Chapter 226 Far East Ambassador
1870 Far East.
"Mr. Richard!"
"What's wrong, king?"
"It's only been a few months, why did you change the plaque again?"
"Hahaha, to tell you the truth, I won't work here anymore." Richard said proudly.
"Ah! Mr. Richard, are you going back to Europa?" Wang Enke asked slightly worried. Richard is usually very talkative. Will his successor be difficult to communicate with?
"No, no, in your Far Eastern dialect it's called promotion."
"That's really congratulations." Wang Enke cupped his hands in congratulations.
"Congratulations, Congratulations!"
"I don't know where the master can get a job?"
"This time, I will represent the Kingdom of East Africa to establish diplomatic relations with your country, and I will serve as the ambassador of the Kingdom of East Africa to the Far East in the capital of your country in the future."
"The Kingdom of East Africa? Wouldn't they be the same as Great Britain and France in the future?"
"Almost, almost." Richard said with a little guilt.
This is simply too flattering East Africa, comparing the world's ocean hegemony and the world's second most powerful country with East Africa.
…
"Mr. Lee Fuss, there is a person outside who claims to represent the German Prussian Kingdom of Hechingen and asks to see him."
"Heixinggen? I'll go and see!"
Prussian Minister to the Far East, Li Fusi walked out of the yard and saw Richard coming from Jiaozhou.
"I don't know who you are?"
"Mr. Lee Fuss, I'm Richard, the former head of the Hexingen Far East Commercial Liaison Office."
"Oh, I know that, but I don't know why you are looking for me."
"I have a letter from Prince Constantine here." Richard took out a letter from his pocket.
"Letter from Prince Constantine?"
Li Fusi hurriedly took the letter, opened it and read it.
After a while.
"Uh, Mr. Richard, Prince Constantine's request makes me very embarrassed! Without the confirmation of the Prussian government, I dare not make a claim."
"Mr. Lee Fuss, you are worrying too much! In fact, the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa was approved by the Prussian royal family and government, but there is no news from Europe at this point in time."
"Then how did you get the news?"
"Our East African kingdom was established, so we naturally made preparations in advance. In fact, I got the authorization half a month ago, but the kingdom hadn't been established at that time, so I didn't come here."
"Prince Constantine thought it was Zhou Xiang, but why didn't he ask the Prussian government to send us a message in advance? We should prepare early, isn't it just embarrassing me now?"
"Mr. Lee Fuss, in fact, you only need to be responsible for the introduction in this matter. You can use your personal relationship as an excuse, and you don't need to represent the Prussian government."
In the blink of an eye, the two came to a mansion in the capital.
"Mr. Li Fusi! I don't know what is the purpose of today's visit?" Chong Hou, the minister of the Qing government, was a little surprised.
"Your Excellency Chonghou, this is the envoy of the Kingdom of East Africa. This time I came to the capital to establish diplomatic relations with your country, so I will introduce you."
"The Kingdom of East Africa? I don't know where it is? Is it also the country of Thailand and the West!"
"Let this Mr. Richard tell you! He knows better than I do."
"Hello, Your Excellency Chonghou, I am Richard, the representative of the Kingdom of East Africa."
Listening to the Mandarin words with a Shandong flavor, Chong Hou asked: "Hello, Sir Richard, where does your country, the East African kingdom, come from? Why have I never heard of it, and your language is quite Shandong The charm of the land, did your Excellency stay in Shandong?"
"Hahaha, Your Excellency Chonghou, you are really smart. I did come from Jiaozhou, where I was in charge of the trade between the Heixingen Consortium and your country!"
"Heixinggen! I know, it's the place where Jiaozhou Customs was newly established! I heard that Heixinggen is also a company in your German region? I don't know what it has to do with the East African Kingdom?" Chonghou asked Li Fusi in a puzzled manner. asked.
Hearing that Richard came from the Hexingen Consortium, Chong Hou immediately grasped the key point. Isn’t this Hexingen from Germany? Isn’t that the same way as Prussia! Lee Fuss often said that Prussia was the leader of Germany, so wouldn't this Hexingen be the vest of the Prussian government?
"I used to be an employee of the Hexingen Company, but now I represent the Kingdom of East Africa. Although the Hexingen Consortium is from Germany, it is a large company that spans Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of East Africa. At the same time, it is in various European countries. And trade with all over the world."
"So that's it! Germany, I also know a little about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of East Africa, sorry for my ignorance, I haven't heard of it."
"Your Excellency, in fact, this is not your fault. In fact, the Kingdom of East Africa is a new country."
"New country? Is it also a German country?"
"Of course, but the Kingdom of East Africa is rather special. It is a new country established in East Africa by our German Prince Constantine." Lee Fuss said on the side.
"Eastern Africa?"
"That's right. Its monarch is our Prince Constantine of Prussia, who is now also the king of the Kingdom of East Africa."
…
Richard asked Lee Fuss for help because the Austro-Hungarian Empire had not yet established diplomatic relations with the Qing government in the Far East, while Prussia had established diplomatic relations with the Qing government as early as 1861.
Even during the Second Schleswig War in 1864, Prussian Minister Lee Fuss deliberately collided with Danish ships in the Bohai Sea, and captured three Danish ships as trophies in Dagukou.
Finally, under the serious protest of the Qing government in accordance with international law, Lee Fuss returned the ship and paid 1,500 US dollars in compensation. This is also a rare diplomatic achievement of the Qing government.
On May 13, the day when the East African Kingdom was established, under the recommendation of Chonghou, Emperor Tongzhi received Richard, the representative of the East African Kingdom.
May 15, 1870.
Ambassador Richard of the Kingdom of East Africa signed a treaty with Chonghou, the representative minister of the Qing government. Known in history as the "Treaty of the Two East", both East Africa and the Far East.
The "Treaty of the Two East" was signed, and East Africa officially established diplomatic relations with the Far East Empire.
The content of the Sino-Eastern Treaty includes fifty-seven articles. The main contents are as follows:
(1) The Kingdom of East Africa can send envoys to the capital and travel to and from places in the Far East; (2) The trading ports in the Far East allow the Kingdom of East Africa to set up consuls, who are responsible for the citizens of the Kingdom of East Africa to trade, live, rent land for construction, hire Chinese, and buy and sell various books. Commodities; (3) The East African Kingdom’s business tax in China is in accordance with the general rules, equal to the powers; (4) Qing Fang is responsible for protecting the property and creditor’s rights of East African citizens in China; (5) The East African Kingdom enjoys consular jurisdiction and unilateral most-favored-nation treatment. (6) The Kingdom of East Africa can recruit Chinese laborers from all over the Far East, and the Qing government cannot stop it. Along with this treaty, the "Commercial Regulations and Customs Tariffs" were signed.
Generally speaking, it is considered an equal treaty. The problem lies in Article 6, but the Qing government did not raise any objections, so it was passed.
According to the content of the treaty, in addition to the embassy of the Kingdom of East Africa in the Far East in the capital, five consulates were also established in Jiaozhou, Shanghai, Xiangshan County (Zhuhai), Xuzhou, and Kaifeng.
Minister Chonghou of the Qing government was not surprised by the first two locations, but rather surprised that this western country knew about Xuzhou and Kaifeng, and the small place of Xiangshan.
Richard's explanation is that there are commercial trades in the East African Kingdom in these three places, and in fact, these are the nodes of the route for immigrants from North China to East Africa.
Kaifeng and Xuzhou are important transportation nodes in North China. Kaifeng can gather immigrants from Henan and Northwest China, and Xuzhou is located at the intersection of four provinces, which is convenient for East African immigration. Zhuhai and Jiaozhou are the earliest establishments of the Heixingen Consortium in the Far East As for Shanghai, it is a place that almost all countries attach importance to.
(end of this chapter)