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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 158: Sheng Chen¡¯s Majesty

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    In the British embassy, ??Wenhan seemed to be very dissatisfied with Aliguo's answer. With a hint of aristocratic arrogance in his eyes, he said calmly: "I want to hear the opinion of Mr. Thomas T. Meadows." Aliguo said to  The Indian waiter standing aside made a gesture, and the waiter went out, and soon brought Midile in.

    Midile is the first secretary and general secretary (i.e. translator) of the Shanghai Consulate. He is thirty-six years old this year. He has high eyebrows, a wide forehead, blond hair, gray eyes, and a clean shaven face. He wears a snow-white shirt and has an Adam's apple knot.  Wearing a black satin bow, she looked very capable.  He went to Guangzhou to work at Jardine Matheson at the age of seventeen. He stayed in China for nineteen years and spoke Chinese very fluently.  Three years ago, he was employed by the Shanghai Consulate and was responsible for collecting news and intelligence about terrorist organizations and gangs.  Although this person held a low position, he could provide expert advice to the British government. Lord Wenhan admired him very much and was interested in letting him succeed Ali Guo as the consul in Shanghai, but he had to wait until Ali Guo's term expired.

    Seeing Midile come in, Wenhan stood up, shook hands with him, and said, "I have read the China situation analysis report you wrote, and I admire your vision and talent. Please sit down, Mr. Midile."

    Midile sat down gracefully, and Wenhan said with a gentle smile: "The rebels have occupied Jiangning and Zhenjiang. Zhenjiang is only two hundred miles away from Shanghai. You are a China expert, and I want to hear your assessment of the rebels.  "

    "Thank you for your compliment," Midile said, "Mr. Minister, as far as I know, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom not only captured Jiangning, Zhenjiang and other places, but also Wuchang, Jiujiang, Anqing and other important towns along the river. It can be said that one-third of them are in their hands.  The waters of the Yangtze River have fallen into the control of the rebels. We are facing a new question, can the Manchu Qing government of the great emperor survive? How long will it last? The Manchu Qing government of the great emperor is a government with Manchu aristocrats as its core.  The anti-Manchu government is an unpopular government. For more than two hundred years, the anti-Manchu struggles of the Han and other ethnic groups have been going on one after another and have never stopped. I believe that in the near future, a rebellion will sweep across the country. But the Taiping Army  It will undoubtedly be the largest anti-Japanese armed force among them. They are highly disciplined and have thousands of followers. They are likely to gain final control. According to reports from inland missionaries, in addition to the Taiping Army, the Nian Army in the Huaihe and Yellow River basins, the Nian Army in Sichuan and Guizhou  The Ge Lao Hui, the Xiao Dao Hui and the Red Money Hui in Fujian and Zhejiang, and the Triads in Huguang are also at war with government forces. For example, at the beginning of this year, a man named Du Wenxiu in Yunnan organized a large-scale rebellion. These gangs and  The ** armed forces harbor a bitter hatred for the Manchu emperor. The Taiping Army has occupied one-third of South China and is said to have millions of people. According to the intelligence I have collected, as long as the rebels get the support of gangs from various places, it is possible to establish a  The new regime that divided several provinces formed a North-South confrontation with the Great Emperor. I think that although it is unlikely that the rebels will overthrow the Manchu regime in the short term, the Great Emperor's rule in South China will be gone forever."  Midile said "never come back" very seriously, "If the British Empire intervenes in the Chinese civil war at this time and helps the emperor's government, it will only prolong the war indefinitely and will be of no benefit to our country's business. Our country's intervention in China  Can the civil war prevent the victory of the Taiping Rebellion? If you cannot get a positive answer, the best strategy is to remain neutral and stand aside." Midile believed in his analysis very much.

    Aliguo looked sideways at this subordinate. He disagreed with Midile's opinion and immediately retorted: "Your Excellency, Minister, I think Mr. Midile overestimated the rebels. Yes, the rebels are carrying out major attacks on the emperor's government.  But this is a good time for our country to intervene in China. If the Far East Fleet meets Wu Daotai's request to assist in the defense of the Yangtze River, our country can take the opportunity to propose more conditions to the emperor and open major towns along the Yangtze River. Well, this premise is that we  Help the Emperor to regain these areas. Not only will our country gain more commercial benefits, but we can also take the opportunity to request the establishment of an embassy in Beijing. If the rebel forces are too strong, we can consider having the Far East Fleet and French warships in China jointly assist in the defense of Shanghai  mission."

    Colonel Ho Bo immediately echoed: "My fleet only has three ships, but China's shipbuilding technology and ordnance technology are two hundred years behind ours. The emperor's river division ships are all vulnerable toys, and the rebel navy must also be  It won't be much stronger. We don't need to ask for help from France. My three warships are enough to help defend the Yangtze River waters from Shanghai to Jiangning." The "HMS Harmish" of the British Far East Fleet is in Shanghai, and the "Sylamander"  ) in Xiamen, and the "Rattlesnake" in Ningbo.

    Midile firmly opposed Britain's intervention in the Chinese Civil War. He said excitedly: "We cannot blindly intervene in the Chinese Civil War when the facts are unclear. If the final winner is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom instead of the Great Emperor, our country's status in China will be compromised.  It's very embarrassing. Other countries may even take the opportunity to take away a lot of interests that should belong to the UK!" He was a very persuasive person, and Lord Wenhan also tended to remain neutral. He nodded: "Mr. Midile,  Your opinions are of great reference value. Please prepare a report immediately. I will send the report to London as soon as possible.Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  "

    However, Aliguo said with reservation: "The rebels will definitely attack Shanghai. If they refuse to recognize the "Treaty of Jiangning" signed by the British Empire and the Great Emperor, what should we do?"

    "Well, this is a question," Wen Han thought for a moment: "We must pay close attention to the political intentions, military trends and diplomatic intentions of the Taiping Rebellion. No matter what happens, they will never be allowed to enter the Shanghai Concession. Colonel He, please  All three warships have been transferred to Wusongkou. Once the rebels attack Shanghai, they must resolutely defend the concession. Mr. Aliguo, please discuss with the American consul, the French consul and Wu Daotai to establish a joint defense committee in Shanghai and the concession to form a force.  Volunteer team in order to cope with the war that may occur at any time. As for Wu Daotai's request for the Far East Fleet to assist in the defense of Shanghai, we must report it to London and let the Prime Minister and Cabinet decide."

    When Lord Wenhan's report was sent to London, the Taiping Army launched an offensive on the eastern front. The Qing Army Xiang Rong's Ministry fought a major battle with the Taiping Army in Jurong, Lishui and other places, which lasted more than 20 days.  After the battle, the Taiping Army broke through the Qing army's defense line and surrounded the two key areas of Jurong and Lishui. Xiang Rong had to retreat to Jintan, Danyang, and Liyang. However, under the fierce offensive of the Taiping Army, the above three places were destroyed.  He didn't stay for long.  More than ten days later, the imperial envoy Xiang Rong's defense line retreated again, and the defense lines were divided into Changzhou and Huzhou.

    Faced with the unusually rapid development of the rebels, Lord Wenhan found that his report was already inaccurate even during the journey, because the rebel forces were about to reach Shanghai.

    After waiting anxiously for more than a month, Lord Wenham finally received the approval of "remaining neutral" from the British Foreign Secretary Clarendon. Clarendon asked him to go to Tianjing as soon as possible to find out the situation of the Taiping Rebellion.  Although Wenhan was a little disappointed, he decided to immediately take the "Halmish" to Nanjing in person to meet with the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom who had the highest reward, and to find out the political intentions of this new regime.

    Su Songtai and Wu Jianzhang did not want the British to deal directly with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but they could not stop it. Facing the threat from foreigners, Wu Daotai had no choice but to issue a traffic survey and asked the Qing navy, land camp and fort on both sides of the Yangtze River not to obstruct it.

    According to the "Sino-British Jiangning Treaty", British merchant ships and warships can only pass freely through the five ports of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou and Xiamen. The "Harmish" rarely has the opportunity to sail into the Yangtze River.  It moved against the current very slowly. The officers and sailors on the ship used various instruments to measure the waterway, draw navigation charts, and record the topography and landforms on both sides of the river.  Lord Wenham believed that in a few years, the Great Emperor would open up the mainland under the threat of powerful ships and cannons, and sooner or later the Royal Navy of the British Empire would patrol the Yangtze River freely like it entered and exited the five ports.

    In order to let the Chinese civilian ships sailing along the river clear the waterway, the sailors on the "Halmish" knocked the bronze bell on the bow of the ship from time to time. The long and loud bell attracted the attention of the people along the river and the water brave. The barefoot boatmen on the civilian ship  , the farmers plowing the fields on the shore, and the Qing army soldiers patrolling along the river all stared at the foreign ship, with confusion, surprise, hatred and curiosity mixed in their eyes.  The foreign sailors were chirping, adjusting the jib and fore-sail as if they were showing off their skills, and looking down at the Chinese ships and boats with an arrogant attitude.

    Near Zhenjiang, the "Halmis" encountered a little trouble.  This is the intersection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. In peacetime, boats going north sailed from Dantu to the Yangtze River, and boats going south sailed from Liuwei to the Yangtze River.  But now the Qing army and the Taiping Army are facing each other across the river. The Ma Infantry Army of the Jiangbei Camp has fortified itself on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Guazhou and Dantu are occupied by the Taiping Army. The two sides have blocked the river in a crisscross manner, interrupting the traffic between the north and the south.  The canal south of Liuwei is like two narrow water alleys, jammed with hundreds of large and small wooden boats, making it impossible to advance or retreat.  Wen Han stood on the side of the ship and looked southward with his clairvoyant eyes. The legendary rebels were busy like a colony of ants, building forts, building fortresses, and transporting ordnance. The Guazhou River Defense Fort on the north bank was also as busy as the south bank. Only the Qing army  But there was no movement on the position.

    The rebel fort on the south bank fired a shot at the "Harmish". The shot landed 200 meters in front of the battleship, setting off a huge column of water.  This was a warning issued by the Taiping Army, asking the British ships to stop advancing and accept inquiries.  Wenhan and Midile knew that the Taiping Army's shore artillery was an old-fashioned iron cannon, more than one meter long, fixed on the fort, using a spherical solid cannon and fired with a match rope. It had weak explosive power and short range, and could only be used when attacking the enemy.  The ship only acted as a blocker after it entered the firing range. That kind of iron cannon was not the same as the breech-loading cannon on the "Halmish".

    Wenhan did not want to cause trouble, so he ordered the "Halmish" to anchor on the spot. Midile, escorted by six sailors, took a sampan and rowed towards the south bank.  It was the first time he saw the legendary Taiping Army. They wore red short shirts and uniforms with Chinese characters written on them. They wore red scarves on their heads, wore straw sandals, and held spears and swords. Their long hair was exposed under the red scarf.  , this army is completely different from the attire of the people under the control of the Qing court.At the same time, because they did not shave their hair, they were called "hair bandits" or "long-haired" by the officers and soldiers.

    Midile told the rebel generals at Dantu Fort that the British warships were not helping the Qing army fight, but were envoys of friendship. The plenipotentiary ministers of the British Empire were on board. The purpose of this trip was to visit their leaders and discuss important matters.  .

    The fort general was curious about the British and Yi's visit, and did not embarrass them. Instead, he said that the Taiping Army and the foreigners believed in the same God, and called Midile a "foreign brother."  The "Harmish" was delayed on the river for a whole day. After asking for instructions, the fort general allowed it to continue westward.

    After four days of sailing against the current, the "HMS Halmish" arrived at Xiaguan Pier in Nanjing, and the British cruiser "HMS Halmish" docked at the shore.  Eleven years ago, the British HMS Cornwallis also docked here. In a show of majesty, the British Lord Pottinger and Qing Dynasty Minister Qi Ying signed the "Sino-British Jiangning Treaty" on the ship.  On the deck of the Harmish, the British Minister Lord Wenham stood upright. He was over forty years old, with a typical Saxon long head, blond hair, a high nose and deep eyes, and a thick beard on his chin.  There was a bit of melancholy in his cold eyes.  He looked at the Tianjing City Wall in the distance, recalling the great achievements his predecessor Lord Potingcha had created here, and his heart was filled with excitement. He really wanted to achieve the same achievements as his predecessor during his term of office, and contribute to the British Empire.  Seek greater benefits.
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