Chapter 1107 |
At night, Brooke stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the guesthouse, looking at the city lights of Qingzhou, feeling a bit bitter in his heart.
Behind him, Henry was sitting in a chair, eating a steak. The aroma filled the entire room.
Rhodes, sitting across from Henry, was also eating the same food. After returning to Europe, he missed this dish from Qingzhou very much, because the steak here seemed more authentic than the ones in Europe.
The Spanish and Portuguese envoys were also present. They had just woken up from their drunken state and were gathered together to discuss the negotiations for tomorrow.
This was because they needed to reach a consensus on some matters.
“What a beautiful night view. It’s a shame this isn’t London,” Brooke finally said with a sigh. They were staying on the sixth floor of the guesthouse.
From here, they could see very far: the wide roads, the streetlights on both sides, and the bustling commercial streets with bicycles traveling back and forth.
“This is the reason for our defeat. This is a world that we can’t understand. We must put down our arrogance and admit that this Eastern Empire is more powerful than any country in Europe. We must also establish a good relationship to get help from them.” Henry said calmly.
Rhodes naturally fully agreed with Henry’s words. He had strongly opposed this war from the very beginning, but he was too insignificant and had no say in the Netherlands.
Brooke frowned on the surface, but in his heart, he was also nervous about being seen through by Henry. This negotiation was crucial. They were all fighting for the interests of their own countries and could not be completely united.
All he wanted to say was that they had to maintain a facade of unity so that they would have a bigger bargaining chip.
“Henry, you know what I mean. Now is not the time to undermine each other. This is also important for your France.”
Rhodes’s eyes darted back and forth between Brooke and Henry.
There was no doubt that even though they were defeated, Britain and France were still the most powerful forces in Europe. But once Prussia unified Germany, Europe’s problems would become complicated.
Yawning, Rhodes used being sleepy as an excuse to escape the cold war between the two.
This time, the Netherlands was thoroughly humiliated, and the Dutch prime minister was forced to resign. The newly appointed prime minister was trying to restore a good relationship with the Chinese Empire, which was good news for him.
The Spanish and Portuguese envoys also had their own ulterior motives. Now that the facts proved that there was no benefit in continuing to contend with the Eastern Empire, they, who were humiliated for their arrogance, no longer dared to be negligent with this Empire.
Like Rhodes, they also left one after another.
Brooke and Henry, after arguing for a while and feeling it was meaningless, continued to observe Qingzhou’s night view.
At the same time, he took out a small notebook and recorded everything he had seen on this journey. He was an envoy, but he was also a famous poet in Britain.
Although they came to stop the war, he was still filled with curiosity about this mysterious Eastern Empire.
…
The next day, the envoys woke up very early. Today was the day for the negotiations, and whether they could achieve any breakthroughs would be decided today.
In the top floor room of the Wei family’s restaurant in Qingzhou City, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already prepared a large room. This negotiation would be held here.
“Your Majesty!”
At nine o’clock, Xiao Ming arrived in a special car and stopped in front of the Wei family’s restaurant.
Unlike before, the current Wei family’s restaurant was no longer a wooden structure. Over the years, the Wei family’s restaurant had been demolished and rebuilt. It was now a thirty-six-story-high building.
Tang Wenjie, leading the diplomatic officials, was already waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Xiao Ming arrive, they all came forward to greet him.
Xiao Yi was in the second car. He came up to Xiao Ming, trying to project the image of a Crown Prince. His expression was a little serious. He would be participating in this negotiation from beginning to end to gain some worldly experience.
“Have the foreign envoys arrived?” Xiao Ming asked.
“Not yet. The car has gone to pick them up. They should be here soon,” Tang Wenjie bowed to Xiao Yi and then turned to reply.
Xiao Ming nodded and walked in first. This time, in addition to Pang Yukun, he also brought large merchants with official identities, such as Li Kaiyuan.
Not long after Xiao Ming went in, another convoy arrived. Brooke and the European envoys were here.
The moment they got out of the cars, reporters waiting at the hotel entrance swarmed up, taking a flurry of photos of them with their cameras.
Brooke and the others were so scared they almost hid, because the things these people were holding would emit a bright flash of light, and they thought it was some kind of weapon.
Tang Wenjie couldn’t help but chuckle. He stepped forward and explained the situation to Brooke and the others. Only then did Brooke lead the startled envoys into the hotel.
And the reporters were discussing how funny the photos that would be in tomorrow’s newspaper would be.
Under Tang Wenjie’s guidance, everyone came to the hotel’s conference room.
This conference room was very large, with a long table in the middle. But this was not where the negotiation would take place. It was a place for everyone to wait.
There was a door on the west side of the conference room. This was the Empire’s negotiating room. The envoys of each country would enter here one by one in order.
After arranging for the envoys to be seated, Tang Wenjie said to Brooke, “Who wants to go in first?”
Brooke immediately stood up, as if this were a matter of course.
Tang Wenjie smiled helplessly. This was probably the British’s innate arrogance. He wondered if this Brooke would still be so composed after the negotiation.
Leading Brooke into the negotiating room, Tang Wenjie sat down beside Pang Yukun, while Brooke and the three British envoys sat opposite them.
Clearing his throat, Xiao Ming said, “I will be negotiating with your five countries separately today. Since that is the case, let’s get straight to the point and not beat around the bush. How many pounds are you prepared to pay to ransom the prisoners of war from this defeat?”