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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 32 Chapter 32: The Envoy

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    In Yangon, the port, a promontory stretches deeply into the sea. At the end of the promontory, the British built a breakwater artificially to separate a large area of ????the sea from the outside ocean.  On a low-latitude coastline like Yangon, it is possible to encounter tropical storms or more terrifying hurricanes for up to seven or eight months every year. In order to protect the ships docked in the port and prevent siltation in the port.  This breakwater is extremely necessary.  Gillings stood on the shore and looked at a steamship that was slowly sailing into the port. A line of white smoke rose from the ship's chimney, and dozens of white seagulls hovered over the ship. All of this was reflected in the blue sky.  The sky is like a beautiful oil painting.  At this time, a dock official walked up to him and whispered respectfully: "Mr. Gillings, the Morris is about to dock. Do you want to go to the pier to greet it?" "Oh!, of course.  !" Gillings played with the ivory cane in his hand skillfully, and then followed the official towards the trestle where Morris was about to dock.  The Morris is a passenger ship with a displacement of 1,500 tons. It travels between Calcutta and Yangon on weekdays.  When Gillings arrived at the pier, the sailors had just lowered the gangway, and the first first-class guests were standing beside the ship's side, waiting to disembark.  When he was at Oxford University, Gillings was a good shooter. He had a pair of good eyes like a falcon. He could clearly see the person he was about to pick up from a distance of three hundred yards - a middle-aged man with brown hair wearing a black dress.  people.  Howard.  Tessen - a Colonial Office official who had just arrived from Calcutta, who had just been appointed as the British Empire's special envoy to Indochina.  As a young man with great promise, Gillings had just learned from a well-informed person that the opinions of this special envoy were valued by the Colonial Secretary. More importantly, as an expert on Asian issues, he had already  The Marquess of Salisbury, the Prime Minister, worked under him when he was the Governor-General of India and had considerable influence on the Prime Minister. I believe that he had received full authorization from the Prime Minister before coming to decide the next move of the British Empire in Burma.  Gillings took off his top hat and looked at Howard who was looking for something on the side of the boat towards the shore.  Tessen waved twice.  Tessen was panting and wiped the sweat from his head: "To be honest, although I served the empire in India for six years from 1875 to 1881, I still am not used to the climate there. And it is even hotter than India.  It's even more humid, God!" Tessen is a fat man with a height of six feet and four inches. He stands out among the short Burmese people around him. Even Gillings, who is very well-proportioned, looks dwarfed by him.  stand up.  Gillings said with a smile: "Mr. Envoy, would you like a glass of sherry? It's not easy to see here. There are ice cubes on the carriage!" "Oh! Sherry!" Theson stopped wiping his sweat and stared.  Looking at Gillings with big eyes: "Great, call me Tessen, that's what my friends in the ministry call me!" "Tessen! You can also call me Gillings!" Gillings walked to the carriage.  , took two glasses of sherry with ice cubes, and handed one to Theson.  Tessen took two sips with a satisfied expression on his face.  Then the two of them got on the carriage and headed towards the city of Yangon.  In the carriage, Gillings and Theson sat across from each other. Compared to Teson's burly physique, the space in the carriage seemed a bit small. Teson twisted his body uncomfortably from time to time, as if there was some invisible restraint imposed on him.  Generally speaking.  When Gillings added wine to Tessen for the third time, Tessen made a gesture of refusal and said with a smile: "Gillings, thank you for the wine, but that's it for today. Now let's talk about that person."  Regarding the Burmese chief, you should know the purpose of my trip. " "Okay!" Gillings put the wine glass back in the compartment on the side of the car and whispered according to the script he had prepared. "I followed the governor's instructions.  I have been in contact with Mr. Meng Ji since November last year, providing him with support in the form of weapons and military officers, and ensuring that after he succeeds, the British Empire will support him in many aspects such as diplomacy and weapons¡ª¡ª" "No need.  You and I already know this!" Tessen interrupted Gillings's narration: "I have read every bit of your report carefully. Now let's talk about what happened just now, and what you didn't include in the report.  What's written!" Gillings frowned and asked hesitantly: "Mr. Theson, I don't quite understand what you mean. You know, as an official of the British Empire, I have an obligation to read it.  Every relevant matter is written into the report for reference by the gentlemen in London. "Gillings, I have not denied the objectivity and comprehensiveness of your report!" Theson stared into Gillings's eyes: "I have.  Having served the Empire for twenty years, twelve of which were in various colonies, I know very well that as a colonial official, there are various and complex problems that arise when writing reports to London.There is a real art in extracting the real thing from the information and turning it into a report for your Excellency No. 10 to read.  There is no doubt that we should provide an objective and comprehensive report, but while removing our subjective judgments, are we also removing some other useful things?  Does it also remove some of the things our intuition warns us about?  We must know that we are living here, observing here, and we are among them. Many times, our subconscious judgments are much more and more accurate than what we can get through calm analysis.  !  " "Mr. Teson!  " Gillings looked at the middle-aged man in his forties with respect. He was deeply inspired by what he just said. He licked his lips and whispered: "Indeed, as you said,  I didn't write everything I wanted to write in the report.  Mainly because I am not sure that what I think is correct, and because these things lack sufficient facts as a basis, I cannot convince London to believe them.  " "Very good, Gillings!  Tesen nodded with satisfaction: "You are a young man with a bright future."  Gathering facts and drawing conclusions from them is difficult, but can be done with good training and diligence.  But there are still instincts and intuitions in this world. With courage, imagination, and experience, at that moment, through the fog of confusion, you can directly come into contact with the truth of things. This cannot be achieved through training and diligence. It is  God's revelation.  Come, young man, tell me what God has pointed out to you?  " "I think the empire should invest more than 25 to 30 battalions in Myanmar this year, or at the latest January next year, otherwise there will be a risk of losing India in the future!  "Gillings' voice was very low, as if he was frightened by what he said. Teson's face became serious. After thinking for a moment, he whispered: "Gillings, I have already seen it.  Your report is up.  In the report, you spoke highly of the Chinese small army, saying that they are very well trained and can even compete with our colonial battalions in India.  But as far as I know, China is still a country that is not fully civilized. Although its territory is huge, its internal differences are also huge. The financial and political systems within the empire are also very backward, and are not enough to mobilize its huge manpower and material resources.  .  Not to mention the huge space and natural obstacles in its homeland and India, and the oceans are also under the control of the imperial fleet. Do you still think that China will be a huge threat to the empire's colonies in the Far East?  " "What you said is correct, but these can all be changed.  The Prussian Junkers were not civilized a hundred years ago, but fifteen years ago they were able to defeat the French and become the emperor of Central Europe; the Chinese people have great internal differences, but the vast majority of the people in this empire speak  A language belongs to a nation, and their bureaucrats are all well-educated intellectuals. As long as changes occur, it is not difficult to become efficient. As for space and natural barriers, how long did it take to get from London to Paris two hundred years ago?  How long will it take now?  The development of technology will eventually overcome these difficulties. If the Chinese build a railway from their border to Mandalay, they will be able to completely control the entire upper Burma and invest 100,000 or even 200,000 troops into Burma. At that time  We have to invest the entire army of the empire in India.  As for the imperial fleet, you know that with the advancement of technology, warships are being updated faster and faster. The warships of the British Empire will be obsolete in less than twenty years. As long as you have enough steel and machines, you can build them very quickly.  A large fleet that can compete with the Far East Fleet is coming.  And there are enough iron ore and coal mines in China's vast territory. If they want, they can build hundreds of Krupps and Swans.  Hunter (a famous British shipbuilding company that has built many warships for the British government), this is no longer the era of wooden sailing ships. As long as the oak in Northern Europe is controlled, the other party will be unable to build enough sailing battleships.  "After listening to Gillings's words, Theson was silent for a long time, and finally whispered: "Gillings, you are right. Indeed, in the long run, the Chinese are the enemies of our British Empire and even the entire Western civilized world.  , but we cannot use this to ask the gentlemen of the House of Commons to appropriate funds. No one will pay for something that will happen twenty or thirty years or even a hundred years from now.  "    "you're right!  Teson, but if it is possible to invest twenty-five to thirty battalions of troops to protect India and obtain a new colony, what is wrong with it?  "Gillings persuaded with hope. He opened the curtains of the carriage, pointed to the scenery outside the window and said to Teson: "Mr. Teson, look at the scenery outside the window. What a fertile land this is. If we occupy this place,  , teak, tin ore, and rice will be continuously shipped to Britain, bringing endless wealth and glory to the empire!  "Howard Theson looked at Gillins's face that was flushed with excitement, and then looked at the beautiful subtropical scenery outside the window. Finally, he shook his head helplessly and sighed."Gillings, I now believe the rumors about you in Calcutta, that you can persuade the monkeys in the temple to sit quietly on the roof with a tongue!" "Terson!" Gillings complained.  road.  Theson shook his head and smiled: "Gillings, I'm almost convinced by you. Well, if things are really as you said, I will repeat what I saw to the Marquis when I return to London, but  ¡ª¡ª" His face became serious and he whispered: "It will be difficult for your request to be passed. Twenty-five battalions, even the Marquis, will have a hard time passing it in the House of Commons." "Even just half of it will do!  Gillings, who was overjoyed by the sudden good news, said with a smile: "As a thank you, I'll treat you to Yangon's seafood later. The tuna here is great!" "Tuna? My God!"  Tesen raised his eyebrows happily, and in a good mood he made a rare joke: "But the yellow-skinned monkey here shouldn't confuse it with other fish, right? I remember seven years  When His Excellency the Marquis and I were in India some time ago, some Indians actually gave us some mackerel (the other kind is fish, which is in the same family as tuna and has a very similar appearance, but it will produce toxins if it dies for more than two days and cannot be eaten).  After eating, I lay in bed and fell asleep for three days before I woke up!" "Of course not!" Gillings replied with a smile, "I won't use mackerel to make you sleepy, I have something simpler here!  The best rum and scotch you can¡¯t get in London!¡±
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