Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1163

“Welcome, welcome. The Emperor said that as long as you join the Vienna Convention Organization, our friendship will last forever.”

Facing Rhodes’s enthusiasm, Tang Wenjie said happily. The effect of this

 war that the Chinese Empire fought in Europe at the cost of manpower and resources had finally become apparent. Small European countries like the Netherlands had always been in a weak position in Europe, so it was normal for them to be coerced by the major powers into joining wars. Now that the Chinese Empire had created the convention organization and established a joint military defense system, it meant that they would have the backing of the Chinese Empire’s military and would no longer have to worry about the major European powers like France and Prussia.

“Your Majesty is always so wise.” Rhodes said with emotion, “If Brother Tang is willing, I can sign the Vienna Convention now. How about it?”

This time, Tang Wenjie had been given full authorization to come to Europe. He had his entourage take out a copy of the agreement, signed it himself, and then pushed it toward Rhodes. The two were busy signing the agreement when a commotion came from outside the door. After a while, someone came to report. It turned out that after the Netherlands, envoys from Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Hungary had all come to see Tang Wenjie. Upon hearing this news, Tang Wenjie showed a satisfied smile. He had not expected this campaign to have such a far-reaching impact in Europe.

Rhodes signed and stamped the document, and gave the original copy of the agreement to Tang Wenjie. He said, “The partitioning of Poland by Prussia, Austria, and Tsarist Russia this time frightened a lot of European countries, and the ambitious Henry made people feel even more uneasy. So when the Chinese Empire intervened in the European war, many countries saw hope. They want to maintain the integrity of their countries under the protection of the Empire.”

Tang Wenjie nodded. The partitioning of Poland by Tsarist Russia and Prussia did indeed have a bad influence. After all, if they could partition Poland now, they could partition other countries in the future. Tang Wenjie put away the original copy of the Netherlands’ agreement and said to Rhodes, “After I sign the agreements with these countries, we can catch up.”

Rhodes understood. He saluted Tang Wenjie and turned to leave. After sending Rhodes off, Tang Wenjie received the envoys from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Hungary one by one in order. That afternoon, he, the four envoys, the Netherlands, and Austria jointly announced that the six European countries had become member states of the Vienna Convention.

After settling this matter of great significance to Europe, Tang Wenjie stayed in Vienna for another half a month. When he saw that no other European countries were coming, he embarked on his journey back to the Empire. Forty-three days later, the merchant ship he was on returned to Dengzhou. After getting off the ship, he immediately went to Qingzhou without stopping.

“Including the Chinese Empire, there are now a total of seven signatory countries.” Xiao Ming reviewed the signed documents one by one. His sudden proposal to establish the Vienna Convention Organization this time was not a whim, but a long-term consideration. After all, with the Empire’s current capabilities, it was impossible to destroy the four major European countries of Britain, Prussia, France, and Tsarist Russia. This was because these four countries combined had a population of over 100 million, and their military was the most advanced in Europe. The mass-produced firing rifles of Prussia showed its war potential. Forcibly starting a war might be able to defeat them, but what he would get would inevitably be a chaotic land that would require a large amount of the Empire’s military force to maintain. And these four countries had no value to the Empire other than a market. The whole of Europe was a resource-poor region, and these four countries were no exception. The only exception was the Siberia owned by Tsarist Russia, which was now also in the hands of the Empire.

Therefore, considering these factors, Xiao Ming decided to use Europe’s contradictions to win over some and strike at others. The value of these signatory countries was to provide military support and material supplies to the Empire.

“Yes, Your Majesty. There are not many European countries, and now basically half of them have joined us,” Tang Wenjie said.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. “Spain and Portugal are, after all, old colonial empires, and they are in league with Britain and France. It seems impossible for them to join the signatory countries.”

Tang Wenjie said, “According to the news I received, this seems to be the case. After France and Prussia were defeated, Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, Prussia, and Tsarist Russia quickly became closer. It is said that Prussia and Tsarist Russia even shared military technology. There are even rumors that to counter the Vienna Convention Organization, these six countries are preparing to establish the St. Petersburg Convention Organization, and the content also involves joint military defense.”

“The St. Petersburg Convention Organization? Europe is getting more and more interesting now.” Xiao Ming laughed. A historical scene that seemed familiar was reappearing. Could it be that World

 War I was coming early? After a little thought, Xiao Ming had Tang Wenjie go back, and he picked up the phone and called Wang Xuan, who had returned from Japan.

After briefly telling Wang Xuan about the situation in Europe, he said, “The Vienna Convention has given the Empire a powerful influence in Europe. You must take this opportunity to establish an intelligence organization to keep abreast of the situation in Europe at all times.”

Wang Xuan nodded. He said, “Your Majesty, do you not want to deal with this St. Petersburg Convention Organization now?”

Waving his hand gently, Xiao Ming said, “There is no hurry. The countries that have joined the signatory countries in Europe are not yet stable and may run away at any time. If we were to forcefully launch a world-class

 war now, they would probably run away. After all, they are small countries, and if the Empire’s support is not timely, they may face destruction. Instead of doing so, it is better to let the situation in Europe stabilize for now, so that the Empire can take the opportunity to improve their war capabilities. When they are confident in their military strength, they will follow the Empire to achieve their own ambitions.”

After a pause, he continued, “Secondly, using the convention, the Empire must establish common interests with the signatory countries. Only in this way can the Empire control Europe at the least cost.”

Wang Xuan understood. He said, “If that’s the case, I will personally go to Austria to prepare to establish an intelligence system.”

Xiao Ming nodded. He had Wang Xuan leave and then called Li Kaiyuan over. Wang Xuan’s establishment of an intelligence system this time could not be done without Li Kaiyuan’s help. After all, the appearance of Europeans and people of the Chinese Empire could not be hidden, so Wang Xuan could only choose Chinese Empire merchants as intelligence gatherers. If that were the case, it would be very necessary to develop trade with the six countries and have merchants flock to these six countries. At that time, any person of the Chinese Empire seen everywhere could be a member of the Secret Guards.

“Although it’s not the whole of Europe, if there’s no watermelon, a sesame seed is also good.” After learning that the signatory countries had completely opened their markets to the Chinese Empire, Li Kaiyuan’s excitement was evident on his face. Now, the Chinese Empire’s powerful industrial capacity had saturated the domestic market, and looking for markets abroad was a necessary path. Now they had finally welcomed the most potential market outside of the Chinese Empire.