Nanyang Storm 1864

more than a month later
The Crown Prince of Great Chu, Prince Chu Zhengyuan, arrived in London safely by cruise ship. He engaged in extensive social activities with the British upper class, attended many important meetings, and went to Buckingham Palace to meet with King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

Foreign Minister Pan Yuchen held several important secret meetings with British Foreign Secretary Lord Henry Campbell, but no significant progress was made on Australian affairs.

The news came back

Even the usually calm Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng became anxious. He was so worried about this important matter that he couldn't eat or sleep all day. The huge pressure made his body look a little hunched.

Unable to bear it any longer, he dragged the Speaker, Lord Wu Qingfeng, into the palace and handed over a sign requesting an audience with His Majesty.

In the Purple Palace
The Great Chu Emperor Zheng Guohui summoned these two important ministers to the outer hall and asked them to appreciate the royal treasures that had just been completed.

This is a 2.82-meter-high glass-emerald lotus statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, with Buddha's light shining from behind, which is truly magnificent and lifelike.

The entire seated statue of Guanyin is 2.36 meters tall and is skillfully carved from a solid body of icy jadeite. Its robes are flowing, its appearance is solemn, and even the smallest details of the robes are clearly visible.

"My two dear ministers are in for a treat. The seated statue of Guanyin we brought back this time is so large and of such high quality that it is rare. There is not a single wrinkle or crack on the whole statue, and it is completely free of flaws. It is truly a masterpiece by a famous artist." Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu commented after examining it with satisfaction.

This seated statue of Guanyin is placed in the outer hall. The base is a 1.48-meter-high white jade Buddha Dharma Plate. Each small Buddha statue is carved vividly and labor-intensively. The base alone is a priceless treasure.

The overall appearance is so solemn that one can't help but worship it.

Lord Wu Qingfeng was also attracted by the seated Guanyin statue. He admired it for a long time and praised it highly, calling it "a national treasure that was produced in response to the prosperity of our dynasty and is rarely seen in the world."

It is no wonder that Lord Wu Qingfeng gave such a high evaluation. Such a large piece of jadeite raw stone weighs 41 tons, and most of the finished product is still there, and it has no wrinkles or cracks, which is extremely rare.

In addition, it was meticulously carved by eleven national treasure-level craftsmen and took more than two years to complete, resulting in an extraordinary effect.

This is a precious treasure carefully presented by the Weaving Department of the Imperial Household Department. Many well-known craftsmen were recruited from the northern continent, and each has his own unique skills.

Royal Secretary General Li Jingxi specifically introduced:

"This is a precious treasure presented to the Jade Buddha Temple. It's called the Seated Statue of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Childbearing. It blesses the royal family of Great Chu with many children and prosperity, and the continuation of the imperial lineage. It's truly an auspicious sign!"

"Your Majesty, I would like to congratulate you and wish the royal family of the Great Chu will prosper forever and continue from generation to generation." Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng had to put aside the important matters in his mind and said with a bow.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of Great Chu laughed heartily, waved his hands, and said, "Hahaha... The Imperial Household Department is quite good at making things interesting. The things they've created in recent years have become increasingly sophisticated. I think they've put a lot of thought into it. Pass on my oral order and reward generously!"

"I will follow your majesty's orders and reward you handsomely!" Li Jingxi said as he bowed and accepted the order.

The Jade Buddha Temple is the imperial family temple within the palace. It is also a nunnery where elderly concubines and maids in the palace can become nuns and chant Buddhist scriptures. It is located on a small island within the Taiye Lake, in a remote and quiet place.

"Yu" is the same as "Yu", and the Jade Buddha Temple is a quiet place in the inner courtyard of the imperial palace.

Given the wealth of the Chu royal family, all the items used in the imperial palace were rare and precious.

Even in the Jade Buddha Temple, there are hundreds of jade Buddhas of all sizes, as well as seated statues of emerald Bodhisattvas, mutton-fat jade Buddhas, amber Buddhas, turquoise Buddhas, obsidian Buddhas, Tanzanite Buddhas, etc., which are simply dazzling.

In a word, there are too many good things.

Talked for a while
Emperor Zheng Guohui of Great Chu saw Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng's heavy expression and guessed what was going on. He then asked directly, "Lord Fan, are you here regarding Australian affairs?"

"Your Majesty, please be aware that this matter has been weighing on my mind and I have not been able to sleep all night. The English are so difficult to deal with that I have never seen such a difficult person in my life." Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng sighed and admitted it.

Relations with Britain are the cornerstone of the Great Chu Empire's foreign relations. This is the policy set by the Great Chu Emperor Zheng Guohui himself, and it has lasted for 36 years and has never changed.

If the foundation stone shakes, the whole thing will shake.

If the bilateral relations really deteriorate, it would be a disaster, and all the important cabinet officials would be terrified, and no one would be able to remain calm.

The economy, foreign trade, industry and commerce, cultural exchanges and foreign relations will all suffer severe blows. To say that foreign trade exports have been halved is an understatement, and millions of workers will lose their jobs.

The State of Chu was a typical foreign trade economy, particularly dependent on the British pound trade circle. It exported goods worth more than ten billion silver dollars each year, and more than 60% of its transactions were with countries in the British pound trade circle.

Britain could not afford this price, and neither could Chu. It would be absolutely devastating.

After hearing what Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng said, Emperor Zheng Guohui of Great Chu said "hmm" indifferently, then walked towards the imperial study with his hands behind his back.

Secretary General Li Jingxi understood His Majesty's intentions and, with one hand, stepped forward and said, "Please move aside, my lords. His Majesty has summoned you to the Imperial Study. Please!"

"Thank you, Mr. Eunuch." Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng also made a gesture of invitation and then went ahead.

Speaker Wu Qingfeng followed behind, and Li Jingxi took a step forward to introduce them. When they arrived at the door of the imperial study, he reported to the female guard on duty and said:

"His Majesty has summoned the two gentlemen to discuss important matters of state. Please, sir, please make it convenient for us."

"Please stay, my lords, and let me make a statement." "Yes, please."

After the female official of the imperial guard went in to report, she led the several adults into the imperial study and then quietly withdrew.

If these two foreign ministers were not present, Secretary-General Li Jingxi could go directly to the Imperial Study to meet His Majesty without reporting to the emperor, and several deputy secretaries-general on duty also had this privilege.

This was a privilege granted by Emperor Zheng Guohui himself to those who had access to the Imperial Study. Anyone else, including the Empress, had to report this before meeting His Majesty, without exception.

Entering the Imperial Study, I saw the Great Chu Emperor Zheng Guohui standing in the middle with his hands behind his back. He sighed softly, turned around and said;
"I underestimated these English people. They are not difficult to deal with, but very difficult to deal with. It gave me a headache.

I think that in the eyes of the English, Australia is worth £8500 million. If the compensation is less, it would be a big loss.

I don't want to be dragged out on this issue.

You can telegraph the London mission and convey my oral instructions that appropriate concessions can be made on this issue.

These English people, I really admire them."

When Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng heard that there was a way, he immediately cheered up, stepped forward and saluted and said:
“Your Majesty, the London delegation has also received good news.

According to the latest transatlantic telegram
British Foreign Secretary Lord Henry Campbell and Treasury Secretary Smith-Bannerman personally attended the secret meeting and softened their tone, no longer insisting on the £85 million figure.

They hope to be able to provide a preferential loan of no less than 20 million pounds over a period of 5.5 years, with an interest rate not exceeding %, and then they can make concessions on compensation.

From what they said, it seems to be around 60 million to 65 million pounds, or even 70 million pounds.

The exact amount requires further investigation."

"Oh……"

heard this
The Great Chu Emperor Zheng Guohui couldn't help but turn his head and was delighted. These stubborn British guys finally gave in. It wasn't easy!

He instructed, "Okay, let's proceed in this direction and come to a conclusion as soon as possible. We can't delay any longer."

"Your humble servant will obey the imperial edict and immediately notify the London delegation to advance the negotiations. We look forward to reaching a compensation treaty as soon as possible." Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng accepted the order solemnly.

The Great Chu Emperor Zheng Guohui was well aware of the original course of history. The Boers' offensive would have been exhausted by the end of this year, and now it was the final frenzy.

The British blocked the sea routes and used various means to prevent the Boers from obtaining weapons and supplies through Portuguese Angola and the Chu-Ku Congo River Governorate. All of these were restricted.

It was almost impossible for the Germans to transport weapons and ammunition in.

General Kitchener, commander-in-chief of the South African Expeditionary Force, was also a ruthless man. The death of a large number of Boer women and children in concentration camps may have been at his instruction, in order to force the Boers to make concessions.

Thousands of white women were trafficked to the Congo River Governor's Office. Didn't the British military leaders know about this?
This heinous act of human trafficking is becoming more and more serious. It is also an effective way to put pressure on the Boers, and now we are gradually seeing results.

In secret negotiations
The Boers no longer insisted on independence, but wanted to fight for more rights, which showed that the main contradiction had been resolved.

Once the British solve the South African Boer problem and the pressure on their shoulders is relieved, it will be even more difficult to talk, and Australian affairs will inevitably have ups and downs.

After all, the Conservative cabinet is in power now, and Prime Minister Cecil is a tough guy, but not as easy to talk to as former Prime Minister Gladstone.

The Liberal Party cabinet does not have a favorable impression of Chu, but is more concerned about Chu's role as a partner in promoting global free trade, and can make some policy concessions for this purpose.

The Conservative cabinet didn't have these considerations. If it weren't for the confrontation between the two major European military blocs, the impending crisis in South Africa, and the British government's financial burden, the Chu State would have made matters worse...

No matter what, I will not agree to the compensation plan for Australian affairs.

Now that there is a way, let's cut the Gordian knot and make a deal. If we miss this opportunity, we will never get it again.

A moment later
Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng left the Purple Palace with a relaxed look on his face. After leaving the palace, he hurried to the Yuehu official residence, where he sent a telegram to the London delegation to convey His Majesty's latest oral instructions.

Speaker Wu Qingfeng was left behind. His Majesty was in a good mood and held his hand to talk about a game.

Unconsciously

The first Prime Minister Li Hezhang has been dead for five or six years. During this period of time, the Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire has never touched Go and has no interest in playing it.

It's rare to have such a good mood, how can I let it go?

It is really not easy to take advantage of the British. They have to work hard for Australian affairs and the constant tug of war is much more troublesome than the Second East Indies War.

(End of this chapter)