter 959

It was deep winter, and the wind blowing from the sea was bone-chilling.

But in Dick’s eyes, this cold was far less chilling than the coldness in the eyes of the Emperor before him.

Previously, the Great Yu Empire was merely a strange name to him. Like all lands outside Europe, he believed that only a group of uncivilized natives lived here, until Britain suffered unprecedented defeat in Asia. Only then did the name of this country frequently appear in Parliament.

And after two scholars from the Great Yu Empire came to Britain, their ideas were once again overturned. Clearly, this Great Yu Empire was not other barbaric civilizations they had encountered.

Precisely because of this, the British Parliament now had differing voices. Some councilors advocated establishing relations with the Great Yu Empire, developing commercial ties, and exchanging scientific knowledge. However, the majority of councilors still feared the rise of the Great Yu Empire.

He understood that the rise of the Great Yu Empire would surely harm the interests of some powerful families. After all, both British India and Australia had vested interests. These vested interests would not idly watch their wealth being seized by the Great Yu Empire.

This joint operation was initiated by these vested interests. They came from three countries, but their goal was the same: to neutralize the Great Yu Empire’s naval power.

But now he had messed everything up. In this gamble, they had lost their naval power in Asia.

“Esteemed Your Majesty, I will tell you truthfully what you wish to know. I only hope you will spare my life.” Dick pleaded. He lived a comfortable life in Britain, with a beautiful wife and lovely children. Thinking of this, he was unwilling to die just like that.

Wilson showed a disdainful look and angrily rebuked, “You politicians are all spineless and disgusting.”

“Oh, come on! It’s precisely the ignorance of these hardliners that led to this war. You are responsible for the war’s failure!” Dick’s anger flared, equally enraged.

Xiao Ming’s gaze shifted between Wilson and Dick. Compared to military men, he preferred dealing with politicians. While politicians were cunning, they understood compromise better than military men. Of course, this was when dealing with enemies.

“You can continue arguing when you return to prison. Now, it’s time to talk about your country. What did the two traitors from the Great Yu Empire bring you?” Xiao Ming said, gritting his teeth. He had been having the secret guards plan assassinations of these traitors, but due to the significant difference in appearance, the secret guards were unable to get close to them.

And overseas Chinese living in Britain had very low status in this era, basically indistinguishable from black slaves, and were subjected to strict supervision.

“Your Majesty is referring to Fei Anyi and Fan Hongcai, yes?”

“Those two.” Xiao Ming’s eyes narrowed. He needed to grasp Britain’s current information.

Dick contemplated for a moment. He said respectfully, “I must say, those two are indeed exceptional talents. In both physics and chemistry, they have provided Britain with a large amount of mature scientific and technological achievements. These achievements have been proven feasible. Britain is undergoing a drastic scientific revolution precisely because of their contributions. Now, all of Britain’s talent is concentrated in London. Many believe that Britain will soon achieve a tremendous leap in technology.”

As he spoke, Dick continuously watched Xiao Ming’s expression. What worried him was that the Emperor’s expression remained unchanged, maintaining a constant composure.

His purpose in saying this was to intimidate the Emperor. The entire Britain believed that these two were the top talents of the Great Yu Empire, and the knowledge they contributed would allow Britain to quickly catch up to the Great Yu Empire’s current technological level, which should make the Great Yu Empire wary.

However, seeing Xiao Ming so calm, Dick decided to raise the stakes. With a politician’s glib tongue, he emphasized, “The Great Yu Empire now possesses things and theories that Britain also has. Although British scientists need to realize these one by one, it’s currently only a matter of time. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty can reconsider your current relationship with Britain. I am willing to become a bridge of friendship between the Great Yu Empire and Britain.”

Xiao Ming listened quietly. At this point, he revealed a mocking smile. “Are you threatening me?”

Dick said in alarm, “Esteemed Your Majesty, I am merely your prisoner now. How dare I do such a thing? I am merely stating facts. There is one thing Your Majesty may not quite understand: in fact, for thousands of years in Europe, royal families have been intermarrying. Strictly speaking, whether it’s Britain, or France, or even Tsarist Russia, there are more or less some blood ties between the rulers. If facing a powerful enemy, European countries will unite again, just as they did twice in history to collectively resist nomadic tribes from the East.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming burst into laughter. This Dick was afraid of death, but he had to admit, he was very clever, and what he said was basically true. The European theory of bloodlines had always held a very high position. In contemporary World War I, it was actually a group of relatives fighting among themselves, somewhat similar to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, where despite fierce fighting, royal intermarriages were prevalent.

Dick saying this was clearly to create a sense of deterrence in his heart, to achieve his goal of making Xiao Ming handle him cautiously.

However, this trick was useless against Xiao Ming. Dick’s words might become reality, but that required him to launch a large-scale attack on Europe.

However, attacking mainland Europe was currently not in Xiao Ming’s plan, because the European continent was too far from the Great Yu Empire, and the Suez Canal had not yet been built. To get from the Great Yu Empire to Europe, one had to go through Malacca, then reach the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and then travel northward along the African continent.

And the entire voyage added up to over thirty thousand kilometers, almost a full circle around the Earth, after all, shipping routes were not straight; they also needed to sail along continents for resupply.

This way, a trip to Europe would take half a year, and a return trip would also take half a year.

And attacking Europe was not a problem that could be solved with just tens of thousands of men. Mobilizing a large army in such a distant place would be an unprecedented drain on national strength.

In contemporary history, countries that did so basically shot themselves in the foot. In the Battle of Tsushima Strait during the Russo-Japanese War, Tsarist Russia, having dispatched its Baltic Fleet thousands of li to the Far Eastern battlefield, was completely annihilated by the well-rested Japanese fleet after more than two hundred days of sailing.

And the wars waged by America in Asia could only be sustained with Japan, defeated after the war, as a supply base. But even so, they mostly ended in failure.

Weighing various factors, Xiao Ming ultimately formulated a plan to expand colonies layer by layer, like Europe, and expand influence based on these colonies.

Only when his fleet could obtain supplies along the way would it be possible to engage in hot warfare with European countries on their home ground.

Previously, all he could do was contend for colonies. As for this issue, European countries would probably see it very clearly after this naval battle: they were powerless to attack the Great Yu Empire, and the Great Yu Empire was powerless to attack them.

In the future, fierce competition between the two sides would unfold in the colonies.