The East China government is different. It has not deliberately suppressed the prices of agricultural products and resources and minerals imported from Siam. As long as the prices are appropriate, it is enough, which is higher than that of Britain and France. The tariffs on industrial products exported to Siam are also negotiated by both sides. In the end, due to different commodities, each has its own highs and lows, but it is also much higher than the 5% set by Britain and France.

Of course, compared with European countries, the East China Government has an advantage in distance from Siam. Therefore, although the East China Government's commodity tariffs are high, it is still competitive in the final price compared to European products. For Siam, trade with the East China Government is much more profitable than trade with European countries. If it continues for a long time, Siam will also benefit a lot. This is also one of the reasons why Siam King Chulalongkorn insists on vigorously developing diplomatic relations with the East China Government.

However, Chulalongkorn also knew that the root of the domestic opposition to the East China Government fleet's visit to the East China Government fleet is still in Britain and France. Therefore, he did not deliberately suppress the domestic opposition. Instead, he made a request to the British and French Embassy in Siam, saying that Siam also wanted to reject the East China Government fleet, but the primary school was unable to stop the East China Government's fleet, hoping that the warships of Britain and France could be dispatched in the port of Siam to block the East China Government's fleet from entering the Gulf of Siam.

However, the ambassadors of Britain and France to Siam immediately stated that the mobilization of the army requires domestic orders, and the embassy has no right to order the warships, so it cannot help Siam. Moreover, this is a matter between Siam and the East China government, and the two countries are not convenient to interfere, hoping that Siam can handle it on its own.

Although the ambassadors of Britain and France to Siam responded in accordance with diplomatic principles, they actually did not dare to make this point. Although Britain and France did not want Siam to get closer, they did not want to have direct conflicts with the East China government. This was mainly because Britain and France are not strong enough in the Far East. After all, the defeat in the Battle of the Taiwan Strait made Britain and France extremely cautious when facing the East China government. Therefore, before absolute certainty, neither country wanted to have a direct conflict with the East China government. Moreover, both countries must concentrate their efforts and respond to Germany in Europe, and it is impossible to devote their main energy to the Far East. Therefore, both governments strictly warned the troops stationed in the Far East and would never provoke a conflict with the East China government.

What's more, the East China Government's visiting fleet this time had two battleships and two large armored cruisers, which were far stronger than the British and French warships anchored in the port of Bangkok. Therefore, even if the two countries wanted to intercept the East China Government's visiting fleet, they could not do it. Therefore, the two ambassadors to Siam rejected Siam's request with diplomatic principles.

This came to Chulalongkorn's wishes. Britain and France did not dare to step forward to stop the fleet of the East China Government, let alone Siam! The opposition forces in Siam were also silent at this time. After all, Britain and France were too disrespectful to give themselves face, so they were unable to stop the fleet of the East China Government from visiting. Therefore, the visiting fleet of the East China Government successfully entered the capital of Siam, the port of Bangkok.

The Siam military organized a very grand welcoming ceremony to welcome the fleet of the East China Government. First, it sent four warships out of the port to welcome it, and led the fleet of the East China Government into the port of Bangkok. Sirisha Yoyatai, the Navy Marshal of Siam, also went to the dock to greet it personally, and arranged a guard of honor on the shore. When the fleet of the East China Government was docked at the dock, it also played naval music.

Although the Siam Navy's strength was not very good, the four warships that welcomed the East China Government Fleet were all small cruisers with only about 3,000 tons, which were generally comparable to the Dongchang-class cruisers of the People's Army Navy. However, the Siam Navy was greatly influenced by Britain, so it learned the British Navy's sense of ritual, and it was also very similar at this time.

In addition, there were also Chinese in Bangkok who welcomed the East China Government fleet at the wharf. More than a thousand people came and organized dragon and lion dances. After all, this was the first time that a fleet from China visited Siam. Moreover, the Chinese in Siam also heard about the great military achievements of the East China Government, so they were extremely excited, so they rushed to the wharf to see the fleet from China. Of course, this was also approved by the Siam Government, which was a kindness expressed by the Siam Government to the East China Government.

After the warships entered the port, the soldiers on the warships of the East China Government Fleet all changed into military dresses, and neatly lined up from the bow of the ship on the deck, and kept waved to the people on the shore to show respect for Siam.

The commander who led the fleet to visit Siam this time was Lu Kai, the deputy commander of the East China Sea Fleet. After the flagship Ganjiang stopped, Lu Kai lowered the gangway. Lu Kai came down from the warship and saluted each other with Yoyatai, who was coming, then shook hands, and accompanied Yoyatai, inspected the Siam naval guard of honor.

Afterwards, both sides gave speeches and were polite to each other. Yoyatai wished the visit to be successful; while Lu Kai expressed his willingness to strengthen the baptism between the two sides, and the friendship between China and Siam lasted forever, and the entire welcome ceremony ended smoothly in such a friendly atmosphere.

Then Lu Kai met with the Chinese representatives who came to welcome him, and finished the highlights for the dragon and lion dance, and watched the dragon and lion dance performance on the spot. He then delivered a speech to all the Chinese who came to welcome him. On the one hand, he expressed the concern of the East China Government for all overseas Chinese; on the other hand, he also hoped that the Chinese in Siam would provide more friendly supplies to strengthen Sino-Siam exchanges, etc.

On the next day, Siam King Chulalongkorn invited Lu Kai at the palace again, expressing Siam's welcome to the fleet's visit, and reiterating Siam's desire to establish good diplomatic relations with the East China Government.

Lu Kai also said that China and Siam have a long history of exchanges. Since ancient times, they have had a tradition of friendly exchanges and are friendly neighbors. Now both sides are facing complex international situations and their own transformations. Therefore, the two sides should assist each other and jointly respond to challenges. The East China Government is willing to work hand in hand with Siam to face the future.

Although Lu Kai's words were very subtle, Chulalongkorn also understood what he meant. Among them, "complex international situation" means that both sides are facing invasion and squeeze from external forces, while "itself transformation" means that Siam and China are undergoing transformation from a feudal agricultural country to a modern industrial country, so the two sides are sure to have a lot of room for cooperation.

Although Zhu Lalongkorn could not have completely believed in the East China Government because of Lu Kai’s remarks, he also had a little more favor for the East China Government. After the reception, Zhu Lalongkorn gave Lu Kai and others very valuable gifts, such as Lu Kai received an ivory-carved Buddha statue, which can be said to be extremely noble.

Lu Kai also gave gifts from Zhulalongkorn and the Siam naval generals. Each of them had a naval sword and a pistol, of course, which were more decorative than practical. Although swords and guns were both modern industrial products, they were also made of gold and jade. Moreover, the body of the sword and gun were carved with complex and gorgeous patterns, and the work was extremely exquisite, which was obviously all the best.

There is also a set of warship models, including Mingjian-level, Mingju-level, Jinan-level, and Qingzhou-level four-type warships. Each type has two models, with a total of 8 pieces, and they are all finely made and are all top-notch crafts.

Chulalongkorn and the Siam naval generals were also very satisfied with the gifts given back by the East China Government. They then held a state banquet in the palace to entertain Lu Kai and his party.

Although Siam is a small country, its territory is nearly 600,000 square kilometers and its population is more than 30 million. It is a small country around China. If it is in Europe, it can be regarded as a big country, and the royal banquet is naturally very rich. However, eating and drinking is just a trivial matter, and Siam's attitude is the most important. This not only shows that Siam attaches great importance to this visit, but also intends to establish good diplomatic relations with the East China Government.

In the following days, the two sides also held several naval exchange activities, and three symposiums were held alone. The two sides had relatively in-depth exchanges on each other's maritime strategy, naval construction direction, and the situation in Southeast Asia. This exchange also gave Siam a deeper understanding of its status in Southeast Asia.

At the same time, the East China Government also organized Siamese naval officers to visit warships, and introduced them in detail the performance of various types of warships visited this time, as well as their performance in the Far East War, and even conducted a sea exercise. In addition, they also conducted tactical training, shooting, off-road, and other performances on the shore, showing the excellent performance of warships and the excellent military qualities of the warships to the Siamese naval officers.

Although the Siam navy was influenced by Britain, it was far from being compared with the People's Army's navy. The largest warship of the Siam navy was only a 5,000-ton cruiser, and the quality of soldiers was far from that of the People's Army. Therefore, after watching the training of the People's Army, the Siam naval officers also envied the quality of the People's Army's warships and soldiers.

In addition, Lu Kai also invited British and French warships that were also anchored in the port of Bangkok, asking them to participate in some activities of the People's Army, and also called strengthening military exchanges between them.
Chapter completed!