Because he had not received a reply from the UK for a long time, on May 12, Yi? asked Guangxu to send Li Hongzhang to send Beiyang Navy and diplomats to Juwen Island to protest to the British fleet. On the 16th, Ding Ruchang and Yan Shiyong and Mulinde of North Korea arrived on Juwen Island.

Faced with the questioning of Ding Ruchang and the North Korean representative, the commander of the British squadron, Mai Jay, and the captain of the Flying Fish, said calmly: "Because our government has discovered that Russia wants to occupy this island, Britain and Russia have a chance to be in harmony, so our fleet is ordered to come and guard the island for protection first. If your country has any objections, you can go to Nagasaki, Japan to find Mr. Tawell, commander of the Far East Fleet of the Royal Navy, to say that I have no right to make any reply."

In desperation, Yan Shiyong and Mu Linde had to take the Qing ship to Nagasaki again to protest to Taurel.

Although Li Hongzhang has been involved in the Juwen Island issue, it is mainly to assist Yi. What really makes him scratch his head now is the negotiations with the French.

The peace talks between China and France have been held for several rounds. The two sides have basically reached an agreement on the issue of withdrawal and the division of the sphere of influence in Vietnam, and even have made some progress on the subsequent trade issues.

But the jam was stuck in compensation for the Mawei Shipyard. According to Zai Tian's previous instructions, the Qing court insisted on asking for compensation from the French because the Mawei Shipyard was blown up by the French army. However, France believed that since the two sides were in a state of war, any war losses caused by this would inevitably occur. Now the peace talks between the two sides are based on equality, and neither side should have any demand for war compensation.

On May 18, Li Hongzhang and French representative Badno held talks again on the compensation issue of Mawei Shipyard.

"Mr. Li, I think I have already made it clear about the issue of compensation. Our government will not accept any compensation claims. France would rather return to the battlefield and invest ten million gold francs, nor would they pay a dollar for the Mawei Shipyard."

Faced with the firm Badno, Li Hongzhang argued, "The Mawei Shipyard did not directly intervene in the war at that time, but after the Mawei Naval War, the French army was bombed simply to vent their anger. Our country did not ask for any compensation involving war, but the destruction outside the war should be compensated according to public international law!"

Facing Li Hongzhang's accusation, Badno's head shaking like a rattle. "Li Zhongtang, can't Mawei Shipyard build warships? Isn't the ships of your country's navy come from? Since Mawei Shipyard can build gunboats, it is naturally considered as military facilities. Whether or not they directly participated in the war at that time, it would have a direct impact on the war. Then it is natural to be included in the attack range by the French army. How can this be said to be destruction outside the war?"

Badno's rebuttal hit Li Hongzhang's waist. He sighed and had to throw the bottom line. "Okay, why not do that, Mr. Badno, in order to value the peace between our two countries and to completely end this war that should not have happened as soon as possible, I think both of us can take a step back. Our government can agree not to include the reconstruction of the shipyard in the treaty, and can give out 1.5 million taels of silver as the cost of the new shipyard, and the rest will be borne by your government. What do you think?"

Although the French have never eaten pork, they have seen pig runs as the insider who has participated in the Mawei Shipyard from beginning to end. This amount of money is less than half of the cost of the construction of the Mawei Shipyard, so naturally they will not accept this condition of the Qing court.

"No, no, Li Zhongtang, your suggestion is not reasonable. Otherwise, out of our friendship, our government can assist you in rebuilding the shipyard, but this is not part of war compensation, but can only be handled as 'friendly support'. Moreover, the cost of building a factory must be borne by your country, and we can provide you with the technology and equipment you need. What do you think?"

Negotiations are stalemate again.

That night, Sheng Xuanhuai, who came to visit, looked at the frown Li Hongzhang, turned his eyes and suddenly said: "Zhongtang, since the French put interests first, it is better to let the students talk to Badno."

Li Hongzhang was overjoyed: "Oh? What are the tricks for Xingsun?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Zhongtang, didn't the emperor agree to establish a shipyard, railway and steel mill this time? Students can use this as bait, so there is no need to worry about the French not taking the bait."

Li Hongzhang thought for a while and immediately slapped his high-high: "Wonderful! But Xingsun, just in case, I can't introduce you to the negotiations as a formal identity. You can go to Badno privately, okay?"

Sheng Xuanhuai knew that Li Hongzhang was worried about the Qingliu in the court, and Weng Tonghe's group of people were afraid that this would lead to criticism, so he said calmly: "It's okay, just let the teacher get in touch with it."

The next day, Sheng Xuanhuai took Li Hongzhang's famous post to the Consulate General of Tianjin, France to meet Badno.

After the greetings, Sheng Xuanhuai made his purpose: "Mr. Special Envoy, I have a business to come this time and want to negotiate with your country."

Badno was stunned!

I don’t see many officials from the Qing Dynasty, don’t fool me...

"Business?"

Sheng Xuanhuai saw Badno's expression, and anyone who suddenly heard this must have this expression.

"Haha... it's okay, I know that the nobles are a little confused. It's okay, wait for the official to tell you in detail." Sheng Xuanhuai rolled up his sleeves and was about to sing...

Just kidding, let's start explaining-

"Your in Qing Dynasty, have you ever discovered a problem?"

Badno fell into a fog for five miles, "What's the problem?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "I think the Qing Dynasty was thousands of miles apart from north to south, but there was no railway. Is there a precedent in Europe?"

Badno sneered in his heart, this is because you are backward in China, so there is no railway.

No matter what Badno thought, Sheng Xuanhuai continued: "His Majesty, our dynasty, felt that the transportation was inconvenient in the north and south, so he issued an order to build a railway. However, our dynasty had no factory to smel and lay railway tracks. He had no choice but to re-purchase it. It happened that the noble envoy came to represent France. I knew France was a powerful country in Europe, with advanced equipment and excellent craftsmanship, so I came to ask if your country might be willing to sell railway tracks to our country?"

Oh~, I had been making trouble for a long time and wanted to buy rails. Badno's mind changed and then said, "my country's steelmaking technology is naturally world-class, and there is no problem with supplying rails. However, I don't know how much your country plans to purchase?"

Sheng Xuanhuai slapped his hands, "So many."

Badno obviously hadn't seen crosstalk before and said blankly: "How much is this?"

Sheng Xuanhuai smiled: "Preliminary plan, purchase five million meters in advance!"

puff……

Badno now has no tea in his mouth. If he was drinking tea, he would definitely spit it out in one sip!

Five million meters, that is five thousand kilometers! France started to build railways in the 18th century, and it has only been more than 100 years since it has been built for many kilometers. It is so good. As soon as it opens, the starting price is five thousand kilometers!

"You mean, the Qing government intends to purchase 5,000 kilometers of railway tracks from France?"

Sheng Xuanhuai nodded: "The initial plan is like this. If the court allocates silver every year, it will gradually increase in the later period. His Majesty the Great Emperor of my country once mentioned that the Qing Dynasty should build at least 100,000 kilometers of railways to ensure smooth north and south and east and west."

Badno gasped. Calm down... He reminded himself that the most important thing now is calm! He suddenly remembered a question - as the top minister of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang, the first-rank Count, did not mention the construction of the railway in the previous negotiations. How could this so-called fifth-rank official who is "acting Tianjin Customs Road" have such great power and can actually do such a big business?

After thinking about it, Badno looked at Sheng Xuanhuai with deep suspicion and said, "Mr. Shan, if I remember correctly, your current official position in the Qing Dynasty should be "Assistant Tianjin Customs Road". As a customs officer, why can you propose or even decide on such a business?"

Badno means, you are neither from the Ministry of Railways, nor from the Minister of Military Affairs or Prince, where did you get such great power?

Sheng Xuanhuai, who was prepared, took out a golden silk cloth from his arms and handed it to Badno with both hands and said, "I am afraid that the envoy will not believe it, so the subordinate brought the emperor's will here. If there are talents who are proficient in Chinese in the consulate, then we should know that what the official said is true."

Badno raised his hand to call an interpreter for a skeptical result, and he was even worried. At the same time, he invited Lin Chun, the Consul General of France in Tianjin.

Soon, Lin Chun came to the room with a general interpreter.

"Oh? It's Mr. Shan."

After serving as a consul for many years, Lin Chun naturally met Sheng Xuanhuai and knew that he was a celebrity under Li Hongzhang. This person came to visit at this time, and Lin Chun subconsciously linked it to the Sino-French negotiations in the stalemate stage. "I guess this person was sent by Li Hongzhang..."

When Sheng Xuanhuai saw Lin Chun, he quickly got up and saluted. After the greetings between the two sides, Sheng Xuanhuai knew what symbol Lin Chun would give him, so he took the lead and explained his purpose.

"I am here this time to discuss with you two.

A light flashed in Lin Chun's eyes, "Oh? Business? I don't know what business it is?"

Before Sheng Xuanhuai could speak, Badno, who was sitting next to him, handed a roll of yellow silk, "Consul, take a look at this first."

Lin Chun had been in the Qing Dynasty for many years and had no vision than Badno. He knew what this roll of yellow silk was as soon as he received it. "Imperial Imperial?"

He looked up at Badno, then looked at Sheng Xuanhuai, and then opened the imperial edict in confusion.

There is not much content on the imperial edict. Although Lin Chun's Chinese is average, he roughly understood the meaning of it. He asked the general translation to read it again and verify it. Then he said: "So, is your country trying to start building a railway?"

Sheng Xuanhuai nodded and said, "That's right."

In Tianjin for many years, Lin Chun knew of course that there had been many debates in the Qing Dynasty over whether to build a railway, and also knew how much effort Li Hongzhang had put into it. Now that the Qing court finally decided to build a railway, it seemed a bit late to Lin Chun. As for Sheng Xuanhuai, as Li Hongzhang's die-hard aide and core direct descendant, it was reasonable to be able to take on this job.

"So, does Mr. Shan want to purchase locomotives from France or rails? Speaking of which, the quality of locomotives produced in our country is absolutely excellent..."

"Mr. Consul..." Sheng Xuanhuai was not in the mood to hear Lin Chun boasting about the locomotive built in France. His purpose was not this at all. "Sorry to interrupt you, but the construction of the railway - including the procurement of locomotives and the procurement of railways - is not the responsibility of me."

"Hmm?" Lin Chun said in surprise: "I just read the imperial edict of your country's emperor. Didn't it say that he appointed Shanda to be the chief executive of the Investment and Merchants Bureau?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "This is true, but the General Office of the Investment Promotion Bureau appointed by the Emperor is not the only official. In fact, the construction of the railway is carried out by another General Officer."

In this way, Lin Chun was even more surprised. "Isn't the business that Mr. Shan just mentioned referring to?"

Sheng Xuanhuai smiled and said, "Yes, not." Without raising the appetite of the two of them, Sheng Xuanhuai said directly: "The railway must be built, and the railway may also require bridges, which requires a large amount of steel. In addition, the imperial court also plans to build ships. Among them, the railway alone requires no less than one million tons of steel. The official happened to be in charge of the general office of the iron plant, so this time I came to discuss with the two of you about purchasing steelmaking equipment."

As mentioned before, the Qing court planned to purchase 5,000 kilometers of railway tracks, one kilometer of heavy tracks was 40 tons of steel, 5,000 kilometers, which was 200,000 tons. This was just a railway line. Since the Qing court decided to build a railway, how could it be possible to build only one?

Badno and Lin Chun seemed to see countless gold and silver flying in front of their eyes.
Chapter completed!