Chapter 1110

“This seems to be a domestic matter of your France. The Empire is not interested in your problems.”

Xiao Ming did not immediately show a strong interest, but rather an indifferent attitude.

Henry said bluntly, “Perhaps Your Majesty does not understand the current situation in Europe. Queen Victoria of Britain will soon have a Prussian husband. With all due respect, the Prussia that Your Majesty has chosen seems to be playing both sides.”

Xiao Ming took a sip of tea. He was indeed displeased that Prussia was flirting with Britain while receiving a lot of aid from the Empire.

But international relations have always been a case of smiling on the outside and cursing on the inside, with relationships between countries constantly changing from friends to enemies.

Moreover, Prussia has always been a very ambitious country. If this country were to become strong, it would not be much stronger than Britain and France.

In the past, he supported Prussia to contain Britain and France. Now, Prussia’s role as a bargaining chip had diminished, and it might grow stronger in Europe after unifying Germany, which was something he could not tolerate.

If this Henry was an ambitious person similar to Napoleon, he would not mind letting France become strong to cause trouble for Prussia and Tsarist Russia.

Since Prussia could play both sides, he could also give half of the apple he gave Prussia to France.

“Then how can I be sure that you can defeat André and become the administrator?” Xiao Ming asked.

“No, I want to become the Emperor of France, just like you, Your Majesty.” Henry’s brown eyes widened, and he was very excited.

After a pause, he continued, “Many young officers in the army are already dissatisfied with André. I have gained their support, but André’s influence is still very great. We probably cannot succeed on our own, because we are at a disadvantage in terms of both funds and equipment.”

“Emperor of France?”

Xiao Ming chuckled softly. The last time Henry came, he could already see the dissatisfaction in Henry’s eyes about being sent as an envoy to the Empire.

Thinking about it, this Henry has been dissatisfied with André for a long time, but has been suppressing it in his heart.

“Your Majesty, this is an opportunity that also aligns with the Empire’s interests.” Pang Yukun said.

“If we can confirm that you have this ability, we will consider it. But for now, I cannot agree to your request.” It was impossible for Xiao Ming to just hand out money based on Henry’s one-sided story.

“Your Majesty’s caution is necessary. If Your Majesty trusts me, you can send people to return to France with me. I will prove it to Your Majesty.”

In this negotiation, there was also a treaty to exchange ambassadors between the two sides. After a moment of thought, he said, “The envoy that the Empire sends to France will observe you. If what you say is true, you will receive our help.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Henry’s eyes twinkled with a brilliant light. After thanking him again, he left.

Xiao Ming then looked at his watch and, seeing that it was already noon, he led everyone out of the conference room to entertain the envoys for lunch at the Wei family’s restaurant.

Now that the negotiation had officially taken effect, both sides were in a state of peace on the surface, and proper etiquette was still required.

However, Xiao Ming did not have lunch here. He left Pang Yukun behind and left the restaurant with Xiao Yi. He did not participate in such eating and drinking.

Back in the Imperial Study, he formally gave an order to Lei Ming: once the ransom was received, the prisoners of war who were still in India would be released.

He then gave an order to the Ministry of Minerals, telling them to prepare to search for minerals in South America and Africa. This was all part of the treaty.

Taking advantage of this era, he was going to extract the world’s scarce resources and transport them back to the Empire to build land from the sea.

He did this as a precautionary measure. If the Empire were to be in a difficult situation in the future, these resources would be a lifeline.

At the same time, the envoys of the various countries in the Wei family’s restaurant, after having a simple meal, requested Pang Yukun to take them on a tour of Qingzhou City.

They had been fooled once when they were drunk. They were much smarter this time and wanted to take advantage of these few days to truly understand this Eastern Empire.

Pang Yukun asked Xiao Ming for instructions. After receiving a positive reply, he went on the streets of Qingzhou with the envoys.

He briefly explained the things that the envoys did not understand.

In his opinion, the reason the Emperor was no longer hiding anything was because of his confidence in the Empire’s strength. Even if they saw these things, the impact on the Empire would be minimal.

Moreover, what they wanted to build was a global governance system. For Europe and the Middle East, these regions that were difficult to occupy and govern, the best way was to make them respect the Empire from the bottom of their hearts. This would make it easier for the Empire to stand at the top of the world.

In an afternoon, the envoys first went to the commercial street. After seeing the dazzling array of goods, they then went to the industrial zone in the suburbs.

The electrical machinery in the factories left them in awe and made them truly realize the gap between them and the Empire.

“While we are still being complacent about our improved steam engines, this Eastern Empire has already used electricity to push its industry to another peak.”

As night fell, everyone returned to the guesthouse. Brooke wrote this in his diary.

In addition, he also described the many things he saw and heard in Qingzhou in his diary. He believed that if these diaries were to be published in the newspaper, they would surely cause a sensation.

His only regret now was that they had to return immediately after the negotiation ended and could not stay in Qingzhou any longer.

However, after this agreement took effect, the relationship between Britain and the Eastern Empire would be normalized. At that time, he might be able to come here again.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered the lobbying he did when he passed through the Ottoman Empire. Although they were forced to compromise and make concessions.

But they would not give up any opportunity to cause trouble for the Chinese Empire.

They could no longer participate in the war themselves, but they could still incite other countries to contain the Empire. They had already conveyed the news of the Empire’s cooperation with Persia to the Ottoman Sultan.

This made the Ottoman Sultan furious. The Ottoman Empire had always been very wary of Persia, its mortal enemy.

After learning this news, the Ottoman emperor swore that he would stop Persia’s cooperation with the Eastern Empire. He believed that a war would soon be coming.

In addition to the Ottoman Empire, they were also supporting Tsarist Russia. These two countries were like two hands that were holding back the Eastern Empire’s westward advance.

As long as they were used well, they could still cause some trouble for the Eastern Empire.

But what he realized most deeply from this trip was that they must also vigorously develop science and technology. If they continued to be left behind on this point, no amount of scheming would be able to contend with the powerful Eastern Empire.

Thinking of this, Brooke sighed.

After staying in Qingzhou for another three days, the envoys were informed that they could leave. The ambassadors that the Empire had sent were also returning with them.

They would represent the Empire’s interests in various European countries