Chapter 1245 The deal is concluded
After all, Siam, the little brother, has been quite obedient to Britain and France in recent years. In addition to Siam's strategic position and important value, Britain and France will not give up on Siam unless it is a last resort.
…
East African Legation in Siam.
At this moment, the East African embassy has been tightly protected, the door is closed, and the East African soldiers with loaded ammunition are wary of passers-by.
Obviously, the East African Legation is still relatively cautious. After all, it would not be good if the news spread in Siam and caused public outrage among the local Siamese people, causing local people to attack the East African Legation.
In the local afternoon after the conversation with King Rama VI, Sir Clare and Minister Kliaba came to the fully armed East African Legation.
"Sir Clare, the East African embassy should be here!" French Minister Kliaba asked.
The British Minister Sir Clyde nodded and said: "I am also the first embassy to come to East Africa, but judging from the flag, it should be here."
After confirming, the two knocked on the door, and a head poked out from the small window of the iron door.
"Who are you?"
Claire and Kliaba reported their homes respectively. After confirming their identities, the staff of the East African Legation let them in and took them inside the embassy.
The East African Minister to Siam, Weir, came up to us and said, "Haha, Sir Clare and Minister Kliaba, you two are here to make our place flourish!"
Although it was the first time for the two of them to come to the East African Legation, Weir and the others still knew each other. After all, diplomats from great powers often had the opportunity to meet.
Minister Kriyaba said: "Mr. Vere, we are here to act as lobbyists for His Majesty Rama VI. We hope that the two countries can resolve this misunderstanding."
There is naturally a reason why Kliaba took the lead. After all, among the two countries, Britain and East Africa have had troubles, while France has always had good relations with East Africa.
When he heard this, Weir's face immediately changed. He said to the two of them: "What's there to talk about? Siam just needs to accept our conditions. After all, they are directly killing our citizens. This Obviously challenging the bottom line of the empire.”
Minister Kliaba said: "Minister Weir, don't refuse in a hurry. We are here with the goal of maintaining regional peace and consolidating regional stability."
"Siam did make a mistake this time, but the crime will not lead to death. The conditions offered by your country are too harsh, and it is impossible for Siam to accept such conditions."
Weir said: "I think the empire's attitude towards Siam is relatively generous. After all, such a small amount of compensation and a few pieces of land can turn conflicts into friendship. It is definitely an advantage for the Siamese government."
Hearing Weir's shameless words, the two of them frowned. What does a small amount of compensation mean? Eighty million Rhine guilders is not a small amount. Most countries in the world cannot afford it.
As for the pieces of land that Weir mentioned, the area is indeed not large, but it also depends on the location? East Africa proposed that Siam cede four pieces of land along the Gulf of Siam to East Africa.
These include parts of Bangkok and most of the surrounding areas, which can be said to be the most elite places in Siam. If East Africa gets these places, East Africa can use them as a springboard to control the national economy of Siam.
This is not an exaggeration at all. Thanks to the efforts of Britain and France, Siam's sea outlets are currently mainly concentrated on the southern coast.
Although Siam also has an outlet to the sea on the Malay Peninsula, it originally belonged to the protruding part of Siam's territory and was not closely connected with the hinterland of Siam. At the same time, there were also pagan forces distributed there.
If East Africa occupies Bangkok and surrounding lands, it basically means that the economy in the hinterland of Siam is controlled by East Africa. This is definitely not what the two governments want to see. After all, neither Britain nor France did this back then.
Sir Clare said at this time: "Mr. Weir, let's just open the skylight and tell the truth. In fact, everyone knows clearly what the purpose of East Africa is this time. You must have some plot against Siam."
Weir said: "Oh, I wonder what Sir Clare has to say?"
Sir Clare said: "As for the compensation issue, I think it should be reduced to less than five million rhine guilders. As for the land, it shouldn't be so large, or your country can choose another place." Weir said: "No, five million rhine guilders." There are too few shields. You must know that the empire's Pacific Fleet has already set off. The cost of dispatching the fleet this time is quite high, not to mention the compensation for the sacrifice of our country's citizens and the cost of damage to the empire's reputation..."
In fact, East Africa's Pacific Fleet did make preparations, but did not set off. After all, East Africa naturally hopes to win without a fight.
War is often the last option, and based on the strength of the East African Pacific Fleet, sending a random squadron is estimated to be able to completely annihilate the Siamese Navy, without the need for a full-scale attack.
After all, the Siamese navy's capital ships are nothing more than steam-powered ships of several hundred tons. To put it bluntly, this kind of warship can be easily dealt with by the East African gunboat formations of the 1970s.
What's more, the Siamese Navy only equipped a few of these most "advanced" warships for Siam, and there were also a bunch of wooden-hulled ships.
On the other hand, the Pacific Fleet in East Africa, although it is the weakest among the three major navies in East Africa, is still ranked third in the Pacific region. The top two are the United States and Japan.
Therefore, to deal with Siam's navy, the East African Pacific Fleet does not need to exert much force to shatter Siam's naval dream.
In fact, Siam can be regarded as the country with the most awareness of maritime power in the Southeast Asian region. However, the country is poor and weak, and there are external threats, so it cannot develop at all.
"How about eight million rhine guilders?" Sir Clare asked tentatively.
Weir said: "For the sake of both countries, seventy-eight million."
"Ten million rhine guilders can't be too high!"
"Seventy-six million..."
The two were locked in a long negotiation, and the gap between the expectations of the two sides was too big, so they could only reach a deadlock.
Kliaba acted as a peacemaker at this time and said: "It's better to talk about the land first!"
So the three began to have a fierce confrontation over where to cede Siam to East Africa.
Britain and France did not want East Africa to have too much influence in Siam, so they tried their best to prevent East Africa from entering the core area of Siam.
Minister Weir naturally went in the opposite direction and made a fuss about Siam's seaports and key cities.
The negotiations between the two sides lasted for three days, and finally Weir made a concession: "Sixty million Rhine guilders, no more, and at the same time, the territory of the Malay Peninsula in southern Siam will be ceded to the empire. This is our final bottom line. If If the Siamese government does not agree, then the two countries will have to decide at sea. "
Weir issued a threat of war, and this move was very effective. After all, if a war really breaks out, East Africa may not stop.
Britain and France have no time to care about Siam's life and death, nor do they have the strength to care about it, unless they negotiate peace with Germany and Austria in the European direction at this time.
Sir Claire and Kliaba looked at each other and finally accepted the result.
Although the conditions in East Africa are still harsh, the compensation is at least 20 million less than before. At the same time, the territory of the Malay Peninsula is not actually too important to Siam.
Siam is a Buddhist country, but the residents of the Malay Peninsula are mainly Arabic, so if it is this area, Rama VI should be able to accept it.
And this is also true. The Siamese government represented by King Rama VI accepted the conditions of East Africa. After all, throughout the modern history of Siam, the Siamese have never been a country that can persevere to the end.
And King Rama VI, who had studied abroad, also understood the reality of the country in East Africa. East Africa had never been something Siam could provoke, otherwise he would not have asked Britain and France for mediation.
(End of chapter)