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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 392: Xiwang Special Train

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    Xiao Yungui, Bao Ling, Blomble, and American Minister Mai Lian dined on the train together. This carriage was an exclusive dining car on the Xiwang Special Train. It could accommodate thirty people dining at the same time. The interior decoration and furniture were extremely luxurious.  , completely modeled after the Western royal train carriages.

    Of course, Xiao Yungui was not willing to spend this wasted money. The eight carriages used by the Xiwang Special Train were all gifts. Jardine Matheson and Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. jointly pooled money with more than 20 foreign companies in Shanghai to build the gifts and specially gave them to Xiwang.  They hope that King Xi will like taking trains and continue to build more railways in various places.  Because China is a huge market with huge potential, investing in and building railways in China has become the best investment project recognized by the Western world. This is more attractive than building railways in the uninhabited parts of the western United States.  With the Jiangsu-Shanghai Railway connected, the commodities and markets along the line will bring huge benefits to investors in railway construction. Western investors are quite optimistic about the benefits brought by passenger transport, freight and mineral development along the line.  Moreover, the Jiangsu-Shanghai Railway also represents a signal, that is, with the first railway, there will be a second and third railway.

    In addition to the special train for the King of the West, the foreign merchants of the foreign companies also built special trains for the King of the East and the King of Heaven, with a total of twenty-four carriages. The cost was actually not much compared to the future income.  However, the special trains of the East King and the Heavenly King were sealed in the Suzhou Railway Station by Xiao Yungui. Are you kidding? Do you want the King of the West to die?  The West King has eight carriages, and the East King and Heavenly King also have eight carriages. This is obviously over the limit.  Moreover, Xiao Yungui did not intend to let King Dong and King Tian come into contact with foreigners. He was very worried that two arrogant people who seemed to be wise and powerful but actually knew nothing about the world structure and diplomacy would destroy everything he had worked hard to build.

    This time the Jiangsu-Shanghai Railway is open to traffic.  The King of the West also wrote a memorial, but only briefly mentioned a few sentences.  He also mentioned that the envoys from several countries hoped that the King of Heaven and the King of the East would come to watch the ceremony.  Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er persuaded the King of Heaven and King Dong in a high-sounding way in their memorials, saying that "the railways built by the Yi people are actually the same track as the official roads used by our carriages and ox carts, etc. However, the Yi brothers took the opportunity to try to see the Holy Land."  My heart of honor is clear. I think that the emperors of our heaven will live forever. Why does the inauguration ceremony of a railway require the labor of the King of Heaven and the Holy King of the East? All we need to do is send one important person to watch the ceremony."

    So the King of Heaven and the King of the East sent Chen Chengrong to watch the ceremony, and he also brought an edict from the King of Heaven. Xiao Yungui read the edict, and Hong Xiuquan used his God-worshiping teachings to talk to the foreign brothers.  He also expressed his satisfaction with the tributes sent by the foreign brothers every year (the so-called tributes were all paid out of Xiao Yungui's own pocket, and some were gifts from foreigners to the King of the West), and as the suzerainty, he gave the foreigners the gift to continue to work in Su Fu  Save business.

    Xiao Yungui asked him to give this edict to the translation office of the West Palace Rites Department for translation and then hand it over to the foreigners. Chen Chengrong was a smart man, so naturally he did not ask any more questions. This old boy keenly discovered that the current development of Sufu Province has exceeded  In his imagination, Xi Wang's thigh had become thicker and thicker.  After several long talks with the King of the West, Chen Chengrong began to embark on his third boat.

    ??Chen Chengrong is a very strange person. He serves in the East Palace, is the king of heaven's spy, and has a good relationship with the king of Yan. In history, he and the king of Yan assisted the northern king to eradicate the east king.  Later, King Bei was eradicated by him and King Yan. In fact, he had always bet on the three families, and he was a villain who was accustomed to adapting to the wind.  Xiao Yungui showed a hint of acceptance, and the old boy immediately approached him. Xiao Yungui was naturally willing to take advantage of this person.  But it didn't mean that Xiao Yungui completely trusted him, so both parties reached a cooperative relationship with their own motives.

    "Your Majesty the King of the West, could you please reconsider the issue of withdrawal? Without the supplies of the coalition fleet and merchant ships, it will be difficult for your troops to survive the cold winter in the north." Bao Ling's calm and slightly threatening words made Xiao Yungui's smile  His thoughts were brought back to reality.

    Xiao Yungui paused briefly, put down the knife and fork in his hand, wiped his mouth with a white napkin, and then said slowly: "Temple Street Fortress and the northern part of Sakhalin Island are our country's inherent territories. Wherever the Manchus have seized, we will  To overthrow the Manchu Qing, we must completely drive the Manchu Qing out of every inch of our country, and the Taiping Army in Temple Street Fortress and Sakhalin will not evacuate."

    Bao Ling, Blombull and Mailian looked at each other. The King of the West understood the essence of Western culture by eating Western food, but he didn't seem to care about the interests of several Western countries.  Britain and France have little interest in Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Temple Street. They hope to use these places in exchange for Russia to give up control of the entire northwest of the Black Sea, as well as a huge ransom.  The United States is negotiating with Russia about the purchase of Alaska. The great powers hope that the Taiping Army can return Temple Street and Sakhalin Island to Russia in a timely manner, or at least withdraw its troops, so that the Taiping Army can return to the south with dignity.

    The words of King Xi once again interrupted the fantasy of several people. Mai Lian said with some displeasure: "Your Excellency King Xi, your army is just a mercenary force affiliated to the British and French coalition forces. The withdrawal is a unified action of the coalition forces. Your army cannot violate it.Anti-Employment Contracts.  "

    Xiao Yungui glanced at the big-nosed American, smiled and said, "Mr. Mailian, this is between us and Britain and France. It seems to have nothing to do with the United States." This annoying American submitted every month  The note was sent to the Admiralty Secretary in Shanghai, requesting that he go to Tianjing to meet the King of Heaven. The Ministry of Rites in Suzhou even went to Shanghai to hold a negotiation for him. An official from the Ministry of Rites in the West Palace told Mailian that the King of the West was the plenipotentiary minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and was responsible for all external affairs.  It's all decided by the King of the West. You just need to see the King of the West.

    But this old boy still wants to see the King of Heaven. Just as he submitted notes to Ye Mingchen, Governor of Liangjiang Yiliang, and Governor of Zhili Guiliang many times requesting an interview with Xianfeng, he has recently been obsessed with seeing the King of Heaven.  The Manchu Qing Dynasty treated Mai Lian at a respectful distance, but the King of the West was still perfunctory with him. At this time, the old boy actually spoke so rudely, so of course Xiao Yungui responded rudely.

    Mai Lian frowned and said, "Your Majesty the King of the West, I am just kindly reminding you." Mai Lian still did not dare to offend the King of the West. With the King of Xi's enlightened policies, the United States had more and more commercial activities in China. Americans have never  If you don¡¯t have trouble with money, you certainly won¡¯t have trouble with King Xi.

    Bao Ling hurriedly interjected: "What Minister Mailian said is right. If the King of the West insists on refusing to withdraw his troops, we and France will regard the Taiping Army as a violation of the employment contract, our employment fees will not be paid, and we will immediately withdraw the fleet."  Shanghai."

    Sure enough, rabbits will bite when they are anxious, and neither Britain nor France are rabbits. However, Xiao Yungui seemed to have expected that Britain and France would play this dirty trick. He said calmly: "According to the employment contract we signed, when the Russians declare defeat, we  The employment relationship ended. The news came yesterday that the Russians had declared defeat, the negotiating envoys had rushed to Paris, and Tuzhkov, the plenipotentiary envoy sent by Muravyov, seemed to have also arrived in Shanghai. The two envoys  Sir, I think our employment relationship has ended a long time ago, but you have not paid our employment fees for a long time. You are the party who breached the contract. It turns out that Britain and France are both untrustworthy countries."

    The expressions of Baoling and Blomble turned livid, and Baoling said in a deep voice: "The three battleships Goddess, Noah, and Victory need to return with the Northern Fleet before they can be handed over to you, and your troops will not withdraw.  , our fleet cannot come back. Is the King of the West really sure that our fleet can ignore your army in the north and withdraw alone?"

    Xiao Yungui said calmly: "Since we choose to leave the army there, we will naturally have our own methods. After the employment relationship ends, the coalition fleets of the two countries will naturally go wherever they want. Thank you for waiting for us for so many days."

    Bao Ling's anger surged, but he still maintained the restraint of a diplomat: "Your Majesty the King of the West, do you think that your offshore navy composed of pirates in Ningbo and Shanghai can complete the supply of Temple Street and Sakhalin Island?  ?After our fleet withdraws, the Russians will definitely counterattack. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not a victorious country, you must pay attention to this."

    Xiao Yungui smiled and said: "I noticed it, but thank you Sir Bao Ling for the reminder. We can solve the supply problem freely. Since the Taiping Army will regain the northern territory sooner or later, it is also a good idea to let the boys stay there for winter training.  exercise."

    Bao Ling finally couldn't bear it anymore. He almost roared and said: "Your Excellency, King Xi, I hope you will not regret the decision you made today!"

    Xiao Yungui also stood up and shouted loudly: "The Taiping Army will never retreat from the country. The flag of the Western King has been raised on that land, so it will not be lowered easily!"

    It was the first time that Mai Lian had seen Xi Wang¡¯s loud voice. He couldn¡¯t help being startled. He secretly thought that if Xi Wang was a member of the U.S. Senate, his voice could shut up all the members of the Senate.

    Blomble came out in time to make a fool of himself. He used French humor to persuade them: "You two, please remain gentlemen, you are scaring those ladies."

    There are also several female officers from the West Palace in the carriage, all of whom serve the Xiwang Special Train. Since Hong Yun'er relaxed some restrictions, the control over women who appear around Xiao Yungui is no longer too strict, so Xiao Yungui  Several beautiful female officers from the West Palace were arranged as train attendants on the special train.

    Xiao Yungui and Bao Ling each sat back on their seats. Bao Ling only calmed down and thought about the problem at this time. The King of the West is so tough, has he really found a solution to supply the northern army?  Although the Taiping Army in Ningbo and Shanghai had many offshore naval ships, Bao Ling believed that those ships were not suitable for sailing to the Tartar Strait. So how did the Western King solve the maritime supply line?

    Bao Ling didn't think about this problem, but he soon stopped worrying about it. What he has to do now is to immediately order Grant to bring the combined fleet back to Shanghai. Since the King of the West is not under threatIf there is a threat, then let him really feel the pressure.
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