Taken from the Donghua Record of the Guangxu Reign: the fourth month of the first year of the Guangxu Reign [May, 1875]; section pg. 48-49 (book pg.66-67)

In the past, when General Yue Yi (3rd century BC) attacked the State of Qi, what he did first was to establish an alliance with the State of Zhao; When Zhu Geliang (181-234 AD) was trying to defend the State of Shu, he first reconciled with the State of Wu. It is natural that when you prepare to do something, you have to first get close to those who are able to help you. Foreigners always establish alliances among themselves when they deal with China. China has been isolated and tightly controlled, which we have been enduring till this day. We should really find outside help at the time of peace, and we have to be very careful about with whom we should make friends. Today, among the nations with which we have signed treaties, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany are the strongest. Among these five nations, the British are insidious, and the French fierce. Wherever they go, they would seek every opportunity to occupy the land. What they have done to us should never been forgotten. Russia has vast territories, and its army is very strong, which has been feared by other European nations. Now, it has controlled our Yili in the west and taken the north of Heilongjing in the east. It is occupying the most critical territories to block our rear. We must put great defense there as barrier, and we need to pay particular attention to the northeastern three provinces. What we should do is to prepare our defense seriously and at the same time make peace with the Russians. It is a strong enemy of China, and we cannot take it lightly. The United States is a continent itself. Its social customs are quite simple and natural, and it has the least enmity toward China. The new pact that our Minister Counselor Pu signed in New York has clearly shown that the U.S. is willing to help China. It is concerned about that China is being weakened and Europe is getting stronger, and a stronger Europe could pose a threat to the U.S. Therefore, China and the U.S. should deal with each other honestly and forsake petty disagreements. The United States could be a strong help to China, which we cannot lose. Germany just defeated France, which almost created a standoff with the U.K. and Russia. Fortunately, it does not have many trading ships in China, and we also do not have many issues to negotiate with Germany. Nonetheless, it could be another China’s strong enemy in the future. We definitely cannot depend on Germany to be our help, but it should not be an immediate threat to us. During the ancient warring states period (475-221 BC), once you conquered a state, many other states would submit to you and accepted treaties. But once you lost a state, many other states would start to attack you. Therefore, if you know how to choose a friend, then even an enemy can be your help. If you don’t know the way to choose a friend, then even your neighbors could be your enemies. We should really prepare and plan carefully, and make secret contacts. If we have troubles in the future, we could get more assistance from others, which might ensure our victories when we are at war, or get better deals when we make peace.