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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 161: Huge Benefits

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    After Hong Yun'er spoke fluent English, everyone present except Xiao Yungui was shocked. No one expected that the heroic Queen of the West could actually speak English.

    Wang Kaiyun stupefiedly touched Zuo Zongtang who was sitting next to him and asked in a low voice: "Why does the Queen of the West speak the Yi language? What did the Yi envoy say? The Queen of the West seems to be very angry."

    Zuo Zongtang shook his head and said, "I don't know either. It seems that the Xiwang and Xiwangniang Association are more than capable."

    The British people present were very embarrassed. In a formal social negotiation, a diplomat representing the British Empire insulted the other party. This was very rude. If the other party didn't understand, it would be okay, but now the other party understands.  , and was criticized in person by a lady on the other side, which made this group of British gentlemen who flaunted their demeanor feel ashamed.

    Although Xiao Yungui's English is not very good, he still understands the words "yellow" and "monkey" and immediately knows that they are curse words. However, this guy suffers from poor oral English. I don't know how to put it, but Hong Yun'er is still the best debater.  The reaction was extremely fast, and the accusations made in fluent English made the British extremely embarrassed.

    Lord Wenhan looked embarrassed and ughed a few times, then smiled and said: "It's really surprising. I didn't expect that Mrs. Xiwang, you can speak English so well. It seems that the language barrier we were worried about is gone. You are the best person I have ever seen."  One of the most intelligent and temperamental among oriental women."

    Wenhan wanted to compliment Hong Yun'er with a few compliments, but the four-eyed girl didn't take this at all. She said directly in English with a cold face: "Lord Wenhan, please apologize for what you just said, otherwise we will feel that  In the absence of mutual respect and trust, there is no need to proceed with subsequent negotiations."

    Xiao Yungui was also very angry at first, but after hearing what Hong Yun'er said, he couldn't help but become a little worried. He was really afraid that Wen Han would just walk away. Fortunately, Wen Han seemed to feel that he was really in the wrong, and he still felt that he should not lose himself in front of a lady.  Wen Han coughed, stood up gracefully, put his right hand on his left chest, bowed slowly, and said: "Everyone here please forgive me for my unreasonable behavior just now. This is just a misunderstanding.  I hope everyone will forget the unpleasant things just now and let¡¯s get back to business.¡±

    Seeing Lord Wenhan apologize, Hong Yun'er's tense face relaxed a little. Xiao Yungui said slowly: "I hope Lord Wenhan will remember this lesson. Don't underestimate us Orientals. There are many capable people among us."

    After Midile translated the words, Wenhan smiled slightly and said: "Please forgive me, maybe I have dealt with you Qing Dynasty officials too much, and I thought you were all the same. Well, let's not talk about these useless things, King Xi  Your Excellency, I would like to ask you to understand that abiding by the "Treaty of Jiangning" is the basis for our continued negotiations with you, but our cooperation does not mean recognizing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom regime. So far, the Manchu Qing government still occupies more than half of China's territory.  We don¡¯t yet feel that the Taiping Rebellion is capable of overthrowing the Manchus.¡±

    Xiao Yungui chuckled and said: "Lord Wenhan, I also want you to understand that historically, only after a regime replaces another regime and is recognized by other countries, will it ask the new regime to inherit the debts and obligations of the previous regime. You don't want to recognize our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."  , but it seems a bit far-fetched to ask us to inherit the treaty signed by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties."

    Lord Wenhan shook his head and insisted: "I am very sorry, Your Excellency the King of the West. This is the bottom line of our British Empire. If your army cannot promise to abide by the "Jiangning Treaty" and guarantee British interests in my country, our government will consider turning to support the Manchu Qing government. .¡±

    Xiao Yungui¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but in the blink of an eye he saw that Zuo Zongtang, Wang Kaiyun and others had angry faces. The British¡¯s tone was clearly threatening, and it was the arrogant posture of suppression by a great power.  Xiao Yungui looked at Hong Yun'er, their eyes met, and they both nodded to each other. As for the "Jiangning Treaty" so far, they have no way not to recognize it. Even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom does not recognize it, Hong Kong is still in the hands of the British.  It has been more than ten years since the opening of the port for trade, and the concessions in Shanghai are still occupied by foreigners. All this cannot be changed for the time being. The Taiping Army does not have the ability to go to war with the Qing Dynasty, Britain and other powers at the same time. Xiao Yungui is not the arrogant Cixi of later generations.  , dared to declare war with eight countries at the same time, all he needs to do now is to be patient temporarily.  But Xiao Yungui didn't want to be bound by this treaty, so he had to bite the bullet and cheat again.

    After Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment, he carefully considered his words and said: "Lord Wenhan, I think so. We really cannot recognize the Treaty of Jiangning, but for the actual benefits that the British have achieved in the treaty, we, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, can agree to maintain the status quo until we overthrow the Manchus."  After the Qing government, Britain will come back to negotiate a contract exchange with us, and at that time we will sign a new treaty. This is fair to everyone, isn't it?"

    Lord Wenhan understood. Xiao Yungui¡¯s meaning was very clear. Officially, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would not recognize anything."Treaty of Jiangning", but the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can acquiesce to the interests that Britain currently holds. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom overthrows the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Britain can formally recognize the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom regime and sign a new treaty at the same time.  Lord Wenhan believed that even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom overthrew the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it would not be an opponent of Britain, and Britain would definitely take the lead in signing the new treaty.

    Lord Wenhan frowned and said: "Your Majesty the King of the West, your promise is very insecure. I don't want my diplomatic efforts to be exchanged for an insecure promise."

    Xiao Yungui immediately sneered and said: "Lord Wenhan, my commitment is the same as your British commitment to remain neutral. If both sides are bound by a treaty, I think it is impossible for both of us to do it. Is your British willing to negotiate with you now?  Do we, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, agree on our mutual commitments in the form of a treaty between countries?"

    Lord Wenhan was immediately speechless. Once such a treaty was signed, it would be a disguised recognition of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's regime. That would cause harm to the relationship between Britain and the Manchu Qing Dynasty. This was something the British did not want to see.

    Midile suddenly said: "Otherwise, neither party represents their own government, but only signs a cooperation agreement in the name of the Western Palace and the British Consulate in Shanghai. In this way, the treaty can be guaranteed at the minimum, and also  It won¡¯t be too difficult for both governments.¡±

    Midile is indeed very quick-witted. This suggestion gives both sides of the stalemate a step up. The effectiveness of this unofficial agreement is extremely weak, and it can be said to be something that can be torn up at any time. This can also be seen from the British.  In fact, they do not want to remain neutral all the time. At the appropriate time, they will definitely find excuses to join China's war, because there will be benefits if there is a war.

    Wen Han and Xiao Yungui laughed in unison. They were like two hypocritical politicians. They said that Midile's method was very good. In fact, neither party wanted to be bound by any treaty at the moment, because the variables behind it were really  Too much.

    So the two sides agreed that the King of the West would ensure that Britain's existing interests in China would not be harmed. Although it was a disguised recognition of the "Jiangning Treaty", the words "Jiangning Treaty" did not appear in the entire agreement.

    Then Xiao Yungui talked about the third condition of the British: "As for the third condition proposed by the British, we regret that the Taiping Army will attack the Manchu Army nationwide, including Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Guangzhou.  It will definitely be the direction in which we send troops in the future.¡±

    Wenhan immediately shook his head and said: "Your Majesty the King of the West, if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom attacks these treaty ports, it will inevitably cause losses to British trade. You just promised not to cause damage to British interests."

    Xiao Yungui smiled evilly and said: "Lord Wenhan, you are wrong. If you continue to allow the Manchu troops to occupy these treaty ports, it will cause damage to British trade. Only our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom troops can capture these treaty ports to help your trade."

    Wenhan exchanged a puzzled look with Midile. Neither of them seemed to understand that once the war spread to these places, trade would inevitably come to a halt. How could Xiao Yungui say the opposite?

    Xiao Yungui continued slowly: "Britain needs a large amount of raw silk, tea, etc. Now that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has occupied the cities along the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River water transport channel has been cut off. Products from the mainland cannot reach Shanghai by water transport and can only be transported by land.  This will inevitably increase the cost of inland transportation of products, and we are about to use troops in the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas. At that time, Shanghai will be even more isolated. If our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot capture Shanghai quickly, then the loss of the stalemate will naturally be British trade.  Lord Wenhan, do you think the Manchu Qing Dynasty can regain its lost territory and open up the Yangtze River waterway in a short period of time, or can it withstand our invasion of Suzhou and Hangzhou? Moreover, after occupying Shanghai, our Taiping Army will cooperate with the British in many aspects, allowing both sides to  Huge benefits can be obtained from it, after all, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was too conservative in some business activities."

    Through observation of the Taiping Army in Nanjing, Zhenjiang and other places, Lord Wenhan had discovered that these rebels were much stronger than the Manchu Emperor's army, and there were also many in number. He knew how unstoppable a new revolutionary force was in its early stages, and he  It is also clear that the corrupt armies of the Manchu Qing Dynasty cannot defend Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou, otherwise Wu Jianzhang of Shanghai Road would not ask British ships to defend, and he would not come to ask the Taiping Army not to attack the treaty port.  It seems that Xiao Yungui was right. If the Taiping Army captured the Suzhou-Hangzhou area and Shanghai was isolated, the trade routes would be completely blocked, which would cause huge losses to British trade.

    What makes Wenhan even more excited is the cooperation and huge benefits Xiao Yungui mentioned. It seems that the King of the West feels that the Manchus are too conservative in trade, so what kind of cooperation do they think is not conservative?  Wenhan seemed a little itchy.

    After Wenhan and Midile discussed in a low voice, Wenhan straightened his appearance, coughed lightly and said, "Well, if the Taiping Army canIf we can control the situation in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou in a short period of time, ensure that Yangtze River shipping does not affect trade, and ensure the safety of the lease, we can waive the clause not to attack Shanghai, but the Taiping Army must stabilize the situation within three months.  "

    Xiao Yungui smiled lightly and said: "Three months is enough time to attack Shanghai."

    Wen Han followed and asked impatiently: "I also want to have a deeper understanding with the King of the West. After your army captures Shanghai, what aspects will cooperate with our British? What other huge benefits will there be?"
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