Iron Dynasty Chapter 1001

“Nonsense! Do you think I am as foolish as you? I have a record of the insidious dealings you British and French have committed over the years!”

Slamming the table in front of him, Xiao Ming suddenly flew into a rage. Brooke’s lie was easily exposed to him. Spain did not have such great power in Europe.

Brooke and Henry trembled with fear. Clearly, this emperor was extremely intelligent and not easily fooled.

The atmosphere in the main hall grew tense. Brooke’s eyes darted back and forth, searching for a solution. It seemed that if appropriate measures were not taken decisively, this negotiation would likely come to nothing, and they would then have to face the wrath of the Great Yu Empire.

“Your Majesty.” Brooke hesitated for a moment before deciding to be honest. He said, “Of course, some of our British politicians also made foolish mistakes, leading to this unpleasant battle. Her Majesty the Queen has punished these politicians and sent me to convey her greetings, hoping that Your Majesty can let bygones be bygones with Britain and develop trade between our two countries.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming snorted coldly. Although he knew that Brooke’s words still contained lies, at least he admitted that the British had actively participated.

As for whether it was certain British politicians or the Queen, it was no longer important, because he had no evidence to prove who led this war.

Henry, having learned from Brooke’s earlier mistake, said directly, “Our France has failed in this war, but we still hope to develop relations with the Chinese Empire. We hope for Your Majesty’s permission.”

As soon as their voices fell, Pang Yukun suddenly rebuked, “You people of western nations are truly too deceitful! Today, since you have come to Qingzhou, instead of reflecting on your mistakes or mentioning compensation after your defeat, you boldly speak of developing relations with the Chinese Empire. Your intentions are nothing more than coveting the Great Yu Empire’s technology. You dream beautifully!”

“Your Majesty, we have come to the Chinese Empire with utmost sincerity. We are willing to compensate for the losses in this war,” Brooke said.

Before coming here, the parliament had discussed at length how to deal with the difficulties posed by this country, and he had been given full autonomy, but on some issues, he still had some bottom lines to uphold.

Xiao Ming glanced at Brooke, then motioned for Qian Dafu to lead the delegation headed by Henry to the side hall to wait. After all, in negotiations between nations, it was inappropriate for another country to be present.

Upon receiving the order, Qian Dafu led Henry and his entourage to the side hall to wait quietly.

Xiao Ming then directly said, “Before we negotiate, I want to tell you some news: Dicken and Wilson are still alive. They are currently imprisoned in the mines as laborers. If you wish to ransom them, name your price. If not, they can stay here forever, it doesn’t matter.”

“Dicken and Wilson.” Brooke said in surprise. Many people believed the two had died, but he never expected them to still be alive. When he came, they had also discussed this issue. If the two were alive, they had to be ransomed, otherwise, it would greatly harm the loyalty of the British nobility.

“Your Majesty, we are willing to offer eight thousand pounds to redeem General Dicken and General Wilson.” Brooke first offered a very low price.

“Tsk tsk tsk…” Xiao Ming’s voice was full of sarcasm. “It seems I should really tell them the price you offered so they know their worth.”

In his conversations with Dicken, Xiao Ming had a basic understanding of Britain’s current economic level and the specific value of the pound.

According to Dicken, his family built a castle that cost 30,000 pounds, while the Crystal Palace, built specifically for the Queen, cost 360,000 pounds.

In Britain, one pound was equal to 20 shillings, and one shilling was equal to twelve pence. A normal British worker’s annual income was about thirty to fifty pounds.

This figure seemed similar to the income of the empire’s workers, but the gold content of the pound was almost five times that of the dragon coin, which was where the difference came from.

Brooke’s expression was a little awkward. A price of eight thousand pounds could only redeem low-ranking officers on the European battlefield, far from the level of Dicken and Wilson.

With a slight bead of sweat on his forehead, Brooke decided not to play his little tricks anymore. He clearly couldn’t outsmart the young emperor in front of him.

“Perhaps two hundred thousand pounds would be more appropriate. This is also our bottom line, Your Majesty. Since you are so wise, I dare not conceal anything further,” Brooke said.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. This price was not too outrageous. 200,000 pounds was equivalent to 1,000,000 dragon coins, which was a considerable sum, but as the victorious nation, he could not let Britain off so easily.

He said, “After you return, tell your Queen to prepare a ransom of 400,000 pounds. Besides Dicken, you also have hundreds of soldiers and officers here, all packaged and sold to you.”

Skipping the ransom issue, he continued, “However, these are minor issues. Before you can establish diplomatic relations with the Chinese Empire, you still need to meet these conditions: First, you need to compensate one million pounds for the losses of the Qingzhou navy’s ammunition and warships during the war, and at the same time, cede Australia, Indonesia, and India, three colonies. In addition, London will be designated as a trading port with the Chinese Empire.”

Brooke listened one by one, but he always felt that this method became more and more familiar the more he listened. When it came to the trading port, he finally realized that this emperor was using a similar method to theirs to sign an unequal treaty with them.

“Your Majesty, your appetite is truly too large. The issue of compensation may not be a problem, but the colonies and trading ports touch upon our British bottom line. When we came here, we had already learned that Your Majesty’s army had occupied Malacca, which originally belonged to Britain. To compensate for your country’s war losses, we can recognize Singapore as your country’s, but we will not trade Australia, Malaysia, and India.”

In Brooke’s view, negotiation was not just about showing weakness; sometimes, it was also necessary to show determination to intimidate the opponent.

“Since your colonies are so precious, it seems I can only take them back with my army,” Xiao Ming’s lips curved upward, and behind his smile was naked killing intent.

Brooke frowned. The Emperor’s attitude was equally firm, which made the problem very troublesome. However, the parliament had given him little authority over land. At most, they were willing to cede a small part of the colonies, but the Chinese Empire now wanted all of them.

This meant that British power would completely withdraw from Asia.