This design is indeed very good. Haijing immediately understood that this was the best solution for Germany at present. The transportation capacity of such a highway even exceeded that of a railway. Although it required two stations in the middle, it was not a big deal.
It's just to make the station bigger. If the Ottoman Empire really joins the war in the future, the two railways can be directly connected.
Of course, for William, this result still did not achieve his goal. His goal was to make Yang Feng make his position clear. It was obvious that this guy was still ready to continue riding the wall. William had nothing to do about it. Fortunately, he had not yet arrived in the UK.
On the human side, this can be considered a comfort.
Yang Feng's highway plan has not been made public. Since he wants to continue to sit on the fence, it will be useless to force him. William is also happy to block the news with him. Anyway, it is still early for his railway to reach Baghdad! In fact, this railway
No construction has started at all yet.
The ball has been kicked back, and the British naturally want to change the target. Now the British government is strongly threatening Hamid II and asking him to cancel the railway construction agreement with the Germans. In order to make his voice louder, the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet even
They entered the Aegean Sea in a very ostentatious manner. At the same time, the army also increased its garrison in Egypt, including a large number of British righteous people. They also began to frequent the Arab sheikhs of Hijaz, especially the home of the Grand Sharif of Mecca, who was the descendant of the Holy See and the guardian of the Holy Land.
It is clear that if necessary they will aid the cause of freedom of the Arab people.
Hamid II is also in a dilemma at the moment. In fact, like Yang Feng, he does not want to choose between Britain and Germany. Although he does not like the British's gradual erosion of his empire, he also knows that it is easy to get burned.
His fragile empire was reduced to ashes. It would also not work to tear up the Baghdad Railway Agreement signed with the Germans. That would make him directly bear the wrath of William, and then the Austro-Hungarian Empire would attack him in the Balkans, where there are currently a large number of votes.
He is thinking about getting rid of his rule. What's more, he himself is also looking forward to having this railway. With the railway, the east and west of his empire can be connected, and his control over the Persian Gulf coast will be greatly enhanced.
Another point is that with the increase in strength, the national self-esteem of young people in Turkey is rising, especially the vast majority of them are educated by Chinese or Germans. The former received anti-Russian education, and the latter received anti-Russian education.
Anti-British education, it can be said that the current hatred of Russia and Britain in the entire Ottoman navy and army is a mainstream, and these officers and soldiers are also eager to transform their country through a constitutional system. If Hamid II is on the railway at this time
If you surrender to the British on this issue, it will easily trigger a revolution in the country.
After thinking about it, this guy still felt that the danger of rejecting the British was much less dangerous than rejecting the Germans. In the former case, the British would at most come and beat him, but in that case he would gain the support of the military, and William
They will definitely come to help him, otherwise he will have nothing.
He couldn't even guarantee whether the British would actually come to help him when the Germans came to beat him or when a revolution broke out within the Ottoman Empire. This was not the first time that the British Empire had done this kind of thing to dazzle others.
Besides, the British have been looking forward to the end of the Ottoman Empire. However, they have never been able to do so. If a revolution does happen, Hamid II feels that the British are more likely to take advantage of the opportunity to add insult to injury, so it is better to choose between two evils.
Light. It was far more cost-effective to reject the British than to reject Germany. However, while rejecting the British, he also wanted to find a backer for himself. Get a double insurance, and at the same time find a stronger tree for himself that he could rely on for a long time.
"The relationship between China and the Ottomans has taken a further step?" Yang Feng looked happily at the Ottoman minister to China in front of him. Although he did not want to form an alliance with any European powers, it was a very good choice to conclude an alliance with the Ottomans against Russia.
, anyway, he and Nicholas knew it well, and this could make Nicholas more honest. However, this covenant is not suitable yet, and Hamid II must first solve the troubles he faces.
After thinking for a while, he decided to give Hamid a trick. After all, he also wanted to build this railway. It would be bad if all parties continued to entangle and fight.
"Of course, I personally look forward to our two ancient empires being as close as brothers. However, at this time, changes in the relationship between China and the Ottoman Empire can easily cause misunderstandings from the outside world. After all, peace in the Middle East is hard-won.
We all need to take care of ourselves.
In fact, I have some understanding of the situation your country is facing. The British do not want the Germans to build the Baghdad Railway, but this railway should be regarded as a project worth looking forward to whether it is your country, Germany or China. I am very much looking forward to it.
You can take a train from Kuwait to Berlin and enjoy the stunning scenery along the way.
In this case, why don't we look for a solution that is acceptable to all parties? The Germans want the railway, and the British don't want the Germans to build the railway. This is an irreconcilable contradiction, so we can fix it in another country, for example
You, the Ottoman Empire, are building your own railways, so I don’t think anyone has the right to interfere," Yang Feng said.
"Should we fix it ourselves?" Minister Ottoman was stunned, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that this was indeed the best solution at present. Although it offended both Britain and Germany, it was to an acceptable level.
It also satisfied the pride of domestic radicals and strengthened Hamid II's dominance.
But the question is, where does the money come from?
At this time, the finances of the Ottoman Empire were definitely hopeless. It would be good if Hamid II could maintain his own navy and army. As for private fundraising, it was even more impossible. The people of the Ottoman Empire had so much money that the people did not have enough to eat.
What's more! What's more, the ethnic conflicts are serious. If you think about it, you will know that those Arabs, Armenians, Kurds... These messy ethnic groups will definitely not be interested in strengthening the strength of the empire. They wish that Hamid II would be finished and they would be better.
!
"The funding problem is very simple. Just raise shares in the international capital market. Turn this railway into a joint-stock company, but it will not issue railway bonds, nor will it be a state-owned company. Your government will retain 30% of the equity and use the railway as its own
The land along the line is used as investment, and whoever is willing to invest in the remaining part can invest, such as Germany. Because the original construction agreement needs to be cancelled, Germany can be given preemptive rights as compensation. As for how much, we can discuss it with them first. I think they will
I understand your difficulties. After all, they don't want to start a war because of this railway. Then set aside part of it for stock market issuance in places like London, Paris, and of course Shanghai. Whoever wants to buy it will buy it. If the British don't buy it, then
There is nothing more to say. Your country has given them the opportunity to participate, but if they give up their participation, it has nothing to do with others. You can't just not let others practice it if they don't practice it, and you can't let you practice it yourself, right?" Yang Feng said.
As soon as this explanation was finished, the Ottoman minister immediately understood that this was the best solution. Although the Ottoman Empire canceled the road construction agreement authorized to Germany as requested by the British, the railway was still under German control.
Next, it is conceivable that German investors will definitely buy more than half of the stocks, so that William will not mind canceling the road construction agreement, and Hamid II has agreed to the conditions proposed by the British, and they have lost their entanglement.
The theoretical basis is that if the Ottoman Empire did not even allow them to build their own railways, then the British Empire's control would be too lenient.
After getting Yang Feng's advice, the Ottoman minister hurried back and telegraphed the plan back to Istanbul. After understanding the benefits of this plan to himself, Hamid II quickly summoned the German minister and conveyed the plan to the Germans.
, William agreed to this plan after some research. All he wanted was for future crude oil transportation to avoid the Suez Canal, and this plan fully met his requirements.
With William's consent, the Ottoman Empire officially announced the abolition of the Baghdad Railway Construction Agreement with Germany. The British were very satisfied with Hamid II's choice and praised the emperor for his contribution to maintaining peace in the Middle East.
After the contribution, the Mediterranean Fleet left the Aegean Sea and returned to Gibraltar. The British armies that had been assembled in Egypt began to withdraw to their respective stations. But at this time, Istanbul released another news. The Ottoman Emperor would register the Baghdad Railway Company in his private capacity.
, build this railway by itself in the form of raising shares. As compensation for the unilateral abolition of the original Baghdad Railway Agreement signed with the Germans, German investors will be given 55% of the equity preemptive rights, and the remaining Hamid II
The company will invest 30% of the equity in the land along the railway line, and the other 15% will be raised in the three major securities markets of London, Shanghai and Paris.
This news almost stunned the British. They never expected that Hamid II would play this way. When the new British Prime Minister Balfour heard the news, he was so angry that he reportedly dropped the cup. In a sense
He said that this would be more humiliating to Britain than the original agreement, but the problem was that he had no reason to get angry, because Hamid II had already done what he asked. As for him investing in building railways on his own land, even if
Because of the tyranny of the British Empire, they also know that if they send the fleet over again for this problem, they will become a scolding woman. The British Empire, which prides itself on being a gentleman, cannot do such shameless things under any circumstances. (To be continued, please search Gone with the Wind.
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