Chapter 1733: Negotiations

"My conditions are very simple: Longyan requires these three shipping routes from these two ports, and you British must also fulfill the conditions you previously promised."

"The four mineral deposits you promised must be received by us, Longyan, in full."

"Such conditions are not excessive, are they?" Jiang Xuan looked at Dike and smiled.

Dike's brows were tightly furrowed, his face ashen; for them, the British, there was no difficulty with the first of these two conditions.

They were merely three commercial shipping routes; since they were in the Mediterranean Sea anyway, it didn't matter if they gave them away.

But the second condition was somewhat bone-deep painful.

Originally, what they had promised to Longyan were four mineral deposits, but these four deposits were all very close to the territory of the French.

When the British held these four deposits, they frequently had friction with the French, and conflicts between the two sides were constant.

No one had properly mined these four deposits.

When they originally gave them to Longyan, they harbored malicious intent, wanting the Longyan people to fight the French to seize these four deposits.

Looking at it now, this strategy was quite successful; the French had indeed occupied three of the deposits.

This had cost Longyan a significant price.

But now, to have them retake these four deposits and then gift them to Longyan was a matter of expending effort without any reward.

Although they, the British, had the capability in that Colonial Area, the cost was a bit high.

Dike stared at Jiang Xuan's face and said in a deep voice, "The first condition is no problem, but the second condition is very difficult for us, the British, to fulfill."

Jiang Xuan didn't even look at Dike and said directly, "If that is the case, then there is no need for the British Fleet to sail on the Mediterranean Sea."

"You can decide for yourselves."

Dike's expression suddenly sank; this was a naked threat from Jiang Xuan.

Moreover, Dike had absolutely no Method to deal with this threat.

Currently, the fleets in the Mediterranean Sea were only the British Fleet, the French Fleet, and the Longyan Fleet.

But the British Fleet had no suitable ports to dock at and had always been docking at the ports of friendly nations in the Mediterranean.

The French possessed Mediterranean ports and did not need to worry about this problem.

Longyan controlled the gateway to the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and could directly cut off the gateway for other non-Mediterranean coastal countries to enter or exit the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, Longyan also had the world's strongest navy stationed in the Mediterranean Sea.

They, the British, were not without experience in seeing what the Longyan people had done on the Mediterranean Sea.

Once, a French fleet had provoked the Longyan Fleet and was directly beaten to pieces by the Longyan Fleet.

Even now, the French Fleet still dared not vie for supremacy with the Longyan Fleet on the Mediterranean Sea.

The relationship between Longyan and Britain was not good to begin with; previously, the two countries were still fighting over the ownership of the Suez Canal.

Don't look at the fact that Longyan and Britain were currently a military alliance; at any moment, Longyan could turn their guns toward Britain.

Dike could not afford this risk; he let out a heavy breath, stared at Jiang Xuan, and said, "I need to report this matter to His Majesty the King, and only after receiving a reply can I tell you."

Jiang Xuan spread his hands and said, "Talk after you report; we, Longyan, can fully afford to wait."

Hearing this, Dike's expression sank; he looked at Jiang Xuan and said, "I will tell you the result as soon as possible."

"But before that, we hope that Longyan can help us repair a port."

Jiang Xuan laughed out loud: "Mr. Dike, what makes you think that you have the strength to negotiate conditions with us, Longyan?"

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Dike, without your British help, it is only a matter of time before we, Longyan, conquer these four mineral veins. Do you think you, the British, have any qualifications to negotiate with us, Longyan?"

Dike was stunned, and his face immediately paled.

He understood that Jiang Xuan would absolutely not discuss any cooperation with him until his goal was achieved.

The current Dike no longer had any bargaining chips.

It was almost impossible to pay the minimum price to exchange for these two mineral veins.

He either had to agree to Longyan's conditions or mobilize the British troops to occupy these two ports regardless of the consequences.

However, both of these conditions could potentially cause Britain to pay an extremely heavy price.

After thinking of this, Dike sighed; although he was the leader of the British in Egypt, he did not have the authority to make such a decision.

Starting a war with the French without authorization would be a very painful price for them.

Dike could only say, "Fine, I will definitely give you an answer as soon as possible."

……

At this time, in Britain.

Stephenson, as the technical personnel who researched and developed the British Dreadnought-class Battleship, had indeed triggered quite a disturbance after his disappearance.

It even shocked the British royal family and George III.

For George III, Stephenson's disappearance was undoubtedly a major loss.

He was the person who mastered the Longyan Giant Steam Engine technology; although his research data and materials were all preserved, he himself played a very important role.

If he were dead, there would be no need to worry, but if he were still alive and had escaped to a hostile country of Britain, that would be something Britain could absolutely not tolerate.

George III ordered them to search every inch of the ground to find Stephenson.

It was just that George III did not know that Stephenson had already boarded a ship heading to Longyan, had long since left Britain, and was now on the vast ocean.

Therefore, George III's search-every-inch operation was just all thunder and no rain; after tossing about for a few days, the matter completely subsided, and it did not implicate anyone.

As for the development of the Dreadnought-class Battleship, a prototype had already been manufactured, launched, and prepared for the final debugging stage.

This made George III feel very comforted; although Stephenson's escape caused Britain to lose a talent.

The news that the Dreadnought-class Battleship was about to be successfully developed was a strong dose of medicine injected into Britain.

It made George III's heart, which had not been excited for a long time, ignite once again.

George III immediately ordered this news to be announced to the whole country via newspapers.

Countless British people were immersed in the joy of the successful development of the Dreadnought-class Battleship.

However, there is one exception.

Newton is currently in the Laboratory, immersed in a piece of research; this is his new research direction after inventing the existence of "force."

Under the continuous research of him and Mo Cheng, the laws of mechanics have already tended toward perfection.

There is no longer any motivation to continue researching, at least for now.

This is the subject he has loved since he was a child, and its name is mathematics.

To him, mathematics is the most fundamental subject bestowed upon humanity by the Lord, as if everything can be calculated and concluded using mathematics. Recently, the transcoding is severe, which gives us more motivation to update faster. Please use your hands to exit reading mode. Thank you.