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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 381: Deadlock

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    After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yungui said to Tang Erniu outside the cabin: "I know this, and let my brothers be on guard. This ship is a British ship, and they don't dare to make mistakes." Xiao Yungui was very sure of the Qing army.  They dare not board the ship to search. Although in history, the Yarrow incident also caused conflicts because the Qing army forcibly boarded the Yarrow for search. But at that time, the Yarrow was in the open sea, and this was Baoshun Pier. Whether it was  Neither Bao Ling nor Parkes, the consul in Guangzhou, would allow Qing troops to board the ship for search. Moreover, the Yarrow at that time was not strictly a British ship. It was just a smuggling ship that had received a ship's license in Hong Kong.  The Glory was a truly British ship.

    Sure enough, not long after Tang Erniu took the order, the arguments between the two sides became louder and louder. Xiao Yungui looked through the porthole and saw more than a hundred Qing troops on the dock confronting the sailors and crew of the Glory.  Manager Smith and Captain George of the Glory were arguing with several Qing officials with red ears, and the interpreters on both sides had to raise their voices to cover up each other's voices.  The men and horses on both sides were armed with live ammunition, and there was a tense atmosphere in the air.

    In the past year or so, the relationship between Britain and the Qing court has been tense. The Qing court was dissatisfied with the British for dealing with the Taiping Army behind the scenes and refusing to borrow help from local officials of the Qing court to suppress the war. The British were dissatisfied with the Qing government's  The attitude towards amending the treaty was ambiguous, and at the same time he repeatedly refused the request of the minister to go to Beijing to submit his credentials.  In the eyes of the British, the Qing court is synonymous with stubbornness, ignorance and failure to abide by treaties. If the Crimean War had not been a tense time, the British would have provoked the Second Opium War long ago, because the British always believed that the Second Opium War  The benefits gained from an Opium War were too few.

    Therefore, both the British and the Qing court felt that each other could not be trusted. The British's consistent hegemony made the British in Guangzhou emboldened. However, the officials and Ye Mingchen in Guangzhou were not like those senior officials in the capital who were far away, let alone the aloof Xianfeng.  Emperor, they know the British are really untouchable.

    so.  Although the Qing officials on the dock were stern, no one dared to give orders to rush aboard the ship directly. After all, there were a large number of Qing troops training behind the dock, and the sailors and crew of the Glory alone could not stop the Qing troops.  These Qing officials who have been in Guangzhou for a long time obviously know some foreign affairs. This seems to be due to the disastrous defeat of the last Opium War and the results of Guangzhou officials' dealings with foreigners for many years. Therefore, the Qing officials in Guangzhou are very good at knowing what to do.  This kind of propriety will neither cause real diplomatic troubles nor cause the court and government to lose face. The skills and rhetorical skills required for this are quite profound.

    Standing behind a group of Guangzhou officials, Ronglu laughed. He admired these colleagues very much.  Their righteousness and fighting for every inch of land may seem like that, but in fact they have not taken any action at all.  Ronglu didn't know who the people on the ship were. The spy he sent was just to find out that Li Chong's sister had been kidnapped. Ronglu guessed that these people must be the spies of the Taiping Army in Guangzhou, and only these daring people dared to do so.  Go to the British Merchant District to rob people.  So Rong Lu asked Ye Mingchen to send troops and horses to search for him.  One is to eradicate the Taiping Army's spy stronghold in Guangzhou, and the other is to snatch Li Xuanji back.  He saw that Clifford was definitely not a simple character.  If only the brother-sister relationship between Li Xuanji and Li Chong could be passed.  Taking Clifford's line will definitely be beneficial to the Hunan Army.

    Although Ronglu acted quickly and went to see Ye Mingchen overnight, Governor Ye was also very cooperative, and the Guangzhou Green Camp and regiment training troops and horses were also mobilized very quickly, but the Taiping Army's craftsmen seemed to be more powerful.  By the time they arrived at the Taiping Army's secret stronghold, the place was already deserted.  Ronglu even suspected that the Guangzhou government, Green Camp, and regiment training had Taiping Army details. However, the Hunan Army soldiers and horses had not yet arrived, so he could not do anything.  It's no fun to provoke a mutiny.

    Fortunately, some clues were found. Some people who got up early to collect excrement saw a group of people carrying sedans heading to Shuntai Pier. Ronglu ordered people to rush directly to Shuntai Pier, but there was only one ship, the Glory, parked on the pier.  It was a big ship, so Ronglu asked people to board the ship to search.

    Only a few people knew that the King of the West came to Guangzhou on the Glory of the Jardine Matheson Company. Smith and Captain George knew about the experience of the Jardine Matheson Company in Guangzhou. Bao Ling and Parkes also knew that the British attached great importance to this matter.  Second King Xi¡¯s trip to Guangzhou.  Because the King of the West is an important potential ally of Britain in the Far East, this potential ally has become even more important as the British and French combined fleets have won consecutive battles against Russia in the north.  At the same time, on the battlefield in Fujian, the Taiping Army was gradually approaching Fuzhou. The smart British knew that it was only a matter of time before the Qing government lost the two ports of Fuzhou and Xiamen.  Some people in Britain have even proposed that the enlightened Taiping Rebellion completely replace the Qing Dynasty. Their argument is that the emergence of a trustworthy and enlightened Christian country in the East is more in line with Britain's interests.

    Of course, all this clamor is caused by the fact that the Qing court is currently not favoring the great powers. Xiao Yungui sometimes thinks, what ifRegardless of his face, Xifeng fully agreed to the treaty proposed by the British and sold the country completely. Will the great powers still support the West Palace Taiping Army as they do now?  The answer is no. When the time comes, the great powers will definitely send troops to assist in the suppression. That is the answer that you know without even thinking about it.

    Therefore, Xiao Yungui was happy to see the bad relationship between the Qing court and the great powers.  The man looked at the current situation and thought to himself, it would be best if a stupid young man took advantage of it and a fight broke out between the two sides. It would be best if a few British people died. Although the British sent many ships to the north, Hong Kong and Guangzhou  They still stationed several warships, which would definitely be enough for the Qing army in Guangzhou to drink from. If the two sides went to war, the water would be even more turbid.

    But the longer Xiao Yungui waited, the more disappointed he became. The officials in Guangzhou were all louder than thunder, but Ronglu was actually able to keep his composure. It seemed that he didn¡¯t know who the people on the ship were. Maybe Ronglu just thought that the people on the ship were  He is just the Taiping Army's detailed leader in Guangzhou, and his weight is not worth the risk.  However, Xiao Yungui did not expect that Ronglu actually came for Li Xuanji.

    When the two sides were in a stalemate, a group of British soldiers came to the dock with the Governor of Hong Kong and Minister Plenipotentiary in China, Sir Bao Ling, and the British Consuls in Guangzhou, Parkes Parkey and Clifford.

    Seeing the arrival of the British soldiers, the Green Camp soldiers and Tuan Lian Bingyong of the Qing Army consciously made way for them. Xiao Yungui frowned after seeing this. It seemed that the fire could not be started.  Xiao Yungui regretted a little. After letting Tang Erniu lead people in disguise just now, he fished in troubled waters and fired secretly to stir up trouble. At this time, the Qing army saw that the British soldiers had given up, and they were afraid that it would not be effective to stir up trouble again.  .

    Bao Ling stepped forward to question the Guangzhou officials, but those officials ignored Bao Ling and looked at Ronglu behind him, because it was Ye Mingchen who came and told him to obey the orders of the Rongjunmen in everything.

    Ronglu was still wearing casual clothes at this time. He smiled faintly, stepped forward to meet Bao Ling and said, "Sir Bao Ling, the matter is very simple. We suspect that there are rebels from our country on this ship, so we have to board the ship to search."

    Bao Ling had already met Ronglu yesterday. He also knew that this Qing official was different from other officials. He had business dealings with many foreign companies in Britain. At the same time, Ye Mingchen also trusted him. At that moment, Bao Ling still said restrainedly: "I'm sorry.  , Mr. Rong, this ship is our British merchant ship, and it is all British citizens, and our country has always remained neutral against the rebellion in your country and will never harbor rebels on board."

    Ronglu had a smile on his face, but secretly scolded Bao Ling for being shameless. Everyone in Guangzhou knew that foreigners had been doing business with the Taiping Army. There were many merchant ships sailing from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Ningbo every month. Shanghai and Ningbo had already  Occupied by the Taiping Army, were these ships heading north for sightseeing?  Ronglu admired Bao Ling's lying skills without even blinking. It seemed that politicians were the best liars in the world.

    Ronglu touched his chin and said with a smile: "According to the Jiangning Treaty, we have the right to inspect ships suspected of violating the rules. I also suspect that there are smuggled goods on the ship. Please honor Sir Baoling to fulfill the treaty."

    Bao Ling sneered and argued: "If we want to fulfill the treaty, we must first ask the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to give us a reply on the amendment of the treaty. We submitted a note on the amendment of the treaty as early as last year, and to this day there is still no clarity.  Reply, Lord Rong, do you think this request for us to unilaterally perform the treaty is appropriate?"

    Ronglu was still a bit young after all. He was nowhere near as good as Xiao Yungui, who had worked in his father's big company before, and he didn't have Xiao Yungui's profound social experience. He showed a flaw right away and was caught by the old fox Bao Ling.  But he turned to look at Clifford, smiled secretly and said: "Mr. Clifford, my men saw someone kidnapped your fianc¨¦e on this ship. Your fianc¨¦e seems to be from our Qing Dynasty. According to the law,  , should be rescued by us."

    Ronglu originally wanted to stimulate Clifford. As long as Clifford said something wrong, he could take advantage of the situation, use the pretext of rescuing a woman from his country, and board the ship openly.

    But he didn't expect that the relationship between Clifford and Xidian was not an ordinary one, and Clifford also knew that his fianc¨¦e was a veritable traitor. There was no way he would let Ronglu lead a group of Qing troops to rescue his fianc¨¦e.  .  No matter who kidnapped Li Xuanji, Clifford was not worried about Li Xuanji's safety as long as they were on board a British merchant ship.

    At that moment, Clifford said calmly: "My fianc¨¦e has become a British citizen last month and is no longer a native of your Qing Dynasty. Sir Bao Ling can testify to this, and the relevant procedures were also handled by Sir Bao Ling."

    Ronglu looked at Bao Ling in astonishment. This politician who was used to seeing trouble said smoothly without blinking: "Yes, because Miss Li Xuanji and Mr. Clifford are engaged, according to the laws of the British Empire, Miss Li Xuanji is completely  There is no doubt that there are conditions for becoming a British citizen.¡±

      After Clifford finished speaking, he ignored Ronglu. He turned around and walked towards the ship. The British sailors and crew members in front of him consciously moved out of the way.  Although Li Xuanji did not become a British citizen at all, Clifford believed that Bao Ling would help him do as he said. At the moment, he just wanted to see Li Xuanji as soon as possible.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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