Iron Dynasty

Embassy? Really?

Schroeder smiled. He thought that the emperor of the Great Yu Kingdom would not pay attention to how they stayed in Qingzhou, but he did not expect him to make such a perfect suggestion.

That's right, with the embassy, ​​the envoys you send to Da Yu can handle the affairs between the two countries and promote the exchanges of commerce, culture, etc. between the two countries.

In the face of Schroeder, Xiao Ming probably proposed the specific functions of the embassy. In fact, consulates that can only be similar to embassies have appeared in contemporary Europe.

To trace the history of the consulate, it will be until the Middle Ages. At this time, Western capitalism has arisen, and merchants have done business in various European countries, and even settled in the cities where they do business.

These people and the country of residence often have trade disputes, and in order to resolve the disputes, they act as arbiters or mediators for each other. So the merchant arbitration consul appeared.

By now, Western civilization is basically in the middle and late eighteenth century. Generally speaking, this is a period of prosperous international trade. Western countries have paid more and more attention to the value of the consular system, and even formulated the laws of consulates abroad.

However, compared with the West, the diplomatic system of the Great Yu Kingdom is still relatively backward. After all, the Great Yu Kingdom ten years ago basically did not establish contacts with countries outside the tributary system.

Countries within the tributary system only pay tribute on an annual basis, and there are not so many affairs to speak of.

But now there is the Netherlands first, and now Prussia is coming. He believes that as the Great Yu country shows its edge in the world, more and more countries will go to the Great Yu country to establish embassies.

At the same time, in his opinion, with the rise of the Great Yu Kingdom, the brilliance of civilization he brought from the technology spar will also spread to the world with the Great Yu Country as the center, whether it is Asia, Europe or the Americas will be affected.

After all, people in this world are constantly flowing, and the expansion of the commercial activities of the Great Yu country will inevitably add the culture, economy and technology of the Great Yu country, just as the West brought its own technology and culture to the colonies while colonizing.

This is exactly what we hoped. A stone fell in Schroeder's heart. Judging from the attitude of the Emperor of the Great Yu Kingdom, they were very willing to cooperate with Prussia.

And in his opinion, the only one that can cooperate with the Great Yu country is Prussia. First of all, the interests of Tsarist Russia in the Far East are destined to be unable to cooperate between the two. The Netherlands is too small in size, limited in population, and weak in the army. A full-scale war, and Austria and Hungary are not monolithic. While the Austrian emperor is also the Hungarian emperor, the Hungarian nobles are also seeking more rights and interests.

As for Poland, this country is being eroded by European powers. Needless to say, France and the United Kingdom have signed the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance Treaty between Portugal and the United Kingdom for hundreds of thousands of years. This treaty has been maintained until now. It will not be used by the Great Yu Kingdom, and Spain also has many colonies overseas, so it will naturally be a long-term ally.

Thinking of this, Schroeder seemed to have seen through the limitations of the Great Yu Kingdom's current contacts with European countries, so he boldly said: Dear Your Majesty, I have one last request, I hope we can send noble children to study in the Great Yu Kingdom. I hope Your Majesty will be fulfilled.

Study abroad?

Xiao Ming rolled his eyes. He had thought about this question before Schroeder came, and now he has the answer.

After pondering for a while, he said, I promise you this request.

Schroeder was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't expect these aristocratic children studying abroad to learn the most advanced technology of the Great Yu Kingdom. He just hoped that what they had learned would not make Prussia be left behind by Britain and France. They couldn't think of Britain and France. It also uses the internal war of the Great Yu Kingdom to win the talents of the Great Yu Kingdom.

After agreeing to Schroeder's last request, Xiao Ming discussed some details of cooperation with Schroeder. Finally, he asked Pang Yukun to entertain Schroeder.

Watching the group leave, Fiji said at this time: Is this Prussia really so important? The emperor actually agreed to their request to study abroad.

It's very important. Xiao Ming said, Now that Britain and France have the help of traitors, they will inevitably surpass the current European countries in technology and firearms. In this way, the process of capturing colonies by the Great Yu Kingdom will become difficult. Europe will also be unbalanced because of this. A unified Europe is not what I want to see. Therefore, now we must help Prussia as much as possible. The rise of a European power will inevitably cause chaos in Europe.

After a pause, he continued: Besides, studying abroad is not all bad. Through the cultural influence of the Great Yu Kingdom, at least a group of nobles who are close to the Great Yu Kingdom can be cultivated among these foreign students, and when these nobles return to China After that, they will influence the decision-making of the Prussian high-level officials, which is extremely beneficial to the Great Yu Kingdom. Otherwise, even if there is cooperation now, it will be difficult for us to control the diplomatic direction of Prussia.

Old ministers are still a little worried about the leakage of technology. After all, this is a weapon for the Great Yu Kingdom to defeat other countries. Fiji is now paying more and more attention to technology.

Hearing this, Xiao Ming smiled softly, Old Fei Ge's worries are unnecessary, now the overall technical level of the Great Yu Kingdom cannot be surpassed by a few international students back home, and I will also require strict confidentiality for cutting-edge technologies. All that is learned is outdated technology that we have thrown away.”

He still didn't say a word, that is, with him, the technology of Dayu Kingdom will always be in the leading position.

In this way, the old minister can feel at ease. In fact, the cabinet has been discussing this issue recently. Now that electricity has emerged, some steam engine technologies are already outdated technologies, and there is no need to invest money in research. The cabinet has also stopped. Some backward steam technologies It is a pity to let these steam engine industries disappear like this. After all, it was once established by the imperial court with a lot of money. Therefore, instead of dusting it up, it is better to use these backward technologies and products in exchange for money to improve the country of Great Yu. The life of the common people, after all, these technologies are not behind other countries, what does the emperor think? Fiji said carefully.

Xiao Ming looked at Fiji with relief. After ten years of polishing, this former great Confucian has now kept up with the development of the Great Yu Kingdom and can think about some unique issues.

You have a good idea, instead of letting these technologies and industrial products rot, it is better to exchange for practical benefits. I have always thought of having enough money to make education and medical care free of charge in Da Yu, and to build my own country like the Dutch. welfare system.

In a conversation with Brandon, he learned that the Netherlands had established a social welfare system as early as 50 years ago with the generous donations of many entrepreneurs.

They use these funds to vigorously fund scientific research and invention and innovation, and increase the income level of residents.

These have become the soft power of economic development, attracting European tech elites and businessmen like magnets.