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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 410: Creating Trouble

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    Wang Kaiyun's negotiations were not smooth. Britain and France were very worried about some of the Far East interests they had lost last time. Bao Ling and Blomble's requirements were very demanding. They demanded that all cities under the Taiping Army be opened, the current tariff rules be modified, and the concession area be expanded.  etc.

    When Xiao Yungui saw the conditions put forward by Yingfa, he kicked over his desk with a livid complexion, and his roaring roar echoed through King Xi's spacious study.  Not to mention that the West Palace did not gain control of all the cities under the Taiping Army. Most of the territory of the Taiping Army was still under the rule of a few princes in Tianjing. Even if Xiao Yungui was now the master of the country, he would not dare to agree to this.  conditions.

    However, among these conditions, Britain and France did not mention the legalization of opium. With the development of foreign trade in Sufu Province and other places, large-scale foreign cloth, steel, and arms transactions began to gradually replace the opium trade. In addition, under the control of the Taiping Army in Sufu Province,  With the control of opium smoking and trafficking, the demand for opium in Sufu Province dropped sharply. At the same time, the British began to take action against the East India Company. Therefore, the British government did not support the legalization of the opium trade. Some British businessmen even believed that doing so would reduce the value of Sufu.  The province¡¯s purchasing power for other goods.

    Although there is no legalization of the opium trade, other conditions are still harsh. What these conditions only obtain is that Britain and France agree to maintain neutrality and not interfere with the Taiping Army's military operations in South China. This is not the principle of equal exchange at all.  , so Xiao Yungui was very angry.

    Hong Yun'er waited silently for him to vent his anger, then stepped forward and said with a faint smile: "If you can make Ying and France change their conditions by kicking over all the desks, I don't mind if you kick them a few more times."

    Xiao Yungui slowly calmed down. He rubbed his temples and said in a deep voice: "These foreign devils bully people too much! Do they really think that we are easy to bully?"

    Hong Yun'er then poured cold water on it: "It's really easy to bully. It's a big feudal agricultural country with a literacy rate of less than one percent. It's really easy to bully a country that has completed the industrial revolution."

    Xiao Yungui was speechless, and Hong Yun'er continued: "Maybe we should think about the problem in a different direction."

    Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "Change the direction?"

    Hong Yuner nodded slightly and said: "Yes, let's change the direction. Britain and France can use the Qing army to put pressure on us, and we can in turn use the Qing army to influence Britain and France's policies towards us."

    Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment, and Hong Yun'er's words made his eyes light up: "You mean to sow discord between Britain and France and the Qing army. If they turn against each other, Britain and France will change their strategy of suppressing us?"

    Hong Yun'er's smile was still so touching: "Yes, do you still remember the causes of the Second Opium War, the Father Ma incident and the Yarrow incident?"

    Xiao Yungui nodded and said: "Remember, but now history has been changed beyond recognition by the butterfly effect we brought, these two events may not necessarily happen."

    Hong Yuner said slowly: "Actually, the fundamental cause of the Second Opium War was not these two incidents. In the final analysis, the war was the final result of irreconcilable conflicts. Now, although Britain and France have begun to sell weapons to the Qing army, the conflicts between them  It has not been resolved. The Qing court still despised and guarded against Britain and France, and Britain and France were not satisfied with the results of the Opium War. They wanted to continue to expand trade and colonization with China, so the two families had irreconcilable conflicts."

    Xiao Yungui touched his chin and said with a bad smile: "You mean that the cooperation between the two families is only temporary. Just a little spark will turn the two families against each other?"

    Hong Yun'er nodded and said: "Yes, the local governors of the Qing court are under the same pressure as us. On the one hand, they have to deal with the unreasonable demands of Britain and France, and on the other hand, they have demands from Britain and France." At this point, Hong Yun'er paused and followed.  He said coldly: "If we arrange for Bai Zetang's dead men to do a few cases and blame the Qing court, do you think Britain and France will turn their spears against the Manchus?"

    Xiao Yungui also thought of this method in his mind, and he quickly weighed the pros and cons.  Finally, he shook his head and said: "This is likely to provoke a war between Britain, France and the Qing Dynasty. I am worried that the expeditionary force sent by Britain and France will disrupt the balance of force in the entire Far East. In other words, Britain and France are not easier to deal with than the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and they are likely to attract wolves into the house.  , I don¡¯t want to see the city of Beijing suffer the same disaster in history, what I want is a complete city of Beijing, not a city that has been ravaged by foreigners.¡±

    Hong Yun'er frowned and said: "There will be a war between Britain, France and the Manchu Qing Dynasty. This is inevitable. Do you really think that if we don't provoke it, we can avoid this war?"

    Xiao Yungui shook his head and said: "I know that war is inevitable. But I think that the outcome of the war may be changed. The domestic situation is too complicated now. We need time to integrate the Taiping Army first, and then the Northern Expedition. At that time, whether we go to war with Britain and France or  When Britain, France and the Manchus went to war, we all had the ability to change the outcome of the war. But now we cannot change the outcome of the war. So in the end?Don't provoke a war between Britain and France. No matter whether the British and French expedition comes to fight the Manchus or us, the consequences after the fight will be unbearable for us.  "

    Hong Yun'er still can't understand: "What do we need to clear customs?"

    Xiao Yungui sighed and said: "There are three reasons. First, if Britain and France go to war with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties will be defeated. After the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are defeated, they will all turn to the foreigners, and then the foreigners and the Manchu Qing will come together to destroy us. Second, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties will defeat us.  After the Qing Dynasty is defeated, a lot of interests will be sold out, and a lot of territory in the north will be lost. Russia will definitely take advantage of it. Even if we win in the end, it will take a long war to recover the territory in the north. Third, once Britain and France organize an expeditionary force  To the Far East, we will have a bandit with a knife and a gun in our inner court, and they will have the power to intervene in our civil war at any time."

    Hong Yuner was silent for a long time and said: "Are you afraid of a war with Britain and France?"

    Xiao Yungui shook his head and said: "I am not afraid of going to war with Britain and France, but I am afraid of fighting an unprepared war."

    Hong Yun'er lowered her head and thought for a while and said: "I think we should give it a try. I remember that in history, after the Father Ma incident and the Arrow incident in 1856, Britain and France went to war with China. After the two battles of Dagukou,  It took three or four years before the expeditionary force was dispatched, so maybe we have time to prepare."

    Hong Yun'er is right. The Second Opium War lasted for three or four years from the events of the Father Ma incident and the Yarrow incident to the British and French allied forces' invasion of Beijing in 1860.  It was indeed enough for him, Xiao Yungui, to kill several princes and integrate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  It's just that Xiao Yungui is very worried that the current historical process has deviated. At least in history, there has been no incident where the combined fleet led by Grant stayed in Shanghai and refused to leave. He is not sure whether Britain and France are firm in their attitude towards the war.

    Seeing that Xiao Yungui was having trouble making a decision, Hong Yun'er said, "How about we consult the left prime minister for his opinion?"

    Xiao Yungui nodded and said: "Yes, you still have to ask the left prime minister when foreign affairs are undecided, but you can't tell him anything about the second Opium War in history."

    Hong Yun'er smiled sweetly and said: "That's natural, you think I'm stupid." Then Hong Yun'er went to the telegraph room to send a report to Suzhou.  With the telegraph line between Suzhou and Shanghai, the connection between Suzhou and Shanghai was more convenient, so Xiao Yungui was able to stay in Shanghai for a long time.

    Zuo Zongtang's reward came soon. Zuo Zongtang just listened to Hong Yun'er's suggestion and gave a clear reply: "If you don't have long-term worries, you must have immediate worries. Your Highness is worried that the barbarians will go to war with China. How can you know that the barbarians are going to war with China?"  Are people not worried about failure after the war? It is absolutely necessary to use the art of connecting horizontally and vertically to break up the Qing Dynasty and establish friendship between foreigners. If the war between Huayang and Huayang is unavoidable in the future, and there will be a war in the future, how can we know that we will be defeated? Yu Guan  Although the foreigners often use ships as threats, they are still not prepared for a war, so I think Queen Mother Xi¡¯s strategy is feasible!"

    After Xiao Yungui read Zuo Zongtang's reply message, he suddenly realized that he was not ready for a war with Britain and France. Aren't Britain and France also not ready for such a war?  Otherwise, Britain and France would just find excuses to go to war with the Temple Street and Sakhalin incidents. Why settle for compromise?  The Crimean War has just ended, and Britain and France need time to digest the aftermath of the war.

    ¡°Besides, inciting hostility between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France would be of no harm to the Taiping Army at the moment. Their immediate worries have not been resolved, so how can they take into account the long-term future?

    Finally, Hong Yun'er smiled sinisterly and said: "Don't forget that our old classmate is still there in the Qing Dynasty. Why don't you create some trouble for him? When he attacked Changsha, our brothers were also stained on his hands.  It's time for him to feel uncomfortable because of his blood."

    Xiao Yungui finally nodded and said: "Okay, let's let Bai Zetang start to act, but we must do it cleanly and neatly, and we can't let the British, French or Manchus find out that we are the one behind it."

    Hong Yun'er smiled and said: "Where do you think it is better to start?"

    Xiao Yungui said without thinking: "Of course it's Guangzhou. It's a powder keg there, with Chinese and foreigners living together. The British and French are very angry with Ye Mingchen, the governor, and the British consul in Guangzhou is the Park Lane who is famous for causing trouble.  "

    The couple looked at each other and smiled, then decided on a plan, and the butterfly's wings began to flap actively again.

    In the afternoon, the couple had lunch and were about to separate and go about their business, but Qian Jiang and Tong Qiangsheng came to see them. Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er immediately summoned them in the study, the two giants of the Intelligence Department and Bai Zetang.  Coming to see each other at the same time shows that this matter is extremely important.  After the Guangdong Rebel Army moved to Fujian, Tong Qiangsheng returned to Shanghai and handed over the affairs of Guangdong to people from the Guangdong branch of Baizetang.  After returning to Shanghai, Tong Qiangsheng has been working with Qian Jiang to appease the internal affairs, and at the same time strengthened surveillance and intelligence analysis of Tianjing.

    The two of them bowed hurriedly after entering. Qian Jiang's first words after standing up were: "Your Highness, judging from the analysis of various intelligence reports sent back from Tianjing, King Dong wants to take action against the North Palace and Wing Palace in the near future!  "
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