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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 528: Prerequisites for Negotiation

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    The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not develop and grow during Sir Elgin's term. His predecessor Bao Ling served as the highest military and political officer in the British Far East during this period. His predecessor, Lord Wenham, took the Hamils ??just after he took office.  The battleship No. 1 visited Jinling City and had a cordial and friendly exchange of views with the King of the West who had just captured Nanjing.

    It was also from that time that several principles of peaceful coexistence between the two sides were basically settled, and this treaty was the famous "Secret Treaty of Western Languages" in history. The most basic core content was the "Treaty of Jiangning" signed by the Taiping Rebellion and the Manchu Qing Dynasty.  The benefits obtained and the clauses in the treaties signed between the Manchu and other countries that Britain also enjoyed benefits.  At that time, Lord Wenhan seemed to have been deceived by the King of the West. In addition to the three basic terms, the new treaty agreed to wait until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had completed the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the unification of China.

    This "Western Secret Treaty" is very imperfect, at least in the eyes of the British at this moment, the benefits obtained are too few.  In just a few years, the Taiping Army had completely taken all five treaty ports as its own, and at the same time almost monopolized all China's trade exports.  After the "Hispanic Secret Treaty", the two sides successively signed a number of adhering treaties around issues such as tariffs and concessions, but these treaties were all centered around the "Hispanic Secret Treaty".

    When Lord Wenhan's successor Bao Ling came to China, he hoped to amend the treaty. However, according to the "Western Secret Treaty", negotiations on a new treaty would have to wait until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom unified China, so the British were a little dumbfounded.  Although Bao Ling subsequently secured treaties with provisions such as the opening of several additional treaty ports, including Tianjing, and the dispatch of ministers to Tianjing before the end of his term, there was still a long way to go to achieve the British goal of fully opening the Chinese market.  distance.

    After the current British Minister Sir Elgin arrived.  He was instructed by Congress and the Prime Minister that in addition to solving the Manchu issue, he must broker a new treaty with the Taiping Rebellion.  So the British did not hesitate to recognize the Taiping Rebellion in exchange for negotiating a new treaty.  Unfortunately, the King of the West seems to have been uninterested and insisted on unifying the country before negotiating a new treaty.

    The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had the most powerful army in the Far East. The King of the West had at least twelve infantry divisions under his command. The soldiers were all composed of elite professional soldiers, and the weapons they used were similar to those of the British army.  As for combat effectiveness and fighting will, according to feedback from various military officials who participated in the Taiping Army, the Taiping Army was only slightly weaker than the French army.  Except for these regular troops.  The Taiping Army also has a huge reserve force, and the huge rural soldiers and militia groups in various places are also armed forces that cannot be underestimated.  In addition to their weak navy, the Taiping Army did not seem to be afraid of the British and French expeditionary forces on land.

    At this moment, the British troops who ended the Indian War were assembled.  Having already joined forces with the French army coming from North Africa, Elgin knew that the nearly 50,000 British and French allied forces might not be able to defeat the Taiping Rebellion, so the British had always considered opening a gap for treaty exchange with the weaker Manchu Qing Dynasty.

    After the last assassination of the mission, the negotiations between Britain, France and the Manchus broke down.  The Taiping Army also closed the door to negotiating a new covenant.  But with the end of the Indian War, Britain and France began to gain confidence again. The Manchus and Qing Dynasties invited the Americans to mediate and reopen negotiations. Elgin was very satisfied. Now the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom actually agreed to negotiate a new treaty. Elgin felt that he was being  The feeling of a pie being hit.

    Elgin put aside his gentlemanly demeanor and walked quickly forward, took the note from Midile and read it.  Since the Taiping Rebellion occupied Shanghai, official notes and documents exchanged between the two sides have been in Chinese and English versions.  In terms of text translation, the Ministry of Rites of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had a Translation Department specially designed to handle foreign-related translations.  We strive to make the text translations of both parties more accurate.

    Elgin looked at it twice, and finally made sure that he was not dazzled. He turned back happily and said: "Gentlemen, we are about to completely open the door of this ancient country, and China will be fully opened to the British Empire!"

    French Minister Bourblon showed some jealousy. Because France had the British "Spanish Secret Treaty" in front of it, when France made a treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was similar to the treaty signed by Britain.  Therefore, France also hoped to negotiate a new treaty, but the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom never agreed.

    Seeing Bulbulon's disappointed expression, Midile took out a second official document and said to him: "Your Excellency, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has also notified France. Britain and France can discuss a new treaty together. The Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has entrusted me to arrive in Dagu.  I will give it to you when you speak.¡±

    Bulbulon then took the note and read it in surprise, cursing Midile in his heart for waiting so long to come up with the note, but after reading the note, he quickly started laughing.

    Ali Kingdom was more cautious. After reading the passed note, he frowned and said, "Why does the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have to participate in this negotiation?"

    Midile explained: "After receiving the note, I met with the King of the West. The King of the West was mainly worried about unfairness, because once the Manchus opened the northern treaty ports, they would not be able to compete with us.?After a new treaty is reached, Britain and France will inevitably use the new treaty signed with the Manchus as a benchmark to start negotiations with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom hopes to participate in this negotiation.  "

    It sounds reasonable, but everyone present suddenly thought of another question. Elgin frowned and said: "Then it will become a five-party negotiation between us, Britain, France, the United States, the Qing Dynasty, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Midile nodded.  : "It is exactly this kind of minister, the five-party negotiation is the requirement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

    Aliguo sneered and said: "That King of the West is still the same. He wants to get involved in everything and get benefits. He wants to disrupt the five-party talks. Will the Qing people be willing to sit with a group of rebels?  Do you want to discuss a treaty with us?"

    Elgin and others fell silent and quickly calculated. Midile shrugged and said: "The Western King's attitude is also very firm this time. If Britain, France and the Qing Dynasty negotiate a new treaty separately, he will not recognize the new treaty."  treaty, and since the Jiangning Treaty, the basis of the Western Treaty, has been replaced by the new treaty, the Taiping Rebellion will completely abandon the Western Treaty.¡±

    Aliguo immediately shouted angrily: "What?! He is threatening and blackmailing! The treaty we negotiated with the Qing Kingdom has nothing to do with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

    Midile waved his hands indifferently and said: "Then we will wait for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to continue to expand their territory until they unify all of China before negotiating a new treaty with them. However, General Grant, according to your military commander's estimation, the Qing army can resist  How long will the Taiping Army last?¡±

    Grant said slowly: "In fact, according to the current strength of the Taiping Army, they can do their best to march north and capture the capital of the Qing Dynasty. I believe they have this ability, but their headquarters chose to march southwest. They seem to want to  Get rid of all the Qing troops in the southwest, and then go north to fight without any worries. Although this strategy is slower, it is a very safe approach. According to my estimation, as long as the Taiping Army eliminates the largest military force of the Qing army in the southwest  After grouping the Hunan Army, we will definitely be able to unify the whole of China within three years. Of course, this is without any external influence. After all, there are Russians in the north. I can't imagine what kind of plans they will have."

    Midile turned around and said: "Okay, now we can analyze it. If we sign a new treaty with the Qing Dynasty separately, but the new treaty is not recognized by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will unify the entire South China, the richest country in China.  After several provinces became the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, wouldn¡¯t the benefits we get be the same as before?¡±

    Erjin touched his chin and said: "You mean that even if we make a new treaty with the Qing Dynasty, it may be a useless effort?"

    Midile shrugged and said: "It is not in vain. At least we have created very serious obstacles for future negotiations with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

    French Rear Admiral Brod, who had been silent, suddenly said: "Gentlemen, in fact, we should not waste time and energy on the Qing Dynasty. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is our important cooperation partner in the future. At least in my opinion, there is no Taiping Heavenly Kingdom involved in this.  The treaty resulting from these negotiations may be invalidated in a few years."

    The French are more inclined to cooperate with the Taiping Rebellion. The reason is very simple. Napoleon III hopes that a Christian country will emerge in the Far East to replace the barbaric Manchu Qing Dynasty. French Consul Groye said seriously: "Everyone, the Manchu Qing Dynasty is gradually losing their territory. Soon  The current government will be replaced in the future, and even if a new treaty is signed, it may face the risk of being invalidated. Why not take this opportunity to negotiate and sign a new treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as soon as possible?"

    Ali Guo shook his head and said: "But I don't think the Qing government will agree to sit down and negotiate with the rebels."

    Midile said loudly: "Why should we worry about this? Isn't it the Qing Dynasty who took the initiative to initiate negotiations? Although the Americans came to mediate, we can also add a prerequisite for resuming negotiations, that is, let the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also join  Come to the negotiations. Only in this way can the new treaty negotiated effectively open up the entire Chinese market and maximize our interests!"

    Sir Elgin rubbed his temples, stood up and said slowly: "Gentlemen, there is no need to argue anymore, just listen to my thoughts. Whether it is the Qing Kingdom or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they are our opponents at the negotiating table. As diplomats, we  What comes to mind is to protect the interests of our country to the maximum extent. There are pros and cons for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations, but from the current point of view, we have no reason to reject this attractive proposal, so I support the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations!"

    After Elgin pressed his palm a few times, Aliguo, who still wanted to speak, sat down and continued: "The Qing may not agree to sit down and negotiate with the rebels, but please note that this is not a peace negotiation between them.  It was a negotiation concerning the interests of Britain, France and the United States, so the Qing had no reason to refuse and could not refuse. As a condition for resuming peace talks, the Qing must??Agreed to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations.  As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they must show their sincerity in negotiating a new treaty.  Midile, you and Aliguo should go back to Tianjing immediately. You must understand the true intentions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and see if they are really sincere in negotiating a new treaty.  "

    In the end, Elgin said word for word: "No matter who we negotiate with in the end, we must ensure that the new treaty can be implemented. For this reason, neither the Qing Kingdom nor the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can threaten us in any way. Please remember this!"  "(To be continued)
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