Chapter 317 The Seductive Northeast

"You don't want to use the name of the United States to fight against the Russians, right?"

When Cleveland said this, his eyes were also staring at Guo Jinzhang's face, hoping to see a hint of clue from the face of this guy who gave him a headache... But unfortunately, he failed to get what he wanted.\\9vk.com starter\\\Guo Jinzhang just smiled and shrugged, and then came to him:

"You are right, Mr. President, that's what I plan."

"Sure enough, it's not different from our guesses at all." Hendrisk sneered, "Mr. Guo, although I admire your honesty very much, because it saves everyone time. But, since you just want to use America as your shield, why do we help you again?"

"Tsarist Russia is a big country. Although its economy and strength are not very developed, we must admit that it is a world-class power and a first-class power. Let the United States of America help you face such a strong enemy. Don't you think you are too whimsical about doing this?" Sidikot snorted coldly.

"Yes, you're right." "Spang" sounded, and in the face of the questioning, Guo Jinzhang actually slapped gently, "Everyone, I admit that the problem with the railway is that I do have selfish intentions. Because, by Tangzhou alone, we cannot fight against Tsarist Russia. This is also why the Tsarist Russian Minister of Transportation did not oppose the Qing Dynasty handing over the South Manchuria Railway to us. Because he knew that although our Tangzhou was nominally part of the United States of America, in fact, we are a local regime with great autonomy and had a very bad relationship with Washington."

"It seems you're sober." Bayard nodded, "But since you already know this, why should you insist on doing this? It's obviously impossible for us to agree to your request."

"No, no, no, you will agree, Mr. Secretary of State." Guo Jinzhang smiled.

"Are you too confident?" Hendrisk frowned.

"It's not self-confidence, but I have an in-depth understanding of the national character of the United States of America." Guo Jinzhang smiled.

"National character?" Cleveland frowned slightly. This was the first time he heard such a word. Can a country have a personality?

"Don't listen to him nonsense." Hendrisk snorted coldly.

"But I want to hear it." Whitney glanced at the Vice President, with a little dissatisfied. He was the Secretary of the Navy, but the current situation of the US Navy made him, the Secretary of the Navy, unable to be tough. Therefore, he was salivating at the two "Dreadnought"-class battleships in Guo Jinzhang's hands and was eager to collect them. Guo Jinzhang did not disappoint him. Not only did he agree to hand over one of the battleships to them, but he also agreed to hand over the future commander of the Tangzhou Coast Guard to Ma Han to command... But the premise of all this is this "South Manchuria Railway". Therefore, for the sake of his own, or the navy, he really hoped that he would

I hope the cooperation between the two sides can be successful. Isn’t it just a diplomatic confrontation with Russia? What’s there? Two new battleships, plus a few cruisers, can send most of the existing battleships of the US Navy to the bottom of the sea, and they are still bargaining here? You know, the only one that can sink the battleship is another battleship. But the American Navy now has only two battleships, and they are all old, and the caliber of the main gun is only more than 200 millimeters, which is not the same level as the "Fearless" class... Why can’t these people understand themselves, a group of people who live on the sea?

"America is a country that admires interests..." Guo Jinzhang glanced at Whitney. The Secretary of the Navy did not disappoint him. A battleship, which gathered the power of the entire Qing court, only built two, and only seven thousand tons. He actually sent out a ten thousand tons-class ship... This bribery is probably the first time in history to create the world. If no one is moved, he would have cried.

"Is there any country in this world that does not care about interests?" Hendrisk seemed to want to say a few words to Guo Jinzhang, and he caught the verbal verbal and started to fight back.\\9vk.com first release\\

"I'm sorry, Vice President, there are countries that do not care about interests in this world... there are really!" Guo Jinzhang looked at him and smiled.

"What did you say?"

Hendrisk was stunned, and Cleveland, Bayard and others on the other side looked at each other... What did this guy say? There are still countries in this world that don't care about interests? Are you kidding?

"I said, there are really countries in this world that do not care about interests. And we are all familiar with this country!" Guo Jinzhang nodded.

"You mean...China?" Bayard responded and asked looking at him.

"Smart. I am worthy of being Secretary of State." Guo Jinzhang snapped his fingers and said with a smile.

"But I don't see why China doesn't care about interests." Bayard shook his head, "Besides, you were also Chinese, Mr. Guo, but your performance is that you have an almost fanatical pursuit of interests. For the sake of interests, you even dare not to start a war or provoke domestic chaos in other countries..."

"Tsk tsk, this comment really flatters me." Guo Jinzhang "tsk tsk" sounded, "But Secretary of State, I dare not bear your comment."

"Don't dare to bear it?" Sdicott looked at each other and couldn't help but sneer, "For Vancouver, you can fight Canada; for Venezuela, you can incite the Colombian army to the other side's territory, and actually occupy most of the country... Mr. Guo, don't you think you are too modest?"

"Then why didn't you add that I even conquered Washington for our own lives?" Guo Jinzhang asked back.

"you……"

"Pull your eyes open, Mr. Minister of War." Guo Jinzhang looked at him and sighed, "We are very weak. No matter what we show, we cannot change the fact that we are extremely weak. Do you think we are willing to attack Canada? Even the United States dare not provoke that country easily. Are we full? Isn't it for those Chinese workers who have been cruelly persecuted, and those of our compatriots? We are fighting for our lives and protecting the lives of ourselves and our compatriots. As for Venezuela, if you, the Minister of War, just simply see that the Colombian army has entered the other party's country, then I suggest you resign quickly. Because you are not qualified to serve as Minister of War."

"you……"

"Okay, we didn't come for a quarrel." Cleveland pressed his hands with his hands to stop the quarrel between Guo Jinzhang and Sdicott: "What we are going to talk about now is the railway issue, rather than pursuing whether there is no war or not, whether it is beneficial or not."

"That's right. Let's get back to the point and don't spend too much time. But then again..." Hendrisk also nodded repeatedly, but after saying a few words, the guy suddenly changed his voice and looked at Guo Jinzhang again, "Mr. Guo, Tangzhou's performance over the years really makes people wonder if you were Chinese before."

"I know what you mean," Guo Jinzhang smiled, "but we had a fable in ancient China that told a truth. I think this is very suitable for the situation in Tangzhou."

"What fable?" Hendrisk asked.

"Don't tell the specific story, because it is too old and has a history of more than two thousand years. If I want to tell it, I will also do some popularization of Chinese history for you." Guo Jinzhang shook his head and glanced at everyone. As a result, Hendrisk, Cleveland, Bayard and others unconsciously avoided his gaze... Who said that the history of the United States is short? It's only a hundred years. He just spoke for two thousand years. Can Cleveland and others not feel depressed? However, although it was a little depressed, Cleveland and others did not intend to give in this regard...

"Two thousand years is indeed long enough. The ancient Chinese civilization is awe-inspiring. But I'm very surprised, why did such a splendid ancient civilization fall to its present level? Such a huge foundation is still not as good as America, which is only a hundred years old." The speaker was Sdicott, Minister of War.

"You can understand this just by thinking about it." Guo Jinzhang shrugged, "To make an analogy: a rich man is full of wealth and aura, and has received higher education and a sense of knowledge... But if such a person meets bandits and hooligans, do you think he can win?"

"The real rich man must have strong force, at least, there should be a few bodyguards." Cleveland frowned. Guo Jinzhang actually compared them to bandits and hooligans?

"This is the problem. This rich man doesn't have a bodyguard, and he doesn't learn the skills of fighting well." Guo Jinzhang spread his hands, looking helpless.

"Then he deserves it." Hendrisk snorted coldly.

"I agree very much." Guo Jinzhang nodded repeatedly, "I deserve it. If I fall behind, I deserve it!"

“…”

Who did this guy say? Cleveland and others looked at each other.

He deserves to be beaten... It seems that this is about the Qing Dynasty, but why did Guo Jinzhang say so happily and so happy? Isn't this guy alluding to the Red Corps that hit Washington when they deserve to be beaten?

There are both the president, vice president, secretary of state, secretary of war and secretary of the navy in the office. A group of people are all smart. Although Guo Jinzhang said it obscurely, he could not hide the thoughts of everyone. For a moment, the senior officials representing the white side were filled with anger... No matter how useless the Qing Dynasty was, it had nothing to do with the United States so far. However, the red corps formed by the workers from the Qing Dynasty had actually fought to Washington, captured the US president, and even forced them to sign an unequal treaty...

"By the way, where did we just talk about it?" The white man was frustrated, but Guo Jinzhang had no intention of comfort. He paused for a moment and asked everyone again.

"Fable!" Sdicott snorted coldly.

"No, no, no, I just said that Mr. Guo believes that we will definitely agree to support the 'South Manchuria Railway' instead of Tangzhou!" Whitney said rushingly. He just wants to settle the matter quickly, and then wait until the time comes to pick up the warship. As for other things... he will fight again if he has time in the future.

"Are you talking about this?" Guo Jinzhang asked.

"Yes, the matter has ended here. As for other things, I think we'll talk about it later when we have time." Whitney said.

"What about everyone?" Guo Jinzhang looked at the others again.

"Let's talk about serious business, our time is precious." This guy was really ridiculing us for being defeated by them just now. Looking at Guo Jinzhang's unsatisfactory look, Cleveland and others were all feeling sick. But should they continue to fight? Not to mention whether they have a chance of winning, everyone is a person with status. It's embarrassing to get into such a little bit of verbal disputes, and it's embarrassing to spread it.

"Okay, let's talk about serious matters." Guo Jinzhang sighed, "We just said that you will definitely agree to come forward for Tangzhou and fight against Tsarist Russia on the issue of the South Manchuria Railway..."

"That's right. But we don't want to provoke a great power for no reason. Especially when we don't get any benefits ourselves, but just stand out for Tangzhou." Cleveland said.

"So you were wrong." Guo Jinzhang smiled.

"We're wrong?"

"That's right." Guo Jinzhang nodded again, "I said that the United States is a country that cares about interests. Since I have such a perception, how can I allow the government to block the thunder for us without any benefit?"

"Even if there is a little benefit, we won't think about it seriously." Hendrisk snorted coldly.

"Of course, it cannot buy the United States government of America for a little benefit, but whether this is a little bit depends on what you think." Guo Jinzhang smiled.

"I would love to hear your reasons." Bayard said.

"Haha, actually I don't have many reasons. I won't talk about the benefits of building railways that the great powers like. Anyway, everyone knows it. But in addition to these, the South Manchuria Railway has several benefits. First," Guo Jinzhang raised his index finger, "The northeast of China is vast and sparsely populated..."

"The land is vast and sparsely populated? That's the wasteland is almost the same?" asked Sdicott.

"Wild?" Guo Jinzhang looked at him jokingly, "Yes, from the Chinese point of view, the Northeast is indeed not much different from the wasteland now. However, if you come from the perspective of the United States, this is not wasteland."

"Why?" Whitney asked.

"Because according to our survey, the total population of Northeast China at this time is 5674,567! Is this a wasteland?"

"More than five million people?" Bayard said in amazement.

"That's right, more than five million." Guo Jinzhang smiled, "And this is still a place where there are basically no touching the hands of the great powers... Except for the threat from Tsarist Russia in the north! But we all know very well, with the level of Tsarist Russia, what can they produce?"

"What do you mean is that we can use the South Manchuria Railway to occupy the market in the Northeast, or even control the economy of Northeast China?" Cleveland's eyes also widened a lot, and he asked with a close eye on Guo Jinzhang.

"Of course. But if you just want to do this, then, I must say, Mr. President, you are very short-sighted." Guo Jinzhang said.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Cleveland took the initiative to ignore the disrespect in Guo Jinzhang's words. He thought that Guo Jinzhang just wanted to use a few warships to exchange for the US government's support for Tangzhou on the South Manchuria Railway, but now it seems that the other party is willing to share the economic benefits of Northeast China with the government... So what else can he say? A market of more than 5 million people. If he gives up, the parliament will have to show him a good look before Guo Jinzhang walks out of the White House gate.

"Northeast China is facing the threat of Tsarist Russia, and has always faced great security risks. Therefore, the Qing government took it more than 20 years ago.

The policy of 'immigration and real border development'. From 1861 to 1880s, Jilin paddocks, Alechuka paddocks, Dalinghe Ranch and other official and banners were opened. In 1882, he first recruited reclamation in Jilin and established the Hunchun Reclamation General Administration, and then opened land reclamation in Heilongjiang area... Everyone, what does this mean? You should understand?"

"What do you mean is that the population in the Northeast will increase further?" Bayard's breathing was a little thicker.

"The Northeast has the possibility of building large-scale agricultural bases, forestry bases, animal husbandry bases, fishery bases, and specialty bases with abundant reserves... Of course, the most important of these is the grain base. The Northeast has vast plains and the area of ​​arable land is more than one million square kilometers... If fully developed, we can imagine that it can attract at least 20 to 30 million people, and if cities are added, then this number can be at least 40 million, or even 50 million!"

"Hiss..."

"Gentlemen, imagine how huge the land planted area of ​​more than one million square kilometers, even if it is just the development of agriculture? If we took the lead and presided over the development of this land, what status would we have there?"

"It's really very tempting. But..." China's Northeast is still almost a virgin land. Once occupied, the development of agriculture alone will bring huge benefits. Cleveland understands what Guo Jinzhang means, but although he is itchy, he will not lose his calmness: "Just relying on these things, it seems that it's not enough to let us face the Russians."

"Of course not enough. But," Guo Jinzhang paused slightly, "What if we hired the main force of the Qing army that went to war with Spain, would it be stationed in the Northeast after the war?"

"You mean..."

"That's right. That's what I mean." Faced with the surprise expression of Cleveland and others, Guo Jinzhang nodded slightly, "And, I believe that with our relationship in the Qing Dynasty, we have enough ability to do this... and even, we can choose a commander we like for this army."


Chapter completed!