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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 377: Huayi Defense

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    This restaurant was opened by an old French sailor, and the owner was Gilles Lebre. He was slightly surprised to see Ronglu and Li Chong coming in with a few personal entourage.  Because although there are many foreigners in Guangzhou, Chinese people generally have few other contacts with foreigners, including dining in foreigners' territory. Ronglu and other Qing people with braids and long robes came in, which made Le Le  Bray was surprised.

    Like in the concessions in Shanghai and other places, both the Chinese and foreign parties were afraid that there would be trouble if the Chinese and foreigners came into contact too closely, so the Chinese were not allowed to enter easily in the concessions.  It turned out that the Qing court was worried about the contact between the common people and foreigners and caused trouble, while the foreigners were worried that the barbaric Qing people would not be rational at all. In addition, there were deep cultural differences between the East and the West, so there was such a rule.

    After the Taiping Army gained control of the cities in the concessions in Shanghai and Ningbo, due to the liberal policies of the West Palace, the rule that Chinese people were not allowed to enter the concessions was gradually abolished.  Of course, after too much contact, the cultural gap between the East and the West will inevitably lead to disputes and incidents.  Since the United States, Britain, France and other countries have consular jurisdiction, in cases involving foreign-Chinese disputes, the Chinese are often the losers, and many foreigners feel confident in receiving the protection of consular jurisdiction.  Then the King of the West came forward to negotiate with ministers and consuls from several countries. The result of the negotiations was that the Taiping Army still recognized the consular jurisdiction and agreed to use each country's own laws to try criminal foreigners. However, if there were cases involving Chinese  , a joint court must be formed by the Chinese and foreign parties to conduct a fairer trial of the case, and half of the people participating in the trial, including lawyers and juries, must be Chinese to show fairness.

    It is very unrealistic to take back consular jurisdiction at present. Xiao Yungui also does not think that the kind of trial cases that the Chinese are accustomed to is more in line with the spirit of the legal system. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's own laws and judicial system still need to be improved and studied. Therefore, the composition of  It is more in line with the actual situation for a joint court to conduct trials of such cases.

    ¡°The ministers from Britain, France and other countries disagreed with this approach at first.  What they want is complete consular jurisdiction. The British even say that the barbaric people do not know what the spirit of the rule of law is.  But in the end, Britain and France agreed to the proposal of the West Palace Taiping Army and added this clause as an additional clause.  The reason is simple. Xiao Yungui united with Chinese businessmen and people in Shanghai, Ningbo and other places to launch a boycott of foreign goods.  Although the Qing government called on people to boycott foreigners during the Opium War, Chinese people who had no sense of nationality still used small boats to trade with foreigners, so foreigners had not seen this kind of real boycott movement.

    This boycott movement is different from Guangzhou¡¯s boycott of foreigners entering the city. Although Guangzhou¡¯s sociological boycott of foreigners entering the city was vigorous, businessmen never stopped trading with foreigners.  The West Palace boycott movement in Shanghai and Ningbo shocked foreigners greatly, and the Taiping Army was not as weak as the Qing court.  The great powers also recognized the Taiping Army's toughness, and finally reached an agreement without either side breaking through the other's limits.  The bottom line of the great powers is that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must abide by the previous treaties signed by the Qing court. However, the modification of consular jurisdiction has not exceeded the bottom line of the great powers. Some enlightened Westerners even believe that the Chinese should be more exposed to Western laws and legal spirit.  It can bring a civilized atmosphere to this backward and ignorant country and be more conducive to the invasion of Western culture.

    So in Shanghai and Ningbo.  Huayang's contacts were in noisy fights and constant case disputes.  It's starting to become routine.  In Guangzhou, under the control of the Qing court, contact with Huayang was still a taboo, especially after nightfall.

    Although Lebre felt that it was very strange for several Qing people to enter his restaurant, due to the enthusiasm of the French people and the business needs of a restaurateur, he still stepped forward to ask the purpose of their visit in a friendly manner.

    Lebre¡¯s Chinese is not very good.  But Ronglu still understood that Lebre was asking about their purpose.  Ronglu's French is pretty good. Although he is not as talented as Hong Yun'er, he was very diligent in the past.  After learning French as a foreign language, he smiled and said in French: "We are here to have a meal."

    Lebre saw that he could speak French. Although he was not fluent, he could still express his meaning clearly. He still said politely: "Gentlemen, are you sure you want to dine at my place?"

    Ronglu smiled brightly and said: "The food in France is still very delicious. Besides, do you want to turn away customers when you open the door for business?"

    Lebre was still a little suspicious. It was not surprising that a Qing man could speak French, but as far as he knew, many Chinese people were not used to Western food. They claimed to be from heaven and only thought that the food of their own country was delicacies. They had never heard of it.  A man from the Qing Dynasty had praised French cuisine, and Lebre immediately said: "Of course not. Gentlemen, please sit down first, and I will bring you the menu." After that, he asked an Indian waiter to greet them to sit down.

    Ronglu and Li Zhong took their seats. Several other followers did not dare to sit with him and sat at another table.  After a while Loeb?Bringing the menu over in person, Ronglu read the menu, briefly talked to Lebre, ordered a few dishes, and pointed to another table and said that the same dishes were on that table.  The boss, Lebre, was very surprised by the Chinese habit. People who came together had to sit separately, but it was difficult to ask, so he turned around to arrange food.

    Seeing that Li Chong was still a little restrained, Ronglu said calmly: "From now on, when you go to Guangzhou, bring an interpreter with you and interact with these foreigners more. Have you ever been in Guangzhou for so long and you haven't eaten at a Western restaurant like this?"  Food?"

    Li Zhong said with some embarrassment: "Sir, although Guangzhou is a treaty port, the Huayi defense is very heavy. Sometimes ordinary people and foreigners will be beaten and scolded if they say a few words, so"

    Ronglu sneered and said: "Huayi Defense? You are an official of the imperial court, and you have a defense record from the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi. Who dares to hit you? I think you just have the Huayi Defense in your heart that you can't get past. Remember, at any time  , foreigners are not necessarily inferior to others, and Chinese are not necessarily superior to others, we just need to make friends as equals."

    While he was talking, Lebre had already served the meal. Because he had just dined at the Governor's Palace not long ago, Ronglu didn't order anything big. He just ordered a chestnut cake, French gin, and ice cream, which he hadn't eaten in a long time.  That is ice cream.

    The Indian waiter cut the chestnut cake and put it on the plates in front of everyone, poured gin for everyone, and left.  Li Chong and others looked at the knives and forks in front of them and didn't know how to use them. Ronglu smiled slightly and taught the three of them how to use the knives and forks.  Although Ronglu had never eaten Western food in his previous life, he had seen it a lot in movies and TV. If he had never eaten pork, had he never seen a pig running?

    Cake is a sweet food. Li Chong and others are not used to eating it. They drank a lot of gin. At this time, the ice cream came. Li Chong looked at the steaming ice cream and said, "This thing is still steaming. Isn't it very hot?"  hot?"

    Ronglu smiled and said: "It's cold, it's delicious. Try it." Li Zhong didn't doubt it either, but when he brought it to his mouth, he blew it subconsciously before putting it in his mouth. After a taste, it turned out to be  Cold and delicious.

    A few people were eating, and three British sailors were sitting next to the restaurant bar. They were very drunk. Just then Ronglu and others came in, and Ronglu noticed them.  At this time, I saw a Chinese woman walking out of the private room on the left side of the restaurant. This woman had bright eyes and good eyesight. Although she was wearing Western clothes, she could tell at a glance that she was a pure Chinese woman.  The woman seemed to be going to the restroom of the restaurant. When she passed the bar, one of the sailors burped from wine and stopped her with drunken eyes. He smiled maliciously and said: "Beautiful girl, where are you going?  How about you come and have a drink with us?¡±

    When Ronglu heard this, he turned around and saw that the girl was only about twenty years old and extremely beautiful. However, Ronglu could not have imagined that there would be a woman in Guangzhou who dared to wear Western women's clothes despite the public disapproval.  .

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    The girl seemed to understand English, and she glared angrily: "Get out of the way! I don't know you!" The British sailor was very surprised. He didn't expect that this beautiful girl could also understand English. A sailor next to him whistled and said: "Jonathan,  The little girl said she didn¡¯t know you, haha.¡±

    The British sailor named Jonathan immediately put away his smile, made a formal invitation gesture, and said: "My name is Jonathan, I am a staff sergeant in the British Navy, beautiful lady, I would like to buy you a drink."

    Here, Li Chong saw the girl being stopped by a few foreigners, and immediately stood up and rushed over. Rong Lu was slightly surprised. Li Chongping was always cautious, so why would he stand up for an unknown woman today?  With a greeting, Rong Lu followed with a few followers.

    Before she even arrived, the girl said with a cold face: "Mr. Jonathan, if my fianc¨¦ hears your words, he will be very angry."

    Jonathan yelled, turned around and saw several Qing people rushing over, pointing at Li Zhong and asking: "Beautiful young lady, is this Oriental boy your fianc¨¦?"

    The girl looked back following Jonathan's eyes, and when she saw Li Zhong walking quickly, her pretty face suddenly changed color, and her eyes slowly filled with crystal tears, and her delicate body trembled.

    When Jonathan saw her like this, he just said that Li Zhong must be her fianc¨¦. He immediately stepped forward and stopped in front of Li Chong and laughed loudly and said: "Dongfang boy, I want to duel with you. Whoever wins can kiss this beautiful lady.  How about it? Do you dare?"

    Li Zhong didn't understand, so Ronglu translated what he said. After finishing, Li Zhong stared at Jonathan fiercely, then rushed up angrily like a furious lion, and punched Jonathan hard.  on the face.

    Jonathan was a little drunk, but he didn¡¯t expect Li Zhong to say that he would just hit him.? Li Zhong's punch was so hard that he couldn't get up for a long time.

    Ronglu looked at Li Zhong and the girl strangely. Judging from the situation, they must know each other. Could it be Ma Zi whom Li Zhong met in Guangzhou?  But after Li Zhong shouted, Rong Lu felt a little ashamed, and he completely thought wrong.

    After Li Zhong hit Jonathan, he stepped forward and grabbed the girl's shoulders, shouting: "Little sister, why are you here?!" (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
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